This short essay is
intended to give a brief introduction to Buddhism. It will discuss the way Buddhists
perceive the world, the four main teachings of the Buddha, the Buddhist view
of the self, the relationship between this self and the various ways in which
it responds to the world, the Buddhist path and the final goal.
The Three Marks of Existence
Buddhism has been described as a very pragmatic religion. It does not indulge
in metaphysical speculation about first causes; there is no theology, no worship
of a deity or deification of the Buddha. Buddhism takes a very straightforward
look at our human condition; nothing is based on wishful thinking, at all. Everything
that the Buddha taught was based on his own observation of the way things are.
Everything that he taught can be verified by our own observation of the way
things are.
If we look at our life, very simply, in a straightforward way, we see that it
is marked with frustration and pain. This is because we attempt to secure our
relationship with the "world out there", by solidifying our experiences
in some concrete way. For example, we might have dinner with someone we admire
very much, everything goes just right, and when we get home later we begin to
fantasise about all the things we can do with our new-found friend, places we
can go etc. We are going through the process of trying to cement our relationship.
Perhaps, the next time we see our friend, she/he has a headache and is curt
with us; we feel snubbed, hurt, all our plans go out the window. The problem
is that the "world out there" is constantly changing, everything is
impermanent and it is impossible to make a permanent relationship with anything,
at all.
all our unnecessary posturing. We could just be a simple, direct and straight-forward
person. We could form a simple relationship with our world, our coffee, spouse
and friend. We do this by abandoning our expectations about how we think things
should be.
This is the fourth noble truth: the way, or path to end the cause of suffering.
The central theme of this way is meditation. Meditation, here, means the practice
of mindfulness/awareness, shamata/vipashyana in Sanskrit. We practice being
mindful of all the things that we use to torture ourselves with. We become mindful
by abandoning our expectations about the way we think things should be and,
out of our mindfulness, we begin to develop awareness about the way things really
are. We begin to develop the insight that things are really quite simple, that
we can handle ourselves, and our relationships, very well as soon as we stop
being so manipulative and complex.
The Five Skandhas
The Buddhist doctrine of egolessness seems to be a bit confusing to westerners.
I think this is because there is some confusion as to what is meant by ego.
Ego, in the Buddhist sense, is quite different from the Freudian ego. The Buddhist
ego is a collection of mental events classified into five categories, called
skandhas, loosely translated as bundles, or heaps.
If we were to borrow a western expression, we could say that "in the beginning"
things were going along quite well. At some point, however, there was a loss
of confidence in the way things were going. There was a kind of primordial panic
which produced confusion about what was happening. Rather than acknowledging
this loss of confidence, there was an identification with the panic and confusion.
Ego began to form. This is known as the first skandha, the skandha of form.
After the identification with confusion, ego begins to explore how it feels
about the formation of this experience. If we like the experience, we try to
draw it in. If we dislike it, we try to push it away, or destroy it. If we feel
neutral about it, we just ignore it. The way we feel about the experience is
called the skandha of form; what we try to do about it is known as the skandha
of impulse/perception.
The next stage is to try to identify, or label the experience. If we can put
it into a category, we can manipulate it better. Then we would have a whole
bag of tricks to use on it. This is the skandha of concept. The final step in
the birth of ego, is called the skandha of consciousness. Ego begins to churn
thoughts and emotions around and around. This makes ego feel solid and real.
The churning around and around is called samsara -- literally, to whirl about.
The way ego feels about its situation (skandha of feeling) determines which
of the six realms of existence it creates for itself.
The Six Realms
If ego decides it likes the situation, it begins to churn up all sorts of ways
to possess it. A craving to consume the situation arises and we long to satisfy
that craving. Once we do, a ghost of that craving carries over and we look around
for something else to consume. We get into the habitual pattern of becoming
consumer oriented. Perhaps we order a piece of software for our computer. We
play with it for awhile, until the novelty wears out, and then we look around
for the next piece of software that has the magic glow of not being possessed
yet. Soon we haven't even got the shrink wrap off the current package when we
start looking for the next one. Owning the software and using it doesn't seem
to be as important as wanting it, looking forward to its arrival. This is known
as the hungry ghost realm where we have made an occupation out of craving. We
can never find satisfaction, it is like drinking salt water to quench our thirst.
Another realm is the animal realm, or having the mind like that of an animal.
Here we find security by making certain that everything is totally predictable.
We only buy blue chip stock, never take a chance and never look at new possibilities.
The thought of new possibilities frightens us and we look with scorn at anyone
who suggests anything innovative. This realm is characterised by ignorance.
We put on blinders and only look straight ahead, never to the right or left.
The hell realm is characterised by acute aggression. We build a wall of anger
between ourselves and our experience. Everything irritates us, even the most
innocuous, and innocent statement drives us mad with anger. The heat of our
anger is reflected back on us and sends us into a frenzy to escape from our
torture, which in turn causes us to fight even harder and get even angrier.
The whole thing builds on itself until we don't even know if we're fighting
with someone else or ourselves. We are so busy fighting that we can't find an
alternative to fighting; the possibility of alternative never even occurs to
us.
These are the three lower realms. One of the three higher realms is called the
jealous god realm. This pattern of existence is characterised by acute paranoia.
We are always concerned with "making it". Everything is seen from
a competitive point of view. We are always trying to score points, and trying
to prevent others from scoring on us. If someone achieves something special
we become determined to out do them. We never trust anyone; we "know"
they're trying to slip one past us. If someone tries to help us, we try to figure
out their angle. If someone doesn't try to help us, they are being uncooperative,
and we make a note to ourselves that we will get even later. "Don't get
mad, get even," that's our motto.
At some point we might hear about spirituality. We might hear about the possibility
of meditation techniques, imported from some eastern religion, or mystical western
one, that will make our minds peaceful and absorb us into a universal harmony.
We begin to meditate and perform certain rituals and we find ourselves absorbed
into infinite space and blissful states of existence. Everything sparkles with
love and light; we become godlike beings. We become proud of our godlike powers
of meditative absorption. We might even dwell in the realm of infinite space
where thoughts seldom arise to bother us. We ignore everything that doesn't
confirm our godhood. We have manufactured the god realm, the highest of the
six realms of existence. The problem is, that we have manufactured it. We begin
to relax and no longer feel the need to maintain our exalted state. Eventually
a small sliver of doubt occurs. Have we really made it? At first we are able
to smooth over the question, but eventually the doubt begins to occur more and
more frequently and soon we begin to struggle to regain our supreme confidence.
As soon as we begin to struggle, we fall back into the lower realms and begin
the whole process over and over; from god realm to jealous god realm to animal
realm to hungry ghost realm to hell realm. At some point we begin to wonder
if there isn't some sort of alternative to our habitual way of dealing with
the world. This is the human realm.
The human realm is the only one in which liberation from the six states of existence
is possible. The human realm is characterised by doubt and inquisitiveness and
the longing for something better. We are not as absorbed by the all consuming
preoccupations of the other states of being. We begin to wonder whether it is
possible to relate to the world as simple, dignified human beings.
The Eightfold Path
The path to liberation from these miserable states of being, as taught by the
Buddha, has eight points and is known as the eightfold path. The first point
is called right view -- the right way to view the world. Wrong view occurs when
we impose our expectations onto things; expectations about how we hope things
will be, or about how we are afraid things might be. Right view occurs when
we see things simply, as they are. It is an open and accommodating attitude.
We abandon hope and fear and take joy in a simple straight-forward approach
to life.
The second point of the path is called right intention. It proceeds from right
view. If we are able to abandon our expectations, our hopes and fears, we no
longer need to be manipulative. We don't have to try to con situations into
our preconceived notions of how they should be. We work with what is. Our intentions
are pure.
The third aspect of the path is right speech. Once our intentions are pure,
we no longer have to be embarrassed about our speech. Since we aren't trying
to manipulate people, we don't have to be hesitant about what we say, nor do
we need to try bluff our way through a conversation with any sort of phoney
confidence. We say what needs to be said, very simply in a genuine way.
The fourth point on the path, right discipline, involves a kind of renunciation.
We need to give up our tendency to complicate issues. We practice simplicity.
We have a simple straight-forward relationship with our dinner, our job, our
house and our family. We give up all the unnecessary and frivolous complications
that we usually try to cloud our relationships with.
Right livelihood is the fifth step on the path. It is only natural and right
that we should earn our living. Often, many of us don't particularly enjoy our
jobs. We can't wait to get home from work and begrudge the amount of time that
our job takes away from our enjoyment of the good life. Perhaps, we might wish
we had a more glamorous job. We don't feel that our job in a factory or office
is in keeping with the image we want to project. The truth is, that we should
be glad of our job, whatever it is. We should form a simple relationship with
it. We need to perform it properly, with attention to detail.
The sixth aspect of the path is right effort. Wrong effort is struggle. We often
approach a spiritual discipline as though we need to conquer our evil side and
promote our good side. We are locked in combat with ourselves and try to obliterate
the tiniest negative tendency. Right effort doesn't involve struggle at all.
When we see things as they are, we can work with them, gently and without any
kind of aggression whatsoever.
Right mindfulness, the seventh step, involves precision and clarity. We are
mindful of the tiniest details of our experience. We are mindful of the way
we talk, the way we perform our jobs, our posture, our attitude toward our friends
and family, every detail.
Right concentration, or absorption is the eighth point of the path. Usually
we are absorbed in absentmindedness. Our minds are completely captivated by
all sorts of entertainment and speculations. Right absorption means that we
are completely absorbed in nowness, in things as they are. This can only happen
if we have some sort of discipline, such as sitting meditation. We might even
say that without the discipline of sitting meditation, we can't walk the eightfold
path at all. Sitting meditation cuts through our absentmindedness. It provides
a space or gap in our preoccupation with ourselves.
The Goal
Most people have heard of nirvana. It has become equated with a sort of eastern
version of heaven. Actually, nirvana simply means cessation. It is the cessation
of passion, aggression and ignorance; the cessation of the struggle to prove
our existence to the world, to survive. We don't have to struggle to survive
after all. We have already survived. We survive now; the struggle was just an
extra complication that we added to our lives because we had lost our confidence
in the way things are. We no longer need to manipulate things as they are into
things as we would like them to be.