Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature Page 3
Because this has arisen, that arises illustrates that causes, like their results, are impermanent. If causes did not change, they would continue to exist even after producing their results. However, for a result to arise, its cause must cease; for an apple tree to grow, the apple seed must cease. It is not possible for a permanent creator or prior intelligence to create the universe and beings in it without itself changing. Each person, thing, and event arises due to its own causes, which in turn have come about in dependence on their causes. There is no discernable beginning.
Furthermore, things are produced by their own unique causes, not by discordant causes — things that do not have the capability to produce them. It is not the case that anything can produce anything. A daisy grows from daisy seeds, not from metal. Our bodies and minds each have their own unique causes.
Causes depend on conditions to produce their results. If conditions were unnecessary, a sprout could grow in the dead of winter or in parched soil; it would not depend on warmth and moisture to grow. Multiple causes and conditions are necessary to bring a result.
Each cause not only produces its own results but also arose due to the causes that produced it. The sprout is the cause of the tree that grows from it as well as the result of the seed from which it grew. If an external creator were the cause of the universe, he or she would also have to be the result of a previous cause. He would be a caused phenomenon and could not exist independent of causes.
If Buddhists do not accept a self, who takes rebirth? Although the Buddha refutes a self that exists independent of all other factors, he accepts a conventional self that is dependent on causes, conditions, and parts. This self is designated in dependence on the body and mind, so the question of whether the self has a beginning depends on if the body and mind have beginnings. The body is material in nature. Scientists currently say that all matter can be traced back to the Big Bang. How did the Big Bang occur? There must have been some material substances, energy, or potential for matter that existed before the Big Bang, and conditions must have been such that it exploded. Here, too, we see that things must have causes that are affected by other conditions and therefore change and give rise to something new.
Our minds change moment by moment; the mind is impermanent and arises due to causes that have the ability to produce each moment of mind. The first moment of mind in this life has a cause, because without a cause it could not exist. The cause of our minds was not our parents’ minds, because both of our parents have their own individual continuity of consciousness, as do we. The substantial cause (upādānakāraṇa) of our minds — the cause that turns into the mind — cannot be our bodies or the sperm and egg of our parents, because the mind and body have different natures: the mind is formless and has the nature of clarity and cognizance, while the body has physical and material characteristics. The only thing we can point to as the cause of the first moment of mind in this life is the previous moment of that mind in the previous life. This continuity can be traced back infinitely, with one moment of mind producing the next moment of mind; there is no beginning.
REFLECTION
Consider:
1. Everything that is produced arises from causes; nothing can arise causelessly.
2. Causes are impermanent; they must cease in order for their result to arise.
3. There is concordance between a cause and its result. A specific result can only arise from the causes and conditions that are capable of producing it.
4. Apply this understanding to the existence of the physical universe and of your mind.
Is There an End to the Self?
Within Buddhism there are two positions regarding this question. Some Vaibhāṣikas say that when an arhat (someone who has attained liberation from saṃsāra) passes away (attains nirvāṇa without remainder of the polluted aggregates), the continuum of the person ceases to exist, like the flame of a lamp going out due to lack of fuel. Because the polluted aggregates are produced by afflictions and karma, when arhats pass away there is no continuity of their aggregates, since their causes — afflictions and polluted karma — have been ceased. Because the aggregates are necessary for the existence of a person, they say that the person no longer exists.
There are difficulties with this assertion: when the person is alive, there is no nirvāṇa without remainder of the polluted aggregates, and when this nirvāṇa has been attained, there is no person who attained it. In that case, how could we say, “This person attained this nirvāṇa?”
Furthermore, there is nothing that can eradicate the mindstream — the continuity of mind. The wisdom realizing selflessness eradicates afflictive obscurations, but it cannot destroy the clear and cognizant nature of the mind. For this reason Mādhyamikas and most Cittamātrins assert that after a person attains parinirvāṇa — the nirvāṇa after death — the continuum of the purified aggregates exists. These purified aggregates are the basis of designation of that arhat; thus the person does not cease to exist when he or she attains parinirvāṇa. Motivated by compassion, bodhisattvas who have overcome afflictive obscurations continue to take rebirth in cyclic existence. The continuity of buddhas’ mindstreams also remain forever.
From the viewpoint of Tantrayāna, after an arhat passes away the subtlest mind-wind continues to exist and a person is posited in dependence on this. That self is called an arhat. Someone who has attained full awakening obtains the four bodies (here “body” means collection) of a buddha. Since the mind’s ultimate nature is emptiness, the emptiness of the awakened mind becomes the nature truth body — the final true cessation of a buddha and the emptiness of that buddha’s mind. The subtlest mind becomes the wisdom truth body — the omniscient mind of a buddha. The subtlest wind becomes the form bodies of a buddha — the enjoyment body and the emanation bodies. An ārya buddha — a person who is a buddha — exists by being merely designated in dependence on these four bodies.
The Four Truths
In classical India, many spiritual traditions spoke about the unawakened state of saṃsāra and the awakened state of nirvāṇa, each tradition having its own description of duḥkha, its origins, cessation, and the path leading to cessation. Saṃsāra means to be reborn with karmically conditioned aggregates. Specifically, it is our five aggregates, subject to clinging (upādāna) and appropriated due to afflictions and karma.1
Liberation is freedom from the bondage of rebirth with polluted aggregates, impelled by afflictions and karma. Polluted means under the influence of ignorance. Liberation comes about by ceasing the ignorance and karma that cause cyclic existence. The mind renouncing duḥkha and intent on liberation is a precious mind that needs to be cultivated with care. Renunciation does not mean relinquishing happiness; it is the aspiration for liberation, the determination to seek a higher and more enduring happiness than saṃsāra can offer.
The first teaching the compassionate Buddha gave was the four truths: true duḥkha, true origins, true cessations, and true paths. These four truths cover our present state, one that is replete with unsatisfactory conditions (duḥkha) and their origins, and presents an alternative: nirvāṇa (true cessations) and the path leading to that. The Buddha did not create the four truths; he simply described the truth about saṃsāra and its origins as well as the truth that a path exists to cease those and bring about nirvāṇa.
We may wonder why these truths are sometimes called the four noble truths. After all, what is noble about suffering? Noble indicates (1) they were directly realized and taught by noble ones — āryas, those who have realized the ultimate nature directly, and (2) knowing these truths ennobles us by enabling us to become āryas. They are called truths because it is true that duḥkha and its origins are to be abandoned and it is true that cessations and paths are to be adopted. These four are true according to the perception of the āryas, and they are true in the sense that they form a nondeceptive explanation that will lead us beyond suffering.
The Buddha spoke of the four truths in many sūtras. In the first t
urning of the Dharma wheel, the Buddha presented the four truths by means of three cycles: first he identified the nature of each truth, then he spoke of how to engage with each one, and finally he described the result of realizing each truth.
The Nature of Each Truth
In terms of their nature, true sufferings (duḥkha) are the polluted aggregates that are principally caused by afflictions and polluted karma. More broadly, true duḥkha consists of polluted bodies, minds, environments, and the things we use and enjoy. In Compendium of Knowledge Asaṅga says, “If one asks what is true duḥkha, it is to be understood both in terms of the sentient beings who are born as well as the habitats in which they are born.” The body and mind are internal true duḥkha because they are in the continuum of a person; the environment and the things around us are external true duḥkha, which are not part of a person’s continuum. All true origins are also true duḥkha, although not all true duḥkha is true origins. All afflictions are unsatisfactory, but our bodies and our habitats, which are unsatisfactory, are not causes of saṃsāra.
What propels this process of uncontrollably and repeatedly taking the psychophysical aggregates of a being of one of the three realms? It is the true origins of duḥkha — afflictions and polluted karma (actions). The chief affliction that is the root of saṃsāra is the ignorance grasping inherent existence — a mental factor that apprehends phenomena as existing in the opposite way than they actually exist. Whereas all phenomena exist dependently, ignorance apprehends them as existing independently. The Tibetan term for ignorance — ma rig pa — means not knowing. Even its name implies something undesirable that disturbs the mind and interferes with happiness and fulfillment. Since the cause of cyclic existence is inauspicious, its effect — our bodies, habitats, and experiences in cyclic existence — will not bring stable joy.
Ignorance narrows the mind, obscuring it from seeing the multifarious factors involved in existence. From ignorance stems various distorted conceptualizations that foster the arising of all other afflictions — especially the “three poisons” of confusion, attachment, and animosity. Afflictions in turn create karma that propels saṃsāric rebirth. In the context of the four truths, the Buddha identified craving as the principal example of the origin of duḥkha to highlight its prominent role.
True cessations are the exhaustion of true duḥkha and true origins. From the Prāsaṅgika viewpoint, they are the emptiness of an ārya’s mind, specifically the purified aspect of the ultimate nature of a mind that has abandoned some portion of obscurations through the force of a true path.
True paths are āryas’ realizations informed by the wisdom directly realizing selflessness. With the exception of ethical restraints that are imperceptible forms, true paths are consciousnesses. Pāli sūtras emphasize the eightfold path, which is subsumed into the three higher trainings, as the true path. Of the eight, right view — the wisdom realizing selflessness — is what actually cuts the root of cyclic existence.
The four truths comprise two pairs, each pair having a cause-and-effect relation. True origins cause true duḥkha, and true paths bring about true cessations. Technically speaking, true cessation — nirvāṇa — is not an effect, because it is unconditioned and permanent.2 However, attaining nirvāṇa is due to a cause, which is the true path. The Buddha goes into more depth about the nature of each truth in the Establishment of Mindfulness Sutta (DN 22:18–21):
And what, monastics, is the ārya truth of duḥkha? Birth is duḥkha, aging is duḥkha, death is duḥkha, sorrow, lamentation, pain, dejection, and despair are duḥkha. Encountering the undesired is duḥkha, being separated from the desired is duḥkha, not getting what one wants is duḥkha. In short, the five aggregates subject to clinging are duḥkha . . .
And what, monastics, is the ārya truth of the origin of duḥkha? It is that craving that gives rise to rebirth, bound up with delight and attachment, seeking fresh delight now here, now there: that is to say, sensual craving, craving for existence, and craving for nonexistence.
And what, monastics, is the ārya truth of the cessation of duḥkha? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, abandoning, letting go, and detachment from it [craving].
And what, monastics, is the ārya truth of the way leading to the cessation of duḥkha? It is just this ārya eightfold path — namely, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
To look more closely at the Buddha’s description of true duḥkha: We are already aware of the suffering involved in birth, sickness, aging, and death. Sorrow is our response to misfortune and disagreeable situations. When sorrow intensifies so that it becomes unbearable, we cry out or weep. This is lamentation. Pain refers to physical pain of whatever sort; dejection is mental pain, unhappiness, and depression. Due to pain or dejection, suffering becomes overwhelming and we despair, giving up hope because we see no recourse to solve our difficulties.
Encountering the undesired is meeting with what is disagreeable. However much we try to avoid difficulties, they keep coming in one form or another. We encounter relationship and financial problems as well as prejudice, injustice, and climate change.
Being separated from the desired occurs when we have what we like and then are separated from it. Once we have friends, relatives, a job and income, a good reputation, and so forth, we do not want to lose them. Although we cling to these, it is impossible to hold on to them forever because they are transient by their very nature. The greater our attachment, the more painful our eventual separation from them will be. For this reason the Buddha said that worldly things are unsatisfactory and lack the ability to bring lasting happiness.
Not getting what we want is the situation of having unfulfilled wishes and needs. We seek good health, financial security, and stable relationships; we wish to stay young forever and have an excellent reputation. However much we want these, we cannot achieve them to a degree that fulfills us, and fall prey to frustration, moodiness, and despondency. This experience is common to the rich and the poor, the popular and the lonely, the healthy and the ill.
The above circumstances are fairly easy to discern in our lives. In them we find three types of duḥkha. There are (1) evident pain — the duḥkha of pain — and (2) the unsatisfactory situation of not being able to hold on to the pleasant — the duḥkha of change. (3) The basis upon which these arise is the body and mind — the five aggregates subject to clinging. Because we have these five aggregates, all the other unsatisfactory situations arise. This is the pervasive duḥkha of conditionality, which is intrinsic to the five aggregates that are clung to with ignorance.
The five aggregates are momentary processes, bound together in relationships of mutual conditionality. We believe ourselves to be independent persons, existing above and beyond the body and mind or existing within the body and mind and having control over them. This idea of being an independent self is delusion. Until now we have never examined how we grasp the self and simply assume there is a self in control of the aggregates.
When we look deeply into the nature of the five aggregates, we see that they are simply momentarily changing processes that are in a constant flux. They arise and pass away without interruption, giving rise to the next moment in the same continuum. What we consider to be the person consists of only momentary material and mental aggregates.
Our bodies and minds are transient by nature. There is no further cause or external condition for their changing and passing away other than their having arisen. The Buddha said, “Whatever has the nature of arising, all of it has the nature of ceasing.” This is subtle impermanence, and to realize it clearly through direct experience requires great mindfulness and concentration. This realization is very valuable because, when coupled with the understanding that our aggregates will never be something secure that we can take comfort in, it leads us to seek the origin of duḥkha and to investigate if it can be eradicated and, if so, how.
Repeatedly taking the five aggregates occurs due to ignorance, craving, and karma. Not only are our present aggregates the product of past ignorance, craving, and karma, but they also become the basis in this life for the arising of more ignorance, craving, and karma, which lead to taking another set of five aggregates subject to clinging in the future, which are under the control of ignorance, craving, and karma.
In pointing to craving as the prime example of the origin of duḥkha in the above passage, the Buddha was not disregarding the role of ignorance, other afflictions, and karma. Ignorance obscures the mind from knowing things as they are, and within that unclarity, craving is an active force that creates duḥkha. It does this in several ways: First, craving arises toward whatever is pleasurable. It seeks out objects, cognitive faculties, consciousnesses, contacts, feelings, intentions, thoughts, and images that are agreeable. In short, craving makes us into addicts who perpetually seek more and better physical and mental pleasures. Causing us to cling to the objects that appear to give us pleasures, craving breeds dissatisfaction and a sense of lacking. Thinking that gratifying all our desires will bring us happiness, we find ourselves immersed in cheating, lying, backbiting, and other harmful behaviors. In sum, craving lies behind much of the karma that projects rebirth in cyclic existence.
In addition to motivating many of the destructive actions we engage in during our lives, craving arises forcefully at the time of death, ripening the karmic seeds that project the next rebirth. As death approaches, craving seeks to preserve our sense of being an independent person; we do not want to separate from the body and mind of this life that are the basis for fabricating an independent self. However, during the death process, the body’s ability to act as the support for consciousness ebbs, and craving gives rise to clinging, which propels the mind to seek rebirth in another body. According to the karmic seeds fertilized by craving and clinging, the mind connects to another body at the moment of rebirth. For human rebirths, this is the moment of conception. When consciousness joins the fertilized egg, all five aggregates of the next rebirth come into existence together. The fertilized egg is the body; and along with consciousness come feeling, discrimination, and miscellaneous factors, thus forming the basis of the person of the new life.