A few times, here in Thailand, I have had to walk away from a conversation with another meditator who has been volunteering at some of the southern monasteries. The guy, a Canadian, is friendly enough, but we just see things different ways, and this makes for awkward conversation.
An example: Once, while eating with my girlfriend, the three of us were chatting about reasons for meditating. The guy kept talking about his teacher on Pha Ngan, and about how nothing bothers the man. I suppose this model of perfect calm served as central to the man's motivations.
I had mentioned that some things really ought to bother people, and that this is what had drawn me toward meditation in the first place. Specifically, I remember mentioning some of the economic problems in Europe (my girlfriend is Italian). I had expressed sadness at the injustices of the world. I had specifically mentioned the possibilities of older people losing their pensions, after working hard all their lives.
Sad, no?
The man replied "Well, self-pity can be a difficult thing to work with"
Self-pity?
I have had a few conversations like this, with this man. They end this way. I have to say I get a little annoyed. It makes me not wish to say anything to the guy.
His view is actually something that I find prevalent in the monasteries -- this interpretation of "The End of Suffering". The idea goes: Buddha achieved enlightenment, and walked out from under the tree with a system of meditation and associated lifestyle that, once effected with determination, will rid the individual of delusory thoughts, needful cravings, and so on.
In fact, you can't really blame the students, because this is actually the claim that all the teachers make. They say, in effect, "I will teach you how to end your suffering".
And people think "that sounds great!".
All religions promise this, in one form or another -- salvation, paradise, nirvana
But think about it... Is there any more selfish motivation for meditation?
Because I can't think of one.
This is another one of those things that is backward, in the spiritual practices.
Are we to turn our back on the world? Are we to ignore the suffering of others?
Actually, no.
When Buddha looked over the walls of his father's compound, it wasn't his personal suffering that he was interested in. It was the suffering of others that drove him away from the comfortable life that he was leading.
So it was this empathy that drove him.
Before anything else, there was the heart.
It is our love for others that shows us how to live, and what to do. It is this that leads us away from the worldly life.
So, when Buddha was talking about the "end of suffering", he wasn't talking about your personal little nirvana.
Actually, that doesn't even exist.
As per the old Zen story, you don't just sit there, inert, like a happy little plant, when you see a woman who needs help crossing a river. Another person's true need is your need. Another person's true pain is your pain. That is what compassion is. Your heart tells you what to do. You react immediately, and spontaneously.
So, Buddha's "the end of suffering" is something much, much greater that any individual's personal liberation. It is a vision for all the people of the world. He was talking about what we could be like -- how we could be living together.
When people learn to live from the heart of hearts, we share this world. We act as agents of mercy for those around us. We do this naturally.
So the world would look very different, if everyone lived this way.
That is what Buddha was saying.
He was saying, to all of us, "the kingdom of heaven is before you".
An example: Once, while eating with my girlfriend, the three of us were chatting about reasons for meditating. The guy kept talking about his teacher on Pha Ngan, and about how nothing bothers the man. I suppose this model of perfect calm served as central to the man's motivations.
I had mentioned that some things really ought to bother people, and that this is what had drawn me toward meditation in the first place. Specifically, I remember mentioning some of the economic problems in Europe (my girlfriend is Italian). I had expressed sadness at the injustices of the world. I had specifically mentioned the possibilities of older people losing their pensions, after working hard all their lives.
Sad, no?
The man replied "Well, self-pity can be a difficult thing to work with"
Self-pity?
I have had a few conversations like this, with this man. They end this way. I have to say I get a little annoyed. It makes me not wish to say anything to the guy.
His view is actually something that I find prevalent in the monasteries -- this interpretation of "The End of Suffering". The idea goes: Buddha achieved enlightenment, and walked out from under the tree with a system of meditation and associated lifestyle that, once effected with determination, will rid the individual of delusory thoughts, needful cravings, and so on.
In fact, you can't really blame the students, because this is actually the claim that all the teachers make. They say, in effect, "I will teach you how to end your suffering".
And people think "that sounds great!".
All religions promise this, in one form or another -- salvation, paradise, nirvana
But think about it... Is there any more selfish motivation for meditation?
Because I can't think of one.
This is another one of those things that is backward, in the spiritual practices.
Are we to turn our back on the world? Are we to ignore the suffering of others?
Actually, no.
When Buddha looked over the walls of his father's compound, it wasn't his personal suffering that he was interested in. It was the suffering of others that drove him away from the comfortable life that he was leading.
So it was this empathy that drove him.
Before anything else, there was the heart.
It is our love for others that shows us how to live, and what to do. It is this that leads us away from the worldly life.
So, when Buddha was talking about the "end of suffering", he wasn't talking about your personal little nirvana.
Actually, that doesn't even exist.
As per the old Zen story, you don't just sit there, inert, like a happy little plant, when you see a woman who needs help crossing a river. Another person's true need is your need. Another person's true pain is your pain. That is what compassion is. Your heart tells you what to do. You react immediately, and spontaneously.
So, Buddha's "the end of suffering" is something much, much greater that any individual's personal liberation. It is a vision for all the people of the world. He was talking about what we could be like -- how we could be living together.
When people learn to live from the heart of hearts, we share this world. We act as agents of mercy for those around us. We do this naturally.
So the world would look very different, if everyone lived this way.
That is what Buddha was saying.
He was saying, to all of us, "the kingdom of heaven is before you".
No comments:
Post a Comment