Contemplative Spaces

A Proposal for Artists, Designers, and Architects

CURRENT

Directionless Wandering
[Research Essay]

Modern society is ensnared in a cycle of aimless existence characterized by attachment, ignorance, and self-referential mind wandering. By drawing parallels between Buddhism, neuroscience, and theories of conditioning we understand the mechanisms of craving and clinging, to consider how individuals can break free from the human condition of ‘directionless wandering,’ or samsāra.

NEXT

Theories of Embodiment
[Research Notes]

Mindfulness, contemplation, and environmental design intersect to shape human experience and consciousness. By priming mindfulness and fostering contemplative practices, individuals can transcend self-referential thought patterns and cultivate resilience. Drawing from psychological research and the Buddhist tradition, we discuss embodiment theories, that highlight the role of physical interactions in shaping perception and meaning-making processes—to foster present-centered consciousness and promote well-being.

ABOUT

In the Pālī canon, the word samsāra means ‘wandering on’ or ‘flowing on’ and refers to the existential condition of ‘aimless’ or ‘directionless’ wandering, which is a precondition of our perceived realities in the seemingly beginning-less and endless continuum of our conditioned, material lives (Laumakis 2008; Bodhi 2015, 27). As a society, we are entrenched in a directionless existence, in an unconscious rhythmic life rooted in ignorance and clinging that keeps us attached to an illusory reality and sense of self. Every moment becomes a link in the chain of constant unconscious action as we live to chase that which tends to be external, material, and perishable (Bodhi 2015, 32).

In many ways, samsāra becomes an analogy for the directionless wandering that typifies modern existence—where one is caught up in the sense of self. The sense of self is an intrinsic identification with name, form, and virtue (nāma-rūpa-gūna) or with the attributes of oneself that are desire-driven, and it is the most quintessential of human experiences (Albahari 2014).* It can also be described as egoism or a sense of ‘I-ness’ that pursues stimulus-driven pleasures (Shiah 2016). However, on the spectrum of the ‘self,’ this is one extreme. On the other extreme, there is the ‘non-self’ (the term in Pāli is anattā), which is not rooted in material or immaterial desires but rather is the retaliation that the self is impermanent (annicā) and empty (shūnyatā) of intrinsic experience and thus is devoid of a self and is ego-less (Dalai Lama 2005). As a result, when one is stuck in a feedback loop of self-oriented thought—‘directionless wandering’ as the Buddha refers to it—we are ‘getting caught in the self’ and its addictive nature (hereafter, the term self will reference egoism or the desire-driven self).

Buddhism expresses this craving (taṇhā) to cling to the self as a manifestation of feeling (vedanà)— which arises from the six senses (sal-àyatana) (this includes the mind). Craving creates a duality in existence, leading to a one-way directional clinging (upàdàna) and, subsequently, the manifestations of dualities. Of the four types of clinging discussed in the Pāli canon, the last is related to a clinging to the sense of self—that reinforces one’s beliefs and values as they are attached to the self. This leads to a becoming as a result of experience, which ‘fixes the sense of self in a particular state of experience’ (bhava). As a result, there is a birth (jàti) of an identity that can ‘identify with a state of experience’ (Feldman 2023; Dhamma Talks 2023). In Buddhism, this process is known as dependent origination (pañicca-samuppàda). And now, ‘new links are now being drawn between early Buddhist psychological models of the perpetuation of self-related processes (e.g., ‘dependent origination’) and modern-day science (e.g., operant conditioning)’ (Brewer 2018). Through reward-based learning, Skinner showed that higher reward is associated with reinforcement of associated behaviors; similarly, the Buddha spoke about how gratification leads to future craving (and subsequently suffering) of the feeling of gratification through the associated experience (Skinner 1963; Bodhi 2005).

Getting caught in the self, or defaulting to self-referentially is at the core of the human condition. Through neurophenomenological processes, researchers such as Brewer and Garrison have found that increased activity in midline structures in the brain, such as the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), are often correlated with ‘getting caught in the self.’ On the other hand, present-centered attention (being ‘on task’) has been associated with decreased PCC activity. ‘Getting caught up in the self’ is related to the tendency for self-referential thinking (‘how one relates to one’s experience’), social cognitive processing (‘moral dilemmas, justice issues, guilt, among others’), disruption of attention (‘with regard to the actual subjective experience of mind wandering or lapses in attention, it is possible that when attention is pulled away from a task, this may manifest as being caught up in the experience, with associated increases in PCC activity’), and craving (‘as craving has been specifically described as being caught up in an experience, it may provide the most direct evidence for how being caught up may activate the PCC’) (Brewer et al. 2013).

Mowrer (1939) argued that ‘in contrast to the older view, which held that anxiety (specifically fear) was an instinctive reaction to phylogenetically predetermined objects or situations… anxiety is a learned response, occurring to ‘signals’ (conditioned stimuli) that are premonitory of (i.e., have in the past been followed by) situations of injury or pain (unconditioned stimuli)’ (Mowrer 1939). Similarly, can ‘getting caught up in the self’ have an element of conditioning? Excessive worrying and rumination can be linked to anxiety disorders and depression—which, arguably, are closely linked with the mental state of ‘getting caught up in the self’ (Nejad et al. 2013; Sutta Central 2023).

Buddhism and modern science have understood ways to break out of the cyclic existence of craving and ‘getting caught up in the self.’ Unlike animals, as seen through the works of Skinner and Thorndike—neuroscience has shown that the brain has an exceptional capacity to be ‘rewired’ and exhibit plasticity (Skinner 1948; Thorndike 1998). We can ‘hack vedanā’ or the neural correlate of feeling and consequently believing in the identities attached to the perceived sense of self (Brewer 2018). Through neuroplasticity—which requires actively bringing awareness/moments of mindfulness to the forefront of unconscious action to redefine our intentions and aspirations—we can see a tendency to move beyond ‘rewards that are dependent upon fueling the samsaric cycle of suffering’ in our everyday lives (Brewer 2018). In Buddhism, the concept of dependent origination first elucidates the inherent existence of the process of suffering due to attachment to the self—and then explains the path to enter a new process (Feldman 2023). Brewer et al. suggest that this path involves identifying old reward-based learning behaviors and creating new reward circuitries in the brain. This path allows us to break out of the old process of attaching ourselves to identities that we cling to due to our experiences through practicing awareness and stepping out of the bounds of the beginning-less and endless saṃsāra (Sutta Central 2023). We are given directions for our wandering.

Contemplative practices and fostering conscious contemplation have been found to have many benefits. Patanjali used the term ‘yoga’ (different from asanā, which is what we commonly refer to as ‘yoga’ today) to describe mindfulness/mindful awareness/conscious contemplation and defined it as the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind, specifically thought (yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ). A moment of mindfulness can be defined as the cessation of every day, self-referential thought to have a moment of witness-consciousness—which may be developed through direct experience and practice (Kabat-Zinn 1994; Germer 2004). Through direct experience and practice (which is also referenced in the Pāli canon, through the word sati, deriving from the Sanskrit smṛti, which literally means ‘that which will be remembered’), mindful awareness has the potential to create lasting impacts on an individual’s behaviors, attitudes, and general outlook. Given its broad-spectrum applications to transdiagnostic symptoms, the contemplative practice has been associated with lowered levels of PCC activity, correlated with lower self-referential thoughts, and beneficial for many mental conditions (Giommi 2023; Brewer et al. 2013). The change that mindfulness can have is seen to be connected to ‘alterations in connectivity patterns between major brain networks that have traditionally been associated with general cognitive functions such as attention, self-processing, rumination, and interoception.’ ‘Contemplative training thus seems to be accompanied by plasticity in and between cortical networks. These changes may reflect a reorganization of the self-pattern’ (Giommi 2023). As seen in neuroimaging studies, mindfulness practices increase emotional regulation, meta-awareness, and present-moment awareness, which have an individual benefit and a more far-reaching societal impact towards fostering loving-kindness and compassion. In the social world, such attitudes and values can create societies that operate with greater harmony and cohesion.

Wheel of Existence, detail showing image area; Tibet; early 20th century; pigments on cloth; image area 31-7/8 × 23-1/8 in. (81 × 58.7 cm), with brocade frame 65-5/8 × 40¾ × 1½ in. (166.7 × 103.5 × 3.8 cm); Rubin Museum of Art; C2004.21.1 (HAR65356)

REFERENCES

Albahari, Miri. “Insight Knowledge of No Self in Buddhism- An Epistemic Analysis.” Philosophers’ Imprint 14, no. 2 (2014), 1-30.

“An Analysis of Dependent Co-Arising Paṭiccasamuppāda Vibhaṅga Sutta (Sn 12:2).” SN 12:2 Paṭiccasamuppāda Vibhaṅga Sutta | An Analysis of Dependent Co-arising. Accessed December 20, 2023. https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN12_2.html.

“Anxiety as a Public Health Issue.” Harvard Business Review, September 9, 2021. https://hbr.org/2020/05/anxiety-as-a-public-health-issue?ab=seriesnav-bigidea.

Bargh, John A. “The Historical Origins of Priming as the Preparation of Behavioral Responses: Unconscious Carryover and Contextual Influences of Real-World Importance.” Social Cognition 32, no. Supplement (2014): 209–24. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2014.32.supp.209.

Bergeron, Catherine M., Isabelle Almgren-Doré, and Stéphane Dandeneau. “‘Letting Go’ (Implicitly): Priming Mindfulness Mitigates the Effects of a Moderate Social Stressor.” Frontiers in Psychology 7 (2016).

Bergeron, Catherine M., and Stéphane Dandeneau. “Implicitly Activating Mindfulness Promotes Positive Responses Following an Ego Threat.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 35, no. 7 (2016): 551–70. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2016.35.7.551. PDF Access

Bodhi, Bhikkhu. “AN. III.101." In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon, 192–193. Boston: Wisdom (2005).

Bodhi, Bhikku. “Chapter 1: The Human Condition, 27 .” Essay. In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pāli Canon. Wisdom Publications, 2015.

Brewer, Judson A. “Feeling Is Believing: The Convergence of Buddhist Theory and Modern Scientific Evidence Supporting How Self Is Formed and Perpetuated through Feeling Tone (Vedanā).” Contemporary Buddhism 19, no. 1 (2018): 113–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2018.1443553.

Brewer, Judson A., Jake H. Davis, and Joseph Goldstein. “Why Is It so Hard to Pay Attention, or Is It? Mindfulness, the Factors of Awakening and Reward-Based Learning.” Mindfulness 4, no. 1 (2012): 75–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0164-8.

Brewer, Judson A., Kathleen A. Garrison, and Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli. “What about the ‘Self’ Is Processed in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex?” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7 (2013). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00647.

“Column: U.S. Surgeon General: Loneliness Is at Heart of Growing Mental Health Crisis.” UCLA Health. Accessed November 21, 2023.https://www.uclahealth.org/news/column-us-surgeon-general-loneliness-heart-growing-mental#:~:text=More%20than%20just%20a%20bad,heart%20disease,%20stroke%20and%20dementia.

Dalai Lama (1995b). The Power of Compassion. London: Thorsons. AND Dalai Lama (2005). The Many Ways to Nirvana. London: Mobius.

Feldman, Christina.“Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.” Science and Buddhism, 2023, 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811258527_0004.

Frith, Chris D., and Uta Frith. “Implicit and Explicit Processes in Social Cognition.” Neuron 60, no. 3 (2008): 503–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2008.10.032.

Garland, Eric L., Barbara Fredrickson, Ann M. Kring, David P. Johnson, Piper S. Meyer, and David L. Penn. “Upward Spirals of Positive Emotions Counter Downward Spirals of Negativity: Insights from the Broaden-and-Build Theory and Affective Neuroscience on the Treatment of Emotion Dysfunctions and Deficits in Psychopathology.” Clinical Psychology Review 30, no. 7 (2010): 849–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.002.

Germer, Christopher. “What is Mindfulness?” Insight Journal (2004).

Giommi, Fabio, Prisca R. Bauer, Aviva Berkovich-Ohana, Henk Barendregt, Kirk Warren Brown, Shaun Gallagher, Ivan Nyklíček, et al. “The (in)Flexible Self: Psychopathology, Mindfulness, and Neuroscience.” International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology 23, no. 4 (2023): 100381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100381.

Hall, Jeffrey A., Chong Xing, Elaina M. Ross, and Rebecca M. Johnson. “Experimentally Manipulating Social Media Abstinence: Results of a Four-Week Diary Study.” Media Psychology 24, no. 2 (2019): 259–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1688171.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion, 1994.

Keng, Shian-Ling, Moria J. Smoski, and Clive J. Robins. “Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies.” Clinical Psychology Review 31, no. 6 (2011): 1041–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006.

Kiken, Laura G., Eric L. Garland, Karen Bluth, Olafur S. Palsson, and Susan A. Gaylord. “From a State to a Trait: Trajectories of State Mindfulness in Meditation during Intervention Predict Changes in Trait Mindfulness.” Personality and Individual Differences 81 (2015): 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.044.

Lambert, Jeffrey, George Barnstable, Eleanor Minter, Jemima Cooper, and Desmond McEwan. “Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 25, no. 5 (2022): 287–93. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.0324.

Laumakis, Stephen J.. An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brown/detail.action?docID=335008. Created from brown on 2023-11-21 18:34:53.

Lin, Liu Yi, Jaime E. Sidani, Ariel Shensa, Ana Radovic, Elizabeth Miller, Jason B. Colditz, Beth L. Hoffman, Leila M. Giles, and Brian A. Primack. “Association between Social Media Use and Depression among U.S. Young Adults.” Depression and Anxiety 33, no. 4 (2016): 323–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22466.

Meshi, Dar, Diana I. Tamir, and Hauke R. Heekeren. “The Emerging Neuroscience of Social Media.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 19, no. 12 (2015): 771–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2015.09.004.

Nejad, Ayna Baladi, Philippe Fossati, and Cédric Lemogne. “Self-Referential Processing, Rumination, and Cortical Midline Structures in Major Depression.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7 (2013). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00666.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH). “New Surgeon General Advisory Raises Alarm about the Devastating Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States.” HHS.gov, May 3, 2023. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/03/new-surgeon-general-advisory-raises-alarm-about-devastating-impact-epidemic-loneliness-isolation-united-states.html.

“Sati (Buddhism).” Encyclopedia, October 25, 2022. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31148#:~:text=Sati%20(from%20Pali%3A%20सति%3B,the%20Seven%20Factors%20of%20Enlightenment.

Shiah, Yung-Jong. “From Self to Nonself: The Nonself Theory.” Frontiers in Psychology 7 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00124.

Skinner, B. F. “‘Superstition’ in the Pigeon.” Journal of Experimental Psychology 38, no. 2 (1948): 168–72. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0055873.

Skinner, B. F. 1963. “Operant Behavior.” American Psychologist 18 (8): 503–515.

“SS22.7 Upādāparitassanāsutta— Bhikkhu Sujato: Anxiety Because of Grasping” SuttaCentral. Accessed December 20, 2023. https://suttacentral.net/sn22.7/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

Tang, Yi-Yuan, Britta K. Hölzel, and Michael I. Posner. “The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 16, no. 4 (2015): 213–25. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3916.

Thompson, Brian L., and Jennifer Waltz. “Everyday Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation: Overlapping Constructs or Not?” Personality and Individual Differences 43, no. 7 (2007): 1875–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.06.017.

Thorndike, E. L. “Animal Intelligence: An Experimental Study of the Associate Processes in Animals.” American Psychologist 53, no. 10 (1998): 1125–27. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.53.10.1125.

Wheeler, Megan S., Diane B. Arnkoff, and Carol R. Glass. “The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Alters the Brain and Facilitates Emotion Regulation.” Mindfulness 8, no. 6 (2017): 1471–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0742-x.

GLOSSARY
samsāra: wandering on

nāma-rūpa-gūna: name-form-virtue

annatā: I-ness

annicā: non-self

shūnyatā: emptiness

tanhā: craving

vedanà: feeling

sal-àyatana: six sense

upàdàna: clinging

bhava: sense of self in a state of experience

jàti: birth of an identity

pañicca-samuppàda: dependent origination

yogàa-cirra-vritti-nitodhah: cessation of the fluctuations of the mind

Contemplative Spaces

Directionless Wandering

Research Essay