Trauma and dissociation are anti-vital: threats to life itself. They dismantle the agency of the person as a subject, their freedom, the very sense of being a whole self—and can leave one feeling alive only under extreme arousal, or not feeling alive at all. Where trauma is developmental, an integrated self was never allowed to settle comfortably in the first place. Dissociation takes us out of the present so that the present can be survived: what holds us together is also what keeps our own selves—and the present itself—out of reach.
Neuroscience and clinical work explore how the most basic self is built from the five physical senses, together with proprioception (the body's position in space), the vestibular sense (balance), and interoception (the inner state of the body)—precisely the functions trauma distorts most. Reintegrating our relationship to this sensory ground is what makes self and world habitable again—or, where an integrated self was never allowed to form, habitable for the first time.
Now, Buddhism, too, is often represented as anti-vital: a path of disenchantment with the six sense domains (mind included here as the sixth), of release from existence itself. And, at the heart of the early Buddhist teachings, presence to experience as it occurs in the present moment is instrumental in letting go of the present itself.
The potential faultlines are self-evident.
So what do the early teachings actually do with the six sense domains, which they frame as the baseline of experience? Tuning into proprioceptive awareness of posture, alongside awareness of daily activities such as defecating, urinating, swallowing food, and so on, is presented as a preliminary practice for cultivating mindfulness as presence. On this basis, mindfulness is directed towards the subjective construction of experience itself, so that the six sense domains can be seen through. The simile of the two oxen is exact here: what binds is neither the eye nor the forms, but the yoke—the grasping that arises in dependence on both. The yoke is what is undone. Not the eye, not the seeing, not the living. In practice, trauma and dissociation tighten that very yoke. Practitioners often end up blaming themselves for obstacles that belong to another order altogether.
How do we own and/or disown self and dukkha? What does the Buddha's call for "detachment" and for insight into the "not-self" nature of experience require of us—and at what levels of discourse? The Buddhist teachings are genuinely relevant to deconstructing a unitary self, but it is not quite the same thing as the trauma-therapy idea of so-called “parts” or self-states. Are the Buddhist teachings really pertinent to notions of multiplicity or parts of the self that are made use of in trauma therapy?
We will explore a trauma- and dissociation-informed approach to the early Buddhist path and ask together what its teachings and practices can contribute to this fundamental work of integration.
Program Format: The program will include presentations, guided practices, breaks, and extended Q&A sessions, with ample opportunities for exchange in a safe and supportive space.
Suitability: The program is suitable for practitioners of all levels of experience. Buddhist practitioners without prior in-depth knowledge of trauma- and dissociation-informed approaches to meditation practice will benefit, as will clinicians without in-depth knowledge of Buddhist doctrine and practice.
Participant Expectations:
- No preparation is expected, but a short list of suggested readings will be shared with enrolled participants.
- All participants are asked to use their actual lived names (no nicknames or concealed identities) as Zoom identifiers, in support of creating a personal and safe space for everyone.
- Cameras must be on during the session (optional during guided meditation practice and not expected during breaks).
- Participants who are unable to have their cameras on during the meeting for health or other reasons are requested to inform the teacher via BCBS staff prior to attending.
COST: By Donation
This program is offered freely in the Buddhist tradition of dāna. We invite you to join in this practice of generosity by offering a financial donation. You'll find one donation option when registering. All donations will be shared between the teacher and BCBS.