"Buddha Nature"? Know Thyself!

Laura Murphy, Jordan Kramer (Against the Stream); Seven (Wisdom Quarterly)
What is our true nature or Siddhartha's for that matter? (Indiaaa.../Flickr.com).

Ever try to define your "true" nature? Can it differ in different contexts? If success is more lasting when it follows our natures, why do so many desert their talents?

I am? I am that I am? I'm basically good, naturally bad? These are the questions I ask.

Pema Chodron (Tibetan nun) on "Basic Goodness"

Then there is the issue of identity, I am...what? What is there to identify with? These passing mental states, this body, these feelings?

Descartes famously misspoke, "I think therefore I am." Surely, based on the evidence, all that could really be said as a foundational truth was "There's thinking so there's thinking."

Something's thinking, but it does not follow that it is some permanent, perfect, unchanging self. "Self" changes. It changes at every moment. It can identify with anything. What is it? The Buddha defined it as "materiality and mentality" or "form (body), feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness."

These are the Five Aggregates of Clinging. They cling to one another, and illusion clings to them. They are empty and impersonal in an ultimate sense.

In a conventional sense, here "I am" questioning what is "I," who is "self," what have I been, what will I be? The questions of fools who go on revolving in rebirth and suffering. Renewed becoming depends on this confusion. Rather than being mindful and fearlessly looking at the truth AND THEREBY BEING LIBERATED, we assume the answer and ponder in a hopeless circle.

Siddhartha sat in spite of all the inimical forces that it upset (WTPille/Flickr.com).

To be fully oneself, to embody one's potential, to utilize the talents brought over from countless past lives (or given as "gifts" at birth for no reason), to cultivate skills, to move beyond personal suffering and self-esteem issues... are a few angles to investigate.

To fathom the enigma of my "true" nature -- as Christian evil and fallen, or as essentially good with the potential to be a buddha -- is something any ancient Greek could agree on: KNOW THYSELF.

Watchers of Gilligan's Island already know, "To thine own self be true." That is important. But is that enough. What is the self "I am" being true to?

(ambergristoday.com)

The historical Buddha warned: Thinking won't get you there. If it did, he would have advocated philosophy and debating, voting for truthiness and creating consensus realities. There is a Truth beyond all that. And it is accessible. And the Buddha pointed the way. The pointer is not the way anymore than the reflection of the Moon is the Moon.

We talk about Truth. But Buddhism is a practice, not a dogma, not something to believe. "Come and see. Investigate," the Buddha bid others. You need not take anyone's word for it. "Relying on no one, depending on no other's truth, you will see." The Truth shall set us free.

Of course in our culture, this was hijacked. That famous Bible character became that Truth, that way, that beacon of light. Was that copied from the Buddha's title as the "Light of Asia"? The Buddha did not seek glory. The Truth cannot be hidden forever, whoever found it, rediscovered it, or pointed to it.

If only Western mystics had a way, a step by step way.

All thinking, none knowing
All speaking, none showing
All searching, none finding
Traveling roads that go on winding.
Seven (half remembered words scrawled on a philosophy class desk)

JORDAN: The Buddha never said the words, "Buddha Nature." Where did he say we are naturally or basically good? Before one again starts a sentence "I am...," it might be better to rephrase it: "For right now, it is this way..."

The mind is confused. The mind confuses. The mind, to keep itself a going concern, delights in illusion. It deceives itself. It drags us to suffering. And all the while that seems the thing it dreads. But there it is, standing in the way of Truth and freedom.

SEVEN: You know that saying, "If someone's in your way, and you kick him/her as hard as you can, your butt is going to hurt"? I identify with mind, which is changing at every moment, and stand in my own way. Maybe if I just was rather than imagining "I am this, I am that, I was this, I will be that," maybe if I followed the Buddha's advice and pondered four useful things, I could be free of all suffering.

LAURA: The solutions I come to are based on a thinking mind, which confuses me time and time again. Probably the best way to know is to go inward and experience the luminosity from within -- shining without, and actually see it and feel it, rather than thinking about it. I must pay close attention to this luminous expression, how it feels in my body, in all of my interactions with others, my actions and habits in day to day life. I think that's when -- well, there I go again!

I start to get a deeper understanding beyond mental discernment. It takes repetition -- catching the mind/myself/the Thinker is being mindful -- before this inner knowing starts to make sense, before it can be trusted, before I know that my very being is rooted in life and everyone and everything just as a tree is far larger when the roots are revealed.

It is so easy to become distracted, to forget, to lose direction, to fall off the wagon or get carried away. But I am learning to true my wheel, which can be as simple as coming back to my breath. That is the first and maybe only step in reevaluating my true nature.

I may be uprooted at times, which happens even to the healthiest of trees, so one aspect of my nature is impermanence. In the breath my true nature is revealed, and in feeling the unsatisfactory nature, in mind the impersonal nature... and in nirvana the boundless liberation free of all impermanence, suffering, and delusion.

(Dan Vetree/GR8quotes)

After the Enlightenment (Inspired Utterances)

The Buddha's All-Seeing Eyes at the great stupa of Boudanath, just outside of Katmandu, Nepal

After the Great Enlightenment

Wisdom Quarterly translation (Udana, Chapter 1)
1. Thus have I heard. On a certain occasion the Buddha, soon after the attaining supreme enlightenment (buddhahood), was dwelling at Uruvela, on the banks of the river Neranjara, at the foot of the bodhi tree. At that time, remaining in a sitting posture for seven days, he experienced the joy of emancipation.

When the seven days came to a close, the Exalted One arose from that state of jhana (meditative absorption). And in the first watch of the night, he thoroughly intuited/thought out the chain of conditionality in order: "When this (state) is, that (state) comes to be; by the arising of this, that is produced. That is to say (in detail):

Tibetan monk and novice under an enormous quilted thangka

"From Ignorance spring formations, from formations springs consciousness, from consciousness spring mind and material form (mentality-materiality), from mind and material form, the six sense bases [the sensitive portion of bodily organs capable of receiving impressions], from the six sense bases, contact [the meeting of stimuli, impression, and consciousness], from contact, sensations, from sensations, craving, from craving, attachment, from attachment, being, from being, rebirth, from rebirth spring decay, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair [all of which are collectively referred to as dukkha, which we translate as suffering, distress, or unsatisfactoriness]. Thus this whole mass of suffering originates." And the Buddha in this connection, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance:

"When the conditions of existence dawn upon the mindful
meditative ennobled person, when one understands the nature
of the conditional arising of things, then all doubts depart."

2. [Conversely,]..."When this is not, that does not come to be; by the non-arising of this (state), that (state) is not produced. That is to say:

By the dissolution of ignorance, formations are undone, by the dissolution of formations, [the base of] consciousness is undone, by the dissolution of consciousness, mentality-materiality are undone, by the dissolution of mentality-materiality, the [bases of the] six sense organs are undone, by the dissolution of the six sense bases, contact is undone, by the dissolution of contact, sensations are undone, by the dissolution of sensations, craving is undone, by the dissolution of craving, attachment [clinging] is undone, by the dissolution of attachment, [coming into illusory] being is undone, by the dissolution of being, rebirth is undone, and by the dissolution of rebirth, decay, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are undone. Thus this entire mass of suffering is brought to an end.

And the Exalted One, in this connection, on that occasion breathed forth this solemn utterance:

"When the conditional constituents of being dawn upon the
mindful meditative ennobled person, when one understands

the dissolution of the causes, then all doubts depart."

3. When the seven days had come to a close, the Buddha One arose from that meditative state. And during the last watch of the night thoroughly intuited/thought out the chain of conditionality from start to finish and back.... Now by the complete dissolution of ignorance, there is a cessation of formations. And the Buddha in this connection, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance:

"When the conditional constituents of being dawn upon
the mindful, meditative, ennobled brahmin, that person
stands scaring off Mara's armies just as the Sun
diffusing its rays throughout space [scatters the darkness]."

Many came seeking the Buddha's advice after his great awakening, such as Kisagotami (depicted here) asking him to bring her baby back to life. Clever brahmin priests came dispute with a renowned wanderer (shraman) or right their views.

4. Thus have I heard. On a certain occasion the Buddha, soon after attaining buddhahood, was dwelling at Uruvela on the banks of the Neranjara river, at the foot of the Goatherd's Banyan tree. At that time, after remaining in a sitting posture for seven days, experiencing the bliss of emancipation, arose from that meditative state (jhana) at the end of the seventh day.

Now a certain brahmin with a haughty disposition came there and, drawing near, saluted the Buddha. After exchanging compliments of friendship and civility, he stationed himself respectfully at one side. And while standing respectfully at one side said to the Buddha:

"What, Venerable Gautama, is the standard of excellence for a brahmin, and what is the nature of the works he should perform?

The Buddha in this connection, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance:

"One who has put away doing harm, who is humble, free from
impurity [of mind/heart], self-restrained, versed in knowledge,
leading the high life [not by birth but by one's own actions in
this life], that person may rightly be referred to as a 'brahmin.'
For such a person there are no desires anywhere in the world."

Seeking a Path: Dependent Origination

P.A. Payutto (trans. from Thai by Bruce Evans), intro. edited by Wisdom Quarterly Himalayan path along Phoksundo Lake (lasochres.se)

The Buddhist Law of Conditionality
The teaching of causal interdependence is the most important of Buddhist principles.

It describes a law of nature that exists as the natural course of things. The Buddha was not an emissary of heavenly "commandments." He was a discoverer of this liberating-principle of the natural order, and he proclaimed its truth to the world.

The progression of causes and conditions is the reality that applies to all things: from the natural environment, which is an external and physical condition, to the events of human society, ethics, life events, and the happiness and suffering that manifest in our minds.

Causal relationships are part of one natural truth. Our happiness within this natural system depends on having some knowledge of how it works and practicing correctly within it. With knowledge we are able to address problems on personal, social, and environmental levels.

Given that all things are interconnected, all affecting one another, success in dealing with the world lies in creating harmony within it.

(Kevin-McGuiness/Flickr.com)

The sciences, which have evolved with human civilization and are influencing our lives so profoundly, are said to be based on reason and rationality. Their storehouse of knowledge has been amassed through interacting with these natural laws of conditionality. ...

But the human search for knowledge in modern scientific fields has three notable features...

• Underneath it all, we tend to interpret concepts like happiness, freedom, human rights, liberty, and peace in ways that preserve the interests of some and encroach on others. Even when controlling other people comes to be seen as a blameworthy act, this aggressive tendency is then turned in other directions, such as the natural environment. Now that we are beginning to realize that it is impossible to really control other people or other things, the only meaning left in life is to preserve self interests and protect territorial rights. Living as we do with this faulty knowledge and these mistaken beliefs, the natural environment is thrown out of skew, society is in turmoil, and human life, both physically and mentally, is disoriented. The world seems to be full of conflict and suffering.

All facets of the natural order -- the physical world and the human world, the world of conditions (dharma) and the world of actions (karma), the material world and the mental world -- are connected and interrelated; they cannot be separated. Disorder and aberration in one sector will affect other sectors. If we want to live in peace, we must learn how to live in harmony with all spheres of the natural environment, both the internal and the external, the individual and the social, the physical and the mental, the material and the immaterial.

...This is why, of all the systems of causal relationship based on the following law "Because there is this, that arises; when this ceases, that ceases," the teachings of Buddhism begin with, and stress throughout, the factors involved in the creation of suffering in individual awareness.

"Because there is ignorance, there are volitional formations..." is the first link of the Dependent Origination formula. Once this system is understood on the inner level, liberating us from suffering, we are then in a position to see the connections between inner factors and the causal relationships in the external environment. This is the approach adopted in this book. More

1. An Overview of Dependent Origination
Types of Dependent Origination found in the texts
1. The general principle
2. The principle in effect

2. Interpreting Dependent Origination
The essential meaning

3. Man and Nature

4. The Standard Format
The main factors
1. Ignorance and craving-clinging
2. Volitional impulses and becoming
3. Consciousness to feeling, and birth, aging and death

5. Other Interpretations
Preliminary definition
How the links connect
Examples
An example of Dependent Origination in everyday life

6. The Nature of Defilements

7. Dependent Origination in Society

8. The Middle Teaching

9. Breaking the Cycle

Appendix
A note on interpreting the principle of Dependent Origination
Birth and death in the present moment
Dependent Origination in the Abhidhamma
A problem with the word "nirodha"

Rebirth: Wandering Without End

Bhikkhu Bodhi and Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

The Buddha's teaching addresses something not immediately perceptible to us: our bondage to the Round of Rebirths.

From the selection of texts on similes regarding the boundless series of rebirths that has been cycling without any discernible beginning in time comes a frightening possibility.

This cycle is called samsara, a Pali/Sanskrit word that suggests the idea of directionless wandering or faring on. No matter how far back in time we may seek a beginning to the universe, there was never a moment of initial creation.

There are, however, periodic "creations" or, more correctly speaking, "impersonal formations" at the beginning of each world-system.

There was no creator; they simply follow a natural cyclical process of evolution and devolution. At times these world-systems are referred to as universes within a multiverse.

But if we reserve the term "universe" to everything in the entire cosmos inclusive of all the countless world-systems, there is no beginning to be found. World-systems last a great aeon (maha-kalpa) passing through four incalculable or uncertain phases: formation, duration, contraction, and an empty time.

This period of calm is followed by yet another formation, another revolution, which may be thought of as a Big Bang. But a Big Bang in no way explains the actual first cause or creation of the universe ("all that is") only another round of development, operation, chaotic dissolution, and quiescence.



Similarly, just as world-systems evolve and dissolve over billions of years, each different but each arising from the former, the same goes for individual rebirths. Each past and future life is a point along an ever-changing line of identity and attachment, the sense that a single entity is carrying on. Aggregates of clinging recur through countless deaths and rebirths.

As in the former case so in the latter, there is no beginning point to be found. Moreover, there would be no benefit to finding one if it became possible to find. For knowing it would not bring about the end of suffering (nirvana).

No matter how far back we may trace any given individual sequence of lives, we can never arrive at a first point.

How long will the Round of Rebirth last?
According to these texts (given in full In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (Teachings of the Buddha), even if we were to trace the sequence of our mothers and fathers across world-systems, we would only come upon still more mothers and fathers stretching back into the far horizons.

Moreover, the frightening prospect is that the process is not only beginningless, it is also potentially endless! This may not seem frightful to anyone who does not see suffering -- or grasp the Four Noble Truths even intellectually -- and the potential for far greater suffering due to karma produced in ignorance driven by craving.

As long as ignorance and craving remain intact, the process will continue indefinitely into the future.

For the Buddha and Early Buddhism, this is above all the defining crisis at the heart of the our condition: We are bound to a chain of rebirths, and bound to it by nothing other than our own ignorance and craving.

The pointless wandering on in samsara -- suffering as we chase pleasure, enduring happiness, and security where it cannot be found -- occurs against a cosmic background of inconceivably vast dimensions.

The period of time that it takes for a world system to evolve, reach its phase of maximum expansion, then contract, and disintegrate is called a kappa (Sanskrit, kalpa) or aeon.

The texts offer vivid similes to suggest the duration of the various types of aeons; others offer vivid similes to illustrate the incalculable number of aeons through which we have already wandered interacting in all kinds of relationships with one another.

As beings fare along, wandering and roaming from life to life, shrouded in the darkness of ignorance over what is going on or what is causing the unsatifactoriness and rebirths, they fall again and again into the chasm of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

They fall again and again into the chasm of incomprehensibly woeful realms in the unfortunate destinations -- the worlds of animals, ghosts, monsters, and hellions.

Because their craving propels them forward in a relentless quest for gratification of sensual desires, ambitions, and running from pain, they seldom pause long enough to step back and carefully consider their existential plight.

As Text 1,4(5) states, they just just keep revolving around the Five Aggregates in the way a dog on a leash might run around a post or pillar. Since their ignorance prevents them from recognizing the vicious nature of their condition, they cannot discern even the tracks of a path to deliverance.

Most beings live immersed in the enjoyment of or the search for sensual pleasures. Others -- driven by the need for power, status, and esteem -- pass their lives in vain attempts to fill an unquenchable thirst.

Many, fearful of annihilation at death, construct belief systems that ascribe to their individual selves, their "souls," the prospect of eternal life. They do not perceive that this constructed "self" is perishing at every moment, changing, altering, and hurtling towards destruction.

A few yearn for a path to liberation. But they do not know where to find one. It was precisely to offer such a path that the Buddha has appeared in our midst. Buddhism originally was precisely a path-of-practice to the end of suffering.

• AUDIO: Nirvana explained (D.I.Y. Dharma)