Foundations of Wisdom: The teachings of Zen Buddhism, Two Parts
Foundations of Wisdom: The teachings of Zen Buddhism, Two Parts
October 1, 2009
Part 1
- As the lotus sinks its long root into the murky mud, White pure blossom springs forth.
“When people jump directly into the study of Zen, they find often find it to be baffling and confusing, but when the basic Buddhist teachings are understood, much of the mystery disappears!” -From Zen Root, by Kyogen Carlson, Abbot of the Dharma Rain Zen Center, Portland Oregon.
All too often we jump right into the deep end of what we want. We tell each other of the benefits, the pleasures and the rewards of religious practice and faith. Quickly, we rush into what we perceive practice and enlightenment to be. Diving head first into the cold icy waters of our own desires we notice ourselves in an ocean of ignorance that we are drowning in!
Zen training lays its foundations on this very world we call everyday life. Zen teachers of present and past have skillfully help the students notice how they view this world, and the life they are living. This is like a mother teaching the child how to gain its first steps on their own. The potential for walking is already there and the mother just encourages that potential to arise. Once the student has gained the first steps, it is like a water spring that suddenly rises from the ground, for what that stream encounters and where it meanders, is the Dharma life of the Awakened one.
Zen Buddhist training often uses’ an analogy, a container such as a form or story, to convey the teachings and meanings of Buddhist training. Here we shall use the analogy of building a ship. We will build our ship, the vessel that we use to seek out our sufferings, out of the understanding and actualization of the teachings of the Buddhist religious writings called Sutras, and the writings of Zen teachers of the past. Now the Zen Purest will says that there is no vessel, no water to sail in and no place to go, in meaning that all is just mind mentalization. That is true to a certain point of view, but for now
lets engage in building a vessel, knowing that this vessel is only our mind mentialization engaging in dualistic thought and delusion. To engage in metaphor is just a vessel for our perceptions to be placed in, to learn about our held perceptions, about the nature of self and the meaning of the Buddhist words.
To start building our ship we must first build the keel, which is like a backbone. The entire frame work of the ship is resting on the strength and the shape of the keel. If the keel is rotten or built of unsound material, the ship will crumble in the first storm encountered.
The materials that we need to gather to make a Strong backbone for our ship are the Three states of being:
Impermanence(Anicca)
No self-nature(Anatta)
Discontent(Dukkha)
Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha are old Indian Pali words that Buddhist sutras have used throughout the ages. The meaning of each word cannot just be summed up in a paragraph or two. These words embody an experience just as the word love embodies an experience of mind and body.
Anicca
Each moment of being is like a bubble rising to the surface of a flowing river, to only momentary ride on the surface then disappear, releasing the elements combined. Anicca is a term that shows the elements of the discriminating mind to the mind that perceives each part of the world in separateness. That is the same as discriminating between states of being, qualities of being and duration of being. The discrimination that Buddhist speak of is the mental activity of labeling a perceived arising, placing value on them in relationship to the self.
Temporary, transitory and illusionary are all words used to describe Anicca. For even this Vessel that we are building is subjected to the Law of Anicca. For the moment is appearing as if it is coming and will later appear that it is disappearing. Do not be fooled in thinking that Anicca cannot touch us. The proof is in our ever changing bodies.
Through this body we have perceived the changes of our world and have seen our effects’ in our world. Like our vessel that we are building, it will go through many changes and may seem at time non-vessel like.
As we build our vessel, we begin to understand in a hand on way, the Nature of Anicca and the meaning of the Vessel.
Anatta
As this body of ours changes through the passing of the seasons, from environmental changes and acts of humankind, we realize that we are not permanent. We also know that our thoughts and attitudes have change repeatedly, in response to this ever changing world. Their is no human body that is unchangeable, no human institution that is permanent.
Anatta is the term that points to the mind that perceives things as self, such as personality and characteristics in the world. Zen Teacher Sekito states in his work called Identity of Relative and Absolute or Sandoki in Japanese, which we are only perceived by our senses and that like a mirror, for what we do perceive, there is the whole of what we don’t perceive.
“It is as if one looks into a jeweled mirror, seeing both shadow and substance. You are not it, it is all of you. A baby of this world such as this, possesses five sense organs, yet goes not and neither comes, neither arises nor yet stays, has words and yet no words.” – Sekito, Sando-ki; J. Kennet.
The baby of this world, has not yet formed attachment to personality or characteristics, does not see or perceive things yet to be separate from themselves. Sekito is saying that when we look at what we call our personality or characteristics we can see the substance reflected in the jeweled mirror, which is to say in the world around us. Every thing that we perceive is the reflection in the jeweled mirror; Our family, or work place, even our government is reflected back to us to perceive. When one looks into a mirror, such as one dos just before going out to make slight adjustments to ones appearance, the jeweled mirror reflects our own self as we have projected into the arising causation of the world.
For example if one feels anger toward something or some idea, looking into the jeweled mirror shows the attachment we have made to the arising of the object of our perception. When we see the substance of our attachment, such as the concepts and meanings the object embraces and we also see the shadow. This dark shadow is the impermanence of the attachment and the object, and the understanding that the object has no-self of its own origin other that what we project into it. Even our friends and family is again the jeweled mirror that reflects our attachments, good or bad, to the characteristics and personalities that are perceived by the discriminating mind.
Dukkha
Suffering or un-satisfaction called Dukkha, arose out of Anicca and Anatta. From this arises the First Noble Truth, that Suffering exist. Dukkha is pointing to the self attached to personality and characteristics as perceived in the world and wanting them to be conditional, which is to say pleasing to our sense of self, order and peace. This conditional perception causes friction or tension that is felt, sometimes as frustration, anger, hopelessness or even abandonment.
This can lead to depression or even apathy in ones life, yet if one chooses to turn the mind inwards to look at the roots of the self, one embarks on the grandest adventure of all times. To grab hold of our suffering we use it like a paddle or sail, we can navigate the seas of causation and investigate the meaning of Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha.
From the Lankavartara Sutra:
Mahamati asked, what relation ego-personality bears to the mind system?
The Buddha said: To explain it, it is first necessary to speak of the self-nature of the five grasping aggregates that make up personality, although as I have already shown they are empty, unborn and with out self-nature. These five aggregates are: form, sensation, perception, discrimination, and consciousness. Of these, form belongs to the what is made of the so-called primary elements. The four remaining aggregates are without form and ought not to be reckoned as four, because they merge imperceptibly into one another. They are like space which cannot be numbered; it is only due to imagination that they are discriminated and likened to space. Because things are endowed with appearances of being, characteristic-marks, perceivableness, abode, work, one can say that they are born of effect-producing causes, but this can not be said of these four intangible aggregates for they are without form and marks. These four mental aggregates that make up personality are beyond calculability, they are not to be predicted as existing nor as not existing, but together they constitute what is known as mortal-mind. They are even more maya-like and dream like than are things, nevertheless, as discriminating mortal-mind they obstruct the self-realization of Noble Wisdom. But it is only by the ignorant that they are enumerated and thought of as the ego-personality; the wise do not do so. This discrimination of the five aggregates that make up personality and that serve as the basis for(creating) an ego-soul and ground for its desires and self-interest must be given up, and in its place the truth of imagelessness and solitude should be established. – Lankavartara Sutra, Buddhist Bible, Dwight Goddard, pg 305.
It is pointed out quite clear that in ignorance of our true nature, our personality sees itself as separate and sets itself up as king of the five aggregates. In the Story of Enlightenment of the Sakyamuni Buddha, Mara the king of the material and nonmaterial world, launched his armies, daughters and beast at the coming of the Dharma. Yet, all of his efforts crumbled and Mara retreated to the east, which is to say to awaking. Mara, the King of the world, is a name that Buddhist use to describe the mind that hold the world in separateness, and sees existence only in the rising and falling of material and nonmaterial objects. Buddhist training first brings up the relationship that the student has with Mara the world king. At this discovery, the teachings of Buddha help to transform Mara with the bringing in of the Dharma.
Part 2
The Universe is the shedding of a single tear,
Holding it back,
Is like the fish thinking he can swallow the sea.
- Mark Vetanen
The Five Skandhas
To investigate the complete nature of dualistic thought we must bring to notice all the ways that we take in this universe. We call them the five skandhas, or the gates of in-flowing information. Form, Sensation, Thought, activity and consciousness are what Buddhist refer to the five Skandhas. A skandha is a term that we give to the way the mind perceives this world though the five senses.
Form – Fundamentally, we see and use things in its forms. A cup of water cannot be retained without some form to contain it in, or the rivers would not be without some forms to channel the river into being. Without this form of a body, where would you be? We may perceive form to be square, round, soft, hard, triangular. We also perceive form to be useful or useless, perhaps we perceive form to be meaning, or just profound. The words we speak, the gestures we use to suggest, the cultivating or the seeing illusion of, is all the nature of form.
Sensation – This is often underrated as Feeling, but it is more of the engagement into the arising form. Feelings of unbridled admiration and respect may by some fall into the form of love. Wile, feelings of rejection and disgust, may fall into the forms of hate, or even into the arising of the thought of Evil. When the senses perceive a form, the holding of numerous prior ideas and purposes arouses a sensation or opinion that is quickly attached to the newly perceived form.
Thought – The arising of form and sensation together arises with its third brother thought. Though our senses, thought picks our forms, or to say produces an opinion. These opinions are influenced by sensations, thus we apply label to things to give name to our opinions and discriminations. For example we may label things as good, bad, useful or useless all regarding our own view of purpose and meaning about ourselves.
Form, sensation and thought all arise together when information flows though the five sense organs.
Activity – Arising together with Consciences, activity is the noticing the discrimination of things, the sensations we form about each thing and the thoughts that label too. This we call activity.
Consciousness – is the noticing of activity. Consciousness can discriminate between present activity and the past activity. Consciousness notices the differences in activities that arise from moment to moment.
The Five skandhas together are the foundations to what we call “Myself.”
Returning to our task of building a ship, we also find that we must study the sea that we wish to sail upon. Any experienced sailor will tell someone new, to watch how the sea moves and the way the currents, the swells and the seas interact with each other. Just as the sailor gives names to the different parts of the water that moves in what we call the ocean, the Buddhist also gives names to the different ways that the universe is perceived to move. The old sea captain will take new sailors out upon the vast oceans and teach them the various natures of the ocean. Buddhism uses meditation or called Tantra in much the same way. Liken to the young sailor upon the ocean watching and noticing the different seas, swells and currents, we to must know the nature of the five skandhas, or we will find our ship quickly dashed upon the jagged rocks of the ocean.
The Four Noble Truths
Now that we are well under way of building our ship, we also must build the mast. This particular vessel has four mast that reaches high into the sky, each being one of the Four Noble Truths.
Existence is Marked by Suffering
This proclamation is true of all sentient beings who engage and maintain dualistic thought. When we understand the nature of existence(skandhas), and suffering(dukkha), we understand how we mark them with discriminating thought.
Suffering is caused by Craving
Suffering(dukkha) arises together with anatta(no-self) and anicca(impermanence). Once we understand the nature of dukkha, anatta and anicca we start to make way for the third noble truth.
Suffering can be Extinguished
This is the noticing of our already enlightened pure True Nature as viewed with the discriminating mind. Why set foot upon the Buddha Path? Why build such an ship? Because we know that the Dream of Nirvana(the extinguishing of suffering) speaks of a promise that echoes though out time and space. Already we had a glimpse, we have started to waken to our suffering.
The Means to End Suffering is the Noble Eightfold path. When we engage in understand dukkha, anicca and anatta, it is called by Buddhist the Noble Eightfold Path. This path is the training that Buddhist teach and pass down from generation to generation. This teaching is like the old sea captain teaching the nature of the sea to the young sailor. Seas and oceans don’t keep names, only the self that engages in discrimination hold names and labels. The Buddhists teach names and labels to help the student understand the Three Natures of Being and learn about the self. The path is broken down into eight parts labeled as: Right understanding Right views Right speech Right action Right livelihood Right effort Right mindfulness Right Meditation .
The Eightfold path is seen, and often taught as a graduated path to understanding the Four Noble Truths and understanding dukkha, anatta and anicca. Each stated “Path” is only an opportunity for the seeker to experience for themselves the teachings of Buddha. As the Buddhist explores one aspect of this path, all of the other aspects are also given perspective. This is like exploring a mountain. We first learn of the dangers of the mountain and what precautions we may need to take. As we explore the mountain, we learn how to successfully explore the many caves, valleys and overhangs that we come to. Buddhist training often uses analogy and stories to teach the students of the difficult traps, pits and discouragements that ones come to in study of the self.
Buddhist refrain on stating exactly what each part of the Eightfold Path means, because each person will engage the Eightfold path differently. Buddhist training can bring a person to the learning of the names of the Eight Fold path and what each label reefers to, the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths, but in the end the person must enter into the Eightfold path in their own way, by themselves. It’s like a door or barrier, once passed though, you understand the nature of the Eightfold path. One Zen commentary says that the Eightfold path is 1/3 part study, 1/3 part faith and 1/3 part guts!! Now their area also lots of dogmatist material that states that the Eightfold path is to act in certain moral ways in a particular manor described by the authors of such an text. We go back to the Sutras and they firmly state that Buddhas don’t follow an Eightfold path. So at least we understood that the Eightfold path is not a set of rules or conditions to meet, but rather an door, or set of doors that allows us to open up to the Buddha way in any situation. When we start to understand dukkha, anatta and anicca, the statement, “Right” followed by an condition points directly to any dualistic reference to the universe. This is the opening the door to the Buddhas path and what is termed as “practice” by the old worthies of Buddhism. The first time we enter the door of the Eightfold path, we may resist and fight against the entering. Only until we are ready to just take a chance and enter into it. That is to say, we let the understanding of dukkha, anatta and anicca flow into our everyday problem.
Taken from: http://www.zenbuddhismtoday.com/blog/
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