Grasping is a form of mental energy that responds to [[abhasa]]. It is the tendency of the mind to fixate on a desire for the future, rather than full acceptance of the present. Cultivating [[Presence as a Skill|presence]] is part of the framework of [[the skillfulness of being human]], but the mind has a [[Habits|habit]] of reaching slightly forward in anticipation of reward. The anticipation is natural, but the qualitative assignment is grasping. An experience is either pleasant or unpleasant. This is abhasa. Preference for one over the other and moderating one's behavior to fulfill it is grasping. It is a [contorted form of thinking](https://sashachapin.substack.com/p/five-mildly-anti-buddhist-essays) often bound up in [[rang tsal|the natural energy of the mind]]. There is often a gap between how things are and how we wish them to be. Grasping is how we attempt to fill it. We react to this gap with the evaluation of its goodness or badness. We fill it with false narratives, addiction, escape, patterns of control. We attempt to manipulate our environments and ourselves to keep the bad feelings out and the good feelings in. We forget that we are not bound to how our minds react to our perceptions. Much of what we feel is habituated by our experience which is often outside our control, particularly for those of us who grew up in dysfunctional circumstances. Grasping is how we learn to cope with the challenges presented to us before we are taught how to surmount them. [The opposite of grasping is intimacy](https://www.lionsroar.com/the-opposite-of-grasping-is-intimacy/). The [[paradox]] of emotion is that the more we avoid or ignore our unpleasant feelings the more problematic they become. [An aggressive vine is a useful metaphor](https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/invasives/). It can appear harmless early on, perhaps not worth the effort to reach down and pluck. Or it turns out that it is firmly rooted and difficult to remove, so we turn back toward our responsibilities and forget to return to it. An experience brings us back into that dimension of ourselves and suddenly we learn the vine has overtaken an entire portion of our [[the Self|psyche]]. It is blocking the light of our awareness into that part of ourselves. We are faced with the choice of either succumbing to its aggression, or restoring our inner [[ecology]]. If we choose the latter, the only way forward is to study the vine. We need to know when it grows. We need to know what nutrients it needs. We need to know how it metabolizes. We need to know how deep its roots go and how far it spreads. In other words, we need to become intimately familiar with how the vine is organized in order to manage it. We need to know its [[medicine]]. Then we need to work. We need to clear a space to work in. We must entangle ourselves with the vine itself and separate it from the parts that are nourishing. In doing so we reach into the structure of our inner [[ecology]]. The ideas and [[Belief|beliefs]] that make us beautiful. We must learn what those elements of ourselves need to flourish. Then we begin to cut. First we cut at the edges. We move from the outside in, clearing a way to find the central root. Then we cut above. This allows the light in and shuts off the supply of nutrients to the vine. It gives our inner canopy a chance to recover and provide us with shade, or yet more light, to see more details as we work. Here we go in the opposite direction, from the inside out. Then we cut below. We work in whatever direction seems to suit. We cut at the base of each root and we force the vine to spend extra energy to recover its previous hold. Once we have cut, we rest and recover. The vine will grow back. As it does we study it some more. We use the ground we've cleared to find its greatest points of aggression. We find its roots. We mark its locations. We can stop here and simply return to the vine over and over. Accepting its rootedness and making its management part of our daily meditations. But we can also eradicate it. We can return to it with [poison](https://www.buddhastate.com/2012/06/turning-poison-into-medicine/). We must come to know the vine as intimately as we know our inner landscape. We must know which toxin to select. One that will kill the vine without harming the plants it surrounds. We must know when and how to apply it. We must apply it with precision and care. We must be patient with our own clumsiness and accept modest amounts of collateral damage. And when we are done we must allow ourselves time to heal and we must observe how our landscape responds. This process requires intimacy. It is *going into* the problem and wrestling with it physically and intellectually. It is the opposite of avoidance, neglect, or wishing it weren't so. It [[situational awareness|awareness of the situation]] and acceptance of the work. The process is difficult but the rewards are [[How I Measure Wealth|wealth]] beyond measure. ## Thoughts - **Note:** How does grasping compare with [[yearning]]?