Thus suffering, unlike unsatisfactoriness, is not inherent in the phenomena of the world, only in the way the awakened mind experiences them. This is indeed the underlying theme of the Four Noble Truths as a whole: the suffering caused by attachment and craving can be overcome by awakening. For an aharant, the unsatisfactory nature of all phenomena is no longer capable of causing suffering.
Analayo per Joseph Goldstein, page 289
Does James Clear Get This Truth?
I find I go back and forth upon reading Atomic Habits, questioning if it is expressing some deep spiritual realization that will bring us closer to the end of suffering through the ultimate habit change (awakening), or if it will just keep us stuck in the never ending chase for satisfaction. Clear speaks about satisfactoriness and suffering in Atomic Habits, implying an understanding of The Noble Truths to some degree.
He says, for example, near the end of the book that ...the source of all suffering is a desire for a change of state.(page 262) This reflects an understanding of the Buddha's teachings. He takes it a bit away from spirituality, however, and into the concept of human progress when he says,This is also the source of all progress. The desire to change your state requires you to take action. (Page 262 ). Is he saying that suffering is good because it steers us back to human progress as we seek to take action to escape the present moment we are in? Is he implying that spiritual progress is secondary to human progress? If so, is that not the opposite of acceptance and the be here now principal?
He also writes that peace is all about what happens in our minds, not about the fixing of what we are observing. It is about not turning these things we are noticing...the Life that is unfolding in front of us into a problem...When we can observe [from Objective Awareness] without craving or wanting to fix it all, realizing that we don't have to, we will be experiencing peace or a deep sense of satisfaction. That is the basis for most of the spiritual teachings I talk about here. You are simply observing and existing. page 260. This echoes the above quote.
And of course in Yoga it is all about self-control...controlling the rippling of the mind when it comes ro our tendency for craving, satisfaction, and desire. Self control requires you to relase a desire rather than satisfy it. page 262.
Clear's book is aimed at building wholesome habits and deconstructing unwholesome ones. Habit tendencies are often spoken about in most spiritual teachings. Mostly in regards to how we need to break though the "unwholesome" tendencies rather than to build on the wholesome ones. Being free of suffering is basically all about being free of these tendencies. So it is more about being free of habits all together. Yet, I can see the benefit to the human experience if we do build wholesome habits. How do we build wholesome habits, while tearing down the unwholesome ones? We can use satisfactoriness or a lack of. The more a behaviour is rewarded with pleasure or a sense of satisfaction, the more it will be repeated. In terms of habit change: The more a behaviour is punished with unpleasantness or a sense of dissatisfaction, the more it will be avoided. (page 186)
Hmm! Thoughts are not yet clear on how to relate Clear's teachings to what I have learned so far on my 'spiritual' path. (It is all spiritual, isn't it? How can it be anything but?)
Anyway, will return. All is well.
Joseph Goldstein, (2016) Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening. Boulder: Sounds True
James Clear ( 2018) Atomic Habits. New York: Avery
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