Combining Clues to Movement and Attitude Control

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Annex 3 of Navigating Alternative Conceptual Realities: clues to the dynamics of enacting new paradigms through movement, (2002)

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a href="http://kairos.laetusinpraesens.org/detach3_x_h_1">Combining Clues to Movement and Attitude Control
Clues to integrating movement through kinetic intelligence
Clues from catastrophe theory, force dynamics and manoeuvering
Clues from navigation of multi-media and virtual reality environments

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Combining the clues framing any static perspective

'Attitude control' is understood here as the characteristics required to ensure that any 'vehicle' moves in an appropriately coordinated manner -- whatever the degree of subtlety of the space through which that movement takes place. Such attitude control is therefore a prerequisite, as indicated earlier, for any controlled shift to subtler paradigmatic spaces -- as indicated in a later section. In Christian terms such 'attitude control' is therefore a prelude to 'being raised to a state of grace' -- however that is understood. However, although the 'vices, or the 'fetters' and 'hindrances' of Buddhism, may be considered as symptomatic of poor 'attitude control', they may also suggest grips and constraints temporarily necessary to any movement -- as with the hardware used by climbers to ensure their secure attachment to a dangerous surface over which they are moving.

The challenge is to combine the clues from the disparate sources. In doing so the following points can usefully be borne in mind:

• the focus is on generic guidelines to movement in an undefined conceptual space (accepting that this is a specific interpretation of principles of wider applicability)
• movement is understood generically rather than as being specifically towards a more moral condition (although it is assumed that movement is in response to spaces and conditions of greater freedom that may be framed as being of superior morality or merit)
• patterns of clues may be very general, or much more specific, resulting in sets with different numbers of guidelines
• within each set, of whatever number, movement may involve all members of the set (a bit like shifting gears according to terrain)
• it is to be expected that traditional sets may focus either on inappropriate features of movement (vices, hindrances, etc) or on appropriate consequences of correct movement (virtues, etc)
• judgements on appropriateness (of attachment) or inappropriateness (of detachment) may be a matter of timing in the cycle of movement -- failure to be 'attached' at the appropriate moment may be disastrous; 'ignorance' may be a precondition of new learning as well as inhibiting such learning
• in accordance with the Buddhist precept, ability to move necessarily requires detachment from either aspect of the detachment-attachment duality
• the combination of guidelines should be of value in any learning situation and may prove to be a way of evaluating (and comparing) methodologies such as that of western science or of critical realism
• it is to be expected that the extensive analyses of movement made for simulation of movement in virtual reality would enable these indications to be considerably extended, refined and clustered in a variety of ways
• this preliminary exercise is merely indicative and does not aspire to the complete reconciliation of the disparate sets of guidelines, especially since virtues and vices are presented in different combinations and with different correspondences
• the procedure in elaborating the table has been to match stages of movement (as in any form of climbing) with the virtues and vices
• definitions of virtues and vices have been interpreted here to reflect the primary concern of this paper with the dynamics of movement in contrast to their traditional interpretation as qualitative attributes of a heightened state of grace or illumination
• the relationship between vices or virtues in any traditional set is considered here to be one of complementarity rather than following a particular sequence

Table 1: Juxtaposition of 'virtues' and 'vices' from different traditions in terms of their significance for 'attidude control'
Movement		Yoga	Buddhism			Christianity
Appropriate	Inappropriate	Afflictions	Hindrances (pañcanivarana)	Fetters (hindrances)	Perfections (paramita)	Vices	Virtues
Envisaging new contextual relationship	Failure to envisage new relationship	Egoism (asmita): This is the false identification of separateness, aloneness, or egoism.	Ill will (byapada, pradosa)	Self-delusion, false views: failure to distinguish one's boundaries appropriately (drishti)	Generosity, giving (dana): unconstrained relationship to environment	Despair: undermining hope and the ability to undertake a manoeuver	Hope: appropriate to the successful achievement of any innovative manoeuver
Detection of alternative environmental support	Failure to detect features of any alternative context			Conceit, pride, self-regard (abhimana, nga-rgyal)	Truthfulness (sacca): unconfused assessment of possibilities and capacities	Pride: excessive self-focus and insensitivity to context (literally "before a fall")	.
Attraction-to new environmental support	Distracting attractions hindering movement	Attraction to appearnaces (raga): This is the attraction or attachment to the appearance of objects) is the specific false identification that tells us that objects of attraction will bring about happiness.	Sensual desire, (kamachanda, abhidya)	Sensuous lust and desire, craving for the objects of sense (karma-trisna)	Loving-kindness (metta): attentive relationship to the space left and that to which one intends to move; right means (upaya kausala)	Lust and lechery: disrespect for the process, but also for its significance for others	Love and charity:  appropriate attitude to execution of the process itself, but also in relation to others
Reaching- for new environmental support	Failure to reach out to new framework		Restlessness (uddhacca)	Excitability: restlessness (anuddhatya); contrition, worry or compunction (kaukritya)	Patience, tolerance (khanti, ksanti): sense of timing in anticipation of when to move	Anger and wrath: undermining concentration and focus on execution of the manoeuver	Will and temperance: appropriate to engaging in a challenging manoeuver
Establishing contact with new environmental support	Failure to make contact with any new support	Fear of death (abhinivesha): This is the fear of death and the clinging to life as it is known.	Torpor (middha)	Greed for fine material existence, craving for refined corporeality (rupa-trishna)	Equanimity (upekkha): ability to respond to obstacles without becoming attached to them	Envy: excessive focus on others, distorting own initiatives	[Parts: Next | Last | All] [Links: To-K | From-K | From-Kx ] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License For further updates on this site, subscribe here