Self-Inquiry Guide to the Sixth Fetter
1. Summary
The 6th fetter is the illusion that there is something we have “in here” that is the recipient or focus of experience, which we regularly shuttle our attention back and forth to/from, as if it were a reference point. This belief gives rise to the (illusory) experience that we are a “subject”, experiencing everything else as an “object” that exists in relationship to, and absolutely separate from, us.
The goal of inquiry is to get into the “gap” where it is convincing that there really is such a “something in here” and, instead of just assuming it’s there and shuttling back out to the object, to stay “in here” and look for the thing that is the recipient or focus of experience. It is the decisive not-finding of this thing that allows this fetter or belief to be dispelled.
2. Being a “Subject”
What you will be looking for is quite subtle, and is something that you won’t necessarily have ever noticed in everyday life. A starting point can be to simply experience what it is like to be a “subject” in relationship with “objects”. Please try both of the following exercises.
The Turning Exercise
Please notice the degree to which you seem to be the focus of the visual information you are taking in, and the degree to which what you see is experienced in relation to you. As you do this exercise a few times, try to notice:
Also try keeping your head and eyes stationary, and shuffle your feet to turn your whole body to the right and left. Does this change the experience?
The Turning-Toward Exercise
As you do this a few times, try to notice:
After the two exercises above, you should have a good sense of what being a “subject” is, what it is like for whatever you see to be experienced in relationship to yourself, and how the sense of being a “subject” can come and go.
3. What You Habitually Do
The sense of being a “subject” is established by shuttling your attention back and forth between yourself and the to-be-established object. One way to explore this is to try this Staying Out There exercise, which initially suspends and then allows the shuttling back and forth of attention.
1. Look out at an item in the room. Just know that it is out there, and let it be a “something” as it appears in daily experience. Notice any sense of how it’s been there, and you are simply noticing that, as if it were waiting for you to turn your eyes that way.
2. In particular, notice how it seems “out there”, by which your attention has to be “out there” if you are to perceive it and know what it is. Notice that there is a certain distance between you and it as well. What is happening “in here” are likely a bunch of thoughts and sensations, but “out there” is simply whatever you’re now looking at.
3. Briefly close your eyes, and as you open them and once again look at the item, try to keep the entirety of your attention on the item ‘out there’, by which whatever is happening “in here” isn’t noticed at all. In other words, try to stay entirely at what likely feels like the objective pole. Don’t pay any attention to any thoughts about the thing (or anything else), or refer to any portion or area of your body. Just stay with the thing you’re looking at. If you’re having trouble staying “out there”, feel free to close your eyes for a moment, and then re-establish visual contact, and try it again.
4. Then, after perhaps 10-15 seconds of staying “out there” with the item, allow the checking-back to occur. Pay particular attention to where in the body you check back to, which is often in the sternum area, but could be elsewhere, and is usually on the front of the body.
You can also try the Staying In Here exercise. It’s just like the Staying Out There exercise, only you aren’t allowed to vary your attention away from yourself, even as you are ostensibly looking at something out in the room. As above, notice the urge to go “out there” and perceive or even apprehend what you are looking at, and then allow it to occur. Please explore both sets of bulleted questions just above.
4. Finding and Working in the Gap
1. Now that you have experienced what you habitually do, simply sit quietly in a room, where there are various items (chair, book, etc.) that you can easily see. After looking at one such item, close your eyes for a few seconds without moving your head, and then open your eyes again so you are once again looking at the item.
2. Next, pick something in the room as above, and as you open your eyes and the checking-back to yourself occurs, experientially follow the checking-back to the exact location to which you are checking back and stay there, rather than going back out to the item in the room: it may help to close your eyes at this point. Note how staying “in here” creates a “gap” in your normal perceptual process. Looking in that exact location, at that exact point, what do you find?
Note: if the item becomes THAT thing (i.e., an object), by which the “gap” has been jumped, you can simply close your eyes for a few moments and start over, perhaps with another item in the room. Also, if the urge to refer back to something “in here” starts to fade, or it no longer seems convincing that there is something to refer back to, go back out to the item, or perhaps start with another item, by which the looking process stays fresh.
3. Looking for the thing “in here” can also be done in conjunction with a thought or memory. Think of a mildly provocative or difficult issue that involves someone else, such as “sharing of cleaning tasks” where you live. Once you have the issue, close your eyes and allow the mind to clear a bit. Then, bring the issue to mind by silently dropping in “sharing of cleaning tasks” into your mind, and perhaps an image of the person who is the focus of this issue.
Notice if and how the images, words, memories, etc. start to appear on the stage of your mind, coalesce, and at some point become a "thing", much like the blob became a lamp when you saw enough of it in the turning-toward exercise (above). It may even start to take up a certain perceived position in the stage of the mind (e.g. upper right, etc.). If the thought/issue becomes THAT thing (i.e., an object), you’ve jumped the gap: feel free to start over if that occurs.
As you feel the urge to refer back to yourself about this thought/issue, allow the referring-back to initially occur, but mentally follow it to where exactly it is you are referring. As with the bulleted items just above, look there for what it is you are referring back to, whatever it seems to be. As above, what do you find?
5. Things to Keep in Mind
There may be a “holding pattern” where you feel the urge to refer back and find nothing, but the belief that there is something to find persists. If so:
6. Has the Belief Disappeared?
Possible questions to pose to yourself are:
The 6th fetter is the illusion that there is something we have “in here” that is the recipient or focus of experience, which we regularly shuttle our attention back and forth to/from, as if it were a reference point. This belief gives rise to the (illusory) experience that we are a “subject”, experiencing everything else as an “object” that exists in relationship to, and absolutely separate from, us.
The goal of inquiry is to get into the “gap” where it is convincing that there really is such a “something in here” and, instead of just assuming it’s there and shuttling back out to the object, to stay “in here” and look for the thing that is the recipient or focus of experience. It is the decisive not-finding of this thing that allows this fetter or belief to be dispelled.
2. Being a “Subject”
What you will be looking for is quite subtle, and is something that you won’t necessarily have ever noticed in everyday life. A starting point can be to simply experience what it is like to be a “subject” in relationship with “objects”. Please try both of the following exercises.
The Turning Exercise
- Start by standing or sitting, looking straight ahead. Keep your shoulders facing forward as well.
- Keeping your eyes fixed in their sockets, rotate your head back and forth a few times from left to right, taking perhaps 2 seconds to go from all the way in one direction to all the way in the other. Doing this, what is in the room will essentially fly past or through your visual field.
- As you sweep back and forth, try to pinpoint the exact center of the visual field: where does it seem to be? In the head, in the chest? Somewhere else?
- And does it seem like there is something in you to which all of this visual information is being directed, such as to some sort of receptor or sensor?
Please notice the degree to which you seem to be the focus of the visual information you are taking in, and the degree to which what you see is experienced in relation to you. As you do this exercise a few times, try to notice:
- Do you (perhaps unsuccessfully) try to identify everything you see?
- Does it seem like all of this visual information is funneling toward you?
- Is there a tendency to pull everything you see toward you, as with a vacuum?
- Does it seem as though you are trying to maintain separation between you and everything you see, as if you are mentally pushing it away?
- Is there any disorientation if you aren’t able to “lock on” to each and everything you see as it passes through your visual field?
- Does rotating your head in this way seem to affirm that you are in the center of this visual experience?
Also try keeping your head and eyes stationary, and shuffle your feet to turn your whole body to the right and left. Does this change the experience?
The Turning-Toward Exercise
- While standing up, look straight ahead and notice some item just on the periphery of sight (say, a lamp).
- Notice what you see and how it is seen - it's likely more or less a blob of color and an indistinct shape.
- Keeping your head and gaze perpendicular to the front of your body, slowly turn your head and body toward the item; at what point does it go from being a blob of color to a distinct thing?
- As you continue to slowly turn toward the item, is there a point at which it seems as though a relationship is established, as it goes from simply a lamp to THAT lamp? It may take turning your head and body all the way until you are directly facing it. There may be a bodily sensation that accompanies this, it may be the item may seem to be in sharper focus, or it may feel as though you “lock on” to the item.
- Now, start rotating your head and body back to where you started: notice if and how it goes from being a THAT thing to just something, and then back to a no-thing/blob of color.
As you do this a few times, try to notice:
- How would you describe what happens when the item goes from being something to THAT thing? For example, it may seem as though the gaze makes a ‘leap’ to identify the item.
- Once the item is directly in front of you, does it seem as though it is an object to you as the subject, as if that relationship is now in place?
- Are there any physical sensations that go along with “locking on”? Is there a sense of relief or settling in when able to finally be in a relationship with the now-object?
- Does the item’s physical appearance change at all when it’s directly in front of you, perhaps seeming more solid and real?
- If you are able, do the exercise with another person, and see if the experience is the same.
After the two exercises above, you should have a good sense of what being a “subject” is, what it is like for whatever you see to be experienced in relationship to yourself, and how the sense of being a “subject” can come and go.
3. What You Habitually Do
The sense of being a “subject” is established by shuttling your attention back and forth between yourself and the to-be-established object. One way to explore this is to try this Staying Out There exercise, which initially suspends and then allows the shuttling back and forth of attention.
1. Look out at an item in the room. Just know that it is out there, and let it be a “something” as it appears in daily experience. Notice any sense of how it’s been there, and you are simply noticing that, as if it were waiting for you to turn your eyes that way.
2. In particular, notice how it seems “out there”, by which your attention has to be “out there” if you are to perceive it and know what it is. Notice that there is a certain distance between you and it as well. What is happening “in here” are likely a bunch of thoughts and sensations, but “out there” is simply whatever you’re now looking at.
3. Briefly close your eyes, and as you open them and once again look at the item, try to keep the entirety of your attention on the item ‘out there’, by which whatever is happening “in here” isn’t noticed at all. In other words, try to stay entirely at what likely feels like the objective pole. Don’t pay any attention to any thoughts about the thing (or anything else), or refer to any portion or area of your body. Just stay with the thing you’re looking at. If you’re having trouble staying “out there”, feel free to close your eyes for a moment, and then re-establish visual contact, and try it again.
- What you are doing is interrupting (what has been) your normal mode of regularly checking in with yourself. How easy is that? How strong is the urge to refer back to yourself?
- If there is an urge to refer or check back to yourself, why? Is it to know or keep tabs on how you feel, what you think? How would you describe it?
- Does it feel like staying “out there” creates a gap in experience, and you want to bridge that gap and get on with normal visual experience?
- And do you get a sense of where exactly in your body you’d check back to if you could?
4. Then, after perhaps 10-15 seconds of staying “out there” with the item, allow the checking-back to occur. Pay particular attention to where in the body you check back to, which is often in the sternum area, but could be elsewhere, and is usually on the front of the body.
- Is there a sense of relief when you are allowed to check back?
- Does it feel like the urge to shuttle back and forth seems like a response, if not reaction, to what is happening in sensory experience?
- When the checking-back occurs, what is the result in terms of your relationship with whatever you have been looking at? Does it seem like it is experienced as being in a relationship with you? Does it go from being something to THAT thing? Does it seem more real?
- Is the separation between it and you more obvious? For example, it might feel like a pole is placed between you and the object: if so, where is that pole resting on you? Or, it may seem as though you are pushing at the object: if so, where exactly are you pushing from, as if it were a stepping stone?
- Finally, please notice if there is now a regular or periodic shuttling back-and-forth between you and the object you are looking at.
You can also try the Staying In Here exercise. It’s just like the Staying Out There exercise, only you aren’t allowed to vary your attention away from yourself, even as you are ostensibly looking at something out in the room. As above, notice the urge to go “out there” and perceive or even apprehend what you are looking at, and then allow it to occur. Please explore both sets of bulleted questions just above.
4. Finding and Working in the Gap
1. Now that you have experienced what you habitually do, simply sit quietly in a room, where there are various items (chair, book, etc.) that you can easily see. After looking at one such item, close your eyes for a few seconds without moving your head, and then open your eyes again so you are once again looking at the item.
- Try to notice how once you recognize (for example) the book, shortly thereafter there will be a quick look back in experience “in here”. Where does your attention go? Does it seem as though you are following the stream of visual information back to that location?
- What seems to happen there: is the visual information processed, detected or apprehended? Does it seem as though your attention bounces off this point and back out to whatever you are looking at? How would you describe what happens, and therefore what it is you are referring back to?
- And do you notice how you then go “back out” to the book and start the shuttling back-and-forth process? If so, does the item go from being something to THAT thing? Do you now feel like a subject in relationship to an object?
- Also look at a fairly mundane item (such as a lamp) and something with more personal meaning (such as a picture of a family member or friend) to see if the speed or intensity of the subject/object relationship changes.
2. Next, pick something in the room as above, and as you open your eyes and the checking-back to yourself occurs, experientially follow the checking-back to the exact location to which you are checking back and stay there, rather than going back out to the item in the room: it may help to close your eyes at this point. Note how staying “in here” creates a “gap” in your normal perceptual process. Looking in that exact location, at that exact point, what do you find?
- Do you find a particular thing in you to which visual experience is referred, or anything to which your attention is now directed?
- Does it seem you are looking for (for example) a suction device, a sensor, etc.? How would you describe it?
- Is there anything there, other than physical sensations? In other words, is there anything in particular you refer back to?
- If nothing is found other than subtle sensations, look everywhere in your experience for what you are looking for.
Note: if the item becomes THAT thing (i.e., an object), by which the “gap” has been jumped, you can simply close your eyes for a few moments and start over, perhaps with another item in the room. Also, if the urge to refer back to something “in here” starts to fade, or it no longer seems convincing that there is something to refer back to, go back out to the item, or perhaps start with another item, by which the looking process stays fresh.
3. Looking for the thing “in here” can also be done in conjunction with a thought or memory. Think of a mildly provocative or difficult issue that involves someone else, such as “sharing of cleaning tasks” where you live. Once you have the issue, close your eyes and allow the mind to clear a bit. Then, bring the issue to mind by silently dropping in “sharing of cleaning tasks” into your mind, and perhaps an image of the person who is the focus of this issue.
Notice if and how the images, words, memories, etc. start to appear on the stage of your mind, coalesce, and at some point become a "thing", much like the blob became a lamp when you saw enough of it in the turning-toward exercise (above). It may even start to take up a certain perceived position in the stage of the mind (e.g. upper right, etc.). If the thought/issue becomes THAT thing (i.e., an object), you’ve jumped the gap: feel free to start over if that occurs.
As you feel the urge to refer back to yourself about this thought/issue, allow the referring-back to initially occur, but mentally follow it to where exactly it is you are referring. As with the bulleted items just above, look there for what it is you are referring back to, whatever it seems to be. As above, what do you find?
5. Things to Keep in Mind
There may be a “holding pattern” where you feel the urge to refer back and find nothing, but the belief that there is something to find persists. If so:
- Make sure you are looking for something, rather than someone.
- Make sure you aren’t overdoing it - take some breaks so you don’t get desensitized to the inquiry.
- You can silently affirm “Wow, there’s nothing here”, as long as it’s an experientially true fact rather than being a conceptual inference or conclusion.
- Try the Staying Out There exercise again, and really get a sense of why you want to refer back, and even what seems might happen if you don’t refer back. This can make the looking “in here” more focused, and/or it will be clearer what you are looking for and why.
- Make sure there is no conceptual content/thinking happening, such as a narrative trying to describe and explain what is happening.
- Try to clarify what you would have to do without, should this subject/object perspective not be available or no longer arise. For example, would you lose a sense of stability or position? Whatever it is, is fear holding you back from truly looking?
- Make sure you are allowing what you perceive to be a “something”, rather than deconstructing your experience of it to the point it isn’t even being perceived any longer.
- Watch out for nihilism, fear etc. as your sense of “me” starts to wobble. This is normal, though can be unsettling, and may subconsciously deter you from looking deeply enough.
- Health warning: if you have any history of trauma, it can begin to surface during this inquiry, or perhaps there can be a general sense of feeling destabilized. It may in fact be a good idea to pause the whole inquiry process and seek professional help, rather than attempting to press on.
6. Has the Belief Disappeared?
Possible questions to pose to yourself are:
- When you look at, think about or otherwise encounter something, to what degree do you automatically refer back to yourself?
- Is there any change in how things appear visually? For example, does visual experience seem to be flatter or two-dimensional, or do things you see seem to have less rigid boundaries?
- To what degree do you feel separated from others?
- If there was a sensation of some sort that felt like a subject, perhaps on the sternum, is it still there?
- Try the exercises above (Turning, Turning Toward, and Staying Out There) - what is your experience of them now?