What keeps Sam sara going?

Before the above excursus we spoke o f rebirth without a transmigrat­

ing soul, and o f the w ay in which kamma determines the next existence.

This leads to the question of what the forces are that keep the cycle of Samsara in motion. T h ey must obviously be very vital powers.

In the second o f the Four Noble Truths the Buddha gives the answer:

'This, monks, is the Noble Truth ojthe Origin o f Suffering', il is this craving, leading 10 rebirth, pleasing, bound up with lust, finding pleasure now here, now there, that is to say craving for scnse- pleasures, cravin g for becoming, crav ing for non-existence.’

(M v 1.6.20) Thus it is C ravin g (tanhd) also more literally translated ‘ thirst’

that scduccs us im o remaining in Samara. C ravin g is the reason why beings, in the face o f all reason, accept this long sullering in return lor short-lived joys.

Il shows the Buddha’s profound knowledge of human nature that beside the craving for sense-pleasures 'enjoym ent, possessions, sexual satisfaction) and the craving for becoming (i.e. fora fresh rebirth), he set the craving for non-existence (i.e. for self-destruction). Even the wish not to goon existing is a Ibrm o fcra vin g which binds one to the cycle o f rebirths. An unemancipated man who kills himself remains attached to the cycle o f rebirths, and effects nothing but a change o f state.

But craving can only fulfil its role o f seducing us to stay in Samsdra, so long as a man is unaware o f the painful nature o f all existence, i.e.

about the essentially painful nature even o f pleasures. Knowledge, understanding and insight are the greatest foes o f craving. A ccord­

ingly, the Buddha in addition to erasin g (tanhd) also points out ignorance [avijja), i.e. non-understanding o f the true nature o f things, as one o f the forces propelling Samsdra. M any o f his discourses reler to craving and ignorance as joint causes o f suffering, Eater, he systematized the factors o f suffering in a group o f three: Greed (lubha), H aired <dosa) and Delusion imoha). lie often used for them the collective names o f ‘ influences’ (arara) and ‘defilements’ (kilesa).

T h e third o f the Four Noble Truths simply states that for liberation the destruction o fcra vin g is necessary:

‘This, monks, is the Noble 'Truth o f the Cessation o f Suffering', the utter stopping, destruction, giving up, rejection, abandonment and put­

ting aw ay o f this cravin g.’ (M v 1.6 .2 1)

Since this statement belongs to the very earliest core o f the Pali Canon, it does not yet speak o f the equally necessary destruction o f the factors o f ignorance and hatred.

6

Alter the philosophical mountain tour in the first three Noble Truths, in the Iburth vve enter the open plain o feih ics. This truth describes i lie modes o f behaviour which lead to the end o f the 'defilements" and thus o f the suffering they cause, for each individual. Il draws the practic al consequences from (he understanding of the true nature o f ihe world.

This, monks, is the , \oble 'I ruth oj the Path leading lo the Cessation o f Suffering. It is this .Xohlr Eightfold Path, namely:

I Right View. 5 Right Livelihood, '2 Right Resolve, li Right Ktfori, 3 Right Speech, 7 R iglil Mindlulne.ss.

j Right A d io n , 8 Right Com m ira tio n . i.\lv 1 .fi.a-i) The rules [stla) are nol ‘com mandments' but rather recommendations lor a wholesome way o f life. As a man develops eiliical self-control by practising them, he improves his lot with every rebirth. Al the same time he reduces craving and ignorance in himself, until he succeeds in bringing them lo a com plele halt, and lluis to bring about his em ancipation from Samsara. Whether, and how far, he keeps to the rule's, is his own business. T h e natural law o f kamma operates mech­

anically and iricorruptihily to ensure thal each one receives ihe ap­

propriate Iruils of keeping or breaking the rules.

Ju st as these rules work inwardly on the individual, so loo out­

w ardly, because when all practise self-control, society also benefits.

T he relationship o f mutual support is like that between two acrobats, one o f whom balances a bam boo rod on his shoulder while the other performs tricks at ils end. As long as each one looks after himself, he protects the other, and when he looks after the other, he protects himself ( S \ J.8.1C)).

II is noteworthy ihiat none o f ihe rules makes demands o f a ritualist character. T h e Buddha rejected rilual and cull observances; he con­

sidered that they only tended to attach us more firmly to Samsara.

And lo whom in (early; Buddhism should a cult have been directed?

The destruction o f sullering is, according lo the Dham m a, nol a numinous affair. All ihe eight steps o f the Path are related in a clearly visible w ay to their intended effect, liberation from suffering.

In the four and a h alf decades o f his ministry ihe Buddha provided numerous explanations o f ihe Noble Eightfold Path, which made clear what was to he considered ‘ right' in each rule. In addressing the laity he often started from the questioner's occupation, explaining the rules in relation to his means o f livelihood and social status. Addres­

sing the monks in K am m asadham m a, the provincial capital o f the K u ru tribe ( I) X 22 .2 1 i, he defined the Eightfold Path as follows:

t Might View (sammd-ditthi) is the knowledge o f suffering, o f its origin, o f its cessation, and o f the Path Leading to its Cessation, i.e. fam iliarity with the Noble Eightfold Path.

■2 Right Resolve Isamma-sanktippa) is the decision for renunciation i'i.e. turning aw ay from excessive self-indulgence), for goodwill towards all beings, and for harmlessness.

3 Right Speech {samma-rdcdf is refraining from lying, slander, insult and frivolous chatter.

4 Right Action (samma-kammanta) is refraining from taking life, from taking what is not given (i.e. theft) and from sexual misconduct (or excessive sensuality).

5 Right Livelihood [sammd-djiva). I he disciple o f the Buddha must give up wrong ways of m aking a living, thal is, through activities which harm or torment other beings.

6 Right Effort (sammd-vdyama) is directed within. A monk and here G otam a speaks expressly o f a bhikkhu strives to prevent the arising in himself o f unwholesome mental slates, and to overcome those that have arisen. Me likewise strives to produce wholesome mental states, and to maintain those thal have arisen.

7 Right Mindfulness isammd-snti) is principally but not exclusively intended for monks. Here a monk, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world, abides contem plating body, feelings, mind and mind-objects. I he purpose o f this exercise is to bring under conscious control all his processes and functions.

8 Right Concentration {samma-samadhi). T|iis rule derives from ihe time o f G o tam a's ascetic practices and consists o f the four Absorptions (jhd/ia) which had once (M N 36 .34!^ ; i, 247) made the mind o f the young ascetic capable o f attaining

enlightenment. T h e object o f these absorptions is to cause the m editator to turn aw ay from the world, to convey to him the experience o f inner stillness and to prepare his mind for higher in­

sights.

This, then, is the Noble Eightfold Path leading to liberation from suffering. T h e Buddha’s early followers considered it to be the most im portant, as the practical part o f the D ham m a, more important than the philosophical part. Without any mention o f G otam a’s wider-ranging recognitions, they defined his teaching:

T o refrain from all evil and develop the wholesome, T o purify one’s mind, is what the Buddhas teach.

(Dhp 183) Anyone who disciplines himself will sooner or later obtain release, even though his theoretical knowledge o f the Buddha’s teaching may be slight.

T h e needs o f the early com munity m ade it necessary to supplement the Rightfold Path with a catalogue o f things to be avoided. T he resulting list o f actions which lead to kammic decline consists o fte n prohibitions, the first five for lay followers, and all ten being binding on novices and monks:

1 T o refrain from taking life.

2 T o refrain from taking what is not given (theft).

3 T o refrain from unchastity (by this rule, lay people are bound to observe the sexual conventions, and monks to absoluiecelibacy).

4 T o refrain from telling lies.

5 T o refrain from intoxicating drinks.

T h e rem aining rules for novices and monks are o f a disciplinary nature, and are meant to ensure that ihe monks keep aloof from the vanities o f the world and maintain modesty and mindfulness.

() T o refrain from eating after midday.

7 T o refrain from attending performances o f dancing. musi(

and theatricals.

8 T o refrain from using garlands, perfume, cosnu-iii s and jew el­

lery.

9 T o refrain from using high and wide beds.

10 T o refrain from accepting gold and silver (money).

7 Nibbana

I he goal ol liberation which the Buddha promised his followers as a result o f the destruction o f greed, hatred and delusion, is closely connected with the doctrine o f non-self (anattaj. Kvery religion that teaches the existence of an immortal soul must assume that this soul continues to exist after salvation, and must therefore provide for its lodging in a realm o f liberation, a sphere o f salvation. T he soul (Skt at m a n can be absorbed into the All-Soul (brahman) as in the Upani- sliadic philosophy, it can become united with God as in theistic Hinduism, or it can enter paradise, as in Christianity and Islam.

O wing to his denial o f an immortal soul, Gotam a did not have to acknowledge any o f these rationally difficult solutions. He did not have to bother about the fate o f a soul; for him, liberation consisted in the final dissolution o f the suffering individual and I he breaking o f the chain o f rebirths: in fact in the extinction (nibbana) o f the empirical person. He rejected the accusation o f certain Brahmins that he was a nihilist ivenayika). He destroyed only one thing: suffering, he replied M N 2'2: i.t.jo ;. Since the so-called person is only a bundle o f phenomena with no ‘s e lf, and since its existence is necessarily bound up with suffering, its ending is no loss. On the contrary - its dissol­

ution, when not followed by any further rebirth, is to be welcomed as the liberation from suffering.

In view of the fact that N ibbana is a liberation, we should not be surprised to find that many passages in the Pali Canon define it b\

negatives. Nibbana is the destruction ofth ecravin g that leads to rebirth (D N 14 .3 .1,, the liberation from greed, hatred and delusion (1)N 16 .4 .4 3:, and the final pacification o f the intentions (sankhdra) (D N 1 4.3. t !, which alw ays create kamma and so lay the Ibundat ions o f furl her rebirths. Whereas all samsaric forms of existence are conditioned by intentions (uiiikhatd), Nibbana is unconditioned or non-intended Iaumkhata) A N 3.47). It cannot l>e gained by wholesome deeds alone, it is not the final station o f a kanimic path, but lies beyond all con­

ditionality . It is outside ol Satnsara, nevertheless it is not an Absolute.

'H ie fact that N ibbana can only bc attained by the destruction o f all desire has as a consequence that the very desire for Nibbana hinders its realization. Eagerness for liberation stands in its own way.

When the Buddha was asked how lie had managed lo cross the llood o f suffering, he replied: ‘ Without tarrying iap/ialitthani) and with­

out hurrying (anayfthamj, I crossed ihe flood . . . When I tarried, I sank, when I hurried (after liberation; 1 was whirled round. Only when 1 neither tarried nor hurried, did I cross the Hood’ (SN i.t ) . Tor ihe gaining o f liberation one requires a calmness that never loses sight o f the goal but approaches it without haste or fanaticism. T he proper attitude is one of uninlentionality.

Beside negative definitions, ihe Canon does contain positive descrip­

tions o f N ibbana. It is ihe highest happiness, peace, the quiet place, security, blessing, the deathless, purity, truth, (he highest, the eternal, the uncreated, the unending, etc. Some o f these expressions have an emotional character and must be understood in terms o f the en­

thusiasm o f the early Buddhist com munity which in the idea o f N ibbana made contact with the numinous and waxed lyrical on the wings o f faith in liberation. It is reported o f the bhikkhu Udayin that he was surprised at the feeling-toned expression ‘ happiness’ Isukha) that ihe bhikkhu Sariputta had used in regard to N ibbana, and asked how it could be that N ibbana, in which there were no sensa­

tions, could be termed ‘ happiness’ . Sariputla replied: ‘T h at is jusi vvhai happiness is, where there are no more sensations’ (A N

Those passages in the Pali Canon that refer to N ibbana speak o f it in two different ways. In one group o f passages, N ibbana is regarded as the stale which arises in the liberated person when the factors causing suffering have been destroyed. According to this, N ibbana is a condition o f the mind that arises in lhat person, but then is irreversible, and can therefore be termed safe (dhuva), permanent (nicca) and enduring (accuta). T h e term Nibbana itself, which literally denotes the process o f the extinction o f a (lame and the resultant state o f being extinct, supports this view.

T h e second way o f referring to N ibbana regards it as something unborn (ajata) and unbecome (abhuta), and so as something given, that existed long before the liberation o f that person, who by his liberation has gained access to it. In this w ay, N ibbana necessarily

took on the character o f a place: ‘T h ere is, monks, a realm (ayalana) where there is neither earth nor w ater, fire nor air . . .Ju s t this is the end o f suffering' {U d 8 .1). T h e entry o/" N ibbana is here interpreted as the entry into N ibbana.

Further information about the state o f liberation can be taken from the passages that deal with him who is liberated. Since Xib- bana does not necessarily coincide with the death o f the liberated person, who may indeed, like G otam a, continue to live for years and even decades, it is necessary to distinguish between Nibbana before death and that after death (Itiv 44). In the Nibbana before death the liberated person is still in possession o f the five Groups (khandha) which constitute 'his’ em pirical person - in other words, he continues to exist as a being perceptible to all. He has not transcended the sufferings o f physical existence, ageing, sickness, accidents and pains: these are interpreted as surviving remnants o f kamma which he still has to work out. However, he is, thanks to his freedom from the /ramma-producing defilements, not capable o f creat­

ing fresh kamma. Full o f compassion (karuna, anukampa) and loving­

kindness ; nietta) for all that lives, but indifferent to whatever all'ects himself, he simply awaits the N ibbana that will set in after his death.

This post-mortem N ibbana, in which the five Groups have fallen aw ay from the liberated one, so that lie is no longer ‘graspable’ as a person, is generally called Parinihbana, ‘ all-round extinction’ . Several limes in the Canon the question is raised as to whether a liberated being exists alter death or not. T h e answer is ‘ neither yes nor no’ : such a one has entered a stale beyond Samsara which is inaccessible to our categories o f thought or powers o f description. In a discussion with a wandering mendicant o f the V’accha clan (V acchagotta), the Buddha said that it is with a fully liberated person the same as with a fire. As long as it is burning, we know what fuel it consumes, but when it has gone out, no one can say in which direction it has disappeared to. In the same w ay, with one who has attained to ‘ all­

round extinction’ , the fuel fi.e. the five Groups) has been consumed, and he is as deep, imm easurable and unplum bable as the great ocean IM N 7 2 .18 ; i, 48 6 f .:.

I he U dana ascribes this stanza to the Buddha:

‘ He who’s freed above, below and round about, Will no more see himself as “ this am I” .

Though he failed earlier, now he crosses the flood In order never to become again .’

(Ud 7-0 And in the Sutta N ipata the M aster instructs L’ pasiva:

‘As a flame when blown out by the power o f wind Goes to rest and eludes definition.

So a sage who is freed o f Body-and-N am e Goes to rest and is lost to cognizance.

‘T h ere’s no measure for him who has gone beyond And no word that is apt to describe him.

When the Dham m as completely have fallen aw ay All paths o f the language have ended.’

(S N ip 10 7 4 + 7 6 )

T H E O R D E R