Shenpa is a Tibetan word meaning attachment but it is also a spiritual principle in Tibetan Buddhism. Its meaning encompasses much more than the word attachment, for it applies to feelings or urges that can negatively affect our lives and impede our spiritual progress. Sometimes referred to as the hook, Shenpa is often an involuntary reaction to emotional discomforts and the urge to escape, in non-productive ways, from that discomfort. The hook of Shenpa is an inner struggle, not the kind of struggle that strives to overcome difficulty, but the winless struggle that causes you to feel tightened up inside, cut off and insecure. Suffering such as sorrow, fear and anger are all part of life, but the patterns of our reactions can work in either increasing or decreasing that suffering. Very often we turn, usually at a deep subconscious level, to comforts that paradoxically cause more suffering in the long run.
For example, you experience something hurtful or stressful such as a friend saying a callous remark to you or a person cutting you off in traffic. You feel yourself tighten up inside emotionally or physically; that is Shenpa. What happens then is that you may fall into a spiral of self-blame, lashing out in anger or something addictive such as over- eating in order to cover up the pain you feel inside.
The initial hook of Shenpa, the tightening up inside is unavoidable, but if caught in time and looked at with honesty and compassion, the spiral of negative thoughts and behaviors can be avoided. For this is the goal of breaking out of negative patterns caused by Shenpa, to look at those uncomfortable feelings and sensations with clear sight and loving-kindness.
This is often done through the practice of meditation and by learning to stay with those feelings of discomfort rather than running away from them. By being fully in the moment and sitting quietly with the feelings that Shenpa invokes, you can break the chain of trying to cover up or run away from those feelings. This can be hard to do and can take a lot of practice, but with patience and compassion towards yourself and others, it is possible to release yourself from these chains.
Further Information:
- Getting Unstuck (Audio CD) -by Pema Chodron
- Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire and the Urge to Consume -Edited by Stephanie Kaza
