Sam Harris on: Vipassana vs. Dzogchen, Looking for the Looker, and Psychic Powers
Sam Harris, neuroscientist, philosopher, and author, joins Dan Harris and co-host Matt Harris to discuss the psychological benefits of quitting Twitter, the distinctions between Vipassana and Dzogchen meditation, and the metaphysics of consciousness.
Deep Dive Analysis
12 Topic Outline
Introduction to Sam Harris and Co-Host Matt Harris
Psychological Impact of Quitting Twitter
Sam Harris's Current Life Challenges and 'Well of Being'
Distinction Between Vipassana and Dzogchen Meditation
Defining Vipassana and Dzogchen Practices
Pedagogical Challenges of Teaching Non-Dual Meditation
Reconciling Metta Meditation with Non-Dual Awareness
The 'Looking for the Looker' Meditation Instruction
The Paradox of Attachment and the 'Missing Tourist' Analogy
The Impersonal Nature of Consciousness and Identity
Sam Harris's Skepticism on Buddhist Metaphysical Claims
The Lack of Evidence for Psychic Powers
6 Key Concepts
Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana, a Pali term for insight or clear seeing, is a Theravada Buddhist practice that cultivates mindfulness by noticing distraction and returning to raw sensation. This practice aims to gain insight into the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness of all phenomena.
Dzogchen
Dzogchen is a strand of teaching within Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism that offers a non-dual approach to meditation. Unlike Vipassana, it requires a specific prior insight into the nature of consciousness to begin the practice, rather than gradually working towards it.
Non-Dual Mindfulness
This approach to meditation involves recognizing that awareness is already free of self and not separate from experience, rather than striving to achieve a particular state. It is considered a direct path that requires a specific initial insight into the nature of consciousness.
Looking for the Looker
This meditation instruction guides practitioners to attempt to locate the 'center' or 'subject' from which attention is paid to phenomena. The aim is to reveal that this perceived subject is a false point of view, leading to an understanding of the self as an illusion.
Emptiness (Shunyata)
In Buddhism, emptiness describes the nature of experience prior to concepts and identification with any part of it. It suggests that there is no inherent self or fixed, independent nature to phenomena, and that experience is free of self.
Identification with Thought
This state is described as being analogous to falling asleep and dreaming, where one is lost in internal conversation, captivated by thoughts, and fundamentally confused about one's actual circumstance in the present moment. It's a 'dreamscape' where the self is subtly identified with passing thoughts.
6 Questions Answered
Quitting Twitter had an enormous positive impact on Sam Harris's mental health, which he described as feeling like getting out of a bad relationship. He realized it had been subtly making him a misanthrope and contaminating his view of other people with a 'funhouse mirror distortion'.
Vipassana is a dualistic practice that trains mindfulness by returning attention to sensations like the breath, gradually revealing impermanence and selflessness. Dzogchen is a non-dual approach that requires a prior specific insight into the nature of consciousness, recognizing that awareness is already free of self.
Sam Harris believes Metta is compatible with non-dual awareness because non-dual awareness is the fundamental nature of consciousness. One can practice Metta even while being 'lost in thought' to cultivate a more ethical and compassionate mind, or by asking 'who is sending the Metta?' to reveal the non-dual nature of the 'sender'.
The 'looking for the looker' instruction can be frustrating because it aims to reveal that the 'looker' or subject of experience is a false point of view. This insight is difficult and counter-intuitive, as it challenges the ingrained feeling of a separate self.
Sam Harris is sympathetic to the idea that consciousness is deeply impersonal, like subjective space, and that there's no basis to differentiate one point of view from another. However, he rejects the 'metaphysically aggressive' idea of merging with a cosmic totality or a soul, emphasizing that consciousness is the principle allowing for subjective contents.
Sam Harris is open-minded about the possibility of phenomena like telepathy but notes that such powers have never been demonstrated in a lab despite being easily testable. He also finds the idea of consciousness continuing after death plausible, but not scientifically or contemplatively proven, and is wary of drawing metaphysical implications from profound personal experiences.
14 Actionable Insights
1. Quit Twitter for Mental Health
Consider quitting or significantly reducing engagement with social media platforms like Twitter (X) if you find it negatively impacting your mental health, making you misanthropic, or distorting your view of others. Sam Harris found deleting his account to be a “huge life hack” for improving personal well-being.
2. Combat Ordinary Distraction
Be mindful of “ordinary distraction” and the tendency to be “lulled into a very pleasant kind of dream life” through superficial pleasures. Strive to “sink into the well of being” by connecting with the depth of the present moment through contemplative practice.
3. Practice Vipassana with Breath
Practice Vipassana meditation by focusing attention on the sensations of breathing. When the mind wanders into thought, gently bring attention back to the raw sensation of the breath to cultivate mindfulness and insight into the impermanent nature of phenomena.
4. Embrace Non-Dual Mindfulness
Approach non-dual mindfulness by recognizing that the nature of your mind is already free of a separate self; the “thing to be realized is already the case.” Do not view practice as an “effortful slog” or seek specific pleasant states, as all experiences, including restlessness and frustration, can reveal this underlying awareness.
5. “Look for the Looker” Practice
Practice “looking for the looker” to realize the non-dual nature of consciousness. If frustration arises from this practice, observe and meditate on the feeling of frustration itself, rather than resisting it.
6. Practice Loving-Kindness Meditation
Practice Metta (loving-kindness) meditation by systematically sending well-wishes (e.g., “May you be happy, safe, healthy, and live with ease”) to various beings: starting with an easy person, then yourself, a neutral person, a mentor, a difficult person, and finally all beings.
7. Cultivate Compassion with Metta
Engage in Metta meditation to improve concentration and raise your baseline level of warmth and compassion. This practice fosters a different ethical and psychological foundation for relationships, promoting well-wishing for others’ success and freedom from suffering.
8. Integrate Metta with Non-Duality
When practicing Metta, question “Who is sending the loving kindness?” to align the practice with non-dual awareness by investigating the nature of the ‘self’ that appears to be sending the wishes. Even if dualistic, engaging in Metta changes the character of your mind positively.
9. Observe Thought Identification
Recognize that being “captured by a thought” and identifying with it is analogous to being in a dream or a state of delusion. Observe this process to understand the “psychotic” nature of allowing one’s happiness to depend entirely on these self-arising thoughts.
10. Recognize Selflessness in Experience
Recognize that the “emptiness” or “selflessness” of experience is available in any moment, even ordinary ones, by noticing that there is no central ‘self’ or ‘observer’ to experience.
11. Distinguish Distraction in Meditation
In meditation, distinguish between being distracted and undistracted. The goal is to clearly recognize the mind in the present moment, rather than being identified with, lost in, or captivated by thought.
12. Mind Attachment’s Dualistic Trap
While Vipassana can help manage attachments, be aware that the process of managing attachment can inadvertently reinforce the sense of a separate ‘self’ (the ‘me’ that is managing).
13. Reflect on the Missing Self
Reflect on the “missing tourist” analogy to understand that the search for a ‘self’ or the solution to problems stemming from a perceived self is often based on a false premise. The insight is not finding something new, but realizing something was never lost or missing.
14. Skepticism on Psychic Powers
Maintain a skeptical yet open-minded stance towards metaphysical claims or alleged “superpowers” from meditation. Critically evaluate the lack of empirical evidence, especially given the potential for profound positive impact if such powers were demonstrably real.
9 Key Quotes
I'm embarrassed at how big an impact it's had because it shows me just how deranged I had become.
Sam Harris
It's like getting out of a bad relationship.
Sam Harris
It was contaminating my view of other people in a way that I actually felt was inaccurate.
Sam Harris
The thing to be realized is already the case. Your awareness is already the mind of the Buddha.
Sam Harris
The problem really did evaporate. And there's something, there's something about that kind of phase shift in a direction you didn't even know was a possible direction that does some, in some way, capture the character of this insight.
Sam Harris
Consciousness is the only thing that can't be an illusion, in my view.
Sam Harris
If you don't know anything about quantum mechanics before you become a Buddha, I don't think you're going to know anything about quantum mechanics after you become a Buddha.
Sam Harris
It would be profoundly compassionate to establish the reality of these powers and completely transform the worldview of Western scientists everywhere by having done so.
Sam Harris
The fact that no one has done that, you know, it's the, it's the dog that didn't bark that should give us a lot of skepticism about the reality of any of these stories.
Sam Harris
1 Protocols
Metta (Loving-Kindness) Meditation (as described by Dan Harris)
Dan Harris- Systematically envision beings, starting with an easy person.
- Then envision yourself.
- Then envision a neutral person.
- Then envision a difficult person.
- Finally, envision all beings.
- Systematically 'love bomb' them with phrases like, 'May you be happy? May you be safe? May you be healthy? May you live with ease?'