“To live in the present, you need to question the Western way of thinking”

Psychologies: What place does Buddhism give to the idea of ​​living here and now?

Fabrice Medal: This is the very heart of Buddhist teaching. It is enough to look at that figure of a seated Buddha, where he holds a bowl in one hand and touches the ground with the other. He does not raise his finger to point to the sky, but takes the earth as a witness. The earth is the place here and now, here we live and realize ourselves.

Can we say that this is a way to question any beliefs?

Yes, indeed, in Buddhism there is a very strong distrust of dogmas, doctrines, in general, of any constructions, since this is no longer an experience of experiencing reality, but its interpretation. This does not mean that the Buddha is an atheist, but that he believes that before working with concepts it is important to feel connected to events as they are.

How does “pure moment”, another concept of Buddhist philosophy, relate to this?

A pure moment is something that sometimes breaks into our present and seems to hack it. We all know the state when suddenly we have a feeling of harmony between the world, our spirit and our heart. At this moment, all our a priori ideas collapse, giving way to a simple statement of reality and our presence in it.

The only trouble is that such moments are brief and rare, so we think that they are not important and brush them aside. The Buddha, on the other hand, teaches that just these moments are real, and therefore wants us to learn to perceive them. That’s what meditation is for – it seems to me that it’s just an exercise that allows you to develop in yourself this feeling of acceptance, meeting.

And without meditation?

There are many ways to help. I love this one the most: to rely on the ability of our feelings to connect us with a moment in the present. We need to really listen to everything that our ears can now pick up before making judgments and saying “I like” or “I don’t like.”

Listen to the singing of birds, the sounds of the wind in the crowns, the horns of cars or the rustle of steps. Then do the same with the sense of smell and sight: just feel or look, but do not judge. In this state, everything becomes easy. The struggle between thoughts and feelings, in which we are so often immersed, subsides. So we will focus on the present.

Accepting what is and not trying to change it is not a preaching of passivity?

The seemingly obvious contradiction between action and meditation comes from a misunderstanding: meditation is not a state of passivity. On the contrary, meditation is an intense activity aimed at learning to be open and feel more deeply connected with everything that exists, to interact more widely with the world.

Action is not tantamount to activity; moreover, violent activity often runs the risk of turning into fruitless activity, generating only stress. In addition, in Buddhism, in my opinion, it is not so much about agreeing with reality, but about the ability to say “yes” to it: yes, reality is like that. Only after we have accepted it as it is, we will understand how to act, and we can take responsibility for our actions and learn how to fulfill our duties.

Why is it so difficult to live in the present, at least for us Westerners?

Because in the West we are used to the fact that thinking is an instrument that stands between us and reality, between us and our feelings. For a Westerner, thinking is, in a sense, the art of shaping, inventing, creating concepts. This is the opposite pole of thinking here and now in the spirit of the Buddha. To live in the present as the Buddha suggests, one must be willing to question the Western way of thinking.