The Dharma of Instagram | Yung Pueblo
Diego Perez (Yung Pueblo), a meditator and writer, shares his journey from drug abuse to finding peace through Vipassana meditation. He discusses how this intense practice enabled deep personal transformation, reduced mental heaviness, and fostered a new intellectual framework for growth, which he now shares on Instagram.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Introduction to Yung Pueblo and Social Media for Dharma
Diego's Rock Bottom and Path to Meditation
Understanding Vipassana and Goenka Retreats
The Experience and Schedule of a 10-Day Goenka Retreat
Insights Gained from Meditation: Impermanence and No-Self
The Meaning and Purpose Behind the Name 'Yung Pueblo'
Connecting Activism Background with Meditation Practice
Distinguishing Human Nature from Human Habit
Yung Pueblo's Instagram: Minimalism and Impact
Navigating Goals Versus Craving
Addressing the 'Whiteness' Critique of Modern Meditation
Family and Community Perception of Meditation
Future Plans and Personal Growth Philosophy
7 Key Concepts
Vipassana Meditation (Goenka style)
An ancient form of insight meditation, specifically taught in 10-day silent retreats at centers founded by S.N. Goenka. It focuses on observing natural bodily sensations systematically to gain insight into impermanence, misery, and the concept of no-self.
Hanapana
A preliminary meditation practice within the Goenka Vipassana tradition, focusing awareness on the breath. It involves observing the breath coming in and going out, specifically at the area of the nose, to develop concentration and calm the mind.
Equanimity
A faculty of the mind that can be strengthened through meditation, enabling one to be objective and non-reactive. It involves not having craving or aversion towards whatever is happening, but rather trying to see things as they are with a balanced mind.
Conventional Truth vs. Ultimate Truth
Two levels of reality in Buddhist philosophy. Conventional truth is our everyday perception (e.g., 'I am here, you are there'), while ultimate truth describes reality at a fundamental level, such as a series of rapidly moving subatomic particles, where the 'self' is seen as an illusion of speed and movement.
Letting Go (Letting Be)
The act of non-judgmentally observing difficult thoughts, emotions, or sensations without being caught up in them. It is not resignation, but rather accepting what is happening inside and releasing attachments to past patterns, which leads to mental clarity and transformation.
Goals vs. Craving
A distinction between healthy aspirations and unhealthy attachment to outcomes. It is fine to have goals and pursue them, but if the goal is tied to craving, failure to achieve it leads to misery; a true goal allows one to adapt and move forward without intense disappointment.
Human Nature vs. Human Habit
The idea that what is often perceived as human nature (greedy, fearful, self-interested) is actually human habit, conditioned over time. True human nature, according to the guest, is love, compassion, and goodwill, which naturally emerge when conditioning is decreased through practices like meditation.
10 Questions Answered
It's a serious 10-day silent endeavor where participants take a vow of morality, focusing on developing concentration with breath awareness (Hanapana) for the first few days, followed by systematically observing bodily sensations to gain insight.
By observing the constant arising and passing of sensations in the body and thoughts in the mind, meditators directly experience the rapid, continuous change of all phenomena, leading to the insight that grasping or pushing away anything leads to unhappiness.
The guest explains that sensations on the body are connected to the subconscious mind, as demonstrated by subconscious reactions during sleep (e.g., adjusting covers). Working with these sensations in meditation can help release underlying patterns and conditioning.
The 'self' is seen as an illusion at the ultimate level of reality, where mental and physical phenomena are rapidly coming together. By feeling sensations and realizing their transient nature, one questions which part is truly 'me' when everything is constantly passing away.
When one deals with conditioning like greed and fear, what naturally emerges is love, compassion, and goodwill. These qualities are considered true human nature, revealed as the 'crap' of conditioned habits is cleared away.
Letting go is not giving up or not caring, but rather releasing attachments to past patterns that cause mental tension and worry. It involves observing what is happening non-judgmentally and accepting it, allowing old behavior patterns to unbind and disentangle.
It's important to have goals and responsibilities, but to work in a detached way. If a goal is not achieved, and one falls into misery, it indicates craving; if one can adapt and move forward without intense disappointment, it was a healthy goal.
He chose Instagram because it was a popular platform where many people were active, hoping to counteract the negative emotions often generated there by providing wisdom and a new intellectual framework for self-transformation.
If individuals deal with their internal issues through meditation, they are less likely to reproduce the negative patterns they are fighting against in activism. Healing oneself internally (addressing personal craving, aversion, internal biases) makes movements more impactful and fosters genuine, selfless action.
For many, especially in Latinx communities, meditation is a new concept and can be difficult to conceptualize. While family might not fully understand the practice, they often notice positive changes like increased happiness, kindness, and self-awareness in the practitioner.
44 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Individual Transformation
Recognize that collective human challenges require individual transformation; focus on healing yourself to foster global peace by understanding that it’s to your benefit not to harm others.
2. Heal Internal Issues for Activism
To make activism more impactful and avoid reproducing the very issues you’re fighting against, simultaneously use self-healing tools to address internal issues like craving, aversion, and ingrained biases.
3. Uncover True Human Nature
By decreasing conditioning through meditation, you can uncover your true human nature, which is inherently characterized by love, compassion, and goodwill, rather than the conditioned habits of greed and fear.
4. Embrace Impermanence for Peace
Recognize that change is constant; accept ups and downs, enjoy good times without attachment, and maintain a balanced mind during difficulties, understanding that all states are impermanent.
5. Strengthen Equanimity
Cultivate equanimity, the mind’s faculty to be objective, non-reactive, and free from craving or aversion, by consistently practicing meditation to better navigate life’s constant changes.
6. Accept Present Reality
Cultivate the faculty of accepting reality as it is, staying in the present moment rather than allowing past conditioning to pull your mind into the future or past.
7. Practice Non-Judgmental Awareness
When difficult experiences arise in meditation, practice ’letting be’ by watching them non-judgmentally, exploring their sensations, which creates distance and frees you from being caught up in them.
8. Accept Internal States
Deepen your practice by simply accepting whatever arises within you without trying to change it, as this acceptance rapidly facilitates the process of letting go.
9. Understand Letting Go
Understand letting go as the active release of past attachments and old behavior patterns that create mental tension, worry, and obstruct happiness, rather than as resignation or indifference.
10. Make Peace with the Past
Resolve past issues and emotional history to prevent them from continuously resurfacing and dictating present actions, thereby opening yourself to new possibilities, love, and applying lessons with calmness.
11. Access Subconscious for Release
Seek out practices (like meditation or other healing modalities) that allow you to access and work with your subconscious mind, as this is crucial for releasing underlying patterns and truly letting go.
12. Distinguish Goals from Craving
Have goals and pursue them, but examine your motivation: if failure leads to misery, it was a craving; if you can adapt and continue without intense mental tension, it was a true goal.
13. Release Ego-Driven Motivation
Employ meditation to observe and release ego-driven desires for external validation or accumulation, allowing your actions to stem from more selfless and constructive intentions.
14. Control Your Reactions
Focus on cultivating objective feelings and reactions to life’s challenges, as your internal response, not the external event itself, determines whether worry and mental tension arise.
15. Act from Genuine Helpfulness
Understand that acceptance and letting go enable you to act from a place of genuine helpfulness, rather than being driven by anger or hatred, without implying resignation or passivity.
16. Cultivate Gentleness
Actively work to be gentler in your words and actions, moving away from past harshness to foster more compassionate interactions.
17. Manage Emotions with Self-Awareness
Cultivate self-awareness to recognize and accept difficult emotions like sadness or mental turbulence, allowing you to respond gently and prevent harsh actions or words towards others.
18. Reconnect with Emotions
If you feel emotionally blocked, engaging in deep self-awareness practices can help close the distance to your true self, allowing you to reconnect with and express emotions more freely.
19. Loosen Self-Identity
By understanding the self as a conventional truth rather than an ultimate, fixed entity, you can loosen your rigid self-identity, making reality easier to manage and fostering personal growth.
20. Witness Constant Change
By observing the continuous arising and passing of physical sensations and thoughts, realize the truth of impermanence and understand that attachment or aversion to anything leads to suffering.
21. Confront Mental Conditioning
Engage in deep meditation practices like Vipassana to confront and release accumulated mental patterns and conditioning that contribute to delusion and suffering.
22. Commit to Regular Retreats
To deepen your practice and personal growth, commit to regular, extended meditation retreats (e.g., a month-long annually) and consider serving at retreats to practice selfless service.
23. Embrace Strict Retreat Morality
When attending a Goenka Vipassana retreat, commit to noble silence and five moral precepts (no killing, stealing, lying, sexual activity, intoxicants) to create an optimal environment for deep meditation.
24. Develop Breath Concentration
Begin meditation by focusing on the sensation of your breath at the area of the nose for several days to calm the mind and develop concentration before moving to body scans.
25. Systematically Scan Body Sensations
Once concentration is developed, systematically move your awareness through the body, observing natural sensations to gain insight into impermanence and release underlying mental patterns.
26. Follow Healing Sequence
To facilitate healing and transformation, practice observing what is present, accepting it without judgment, allowing it to release, and thereby transforming your state.
27. Prioritize Personal Growth Over Work
While planning for future endeavors, always prioritize your personal growth and freedom from mental tension; be prepared to pause or adjust your work if it leads to digression or increased mental suffering.
28. Focus on Usefulness, Not Popularity
When creating or working, prioritize making things genuinely useful for others and serving a purpose, rather than becoming obsessed with external metrics like popularity or likes.
29. Leverage Social Media Positively
Consciously use social media platforms to amplify your desired growth and identity, transforming it into a tool for positive self-development rather than a source of negative emotions.
30. Share Universal Transformation Insights
Share insights on personal transformation, managing anxiety, and setting goals without craving, as these universal topics can resonate and be useful for a broad audience, regardless of their meditation experience.
31. Demonstrate Positive Change
If family members struggle to understand your mental health practices, demonstrate their positive impact through increased happiness, kindness, and overall well-being, which can foster their acceptance.
32. Choose Personalized Mental Work
Select mental health practices (e.g., meditation, therapy) that resonate with your individual needs and current state, ensuring they support your goal of becoming a gentle and good person.
33. Navigate Evolving Relationships
Be prepared for challenges in maintaining relationships with people from your past, including family, as your perspective and orientation to life evolve through personal practice.
34. Self-Meet Relational Needs
Cultivate awareness of your own relational needs, such as the need to be seen or understood, and work to meet these needs internally so you can interact with others without expecting them to fulfill what they cannot provide.
35. Accept Relational Limitations
Practice accepting that certain individuals, especially in familial relationships, may not be capable of engaging in the depth of relationship or dialogue you desire, and allow yourself to feel the pain of this recognition.
36. Process Relational Pain
Allow yourself to fully experience and process the pain that arises from the loss of expected relational dynamics, as this can increase your flexibility and capacity to accept people as they are.
37. Offer Loving Presence
Instead of trying to teach or change family members who don’t want help, focus on meeting your own relational needs elsewhere, allowing your loving presence alone to be a resource for them.
38. Maintain Personal Boundaries
Recognize that it’s acceptable to not disclose every detail of your personal growth or mental health practices to your parents, especially if they are skeptical or uncomprehending.
39. Utilize Freedom for Retreats
If your financial situation or lack of immediate responsibilities allows, take advantage of the opportunity to attend extended meditation retreats for deep personal growth.
40. Advocate for Mental Health Support
Advocate for policies where governments or businesses compensate individuals for time taken to attend meditation retreats, recognizing its positive impact on mental health and societal well-being.
41. Find Motivation in Regret
If you’ve hit rock bottom or are on a destructive path, reflect on how your actions might waste your life or disappoint loved ones, as this realization can provide the courage to change.
42. Begin Physical Health Recovery
To start feeling better and balancing the mind, begin by stopping harmful substances, exercising, and incorporating healthy foods like barley grass into your diet.
43. Seek Transformative Experiences
If someone you know experiences a profound positive change, investigate the source of their transformation (e.g., a Vipassana course) as it might also dramatically change your life.
44. Introduce Kids to Mindfulness
To introduce mindfulness to children, explore resources like ‘Sitting Still Like a Frog’ by Eline Snell, ‘Sitting Together’ by Sumi Kim, ‘Awakening Joy for Kids’ by Baer & Liliana, or the Smiling Mind website.
7 Key Quotes
If you deal with change as your enemy, you're never going to be peaceful.
Diego Perez
Grasping onto anything or pushing anything away is going to make me unhappy, otherwise known as misery or suffering.
Dan Harris
What we thought was human nature is actually human habit, like greed and all that. That's human habit. That we've been conditioned that way. And love is actually real human nature. But it's in there. You just got to get all the crap out.
Diego Perez
Observe, accept, release, transform.
Diego Perez
Letting go does not mean you have given up and it does not mean you no longer care. It just means that you are releasing the attachments of the past that keep getting in the way of your happiness and mental clarity.
Diego Perez
If you don't deal with your internal issues, then at some point you're going to end up reproducing the thing that you're fighting against.
Diego Perez
It's not how big it gets, but how I'm reacting to it is what matters.
Diego Perez
2 Protocols
Daily Schedule on a Goenka Vipassana Retreat
Diego Perez- Wake up at 4 AM (first bell rings, second at 4:20 AM).
- Be in the meditation hall by 4:30 AM.
- First meditation block: 4:30 AM to 6:30 AM.
- Breakfast and break: 6:30 AM to 8 AM.
- Second meditation block: 8 AM to 11 AM (with brief 5-minute breaks at the end of each hour sit).
- Lunch and break: 11 AM to 1 PM.
- Third meditation block: 1 PM to 5 PM.
- Tea time and relaxation: 5 PM to 6 PM.
- Fourth meditation block: 6 PM to 7 PM.
- Discourse (Goenka's videotape): 7 PM to about 8:30 PM (with opportunities to ask teachers questions throughout the day).
- Final meditation block: Approximately 30-40 minutes.
- Go to bed at 9 PM.
Vipassana Practice Progression (Goenka Style)
Diego Perez- Take a vow of morality: promise not to kill, steal, lie, engage in sexual activity, or take intoxicants.
- Practice noble silence: do not speak unless asking a teacher a question.
- Develop concentration using Hanapana (awareness of the breath) for the first three and a half to four days, starting with a large area around the nose and slowly narrowing the focus to a small spot where the lip meets the bottom of the nose.
- After developing concentration, systematically observe natural bodily sensations by moving awareness down from head to feet (and later from feet to head) for about seven days, aiming to gain insight into impermanence, misery, and no-self.