Buddhist Background to MBCT

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Buddhist Background to MBCT
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• What is the Nature of suffering
• What can be done about it

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The story of Siddharta
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The Four Ennobling Truths

• Social Context Noble by how you live your life
  rather than by position of birth
• Question of Suffering I only teach suffering
  and its cessation
• The nature of the self

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Noble truth

• Not truths in conceptual sense like dogma
• More to explore in your own experience precepts
  to be checked
• All have an action i.e. Dukkha is to be fully
  known
• Why is it important when teaching MBCT ?

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• The patterns of mind that keep people trapped
  in emotional suffering are, fundamentally the
  same patterns of mind that stand between all of
  us and the flowering of our potential for a more
  satisfying way of being

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The first noble truth

• There is Dukkha
• Image of wheel
• Not personal applies to everyone
• Comes with an instruction To fully know Dukkha

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Two Arrows
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Different levels of Dukkha

• Most obvious physical pain
• Subtle sense of unease
• Pleasure will end
• Impermanence
• Our minds want things fixed
• Not personal group effect in MBCT
• Habitual response to Dukkha

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Second Noble truth

• Immediate cause of Dukkha is tanha
• Literally means unquenchable thirst, a craving
  that you cant let go
• Pleasant sensations have to hold onto
• Unpleasant sensations have to get rid of
• Cant let go of need for things to be in a
  particular way

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Action point

• Let go
• Nothing should be grasped at or clung to as me or
  mine

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• that was a bad mindfulness session, I can't get
  the this whole thing, Perhaps I'm not cut out for
  teaching MBCT. But I mustn't be that because ten
  I would feel a useless person. I cannot let
  myself think that because then I will never be
  happy

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Third truth

• If Dukkha and craving arise due to one set of
  conditions, it will cease with a different set of
  conditions
• Action point observe the lessening of suffering
  with the lessening of craving

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Fourth Noble Truth

• Eight fold path
• Right intention
• Right action
• Right livelihood
• Right Mindfulness

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Relevance to MBCT/MBSR

• Reduces Mindfulness to a series of techniques
• Transform the process that underlies suffering
• When difficulty arises provides a road map

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1. Generality

• Wide generality we all experience suffering-
  basic underlying structure is the same
• Work with lower intensity suffering before moving
  to more difficult issues
• Experience of 8 week course can begin a process

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Universal and unavoidable

• Unavoidable reduces personal identification
  with suffering
• Makes clear that any quick fix i.e. better car,
  partner ,job ,house etc
• Evidence base uses this

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Co dependent Origination
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Exercise

• imagine your boss rings you at 9.30 pm
  critical tone
• Wants you to fix a problem

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Three Strategies for Change

• 1. Change the input i.e. From
  thoughts/rumination to breath body sensation
• 2. Keep the input the same change the
  processing attending to unpleasant experiences
• 3. Change of view

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Change of input

• Habitual patterns i.e. what did I do wrong
• Selective retrieval from memory basis of
  ruminative thinking -gt depressed mood.
• Change the input to neutral sensation of the
  breath

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Implicit v propositional meaning

• Implicit meaning
• Oh what can ail thee, knight at arms
• Alone and palely loitering
• The sedge has withered from the lake
• And no birds sing

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Explicit meaning

• What is the matter old fashioned soldier standing
  by yourself and doing nothing with a pallid
  expression? The reed like plants have decomposed
  by the lake, and there are not any birds singing

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Change the how of processing

• Instead of changing input
• Bringing mindful awareness to the experience
  itself
• Going beneath the story to the body sensation
  acceptance

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Change the View

• Common finding - these thoughts and feelings
  arent me
• Provide direct experiential data body as body ,
  thoughts as thoughts
• Rather than independent existing self