Saints and Psychopaths
I recently completed a review on the Mahasi technique by Mahasi Sayadaw and Daniel Ingram from the website the Dharmaoverground. Afterwards I got a request by a Noah D from that forum to review a book by an influencer on the pragmatic dharma scene, and the creator of the forum. His name is Bill Hamilton. He wrote Saints and Psychopaths, which is as eclectic as his background. He has studied Christianity, Buddhism, Psychology and even his life experiences in business add to his wisdom.
Greed, hatred and delusion
His story is relatable for lot of spiritual people. When spiritual people grow up with a modern culture, they may end up developing a distaste for the greed, hatred and delusion found in it. For Bill it was his business dealings, and the kind of negativity it would condition. He wanted to escape the business psychopaths into spirituality, only to find that psychopaths are there as well. This is where his story begins.
Saints and Psychopaths
The book neatly separates psychopaths from saints, going from the dark to the light in the experience of reading the book. Bill uses the term psychopath in a general way, and focuses more on the actual behaviours. Most of what he describes could be in the Cluster B personality disorder list, and is not exclusive to Anti-social personality disorder. He traces his experiences with false teachers, and a damaging encounter with a love partner, that is eerily similar to most books on how the cycle of abuse works. That’s why it’s a cycle, because the pattern is very universal. This is the mean and sweet cycle, and Jekyll and Hyde behaviour exemplified by his partner Mukti.
Narcissism: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNBLR4djB7H6GK7XzSuAB6BtNGnLRaqY
ASPD and Psychopathy: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNBLR4djB7FQheuI5VMZW-7A7hEZeEhg
Psychopath development
His theory on how these personalities develop are an unsatisfying upbringing that causes the child to revenge on the world leading to predatory behaviour for the rest of their lives. His story with Mukti is also another reminder of co-dependency, that Bill calls a co-psychopath. Overly nice people who don’t have boundaries, including “turn the other cheek” Christians and pacifist Buddhists can get exploited. Nice people can end up in relationships with predators. It’s a warning that no matter how spiritual you are, a certain section of the population will look at you only as a way to get food, clothing, shelter, sex and money. They will not see your spirituality, only your utility.
Saint vs. Psychopath
As the reader moves to the middle of the book, Bill increases our clarity of what true spirituality is. He made a list that he wants all spiritual practitioners to keep nearby as a reminder of the goal, which is a good reason to get the book. Since all people have some predatory behaviour, it’s a splash of cold water to remind people to not get lost on the spiritual path. The list separates saintly and psychopathic behaviour so that there is no confusion. If you get lost you can look at the list and make a correction.
Enlightenment maps
As he describes how saints behave he starts describing the progress of enlightenment. Many Buddhist books have their section of enlightenment maps and this one is no different. Because of his eclectic background he tries to find the commonality of all the maps.
For example Bill was part of the Snowmass Contemplative Group which was a contemplative group from many different religions and philosophies. They agreed on 7 principles of enlightenment that bridged common ground:
1) The potential for enlightenment is in every person
2) The human mind cannot comprehend ultimate reality, but ultimate reality can be experienced.
3) The ultimate reality is the source of all existence.
4) Faith is opening, accepting & responding to ultimate reality.
5) Confidence in oneself as rooted in the ultimate reality, and is the necessary corollary to faith in the ultimate reality.
6) As long as the human experience is experienced as separate from the ultimate reality it is subject to ignorance, illusion, weakness and suffering.
7) Disciplined practice is essential to the spiritual journey, yet spiritual attainment is not the result of one’s effort but the experience of oneness with ultimate reality.
The value of teachers
As the reader progresses through the map Bill points out some really important things practioners need to do to improve their practice. Firstly he believes that access to enlightened teachers, the more enlightened the better, will improve your practice. He doesn’t think that any one method is better, as long as there is “profound examination of the present moment.” He also emphasizes that a method should not be mixed with another and meditators must follow the instructions as given in order to progress. To reach the first level of enlightenment the meditator has to observe precisely what is happening without trying to manipulate what is happening, and do this with equanimity towards pleasant and unpleasant phenomenon.
Embarrassment of Enlightenment
The book ends off talking about what it’s like when a person is enlightened and how difficult it is to talk about it. Many teachers avoid calling themselves enlightened because of how students might take their early meditation experiences, and make false claims that match the descriptions of their masters. The mind can fool itself and make a conceited ego claim that prevents observation of experience.
Bill concludes with prescient predictions of a melding of the scientific method and different enlightenment traditions that is flourishing today.
“It’s a time of great ferment and change. Living in times of change is not only exciting, but it is also a curse. Times of spiritual change are breeding grounds for both saints and psychopaths.” – William L. Hamilton
Saints and Psychopaths by William L. Hamilton: https://amzn.to/2VaQ35Q
Contemplative practices: https://psychreviews.org/category/contemplativepractice/