Sebene Selassie, A Life of Service While Fighting Breast Cancer
Sebene Selassie, a meditation teacher and three-time breast cancer survivor, discusses her journey with meditation, how her practice deepened through illness, and the importance of integrating Dharma teachings for perspective and gratitude. She also addresses the need for inclusivity and confronting unconscious bias within Buddhist communities and society.
Deep Dive Analysis
14 Topic Outline
Sebene Selassie's Early Life and Introduction to Meditation
Family Background: Eritrean Liberation Movement and Hare Krishna
Academic Path and Early Meditation Attempts
First Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Journey
Deepening Meditation Practice Amidst Illness and Trauma
The Five Daily Recollections and Perspective on Suffering
Sebene's Specific Meditation Practices During Cancer
Second Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Metastatic Cancer
Third Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Current Health Status
Lessons from Illness: The Eight Worldly Winds
Distinguishing Joy from Happiness
Race, Unconscious Bias, and Spiritual Bypassing in Buddhism
Addressing Bias and Fostering Inclusivity in Buddhist Communities
Sebene's Current Meditation Practice and Teachers
6 Key Concepts
Propunschia
This Buddhist term describes the mind's 'imperialistic tendency' to take a current data point, such as pain, and project it into the future, imagining it will worsen and become unbearable, leading to panic and fear.
Five Daily Recollections
A set of Buddhist teachings chanted in many Buddhist countries, reminding practitioners of the universal truths of aging, illness, death, the loss of all that is dear, and being subject to karma. These recollections help cultivate gratitude and put personal suffering into perspective.
Eight Worldly Winds
A Buddhist teaching that outlines eight pairs of experiences that influence human life: pleasure and pain, gain and loss, fame and disrepute, and praise and blame. It highlights the human tendency to desire one side of each pair and resist the other, often leading to suffering when the undesired side arises.
Joy vs. Happiness
Happiness and unhappiness are fleeting emotional states tied to pleasant or unpleasant experiences. Joy, however, is described as an experience of freedom that can be present regardless of external circumstances, even amidst pain or difficulty, by accepting 'whatever is happening minus our opinion of it'.
Spiritual Bypassing
A term coined by John Welwood, describing a tendency, particularly among Western spiritual practitioners, to avoid or prematurely transcend negative emotions like anger, depression, or rage through spiritual practices, rather than genuinely processing and integrating them.
Cultural Spiritual Bypassing
An extension of spiritual bypassing, where individuals or communities avoid examining uncomfortable cultural issues such as unconscious bias, racism, or white privilege. Instead, they may focus solely on ideals of oneness and interdependence, thereby repressing or ignoring underlying societal and personal biases.
6 Questions Answered
Meditation helps one to be present with sensations without projecting into the future, while Dharma practice, which refers to the teachings of the Buddha, provides a framework for perspective and gratitude.
Meditation provides tools to recognize and be with fear, panic, and physical sensations without projecting them into a worse future, allowing for appreciation and gratitude even amidst suffering.
Engaging with the larger teachings of the Buddha, such as the Five Daily Recollections, can help put one's own life in perspective by acknowledging the universal realities of aging, illness, death, and loss.
Addressing bias involves open discussion, self-education, cultivating real-time awareness to catch biases, and consciously replacing stereotypes, rather than shaming oneself for their initial occurrence.
Many white meditators are uncomfortable discussing identity, race, whiteness, racism, and white privilege, often due to a desire to avoid being labeled racist or a tendency towards 'spiritual bypassing' of negative or uncomfortable topics.
Strategies include secularizing practices for schools, creating affinity groups where teachings are communicated in culturally relevant ways, and recognizing that the 'preciousness of silence' in Western Buddhism may not appeal to everyone.
21 Actionable Insights
1. Embrace Life’s Dualities
Reflect on the Eight Worldly Winds (pleasure/pain, gain/loss, fame/disrepute, praise/blame) to recognize the tendency to desire one side and resist the other, fostering acceptance of life’s inherent ups and downs.
2. Shift “Why Me?” Mindset
When facing adversity or suffering, consciously shift your mindset from “why me?” to “why not me?” to cultivate a sense of universal experience and reduce self-pity.
3. Cultivate Joy Beyond Happiness
Understand that “joy is whatever is happening minus our opinion of it,” distinguishing it from fleeting happiness. Practice observing experiences without judgment to find freedom regardless of circumstances.
4. Tolerate Unpleasant Experiences
Actively practice tolerating unpleasant experiences, as this builds resilience and fosters a realistic outlook on life, rather than constantly seeking only pleasant sensations.
5. Practice Non-Identification with Body
Cultivate a deeper connection with the body while simultaneously practicing non-identification, recognizing its impermanence and interconnectedness, to reduce personal suffering from physical experiences.
6. Reflect on Five Daily Recollections
Regularly reflect on the Five Daily Recollections (I will age, grow ill, die; I will lose all that is dear; I am subject to karma) to acknowledge impermanence and foster a realistic, grounded perspective on life.
7. Deepen Practice During Illness
During serious illness or challenging times, deepen your meditation practice, attend retreats if possible, and prioritize comprehensive self-care, including healthy eating and reducing overall life stress.
8. Use Meditation for Emotional Tools
Employ meditation to develop tools for recognizing and addressing challenging mental states like fear, panic, and “what if” thought spirals, helping you stay present with sensations.
9. Practice Metta (Loving-Kindness)
Practice Metta (loving-kindness) meditation, starting by sending wishes of well-being to yourself for an extended period to cultivate self-compassion and concentration.
10. Anchor to Body in Meditation
Begin meditation by focusing on the breath, then expand awareness to body sensations. When the mind is scattered or “future tripping,” anchor your awareness to the body to stay in the present moment.
11. Practice Open Awareness
Practice open awareness meditation by being mindfully aware of whatever arises in perception (thoughts, sensations, sounds), and strive to carry this awareness into your daily life.
12. Cultivate Gratitude and Perspective
Actively cultivate appreciation and gratitude for available support and resources during difficult times, and study the broader teachings of the Dharma to integrate gratitude and perspective into your life.
13. Examine Unconscious Biases
Actively examine your own unconscious biases related to race, gender, size, and other identities, recognizing these as prime subjects for mindful inquiry and self-awareness.
14. Avoid Spiritual Bypassing
Consciously engage with and process negative emotions like anger, depression, and rage, rather than prematurely transcending or repressing them through spiritual bypassing.
15. Address Cultural Spiritual Bypassing
Recognize and address cultural spiritual bypassing by confronting uncomfortable cultural biases and stereotypes (e.g., racial tension) rather than avoiding them with generalized concepts of oneness or loving-kindness.
16. Talk About Difficult Social Issues
Engage in open conversations about challenging social issues like race, sexism, gender, sexuality, and body image (e.g., fatphobia) to educate yourself and foster awareness.
17. Catch and Replace Stereotypes
Use meditation to develop the ability to catch biases and stereotypes as they arise in your mind in real-time. When noticed, consciously replace them with alternative, positive possibilities.
18. Observe Biases Without Self-Condemnation
When observing your own biases, avoid self-condemnation; simply acknowledge their presence without judgment to make the process of addressing them more sustainable.
19. Explore Different Meditation Approaches
If a meditation center or practice feels too strict, anonymous, or doesn’t resonate, explore other entry points, communities, or experiment with different practices to find what works for you.
20. Teach Dharma in Vernacular
To make spiritual teachings more accessible, communicate them in a vernacular that resonates with specific communities, and support the creation of affinity groups where teachings can be tailored to relevant experiences.
21. Challenge Cultural Practice Assumptions
Question and challenge culturally constructed aspects of spiritual practice (like the emphasis on silence in Western meditation) to ensure inclusivity and broader appeal to diverse groups.
6 Key Quotes
Joy is whatever is happening minus our opinion of it.
Charlotte Joko Beck (quoted by Sebene Selassie)
I was the only person of color besides the Buddha in the room.
Sebene Selassie
If you only want sunshine, you're going to be in for some serious disappointment.
Sebene Selassie
Nobody gets out of here alive.
Sebene Selassie
Teach in the vernacular.
The Buddha (quoted by Sebene Selassie)
Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche (quoted by Sebene Selassie)
1 Protocols
Sebene's Daily Meditation Practice
Sebene Selassie- Sit for 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the day.
- Do some chanting.
- Engage in a sitting practice, which may include concentration/gathering practices (like focusing on the breath) if feeling scattered.
- Practice open awareness, being mindful of whatever is arising (thoughts, sensations, sounds).
- Carry this open awareness into the day by checking in with the body and awareness moment to moment as much as possible.