Compassionate Integrity Training CIT-Faciltator-Guide-2.1-Final | Page 40

C OMPASSIONATE I NTEGRITY T RAINING
A S ECULAR E THICS A PPROACH TO C ULTIVATING P ERSONAL , S OCIAL AND E NVIRONMENTAL F LOURISHING
breath), the rope is the faculty of mindfulness and the attentive trainer is the faculty of introspective
vigilance. Through sustained practice, the elephant of our mind becomes “tamed.”
Shamatha is a practice that is common to all contemplative traditions and is, therefore, found in many
religions. This is because quieting the mind was seen by contemplatives of every religious tradition as a very
useful step in preparing for other forms of meditation. Without a calm, stable, and clear mind, it was not
considered possible to advance far with other forms of meditation, since the mind is the very tool we use to
meditate. Nowadays shamatha (also called “focused attention” in the scientific literature) is frequently
taught and practiced in a secular way and its health benefits are increasingly being documented. Also,
research in neuroscience suggests that sustained attention is key to effecting changes in the structure and
function of our brains. 3
Resting the Mind in its Natural State
Another popular form of meditation, alongside focused attention or shamatha , is open monitoring, or
“Resting the Mind in its Natural State,” which is used during Skill 3: Emotional Awareness in CIT. In this
practice, one does not take the breath as one’s object of focus. Rather, one allows the mind to settle without
trying to direct it to any particular thought or image. As thoughts, sensations, memories, and other mental
events arise, one does not try to prevent them from arising, but one also does not become involved in them.
In this way, one cultivates another skill: equanimity. There are different types of equanimity. The type of
equanimity being cultivated here is not reacting to pleasant stimuli with attachment and craving, and not
reacting to unpleasant stimuli with aversion or suppression. In other words, it is a non-judgmental
acceptance of what arises with an attitude of observance and even curiosity.
Our typical way of reacting to thoughts and emotions is not like this. If an unpleasant thought arises, such
as a memory of an embarrassing incident from long ago, we tend to cringe inwardly. If a pleasant thought
arises, such as a type of food we like, we tend to react with craving and desire. Here we are intentionally
3
Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. (2004). Neuroplasticity: changes
in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427(6972), 311-312.
C ENTER FOR C OMPASSION , I NTEGRITY AND S ECULAR E THICS | L IFE U NIVERSITY | M ARIETTA , G EORGIA
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