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If a man [sic] is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. (Bertrand Russell as cited in Richard, 2009).
The Arising of Buddhism
For more than 2500 years, the religion we know today as Buddhism has been the primary inspiration behind many successful civilisations, the source of great cultural achievements and a lasting and meaningful guide to the very purpose of life for millions of people. (Buddhist Society of Western Australia, n.d.)
The term Buddhism refers to an extensive religious and philosophical practice originating in India, but covering, at some time or another, the greater part of Asia. Its appearance in India was preceded by some two thousand years of Indian philosophy and civilisation. Buddhism as such did not yet exist, and the ideas of Siddhattha Gotama (aka the Buddha) formed but one part of the collection of Indian thought from that period.
The Buddha – one who has awakened – was born in Lumbini, just inside the borders of Nepal most probably around 485 BCE. The son of a local Ruler, the Buddha had a privileged upbringing benefiting from a traditional education studying subjects such as religious doctrine, state affairs, logic and other arts and sciences. He married at the age of 16, and had a son sometime later. At the age of 29 he renounced the world and became a homeless wanderer seeking religious knowledge under some of the wisest religious teachers and philosophers of his time. Although he learnt all they had to offer, he found it was not enough. Subsequently, he set out on the path of self-mortification, taking that practice to the extreme, but still to no avail. Then, at age 35, he sat under the branches of, what is now referred to as, the Bodhi Tree by the banks of the river Niranjara, and developed his mind in deep meditation. As a result he gained supreme Enlightenment and became known as the Buddha.
For the next 45 years the Buddha travelled throughout the towns and villages of north-east India spreading his religious teachings – the Dhamma – literally, ‘the nature of all things’ or ‘the truth underlying existence’. The Buddha’s primary focus was not philosophical speculations about a ‘Creator God’ or the origin of the universe, or on a heaven, but rather, on the causes of suffering (dukkha) and the cessation of its many forms. At the age of 80 he succumbed to illness and passed away into the state of pure enlightenment without remainder (an-upādi-sesa-nibbāna) from which he would never more be reborn.
In many ways the Buddha’s teachings conformed to and developed from the existing tenets of Brahmanism – known today as Hinduism, and the various other religious sects from that time, such as the Upanishadic, Jain, and Shramanic movements. In particular, the Buddha’s teachings hold much in common with Jainism. In fact, many concepts are shared, though not necessarily interpreted in the same way, by all the movements – the law of cause and effect (kamma), cyclic existence (samsāra), liberation (vimokkha), as well as many of the guidelines on ethics (sīla) and concentration (samādhi).
Note: The concepts and ideas used in this text have been drawn primarily from: The Buddhist Society of Western Australia, n.d.; Gethin, 1998, p. 1; Kang, ca.2012a; Kang, ca.2012e; Prebish and Keown, 2010, pp. 1 & 26-7; and Tsering, 2009, p.1.
Buddhist Concepts
From a Buddhist perspective, the Three Universal Characteristics of existence are:
- Impermanence of all phenomena
- The selflessness of all phenomena
- Suffering (also sometimes referred to as “stress”, “anxiety”, or “dissatisfaction”)
As a result of understanding the three characteristics, we eliminate our attachment, and arrive at the threshold of Nibbāna (a.k.a. Nirvana).
The Three Universal Truths (a.k.a. The Three Dhamma Seals) are similar to The Three Universal Characteristics:
- Impermanence of all phenomena
- The selflessness of all phenomena
- The serenity of Nibbāna
Suffering is often added to the above three to form the Four Dhamma Seals:
- Impermanence
- Selflessness (a.k.a. Not-self)
- Suffering
- Nibbāna
These “Seals” mark a given set of teachings as being authentically Buddhist, and any teaching not based on them can be said to be non-Buddhist.
Within ourselves and the natural world, all things arise, cease, and change. That such arising and cessation occurs every single instant is the meaning of the “impermanence of all phenomena”.
If we think about it, most of us accept things are constantly changing. Nevertheless, even though we know our bodies and minds are always changing, we tend to cling to the idea that the “I” that is “me”, though changing, somehow still remains unchanging. Even today most religions and philosophical schools consider this changing-but-unchanging aspect exists as an immortal essence, variously called “I”, “self”, or “soul”. This “self” is considered to exist through past and future, life and death. The notion of a substantial self however, was clearly denied by the Buddha. As he affirmed, if we are to accept that all things are transient – i.e. arise, cease and change, then the idea of a self (or a soul) is simply untenable. This is what Buddhists mean by the “selflessness of all phenomena”.
Note: The concepts and ideas used in this text have been drawn primarily from: The Buddhist Door; Soka Gakkai International; and Tagawa Shun’ei, 2009: 39-40.
Some additional external Buddhist Resources may also be found by following any of these links:
- Guide to Buddhism A to Z
- Access to Insight
- Pali Canon Online
- Buddhist Door
- Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
The Doctrine of Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppāda)
The doctrine of dependent origination is a fundamental Buddhist teaching on causation. Dependent origination holds that nothing is ‘a thing in itself’, with all things being dependent on other things. In other words, life and everything associated with it is built on a set of relations, in which it’s arising and cessation is conditional on other factors that arise/cease due to natural causation rather than by the will of some Devine entity. This principle can be given in a short formula of just four lines:
When this is, that is
This arising, that arises
When this is not, that is not
This ceasing, that ceases
(Dhammananda, 2010. p. 142)
The important consequence of this teaching is that there is nothing that comes into being through its own power or decision, and there are therefore no entities or metaphysical realities such as God or a soul/self (attā).
There are a variety of formulations of this doctrine, but the most common one explains the implications of causality, as it applies to existence, in a series of twelve stages or links (nidāna) highlighting that suffering (dukkha) and being trapped in the round of rebirth (samsāra) arises principally from craving (tanhā) and ignorance (avijjā).
These 12 nidāna are central to the Buddhist understanding of causality – i.e. dependent origination operates in terms of links on a chain such that:
Conditioned by (1) ignorance are (2) formations, conditioned by formations is (3) consciousness, conditioned by consciousness is (4) mind-and-body, conditioned by mind-and-body are (5) the six senses, conditioned by the six senses is (6) sense-contact, conditioned by sense-contact is (7) feeling, conditioned by feeling is (8) craving, conditioned by craving is (9) grasping, conditioned by grasping is (10) becoming, conditioned by becoming is (11) birth, conditioned by birth is (12) old age and death – grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair come into being.
(Gethin, 1998, pp. 141-2).
This is how life arises, exists and continues, and how suffering arises. And this is a significant point for it is precisely because everything arises as it does that small changes in the nature of any of these conditions can produce different effects. In other words, by developing wholesome actions – non-attachment, friendliness and wisdom, etc – the causes of suffering, such as ignorance and craving can be lessened and eventually done away with all together. Thus, the mechanism of dependent origination need not only lead to suffering, but equally, to the elimination of suffering.
One final note with respect to understanding dependent origination from the Buddhist perspective – at a macro-level, the 12 links (nidāna) are understood to sequentially span three lifetimes – the past life, the present life, and the future life. At a micro-level too, they sequentially span any three moments, three thoughts, and three actions, etc. – past, present and future. At both the macro- and micro-levels, the actual breakdown is such that previous (1) ignorance and (2) formations represent the past causes of the present conditions (3) consciousness, (4) mind-and-body, (5) six senses, (6) sense-contact, and (7) feeling. Likewise, the way we react to our present conditions by way of (8) craving, (9) grasping, and (10) becoming, creates the present causes that will inform the conditions of our future (11) birth and (12) aging and death.
Note: The concepts and ideas used in this text have been drawn primarily from: Dhammananda, 2010, pp. 141-7; Gethin, 1998, pp. 141-153; Guide to Buddhism A to Z, n.d.; Kang, ca.2012d; Prebish and Keown, 2010, pp. 48-9; Tsering, 2009, pp. 153-8.
The Doctrine of Not-Self (anattā)
Is form … feeling … perception … mental formations … consciousness permanent?
Impermanent, O Lord.
Now that which is impermanent, is it satisfactory or unsatisfactory?
Unsatisfactory, O Lord.
Now, that which is impermanent, unsatisfactory, subject to change, is it proper to regard that as: this is mine, this I am, this is myself?
Indeed, not that, O Lord.
(Anattā -Lakkhana Sutta, as translated by Mendis, n.d.)
What the Anattā-Lakkhana Sutta is essentially saying is human-beings can be broken down into five aggregates (khandha) – form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), mental formations (samkhāra), and consciousness (viññāna) without anything being left. And since the 5 khandha make no reference to an eternal soul, or self, Buddhism is said to teach the doctrine of not-self (anattā). In other words, there is no permanent unchanging soul or self that exists separate from these 5 khandha.
It is important to note that, having said there is no-self, Buddhism is not saying that as individuals, we do not have a unique personality or identity. It is just that the particular tendencies, traits, habits, and characteristics that make us who we are, are believed to come about as part of the fourth aggregate – the mental formations aggregate (samkhāra khandha). Unlike the theistic religions, and other Indian belief systems such as Brahmanism (present day Hinduism) and Jainism however, the Buddhist belief in anattā affirms that, as Prebish & Keown (2010, p.57) put it, the “concept of an eternal unchanging soul is redundant, and is not required to explain how human beings function”.
If we try to analyse our feelings, perceptions, actions, and consciousness, etc., we generally think of these mental formations as ‘me’ or ‘myself’. From a Buddhist perspective however, the ‘me’ does not actually inhabit any of these elements, and to cling to this belief is born out of ignorance. Ignorance here simply means being misguided, or not recognising the facts, or only having a partial appreciation of them. Having said this though, even if one ‘recognises’ that the self does not exist independently; that it is only a label, extinguishing the concept of self is extremely difficult. “This label called ‘self’ is the most stubborn of all concepts to break”. (Khyentse, 2008, p. 46).
The concept of self is the result of faulty assumptions driven by fear of death, desire for pleasure and longing for life without end. It is a failure to understand/accept that all phenomena – formed and formless things, events, mental activities, laws, and anything else you can think of – arises, abides, changes and ceases based on the paticca-samuppāda doctrine. Thus, if there is nothing that does not continuously change, how can the ‘self’ really be a self?
Note: The concepts and ideas used in this text have been drawn primarily from: Dhammananda, 2010, pp. 155-8; Guide to Buddhism A-Z, n.d: b; Kang, ca.2012c; Khyentse, 2008, pp. 45-6; Prebish & Keown, 2010, pp. 55-57; Thanissaro, n.d: b; Yin-shun, 1998, pp. 167 & 289-291; Yun, 2008, pp. 52-4 & 161.
The Doctrine of Emptiness (suññattā)
Things and events are ‘empty’ in that they can never possess any immutable essence, intrinsic reality or absolute ‘being’ that affords independence.
(Dalai Lama as cited in Richard, 2009.)
The Doctrine of Emptiness (suññattā) is central to Mahayana Buddhist thought. Suññattā emphasises the relational aspect of existence; an interpretation of the early Buddhist paticca-samuppāda doctrine progressed by the Madhyamaka School. The Suññattā doctrine is aimed at facilitating the ‘letting go’ of the mind’s mistaken perceptions of reality. Understanding suññattā relies on employing the idea of two truths. Conventional truth – the acceptance of appearances – is used to describe that which is considered to exist. The second truth – Ultimate truth – is the truth that all things are empty in that they are empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self. For Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamaka School, awakening (aka enlightenment) meant knowing the Ultimate truth while living in a world of conventional appearances.
Conventionally then, suññattā refers to a way of perceiving the world leading to freedom, understanding, and ultimately, nibbāna. The fact that we perceive the world means that perceptions exist. Without any enduring substance however, all objects can only exist conditionally. They exist as appearances. From the Madhyamaka perspective, suññattā refers to the idea that there is no substance to anything. Nothing exists in its own right, and nothing is permanent and unchanging – i.e. paticca-samuppāda.
What this means is anything that is perceived by the mind does not exist before it is perceived. It does not really exist because the mind mistakenly perceives inherent existence and independent existence as real. Everything we see, hear, feel, imagine, and ‘know’ to exist is simply emptiness that has been attributed or labelled ‘reality’. Although our perceptions may appear real, they are merely labels placed on phenomena that do not really exist. When the right causes and conditions come together, anything can appear. But when those conditions are spent, the appearance stops.
Neither things nor the self inherently exist, so both things and the self are empty without inherent nature. In spite of this, we usually perceive the world, including our own experience in it, as being definable, distinct and enduring. We perceive ourselves and the world as real. It is not perception that binds us however; it is our attachment to the perception. Consequently, any belief in an inherent, independently existing objective reality is fundamentally flawed. It is flawed because it is incompatible with causation. Causation implies dependence on conditions and effects. Inherent existence, on the other hand, implies something that is totally unchanging and self-contained.
Note: The concepts and ideas used in this text have been drawn primarily from: Bingley, 2009; Dalai Lama, as cited in Richard, 2009; Kang, ca.2012b; Khyentse, 2008, pp. 55-71; Prebish & Keown, 2010, pp. 101-2; Suñña Sutta, as translated by Thanissaro, n.d: a; Tsering, 2009; Yin-shun, p. 289; Yun, 2008, pp. 61-70.
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