A Deeper Understanding of the 5 Sentences that Transmute Suffering into Joy

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the response to the meditation I shared on LinkedIn for Learning last month. I am especially grateful to those who were self-aware enough to admit they weren’t quite sure of the meaning behind the 5 sentences (I could write an entire essay on why “I don’t know” is the most important phrase in the English language).

The purpose of this article is to give us all a deeper understanding of the truth behind these 5 sentences. The challenge here is that unknowable truth cannot be accurately described by words or by any form of thought. However, we can use words to point to this unknowable truth, and that is the intention of the original meditative essay, as well as this deeper explanation of it.

Sentence 1 begins with “Breathe from the center”. It is well known in the martial arts that the most effective techniques derive their power from the breath. But not just any breath will do. The breath must originate from the center, a point that is 1-2 inches below the belly button. The Japanese word, Hara, is often used to refer to this point.

Sentence 1 continues with “observe with joyful curiosity”. There is a world of difference between the analytical curiosity employed by most of us and the joyful curiosity I am referring to. Analytical curiosity is curiosity we use to figure something out. It can be very effective when used to solve practical problems, both at work and at home. Unfortunately, most of us also use analytical curiosity to judge people, places, things, and most of all, ourselves. Joyful curiosity is simply curiosity for the sake of being curious. It has no motive and is not dependent on any outcome, and most importantly, it does not produce thought.

Sentence 1 continues with “and perceive the world as it is: one spontaneous movement of undivided energy expressing itself creatively as unknowable truth”. Most of us believe we do perceive the world as it is. But we actually perceive the world through the screens of our own personal beliefs and opinions, all of which are conditioned by our own personal experiences and inherited knowledge.?

However, science has revealed that the world is actually one spontaneous movement of undivided energy (atoms, molecules, and more). This energy makes up everything we perceive, including our own bodies. Our perception of this energy is governed by the laws of time and space. And when our perception of this energy is undivided, it is perceived as unknowable truth. In other words, the mind-made self cannot know this truth in a way that can be explained or analyzed. But if there is no division between the perception and that which is being perceived, then this unknowable truth can be understood in a way that goes beyond thought and words.

Sentence 2 states, “Constantly changing, evolving, and eventually returning to the timeless emptiness from which all energy begins, returns, and recycles, undivided perception is inseparable from that which is being perceived”. Science has revealed that all energy (such as atoms and molecules) is constantly changing and evolving before it eventually returns to the emptiness from where it came, and from where it will eventually recycle and come again. This infinite emptiness is beyond human perception and beyond the laws of time and space. And just as all energy returns to the oneness from where it came, undivided perception realizes its timeless inseparability from all that is being perceived.

Sentence 3 states “Calmly observing how division gets created from attachment to an endless screen of thoughts and feelings that filter and divide unknowable truth as it is being perceived, creating an incomplete personal version of reality”. The mind-made self (often referred to as the psyche) is a mental structure that has become so completely identified with, we believe it is who we are. This mental structure is threatened by unknowable truth, so it creates an incomplete knowable reality based on its thoughts and feelings. The self becomes attached to these thoughts and feelings, and this attachment to the known is what creates division between undivided perception and that which is being perceived.

When we allow ourselves to calmly observe how division gets created from attachment to the known, the futility of the self’s attachment to its endless screen of filters becomes clear. For example, we clearly see that any temporary pleasure derived from the self’s attachments to its ideas and possessions is offset by its constant fear of losing them. We do not need to stop this endless screen of thoughts and feelings, nor should we waste energy trying to do so. We can simply allow the screen of filters to continue playing, without allowing perception to become attached or divided. This realization is the first step toward freedom.

Sentence 4 begins with “Only through observing and understanding the tendency to attach and identify with thinking”. Most people, even those who are earnestly trying to observe and understand this tendency, get lost in the details of?what?the self is attached and identified with. Without even realizing it, we become lost in what it is we want or don't want, or what is causing us to feel extreme pleasure or pain.

Instead of getting lost in the details of?what?the self is attached and identified with, it is imperative that we only observe and understand the actual?tendency?to attach and identify with thinking. It is the tendency itself that requires the attentive observation which leads to understanding.

Sentence 4 continues with “are we free to go beyond the temporary comfort of the known and awaken completely naked and reborn as undivided perception of unknowable truth and spontaneous expression of unthinkable love”. It is important to understand that this awakening is completely effortless. It is not something we can make happen through will or effort. This awakening can only come through the observation and understanding of that which is false and temporary.

Again, undivided perception refers to perception that is inseparable and indivisible from that which is being perceived. And unknowable truth is simply that which is being perceived but not named or thought about. Spontaneous expression is simply the natural result of undivided perception. When perception is not being divided by thought, it is free to be expressed spontaneously and freely.?

And unthinkable love is simply love without the thought of the mind-made self. This is a difficult truth for many to accept because it requires us to observe and understand that the sentimental love we feel for our children and parents is based on relative, and not absolute, truth. It might help to observe how some parents and children, who at one time loved and adored each other, end up estranged and despising each other. Only a love that is based on the thoughts of the mind-made self could change its “mind” about loving. Unthinkable love is the spontaneous expression of undivided perception, which means the love for our family is the same as the love for the stranger passing us on the sidewalk. Love is love. Love makes no distinctions and requires nothing in return. Absolute love is beyond thought and, therefore, unthinkable.

Sentence 5 begins with “This freedom from attachment to the known produces a constant flow of undivided perception and spontaneous expression”. Freedom from attachment to the known is the natural result of observing and understanding the tendency to identify with the known. And the constant flow of undivided perception and spontaneous expression becomes our natural effortless state when we are truly free from attachment to the known.

Sentence 5 concludes with “transmuting any mind-made suffering into immeasurable joy and love that depends on nothing and has no beginning or end”. This flow state of undivided perception and spontaneous expression exposes the false solidity of any mind-made suffering. Once this false solidity is exposed and understood, the mind-made suffering can no longer exist and is transmuted into immeasurable joy and love.

Joy is not the same as pleasure. Pleasure is dependent on circumstances and is therefore temporary and finite. But joy is truly immeasurable because it depends on nothing and has no beginning or end. This transmutation of suffering into joy happens naturally when the screen of false duality is removed and the light of undivided perception is allowed to flow freely.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope it has added a deeper understanding to the meaning behind this meditation. Below is the 5 sentence meditation in its entirety:

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Breathe from the center, observe with joyful curiosity, and perceive the world as it is: one spontaneous movement of undivided energy expressing itself creatively as unknowable truth.

Constantly changing, evolving, and eventually returning to the timeless emptiness from which all energy begins, returns, and recycles, undivided perception is inseparable that which is being perceived.

Calmly observing how division gets created from attachment to an endless screen of thoughts and feelings that filter and divide unknowable truth as it is being perceived, creating an incomplete personal version of reality.

Only through observing and understanding the tendency to attach and identify with thinking are we free to go beyond the temporary comfort of the known and awaken completely naked and reborn as undivided perception of unknowable truth and spontaneous expression of unthinkable love.

This freedom from attachment to the known produces a constant flow of undivided perception and spontaneous expression, transmuting any mind-made suffering into immeasurable joy and love that depends on nothing and has no beginning or end.