Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature Read online

  The true cessation of duḥkha is the relinquishment of the afflictive obscurations, especially craving. In our daily lives, we may experience facsimiles of cessation — for example, the peace and relief we feel when we let go of having our way or of insisting on being right and having the last word in an argument. While the final true cessation is nirvāṇa, āryas attain several partial cessations while on the path each time they abandon a certain portion of afflictions and their seeds.

  The Pāli tradition speaks of four types of cessation; not all of these are nirvāṇa:

  (1) Cessation by factor substitution (P. tat anga nirodha) occurs after we have cultivated the antidote to a particular affliction and temporarily eliminated it. When angry, we meditate on fortitude, and when filled with sensual craving, we contemplate the unattractiveness of the body. By substituting a virtuous state of mind for a nonvirtuous one, there is a cessation by factor substitution.

  (2) Cessation through suppression (P. vikambana nirodha) is the result of attaining the meditative absorptions. Strong samādhi temporarily overcomes the manifest forms of the five hindrances and other defilements (P. saṃkleśa, saṃkilesa), bringing the peace and bliss of concentration. Since the defilements are not active during meditative absorption, it seems that they have been eradicated. However, they have only been suppressed and their seeds remain in the mindstream.

  (3) Cessation through eradication (P. samucheda nirodha) is the cessation attained through penetrative wisdom that cuts off the defilements so that they can never arise again. This cessation is attained beginning at the stage of stream-enterer (path of seeing), progresses through the stages of once-returner and nonreturner (path of meditation), and culminates in arhatship (path of no more learning).

  (4) The ultimate cessation of defilement (P. achanta nirodha) as explained in the Pāli tradition is the reality that is the ultimate absence of all defilements. Cutting off defilements completely depends on a reality that is completely free from defilements, a reality that is ever-existing, unconditioned, and unborn. It is the existence of this unborn state — the reality of nirvāṇa — that makes the eradication of all defilements possible.3 This nirvāṇa is the object of penetrating wisdom. When wisdom sees the truth of nirvāṇa and actualizes true cessation, defilements are eradicated.

  REFLECTION

  1. Remember a time when you applied an antidote to an affliction such as greed or the wish for revenge, and that affliction temporarily subsided.

  2. Consider that it is possible for afflictions to subside for a longer period of time due to the force of having strong concentration that makes the mind extremely tranquil and peaceful.

  3. Consider that it is possible to perceive reality directly and, by this, eradicate some level of defilement.

  4. Consider that it is possible to deepen and stabilize that perception of reality so that all afflictive obscurations are eradicated such that they can never return.

  5. Make a strong determination to do this.

  True cessation is attained not by wishing or praying for it but by means of training the mind. The principal true path that trains the mind is the right view — the wisdom realizing selflessness. We must put energy into understanding the four truths, first intellectually, then experientially, and finally with penetrative wisdom. When a person on the śrāvaka path penetrates the four truths with direct realization, she becomes a stream-enterer and has entered the stream leading to nirvāṇa. She becomes an ārya who will proceed to nirvāṇa and never again be an ordinary being. When those following the bodhisattva path gain this realization, they become ārya bodhisattvas and will irreversibly proceed to full awakening.

  How to Engage with Each Truth

  How do we engage with or practice the four truths? True duḥkha is to be fully known or understood, true origins is to be abandoned, true cessations is to be actualized, and true paths is to be cultivated. Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum (Ratnagotravibhāga, Uttaratantra) says (RGV 4.57):

  In the case of disease, we need to diagnose it, remove its causes,

  attain the happy state [of health], and rely on suitable medicine.

  Similarly, we need to recognize our duḥkha, remove its causes,

  actualize its cessation, and rely on the suitable path.

  The Result of Each Truth

  In terms of the resultant understanding of the four truths, true duḥkha is to be fully understood, but there is no duḥkha to understand; true origins are to be abandoned, but there are no origins to abandon; true cessation is to be actualized, but there is no cessation to actualize; and true paths are to be cultivated, but there are no paths to cultivate.

  This may be understood in two ways. The first is common to all Buddhist schools: once we have completely understood duḥkha, there is no more duḥkha to understand; once we have totally overcome its origins, there are no more causes of suffering to overcome; once we have perfectly actualized cessation, our liberation is complete and there are no more cessations to actualize; and once we have fully cultivated the path, there is nothing more to cultivate.

  According to the uncommon Madhyamaka approach, the Buddha is referring to the ultimate nature of the four truths, their emptiness. His thought is that it is possible for us to overcome true duḥkha and its origins and to actualize true cessations and true paths because their very nature is empty of inherent existence. Since they are primordially empty and have never existed inherently, duḥkha and its origins can be eliminated, and true cessations and true paths can be actualized. Their ultimate nature, emptiness, is also called natural nirvāṇa, and this allows for us to attain the three other types of nirvāṇa: nirvāṇa without remainder, nirvāṇa with remainder, and nonabiding nirvāṇa.4

  According to the Madhyamaka approach, true duḥkha is to be fully understood on the conventional level, but on the ultimate level there is no true duḥkha. That is, true duḥkha exists on the conventional level by being merely designated by concept and term, but on the ultimate level there has never been inherently existent true duḥkha; true duḥkha is naturally empty of inherent existence. It is similar for the other three of the four truths: they exist conventionally, but ultimately cannot be found by ultimate analysis.

  The Coarse and Subtle Four Truths

  According to the Prāsaṅgikas’ unique presentation, the four truths have both a coarse and a subtle form. Vasubandhu’s Treasury of Knowledge (Abhidharmakośa) and Asaṅga’s Compendium of Knowledge (Abhidharmasamuccaya) described the coarse four truths: True duḥkha is all unsatisfactory circumstances arising from grasping a self-sufficient substantially existent person. True origins are grasping a self-sufficient substantially existent person and the afflictions and polluted karma arising from this grasping. True cessations are the abandonment of the duḥkha and origins that arise from grasping a self-sufficient substantially existent person. True path is the wisdom that sees the absence of a self-sufficient substantially existent person. This is the view held by the lower philosophical tenet systems.

  The subtle four truths are described by the Prāsaṅgikas: True duḥkha is the unsatisfactory circumstances that are rooted in grasping inherent existence and karma. True origins are grasping inherent existence of persons and phenomena and the afflictions and polluted karma that arise from this grasping. True cessations are the complete eradication of these, and true path is the wisdom realizing the emptiness of inherent existence. As true origin, grasping inherent existence is much subtler and more tenacious than grasping a self-sufficient substantially existent person. It is also more difficult to identify when meditating on selflessness.

  Ordinary beings can directly realize coarse selflessness — the lack of a self-sufficient substantially existent person. But this realization alone cannot remove the root of cyclic existence, the ignorance grasping inherent existence. At best, it can temporarily abandon coarse self-grasping and the afflictions that depend on it. Therefore the wisdom realizing the lack of a self-sufficient substantially existent pers
on is not an actual true path capable of cutting the root of cyclic existence, and the cessation of this grasping is not an actual true cessation. Here we see the far-reaching implications of the Prāsaṅgikas’ way of positing the object of negation and the importance of identifying it correctly in order to cultivate the wisdom that sees it as nonexistent.

  The Sixteen Attributes of the Four Truths of Āryas

  The sixteen attributes of the four truths are found in the Treasury of Knowledge, Asaṅga’s Śrāvaka Grounds (Śrāvakabhūmi), and Dharmakīrti’s Commentary on Reliable Cognition. They are taught to protect sentient beings from duḥkha by helping them to develop wisdom and insight (vipaśyanā). Each truth has four attributes, which counteract four distorted conceptions about each truth. In addition to eliminating these sixteen misconceptions, which are obstacles to attaining liberation, the sixteen attributes establish the existence of liberation and the method to attain it. Each attribute is a quality of that truth and reveals a specific function of that truth.

  If you have doubts regarding the possibility of eradicating duḥkha forever and if you wonder if nirvāṇa exists and if it is possible to attain it, contemplation on the sixteen attributes of the four truths will be very helpful. As we reflect on them, we may discover that we hold some of the misconceptions that are refuted. Making effort to understand the sixteen attributes will help us to dispel these, clearing the way for wisdom to arise.

  Unless otherwise noted, the sixteen attributes are presented according to the common view acceptable to all Buddhist tenet systems. The unique Prāsaṅgika meaning is also presented when it differs from this.5 Please note that while each truth is often stated in the singular (e.g., true origin), it has many components, so sometimes it is expressed in the plural (true origins).

  Four Attributes of True Duḥkha

  True duḥkha (duḥkha-satya) is the polluted aggregates principally caused by afflictions and karma. They include internal true duḥkha, such as our polluted bodies and minds, and external true duḥkha, such as our habitats and the things in it.

  The four attributes of true duḥkha — impermanent, duḥkha (unsatisfactory), empty, and selfless — counteract four distorted conceptions (ayoniśo manaskāra) or conceptualizations (vikalpa viparyāsa) — believing impermanent things to be permanent, things that are by nature unsatisfactory to be pleasurable, the unattractive to be attractive, and what lacks a self to have one.6 The Buddha said in Distortions of the Mind (AN 4.49):

  Perceiving permanence in the impermanent,

  perceiving pleasure in what is duḥkha,

  perceiving a self in what is not-self,

  and perceiving beauty in what is foul,

  beings resort to wrong views,

  their minds deranged, their perception twisted.

  Such people are bound by the yoke of Māra7

  and do not reach security from bondage.

  Beings continue in saṃsāra,

  going repeatedly from birth to death.

  But when the buddhas arise in the world

  and send forth a brilliant light,

  they reveal this teaching that leads

  to the stilling of duḥkha.

  Hearing it, wise people regain their sanity.

  They see the impermanent as impermanent,

  and what is duḥkha as duḥkha.

  They see what is not-self as not-self,

  and the unattractive as unattractive.

  By acquiring the right view,

  they overcome all duḥkha.

  The four attributes of true duḥkha counteract the four distorted conceptions.8 Understanding the first two attributes prepares us to realize the last two, which are the main antidotes that bring true cessations. While our physical and mental aggregates are pinpointed as an example of true duḥkha because they are the basis of designation of the self, the explanation pertains to everything conditioned by afflictions and karma.

  1.The physical and mental aggregates are impermanent (anitya) because they undergo continuous, momentary arising and disintegrating.

  Overwhelmed by ignorance, we apprehend transient things — such as our bodies, relationships, and possessions — as unchanging, stable, and enduring, and expect them to remain the same and always be there. We do not feel that we are going to die — at least not any time soon. Believing that we are the same person we were yesterday, we expect our lives to be constant and predictable. We are surprised by a car accident or a sudden change in our conditions at work. As a result of holding what is impermanent to be permanent, we don’t prepare for death or future lives by avoiding harmful actions and engaging in constructive ones. Telling ourselves we will practice Dharma later when we have more time, we waste our precious human lives.

  Coarse impermanence is perceptible by our senses: the sun sets, a building is constructed and later decays, babies become adults and then die. All of these coarse changes happen due to subtle impermanence — changes occurring in each moment. These subtle changes are built into the nature of conditioned things; no other external factor is necessary to make things arise and cease in each moment.

  Arising is something new coming into existence, abiding is the continuation of something similar, and ceasing is the disintegration of what was. These three occur simultaneously in each moment. From the moment something arises, it is changing and ceasing. There is no way to halt this process or take a time-out. Because everything changes in each moment, there is no stability or security to be found in saṃsāra. Understanding this gives us a more realistic view of life. This, in turn, helps us to release attachment to saṃsāric enjoyments and birth in saṃsāra in general, and frees our mind to seek a more reliable happiness that comes from Dharma practice.

  2.The aggregates are unsatisfactory by nature (duḥkhatā) because they are under the control of afflictions and karma.

  Believing that what is unsatisfactory by nature — food, possessions, reputation, friends, relatives, our bodies, and so forth — is actual pleasure and happiness, we jump into the world of transitory pleasures expecting lasting joy. Viewing our bodies to be a source of great pleasure, we expend great effort to secure and experience sensual delights. In doing so we consume more than our fair share of the Earth’s resources and spend a lot of time chasing illusions. In actuality, our bodies have constant aches and pains and are seldom comfortable for long. If we saw them more realistically, we would keep them healthy in order to use them to practice the Dharma, but we would not expect true happiness from them.

  Contemplating that the objects, people, and activities we see as enjoyable are actually unsatisfactory in nature because they are under the influence of afflictions and karma remedies the distorted belief that they are a source of secure happiness. What we commonly call pleasure is actually a state where one discomfort has decreased and a newer discomfort is just beginning. For example, when we’ve been standing a long time, sitting brings a feeling of relief and pleasure. But slowly, the discomfort of sitting increases, and after a while we want to stand up and walk around.

  Our aggregates are subject to the three types of duḥkha mentioned above — the duḥkha of pain, which is physical and mental pain; the duḥkha of change, in which pleasurable circumstances do not last; and the pervasive duḥkha of conditioning, a body and mind conditioned by afflictions and karma. This last one is the source of the first two. Afflictions and karma condition our experiences, and without choice, our bodies fall ill, age, and die. Our minds are overwhelmed by disturbing emotions such as despair and rage. Understanding that whatever is under the power of afflictions and karma cannot be a source of lasting joy, we release unrealistic expectations and distance ourselves from the useless pursuit of clinging to saṃsāric pleasures. Instead we direct our energy toward actualizing true cessations.

  The attributes of impermanence and duḥkha are linked. Āryadeva says (CŚ 50):

  The impermanent is definitely harmed.

  What is harmed is not pleasurable.

 
Therefore all that is impermanent

  is said to be duḥkha.

  Gyaltsab explains:

  Whatever is impermanent, such as the body, which is a maturation of polluted past karma and afflictions, is definitely damaged by factors causing disintegration and therefore produces aversion. Anything affected by causes of harm, whose character is to produce aversion, is not pleasurable. Therefore all that is impermanent and polluted is said to be duḥkha, just as anything that falls into a salt pit become salty.

  Impermanent and polluted things, such as our bodies, are under the influence of afflictions and karma that cause them to disintegrate. An aged or dead body is considered undesirable and unclean, just as beautiful flowers are ugly when they decay and rot. Anything that disintegrates under the influence of afflictions and karma and produces aversion and distaste in us is by nature duḥkha. It lacks a findable essence; it is empty. Seeing this leads to disenchantment with saṃsāra and inspires us to turn our attention to liberation.

  3.The aggregates are empty (śūnya) because they lack a permanent, unitary, and independent self.

  The third distorted conception holds what is foul — specifically our bodies — as beautiful. Our own and others’ bodies are filled with ugly substances — blood, bones, muscles, organs, tissue, excrement, and so on. Because of ignorance, we preen our own bodies and see others’ bodies as desirable and lust after them. Needless to say, our infatuation with the body is misplaced and leads to disappointment and misery.