Thread by @EngagedPureLand

A thread about the dread we feel as we face a future of disaster. 1/18

Buddha taught that dukkha (suffering) arises when things change, we get things we don't want, lose things we want, or don't get things we want. Life includes anticipation of loss/change, called anticipatory grief. We could call it anticipatory dukkha 2/18
realsimple.com/health/mind-mo…

As the article above notes, signs include "bouts of crying, anger, anxiety, depression, fear, and poor concentration." This is a real form of dukkha--not as painful as the dukkha of actual loss, but still quite real and distressing. 3/18

Much of the overwhelm these days isn't just due to the pandemic, but also anticipatory dukkha and fear of 1) the collapse of our natural world from human causes and 2) the collapse of democracy from the assaults of white-nationalist fascism and metastasized hyper-capitalism. 4/18

There are 2 types of anticipatory grief. The one the article discusses is mundane: a specific loss/death is coming (e.g an aging parent); once it occurs, it happens and you must deal with it. The loss can be very painful but it's also precise, with known beginning and end. 5/18

A second form is existential anticipatory grief. This predicts the loss of an entire sytem, with the pain and suffering that will result. The loss occurs not at once but over a long period, with no clear start or finish, and many specific losses along the way. 6/18

This sort of anticipatory dukkha is more diffuse and thus may be harder to deal with. The tips for dealing with mundane anticipatory grief may not apply well. "Feeling your grief" MAY be counter-productive when the impending loss lasts literally your entire remaining life. 7/18

In such a situation there's often a very strong unconscious urge to deflect, ignore, pretend that things aren't getting bad or aren't going to get worse or the worst will occur so far in the future that we can fiddle for a long time before Rome burns. 8/18

Sometimes this even results in attacking the messengers who are trying to point out the dukkha we don't want to anticipate, because it hurts to think about. Dead-end escape into Netflix, alcohol, and all the other products the market is salivating to sell you is common. 9/18

But because of how dukkha operates, none of these work for long, and they bring their own forms of suffering, as the Buddha pointed out. What can we do? 10/18

There may be no full solution to anticipatory dukkha--it may be something we simply must experience, due to the karma of living in these times, the age of Mappo (DharmaFail). But there are things that can be done to help. 11/18

First is action. Anticipatory dukkha tends to freeze us in a state of despair and a feeling of futility. One of the best ways to deal with these thoughts is with direct action. 12/18

Worried about the worldwide climate disaster? Start planting trees in your neighborhood. Etc. You won't solve the problem, but you can help mitigate the results. Engaged Buddhist #JoannaMacy has been thinking about future loss for decades, she calls these "holding actions." 13/18

A second way to deal with anticipatory dukkha is to find good companions. Basically, this is the venerable Pure Land emphasis on sangha. We don't believe in individual enlightenment or the heroic solo path to buddhahood. We teach and practice communal awakening. 14/18

You don't have to be a Pure Land Buddhist to understand the benefits of this. Find a sangha of supportive people and be with them. In-person is vastly better than online, but take whatever good companionship you can find, wherever you can find it. 15/18

Let the sangha help carry some of the load of anticipatory dukkha. Let the sangha remind you daily that things are being lost but there is much love, beauty, humour, and wisdom that remains. Let your good companions inspire you with their example and friendship. 16/18

And if you're able to, try to open your heart to power-beyond-self. Great Compassion takes infinite forms; the form of Amida Buddha is only one. Great Compassion may come to you in the form of a bodhisattva, a goddess, a buddha, a loved one, a poem, a river, an ancient tree 17/18

No matter what form you need to receive compassion and support from, no matter what tradition you follow, there is one and only one final rule for surviving in this age of DharmaFail: don't go it alone.

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