S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 8 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 3 1 Samuel Bendeck Sotillos 2 The Misguided Search for Transcendence We will now turn our attention to some examples of how the world’s religions comprehend human suffering and how this informs their approach to addressing addiction. It is not the objects of our addictions that are the problem, but our clinging to them. The Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross (1542– 1591) explained: “Since the things of the world cannot enter the soul, they are not in themselves an encumbrance or harm to it; rather, it is the will and appetite dwelling within that cause the damage when set on these things.” (2017, 123). The Buddha taught that human existence consists of continuous ontological dissatisfaction, known as dukkha (Pāli; Sa. duhkha), meaning “suffering” or “pain”. The term dukkha can also be applied in a broader sense to anything that is unsatisfactory, including both bodily and mental illnesses. Closely related to suffering is craving or desire (Pāli tanhā; Sa. trsnā). At the heart of the Buddhist tradition is the teaching of dependent origination (Pāli paticcasamuppāda; Sa. pratītyasamutpāda), which describes the chain of causation that determines the causes of suffering and the conditions that lead to birth, old age and death, along with the Four Noble Truths: (1) the existence of suffering; (2) the cause of suffering; (3) the end of suffering; and (4) the path leading out of suffering. Buddhist psychology therefore aims to identify dukkha and eradicate it from human existence. This includes the three poisons of greed (Pāli lobha), hatred (Pāli dosa), and delusion (Pāli moha). In Buddhist cosmology and psychology, there are six realms that constitute life in samsāra (the cycle of birth-and-death): hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, fighting spirits, and gods. The realm of the “hungry ghost” (Sa. preta) is depicted as populated by those who have an insatiable appetite for drugs, drink, sex, food, and material objects and are never satisfied that they have enough of these things. Hungry ghosts are traditionally portrayed as creatures with oversize, empty stomachs with minuscule mouths and thin, elongated necks that prevent them from consuming, thus keeping them in a state of perpetual hunger. Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Chögyam Trungpa (1940–1987) underscored (1987, 7) how this tendency operates to varying degrees within everyone and why we struggle to obtain enduring happiness: The joy of possessing does not bring us pleasure any more once we already possess something, and we are constantly trying to look for more possessions, but it turns out to be the same process all over again; so there is constant intense hunger which is based not on a sense of poverty but on the realization that we already have everything yet we cannot enjoy it. It is the mindset of craving or desire, unable to discern what it truly wants, that causes the human being to suffer. The renowned Indian sage Śāntideva (685–763) realized that “although they do not wish to suffer / They are greatly attached to its [note: suffering’s] causes” (1992, 68). For this reason, the Buddha taught a path beyond craving or desire: “From craving arises sorrow and from craving arises fear. If a man is free from craving, he is free from fear and sorrow.” (Śāntideva 1973, 66). Similarly, Sufi poet and mystic Rūmī (1207–1273) avowed: “For all pains arise out of the fact that you desire something, and that is not attainable. When you no more desire, the pain no more remains.” (Rūmī 2004, 139). Thus we glean the insight that this emptiness and craving is the underlying impulse for all addiction and, as such, we search for wholeness and healing through its eradication. It is the confusion of this yearning for the sacred that leads to the many pathways of harmful behaviors. The connection between trauma exposure and addiction has been well established, but through the secularizing trajectory of modernism and postmodernism – and the consequent loss of the sense of the sacred – great harm has been inflicted on the human psyche. With the rise of trauma-informed approaches, it is too often overlooked that the anguish of living in a world devoid of nourishing forms of religion and spirituality is tremendously detrimental, as these are invaluable supports for human resiliency and psychological well-being.
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