A Buddhist publishing company sent me this quote in an email this morning:
The good renounce (attachment for) everything.
The virtuous do not prattle with a yearning for pleasures.
The wise show no elation or depression
when touched by happiness or sorrow.
Dhammapada 6.83
Egads, no wonder I never felt like I was a good Buddhist, with such a unattainable goal I was presented with! But for years I told myself that this was the ultimate state of mind, being non-attached, with no extremes of elation or depression, and no hankering after pleasures. Since I could never live up to this standard, I at least consoled myself with the hope that in my next life I would move closer to the goal.
But now, I question what I formerly felt was the ultimate state. Is this even achievable? Perhaps, if a person becomes a monastic, spends most of every day meditating, and living apart from society. And if a person, after years of strenuous effort, attains this state of mind, what then? Teaching others to follow the same path they walked?
I guess I really just question the whole idea of Enlightenment, or Awakening, as it has been presented in Buddhism. To be free from suffering, the "Three Poisons" of greed, hatred, and delusion have to be "snuffed out" (one of the definitions of the word "Nirvana"). But has anyone really become free of these afflictions? We are taught that the Buddha did, but how can we really be sure? That was 2500 years ago, in a completely different culture from ours. Religious views, rituals and practices grew up around what the Buddha is said to have taught, and there is no way we can really know what his message was, or how it has been changed by the monastic order, who have always skewed things toward maintaining needed support from the lay community.
I do think that we can, to a certain extent, lessen the hold that negative qualities have on ourselves, through meditation, or contemplation, or working on adjusting our attitudes to be more in line with reality. But denying ourselves loving relationships, or pleasures, or trying to escape from the normal feelings of joy, or sorrow, that we experience in our daily lives, is not necessary, or even possible.
It all comes back to this--being honest with myself, whether I am craving something, or rejecting something else, loving someone or feeling angry and hateful towards someone else. Feeling those emotions, but learning how to control how I choose to express, or not express, them. This is not Enlightenment, but it's good enough for me.
I don't know a lot about Buddhism, but I tend to agree with the skepticism about what he actually accomplished or taught. Regardless, it's easy enough to figure out what Buddhists today teach, I suppose. But yeah, denying ourselves the ups and downs of life... that doesn't sit well with me. I love your thoughts about it here. I definitely think there's some balance to find regarding our experiences, so we don't become drama queens, but imagine! Just imagine what the world would be like with no passion! (There'd be no exclamation points, for starters.) There's something to be said for being able to be still, to find peace, but I enjoy my crazy emotions, the mountains and valleys. Maybe I'm a masochist. Hehe.
ReplyDeleteI am an exclamation point type of person, myself! And I remember long, spirited conversations that I would have with people, followed by guilt that I had gotten "carried away" and allowed myself to behave in a manner than was passionate and un-spiritual. Now I don't worry, and just let it fly! Perhaps people might like for me to shut up sometimes--oh well! Ironically, now that I accept my own "mountains and valleys", they don't affect me with the same level of intensity that I struggled with for so long. They come, and go, and I'm fine with that. There's actually more equanimity in my life now that I'm not striving to attain it! Thanks for commenting, and reading my blog, Kaleesha.
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