The Harmonious perspective
This Harmonious Perspective results from an understanding of the fundamental problem of existence, and its solution. Before we can find a solution, the cause of the problem should be understood. The solution then is the removal of the cause, but a method has to be adopted to remove the cause. The Buddha, along with modern psychologists, especially the Freudians, was aware that the problem we are faced with is a conflict between our self-centered blind emotions and reality, which has two parts: the inner and the outer. The outer conflict is the familiar conflict between our emotions and the reality of impermanence around us; for example, the impermanence of life itself, ending in death, or the mere change in our pleasant relationships in parting from our loved ones, or meeting the unavoidable devastating effects of a tornado, an earthquake, or even of war. The inner conflict is the conflict between our blind emotions and our reason, which is aware of the impermanent reality around us. It is a conflict between two parts of our own mind, emotion and reason.
When emotion and reason are in conflict, emotion always tends to wins. Emotion is powerful but blind. Reason is weak though intelligent. Yet intelligence can be more successful than brute power. It is true that emotions have helped the lower animals to some extent, in defending themselves from danger, and in the continuation of their species, although it is not the best defense, for we see its failure when we see a lion chasing the deer. The human beings, however, have a better tool for this purpose. This tool is what distinguishes the human being from all other animals. It is the human intelligence, which has helped humankind through out history to tide through the troubles and tribulations of life, despite its imperfections. The imperfection in the intelligence, when seriously considered, appears to be the result of blind emotions interfering with proper thinking.
Emotions have been to mankind a nagging vestige carried forward from an earlier evolutionary stage, like the appendix, which has to be removed or kept under the control of the later developed but more effective intelligence. It is when emotion plays a dominant role that all psychopathic problems arise.
In seeking the way to gain control over emotions, it is important to understand that the human mind is not an entity separate from the body. It is the subjective experience of the activity of the body itself. It is the result of the activity of the nervous system. What we commonly call the mind is mainly two parts of this activity: the cognitive and the affective, which is subjectively experienced as reason and emotion, which often come in conflict and create our problem.
The immature child or adult is dominated by emotion to a great extent, whereas the mature adult is mostly dominated by reason. Psychotherapy is an effort to make an immature person become mature. The reality of the immature person, which is influenced by emotion, is quite different from that of the mature one. The mature mind can think more clearly, because it is less hindered by emotions. The harmonious perspective is therefore a mature perspective.
The modern cognitive psychologists are becoming aware of the importance of developing the cognitive process. They have understood that the cognitive process does not have to fight with the affective process because the cognitive process is already in control of the affective process. It is the cognitive process that is responsible for the bad behaviour of the affective process. This is why cognitive therapy deals with the cognitive process in order to correct the affective activity. In other words the emotions are corrected by correcting the rational faculty. This is why the Buddha started with the Harmonious Perspective. This was why even Sigmund Freud pointed out that “where the id is, there shall be the ego.”
Both the Buddha as well as Freud saw that emotions or the affective process comes in conflict with reason or the cognitive process. Freud spoke of it terms of the id coming in conflict with the ego. Reason is aware of the reality around, and therefore wants to be in tune with reality, while blind emotion is only interested in expressing itself in action, to obtain immediate gratification. This is why the child and the neurotic, who are dominated mainly by emotions, acts emotionally rather than rationally.
The Buddha saw a solution to this conflict not through suppression, repression, or sublimation. His method was to understand that emotion is a physical disturbance created by thinking. If we learn to correct our thinking, the mind becomes free from emotional disturbance. Such a mind is calm and tranquil. This tranquil mind is the healthy and happy mind. Such a mind is neither normal nor abnormal. It is Supernormal because perfect tranquillity is not a normal phenomenon. The aim of the Buddha was Perfect Imperturbability Of Mind, at all times. The tranquil mind is free of self-centred emotions. Therefore, it is not only dominated by reason, it is also free of the “sense of self.” Tranquillity depersonalizes the personality. It is only when this depersonalization has been perfected cognitively, that the tranquillity will remain. Otherwise, the mind can get disturbed again and the tranquillity is lost. Therefore, while in the tranquil state, the depersonalization must be consciously perfected. We may not be able to attain to that ideal state immediately, but every step taken in that direction brings one to a greater level of happiness, the problem being solved gradually to a greater and greater degree. In other words, the solution grows in degrees.