Noble Truth III-B — Garage Doors

Now, in relation to the Third Noble Truth: Cessation of Suffering, I would like to talk about Garage Doors.

I have a garage. It has a door with an electric garage door opener. I drive up, push a button, and the door opens.

Push Button – Door Opens: Cause and Effect! Right? Well… it turns out that it is not that simple.

When I push the button, a wireless transmitter sends a code to a receiver inside the garage.

The receiver verifies that the code is from my transmitter (and not my neighbor’s).

If it verifies my code, the receiver sends a signal to a solenoid in the motor housing.

The solenoid activates a switch that allows current to flow to the motor.

The motor turns a gear, which moves a chain, which is connected to a bracket on my door.

And, THEN, the chain pulls on the bracket, and finally, the door opens.

Does it matter if we know all the mechanics of how this door opener actually works? No! Not if it is a garage door and all we want to do is park our car. To get in, we push the button, the door opens. No further investigation or understanding is needed or required.

BUT, what if someone is pushing YOUR buttons? You know what I mean. What if someone is saying something or doing something that triggers a habitual reaction in you; the same reaction you have whenever that particular button is pushed? And, what if you realize that reaction is causing more suffering for you, and for the person pushing your buttons. You begin to realize how exhausting and frustrating it is when your mind automatically reacts in a negative way and you want to change that reaction. You want to move away from the habitual and mechanical Pushed Button – Reaction Door Opens scenario. You want some space to choose a response in that situation.

Now, we need to know how the Reaction Door Opener really works. Once we understand the mechanism of stimulus and reaction in the mind, then we can break the causal chain of events at some point to prevent the habitual reaction and create space for a more skillful response in any situation.

We can notice the feeling tone that arises when our buttons are pushed.

We can verify a storyline comes to mind about this situation.

We can see the mind clinging to the storyline and perhaps amplifying the story.

We can feel/see the urge to react arise in the mind and move the body into action.

If we strengthen our mindful awareness of how the mind moves in each moment, we can step in at any point in the chain of causality and stop the process. Space to respond in a different way presents itself as an option. And then our response becomes a choice, not an automatic reaction. We may still choose to react in a way that causes suffering, but maybe we don’t. Maybe then we begin to lessen our suffering.