Pleasant, Unpleasant and Neutral

Buddhist feelings are pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. I understand how pleasant feelings lead to craving and unpleasant to aversion. However I am having difficulty understanding why neutral feelings are associated with delusion. Can you help please?

In the Buddhist context, feelings (often termed as ‘vedanā’ in Pali) are categorized into three: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. Your understanding of pleasant leading to craving and unpleasant leading to aversion is correct. Let’s delve into the connection between neutral feelings and delusion.

1. Nature of Neutral Feelings: Neutral feelings are those that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant. They are subtle and often go unnoticed. Because of their subtle nature, we tend not to pay attention to them, which can lead to a lack of awareness or mindfulness.
2. Ignorance and Neglect: The subtleness of neutral feelings makes them easy to overlook or ignore. This ignorance or neglect is a form of delusion. We might think that because they’re neutral, they’re unimportant. Yet, in meditation and in daily life, these feelings can provide valuable insights into the nature of our experience.
3. Mistaking Transience for Permanence: When we experience neutral feelings, there can be a tendency to believe that nothing is happening or that things are static. This can lead to a deluded belief in permanence, whereas one of the core teachings in Buddhism is the impermanence of all phenomena.
4. Default States and Identification: Sometimes, when we’re not experiencing strong pleasant or unpleasant feelings, the neutral state becomes our default. We might begin to identify with this state, thinking “this is just how things are” or “this is who I am.” This identification is a form of delusion because it obscures the ever-changing nature of our experiences and our non-fixed self.
5. Opportunity for Awakening: Recognizing and being mindful of neutral feelings can be a pathway to awakening. By noticing the neutral, we can break the cycle of delusion and see things as they really are. This is why experienced meditators often place emphasis on being aware of the neutral feelings, as it can lead to deeper insights.

In summary, neutral feelings are associated with delusion because they can foster ignorance, a mistaken belief in permanence, and false identification. However, with mindful attention, they can become powerful tools for understanding the true nature of reality.

So you are saying there are feelings but they are subtle. Are they constantly there or do they come and go? Can you recommend some practical techniques to identifying them?

Yes, neutral feelings are subtle in comparison to the more evident pleasant and unpleasant feelings. They can both be persistent or come and go, much like background noise that’s always there but only becomes noticeable when you pay attention.

As for practical techniques to identify neutral feelings:

1. Mindfulness Meditation: Begin with mindfulness of breathing. As you become more focused and calm, start to pay attention to any sensations that aren’t distinctly pleasant or unpleasant. Over time, with regular practice, you’ll become more attuned to these neutral feelings.
2. Body Scan: This is a meditation practice where you mentally scan your body from head to toe, noticing any sensations. Often, certain parts of the body might not have pronounced sensations. These can be areas where you can identify neutral feelings.
3. Daily Life Awareness: Set aside specific times in your day, like when you’re walking or eating, to become fully present. Notice the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that aren’t strongly pleasant or unpleasant. This can help you become more aware of the neutral feelings in daily activities.
4. Labeling: As you meditate, mentally label or note the feelings as they arise: “pleasant,” “unpleasant,” or “neutral.” This act of labeling can bring clarity and help you identify neutral feelings more easily.
5. Contemplative Reflection: Spend some time contemplating the nature of feelings. Reflect on how they arise and pass away, and how neutral feelings might be present but unnoticed. This reflection can sensitize you to their presence.
6. Mindful Listening: Engage in an exercise where you simply listen to the sounds around you. You’ll notice that some sounds are neither pleasant nor unpleasant; they just are. This can help you understand the nature of neutral feelings better.
7. Questioning: Periodically ask yourself throughout the day, “What am I feeling right now?” This can help you catch moments when you’re experiencing neutral feelings.
8. Group Practice: Engaging in group meditation or discussion sessions can be helpful. Sometimes, others might share their experiences with neutral feelings, giving you more perspective.

With persistent practice and intention, you’ll develop a more refined awareness that can detect and appreciate the subtleties of neutral feelings.

Sorry if I’m being a bit thick but how do I distinguish between no emotion and a neutral emotion. What is the substance of a neutral emotion?

You’re not being thick at all; it’s a nuanced topic and your question is very insightful. Distinguishing between the absence of emotion and a neutral emotion can indeed be subtle.

1. Understanding Neutral Emotion: Neutral emotions or feelings aren’t the total absence of sensation or feeling. Instead, they sit in between positive and negative feelings. It’s like the sensation you might have when you’re holding a room-temperature object; it’s neither warm nor cold.
2. Presence vs Absence: The key distinction between no emotion and a neutral emotion is “presence” vs “absence.” A neutral emotion is still a present sensation or feeling; it’s just that it’s neither distinctly pleasant nor unpleasant. No emotion, on the other hand, is the absence of any particular feeling or sensation.
3. Subtle Awareness: To distinguish between the two, you need to cultivate a subtle awareness. When you focus inward, if there’s a complete lack of feeling, that’s the absence of emotion. If there’s a feeling but it’s not positive or negative, that’s neutral. The difference is delicate, like the contrast between holding nothing in your hand versus holding a lightweight object—you feel something, but it’s not heavy or light.
4. Use of Labels: As you meditate or engage in mindfulness practices, using labels can help. If you sense something but it’s not distinctly positive or negative, label it “neutral.” If you sense nothing at all, you might label it “absence” or “void.”
5. Observing Change: One effective way to discern is by observing change. Over time, feelings fluctuate. You might move from a period of neutrality to a moment of happiness or sadness. Noticing these transitions can give substance and context to the neutral phase, helping to identify it more clearly.
6. Mindfulness of the Mind: In Buddhist practices, there’s a meditation called “Mindfulness of the Mind” where one observes the states of the mind. By practicing this, you can discern when your mind is in a neutral state versus when it’s entirely devoid of emotion.

In essence, the “substance” of a neutral emotion is its subtle presence, a middle ground between positive and negative feelings. It’s there, but it’s neither pulling you in one direction nor pushing you away in another. With practice, this distinction becomes clearer and more discernible.

So, would a good starting point be to identify a sensation from any of the senses, then, as this must have a feeling(?) try to perceive the neutral feeling and how it differs from no feeling (which might occur if I just randomly asked myself how I’m feeling?) This has the assumption that there are periods without any feeling.

Yes, you’ve outlined a logical and effective approach! Using sensory experiences as a basis for this exploration can be quite grounding and makes the process more tangible. Here’s how it might look step-by-step:

1. Start with a Sensation: Begin with any sensation that arises from the senses, such as the touch of air on your skin, the sound of the environment, or the taste of food.
2. Identify the Feeling: Every sensation is usually accompanied by a feeling tone—pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. For example, a gentle breeze might be pleasant, a loud noise might be unpleasant, and the hum of a fan might be neutral.
3. Focus on Neutral: Once you’ve identified a few sensations and their associated feelings, try to find one that feels neither pleasant nor unpleasant. This might be the pressure of your feet on the ground, the sensation of your clothes against your skin, or ambient sounds in the room.
4. Compare with No Feeling: After spending some time with the neutral sensation, shift your attention away and simply ask yourself how you’re feeling without focusing on any particular sensation. If there’s a period where you can’t identify any distinct feeling, that might be a moment of “no feeling.”
5. Observe the Transition: One of the clearest ways to understand neutral feelings is by observing the transition from neutral to pleasant/unpleasant or vice versa. This can highlight the unique characteristics of a neutral feeling.
6. Regular Check-ins: As you rightly pointed out, you can randomly check-in with yourself throughout the day to see how you’re feeling. This will help you catch moments of neutrality and compare them with moments of no feeling.

It’s worth noting that while there can be periods without any distinct or strong feeling, there’s almost always some form of sensation or mental activity occurring, even if it’s very subtle. The key is refining your mindfulness to detect these subtleties.

Your approach is rooted in the essence of mindfulness: to observe without judgment and discern the nature of experience. With time and practice, the nuances between neutral feelings and periods of no feeling will become more evident.