Buddhist Answers to Common Questions
Lam Shenphen Zangpo, Kuensel Online
"I am a good person, so why do I need to practice Buddhism?"
This is a common question. In order to answer it, perhaps we should first explore what it means to be ‘good’. I’m sure that most people who claim to be good are not guilty of gross crimes, such as theft or assault. However, if you ask them if they ever get angry, jealous or talk badly about others, it is likely that they will give an embarrassed smile in response.
In order to understand the root of good, maybe it is better to consider the question in reverse. Basically, we need to examine the source of anger or jealousy. Buddhism identifies eight specific situations that cause people to react in negative ways. These are attachment to praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and pain and fame and disgrace. As a collective, they are known as the ‘eight worldly dharmas‘.
Let’s take an everyday situation to examine how these dharmas influence our responses and how we can use practice to undermine their power. Someone walks into our office and accuses us of making an error. Most people’s first reaction is to be defensive - either denying the mistake or at least making an excuse for it. If the person persists with their accusations, we grow increasingly uncomfortable and finally get angry. Why is this? Why does making a mistake cause us to feel so vulnerable?
Rather than seeing such situations as something to avoid, as Buddhists we should relish the opportunity to explore our mind. As one verse in the thirty-seven practices of the bodhisattva states: ‘If in the midst of a large crowd of people someone should single us out for abuse, exposing our faults and flaws, we should not get angry or become defensive but instead just listen in silence and, heeding his words, bow in respect to this man as our teacher. The sons of the Buddhas all practise this way.’ Basically, the root of the problem is ego. We mistakenly perceive ourselves as a solid and independent entity. Of course, like the heart or kidneys in a body, we can be identified by a specific name, but in reality we are connected to the outer world. In the same way that the blood from the heart is in the kidneys and the fluid from the kidneys in the heart, we are likewise connected to the outer world.
Once the mistaken view of somehow being independent from the outer world is strongly entrenched, we become like a lofty fortress standing on a isolated island, viewing the world around with fear and suspicion. We embellish our walls and stand guard over our possessions. Pride and negative action find their source in such view. In the context of this allegory, the person who points out an error is considered an intruder, someone who threatens our domain. As a result, we lash out in anger and try to blast him away.
A person following the path of the Buddha, on the other hand, would use the situation to identify a problem. He would think how to transform a possible conflict into wisdom. For inspiration, perhaps he would recall the events on the eve of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Sitting under the bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, the Buddha was assailed by Mara’s army. Arrows were fired onto his body, but they fell as flowers. This is symbolic of transforming suffering into wisdom. If there is something to hit, then we will get hurt. The trick, therefore, is to dismantle the target, the ego.
In practical terms, how do we do this? Well, next time we feel angry or jealous, we can ask ourselves which of the eight worldly dharmas is hooking us. Is it attachment to praise or fear of blame? Whichever it is, the root is the same: a strong sense of an independent “I”. In the example of the person pointing out an error, we can say to ourselves, “Why am I feeling hurt”? If we are honest, we will acknowledge that it is because we are clinging to a fixed and solid view of ourselves, which we see as somehow perfect. We are like an image of a smiling Mona Lisa frozen in time. Yet, when we scratch the surface, we realize that there is no such fixed person. In fact, we are are constantly changing combination of elements, which is sometimes correct and sometimes makes errors. By examining the self in this way, it slowly disintegrates. The fortress walls are dismantled, leaving an open space. This is our freedom and strength. Nothing can hurt space. In short, the only way to develop good habits is to dismantle the cause of negative ones - the ego.
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Tags: Buddhism
Buddhism, Opinions | Leo Golan | 
December 13, 2008 9:01 am | 
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