E Book Philosophy Fundamentals Of Buddhism

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previous lives. So to return to the analogy of the channel
of the river and the water in it, we might say that mental
formations are the channel of the river, and the actions
that we perform in this life are the fresh water that flow
again through the eroded channel created by previous
actions. The actions that we perform in this life are
represented by the component known as becoming. So
here, as regards mental formation and becoming, we
have the habits that we have developed over the course
of countless lives combined with new actions performed
in this life, and these two together result in rebirth and
suffering.
To summarize, we have the defilements which may
be described as impurities of the mind ignorance,
craving and clinging. These mental impurities result in
actions, actions done in previous lives which have
resulted in the formulation of habit energy, and actions
done in the present life which on the whole are liable to
conform to the patterns established in previous lives.
Together, these impurities of the mind and these actions
result in rebirth. In other words, they result in con-
sciousness, in name and form, in the six senses, in
contact between the six senses and the objects of the six
senses, in feeling which is born of that contact, in birth,
and in old age and death. In this interpretation, the five
components of dependent origination included in the
groups of defilements and actions ignorance, craving,
clinging, mental formation and becoming are the causes
of rebirth and suffering. Consciousness, name and form,
the six senses, contact, feeling, birth, and old age and
death are the effects of the defilements and actions.
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Together, the defilements and actions explain the origin
of suffering and the particular circumstances in which
each of us find ourselves, in which we are born. You
may recall that in one of our earlier lectures, we refer to
the fact that whereas the defilements are common to all
living beings, actions differ from individual to
individual. So whereas the defilements account for the
fact that all of us are prisoners within samsara, yet
actions account for the fact that some are born as human
beings, others are born as gods, and others as animals.
In this sense, the twelve components of dependent
origination present a picture of samsara with its causes
and its effects.
There would be no point in painting this picture of
samsara if we do not intend to use this picture to change
our situation, to get out of samsara. It is in this sense
that recognizing the circularity of samsara, the
circularity of dependent origination is the beginning of
liberation. How is this so? So long as defilements and
actions are present, rebirth and suffering will occur.
When we see that repeatedly, ignorance, craving,
clinging and actions will lead to rebirth and suffering,
we will recognize the need to break this vicious circle.
Let us take a practical example. Suppose you are
looking for the home of an acquaintance whom you
have never visited before. Suppose you have been
driving about for half an hour or more and have failed to
find the home of your friend, and suppose suddenly you
recognize a landmark that you saw half an hour pre-
viously. Suppose you again come upon the landmark,
and it dawns upon you that you have passed the
landmark half an hour ago. At that moment it will also
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probably dawn upon you that you have been going
around in circles, and you will stop and look at your
road guide, or enquire the way from a passer-by so as to
stop going around in circles and reach your destination.
This is why the Buddha has said that he who sees
dependent origination sees the Dharma and he who sees
the Dharma sees the Buddha. This is why the Buddha
has, as I have mentioned earlier, said that understanding
dependent origination is the key to liberation. So once
we see the functioning of dependent origination, we can
then set about breaking this vicious circle of dependent
origination. We can do this by removing the impurities
of the mind ignorance, craving and clinging. Once these
impurities are eliminated, actions will not be performed,
and habit energy will not be produced. Once actions
cease, rebirth and suffering will also cease.
I would like to spend a little bit of time on another
important meaning of dependent origination and that is
dependent origination as an expression of the Middle
Way. During one of our earlier lectures, we had
occasion to refer to the Middle Way, and on that
occasion we confined ourselves to only perhaps the
most basic meaning. We have said that the Middle Way
means avoiding the extreme of indulgence in pleasures
of the senses and the extreme of self-mortification. In
that context the Middle Way is synonymous with mod-
eration. Now in the context of dependent origination,
the Middle Way has another meaning which is related to
the earlier meaning but deeper. In this context the
Middle Way means avoiding the extremes of eternalism
and nihilism. How is this so? The flame in the oil lamp
exists dependent upon the oil and the wick. When either
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of these are absent, the flame will be extinguished.
Therefore, the flame is neither permanent nor indepen-
dent. Similarly, this personality of ours depends upon a
combination of conditions defilements and actions. It is
neither permanent nor independent. Recognizing the
conditioned nature of our personality, we avoid the
extreme of eternalism, of affirming the existence of an
independent, permanent self. Alternatively, recognizing
that this personality, this life does not arise through
accident, or mere chance, but is instead conditioned by
corresponding causes, we avoid the extreme of nihilism,
the extreme of denying the relation between action and
consequence. While nihilism is the primary cause of
rebirth in states of woe and is to be rejected, eternalism
too is not conducive to liberation. One who clings to the
extreme of eternalism will perform wholesome actions
and will be reborn in states of happiness, as a human
being or even as a god, but he will never attain liber-
ation. Through avoiding these two extremes, through
understanding the Middle Way, we can achieve happi-
ness in this life and in the future life by performing
wholesome actions and avoiding unwholesome actions,
and eventually we can achieve liberation.
The Buddha has constructed His teachings with
infinite care. The Buddha s teachings are sometimes
likened to the behaviour of a tigress towards her young.
When a tigress carries her young in her teeth, she is
most careful to see that her grip is neither too tight nor
too loose. If her grip on the neck of her young is too [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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