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March 2005
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Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings mainly spoke of human
stress and the elimination of suffering. Initially, the Buddha
thought his teachings to be too difficult and confusing to be understood
by others. However, according to tradition, Brahman
appeared and implored the Buddha to propagate what he had awakened to
under the Bodhi tree. In Deer
Park at Benares, the Buddha met with five of his former ascetic
practitioners, and delivered his first sermon on the
Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Noble Path. When Shakyamuni spoke
of the “Middle Path” (madhyamapratipad)
he was not necessarily referring to
a life style or situation between two extremes. In other words, he was
not referring just to moderation.
Rather, the Buddha meant by “middle path,” the Truth of Change, the
state of flux or impermanence
that is our life.
In his initial
attempt to negate secular life by an overabundance of religious
attachment, Shakyamuni’s original notion
of nirvana,
or extinction, was nihilistic. Eventually, however, at the age of 35
years, Siddhartha realized that this
way of thinking was incorrect, and he came to understand that “reality
is neither arising, nor perishing.” Both are true
simultaneously. In this life, we are living/dying at the same time. Life
is the same undifferentiated movement; only
our desires define it as good/bad, pleasant/unpleasant, etc. Attachment
to existence or reactive attachment to non-existence
(emptiness) are still attachments to self, and thus perpetuate the
transmigration of birth-and-death (samsara).
Seeing temporal things as absolute causes suffering.
Shakyamuni Buddha
experienced a heated love/hate of his self, and then found the
changeable middle in his life which
is Truth. The extinction of wrong views, not of human desires, was his
correct perspective. He saw relative as relative,
not as absolute, and this is true seeing. Reality equals change. The
Dharma existed always; Shakyamuni did not
originate it, he awakened to it. “We are unfree because we are making
ourselves unfree.” Our spiritual ignorance binds
us to samsara,
and this is what Shakyamuni denied. The Sanskrit word atma
(self) graha
(grasping) pertains to
attachment even to “nice”
concepts like love. The Buddha denied attachment to both his secular and
religious self. Real Truth
will not come to us as truth; it will shatter us. The Middle Truth is
not lukewarm, it is cold and harsh. Buddha
taught that suffering is inherent; it is not something we acquire.
Shakyamuni referred to suffering as concrete, existential,
not metaphysical, or abstract. Buddhist insight arises from suffering.
Buddhist understanding is derived from
desperation. Buddhist suffering is personal, experiential. It is “bloody.”
It is a manner in which we exist, not a synonym
for unhappiness. Suffering, in its Buddhist context, is similar to a
latent sickness of which we are unaware. It
is universal, but it must be manifested personally to truly be
understood. Insight into impermanence is the cure to suffering.
Suffering is also the cure. Therefore, impermanence is both the
cause/cure of suffering. The reality of change
(impermanence) may be viewed as either a detriment or benefit depending
on our perspective. Attachment to either
will perpetuate suffering. The Buddha-Dharma does not present ethics; it
merely shows the reality of life as it is.
All things are conditioned; nothing exists independently as “self,”
“I.” There is no permanent entity outside the flow
of change. Gaining insight into the reality of Dharma is simultaneously
gaining insight into our own insubstantiality. Selflessness
is the seeing of oneself as part of Dharma. Seeing things as
conditioned, is knowing truth. Self is not
eliminated, but it is no longer the center of our existence once proper
perspective is achieved. Mental
examination of the changing (whimsical) nature of our mind is the core
of Buddhist teaching (meditation). Mental
processes, however, are conditioned, not consistent. Selflessness,
therefore, is merely being what we are, not losing
our self in any permanent self. It is a humbling experience. As the
Tendai monk Genshin Kasho noted upon this
realization, “Deluded ideas form the basis of my mind.” Shinran Sama’s
teacher, Honen Shonin, also stated that he
had “84,000 deluded ideas a day.” Buddha’s enlightenment must be
preceded by “endarkenment.” The Law of change
must be seen within the context of our “mind.” Once done, we cannot
but help to see our deludedness. The ground
by which we fall is the same ground by which stand.
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