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What Buddhists Believe
IN SEVENTEEN WEB-PAGE PARTS WEB-PAGE FIVE
Chapter 5
BASIC DOCTRINES |
K.Sri Dhammananda
Venerable Dhammananda was born on March 18,
1919 to the family
of Mr. K.A. Garmage in
the village of Kirinde,
Matara in southern
Ceylon. Like most
children born during the
British colonial
period, he was given the
English name of Martin.
He was the eldest
in a family of three
brothers and three sisters
|
Tri-Pitaka (or Tipitaka)
Tripitaka is the collection
of the teachings
of the Buddha over 45 years
in the Pali language,
and it consists of Sutta---conventionalteaching,
Vinaya ---disciplinary
code, and Abhidhamma---moral
psychology.
The Tripitaka was compiled
and arranged in
its present form by those
Arahants who had
immediate contact with
the Master Himself.
The Buddha has passed away,
but the sublime
Dhamma which He unreservedly
bequeathed to
humanity still exists in
its pristine purity.
Although the Master has
left no written records
of His Teachings, His distinguished
disciples
preserved them by committing
to memory and
transmitting them orally
from generation
to generation.
Immediately after the final
passing away
of the Buddha, 500 distinguished
Arahants
held a convention known
as the First Buddhist
Council to rehearse the
Doctrine taught by
the Buddha. Venerable Ananda,
the faithful
attendant of the Buddha
who had the special
privilege of hearing all
the discourses the
Buddha ever uttered, recited
the Dhamma,
whilst the Venerable Upali
recited the Vinaya,
the rules of conduct for
the Sangha.
One hundred years after
the First Buddhist
Council, during King Kalasoka,
some disciples
saw the need to change
certain minor rules.
The orthodox monk said
that nothing should
be changed while the others
insisted on modifying
some disciplinary rules(Vinaya).
Finally,
the formation of different
schools of Buddhism
germinated after this council.
And in the
Second Council, only matters
pertaining to
the Vinaya were discussed
and no controversy
about the Dhamma was reported.
In the 3rd Century B. C.
during the time
of Emperor Asoka, the Third
Council was held
to discuss the differences
of opinion held
by the Sangha community.
At this Council
the differences were not
confined to the
Vinaya but were also connected
with the Dhamma.
At the end of this Council,
the President
of the Council, Ven. Moggaliputta
Tissa,
compiled a book called
Kathavatthu refuting
the heretical, false views
and theories held
by some disciples. The
teaching approved
and accepted by this Council
was known as
Theravada. The Abhidhamma
Pitaka was held
in Sri Lanka in 80 B. C.
is known as the
4th Council under the patronage
of the pious
King Vattagamini Abbaya.
It was at this time
in Sri Lanka that the Tripitaka
was first
committed to writing.
The Tripitaka consists
of three sections
of the Buddha's Teachings.
They are the Discipline(Vinaya
Pitaka), the Discourse(Sutta
Pitaka), and
Ultimate Doctrine
(Abhidhamma Pitaka).
The Vinaya Pitaka mainly
deals with the rules
and regulations of the
Order of monks (Bhikkhus)
and nuns (Bhikkhunis).
It describes in detail
the gradual development
of the Sasana(Dispensation).
It also gives an account
of the life and
ministry of the Buddha.
Indirectly it reveals
some useful information
about ancient history,
Indian customs, arts, sciences,
etc.
For nearly twenty years
since His Enlightenment,
the Buddha did not lay
down rules for the
control of the Sangha.
Later, as the occasion
arose, the Buddha promulgated
rules for the
future discipline of the
Sangha.
This Pitaka consists of
the five following
books:---
Parajika Pali (Major Offences)
Pacittiya
Pali (Minor Offences) Mahavagga
Pali (Greater
Section) Cullavagga Pali
(Smaller Section)
Parivara Pali (Epitome
of the Vinaya)
Sutta Pitaka
The Sutta Pitaka consists
chiefly of discourses
delivered by the Buddha
Himself on various
occasions. There are also
a few discourses
delivered by some of His
distinguished disciples,
such as the Venerable Sariputta,
Ananda,
Moggallana, etc., included
in it. It is like
a book of prescriptions,
as the sermons embodied
therein were expounded
to suit the different
occasions and the temperaments
of various
persons. There may be seemingly
contradictory
statements, but they should
not be misconstrued
as they were opportunely
uttered by the Buddha
to suit a particular purpose.
This Pitaka is divided
into five Nikayas
or collections, viz:--
Digha Nikaya (Collection
of Long Discourses)
Majjhima Nikaya (Collection
of Middle-length
Discourses) Samyutta Nikaya
(Collection of
Kindred Sayings) Anguttara
Nikaya (Collection
of Discourses arranged
in accordance with
number) Khuddaka Nikaya(Smaller
Collection)
The fifth is subdivided
into fifteen books:---
Khuddaka Patha (Shorter
Texts) Dhammapada
(The Way of Truth) Udana
(Heartfelt sayings
or Paeons of Joy) Iti Vuttaka
('Thus said"
Discourses) Sutta Nipata
(Collected Discourses)
Vimana Vatthu (Stories
of Celestial Mansions)
Peta Vatthu (Stories of
Petas) Theragatha
(Psalms of the Brethren)
Therigatha (Psalms
of the Sisters) Jataka
(Birth Stories) Niddesa
(Expositions) Patisambhida
(Analytical Knowledge)
Apadana (Lives of Saints)
Buddhavamsa (The
History of Buddha) Cariya
Pitaka (Modes of
Conduct)
Abhidhamma Pitaka
The Abhidhamma is, to a
deep thinker, the
most important and interesting,
as it contains
the profound philosophy
of the Buddha's teaching
in contrast to the illuminating
but simpler
discourses in the Sutta
Pitaka.
In the Sutta Pitaka one
often finds references
to individual, being, etc.,
but in the Abhidhamma,
instead of such conventional
terms, we meet
with ultimate terms, such
as aggregates,
mind, matter, etc.
In the Sutta is found the
Vohara Desana (Conventional
Teaching), whilst in the
Abhidhamma is found
the Paramattha Desana (Ultimate
Doctrine).
In the Abhidhamma everything
is analysed
and explained in detail,
and as such it is
called analytical doctrine
(Vibhajja Vada).
Four ultimate things (Paramattha)
are enumerated
in the Abhidhamma. They
are Citta, (Consciousness),
Cetasika (Mental concomitants),
Rupa (Matter)
andNibbana.
The so-called being is
microscopically analysed
and its component parts
are minutely described.
Finally the ultimate goal
and the method
to achieve it is explained
with all necessary
details.
The Abhidhamma Pitaka is
composed of the
following works:--
Dhamma-Sangani (Enumeration
of Phenomena)
Vibhanga (The Book of the
Treatises) Katha
Vatthu (Point of Controversy)
Puggala Pannatti
(Description of Individuals)
Dhatu Katha
(Discussion with reference
to Elements) Yamaka
(The Book of Pairs) Patthana
(The Book of
Relations) According to
another classification,
mentioned by the Buddha
Himself, the whole
Teachings is ninefold,
namely ---1. Sutta,
2. Geyya, 3. Veyyakarama,
4. Gatha, 5. Udana,
6. Itivuttaka, 7. Jataka,
8. Abbhutadhamma,
9. Vedalla.
Sutta? These are the short,
medium, and long
discourses expounded by
the Buddha on various
occasions, such as Mangala
Sutta(Discourse
on Blessings), Ratana Sutta
(The Jewel Discourse) Metta
Sutta(Discourse
on Goodwill), etc. According
to the Commentary
the whole Vinaya Pitaka
is also included
in this division. Geyya
_These are discourses
mixed with Gathas or verses,
such as the
Sagathavagga of the Samyutta
Nikaya. Veyyakarana
--- Lit. exposition. The
whole Abhidhamma
Pitaka, discourses without
verses, and everything
that is not included in
the remaining eight
divisions belong to this
class. Gatha ---
These include verses found
in the Dhammapada
(Way of Truth), Theragatha
(Psalms of the
Brethren). Therigatha (Psalms
of the Sisters),
and those isolated verses
which are not classed
amongst the Sutta. Udana
_These are the 'Paeons
of Joy' found in the Udana,
one of the divisions
of the Khuddaka Nikaya.
Itivuttaka _ These
are the 112 discourses
which commence with
the phrases _ 'Thus the
Blessed One has Said'.
Itivuttaka is one of the
fifteen books that
comprise the Khuddaka Nikaya.
Jataka _ These
are the 547 birth-stories
related by the
Buddha in connection with
His previous births.
Abbhutadhamma _ These are
the few discourses
that deal with wonderful
and marvelous things,
as for example the Accariya-Abbhutadhamma
Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya
(No. 123). Vedalla
_ These are the pleasurable
discourses, such
as Chulla Vedalla, Maha
Vedalla (M. N. Nos
43,44), Samma Ditthi Sutta
(M. N. No. 9),
etc. In some of these discourses,
the answers
give to certain questions
were put with a
feeling of joy.
What is Abhidhamma?
Abhidhamma is the analytical
doctrine of
mental faculties and elements.
The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains
the profound
moral psychology and philosophy
of the Buddha's
teaching, in contrast to
the simpler discourses
in the Sutta Pitaka.
The knowledge gained from
the sutta can certainly
help us in overcoming our
difficulties, as
well as in developing our
moral conduct and
training the mind. Having
such knowledge
will enable one to lead
a life which is peaceful,
respectable, harmless and
noble. By listening
to the discourses, we develop
understanding
of the Dhamma and can mould
our daily lives
accordingly. The concepts
behind certain
words and terms used in
the Sutta Pitaka
are, however, subject to
changes and should
be interpreted within the
context of the
social environment prevailing
at the Buddha's
time. The concepts used
in the sutta are
like the conventional words
and terms lay
people use to express scientific
subjects.
While concepts in the sutta
are to be understood
in the conventional sense,
those used in
the Abhidhamma must be
understood in the
ultimate sense. The concepts
expressed in
the Abhidhamma are like
the precise scientific
words and terms used by
scientists to prevent
misinterpretations.
It is only in the Abhidhamma
that explanations
are given on how and at
which mental beats
a person can create good
and bad karmicthoughts,
according to his desires
and other mental
states. Clear explanations
of the nature
of the different mental
faculties and precise
analytical interpretations
of the elements
can be found in this important
collection
of discourses.
Understanding the Dhamma
through the knowledge
gained from the sutta is
like the knowledge
acquired from studying
the prescripti0ons
for different types of
sicknesses. Such knowledge
when applied can certainly
help to cure certain
types of sicknesses. On
the other hand, a
qualified physician, with
his precise knowledge,
can diagnose a wider range
of sicknesses
and discover their causes.
This specialized
knowledge puts him in a
better position to
prescribe more effective
remedies. Similarly,
a person who has studied
the Abhidhamma can
better understand the nature
of the mind
and analyse the mental
attitudes which cause
a human being to commit
mistakes and develop
the will to avoid evil.
The Abhidhamma teaches
that the egoistic
beliefs and other concepts
such as 'I', "you",
'man' and 'the world',
which we use in daily
conversation, do not adequately
describe
the real nature of existence.
The conventional
concepts do not reflect
the fleeting nature
of pleasures, uncertainties,
impermanence
of every component thing,
and the conflict
among the elements and
energies intrinsic
in all animate or inanimate
things. The Abhidhamma
doctrine gives a clear
exposition of the
ultimate nature of man
and brings the analysis
of the human condition
further than other
studies known to man.
The Abhidhamma deals with
realities existing
in the ultimate sense,
or paramattha dhamma
in Pali. There are four
such realities:
Citta, mind or consciousness,
defined as
'that which knows or experiences'
an object.
Citta occurs as distinct
momentary states
of consciousness. Cetasika,
the mental factors
that arise and occur along
with the citta.
Rupa, physical phenomenon
or material form.
Nibbana, the unconditioned
state of bliss
which is the final goal.
Citta, the cetasika,
and rupa are conditioned
realities. They
arise because of conditions
sustaining them
cease to continue to do
so. They are impermanent
states. Nibbana, on the
other hand, is an
unconditioned reality.
It does not arise
and, therefore, does not
fall away. These
four realities can be experienced
regardless
of the names we may choose
to give them.
Other than these realities,
everything _
be it within ourselves
or without, whether
in the past, present or
future, whether coarse
or subtle, low or lofty,
far or near _ is
a concept and not an ultimate
reality.
Citta, cetisaka(?), and
Nibbana are also
called nama. Nibbana is
an unconditioned
nama. The two conditioned
nama, that is,
cita and cetasika, together
with rupa (form),
make up psychophysical
organisms, including
human beings. Both mind
and matter, or nama-rupa,
are analysed in Abhidhamma
as though under
a microscope. Events connected
with the process
of birth and death are
explained in detail.
The Abhidhamma clarifies
intricate points
of the Dhamma and enables
the arising of
an understanding of reality,
thereby setting
forth in clear terms the
Path of Emancipation.
The realization we gain
from the Abhidhamma
with regard to our lives
and the world is
not in a conventional sense,
but absolute
reality.
The clear exposition of
thought processes
in Abhidhamma cannot be
found in any other
psychological treatise
either in the east
or west. Consciousness
is defined, while
thoughts are analysed and
classified mainly
from an ethical standpoint.
The composition
of each type of consciousness
is set forth
in detail. The fact that
consciousness flows
like a steam, a view propounded
by psychologists
like William James, becomes
extremely clear
to one who understands
the Abhidhamma. In
addition, a student of
Abhidhamma can fully
comprehend the Anatta (No-soul)
doctrine,
which is important both
from a philosophical
and ethical standpoint.
The Abhidhamma explains
the process of rebirth
in various planes after
the occurrence of
death without anything
to pass from one life
to another. This explanation
provides support
to the doctrine of Kamma
and Rebirth. It
also gives a wealth of
details about the
mind, as well as the units
of mental and
material forces, properties
of matter, sources
of matter, relationship
of mind and matter.
In the Abhidhamattha Sangaha,
a manual of
Abhidhamma, there is a
brief exposition of
the 'Law of Dependent Origination",
followed by a descriptive
account of the
Causal Relations which
finds no parallel
in any other study of the
human condition
anywhere else in the world.
Because of its
analytics and profound
expositions, the Abhidhamma
is not a subject of fleeting
interest designed
for the superficial reader.
To what extent can we compare
modern psychology
with the analysis provided
in the Abhidhamma?
Modern psychology, limited
as it is, comes
within the scope of Abhidhamma
in so far
as it deals with the mind---with
thoughts,
thought processes, and
mental states. The
difference lies in the
fact that Abhidhamma
does not accept the concept
of a psyche or
a soul.
The analysis of the nature
of the mind given
in the Abhidhamma is not
available through
any other source.. Even
modern psychologists
are very much in the dark
with regards to
subjects like mental impulses
or mental beats
(Javana Citta) as discussed
in the Abhidhamma.
Dr. Graham Howe, an eminent
Harley Street
psychologist, wrote in
his book, the Invisible
Anatomy:
'In the course of their
work many psychologists
have found, as the pioneer
work of C. G.
Jung has shown, that we
are near to [the]
Buddha. To read a little
Buddhism is to realize
that the Buddhists knew
two thousand five
hundred years ago far more
about our modern
problems of psychology
than they have yet
been given credit for.
They studied these
problems long ago, and
found the answers
too. We are now rediscovering
the Ancient
Wisdom of the East.'
Some scholars assert that
the Abhidhamma
is not the teaching of
the Buddha, but it
grew out of the commentaries
on the basic
teachings of the Buddha.
These commentaries
are said to be the work
of great scholar
monks. Tradition, however,
attributes the
nucleus of the Abhidhamma
to the Buddha Himself.
Commentators state that
the Buddha, as a
mark of gratitude to His
mother who was born
as a deva in a celestial
plane, preached
the Abhidhamma to His mother
together with
other devas continuously
for three months.
The principal topics (matika)
of the advanced
teaching, such as moral
states (kusala dhamma)
and immoral states
(akusala dhamma), were
then repeated by the
Buddha to Venerable Sariputta
Thera, who
subsequently elaborated
them and later compiled
them into six books.
From ancient times there
were controversies
as to whether the Abhidhamma
was really taught
by the Buddha. While this
discussion may
be interesting for academic
purposes, what
is important is for us
to experience and
understand the realities
described in the
Abhidhamma. One will realize
for oneself
that such profound and
consistently verifiable
truths can only emanate
from a supremely
enlightened source _ from
a Buddha. Much
of what is contained in
theAbhidhamma is
also found in the Sutta
Pitaka. Such a statement,
of course, cannot be supported
by evidence.
According to the Theravada
tradition, the
essence, fundamentals and
framework of the
Abhidhamma are ascribed
to the Buddha, although
the tabulations and classifications
may have
been the work of later
disciples. What is
important is the essence.
It is this that
we would try to experience
for ourselves.
The Buddha Himself clearly
took this stand
of using the knowledge
of the Abhidhamma
to clarify many existing
psychological, metaphysical
and philosophical problems.
Mere intellectual
quibbling about whether
the Buddha taught
the Abhidhamma or not will
not help us to
understand reality.
The question is also raised
whether the Abhidhamma
is essential for Dhamma
practice. The answer
to this will depend on
the individual who
undertakes the practice.
People vary in their
levels of understanding,
their temperaments
and spiritual development.
Ideally, all the
different spiritual faculties
should be harmonized,
but some people are quite
contented with
devotional practices based
on faith, while
others are keen on developing
penetrative
insight. The Abhidhamma
is most useful to
those who want to understand
the Dhamma in
greater depth and detail.
It aids the development
of insight into the three
characteristics
of existence? impermanence,
unsatisfactoriness,
and non-self. It is useful
not only for the
periods devoted to formal
meditation, but
also during the rest of
the day when we are
engaged in various mundane
chores. We derive
great benefit from the
study of the Abhidhamma
when we experience absolute
reality. In addition,
a comprehensive knowledge
of the Abhidhamma
is useful for those engaged
in teaching and
explaining the Dhamma.
In fact the real meaning
of the most important Buddhist
terminologies
such as Dhamma, Kamma,
Samsara, Sankhara,
Paticca Samuppada andNibbana
cannot be understood
without a knowledge of
Abhidhamma.
Mind and Matter(Nama-Rupa)
"What is mind? No
matter. What is matter?
Never mind."
According to Buddhism,
life is a combination
of mind (nama) and matter
(rupa). Mind consists
of the combination of sensations,
perceptions,
volitional activities and
consciousness.
Matter consists of the
combination of the
four elements of solidity,
fluidity, motion
and heat.
Life is the co-existence
of mind and matter.
Decay is the lack of co-ordination
of mind
and matter. Death is the
separation of mind
and matter. Rebirth is
the recombination
of mind and matter. After
the passing away
of the physical body (matter),
the mental
forces (mind) recombine
and assume a new
combination in a different
material form
and condition another existence.
The relation of mind to
matter is like the
relation of a battery to
an engine of a motor
car. The battery helps
to start the engine.
The engine helps to charge
the battery. The
combination helps to run
the motor car. In
the same manner, matter
helps the mind to
function and the mind helps
to set matter
in motion.
Buddhism teaches that life
is not the property
of matter alone, and that
the life-process
continues or flows as a
result of cause and
effect. The mental and
material elements
that compose sentient beings
from amoebae
to elephant and also to
man, existed previously
in other forms.
Although some people hold
the view that life
originates in matter alone,
the greatest
scientists have accepted
that mind precedes
matter in order for life
to originate. In
Buddhism, this concept
is called 'relinking
consciousness'.
Each of us, in the ultimate
sense, is mind
and matter, a compound
of mental and material
phenomena, and nothing
more. Apart from these
realities that go to form
the nama-rupa compound,
there is no self, or soul.
The mind part
of the compound is what
experiences an object.
The matter part does not
experience anything.
When the body is injured,
it is not the body
that feels the pain, but
the mental side.
When are hungry it is not
the stomach that
feels the hunger but again
the mind and its
factors, makes the body
digest the food.
Thus neither the nama nor
the rupa has any
efficient power of its
own. One is dependent
on the other; one supports
the other. Both
mind and matter arise because
of conditions
and perish immediately,
and this is happening
every moment of our lives.
By studying and
experiencing these realities
we will get
insight into:
(1)what we truly are; (2)what
we find around
us; (3)how and why we react
to what is within
and around us; and (4)what
we should aspire
to reach as a spiritual
goal.
To gain insight into the
nature of the psycho-physical
life is to realize that
life is an illusion,
a mirage or a bubble, a
mere process of becoming
and dissolving, or arising
and passing away.
Whatever exists, arises
from causes and conditions.
Four Noble Truths
Why are we here? Why are
we not happy with
our lives? What is the
cause of our unsatisfactoriness?
How can we see the end
of unsatisfactoriness
and experience eternal
peace?
The Buddha's Teaching is
based on the Four
Noble Truths. To realize
these Truths is
to realize and penetrate
into the true nature
of existence, including
the full knowledge
of oneself. When we recognize
that all phenomenal
things are transitory,
are subject to suffering
and are void of any essential
reality, we
will be convinced that
true and enduring
happiness cannot be found
in material possessions
and worldly achievement,
that true happiness
must be sought only through
mental purity
and the cultivation of
wisdom.
The Four Noble Truths are
a very important
aspect of the teaching
of the Buddha. The
Buddha has said that it
is because we fail
to understand the Four
Noble Truths that
we have continued to go
round in the cycle
of birth and death. In
the very first sermons
of the Buddha, theDhammachakka
Sutta, which
He gave to the five monks
at the Deer park
in Sarnath was on the Four
Noble Truths and
the Eightfold Path. What
are the Four Noble
Truths? They are as follows:
The Noble Truth of Dukkha
The Noble Truth of the
Cause of Dukkha
The Noble Truth of the
End of Dukkha
The Noble Truth of the
path leading to the
End of Dukkha
There are many ways of
understanding the
Pali word 'Dukkha'. It
has generally been
translated as 'suffering'
or 'unsatisfactoriness',
but this term as used in
the Four Noble Truths
has a deeper and wider
meaning. Dukkha contains
not only the ordinary meaning
of suffering,
but also includes deeper
ideas such as imperfection,
pain, impermanence, disharmony,
discomfort,
irritation, or awareness
of incompleteness
and insufficiency. By all
means, Dukkha includes
physical and mental suffering:
birth, decay,
disease, death, to be united
with the unpleasant,
to be separated from the
pleasant, not to
get what one desires. However,
many people
do not realize that even
during the moments
of joy and happiness, there
is Dukkha because
these moments are all impermanent
states
and will pass away when
conditions change.
Therefore, the truth of
Dukkha encompasses
the whole of existence,
in our happiness
and sorrow, in every aspect
of our lives.
As long as we live, we
are very profoundly
subjected to this truth.
Some people may have the
impression that
viewing life in terms of
Dukkha is a rather
pessimistic way of looking
at life. This
is not a pessimistic but
a realistic way
of looking at life. If
one is suffering from
a disease and refuses to
recognize the fact
that one is ill, and as
a result of which
refuses to seek for treatment,
we will not
consider such a mental
attitude as being
optimistic, but merely
as being foolish.
Therefore, by being both
optimistic or pessimistic,
one does not really understand
the nature
of life, and is therefore
unable to tackle
life's problems in the
right perspective.
The Four Noble Truths begin
with the recognition
of Dukkha and then proceed
to analyse its
cause and find its cure.
Had the Buddha stopped
at the Truth of Dukkha,
then one may say
Buddhism has identified
the problem but has
not given the cure; if
such is the case,
then the human situation
is hopeless. However,
not only is the Truth of
Dukkha recognized,
the Buddha proceeded to
analyze its cause
and the way to cure it.
How can Buddhism
be considered to be pessimistic
if the cure
to the problem is known?
In fact, it is a
teaching which is filled
with hope.
In addition, even though
Dukkha is a noble
truth, it does not mean
that there is no
happiness, enjoyment and
pleasure in life.
There is, and the Buddha
has taught various
methods with which we can
gain more happiness
in our daily life. However,
in the final
analysis, the fact remains
that the pleasure
or happiness which we experience
in life
is impermanent. We may
enjoy a happy situation,
or the good company of
someone we love, or
we enjoy youth and health.
Sooner or later,
when these states change
we experience suffering.
Therefore, while there
is every reason to
feel glad when one experiences
happiness,
one should not cling to
these happy states
or be side-tracked and
forget about working
one's way to complete Liberation.
If we wish to cure ourselves
from suffering,
we must first identify
its cause. According
to the Buddha, craving
or desire (tanha or
raga) is the cause of suffering.
This is
the Second Noble Truth.
People crave for
pleasant experiences, crave
for material
things, crave for eternal
life, and when
disappointed, crave for
eternal death. They
are not only attached to
sensual pleasures,
wealth and power, but also
to ideas, views,
opinions, concepts, beliefs.
And craving
is linked to ignorance,
that is, not seeing
things as they really are,
or failing to
understand the reality
of experience and
life. Under the delusion
of Self and not
realizing Anatta (non-Self),
a person clings
to things which are impermanent,
changeable,
perishable. The failure
to satisfy one's
desires through these things
causes disappointments
and suffering.
The Danger of Selfish Desire
Craving is a fire which
burns in all beings:
every activity is motivated
by desire. They
range from the simple physical
desire of
animals to the complex
and often artificially
stimulated desires of the
civilized man.
To satisfy desire, animals
prey upon one
another, and human beings
fight, kill, cheat,
lie and perform various
forms of unwholesome
deeds. Craving is a powerful
mental force
present in all forms of
life, and is the
chief cause of the ills
in life. It is this
craving that leads to repeated
births in
the cycle of existence.
Once we have realized the
cause of suffering,
we are in the position
to put an end to suffering.
So, how do we put an end
to suffering? Eliminate
it at its root by the removal
of craving
in the mind. This is the
Third Noble Truth.
The state where craving
ceases is known as
Nibbana. The word Nibbana
is composed of
'ni' and 'vana', meaning
the departure from
or end of craving. This
is a state which
is free from suffering
and rounds of rebirth.
This is a state which is
not subjected to
the laws of birth, decay
and death. This
state is so sublime that
no human language
can express it. Nibbana
is Unborn, Unoriginated,
Uncreated, Unformed. If
there were not this
Unborn, this Unoriginated,
this Uncreated,
this Unformed, then escape
from the conditioned
world is not possible.
Nibbana is beyond logic
and reasoning. We
may engage in highly speculative
discussions
regarding Nibbana or ultimate
reality, but
this is not the way to
really understand
it. To understand and realize
the truth of
Nibbana, it is necessary
for us to walk the
Eightfold Path, and to
train and purify ourselves
with diligence and patience.
Through spiritual
development and maturity,
we will be able
to realize the Third Noble
Truth.
The Noble Eightfold Path
is the Fourth Noble
Truth which leads to Nibbana.
It is a way
of life consisting of eight
factors. By walking
on this Path, it will be
possible for us
to see an end to suffering.
Because Buddhism
is a logical and consistent
teaching embracing
every aspect of life, this
noble Path also
serves as the finest possible
code for leading
a happy life. Its practice
brings benefits
to oneself and other, and
it is not a Path
to be practised by those
who call themselves
Buddhists alone, but by
each and every understanding
person, irrespective of
his religious beliefs.
The Noble Eightfold Path?
The Middle Way
This is the Path for leading
a religious
life without going to extremes.
An outstanding aspect of
the Buddha's Teaching
is the adoption of the
Eightfold Path is
the Middle Path. The Buddha
advised His followers
to follow this Path so
as to avoid the extremes
of sensual pleasures and
self-mortification.
The Middle Path is a righteous
way of life
which does not advocate
the acceptance of
decrees given by someone
outside oneself.
A person practises the
Middle Path, the guide
for moral conduct, not
out of fear of nay
supernatural agency, but
out of the intrinsic
value in following such
an action. He chooses
this self-imposed discipline
for a definite
end in view: self-purification.
The Middle Path is a planned
course of inward
culture and progress. A
person can make real
progress in righteousness
and insight by
following this Path, and
not by engaging
in external worship and
prayers. According
to the Buddha, anyone who
lives in accordance
with the Dhamma will be
guided and protected
by that very Law. When
a person lives according
to Dhamma, he will also
be living in harmony
with the universal law.
Every Buddhist is encouraged
to mould his
life according to the Noble
Eightfold Path
as taught by the Buddha.
He who adjusts his
life according to this
noble way of living
will be free from miseries
and calamities
both in this life-time
and hereafter. He
will also be able to develop
his mind by
restraining from evil and
observing morality.
The Eightfold Path can
be compared to a road
map. Just as a traveler
will need a map to
lead him to his destination,
we all need
the Eightfold Path which
shows us how to
attain Nibbana, the final
goal of human life.
To attain the final goal,
there are three
aspects of the Eightfold
path to be developed
by the devotee. He has
to develop Sila(Morality),
Samadhi(Mental Culture)
and Panna (Wisdom).
While the three must be
developed simultaneously,
the intensity with which
any one area is
to be practised varies
according to a person's
own spiritual development.
A devotee must
first develop his morality,
that is, his
actions should bring good
to other living
beings. He does this by
faithfully adhering
to the precepts of abstaining
from killing,
slandering, stealing, becoming
intoxicated
or being lustful. As he
develops his morality,
his mind will become more
easily controlled,
enabling him to develop
his powers of concentration.
Finally, with the development
of concentration,
wisdom will arise.
Gradual Development
With His infinite wisdom,
the Buddha knew
that not all humans have
the same ability
to reach spiritual maturity
at once. So He
expounded the Noble Eightfold
Path for the
gradual development of
the spiritual way
of life in a practical
way. He knew that
not all people can become
perfect in one
lifetime. He said that
Sila, Samadhi, and
Panna, must and can be
developed over many
lifetimes with diligent
effort. This path
finally leads to the attainment
of ultimate
peace where there is no
more unsatisfactoriness.
Righteous Life
The Eightfold path consists
of the following
eight factors:
Right Speech Sila Right
Action Morality Right
Livelihood Right Effort
Samadhi Right Mindfulness
Mental culture Right Concentration
Right
Understanding Panna Right
Thoughts Wisdom
What is Right Understanding?
It is explained
as having the knowledge
of the Four Noble
Truths. In other words,
it is the understanding
of things as they really
are. Right Understanding
also means that one understands
the nature
of what are wholesome kamma(merits)
and unwholesome
kamma(demerits), and how
they may be performed
with the body, speech and
mind. By understanding
kamma, a person will learn
to avoid evil
and do good, thereby creating
favorable outcomes
in his life. When a person
has Right Understanding,
he also understands the
Three Characteristics
of Life (that all compounded
things are transient,
subject to suffering, and
without a Self)
and understands the Law
of Dependent Origination.
A person with complete
Right Understanding
is one who is free from
ignorance, and by
the nature of that enlightenment
removes
the roots of evil from
his mind and becomes
liberated. A lofty aim
of a practising Buddhist
is to cultivate Wisdom
and gain Right Understanding
about himself, life and
all phenomena.
When a person has Right
Understanding, he
or she develops Right Thought
as well. This
factor is sometimes known
as'Right Resolution',
'Right Aspirations"
and 'Right Ideas'.
It refers to the mental
state which eliminates
wrong ideas or notions
and promotes the other
moral factors to be directed
to Nibbana.
This factor serves a double
purpose of eliminating
evil thoughts and developing
pure thoughts.
Right Thought is important
because it is
one's thoughts which either
purify or defile
a person.
There are three aspects
to Right Thought.
First, a person should
maintaining an attitude
of detachment from worldly
pleasures rather
than being selfishly attached
to them. He
should be selfless in his
thoughts and think
of the welfare of others.
Second, he should
maintain loving-kindness,
goodwill and benevolence
in his mind, which is opposed
to hatred,
ill-will or aversion. Third,
he should act
with thoughts of harmlessness
or compassion
to all beings, which is
opposed to cruelty
and lack of consideration
for others. As
a person progresses along
the spiritual path,
his thoughts will become
increasingly benevolent,
harmless, selfless, and
filled with love
and compassion.
Right Understanding and
Right Thought, which
are Wisdom factors, will
lead to good, moral
conduct. There are three
factors under moral
conduct: Right Speech,
Right Action and Right
Livelihood. Right Speech
involves respect
for truth and respect for
the welfare for
others. It means to avoid
lying, to avoid
backbiting or slander,
to avoid harsh speech,
and to avoid idle talk.
We have often underestimated
the power of speech and
tend to use little
control over our speech
faculty. But we have
all been hurt by someone's
words at some
time of our life, and similarly
we have been
encouraged by the words
of another. It is
said that a harsh word
can wound more deeply
than weapons, where as
a gentle word can
change the heart and mind
of the most hardened
criminal. So to develop
a harmonious society,
we should cultivate and
use our speech positively.
We speak words which are
truthful, bring
harmony, kind and meaningful.
The Buddha
once said 'pleasant speech
is sweet as honey,
truthful speech is beautiful
like a flower,
and wrong speech is unwholesome
like filth'.
The next factor under good,
moral conduct
is Right Action. Right
Action entails respect
for life, respect for property,
and respect
for personal relationships.
It corresponds
to the first three of the
Five Precepts to
be practised by every Buddhist,
that is,
dear to all, and all tremble
at punishment,
all fear death and value
life. Hence, we
should abstain from taking
a life which we
ourselves cannot give and
we should not harm
other sentient beings.
Respect for property
means that we should not
take what is not
given, by stealing, cheating,
or force. Respect
for personal relationship
means that we should
not commit adultery and
avoid sexual misconducts,
which is important for
maintaining the love
and trust of those we love
as well as making
our society a better place
to live in.
Right Livelihood is a factor
under moral
conduct which refers to
how we earn our living
in society. It is an extension
of the two
other factors of Right
Speech and Right Action
which refer to the respect
for truth, life,
property and personal relationships.
Right Livelihood means
that we should earn
a living without violating
these principles
of a moral conduct. Buddhists
are discouraged
from being engaged in the
following five
kinds of livelihood: trading
in human beings,
trading in weapons, trading
in flesh, trading
in intoxicating drinks
and drugs, and trading
in poison. Some people
may say that they
have to do such a business
for their living
and, therefore, it is not
wrong for them
to do so. But this argument
is entirely baseless.
If it were valid, then
thieves, murderers,
gangsters, thugs, smugglers
and swindlers
can also just as easily
say that they are
also doing such unrighteous
acts only for
their living and, therefore,
there is nothing
wrong with their way of
life.
Some people believe that
fishing and hunting
animals for pleasure and
slaughtering animals
for food are not against
the Buddhist precepts.
This is another misconception
that arises
owing to a lack of knowledge
in Dhamma. All
these are not decent actions
and bring suffering
to other beings. But in
all these actions,
the one who is harmed most
of all is the
one who performs these
unwholesome actions.
Maintaining a life through
wrong means is
not in accordance with
the Buddha's teaching.
The Buddha once said, 'Though
one should
live a hundred years immorally
and unrestrained,
yet it would indeed be
better to live one
day virtuously and meditatively.'
(Dhammapada
103) It is better to die
as a cultured and
respected person than to
live as a wicked
person.
The remaining three factors
of the Noble
Eightfold Path are factors
for the development
of wisdom through the purification
of the
mind. They are Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness,
and Right Concentration.
These factors, when
practised, enable a person
to strengthen
and gain control over the
mind, thereby ensuring
that his actions will continue
to be good
and that his mind is being
prepared to realize
the Truth, which will open
the door to Freedom,
to Enlightenment.
Right Effort means that
we cultivate a positive
attitude and have enthusiasm
in the things
we do, whether in our career,
in our study,
or in our practice of the
Dhamma. With such
a sustained enthusiasm
and cheerful determination,
we can succeed in the things
we do. There
are four aspects of Right
Effort, two of
which refer to evil and
the other two to
good. First, is the effort
to reject evil
that has already arisen;
and second, the
effort to prevent the arising
of evil. Third,
is the effort to develop
unarisen good, and
fourth, the effort to maintain
the good which
has arisen. By applying
Right Effort in our
lives, we can reduce and
eventually eliminate
the number of unwholesome
mental states and
increase and firmly establish
wholesome thoughts
as a natural part of our
mind.
Right Effort is closely
associated with Right
Mindfulness. The practice
of mindfulness
is important in Buddhism.
The Buddha said
that mindfulness is the
one way to achieve
the end of suffering. Mindfulness
can be
developed by being constantly
aware of four
particular aspects. These
are the application
of mindfulness with regard
to the body
(body postures, breathing
so forth), feelings
(whether pleasant, unpleasant
or neutrally);
mind(whether the mind is
greedy or not, angry,
dispersed or deluded or
not); and mind objects
(whether there are mental
hindrances to concentration,
the Four Noble Truths,
and so on). Mindfulness
is essential even in our
daily life in which
we act in full awareness
of our actions,
feelings and thoughts as
well as that of
our environment. The mind
should always be
clear and attentive rather
than distracted
and clouded.
Whereas Right Mindfulness
is directing our
attention to our body,
feelings, mind, or
mental object or being
sensitive to others,
in other words, putting
our attention to
where we choose to, Right
Concentration is
the sustained application
of that attention
on the object without the
mind being distracted.
Concentration is the practice
of developing
one-pointedness of the
mind on one single
object, either physical
or mental. The mind
is totally absorbed in
the object without
distractions, wavering,
anxiety or drowsiness.
Through practice under
an experienced teacher,
Right Concentration brings
two benefits.
Firstly, it leads to mental
and physical
well-being, comfort, joy,
calm, tranquillity.
Secondly, it turns the
mind into an instrument
capable of seeing things
as they truly are,
and prepares the mind to
attain wisdom.
The Noble Eightfold Path
is the fourth important
truth taught by the Buddha.
As a competent
spiritual physician, the
Buddha has identified
a disease that afflicts
all forms of life,
and this is Dukkha or unsatisfactoriness.
He then diagnosed the cause
of the unsatisfactoriness
to be selfish greed and
craving. He discovered
that there is a cure for
the disease, Nibbana,
the state where all unsatisfactoriness
ceases.
And the prescription is
the Noble Eightfold
Path. When a competent
doctor treats a patient
for a serious illness,
his prescription is
not only for physical treatment,
but it is
also psychological. The
Noble Eightfold path,
the path leading to the
end of suffering,
is an integrated therapy
designed to cure
the disease of Samsara
through the cultivation
of moral speech and action,
the development
of the mind, and the complete
transformation
of one's level of understanding
and quality
of thought. It shows the
way to gain spiritual
maturity and be released
completely from
suffering.
Everything is Changeable
What exists is changeable
and what is not
changeable does not exist.
Looking at life, we notice
how it changes
and how it continually
moves between extremes
and contrasts. We notice
rise and fall, success
and failure, loss and gain;
we experience
honor and contempt, praise
and blame; and
we feel how our hearts
respond to all that
happiness and sorrow, delight
and despair,
disappointment and satisfaction,
fear and
hope. These mighty waves
of emotion carry
us up, fling us down, and
no sooner we find
some rest, then we are
carried by the power
of a new wave again. How
can we expect a
footing on the crest of
the waves? Where
shall we erect the building
of our life in
the midst of this ever-restless
ocean of
existence?
This is a world where any
little joy that
is allotted to beings is
secured only after
many disappointments, failures
and defeats.
This is a world where scanty
joy grows amidst
sickness, desperation and
death. This is
a world where beings who
a short while ago
were connected with us
by sympathetic joy
are at the next moment
in want of our compassion.
Such a world as this needs
equanimity. This
is the nature of the world
where we live
with our intimate friends
and the next day
they become our enemies
to harm us.
The Buddha described the
world as an unending
flux of becoming. All is
changeable, continuous
transformation, ceaseless
mutation, and a
moving stream. Everything
exists from moment
to moment. Everything is
a recurring rotation
of coming into being and
then passing out
of existence. Everything
is moving from birth
to death. The matter or
material forms in
which life does or does
not express itself,
are also a continuous movement
or change
towards decay. This teaching
of the impermanent
nature of everything is
one of the main pivots
of Buddhism. Nothing on
earth partakes of
the character of absolute
reality. That there
will be no death of what
is born is impossible.
Whatever is subject to
origination is subject
also to destruction. Change
is the very constituent
of reality.
In accepting the law of
impermanence or change,
the Buddha denies the existence
of eternal
substance. Matter and spirit
are false abstractions
that, in reality, are only
changing factors
(Dhamma) which are connected
and which arise
in functional dependence
on each other.
Today, scientists have
accepted the law of
change that was discovered
by the Buddha.
Scientists postulate that
there is nothing
substantial, solid and
tangible in the world.
Everything is a vortex
of energy, never remaining
the same for two consecutive
moments. The
whole wide world is caught
up in this whirl
and vortex of change. One
of the theories
postulated by scientists
is the prospect
of the ultimate coldness
following upon the
death or destruction of
the sun. Buddhists
are not dismayed by this
prospect. The Buddha
taught that universes or
world cycles arise
and pass away in endless
succession, just
as the lives of individuals
do. Our world
will most certainly come
to an end. It has
happened before with previous
worlds and
it will happen again.
'The world is a passing
phenomenon. We all
belong to the world of
time. Every written
word, every carved stone,
every painted picture,
the structure of civilization,
every generation
of man, vanishes away like
the leaves and
flowers of forgotten summers.
What exists
is changeable and what
is not changeable
does not exist.'
Thus all gods and human
beings and animals
and material forms? everything
in this universe?
is subject to the law of
impermanence. Buddhism
teaches us:
'The body like a lump of
foam;
The feelings like a water
bubble;
Perception like a mirage;
Volitional activities like
a plantain tree;
And Consciousness like
jugglery.'(Samyutta
Nikaya)
What is Kamma?
Kamma is an impersonal,
natural law that
operates in accordance
with our actions.
It is a law in itself and
does not have any
lawgiver. Kamma operates
in its own field
without the intervention
of an external,
independent, ruling agent.
Kamma or karma can be put
in the simple language
of the child: do good and
good will come
to you, now, and hereafter.
Do bad and bad
will come to you, now,
and hereafter.
In the language of the
harvest, kamma can
be explained in this way:
if you sow good
seeds, you will reap a
good harvest. If you
sow bad seeds, you will
reap a bad harvest.
In the language of science,
kamma is called
the law of cause and effect:
every cause
has an effect. Another
name for this is the
law of moral causation.
Moral causation works
in the moral realm just
as the physical law
of action and reaction
works in the physical
realm.
In the Dhammapada, kamma
is explained in
this manner: the mind is
the chief (forerunner)
of all good and bad states.
If you speak
or act with a good or bad
mind, then happiness
or unhappiness follows
you just as the wheel
follows the hoof of the
ox or like your shadow
which never leaves you.
Kamma is simply action.
Within animate organisms
there is a power or force
which is given
different names such as
instinctive tendencies,
consciousness, etc. This
innate propensity
forces every conscious
being to move. He
moves mentally or physically.
His motion
is action. The repetition
of actions is habit
and habit becomes his character.
In Buddhism,
this process is called
kamma.
In its ultimate sense,
kamma means both good
and bad, mental action
or volition. 'Kamma
is volition,'says the Buddha.
Thuskamma is
not an entity but a process,
action, energy
and force. Some interpret
this force as 'action-influence,'
It is our own doings reacting
on ourselves.
The pain and happiness
man experiences are
the result of his own deeds,
words and thoughts
reacting on themselves.
Our deeds, words
and thoughts produce our
prosperity and failure,
our happiness and misery.
Kamma is an impersonal,
natural law that
operates strictly in accordance
with our
actions. It is law in itself
and does not
have any lawgiver. Kamma
operates in its
own field without the intervention
of an
external, independent ruling
agency. Since
there is no hidden agent
directing or administering
rewards and punishments,
Buddhists do not
rely on prayer to some
supernatural forces
to influence karmic results.
According to
the Buddha, kamma is neither
predestination
nor some sort of determinism
imposed on us
by some mysterious, unknown
powers or forces
to which we must helplessly
submit ourselves.
Buddhists believe that
man will reap what
he has sown; we are the
result of what we
were, and we will be the
result of what we
are. In other words, man
is not one who will
absolutely remain to be
what he was, and
he will not continue to
remain as what he
is. This simply means that
kamma is not complete
determinism. The Buddha
pointed out that
if everything is determined,
then there would
be no free will and no
moral or spiritual
life. We would merely be
the slaves of our
past. On the other hand,
if everything is
undetermined, then there
can be no cultivation
of moral and spiritual
growth. Therefore,
the Buddha accepted neither
strict determinism
nor strict undeterminism.
Misconceptions regarding
Kamma
The misinterpretation or
irrational views
on kamma are stated in
the Anguttara Nikaya
which suggests that the
wise will investigate
and abandon the following
views:
the belief that everything
is a result of
acts in previous lives;
the belief that all
is the result of creation
by a Supreme Ruler;
and the belief that everything
arises without
reason or cause. If a person
becomes a murderer,
a thief, or an adulterer,
and, if his actions
are due to past actions,
or caused by creation
of a Supreme Ruler, or
if that happened by
mere chance, then this
person would not be
held responsible for his
evil action.
Yet another misconception
about kamma is
that it operates only for
certain people
according to their faiths.
But the fate of
a man in his next life
does not in the least
depend on what particular
religion he chooses.
Whatever may be his religion,
man's fate
depends entirely on his
deeds by body, speech
and thought. It does not
matter what religious
label he himself holds,
he is bound to be
happy world in his next
life so long as he
does good deeds and leads
an unblemished
life. He is bound to be
born to lead a wretched
life if he commits evil
and harbors wicked
thoughts in his mind. Therefore,
Buddhists
do not proclaim that they
are the only blessed
people who can go to heaven
after their death.
Whatever the religion he
professes, man's
kammic thought alone determines
his own destiny
both in this life and in
the next. The teaching
of kamma does not indicate
a post-mortem
justice. The Buddha did
not teach this law
of kamma to protect the
rich and to comfort
the poor by promising illusory
happiness
in an after life.
According to Buddhism kamma
explains the
inequalities that exist
among mankind. These
inequalities are due not
only to heredity,
environment and nature
but also to kamma
or the results of our own
actions. Indeed
kamma is one of the factors
which are responsible
for the success and the
failure of our life.
Since kamma is an invisible
force, we cannot
see it working with our
physical eyes. To
understand how kamma works,
we can compare
it to seeds: the results
of kamma are stored
in the subconscious mind
in the same way
as the leaves, flowers,
fruits and trunk
of a tree are stored in
its seed. Under favorable
conditions, the fruits
of kamma will be produced
just as with moisture and
light, the leaves
and trunk of a tree will
sprout from its
tiny seed.
The working of kamma can
also be compared
to a bank account: a person
who is virtuous,
charitable and benevolent
in his present
life is like a person who
is adding to his
good kamma. This accrued
good kamma can be
used by him to ensure a
trouble-free life.
But he must replace what
he takes or else
one day his account will
be exhausted and
he will be bankrupt. Then
whom will he be
able to blame for his miserable
state? He
can blame neither others
nor fate. He alone
is responsible. Thus a
good Buddhist cannot
be an escapist. He has
to face life as it
is and not run away from
it. The kammic force
cannot be controlled by
inactivity. Vigorous
activity for good is indispensable
for one's
own happiness. Escapism
is the resort of
the weak, and an escapist
cannot escape the
effects of the kammic law.
The Buddha says, 'There
is no place to hide
in order to escape from
kammic results.'
(Dhammapada 127).
Our Own Experience
To understand the law of
kamma is to realize
that we ourselves are responsible
for our
own happiness and our own
misery. We are
the architects of our kamma.
Buddhism explains
that man has every possibility
to mould his
own kamma and thereby influence
the direction
of his life. On the other
hand, a man is
not a complete prisoner
of his own actions;
he is not a slave of his
kamma. Nor is man
a mere machine that automatically
release
instinctive forces that
enslave him. Nor
is man a mere product of
nature. Man has
within himself the strength
and the ability
to change his kamma. His
mind is mightier
than his kamma and so the
law of kamma can
be made to serve him. Man
does not have to
give up his hope and effort
in order to surrender
himself to his own kammic
force. To off-set
the reaction of his bad
kamma that he has
accumulated previously,
he has to do more
meritorious deeds and to
purify his mind
rather than by praying,
worshipping, performing
rites or torturing his
physical body in order
to overcome his kammic
effects. Therefore,
man can overcome the effect
of his evil deeds
if he acts wisely by leading
noble life.
Man must use the material
with which he is
endowed to promote his
ideal. The cards in
the game of life are within
us. We do not
select them. They are traced
to our past
kamma; but we can call
as we please, do what
suits us and as we play,
we either gain or
lose.
Kamma is equated to the
action of men. This
action also creates some
karmic results.
But each and every action
carried out without
any purposeful intention,
cannot become a
Kusala-Kamma(skillful action)
or Akusala-Kamma(unskillful
action). That is why the
Buddha interprets
kamma as volitional activities.
That means,
whatever good and bad deeds
we commit ourselves
without any purposeful
intention, are not
strong enough to be carried
forward to our
next life. However, ignorance
of the nature
of the good and bad effect
of the kamma is
not an excuse to justify
or avoid the karmic
results if they were committed
intentionally.
A small child or an ignorant
man may commit
many evil deeds. Since
they commit such deeds
with intention to harm
or injure, it is difficult
to say that they are free
from the karmic
results. If that child
touches a burning
iron-rod the heat element
does not spare
the child without burning
his fingers. The
karmic energy also works
exactly in the same
manner. Karmic energy is
unbiased, it is
like energy of gravity.
The radical transformations
in the characters
of Angulimala and Asoka
illustrate man's
potential to gain control
over his kammic
force.
Angulimala was a highway
robber who murdered
more than a thousand of
his fellow men. Can
we judge him by his external
actions? For
within his lifetime, he
became an Arahanta
and thus redeemed his past
misdeeds.
Asoka, the Indian Emperor,
killed thousands
and thousands to fight
his wars and to expand
his empire. Yet after winning
the battle,
he completely reformed
himself and changed
his career to such an extent
that today,
'Amidst the tens of thousands
of names of
monarchs that crowd the
columns of history,
their majesties and royal
highnesses and
the like, the name of Asoka
shines and shines
almost alone, as a star,'
says a well-known
world historian H. G. Well.
Other Factors Which Support
Kamma
Although Buddhism says
that man can eventually
control his karmic force,
it does not state
that everything is due
to kamma. Buddhism
does not ignore the role
played by other
forces of nature. According
to Buddhism there
are five orders or processes
of natural laws(niyama)
which operate in the physical
and mental
worlds:
seasonal laws(utu niyama)
physical inorganic
order e. g., seasonal phenomena
of winds
and rains, etc. the biological
laws (bija
niyama) relating to seasonal
changes etc.,
the kammic law (kamma niyama)
relating to
moral causation or the
order of act and result,
natural phenomena (Dhamma
niyama) relating
to electrical forces, movement
of tides etc.,
and psychological laws
(citta niyama) which
govern the processes of
consciousness. Thus
kamma is considered only
as one of the five
natural laws that account
for the diversity
in this world.
Can Kamma Be Changed?
Kamma is often influenced
by circumstances:
beneficent and malevolent
forces act to counter
and to support this self-operating
law. These
other forces that either
aid or hinder this
kamma are birth, time or
conditions, appearances,
and effort.
A favorable birth (gati
sampatti) or an unfavorable
birth (vipatti) can develop
or hinder the
fruition of kamma. For
instance, if a person
is born to a noble family
or in a state of
happiness, his fortunate
birth will provide
an easy opportunity for
his good kamma to
operate. An unintelligent
person who, by
some good kamma, is born
in a royal family,
will, on account of his
noble parentage be
honored by the people.
If the same person
were to have a less fortunate
birth, he would
not be similarly treated.
Good appearance (upadhi
sampatti) and poor
appearance (upadhi vipatti)are
two other
factors that hinder or
favor the working
of kamma. If by some good
kamma, a person
obtains a good birth, but
is born deformed
by some bad kamma, then
he will not be able
to fully enjoy the beneficial
results of
his good kamma. Even a
legitimate heir to
a throne may not perhaps
be raised to that
high position if he happens
to be physically
or mentally deformed. Beauty,
on the other
hand, will be an asset
to the possessor.
A good-looking son of poor
parents may attract
the attention of others
and may be able to
distinguish himself through
their influence.
Also, we can find cases
of people from poor,
obscure family backgrounds
who rise to fame
and popularity as film
actors or actresses
or beauty queens.
Time and occasion are other
factors that
influence the working of
kamma. In the time
of famine or during the
time of war, all
people without exception
are forced to suffer
the same fate. Here the
unfavorable conditions
open up possibilities for
evil kamma to operate.
The favorable conditions,
on the other hand,
will prevent the operation
of bad kamma.
Effort or intelligence
is perhaps the most
important of all the factors
that affect
the working of kamma. Without
effort, both
worldly and spiritual progress
is impossible.
If a person makes no effort
to cure himself
of a disease or to save
himself from his
difficulties, or to strive
with diligence
for his progress, then
his evil kamma will
find a suitable opportunity
to produce its
due effects. However, if
he endeavours to
surmount his difficulties,
his good kamma
will come to help him.
When shipwrecked in
a deep sea, the Bodhisattaduring
one of his
previous births, made an
effort to save himself
and his old mother, while
the others prayed
to the gods and left their
fate in the hands
of these gods. The result
was that the Bodhisatta
escaped while the others
were drowned.
Thus the working of kamma
is aided or obstructed
by birth, beauty and ugliness,
time and personal
effort or intelligence.
However, man can
overcome immediate karmic
effects by adopting
certain methods. Yet, he
is not free from
such karmic effects if
he remains within
this Samsara? cycle of
birth and death. Whenever
opportunities arise the
same karmic effects
that he overcame, can affect
him again. This
is the uncertainty of worldly
life. Even
the Buddha and Arahantas
were affected by
certain kammas, although
they were in their
final birth.
The time factor is another
important aspect
of the karmic energy for
people to experience
the good and bad effects.
People experience
certain karmic effects
only within this lifetime
while certain karmic effects
become effective
immediately hereafter the
next birth. And
certain other karmic effects
follow the doers
as long as they remain
in this wheel of existence
until they stop their rebirth
after attaining
Nibbana. The main reason
for this difference
is owing to mental impulsion
(Javana Citta)
of the people at the time
when a thought
arises in the mind to do
good or bad.
Impartial Energy
Those who do not believe
that there is an
energy known as kamma should
understand that
this karmic energy is not
a by-product of
any particular religion
although Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism acknowledge
and explain
the nature of this energy.
This is an existing
universal law which has
no religious label.
All those who violate this
law, have to face
the consequences irrespective
of their religious
beliefs, and those who
live in accordance
with this law experience
peace and happiness
in their life. Therefore,
this karmic law
is unbiased to each and
every person, whether
they believe it or not;
whether, they have
a religion or not. It is
like any other existing
universal law. Please remember
that kamma
is not the exclusive property
of Buddhism.
If we understand kamma
as a force or a form
of energy, then we can
discern no beginning.
To ask where is the beginning
of kamma is
like asking where is the
beginning of electricity.
Kamma like electricity
does not begin. It
comes into being under
certain conditions.
Conventionally we say that
the origin of
kamma is volition but this
is as much conventional
as saying that the origin
of a river is a
mountain top.
Like the waves of the ocean
that flow into
one another , one unit
of consciousness flows
into another and this merging
of one thought
consciousness into another
is called the
working of karma. In short,
every living
being, according to Buddhism,
is an electricity
current of life that operates
on the automatic
switch of kamma.
Kamma being a form of energy
is not found
anywhere in this fleeting
consciousness or
body. Just as mangoes are
not stored anywhere
in the mango tree but,
dependent on certain
conditions, they spring
into being, so does
kamma. Kamma is like wind
or fire. It is
not stored up anywhere
in the Universe but
comes into being under
certain conditions.
Rebirth
Unsatisfied desire for
existence and sensual
pleasures is the cause
of rebirth.
Buddhists regard the doctrine
of rebirth
not as a mere theory but
as a verifiable
fact. The belief in rebirth
forms a fundamental
tenet of Buddhism. However,
the belief in
rebirth is not confined
to Buddhist; it is
also found in other countries,
in other religions,
and even among free thinkers.
Pythagoras
could remember his previous
birth. Plato
could remember a number
of his previous lives.
According to Plato, man
can be reborn only
up to ten times. Plato
also believed in the
possibility of rebirth
in the animal kingdom.
Among the ancient people
in Egypt and China,
a common belief was that
only well-known
personalities like emperors
and kings have
rebirths. A well-known
Christian authority
named Origen, who lived
in 185-254 A. D.,
believed in rebirth. According
to him, there
is no eternal suffering
in a hell. Gorana
Bruno, who lived in the
sixteenth century,
believed that the soul
of every man and animal
transmigrates from one
being to another.
In 1788, a well-known philosopher,
Kant,
criticized eternal punishment.
Kant also
believed in the possibility
of rebirth in
other celestial bodies.
Schopenhauer(1788-1860),
another great philosopher,
said that where
the will to live existed
there must be of
necessity life. The will
to live manifests
itself successively in
ever new forms. The
Buddha explained this 'will
to exist' as
the craving for existence.
It is possible but not
very easy for us to
actually verify our past
lives. The nature
of mind is such that it
does not allow most
people the recollection
of their previous
lives. Our minds are overpowered
by the five
hindrances: sensual desire,
ill-will, sloth,
restlessness and doubt.
Because of these
hindrances, our vision
is earth-bound and
hence we cannot visualize
rebirths. Just
as a mirror does not reflect
an image when
it is covered with dirt,
so the mind does
not allow most people the
recollection of
previous lives. We cannot
see the stars during
daytime, not because they
are not there in
the sky, but because they
are outshone by
the sunlight. Similarly,
we cannot remember
our past lives because
our mind at present
is always over-burdened
with many thoughts
in the present, day-to-day
events and mundane
circumstances.
A consideration of the
shortness of our life-span
on earth will help us to
reflect on rebirth.
If we consider life and
its ultimate meaning
and goal, and all the varied
experience possible
for man, we must conclude
that in a single
life there is not enough
time for man to
carry out all that is intended
by nature,
to say nothing about what
man himself desires
to do. The scale of experience
is enormous.
There is a vast range of
powers latent in
man which we see and can
even develop if
the opportunity is presented
to us. This
especially true today if
special investigation
is made. We find ourselves
with high aspirations
but with no time to attain
them. Meanwhile,
the great troop of passions
and desires,
selfish motives and ambitions,
make war within
us and with others. These
forces pursue each
other to the time of our
death. All these
forces must be tried, conquered,
subdued
and used. One life is just
not enough for
all this. To say that we
must have but one
life here with such possibilities
put before
us and impossible to develop
is to make the
universe and life a huge
and cruel joke.
The Buddha doctrine of
rebirth should be
differentiated from the
teachings of transmigration
and reincarnation of other
religions. Buddhism
denies the existence of
a permanent, god-created
soul or an unchanging entity
that transmigrates
from one life to another.
Just as relative identity
is made possible
by causal continuity without
a Self or Soul,
so death can issue in rebirth
without a transmigrating
Soul. In a single life,
each thought-moment
flashes in and out of being,
giving rise
to its successor with its
perishing. Strictly
speaking, this momentary
rise and fall of
every thought is a birth
and death. Thus
even in a single life we
undergo countless
births and deaths every
second. But because
the mental process continues
with the support
of a single physical body,
we regard the
mind-body continuum as
constituting a single
life.
What we ordinarily mean
by death is the cessation
of the body's vital functions.
When the physical
body loses its vitality
it can no longer
support the current of
consciousness, the
mental side of the process.
But as long as
there is a clinging to
life, a desire to
go on existing, the current
of consciousness
does not come to a stop
with the body's loss
of life. Rather, when death
takes place,
when the body dies away,
the mental current,
driven by the thirst for
more existence,
will spring up again with
the support of
a new physical body, one
which has just come
into being through the
meeting of sperm and
egg. Thus, rebirth takes
place immediately
after death. The steam
of memory may be interrupted
and the sense of identity
transferred to
the new situation, but
the entire accumulation
of experience and disposition
has been transmitted
to the newborn being, and
the cycle of becoming
begins to revolve for still
another term.
For Buddhism, therefore,
death does not spell
either the entrance to
eternal life or complete
annihilation. It is, rather,
the portal to
a new rebirth which will
be followed by more
growth, decay, and then
till another death.
At the last moment, no
renewed physical functioning
occurs in a dying man's
mind. This is just
like a motorist releasing
the accelerator
before stopping, so that
no more pulling
power is given to the engine.
Similarly,
no more material qualities
of Kamma arise.
Buddhists do not maintain
that the present
life is the only life between
two eternities
of misery and happiness;
nor do they believe
angels will carry them
to heaven and leave
them there for all eternity.
They believe
that this present life
is only one of the
indefinite numbers of states
of being and
that this earthly life
is but one episode
among many others. They
believe that all
beings will be reborn somewhere
for a limited
period of time as long
as their good and
bad Kamma remains in the
subconscious mind
in the form of mental energy.
The interpretation
of the subconscious mind
in the Buddhist
context should not be confused
with that
given by modern psychologists
since the concepts
are not exactly synonymous.
What is the cause of rebirth?
The Buddha
taught that ignorance produces
desires. Unsatisfied
desire is the cause of
rebirth. When all
unsatisfied desire is extinguished,
then
rebirth ceases. To stop
rebirth is to extinguish
all desires. To extinguish
desire, it is
necessary to destroy ignorance.
When ignorance
is destroyed, the worthlessness
of every
such rebirth, is perceived,
as well as the
paramount need to adopt
a course of life
by which the desire for
such repeated births
can be abolished.
Ignorance also begets the
illusive and illogical
idea that there is only
one existence for
man, and the other illusion
that this one
life is followed by states
of eternal pleasure
or torment.
The Buddha taught that
ignorance can be dispelled
and sorrow removed by realization
of the
Four Noble Truths, and
not through any other
source. To disperse all
ignorance, one must
persevere in the practice
of an all-embracing
altruism in conduct, intelligence
and wisdom.
One must also destroy all
desire for the
lower, personal pleasures
and selfish desire.
How does rebirth take place?
When this physical
body is no more capable
of functioning, energies
do not die with it, but
continue to take
some other shape or form,
which we call another
life. The kammic force
manifesting itself
in the form of a human
being can also manifest
itself in the form of an
animal. This can
happen if man has no chance
to develop his
positive kammic forces.
This force, called
craving, desire, volition,
thirst to live,
does not end with the non-functioning
of
the body but continues
to manifest itself
in another form, producing
re-existence which
is called rebirth.
Today, there are people
in various countries
who have spontaneously
developed memory of
their past births. The
experiences of these
people have been well-documented
in newspapers
and periodicals. Some of
these people never
accepted that there was
such a thing as rebirth
until memory fragments
of their previous
lives came to them. Much
of the information
they revealed about their
past lives has
been investigated and found
to be valid.
Through hypnotism, some
people have managed
to reveal information of
previous lives.
Certain hypnotic states
that penetrate into
the subconscious mind make
the recalling
of past lives possible.
Rebirth or becoming again
and again is a
natural occurrence not
created by any particular
religion or god. Belief
in rebirth or disbelief
does not make any difference
to the process
of rebirth or avoiding
rebirth. Rebirth takes
place as long as craving
for existence and
craving for sensual pleasures
or attachment
exist in the mind. Those
strong mental forces
prevail in each and every
living being in
this universe. Those who
hope and pray that
they be not born again
must understand that
their wishes will not materialize
until they
make earnest efforts to
eradicate their craving
and attachment. Having
seen and experienced
the uncertainty and unsatisfactoriness
of
life under worldly conditions,
wise people
try to rid themselves of
these repeated births
and deaths by following
the correct path.
Those who cannot reduce
their craving and
attachment must be prepared
to face all unsatisfactory
and uncertain situations
associated with
rebirth and becoming again
and again.
Is Rebirth Simultaneous?
Another difficult thing
to understand about
rebirth is whether the
occurrence of rebirth
is simultaneous or not.
This is a controversial
issue even amongst prominent
Buddhist Scholars.
According to Abhidhamma,
rebirth (conception)
takes place immediately
after the death of
a being without any intermediate
state. At
the same time, some others
believe that a
person, after his death,
would evolve into
a spirit form for a certain
number of days
before rebirth takes place.
Another interpretation
regarding the same belief
is that it is not
the spirit, but the deceased
person's consciousness
or mental energy remaining
in space, supported
by his own mental energies
of craving and
attachment. However, sooner
or later rebirth
must take place. The spirits
(petas), who
are beings born in spirit
forms, are unfortunate
living beings and their
lives in the spirit
form is not permanent.
It is also a form
of rebirth which is temporary.
Another concept that many
people cannot understand
is that in the process
of rebirth a man can
be reborn as an animal
and an animal can
be reborn as a man. The
animal nature of
the man's mind and the
animal way of life
adopted by him can condition
him to be born
as an animal. The condition
and behavior
of the mind is responsible
for the next existence.
On the other hand, a person
who is born in
animal form, owing to certain
mental abuses
during a previous birth,
could be reborn
as a human being, if that
animal has not
committed any serious evil
acts. It is a
well-known fact that some
animals are very
intelligent and understanding.
This is a
clear evidence to prove
that they are tending
towards the human life.
A person who is born
as an animal can again
be born as a human
being when the bad kamma
which conditioned
his birth as an animal
is expended and the
good kamma which was stored
becomes dominant.
Dying Moment
In the dying man's consciousness,
there are
three types of consciousness
(Vinnana) functioning
at the moment of death
:rebirth-linking consciousness
(patisandhi-citta), the
current of passive
consciousness or the current
of life-continuum
(bhavanga) and consciousness
disconnecting
the present life (cuti-citta).
At the last
moment of a man's present
life the (patisandhi-citta)
or rebirth-linking consciousness
arises,
having the three signs
as its objects. The
patisandhi-citta remains
in the course of
cognition for five faint
thought-moments
Javana and then sinks down
into bhavanga.
At the end of bhavanga
the cuti-citta arises,
disconnecting the present
life and sinks
down into bhavanga. At
this very moment comes
the end of the present
life. At the end of
that bhavanga another patisandhi-citta
rises
up in the next life and
from this very moment
the new life begins. This
is the process
of death and rebirth according
to Buddhism,
and only in Buddhism is
the process of these
natural phenomena found
explained in minute
detail.
A Buddhist faces death
not as a crisis in
life but as a normal event,
for he knows
that whoever is born must
suffer, 'decay',
and ultimately die. Or,
as someone so aptly
puts it, 'Everyone is born
with the certificate
of death at his birth.'
If we could all look
at death such an intelligent
and rational
way, we would not cling
to life so tenaciously.
'Ayamantima jatinatthidani
punabbhavo"
This is my final birth
and there is no more
rebirth for me.(Dhamma
Cakka Sutta).
Nibbana
Nibbana is the highest
bliss, a supramundane
state of eternal happiness.
The happiness
of Nibbana cannot be experienced
by indulging
the senses but calming
them.
Nibbana is the final goal
of Buddhism. What
is Nibbana then? It is
not easy to know what
Nibbana really is; it is
easier to know what
Nibbana is not.
Nibbana is not nothingness
or extinction.
Would the Buddha leave
his family and kingdom
and preach for 45 years,
all for nothingness?
Nibbana is not a paradise.
Several centuries
after the Buddha, some
of the Buddhist sects
began to introduce Nibbana
as a paradise.
Their purpose of equating
Nibbana with a
heavenly world was to convince
the less-intellectually-gifted
and to attract them to
the teachings of the
sect. Striving for Nibbana
came to mean looking
for a nice place where
everything is beautiful
and where everyone is eternally
happy. This
might be a very comfortable
folktale, but
it is not the Nibbana that
the Buddha experienced
and introduced. During
His time the Buddha
did not deny the idea of
paradise as it was
presented in the early
Indian religions.
But the Buddha knew that
this paradise was
within Samsara and the
final liberation was
beyond it. The Buddha could
see that the
Path to Nibbana led beyond
the heavens.
If Nibbana is not a place,
where is Nibbana
then? Nibbana exists just
as fire exists.
However, there is no storage
place for fire
or for Nibbana. But when
you rub pieces of
wood together, then the
friction and heat
are the proper conditions
for fire to arise.
Likewise, when the nature
in man's mind is
such that he is free from
all defilements,
then Nibbanic bliss will
appear.
You can experience Nibbana.
Until you experience
the supreme state of Nibbanic
bliss, you
can only speculate as to
what it really is.
For those who insist on
the theory, the texts
offer some help. The texts
suggest that Nibbana
is a supra-mundane state
of unalloyed happiness.
By itself, Nibbana is quite
unexplainable
and quite undefinable.
As darkness can be
explained only by its opposite,
light, and
as calm can only be explained
by its opposite,
motion, so likewise Nibbana,
as a state equated
to the extinction of all
suffering can be
explained by its opposite?
the suffering
that is being endured in
Samsara. As darkness
prevails wherever there
is no light, as calm
prevails wherever there
is no motion, so
likewise Nibbana is everywhere
where suffering
and change and impurity
do not prevail.
A sufferer who scratches
his sores can experience
a temporary relief. This
temporary relief
will aggravate the wounds
and cause the disease
to be enhanced. The joy
of the final cure
can hardly be compared
to the fleeting relief
obtained from the scratching.
Likewise, satisfying
the craving for sense-desires
brings only
temporary gratification
or happiness which
prolongs the stay in Samsara.
The cure for
the samsaric disease is
Nibbana. Nibbana
is an end of the cravings
which cause all
the sufferings of birth,
old age, disease,
death, grief, lamentation
and despair. The
joy of Nibbanic cure can
hardly be compared
to the temporary Samsaric
pleasure gained
through fulfilling the
sense desires.
It is dangerous to speculate
on what Nibbana
is; it is better to know
how to prepare the
conditions necessary for
Nibbana, how to
attain the inner peace
and clarity of vision
that leads to Nibbana.
Follow the Buddha's
advice: put His Teachings
into practice.
Get rid of all your defilements
which are
rooted in greed, hatred,
and delusion. Purify
yourself of all desires
and realize absolute
selflessness. Lead a life
of right moral
conduct and from all selfishness
and illusion.
Then, Nibbana is gained
and experienced.
Nibbana and Samsara
A well-known Mahayana Buddhist
scholar, Nagarjuna,
says that Samsara and Nibbana
are one. This
interpretation can easily
be misunderstood
by others. However to state
that the concept
of Samsara and Nibbana
are the same is to
say that there is no difference
in voidness
of component things and
the unconditioned
state of Nibbana. In accordance
with the
Pali Tipitaka, Samsara
is described as the
unbroken continuation of
the five aggregates,
four elements and twelve
bases or sources
of mental processes whereas
Nibbana is described
as the extinction of those
relative physical
and mental sources.
However, it is admitted
that those who gain
Nibbanic bliss, can experience
it during
their existence in Samsara.
In any case,
after their death, the
link with those elements
will be eliminated, for
the simple reason
that Nibbana is unconditioned,
not relative
or interdependent. If there
is to be anything
at all afterNibbana, it
would have to be
'Absolute Truth'.
You must learn to be detached
from all worldly
things. If there is any
attachment to anyone
or to anything or if there
is any aversion
to anyone or anything,
you will never attain
Nibbana, for Nibbana is
beyond all opposites
of attachment and aversion,
likes and dislikes.
When that ultimate state
is attained, you
will fully understand this
worldly life for
which you now crave. This
world will cease
to be an object of your
desire. You will
realize the sorrow and
impermanence and impersonality
of all that lives and that
does not live.
By depending on teachers
or holy books without
using your own effort in
the right manner,
it is difficult to gain
realization of Nibbana.
Your dreams will vanish.
No castles will
be built in the air. The
tempest will be
ended. Life's struggles
will be over. Nature's
process will have ceased.
All your worries,
miseries, responsibilities,
disturbances,
burdens, physical and mental
ailments and
emotions will vanish after
attaining this
most blissful state of
Nibbana.
To say that Nibbana is
nothingness simply
because one cannot perceive
it with the five
senses, is as illogical
as to say that light
does not exist simply because
the blind do
not see it.
Nibbana is attainable inthis
present life.
Buddhism does not state
that its ultimate
goal could be reached only
in life beyond.
When Nibbana is realized
in this life with
the body remaining it is
called Sopadisesa
Nibbana. When an Arahant
attains Pari Nibbana,
after the dissolution of
the body, without
any reminder of physical
existence, it is
called Anupadisesa Nibbana.
Law of Dependent Origination
"No God, no Brahma
can be found
No matter of this wheel
of life
Just bare phenomena roll
Depend on conditions all.(Visuddhi
Magga)"
The Law of Dependent Origination
is one of
the most important teachings
of the Buddha,
and it is also very profound.
The Buddha
has often expressed His
experience of Enlightenment
in one of two ways, either
in terms of having
understood the Four Noble
Truths, or in terms
of having understood the
nature of the dependent
origination. However, more
people have heard
about the Four Noble Truths
and can discuss
it than the Law of Dependent
Origination,
which is just as important.
Although the actual insight
into dependent
origination arises with
spiritual maturity,
it is still possible for
us to understand
the principle involved.
The basis of dependent
origination is that life
or the world is
built on a set of relations,
in which the
arising and cessation of
factors depend on
some other factors which
condition them.
This principle can be given
in a short formula
of four lines:
When this is, that is This
arising, that
arises When this is not,
that is not This
ceasing, that ceases.
On this principle of interdependence
and
relativity rests the arising,
continuity
and cessation of existence.
This principle
is known as the Law of
Dependent Origination
in Pali, Paticca-samuppada.
This law emphasizes
an important principle
that all phenomena
in this universe are relative,
conditioned
states and do not arise
independently of
supportive conditions.
A phenomenon arises
because of a combination
of conditions which
are present to support
its arising. And the
phenomenon will cease when
the conditions
and components supporting
its arising change
and no longer sustain it.
The presence of
these supportive conditions,
in turn, depend
on other factors for their
arising, sustenance
and disappearance.
The Law of Dependence Origination
is a realistic
way of understanding the
universe and is
the Buddhist equivalent
of Einstein's Theory
of Relativity. The fact
that everything is
nothing more than a set
of relations is consistent
with the modern scientific
view of the material
world. Since everything
is conditioned, relative,
and interdependent, there
is nothing in this
world which could be regarded
as a permanent
entity, variously regarded
as an ego or an
eternal soul, which many
people believe in.
The phenomenal world is
built on a set of
relations, but is this
the way we would normally
understand the world to
be? We create fictions
of its permanency in our
minds because of
our desires. It is almost
natural for human
beings to cling to what
they consider as
beautiful or desirable,
and to reject what
is ugly or undesirable.
Being subjected to
the forces of greed and
hatred, they are
misled by delusion, clouded
by the illusion
of the permanency of the
object they cling
to or reject. Therefore,
it is hard for us
to realize that the world
is like a bubble
or mirage, and is not the
kind of reality
we believe it to be. We
do not realize that
it is unreal in actuality.
It is like a ball
of fire, which when whirled
around rapidly,
can for a time, create
the illusion of a
circle.
The fundamental principle
at work in dependent
origination is that of
cause and effect.
In dependent origination,
what actually takes
place in the causal process
is described
in detail. To illustrate
the nature of dependent
origination of the things
around us, let
us consider an oil lamp.
The flame in an
oil lamp burns dependent
upon the oil and
the wick. When the oil
and the wick are present,
the flame in an oil lamp
burns. If either
of these is absent, the
flame will cease
to burn. This example illustrates
the principle
of dependent origination
with respect to
a flame in an oil lamp.
Or in an example
of a plant, it is dependent
upon the seed,
earth, moisture, air and
sunlight for the
plant to grow. All these
phenomena arise
dependent upon a number
of causal factors,
and not independently.
This is the principle
of dependent origination.
In the Dhamma, we are interested
to know
how the principle of dependent
origination
is applied to the problem
of suffering and
rebirth. The issue is how
dependent origination
can explain why we are
still going round
in Samsara, or explain
the problem of suffering
and how we can be free
from suffering. It
is not meant to be a description
of the origin
or evolution of the universe.
Therefore,
one must not be mistaken
into assuming that
ignorance, the first factor
mentioned in
the dependent origination,
is the first cause.
Since everything arises
because of some preceding
causes, there can be no
first cause.
According to the Law of
Dependent Origination,
there are twelve factors
which account for
the continuity of existence
birth after birth.
The factors are as follows:
Through ignorance are conditioned
volitional
actions or kamma-formations.
Through volitional
actions is conditioned
consciousness. Through
consciousness are conditioned
mental and
physical phenomena. Through
mental and physical
phenomena are conditioned
the six faculties(i.
e., five physical sense-organs
and mind).
Through the six faculties
is conditioned
(sensorial and mental)
contact. Through (sensorial
and mental)contact is conditioned
sensation.
Through sensation is conditioned
desire,
'thirst". Through
desire ('thirst')
is conditioned clinging.
Through clinging
is conditioned the process
of becoming. Through
the process of becoming
is conditioned birth.
through birth are conditioned
decay, death,
sorrow, lamentation, pain,
grief and despair.
This is how life arises,
exists and continues,
and how suffering arises.
These factors may
be understood as sequentially
spanning over
a period of three life-times;
the past life,
the present life, and the
future life. In
the dependent origination,
ignorance and
mental formation belong
to the past life,
and represent the conditions
that are responsible
for the occurrence of this
life. The following
factors, namely, consciousness,
mental and
physical phenomena, the
six senses, contact,
sensation, desire, clinging
and becoming,
are factors involved in
the present life.
The last two factors, birth
and decay and
death, belong to the future
life.
In this law, the first
factor of Ignorance
gives rise to Volitional
Activities (or kamma).
Ignorance means not knowing
or understanding
the true nature of our
existence. Through
Ignorance, good or evil
deeds are performed
which will lead a person
to be reborn. Rebirth
can occur in various planes
of existence:
the human world, the celestial
or higher
planes, or even suffering
planes depending
of the quality of a person's
kamma. When
a person dies, his Volitional
Activities
will condition the arising
of Consciousness,
in this case to mean the
re-linking Consciousness
which arises as the first
spark of a new
life in the process of
re-becoming.
Once the re-linking Consciousness
has taken
place, life starts once
again. Dependent
on the Consciousness, there
arise Mind and
Matter, that is, a new'being'
is born. Because
there are Mind and Matter,
there arise the
six Sense-organs (the sixth
sense is the
mind itself). With the
arising of the Sense-organs,
there arises Contact. Contact
with what?
Contact with sights, sounds,
smells, tastes,
tactile objects, and mental
objects.
These sights, sounds, smells,
tastes, tactile
objects, and mental objects
can be beautiful,
pleasing and enticing.
On the other hand,
they can be ugly and distasteful.
Therefore,
dependent on Contact arises
Sensations: feelings
that are pleasant, unpleasant
or neutral.
Because of these feelings,
the laws of attraction
(greed)and repulsion (aversion)
are now set
in motion. Beings are naturally
attracted
to pleasant objects and
repelled by unpleasant
objects. As a result of
Sensation, Desire
arises. A person desires
and thirsts for
forms that are beautiful
and enticing; sounds
that are beautiful and
enticing; tastes,
smells, touch, and objects
which the mind
regards as beautiful and
enticing. From these
Desires, he develops very
strong Clinging
to the beautiful object
(or strongly rejects
the repulsive object).
Now because of this
Clinging and attachment,
the next life is
conditioned and there arises
Becoming. In
other words, the processes
of Becoming are
set in motion by Clinging.
The next link in this chain
of Dependent
Origination is that Becoming
conditions the
arising of Birth. And finally,
dependence
on Birth arise Decay and
Death, followed
by Sorrow, Lamentation,
Pain, Grief and Despair.
The process can be ceased
if the formula
is taken in the reverse
order: Through the
complete cessation of ignorance(through
the
cultivation of Insight),
volitional activities
or kamma-formations cease;
through the cessation
of volitional activities,
consciousness ceases;
? through the cessation
of birth, the other
factors of decay, death,
sorrow, etc., cease.
Therefore, one can be free
from the rounds
of rebirth through the
eradication of ignorance.
To re-iterate what was
mentioned earlier,
this doctrine of Dependent
Origination merely
explains the processes
of Birth and Death,
and is not a theory of
the evolution of the
world. It deals with the
Cause of re-birth
and Suffering, but in no
way attempts to
show the absolute Origin
of Life. Ignorance
in Dependent Origination
is the ignorance
of the Four Noble Truths.
It is very important
for us to understand the
Four Noble Truths
because it is the ignorance
of these Truths
that has trapped us all
in the endless cycle
of birth and death.
According to the Buddha,
while He was speaking
to Ananda: It is by their
not being able
to comprehend the Dependent
Origination,
that people are entangled
like a ball of
cotton, and not being able
to see the Truth,
are always afflicted by
Sorrow, --born often
into conditions that are
dismal and dreary,
where confusion and prolonged
suffering prevail.
And, they do not know how
to disentangle
themselves to get out.
Eternalism and Nihilism
The Buddha rejected both
extremes of eternalism
and nihilism.
To develop Right View or
Perfect View, we
must first be aware of
two views which are
considered imperfect or
wrong.
The first view is eternalism.
This doctrine
or belief is concerned
with eternal life
or with eternal things.
Before the Buddha's
time, it was taught that
there is an abiding
entity which could exist
forever, and that
man can live the eternal
life by preserving
the eternal soul in order
to be in union
with Supreme Being. In
Buddhism, this teaching
is called sassata ditthi
----the view of
eternalists. Such views
still exist even
in the modern world owing
to man's craving
for eternity.
Why did the Buddha deny
the teaching of eternalism?
Because when we understand
the things of
this world as they truly
are, we cannot find
anything which is permanent
or which exists
forever. Things change
and continue to do
so according to the changing
conditions on
which they depend. When
we analyse things
into their elements or
into reality, we cannot
find any abiding entity,
any everlasting
thing. This is why the
eternalist view is
considered wrong or false.
The second false view is
nihilism or the
view held by the nihilists
who claim that
there is no life after
death. This view belongs
to a materialistic philosophy
which refuses
to accept knowledge of
mental conditionality.
To subscribe to a philosophy
of materialism
is to understand life only
partially. Nihilism
ignores the side of life
which is concerned
with mental conditionality.
If one claims
that after the passing
away or ceasing of
a life, it does not come
to be again, the
continuity of mental conditions
is denied.
To understand life, we
must consider all
conditions, both mental
and material. When
we understand mental and
material conditions,
we cannot say that there
is no life after
death and that there is
no further becoming
after passing away. This
nihilist view of
existence is considered
false because it
is based on incomplete
understanding of reality.
That is why nihilism was
also rejected by
the Buddha. The teaching
of kamma is enough
to prove that the Buddha
did not teach annihilation
after death; Buddhism accepts
'survival'
not in the sense of an
eternal soul, but
in the sense of a renewed
becoming.
Throughout the Buddha's
long period of teaching
the Dhamma to His followers,
He actively
discouraged speculative
arguments. During
the 5th century B. C. India
was a veritable
hive of intellectual activity
where scholars,
yogis, philosophers, kings
and even ordinary
householders were constantly
engaged in the
philosophical arguments
pertaining to human
existence. Some of these
were either ridiculously
trivial or totally irrelevant.
Some people
wasted valuable time arguing
at great length
about all manner of subjects.
They were far
more concerned about proving
their powers
in mental gymnastics than
seeking genuine
solutions to the problems
that beset humanity.
(In the 18th century Jonathan
Swift satirized
a similar pastime in England
when he showed
the Lilliputians in 'Gulliver's
Travels'
waging a war to decide
whether an egg should
be broken on its sharp
end or its broad end).
The Buddha also refused
to get involved in
speculations regarding
the universe. He stated
very clearly that the problem
facing mankind
is not in his past or his
future but in the
immediate present. Knowledge
about Eternalism
or Nihilism can in no way
help man to break
the present fetters which
bind him to existence
and which are the source
of all his feelings
of discontent which arise
from his inability
to completely satisfy his
cravings. The Buddha
stated that before one
can begin to tread
the path which leads to
Nibbana one must
have Right View. Only when
one knows clearly
what one is seeking will
one be able to attain
it.
Can the First Cause be
Known?
It is rather difficult
for us to understand
how the world came into
existence without
a first cause. But it is
very much more difficult
to understand how that
first cause came into
existence at the beginning.
According to the Buddha,
it is inconceivable
to find a first cause for
life or anything
else. For in common experience,
the cause
becomes the effect and
the effect becomes
the cause. In the circle
of cause and effect,
a first cause is incomprehensible.
With regard
to the origin of life,
the Buddha declares,
'Without cognizable end
is this recurrent
wandering in Samsara(cycle
of birth and death).
Beings are obstructed by
ignorance and fettered
by craving. A first beginning
of these beings
is not to be perceived.
(Anamatagga Samyutta in
Samyutta Nikaya).
This life-steam flows on
ad infinitum, as
long as it is fed by the
muddy waters of
ignorance and craving.
When these two are
cut off, only then does
the life-steam cease
to flow, only then does
rebirth come to an
end.
It is difficult to conceive
an end of space.
It is difficult to conceive
an eternal duration
of what we call time. But
it is more difficult
for us to understand how
this world came
into existence with a first
cause. And it
is more difficult to understand
how that
first cause came into existence
at the beginning.
For if the first cause
can exist though uncreated,
there is no reason why
the other phenomena
of the universe must not
exist without having
also been created.
As to the question how
all beings came into
existence without a first
cause, the Buddhist's
reply is that there is
no answer because
the question itself is
merely a product of
man's limited comprehension.
If we can understand
the nature of time and
relativity, we must
see that there could not
have been any beginning.
It can only be pointed
out that all the usual
answers to the question
are fundamentally
defective. If it is assumed
that for a thing
to exist, it must have
had a creator who
existed before it, it follows
logically that
the creator himself must
have had a creator,
and so on back to infinity.
On the other
hand, if the creator could
exist without
a prior cause in the form
of another creator,
the whole argument falls
to the ground. The
theory of a creator does
not solve any problems,
it only complicates the
existing ones.
Thus Buddhism does not
pay much attention
to theories and beliefs
about the origin
of the world. Whether the
world was created
by a god or it came into
existence by itself
makes little difference
to Buddhist. Whether
the world is finite or
infinite also makes
little difference to Buddhists.
Instead of
following this line of
theoretical speculations,
the Buddha advises people
to work hard to
find their own salvation.
Scientists have discovered
many causes which
are responsible for the
existence of life,
plants, planets, elements
and other energies.
But it is impossible for
anyone to find out
any particular first cause
for their existence.
If they go on searching
for the first cause
of any existing life or
thing, they point
certain causes as the main
cause but that
never becomes the first
cause. In the process
of searching for the first
cause one after
the other, they will come
back to the place
where they were. This is
because, cause becomes
the effect and the next
moment that effect
becomes the cause to produce
another effect.
That is what the Buddha
say, 'It is incomprehensible
and the universe is beginningless.'
Is there an Eternal Soul?
Belief in an eternal soul
is a misconception
of the human consciousness.
Soul-Theories
With regard to the soul
theory, there are
three kinds of teachers
in the world:
The first teacher teaches
the existence of
an eternal ego-entity that
outlasts death:
He is the eternalist.
The second teacher teaches
a temporary ego-entity
which becomes annihilated
at death: He is
the materialist.
The third teacher teaches
neither an eternal
nor a temporary ego-entity:
He is the Buddha.
The Buddha teaches that
what we call ego,
self, soul, personality,
etc., are merely
conventional terms that
do not refer to any
real, independent entity.
According to Buddhism
there is no reason to believe
that there
is an eternal soul that
comes from heaven
or that is created by itself
and that will
transmigrate or proceed
straight away either
to heaven or hell after
death. Buddhists
cannot accept that there
is anything either
in this world or any other
world that is
eternal or unchangeable.
We only cling to
ourselves and hope to find
something immortal.
We are like children who
wish to clasp a
rainbow. To children, a
rainbow is something
vivid and real; but the
grown-ups know that
it is merely an illusion
caused by certain
rays of light and drops
of water. The light
is only a series of waves
or undulations
that have no more reality
than the rainbow
itself.
Man has done well without
discovering the
soul. He shows no signs
of fatigue or degeneration
for not having encountered
any soul. No man
has produced anything to
promote mankind
by postulating a soul and
its imaginary working.
Searching for a soul in
man is like searching
for something in a dark
empty room. But the
poor man will never realize
that what he
is searching for is not
in the room. It is
very difficult to make
such a person understand
the futility of his search.
Those who believe in the
existence of a soul
are not in a position to
explain what and
where it is. The Buddha's
advice is not to
waste our time over this
unnecessary speculation
and devote our time to
strive for our salvation.
When we have attained perfection
then we
will be able to realize
whether there is
a soul or not. A wandering
ascetic named
Vacchagotta asked the Buddha
whether there
was an Atman (self) or
not. The story is
as follows:
Vacchagotta comes to the
Buddha and asks:
'Venerable Gotama, is there
an Atman ? The
Buddha is silent. 'Then
Venerable Gotama,
is there no Atman? Again
the Buddha is silent.
Vacchagotta gets up and
goes away. After
the ascetic has left, Ananda
asks the Buddha
why He did not answer Vacchagotta's
question.
The Buddha explains His
position:
'Ananda, when asked by
Vacchagotta, the Wanderer:
'Is there a Self?, if I
had answered: 'There
is a Self'. Then, Ananda,
that would be siding
with those recluses and
brahmanas who hold
the eternalist theory (sassata-vada).'
'And Ananda, when asked
by the Wanderer:
'Is there no Self?, if
I had answered: 'There
is no Self', then that
would be siding with
those recluses and brahmanas
who hold the
annihilationist theory(
uccedavada)'.
'Again, Ananda, when asked
by Vacchagotta:
'Is there a Self? If I
had answered: 'There
is a Self', would that
be in accordance with
my knowledge that all dhammas
are without
Self?
'Surely not, Sir.'
'And again, Ananda, when
asked by the Wanderer:
'Is there no Self?', if
I had answered: 'There
is no Self', then that
would have created
a greater confusion in
the already confused
Vacchagotta. For he would
have thought: Formerly
indeed I had an Atman(Self),
but now I haven't
got one.' (Samyutta Nikaya).
The Buddha regarded soul-speculation
as useless
and illusory. He once said,
'Only through
ignorance and delusion
do men indulge in
the dream that their souls
are separate and
self-existing entities.
Their heart still
clings to Self. They are
anxious about heaven
and they seek the pleasure
of Self in heaven.
Thus they cannot see the
bliss of righteousness
and the immortality of
truth.' Selfish ideas
appear in man's mind due
to his conception
of Self and craving for
existence.
Anatta: The Teaching of
No-Soul
The Buddha countered all
soul-theory and
soul-speculation with His
Anatta doctrine.
Anatta is translated under
various labels:
No-soul, No-self, egolessness,
and soullessness.
To understand the Anatta
doctrine, one must
understand that the eternal
soul theory _
'I have a soul' _ and the
material theory
_ 'I have no soul' _are
both obstacles to
self-realization or salvation.
They arise
from the misconception
'I AM'. Hence, to
understand the Anatta doctrine,
one must
not cling to any opinion
or views on soul-theory;
rather, one must try to
see things objectively
as they are and without
any mental projections.
One must learn to see the
so-called 'I' or
Sour or Self for what it
really is : merely
a combination of changing
forces. This requires
some analytical explanation.
The Buddha taught that
what we conceive as
something eternal within
us, is merely a
combination of physical
and mental aggregates
or forces (pancakkhandha),
made up of body
or matter (rupakkhandha),
sensation (vedanakkhandha),
perception (sannakkhandha),
mental formations
(samkharakkhandha) and
consciousness
(vinnanakkhandha). These
forces are working
together in a flux of momentary
change; they
are never the same for
two consecutive moments.
They are the component
forces of the psycho-physical
life. When the Buddha analyzed
the psycho-physical
life, He found only these
five aggregates
or forces. He did not find
any eternal soul.
However, many people still
have the misconception
that the soul is the consciousness.
The Buddha
declared in unequivocal
terms that consciousness
depends on matter, sensation,
perception
and mental formations and
that is cannot
exist independently of
them.
The Buddha said, 'The body,
O monks, is not
the Self. Sensation is
not the Self. Perception
is not the Self. The mental
constructions
are not the Self. And neither
is consciousness
the Self. Perceiving this,
O monks, the disciple
sets no value on the body,
or on sensation,
or on perception, or on
mental constructions,
or on consciousness. Setting
no value of
them, he becomes free of
passions and he
is liberated. The knowledge
of liberation
arises there within him.
And then he knows
that he has done what has
to be done, that
he has lived the holy life,
that he is no
longer becoming this or
that, that his rebirth
is destroyed.' (Anatta-Lakkhana
Sutta).
The Anatta doctrine of
the Buddha is over
2500 years old. Today the
thought current
of the modern scientific
world is flowing
towards the Buddha's Teaching
of Anatta or
No-Soul. In the eyes of
the modern scientists,
man is merely a bundle
of ever-changing sensations.
Modern physicists say that
the apparently
solid universe is not,
in reality, composed
of solid substance at all,
but actually a
flux of energy. The modern
physicist sees
the whole universe as a
process of transformation
of various forces of which
man is a mere
part. The Buddha was the
first to realize
this.
A prominent author, W.
S. Wily, once said,
'The existence of the immortal
in man is
becoming increasingly discredited
under the
influence of the dominant
schools of modern
thought.' The belief in
the immortality of
the soul is a dogma that
is contradicted
by the most solid, empirical
truth.
The mere belief in an immortal
soul, or the
conviction that something
in us survives
death, does not make us
immortal unless we
know what it is that survives
and that we
are capable of identifying
ourselves with
it. Most human beings choose
death instead
of immortality by identifying
themselves
with that which is perishable
and impermanent
by clinging stubbornly
to the body or the
momentary elements of the
present personality,
which they mistake for
the soul or the essential
form of life.
About those researches
of modern scientists
who are now more inclined
to assert that
the so-called 'Soul' is
no more than a bundle
of sensations, emotions,
sentiments, all
relating to the physical
experiences, Prof.
James says that the term
'Soul' is a mere
figure of speech to which
no reality corresponds.
It is the same Anatta doctrine
of the Buddha
that was introduced in
the Mahayana school
of Buddhism as Sunyata
or voidness. Although
this concept was elaborated
by a great Mahayana
scholar, Nagarjuna, by
giving various interpretations,
there is no extraordinary
concept in Sunyata
far different from the
Buddha's original
doctrine of Anatta.
The belief in soul or Self
and the Creator
God, is so strongly rooted
in the minds of
many people that they cannot
imagine why
the Buddha did not accept
these two issues
which are indispensable
to many religions.
In fact some people got
a shock or became
nervous and tried to show
their emotion when
they heard that the Buddha
rejected these
two concepts. That is the
main reason why
to many unbiased scholars
and psychologists
Buddhism stands unique
when compared to all
the other religions. At
the same time, some
other scholars who appreciate
the various
other aspects of Buddhism
thought that Buddhism
would be enriched by deliberately
re-interpreting
the Buddha word 'Atta'
in order to introduce
the concept of Soul and
Self into Buddhism.
The Buddha was aware of
this unsatisfactoriness
of man and the conceptual
upheaval regarding
this belief.
All conditioned things
are impermanent, All
conditioned things are
Dukka? Suffering,
All conditioned or unconditioned
things are
soulless or selfless. (Dhammapada
277, 278,
279) There is a parable
in our Buddhist texts
with regard to the belief
in an eternal soul.
A man, who mistook a moving
rope for a snake,
became terrified by that
fear in his mind.
Upon discovery that it
was only a piece of
rope, his fear subsided
and his mind became
peaceful. The belief in
an eternal soul is
equated to the rope? man's
imagination.
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