Mariana Caplan on Suffering and the Spiritual Path

There are already many articles on this site devoted to the topic of suffering—by which I mean psychic suffering, because it is precisely this kind of suffering that leads a person to psychotherapy. It is also what leads us toward spirituality and compels us to seek, in various spiritual practices, a remedy for the pain that comes from the soul.

The problem is that spirituality cannot eliminate existential suffering, simply because it too is an integral part of life. For the spiritually seeking individual, it can even become more intense. The concept that describes resistance to this kind of suffering within the context of spiritual pursuits has been called “spiritual bypassing” by John Welwood, “spiritual bypass” by Scott Kiloby, and “the most subtle form of victimization” by Richard Rudd.

I find it deeply encouraging that this phenomenon is being discussed more and more, because in the time we live in there are far too many messages that support a distorted relationship with reality and an escape from unavoidable pain.

For this reason, I would like to share something further in this direction—or more precisely, to recommend an entire book which I see as a kind of cognitive psychotherapy manual for the spiritually seeking person. This is the book by Mariana Caplan, Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment.

The author is a psychologist and transpersonal psychotherapist, and she has undertaken truly extensive work to present the perspectives of a wide range of spiritual teachers and psychotherapists. It is precisely this diversity of viewpoints, together with the richness of factual material, that gives the book its particular value.

Here is what she writes in the introduction.

Mariana Caplan:

The current state of spirituality in the West is characterized by serious distortions, confusion, deception, and a fundamental lack of prior preparation and training. In the West, there is no cultural context through which to understand this massive influx of spiritual information that now fills even the most mainstream newspapers, magazines, and television programs. Although the dramatic rise in the popularity of contemporary spirituality in the Western world has exposed more people than ever before to spiritual ideas and ideals, the possibility of anything other than a superficial relationship with God has very limited value if such ideas and ideals are not approached from a perspective that has been prepared in advance, deeply reflected upon, carefully studied, and critically examined.

Reflecting on this problem several decades ago—when the situation was not yet as critical as it is today—Carl Jung wrote:

“Spirituality in the Western world is in a precarious position, and the danger becomes all the greater the more we close our eyes to the merciless truth by indulging in illusions about the beauty of our own souls. Man lives in the midst of a dense cloud of fragrant smoke which he himself produces, so that he may veil his own face and not see it.”

And since one of our greatest distortions of thinking likely arises from our unwillingness to see the Dark Face of God—not only our personal shadow, but also the collective one—and since it is precisely this dark face that is the source of human suffering, I decided to share a short excerpt from this book that addresses exactly this theme.

The Sanskrit word saha means “to endure, to pass patiently through trials without rebellion.” The process of disillusionment is undoubtedly painful at times.

Genuine spiritual life has never been popular and never will be, because most people are not willing to open themselves and accept suffering.

Ray says that the first time he heard his teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, speak, he was speaking precisely about suffering.
“He was the first person I ever heard who acknowledged how bad things really are. And I thought, ‘This is it! This is what I want! I want to understand what is going on here and explore it.’”
According to Ray, their tradition places great emphasis on the First Noble Truth of the Buddha, which states that life is suffering—not because anyone wishes to suffer, but because suffering is the truth of life.

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding,” writes Khalil Gibran.
It is therefore entirely understandable not only that suffering is an inevitable aspect of the spiritual process, but also that consciously entering into and experiencing suffering is the gateway to a deeper understanding of reality—something that one must even aspire to.

“There is a belief that through the spiritual life pleasant experiences will increase and unpleasant ones will decrease. The difference lies in how we relate to these experiences.”
— Anick de Souzenelle

In his writings, John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz) eloquently describes how, once the disciple has experienced the sweetness and delight of contemplation and prayer and has discovered a certain strength in his relationship with God, “God wishes to lead him further… where he may be in greater communion with Him.” He says that often, when a person is in the midst of the greatest pleasures and believes that “the sun of divine favor shines most brightly upon him,” God casts him into darkness and closes the door of “the sweet spiritual water which he had tasted in God whenever and as much as he wished.”

For, as I have said, God sees that he has grown somewhat and has become strong enough to set aside the swaddling clothes and be weaned from the tender breast; thus He takes him from His arms and teaches him to walk on his own feet. This seems very strange to the person, because everything that happens to him appears wrong.

The suffering that God gives him is His gift, not His curse, as is so often believed. A person earns the privilege of being released from the safe arms of God into unsoftened reality, so that he may learn to stand on his own feet and move by himself.

A person cannot have a full spiritual life unless he comes to terms with his suffering. Life is painful anyway. Suffering may temporarily be bypassed or dulled by drugs, or rejected, but ultimately it cannot be avoided.

There is pain in “neurotic suffering,” which is how we usually think about pain, and there is also the pain of “suffering for God,” or suffering with humanity. These are different kinds of suffering, yet they are still suffering; and while neurotic suffering only perpetuates itself, suffering for God—or enlightened suffering—serves all of humanity.

“There is no wholeness without sadness and longing, for without them there is no sobriety, no kindness. Wisdom without kindness and knowledge without sobriety are useless.”
— Carlos Castaneda

To serve humanity, one must know it. Ray explains that students in their tradition are encouraged to explore the great depths of suffering so that they may come to know it as an essential aspect of the wholeness of life. He shares how, through the example and guidance of his teacher, he came to understand the value of suffering.

Trungpa Rinpoche was a very demanding teacher. If your aspiration was toward a particular state of consciousness, or bliss, or spiritual ecstasy, or charisma, he would not have been your teacher. Once someone asked him, “Have you ever been in the realm of hell?”
“Of course,” he replied.
“And what were you doing while you were there?”
“I tried to stay there,” he answered.

This is a very different response from what one might receive from an average guru, who generally promises some form of escape from reality.

Jai Ram Ransom says:
“You can attain liberation and live in it for an almost unlimited period through the grace of that experience. You can earn that kind of karma. But sooner or later, you will have to return to reality. Thus the work of E. J. Gold with us was to take us into the realms of hell and the bardo, because if you can awaken in hell, then you can work anywhere.”

“Everyone knows the usefulness of what is useful, but no one knows the usefulness of what is useless.”
— Zhuangzi

Journeying into the realms of hell is certainly different from what the average guru promises, but the most extraordinary teachers and practitioners truly value the full spectrum of life, whatever name it is given, and encourage their students to do the same.

Joan Halifax says that although divine mothers and saviors may be enchanting and eager to help, “that has not been my work. I am of the ‘chop wood, carry water’ type.” She then adds, “I love going into the realms of hell. That is my work.”
Since Halifax has taken the fruits of decades of her sadhana into maximum-security prisons to serve inmates awaiting execution, we can trust that she knows what she is talking about.

— Mariana Caplan, Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment  ∗