As I listen to reports of the torture of prisoners in Iraq, I feel a deep sadness.  A friend of mine, another trauma therapist, works with people who have been victims of political torture, and I have thought of her many times recently.  I’ve thought of the immensity of the challenge of helping people to heal and re-enter their lives after the enormity of humiliation and pain that come with torture.  I’ve thought of the impact on the families of those who have suffered such humiliation and pain, and of the difficult journey from hatred and overwhelm back into a resilient life.   I’ve also thought about the people participating in torturing and humiliating others, and wonder about how they will feel as they become more aware of what they have done.

With all this, I have found myself returning again and again to the practice of Tonglen meditation.  The process of transforming suffering into compassion is a fundamental Buddhist practice.  Without having to adhere to any specific beliefs found in Buddhism, we have an opportunity to draw from this practice a stance that allows us to be present to terrible experiences in a more empowered way.  In Tonglen, we breathe in the suffering in the world and breathe out ease, with the intention that this practice actually transforms the suffering as we breathe in and out.  We recognize how our own suffering connects with the suffering of others, and heal ourselves, as well.  The meditation itself has been posted in prior experiments, and is also on the Meditations page of the website.  Here, I want to talk about the challenge of being present to unthinkable events, and to being willing to engage in a process of acting to transform the energy of those events.

One of the reasons I inevitably turn to Tonglen meditation in times of distress is that it allows me to be fully present to what is without having to hide from it or fend it off, and yet also allows me to feel that I can do something meaningful.  It’s a way of softening into awareness that would otherwise be intolerable, and allows me to acknowledge what is actually unfolding in our global human community without closing off my heart space.  As you read these words, notice what happens in your body, and how you feel emotionally.  If you find any places inside that tighten, notice your experience if you were to invite them to soften.  If feelings come up, notice what happens if you soften into them, as well.  Then, as you begin to breathe in that suffering – your own and that of so many people in the world – notice what happens in your body and emotions.  Give yourself some time with this process, as – with time – the body-mind begins to settle into the rhythm of the breath and the quality of compassion.

And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to think about people all over the world who have suffered – and currently suffer – from political torture, and to be willing to breathe in their suffering and breathe out compassion and ease, sending these qualities to them as you do so.  At the same time, recognize that you breathe into your own suffering and offer yourself the same compassion and ease.  This may be a difficult practice because it asks you to be fully present to what is happening currently with the prisoners in Iraq, and to imagine people in other places in the world who also are suffering, or have suffered, from political torture.  The key here is that the experiment invites you to be present to these awful events in order to offer your breath in service to transform suffering, rather than to feel helpless in the presence of events you can’t control outwardly.