Japan, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, and the Second Noble Truth

Right now, reports of the many disastrous effects of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan and other locations less than 2 days ago are so prevalent that they take up the main headlines of the major news sources that I read.  The New York Times is now reporting an extremely high death toll as well as a nuclear disaster that is on the brink of occurring.  It is an emotional topic to be sure.

Yesterday, Lodro Rinzler wrote compassionately about how to help out those affected by the natural disaster as a Buddhist in a practical what-do-I-do-now kind of way.  If you would like to help in a direct way, please read his article.

In addition, Ethan Nichtern brought up the topic of groundlessness as part of his post about the Tsunami and Earthquake that hit Japan and continues to affect human lives near and far this morning; the questions that he asks are poignant questions and necessary to contemplate.  As a experienced teacher and philosopher, he is a good person to consult if you want to be guided by a sure and steady hand.

I am a less experienced, and a more likely to create thorns kind of person, so continue reading only if you are willing to negotiate my own difficulty with the second noble truth.

Recently, I have found that meditation and Buddhism don't provide much support.  In fact, it does the opposite:  it causes me to feel unsupported.  For me, the general increase in odd unsupportedness is the experience of groundlessness.  The more I meditate, contemplate, and read, the less supported I feel.

Stop here.  Is what I am saying completely counter to your needs and your own understanding of Buddhism and mediation?  Perhaps Susan Pilver's intelligent article about the benefits of meditation is something that you'd rather contemplate now.

If you are still with me, then I'll be even more honest about my experience of meditation.  From my point of view, meditation and Buddhism not only reveal groundlessness in my life, but they are supposed to reveal it.

Let's look at the second noble truth through the lens of the earthquake, and I'll tell you why.  The first noble truth is that there is suffering.  We can all agree that many people are suffering right now.  The second noble truth is that there are causes to that suffering.  Andy Karr in his book Contemplating Reality describes the second noble truth in this way:  "the second truth is that the cause of this pervasive suffering is clinging to the illusions of "I" and "mine" as though they were real (p.4)."

That freaks me out.  Seeing as the current events of the day are so close to the hearts of people in this world, I have to ask myself the question before I continue:  am I ready for this?  The cause of suffering is not earthquakes, or tsunamis, or death counts, or disease, or nuclear meltdowns, but clinging to illusions?  Does that seem right?  Am I ready for that?

Nancy Thompson was ready to write her article about pain.  I believe that Nancy would agree with Andy Karr's description of the second noble truth.

But am I ready to see things that way?  The next time I have surgery, am I ready to look at my pain directly?  Am I ready to see my suffering in the way that Andy Karr describes it?  Am I willing to look at someone who is screaming and to think that the cause of their suffering is their clinging to ego?  With all the news broadcasts out there about rising death counts, endless destruction, personal stories, and tender human suffering, do I dare say other than the cause of suffering is the earthquake?

This is why meditation and Buddhism causes groundlessness.  Even when you get to the second noble truth, things start to fall apart.  It feels very difficult to come to the conclusion that the second noble truth applies even now.  That makes today, and the earthquake, and life in general just a little more complicated.  A little more true, but a little more complicated.  What do you think?