transmuting emotion

the purpose of spiritual work is to return to original mind, to reclaim our lives from the confusion and distortions of conditioning and wake up to what we are and what this experience we call life is.

Ken McCleod

Buddhism uses the analogy of waves in an ocean to describe our emotions. there are gentle waves, and powerful ones like anger, desire, or jealousy. at the same time, under the surface of the waves, there is calm. the accomplished practitioner recognizes emotions not so much as a disturbance or a wrong, but a great opportunity to practice calming the storm that is our projective mind. our strong emotions are the most powerful indicator of habitual tendencies of attachment and aversion. we are not only distracted, but also deluded. we lose the sense of our true being and the ground of awareness. reacting in habitual ways simply strengthen these bonds, so we become more deluded; more convinced of how right we are, and how wrong everyone else is. this is the clearest sign of a dualistic or egoistic view. the work of transmuting emotion is learning to recognize these strong emotions for what they really are — deluded projections — and return to our natural state. the energy of the emotion is still there, but it is now revealed in its pure form.

the great secret of Dzogchen is to see right through them, as soon as they arise, to what they really are: the vivid and electric manifestation of the energy of Rigpa itself. as you gradually learn to do this, even the most turbulent emotions fail to seize hold of you and instead dissolve, as wild waves rise and rear and sink back into the calm of the ocean.

Sogyal Rinpoche

in the Vajrayana teachings of Buddhism life is seen as a path of transformation. impure experience — marked by dualism, ignorance, aggression, and grasping — is transformed into pure experience, illuminated by awareness, openness, nongrasping, and appreciation. if we integrate this work into our daily life, it becomes possible to reach states that simply cut through separation, and we open to the raw immediacy of experience, on the spot.

the five wisdom buddhas

the five buddha families, otherwise known as the five dakinis or five wisdom buddhas, give us a deeper understanding of the nature of emotion, its energetic quality, its impure form or contraction, and its original transcendental state.

from the Buddhist perspective, the nature of mind is like a mirror with five powers or qualities in terms of the awareness. the openness and vastness of awareness is the wisdom of all-encompassing space, and the origin of compassion. awareness’s capacity to reflect in precise detail is its mirror-like wisdom. open awareness has a fundamental lack of any bias to what appears within it, and this is known as its equalizing wisdom. the ability to distinguish clearly, without confusing phenomena, is known as the wisdom of discernment. and finally, its potential to have everything accomplished, perfected, and spontaneously present, is known as the all-accomplishing wisdom. each of these wisdoms also has an elemental aspect, as we’ll see beneath.

dakini means sky-traveler, or she who moves in space. the space referred to here is the totality of our experience. to live in the mystery of being we must move in the sky of awareness. from this viewpoint, emotion is an aspect of awareness, a form of energy that can present as contracted and self-centred behavior (ignorance, anger, greed, desire, envy/jealousy, pride), or the energy that gives rise to the higher states of awareness such as love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. in the transmutation of emotion, we are focused on transforming the afflicted feelings into pure forms of awareness.

the five buddha families

when the emotional energy is closed — resulting from unmet expectation — it presents as a reactive energy, and when it is open, there is a responsive display of energy. in this transmutation vajra moves from the cutting sharpness of aggression to clarifying insight; there is discernment without the anger. karma moves from stifling control to accomplishing action. ratna’s needy inadequacy becomes warm generosity. padma’s clingy lack of well-being becomes delightful sensitivity, and buddha’s denying paralysis is freed into accepting spaciousness.

we can be sensitive to these energies in ourselves and in our relationships. as we get to know each person, we can become skilful in working the energy in a specific direction. according to the Buddhist teachings, though we all encompass all of the energetic families, most of us will have at least two of them active. the earthy element knows without judgment. the water element knows clearly, and the fiery element knows the particulars. the air element knows what to do, and the void or space element knows the totality of our experience.

dismantling reactive emotions

recognize — disidentify — develop a practice — cut with practice

from the Buddhist perspective, we can learn to dismantle strong reactions through four steps of attending to its pattern. the first step is to recognize the pattern and realize its automatic process. this is best done by thinking about those relationships where we experience a lot of adversity. when we recognize a reaction, it is useful to reflect on the following points regarding our pattern:

• energy shifts in the body, emotional state, or perception of event
• a repeated pattern of reactive emotions
• the world that is projected through the reaction
• familiar automatic physical, verbal, or mental behaviors
• familiar results and ways in which the relationship with others is affected
• an incongruence between intent and outcome.

when you are completely identified with a pattern, the projected world of the pattern is taken to be the way things are, and habituated reactions are taken to be appropriate responses.

Ken McCleod

the next step is to disidentify. as long as we see the pattern as a part of who we are, it will not be possible to dismantle it. when we notice the difference between our intent and its outcome, it becomes easier to recognize that the pattern functions independently. it is triggered through resonance with the situation, and runs until the attention has degraded and the pattern collapses. we may wonder what happened, or what came over us. to disidentify, it is important to register or recognize one of the points we discussed above. for example, we may recognize the world we are projecting, or we may see the pattern unfolding. we may also recognize the fear that without the reaction, we do not know who to be, or the belief that we cannot function without the pattern.

when we can hold our attention to an aspect of the reaction, its manifestation or further unfolding disappears. we may feel the release of energy and even have an insight into a deeper pattern that underlies the current one. as this happens, our relationship with the reaction or process changes. the pattern becomes an object of attention, rather than the lens through which we are seeing. we can again reflect deeply on the pattern, asking ourselves the following questions:

• is the pattern in line with my intention?
• how does it serve my well-being?
• am i using behaviors reflective of who i want to be?
• in what way is the pattern part of me?

you have to die to the pattern’s world. you have to die to the belief that your ability to survive rests on those patterned behaviors. you have to trust that what you are — open, clear awareness — can function effectively.

Ken McCleod

when we take these practices seriously and intentionally apply them, we may often be surprised at their effectivity. yet, so many of us simply live with our reactiveness as our fate or lot, easily giving up and blaming others. finding the willingness to die to our patterns means clearly facing our predicament, opening to how things truly are, and caring about our life and the impact on those around us.

our third step is to develop a practice that interrupts the decay of our mindful attention and the fall into reaction. we have to deliberately change our behavior. one way is to remind ourselves of something we can do to stay with mindful attention when the pattern begins to run. another way is to remind ourselves of who we want to be when we notice the start of a pattern. gradually, we come to learn that the pattern is simply energy, and this very energy can be the source of intensified mindfulness. the pattern itself is limited by the energy available to it. to disrupt the pattern, we have to bring attention to its operation and find a way to cut through it with our practice. this cutting with practice is the final step. it means we learn to continually cut the pattern with our practice. the key to success is consistency.

disidentification and developing a practice interact with each other. as you separate from the pattern, you come up with more and more ways to practice. as you implement different ways to practice, identification with the pattern becomes weaker and weaker.

Ken McCleod

ongoing emotion transmutation

Ken Wilber sees emotional transmutation as a part of shadow work, or the cleaning up aspect of our spiritual practice. the shadow refers to all the aspects of ourselves that we’ve split off, rejected, denied, or hidden from ourselves. these aspects become repressed, because we push them out of awareness. we then usually project them onto others or the world, and no longer recognize their associated feelings or sensations in ourselves, but see them in those around us.

the shadow begins to form very early in life, as we gain capacity to make sense of our world. for example (see also our psychological defenses and shadow work):

1. i’m angry with mommy, but being angry with mommy threatens my security, food, warmth, and protection. i’m furious, even though i don’t know the word “furious”.
2. it is bad to be furious with mommy, to have this feeling towards her, so i suppress my anger. now i begin to notice anger in the people around me. my world is full of angry people, and i feel my anger as fear of others’ anger.
3. if the anger becomes repressed enough, i no longer even recognize or feel it. i’m not an angry person. i’m scared and sad, but that is because i am surrounded by angry people. i experience my anger as sadness or fear.

whether you like it or not, this is your choice: own your shadow. that is, work to become aware of your repressed unconscious drives, feelings, needs, and potentials, to become able to make freer choices in life… or be owned by it. that is, let your disowned drives and feelings shape your life outcomes, entirely apart from your conscious choices.
Ken Wilber

Wilber describes a five-step process through which we can transmute negative emotions:

1. notice what you’re feeling and how this is showing up in your body and your energy.
2. relax the tendency to judge, suppress, or react, and simply allow the emotion to be what it is, keeping it in full awareness.
3. when the emotion is about someone or something, relax your relationship to the object (the other or the thing, or your story). just allow the emotion to be there. notice that it is arising within you rather than happening to you. relax into full responsibility for your emotions and energies.
4. allow yourself to feel the energy and the relationship within which it is arising. breathe into the feelings and sensations and allow the energy of the emotion to simply flow. notice how you are now constructively holding the emotion. keep breathing into the raw emotion and notice how it is ventilated, or channeled.
5. keep your attention on the emotion and its experience, until its impermanent nature becomes clear in your consciousness. this simple recognition can lead to what Buddhism calls the self-liberation of emotion. it boils off, like water into steam, and awareness is released to respond with unobstructed and positive expression.

Wilber describes the process with great clarity:

emotions are deeply ingrained habitual patterns and therefore may crop up again even after they have been integrated. with renewed confidence and continued practice they will finally be liberated, even at a visceral level. in the shadow work process, what was “it” or “you” is realized to be a disowned part of the “i” (what was “it” becomes “i). in the process of emotional transmutation, these dimensions of the “i” are witnessed by the “I AM.” slowly they are released and no longer identified with. instead of your emotions having you, you have them. instead of shaping the “i” they become “mine” (what was “i” becomes “mine” and is witnessed by I AM).”

Ken Wilber

transmutation of strong feelings

(from Ken Wilber, Terry Patten, Adam Leonard, and Marco Morelli. Integral Life Practice: A 21st century blueprint for physical health, emotional balance, mental clarity, and spiritual awakening

wisdom embodiment

in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen Buddhist teachings, transmutation of emotion is not effortful. the naked energy is simply allowed and self-liberated. to put it simply, the emotion is recognized, and this recognition is all that is needed to objectify the experience, as opposed to having the emotion be a lens through which we see reality. at best, this leads to the emotion’s innate wisdom, the embodiment of the wisdom mind. the tantric way of life (Vajrayana) consists of relating to life based on the five buddha families. they are seen as families because their relation to us is as close as our own family. they are what we are made of, energetically.

those five principles, or buddha families, are called vajra, ratna, padma, karma, and buddha. they are quite ordinary. there is nothing divine or extraordinary about them. the basic point is that, at the tantric level, people are divided into particular types.

Chögyam Trungpa

as we’ve seen, each family is associated with both a neurotic or egoistic style, and an awakened style. let’s look more deeply into the nature of each family. from the perspective of Buddhism, the essential nature of the bodhisattva is that she or he embodies the awakened qualities of the five buddha families. this means letting go of the five afflicted emotions: anger, greed, desire, envy/jealousy, and ignorance. when these states no longer present in the mind, the five wisdoms naturally shine forth.

vajra: overcoming anger

the vajra family is the family of sharpness, crystallization, and in its awakened form, indestructibility. its symbol is the vajra sceptre. the sceptre has five prongs that cut through the five afflicted emotions: aggression, pride, passion, jealousy, and ignorance. vajra people are intellectually very sharp, evaluating logically the arguments used to explain experience. they have a sense of openness and perspective. the intellect of the vajra family can be encyclopaedic, astute, and discerning, as well as deeply personal and real.

the egoistic expression of the vajra family is anger and intellectual fixation. when we fixate on our truth, we become rigid. we become defensive, and no longer have access to openness. anger is the most powerful of the five afflicted feelings. it arises when we are in opposition to someone or something. in the short term, it results in pain for the person and those around them, and in the long run it can do great harm. when anger is purified and removed, we develop discernment, or mirror-like wisdom. in mirror-like wisdom there is no separation between self or other, or between self and phenomena. we simply experience the harmony of what is. things appear in the mind with the same clarity that a mirror produces: completely accurate and without distortion.

the realization of mirror-like wisdom is the realization of buddha Akshobhya, blue in color, holding a vajra in his left hand. his role in our life is to pacify the emotions, in particular suffering and illness. Akshobhya is Sanskrit for “immovable,” or “changeless.” when anger takes over, everything about us changes, but when it is released, we can return to the changeless and stable Akshobhya. his blue color symbolizes the changeless blue of the sky, and his vajra is a symbol of his indestructible nature. he sits in the full lotus posture with his right hand touching the earth, symbolizing changelessness.

vajra is also associated with the element of water. cloudy, turbulent water symbolizes the defensive and aggressive nature of anger, while clear water suggests the sharp, precise, clear reflectiveness of vajra wisdom.

Chögyam Trungpa

ratna: overcoming greed and pride

the symbol for the ratna family is the wish-fulling jewel, and the family is associated with richness, opulence, and expansion. its egoistic form is associated with obesity, ostentation, and moving beyond the limits of sensibility. according to Chögyam Trungpa, it is like being rubbed with honey and butter that is difficult to remove. in its liberated form, ratna expresses as employing the principle of enrichment — of environment and others — and extraordinariness. in this form, ratna also expresses equanimity and acceptance, in the same way that rotting wood settles into itself and become home to countless creatures.

when we overcome our greed, pride, and ego, we realize buddha Ratnasambhava, and the wisdom of equality. Buddhism sees three forms of pride arising from ego: 1. we feel better than others who are less fortunate; 2. we feel superior to others because we do not see the equality of consciousness; and 3. we feel materially or spiritually better than others. from pride arises the false choices of good and bad, and the inability to learn from those less fortunate or feel empathy and compassion.

Ratnasambhava is associated with richness, preciousness, and immaculateness. he is the source of all good qualities and the absence of pride. he is gold or yellow in color, representing wealth and fullness. his right hand is in the mudra for generosity, and his activity is supreme generosity. he holds the wish-fulfilling jewel in his hands, symbolizing our ability to enrich others.

padma: overcoming desire

the next family is padma, literally meaning lotus flower, and having the lotus flower as their symbol. the lotus flower is generally a powerful symbol in Buddhism, as it represents the ability to grow in and through mud and yet be pristinely clean and clear. in terms of our emotional work, padma is associated with the elimination of attachment or desire. desire causes us much suffering as it keeps the mind busy, restless, and distracted. we cannot be satisfied, and there is a constant yearning for more. we are continually engaged in achieving and acquiring, or experiencing loss and dissatisfaction with life. by eliminating attachment, the third wisdom shines forth. we become unified with buddha Amitabha, who personifies the wisdom of equality, where good and bad experience are one and the same thing. we have compassion and empathy for each living being, and are free of the suffering of attachment and desire.

padma is connected with the element of fire. in the confused state, fire does not distinguish among the things it grasps, burns, and destroys. but in the awakened state, the heat of passion is transmuted into the warmth of compassion.

Chögyam Trungpa

when we are under the sway of desire or attachment, we compare between good and bad, and cling to what we perceive as good. more deeply, attachment is a misunderstanding of how things really are. when the wisdom of Amitabha arises, things appear just as they are, without prejudiced concepts. we have deep interest and inquisitiveness, and are able to distinguish distinct characteristics. we have access to discriminating awareness wisdom.

Amitabha means “boundless light.” when we develop the awareness of knowing everything as it manifests, we have the clarity of boundless light. purifying the emotion of attachment results in a state of pure peace. Amitabha’s hands are in the mudra for mental clarity. he understands things as they are without the need for conceptualization, resulting in a state of peace and ease, and a sense of magnetization and spontaneous hospitality.

karma: overcoming envy/jealousy

the word karma means action, and the karma family is associated with action. in its egoic form it is associated with speed, obsessiveness, excessive action, and the need to control. our sense of what is best is founded not in truth but in projection. we are ruled by jealousy, envy, and resentment.

in its awakened form, the wisdom of karma expresses as an absence of resentment, jealousy, or envy, and the qualities of energy, fulfilment of action, and openness are present. whereas the egoistic wind of karma blows everything out of proportion, the wisdom aspect lets its quiet wind gently touch everything. action fulfils its purpose.

in the absence of negative emotion, jealousy, and envy, we realize buddha Amogasiddha. when we are jealous or envious, consciousness takes on deep negativity, and this negativity feeds on itself. this impedes us from feeling our well-being, and the cycle of jealousy continues. by releasing jealousy and envy, we realize all-accomplishing wisdom, or the wisdom of having all wishes naturally and effortlessly accomplished. in simple terms, we are responsible for our own happiness.

Amogasiddha is green in color, symbolizing his all-accomplishing capacity to remove hindrances. he is the realization of all-accomplishing wisdom. whatever is meaningful, fruitful, and needed, is accomplished. his activity removes daily hindrances and obstacles. he holds a double vajra in his left hand, which symbolizes the activity of all directions. his right hand is in the mudra of fearless protection.

buddha: overcoming ignorance and non-presence

the fifth buddha family, also called the buddha family, is associated with spaciousness, allowing, and the element of space. it is the environment of oxygen that makes it possible for everything else to live, and has a sedate and solid quality. people belonging to this family often have a strong sense of contemplation, and may enjoy meditation.

in its egoistic or contracted form, the buddha family expresses as spaced-out, rather than spacious and allowing. it is often associated with difficulty in self-expression, unwillingness, and feeling paralyzed. the quality becomes one of inertia. in a simpler form, the egoistic form expresses as indifference or ignoring. we withdraw from the world and escape into our bubble. this can mask as stability or self-containment, but is really based on low self-esteem.

in its awakened form, the buddha family expresses as all-pervasive spaciousness, allowing, and mindfulness. it has a quality of complete open potential, accommodation, and compassion. the associated wisdom buddha is Vairocana, who is realized when the negative emotion of ignorance is overcome. from the Buddhist perspective, ignorance is a failure to distinguish between what is wholesome and unwholesome. ignorance is the root of all the afflicted emotions. it leads us to judge things from a mistaken point of view, seeing our projection instead of directly perceiving reality. when ignorance is overcome, the wisdom of dharmata shines forth. this is the realization of the highest state, namely non-duality.

Vairocana is clear white, symbolizing purity, perfect knowledge of all things as they manifest, and the removal of the darkness of ignorance. he holds the wheel of dharma in his hands, symbolizing the absence of ignorance. both hands are in the mudra of enlightenment, or turning the wheel of dharma.

the origin of the five afflicted feelings— that we all experience to different degrees— is the wide open and natural space of awareness. when we work with our afflicted feelings, and penetrate our egotism, we release the liberated energy, the original form of the afflicted feelings. the competitive nature of karma is replaced with needed action. the greed of ratna is fulfilled in equanimity. the indifference of buddha becomes allowing engagement. the mental poverty of padma is replaced with discriminating sensitivity, and the aggression of vajra becomes discerning clarity.

the five wisdoms express even more in their associated elements. the inflexible rigidity of earth becomes sameness awareness. the fluidity of water becomes mirrorlike awareness, the consuming intensity of fire becomes distinguishing awareness, the destruction of air becomes effective awareness, and the dullness of space becomes totality awareness.

the five elements — earth, water, fire, air, and void — are energies that, when free, arise as the five aspects of pristine awareness and, when locked, arise as the five reactive qualities: rigidity, fluidity, consuming, busyness, and dullness.

Ken McCleod

practice

by recognising these elemental energies, we can become more skilful with ourselves and others in our daily interactions. when, for example, our reaction is rigid or inflexible, we can recognise that the earth element has been activated. we can then remind ourselves that our position is solid; we are on solid ground. when the water element is activated, we find it difficult to pin down what we’re feeling, or to understand what others are feeling. when this happens, we can remind ourselves that we are safe, and that no-one is going to hurt us. if the fire element is activated, our reaction tends to be explosive, intense, or seductive. this energy is tamed through reassuring ourselves that, although we may be in a difficult situation, we will get through it. if the air element is activated, the egoic energy may feel distracted, intellectual, or busy, and the best way to deal with it is to remind ourselves that we know what needs to be done, and that we have the skill to do it. finally, when we’re caught in void or space energy, our experience is spaced out, bewildered, or confused. we can soothe this by becoming aware of the objects around us.

when we practice in this way, we open to experience. we move beyond personality’s need to have things our way, and become more available to direct experience. we become more capable of standing in strong emotion and being able to respond to it effectively.

the four energetic states of awareness are also powerful ways of transmuting emotion. when, for example, we can meet anger with loving-kindness, the anger dissolves, and what remains is discernment. when attachment is met with compassion, our feeling for the other overcomes the possessive element, and we end up with distinguishing awareness. when envy or jealousy arises in the presence of joy, it falls apart, and what remains is effective awareness. and, when pride arises within equanimity, the sense of specialness is disrupted, and we experience sameness awareness.

loving-kindness notices how we select objects of perception and contract into them to avoid what is arising. through loving-kindness, the energy of reactive selection is opened into inclusive attention. compassion practice brings attention to our tendency to want to control what arises in experience. the reactive energy of control relaxes into taking care with complete attention. joy brings attention to how we seek meaning and confirmation from the outside. the reactive energy of dissatisfaction is altered so that action becomes the expression of presence.

unconditional presence is the most powerful transmuting force, precisely because it is the willingness to be with our experience, unmediated, undefended, and without trying to manage ourselves or control others. unconditional presence is not a doing, but a being. we can be the willingness to inquire, or face directly. we can acknowledge what is happening in ourselves and others. by attending to a feeling consciously, we acknowledge and allow it to be here, just as it is, with no need to manage or judge it. this does not mean we act it out or wallow in it. rather, we create space inside ourselves for the experience, rather than identifying with it. “i am angry” becomes “anger is present”. there is a complete entering into and becoming one with the felt experience, without any attempt to find meaning or resolution. unconditional presence is what Shunryū Suzuki calls beginner’s mind. it is a mind that has the willingness to meet what arises directly, without having a story or any fixed idea of how it should unfold. what matters is not so much what we feel, it is the willingness to open to it, allow it, and be it. if we can do this, the awakened response naturally flows from us.

there are two core fears:
losing what you have,
and not getting what you want.

there is one solution:
falling in love with where you are.
Jeff Foster