PROPER BALANCE
By the time of Gautama Siddhartha, Hindu philosophers had taught that the way to salvation was as narrow as the edge of a razor. Gautama, however, went on to develop a way of his own, one that was more universal and readily achievable. Yet,in his teaching he never strayed that far from his Hindu tradition; Buddhism was an offshoot of Hinduism. There are some people and some books that suggest that Gautama was out to start a new religion, or that he disagreed completely with other religious teachers of his time, but this was not so.
The Buddha's way is based upon his realization that the extremes of over-indulgence and of self-denial do not work. A good analogy is a stringed instrument where if the strings are too loose, representing over-indulgence, the instrument does not play well. Conversely, if the strings are too tight, as in self-denial, the instrument does not play well either. It is the same with the wheel of a cart. If it is too loose it will wobble and fall off, and if it is too tight it will not turn. It is this lack of proper balance that Gautama considered the source of human troubles.
The doctrine of the Four Noble Truths is the Buddha's remedy. It is set up like a prescription one would get from a physician. First there is the initial diagnosis, which is yes, there is a problem. Next, the cause of the problem is stated. Thirdly, the judgement is made that there is a cure. And finally, the cure is set forth. This structure and his subsequent Noble Eight-fold Path were so his followers could memorize them easily. Today we have books and computers for ready reference, but not so back then. Information about most things was passed along by word of mouth.
Briefly then, the First Noble Truth says that there is suffering. This suffering, the Buddha then said, is caused by a grasping, a clinging to life, a wanting to do this, to have that, to be that. The modern term for this is hang-up, to be hung-up, obsessed with something. This, however, can be overcome, the Buddha said, although saying that one should just cease behaviors leading to his or her unhappiness he knew was not sufficient. This would have left everyone without significant help. Accordingly, he presented eight specific steps to aid the effort.
Right Viewpoint. The first thing is to see one's problem for what it is and then to take responsibility for it. Typically the issue is ignorance, so called, that is identifying oneself with the ego, which is an illusion. The ego believes, through the social conditioning that created it, that certain things, such as possessions, will make one happy when in fact they won't, don't.
Right Aspiration. Everyone aspires after something, but when they are centered around "I," "me," and "mine," they result in unhappiness. The Buddha pointed to kindness and love of others as more worthwhile objectives because they resulted in feelings of well-being in both the receiver and the giver. These first two steps on the Path are for getting one's attitude changed for the better. The next three steps deal with the types of conduct that stem from the right attitude.
Right Speech. Gossip, slander, and abusive or idle talk is a waste of everyone's time. Controlled, considerate, and thoughtful speech has an outcome that is far more worth the effort, positive.
Right Behavior. Gautama did not describe fully the range of this step, even though later followers did so, singling out killing, stealing, and lying, among others that must be avoided. Rather than list all the things that one should not do, he instead encouraged people to do the right things. To Gautama, right behavior meant love. He taught, for instance, that "hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love." Another time he said, "Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good."
Right Livelihood. There are certain occupations that a person should not engage in lest he damage himself spiritually, businesses, for example, that involve injury to life in any form. Slaughterhouse owners, drug dealers, manufacturers of liquors, are not good. One should not be a soldier.
Right Effort. The sixth step moves beyond the level of conduct and refers to the staying speed, so called, the proper rate of speed one should maintain on the Eightfold Path so not to become discouraged. Going at it too quickly or too slowly, depending upon the individual, is not good. Trying to keep pace with someone else is not good.
Right Mindfulness. Gautama argued that it was the mind that led a person into most of his disharmonious troubles. It is not the wish to have something, a new pair of shoes for instance, that is the problem he said, but the insistence on having the shoes to the point that even when the shoes are had, they are not enough.
Right Contemplation. Because people varied greatly in temperament, Gautama suggested several dozen modes of training the mind for right concentration. He had considerable appreciation for some of the prevailing Yoga practices of his day, techniques that permitted a calming and focusing of the attention. This attention might be plain meditation with no objective in mind, or it might be a serious delving into the depths of the mind, leading to Nirvana. Nirvana was not a place but a condition of mind.
Finally, just as the Buddha did not speak of a soul or the Atman, so he was reluctant to talk about Brahman or the Ground of Being. Such matters, he felt, could not be determined with any certainty, and anyway they were beside the point. Solving the problem of suffering here and now was the point.
The Buddha's way is based upon his realization that the extremes of over-indulgence and of self-denial do not work. A good analogy is a stringed instrument where if the strings are too loose, representing over-indulgence, the instrument does not play well. Conversely, if the strings are too tight, as in self-denial, the instrument does not play well either. It is the same with the wheel of a cart. If it is too loose it will wobble and fall off, and if it is too tight it will not turn. It is this lack of proper balance that Gautama considered the source of human troubles.
The doctrine of the Four Noble Truths is the Buddha's remedy. It is set up like a prescription one would get from a physician. First there is the initial diagnosis, which is yes, there is a problem. Next, the cause of the problem is stated. Thirdly, the judgement is made that there is a cure. And finally, the cure is set forth. This structure and his subsequent Noble Eight-fold Path were so his followers could memorize them easily. Today we have books and computers for ready reference, but not so back then. Information about most things was passed along by word of mouth.
Briefly then, the First Noble Truth says that there is suffering. This suffering, the Buddha then said, is caused by a grasping, a clinging to life, a wanting to do this, to have that, to be that. The modern term for this is hang-up, to be hung-up, obsessed with something. This, however, can be overcome, the Buddha said, although saying that one should just cease behaviors leading to his or her unhappiness he knew was not sufficient. This would have left everyone without significant help. Accordingly, he presented eight specific steps to aid the effort.
Right Viewpoint. The first thing is to see one's problem for what it is and then to take responsibility for it. Typically the issue is ignorance, so called, that is identifying oneself with the ego, which is an illusion. The ego believes, through the social conditioning that created it, that certain things, such as possessions, will make one happy when in fact they won't, don't.
Right Aspiration. Everyone aspires after something, but when they are centered around "I," "me," and "mine," they result in unhappiness. The Buddha pointed to kindness and love of others as more worthwhile objectives because they resulted in feelings of well-being in both the receiver and the giver. These first two steps on the Path are for getting one's attitude changed for the better. The next three steps deal with the types of conduct that stem from the right attitude.
Right Speech. Gossip, slander, and abusive or idle talk is a waste of everyone's time. Controlled, considerate, and thoughtful speech has an outcome that is far more worth the effort, positive.
Right Behavior. Gautama did not describe fully the range of this step, even though later followers did so, singling out killing, stealing, and lying, among others that must be avoided. Rather than list all the things that one should not do, he instead encouraged people to do the right things. To Gautama, right behavior meant love. He taught, for instance, that "hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love." Another time he said, "Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good."
Right Livelihood. There are certain occupations that a person should not engage in lest he damage himself spiritually, businesses, for example, that involve injury to life in any form. Slaughterhouse owners, drug dealers, manufacturers of liquors, are not good. One should not be a soldier.
Right Effort. The sixth step moves beyond the level of conduct and refers to the staying speed, so called, the proper rate of speed one should maintain on the Eightfold Path so not to become discouraged. Going at it too quickly or too slowly, depending upon the individual, is not good. Trying to keep pace with someone else is not good.
Right Mindfulness. Gautama argued that it was the mind that led a person into most of his disharmonious troubles. It is not the wish to have something, a new pair of shoes for instance, that is the problem he said, but the insistence on having the shoes to the point that even when the shoes are had, they are not enough.
Right Contemplation. Because people varied greatly in temperament, Gautama suggested several dozen modes of training the mind for right concentration. He had considerable appreciation for some of the prevailing Yoga practices of his day, techniques that permitted a calming and focusing of the attention. This attention might be plain meditation with no objective in mind, or it might be a serious delving into the depths of the mind, leading to Nirvana. Nirvana was not a place but a condition of mind.
Finally, just as the Buddha did not speak of a soul or the Atman, so he was reluctant to talk about Brahman or the Ground of Being. Such matters, he felt, could not be determined with any certainty, and anyway they were beside the point. Solving the problem of suffering here and now was the point.
posted by Donald L. Simons at
6:52 AM
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