introduction
This is one of a series of incantations I have used to attain nibbana – the total end of suffering.
If you would like to use this tool, it might be helpful to understand the larger context within which it is intended to be used …
What need does the “unwholesome narrative” incantation seek to meet?
The surface-level need which this tool seeks to meet is the need to incline to mind towards finding the unwholesome narrative which is giving rise to suffering and correcting it?
What precisely is an unwholesome narrative?
Any narrative which sustains internal conflict.
When might it be most useful to reach for this tool?
This incantation is a part of the suite of tools of the “unification subsystem” of 8-fold path to nibbana.
The purpose of the “unification subsystem” is to unify the mind and thereby extinguish the suffering.
This tool is most useful when used along with 2 others in sequence:
“unwholesome state” => “unwholesome narrative” => “unwholesome sense-desire”
1: When an “unwholesome state” arises, speak of the “unwholesome state” incantation to declare you intent to extinguish it.
2: To act on that declaration, speak the “unwholesome narrative” to identify the narrative which is giving rise to the unwholesome state and declare your intent to extinguish it. (“He will not think any thoughts that he does not wish to think”)
3: To act on that declaration, speak the “unwholesome sense-desire” incantation to identify the underlying unwholesome sense-desire which is giving rise to the suffering and place the anchors that will extinguish it.
guidelines
A few ideas to help increase the probability that this tool will help you to attain good results:
This incarnation is the Vitakkasanthana sutta. Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
The only changes I made were
1: to vary the gender of the protagonist pursuing the 5 signs between masculine and femine.
2: to add a few titles to separate the 5 sections by name of the 5 signs.
Re: gender variance …
This is not an arbitrary change. I believe the sutta was specifically constructed to vary between the masuline and feminine for the purpose of establishing the momentum needed to break free of the “task negative network” and return to the “task positive network”. i.e. Most of us favor one of these modes of being (hate vs greed) and this bias can tend to keep us locked into narratives that sustain hindrances. Consider varying back and forth as akin to shaking back and forth to release ourselves from a tight squeeze. Varying back and forth between masculine and femine modes is how “thinking” is actually done. i.e. When seeking to solve a problem we naturally vary between diffuse mode (seeking connections) and focused mode (seeking to sever connections). i.e. Noticing how things are similar and noticing how things are different. Intuitively diffuse mode probably evolved from the “flight” or “avoidance” strategy and “focused mode” probably evolved from the “fight” strategy. Cultures have equated the former with femininity and the latter with masculinity. I believe this back and forth pattern surreptitiously encourages the practitioner to get “back into the groove” of the “task positive network”.
Notice also how each of the 5 signs is the form of a “chunk” aka “sense-desire”: In situation X, do Y.
The primary unit of thinking.
And the chunks are strung together into a story which can be
1: committed to long term memory
2: used in deliberate practice when appropriate conditions arise, and
3: turned into an unconscious habit.
In situation A, do B.
If situation X (the result is undesired), do C.
If situation X (the result is undesired), do D.
If situation X (the result is undesired), do E.
If situation X (the result is undesired), do F.
See clearly what the Buddha is doing here. He is implanting an algorithm which can be used to habitualized the process of interrupting the unskillful narrative of the “task negative negative” network and transitioning back into the skillful narrative of the “task positive network”.
This sutta provides a particularly good example of why select suttas (incantations) should be memorized and actually used to solve problems via “deliberate practice”.
Moving up one level and considering larger chunks …
In situation A (an unwholes state is present), do B (recite the “unwholesome state” incantation).
In situation X (the result is unsatisfactory), do C (recite the “unwholesome narrative” incantation).
In situation X (the result is unsatisfactory), do D (recite the “unwholesome sense-desire” incantation).
incantation
“Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is pursuing the higher mind, from time to time he should give attention to five signs. What are the five?
sign 1: give attention to some other sign
Here, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is giving attention to some sign, and owing to that sign there arise in him evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion, then HE should give attention to some other sign connected with what is wholesome. When he gives attention to some other sign connected with what is wholesome, then any evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion are abandoned in him and subside. With the abandoning of them his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
Just as a skilled carpenter or his apprentice might knock out, remove, and extract a coarse peg by means of a fine one, so too …
when a bhikkhu gives attention to some other sign connected with what is wholesome … his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
sign 2: examine the danger
“If, while HE is giving attention to some other sign connected with what is wholesome, there still arise in him evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion, then SHE should examine the danger in those thoughts thus: ‘These thoughts are unwholesome, they are reprehensible, they result in suffering.’ When SHE examines the danger in those thoughts, then any evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion are abandoned in HER and subside. With the abandoning of them HER mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
Just as a man or a woman, young, youthful, and fond of ornaments, would be horrified, humiliated, and disgusted if the carcass of a snake or a dog or a human being were hung around his or her neck, so too …
when a bhikkhu examines the danger in those thoughts … his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
sign 3: try to forget
“If, while SHE is examining the danger in those thoughts, there still arise in HER evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion,
then HE should try to forget those thoughts and should not give attention to them.
When he tries to forget those thoughts and does not give attention to them, then any evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion are abandoned in him and subside. With the abandoning of them his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
Just as a man with good eyes who did not want to see forms that had come within range of sight would either shut his eyes or look away, so too …
when a bhikkhu tries to forget those thoughts and does not give attention to them … his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
sign 4: give attention to stilling the thought-formation
“If, while he is trying to forget those thoughts and is not giving attention to them, there still arise in him evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion, then SHE should give attention to stilling the thought-formation of those thoughts.
When SHE gives attention to stilling the thought-formation of those thoughts, then any evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion are abandoned in HER and subside. With the abandoning of them HER mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
Just as a man walking fast might consider: ‘Why am I walking fast? What if I walk slowly?’ and he would walk slowly; then he might consider: ‘Why am I walking slowly? What if I stand?’ and he would stand; then he might consider: ‘Why am I standing? What if I sit?’ and he would sit; then he might consider: ‘Why am I sitting? What if I lie down?’ and he would lie down. By doing so he would substitute for each grosser posture one that was subtler. So too …
when a bhikkhu gives attention to stilling the thought-formation of those thoughts … his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
sign 5: beat down, constrain and crush
If, while SHE is giving attention to stilling the thought-formation of those thoughts, there still arise in HER evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion, then, with HIS teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, HE should beat down, constrain, and crush mind with mind.
When, with HIS teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, he beats down, constrains, and crushes mind with mind, then any evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion are abandoned in him and subside. With the abandoning of them his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
Just as a strong man might seize a weaker man by the head or shoulders and beat him down, constrain him, and crush him, so too …
when, with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, a bhikkhu beats down, constrains, and crushes mind with mind … his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
finale
“Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is giving attention to some sign, and owing to that sign there arise in him evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, with hate, and with delusion, then when he gives attention to some other sign connected with what is wholesome, any such evil unwholesome thoughts are abandoned in him and subside, and with the abandoning of them his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
When SHE examines the danger in those thoughts …
When he tries to forget those thoughts and does not give attention to them …
When SHE gives attention to stilling the thought-formation of those thoughts …
When, with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, he beats down, constrains, and crushes mind with mind,
any such evil unwholesome thoughts are abandoned in him …
and his mind becomes steadied internally, quieted, brought to singleness, and concentrated.
This bhikkhu is then called a master of the courses of thought.
He will think whatever thought he wishes to think and
he will not think any thought that he does not wish to think.
He has severed craving,
flung off the fetters, and
with the complete penetration of conceit he has
made an end of suffering.”