Pearls of Dharma - for the non-dualist

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

This is the second chapter from the Gospel of Buddha, by Paul Carus. I

shall provide explanation here, for it is quite an interesting chapter

as scholars have commented that it is similar to the madhyamika karika

of nagarjuna. Explanations in brackets . Due to the profound

philosophy discussed here, I would encourage non-dualists to read it,

and Hindus in particular to read it again and again to get a clearer

picture of everything discussed here.

 

Look about and contemplate life! [1]

[Contemplative life is the highest of all life. The requirement of a

contemplative is to be a renunciate. He must follow Dharma and

principles in life that result in wisdom. The first part of the

statement, 'Look about' may look quite natural, but it is very

crucial. The Buddha's teaching revolves around right understanding and

right view. It basically is concerned with right discernment. One

should learn to discern that which is impermanent and false and know

the truth. Wisdom is sought in this contemplative manner. The term

contemplative is not thought-involving, but is meditative in an

apophatic approach.]

 

Everything is transient and nothing endures.

There is birth and death, growth and decay;

there is combination and separation. [2]

['Everything is transient and nothing endures' What is it that

endures? Everything is transient. All of the universe is impermanent.

Everything is evanescent, then to what can one cling? What is the

thing that he clings to and where is he who clings? Both are impermanent.

 

'There is birth and death, growth and decay' A babe born yesterday

does not remain the same today, it has grown a little. All of us were

babes once and have grown into this body, how did this happen? Did I

get up one fine day and find that my body has grown to this size?

Everything happens gradually, but continuously. The only similarity

between the I of yesterday and that of today is that of continuity.

But continuity of what? To answer this question look for the truth,

that which is continuous, that deathless and immortal, by negating all

that bound to death and decay. At every moment happens this change, so

subtle we don't see it. A tree exists because of a seed which existed

before it, but does not exist anymore. So the seed is impermanent and

unworthy of clinging, so is the tree which will also die and decay

into dead humus one day, and from that humus shall sping up another

tree and the humus is also impermanent and hence unworthy of clinging.

All birth is because of some death, all death because of birth. All

becoming is because of some change. That which changes, does not

remain, then what is it that changes? Who am I that clings? What do I

cling to? What is this I?

 

'There is combination and separation' That which combines has changed,

so has that which separates. The combination is not permanent and

changes occurs there also. So the one that combines separates from the

other. What then is the combination of the self and another man? What

then is a relationship, of what material is a mother made, of what is

father? What is the permanence of this relation?]

 

The glory of the world is like a flower:

it stands in full bloom in the morning and fades in the heat of the

day. [3]

 

Wherever you look, there is a rushing and struggling, and an eager

pursuit of pleasure.

There is a panic flight from pain and death, and hot are the flames of

burning desires.

The world is vanity fair, full of changes and transformations.

All is Samsara. [4]

 

Is there nothing permanent in the world?

Is there in the universal turmoil no resting-place where our troubled

heart can find peace?

Is there nothing everlasting? [5]

 

Oh, that we could have cessation of anxiety,

that our burning desires would be extinguished!

When shall the mind become tranquil and composed? [6]

[Where is the glory of this samsara, that is as evanescent as a flower

bloomed in the morning and faded in the heat. Even the thoughts of the

mind are impermanent. Not one thought train is complete that another

begins like a thread. Then how does one calm this mind? How can one

clam that mind, which remains not on one thought ever? If one thinks

of one object, the object is not permanent. And then the break of

concentration changes the object thus causing even more

dissatisfaction. Of what avail is meditating on an object? What

lasting happiness does it bring? The truth of impermanence when seen

clearly, removes this remorse due to change. It is this truth that is

eternal, everlasting. Thus see this truth and be composed. Cling to

nothing, for nothing truly exists. Yearn for nothing, for it will

change before you acquire it.]

 

The Buddha, our Lord, was grieved at the ills of life.

He saw the vanity of worldly happiness

and sought salvation in the one thing that will not fade or perish,

but will abide for ever and ever. [7]

[The Buddha - the historical Shakyamuni - our Lord - not a god, not a

demon, not an angel or any other thing, just purely awake. He does not

govern us, but we just respect him, for the task he accomplished, of

finding the deathless and immortal, and teaching it, at the request of

Brahma (as said in the pAlI canon), to all of us. (Incidentally, in

the Yogavasishtha, Vasishtha also says that Brahma instructed him to

teach the science of immortality to the world. This Brahma is but just

a deep rooted love, in the form of ananta maitrI, ananta muditA,

ananta karuNA and ananta upekshA, the four heads of Brahma. This love

is wisdom. Shakyamuni taught it as metta meaning fraternal love)

Siddhartha was grieved at the ills of life. He sought salvation thus

in the one deathless, eternal, supreme wisdom and truth.]

 

Ye who long for life, know that immortality is hidden intransiency.

Ye who wish for happiness without the sting of regret,

lead a life of righteousness.

Ye who yearn for riches, receive treasures that are eternal.

Truth is wealth, and a life of truth is happiness. [8]

[immortality is in all of us. Hidden from this illusory world, but

clearly visible always. It is pratyaksha and jnAna (the combination is

prajnA). Then what is hiding it? What hides the truth? Falsehood, but

truth still shines brightly. It is for the contemplative to discern

this truth, which is so bright. Donot be belwildered by the falsehood,

for if you are, you will be stung by remorse.]

 

All compounds will be dissolved again,

but the verities which determine all combination and separations

as laws of nature endure forever and aye.

Bodies fall to dust, but the truths of the mind will not be destroyed. [9]

[in the last phrase, the term mind is a mistranslation of the term

smrti in the mAdhyamika kArikA. The term smrti means eternal law or

sanAtana dharma. This verse is to be understood in the context of

verse [2]]

 

Truth knows neither birth nor death;

it has no beginning and no end.

Welcome the truth. The truth is the immortal part of mind. [10]

[Again a mistranslation of smrti in the end.]

 

Establish the truth in your mind,

for the truth is the image of the eternal;

it portrays the immutable;

it reveals the everlasting;

the truth gives unto mortals the boon of immortality. [11]

[This is not a part of the mAdhyamika kArikA. The truth is eternal.

The above lines donot convey the author's understanding of Dharma very

clearly. However, it appears, he means to say that one should look for

the truth.]

 

The Buddha has proclaimed the truth;

let the truth of the Buddha dwell in your hearts.

Extinguish in your selves every desire that antagonizes the Buddha,

and in the perfection of your spiritual growth you will become like

unto Him. [12]

[This is a famous verse found in most Buddhist texts, where even

Gotama is found saying this, but contrary to poular beleif, the term

Buddha does not refer to any person or human or any 'realized soul'.

To understand the meaning of this usage, one needs to understand the

meaning of Buddha according to the place it is being used. The

historical Buddha explains when a person surrenders to the three gems,

Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, that Buddha is not a person, but the wisdom

that lies within. " tassa bhagavato samma sambuddhassa buddho jaggato,

yato maggo dassayati, tat sabba loko pajjalati, tat buddho, tassa

saranam gacca, nanya saranam. " The surrender to Buddha says " Buddham

saranam gaccami " not " Gotamam saranam gaccami " The Buddha that

proclaims the truth, lays within us and everywhere. Gotama says that

this truth illumines the entire universe, it is such wisdom that the

Buddha instructs one to surrender to, not to a person. In this

respect, the Buddha's teaching appears to be heretic, considering the

Hindu teaching of guru bhakti, where a student surrenders to the guru.

But the yogavasishtha explains that the student is instructed to

surrender not unto a person, but to the essence (the supreme truth) in

him. Thus the one proclaiming the truth is the truth itself. This is

strikingly similar to the upanishad that says " ....the self reveals

itself to the self.... " ]

 

That of your heart that cannot or will not develop into Buddha must

perish;

for it is mere illusion and unreal;

it is the source of your error;

it is the cause of your misery. [13]

[This verse clarifies the above meaning of Buddha more clearly. That

which is not the truth, perishes, for it is mere illusion and unreal.

It is but impermanent and causes sorrow and suffering.]

 

You attain to immortality by filling your minds with truth.

Therefore, become like unto vessles fit to receive the Master's words.

Cleanse yourselves of evil and sanctify your lives.

There is no other way of reaching truth. [14]

[The evil within is the illusion of clinging. When one becomes devoid

of all desire and the mind is unagitated, the truth is clearly

visible, just like the pole star is visible in the northern sky when

the clouds move apart and the wind blows steadily, but without

turbulence. Exactly the same way, one should make one's mind steady

and clear and discern the truth. How can a ship on turbulent waters

ever reach the shore?]

 

Learn to distinguish between Self and Truth.

Self is the cause of selfishness and the source of evil;

truth cleaves to no self;

it is universal and leads to justice and righteousness. [15]

[Here comes the major distinction from the Hindu traditional meaning

of the term Self. Clearly here, the distinction between Self and Truth

is made. This indicates very clearly that the self being referred to

here is not the same as the self of the Upanishads. It is very clear

from this that 'self' refers to the ego and the Buddha neither assumed

any knowledge of Upaishads for his students, nor did he speak the

language of the Upanishads. The ego is the root cause of all evil and

misery. The ego is the incorrect understanding of the self. All

incorrect cognition of self is the root cause of evil.]

 

Self, that which seems to those who love their selves as their being,

is not the eternal, the everlasting, the imperishable.

Seek not self,

but seek the truth. [16]

[The self as defined above is composed of the body, the thoughts, the

feelings, the mental formations (sankharas) and consciousness. All of

this is incorrectly cognized as the self. If this is the self, then it

is impermanent. That which is impermanent causes sorrow and is not

worth clinging. Then to what does one cling, what does one call the

self. Through what does one see the self. When all consciousness is

also impermanent, then what is conceieved and what is conscious? Where

is the self that one cognizes? The clinging one has for the self is

what causes us to cognize the body as a solid, without change. We feel

I am this body, because we are oblivious to the change it undergoes

every moment. Again, so does the mind and so do the feelings,

formations and consciousness.

 

Normally people have one major problem with this. If there is no self,

then how does one explain rebirth? This is explained later in a

conversation that Sakyamuni Buddha had with Kutadanta a learned

Brahmin, who asks very good questions. This is part of the pali canon.

I shall post it here sometime later, if I find people asking for it.

Suffice it to explain here that the self of tomorrow is a product of

the self of today, the two being composed of different mental

formations, different body etc. The change after death to another body

is just as instantaneous as the change in the body of one moment and

the next. " Then how the sudden change in form? " one may ask. The

clinging to form is the consciousness of form. The form is but totally

void and hence all that matters is the clinging to form. If the nature

of one's clinging is like that of animals, he gets the form of

animals, if its that of humans he becomes a human, if its a gods, he

is born in heaven, if its that of hellish beings, he is found in hell.

And he remains there till he dies in that realm. Again, the form

changes according to the clinging to form. And so does one run from

body to body, consciousness to another, feelings to feelings, as long

as one has clinging. Nirvana is wisdom arising when all clinging

ceases - thus resulting in cessation of all sorrow. Nirvana is not any

merging of self with another, but is pure wisdom and enlightenment.

Where is the self that merges with another? What does one call self?

It appears easy for one to call the rest of the universe as

impermanent, and illusory mAyA, but so difficult to apply that to the

self. Why this clinging to the self?]

 

If we liberate our souls from our petty selves, wish no ill to others,

and become clear as a crystal diamond reflecting the light of truth,

what a radiant picture will appear in us mirroring things as they are,

without the admixture of burning desires,

without the distortion of erroneous illusion,

without the agitation of clinging and unrest. [17]

[Again this is not from the kArika. The author is mixing some other

Western philosphical elements, like those of Dionysius etc. not

entirely orthogonal to Buddhism, and not entirely in line with it.

However, his intention in writing it appears to be to talk of giving

up clinging and being equanimous.]

 

Yet ye love self and will not abandon self-love.

So be it, but then, verily,

ye should learn to distinguish between the false self and the true self.

The ego with all its egotism is the false self.

It is an unreal illusion and a perishable combination.

He only who identifies his self with the truth will atain Nirvana;

and he who has entered Nirvana has attained Buddhahood;

he has acquired the highest good;

he has become eternal and immortal. [18]

[This is a very famous line from the mAdhyamika kArika. It is for such

reasons that many philosophers still feel that adviata vedAnta is the

same as Buddhism with vedic language. The more popular schools of

vedAnta before advaita, would espouse madhva's dvaita and ramanuja's

visishtadvaita. The influence of advaita all over the country is

basically due to Sankara's peripatetic exploits all over India and his

clear proclamation from the Upanishads of statements like aham Brahmasmi.

 

Here nagarjuna clearly identifies a false and real self. Bhikku

amitabha in 1st Century BC also explains in various Prakrt texts about

the worng identification of self and correct identification of self,

which he calls Buddha.]

 

All compound things shall be dissolved again,

worlds will break to pieces and our individualities will be scattered;

but the words of the Buddha will remain for ever. [19]

[Where is the individuality that endures? Then what is that deathless,

one may ask. It is the Buddha, enlightenment, the truth. Truth, by

definition remains, endures and is permanent. It is this that remains

forever.]

 

The extinction of self is salvation;

the annihilation of self is the condition of enlightenment;

the blotting out of self is Nirvana.

Happy is he who has ceased to live for pleasure and rests in the truth.

Verily his composure and tranquillity of mind are the highest bliss. [20]

[Again this verse is not part of the kArika. The Buddha did not teach

annihilation, or extinction. The Brahmajala sutta in the Digha nikaya

tipitika is proof of that. The dharma is about right view and right

understanding, not annihilation or extinction.]

 

Let us take our refuge in the Buddha,

for he has found the everlasting in the transient.

Let us take refuge in that which is the immutable in the changes of

existence.

Let us take our refuge in the truth that is established through the

enlightenment of the Buddha.

Let us take our refuge in the community of those who seek the truth

and endeavour to live in the truth. [21]

[The three gems, Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. The above is a

mistranslation of the Sanskrit version of the pAli incantation -

Buddham saranam gaccami, dhammam, saranam gaccami, sangham saranam

gaccama. The Sanskrit version of nagarjuna being, Buddho SaraNAgatim,

Dharmo SaraNAgatim, Sango SaraNAgatim.]

 

-Balaji