A Bodhisattva's Christmas Carol - Part 1: Introduction (Why bother?)

Everyone's a cynic... Intention... Intention... Intention!

For the last few years I have gotten into a bit of a pickle over the festive season. In my late teens and 20s, lamentations over the separation of my parents (Christmas was never quite the same after that) seemed painfully at odds with my natural childlike-wonder at all the fairy lights and delicious-smelling stalls that draw me in a salivating trance around the city centre by my flaring nostrils. I've always loved the spirit of Christmas, but hated the hypocrisy and materialism. Rejoiced in the notion of goodwill to all mankind, but why for a limited time only? 48 hours seems to be the custom in the UK before we slump back into our habitual self-absorbtion and cynicism. Like most people, there are aspects to the tradition I adore (seeing my family again) and other prospects which drain the very life from my eyes (spending time with them). On average, most UK households will have their first row of Christmas Day by 11:15am, and just five minutes of online research revealed other arresting statistics including:

• The YouGov Spending intentions survey for 2013 found that people are planning to spend on average £822 celebrating Christmas. The individual spending figures Are: £599 on presents, £180 on food and drink and £43 on cards, decorations and Christmas trees.
•  18 million people say they are worried about how they will afford Christmas this year.
• The total spend on Christmas by UK households in 2013 is expected to £22.3 billion.
• In 2011 we spent £594 million on unwanted Christmas gifts as at least 1 in 10 of the gifts the average person received was not really what they wanted.
  People were very quick to get rid of their unwanted gifts with 1.5 million new items for sale were listed on eBay Boxing Day 2011.
• A survey commissioned by The Children's Society in 2010 found that only 10% of adults think that it's religious meaning is the most important thing about Christmas. Only 4% of 25-34 year olds thought the religious aspect was important whilst 20% of those over 60's years feel that it is the key aspect of Christmas. 67% of all adults said spending time with family was the most important thing about Christmas.
• 51% agreed with the statement "The birth of Jesus is irrelevant to my Christmas" whilst 46% disagreed with the statement.
• When asked to agree or disagree with the statement "Christmas should be called Christmas even though we are no longer a Christian country" 77% agreed.                                                  Sources: Retail Week Poll Christmas Spending 2013, October 2013 

The absurdly talented Tom Lehrer sharing his inimitable views on Christmas in 1959 - hilarious!

This year marks my third Christmas as a practicing Buddhist at my local centre, but I have long quietly despaired as (increasingly, over the years) the figure of jolly old Father Christmas is reduced (in my eyes) to the poster-boy par excellence for Attachment, Greed and Suffering, and on an International scale. I try to see past that, but everywhere I go, those ruddy cheeks beam down at me from on high, and with a knowing, serpentine gleam in his eyes he whispers to the world around him his well thought-out subliminal lie; that we can buy affection and happiness.... Perhaps make up for our inter-relational failing of the past 12 months with a bottle of Yves St Laurent and a box of Thorntons? Our partners, friends and children will love us again, albeit for one day, if we just bend over and allow him to… why, reach into our back pockets, of course! 

We ALL know who this is...

I recently caught myself thinking these rather cynical thoughts and with a shock realised that I am in danger of entering into a state of mind not entirely dissimilar to old Ebaneezer Scrooge. Having read the story and seen many of the films as a child, I suddenly recalled how it compassionately charted the ups and downs of life taking their toll on what once was an excitable and joyful young man. Now, withered by years of emotional withdrawal resulting in a total disassociation from others (and from how his actions affect them), his heart has hardened to fireless flint as, over the years, he replaced the love of those around him with "a new idol…a golden one". I was curious as to the arising of my own "humbug". Did it come from a perception of something lacking, something missing, or was it just my annual and tragically predictable anti-consumerist misgivings? Hence I decided last year to revisit this classic novella. The following is the result of my reflections and own interpretations in the time since then, the culmination of 12 months work. I decided to see if there was something more than met the eye, hiding in plain sight for 170 years since publication, which may be of use looking at again with fresh eyes. These reflections and thoughts I intend to publish over the coming days, six in total, one every two days, taking us up to Christmas Eve itself. It breaks it up a bit and by doing it this way we might perhaps learn a little something about ourselves. It may give rise to a reflection or two. I hope it gives pause to think a little bit, and in the process of writing this, may I end up a more grateful and contented person for it. May it be of use to others, and failing that, may it be at least of interest. I really hope so! This time of year can take so much out of us, so what have we got to loose? I ask you then to join me as we try and find method in the madness of the most divisive of Western Christian holidays.

But how and why did all this Yuletide enquiry start? Well, for the last five years or so I have gotten into the habit of trying to watch as many different plays, films and cartoon adaptations of "A.C.C" as possible in the two week run up to The Big Day itself. At last count there are over 57 film versions available, so this is by no means a small task! I started a small tradition of inviting a friend or two over, drinking one in over mulled wine and nibbles, knowing it line for line pretty much. There was always something magical about it when I was a kid, the perfect Redemption Song. It had it all: A Super Villain, Ghosts, and the miracle of Christmas transforming a cantankerous waste of DNA into a model human being "as good as his word, and more!" I was (and still am) enthralled every time. Even the Bill Murray interpretation, "Scrooged", a film seemingly written with the convenience of the chronically confused as it's main consideration and probable target demographic, has it's own special place in my heart. Notwithstanding, I was always privately a little confused myself by this seasonal obsession, and last year felt it right to try and start to understand it better. What is it about this story that keeps us coming back after all these years? This year, being as it is the 170th anniversary of it's first pressing, seems an appropriate year as any to finish answering this question.

The very 1st edition... 

 Looking back, it seems very likely that, as children, this story was the first to which we were exposed which explicitly deals with the magic and mechanics of inner transformation and redemption. It also talks candidly about the social, ethical and ideological impact we have on others for better or worse, as well as suggesting that suffering, if viewed and handled correctly, can precipitate the arising of Insight, Wisdom and Compassion. There are well-documented cases in history of leopards changing their spots as a direct result of having their Karmic buffet spread out before them, plain to see. The first Emperor to unite India, King Ashoka, whose famous edits, columns and assorted stupas still bear testimony to this phenomenon. In the 3rd Century B.C.E, he spent years mercilessly slaughtering all in his path to the top, including brothers and uncles, before effectively having a complete mental breakdown. Consumed by guilt for the 100,000's of deaths on his hands, he discovered the peace of Buddhism and completely turned his life around, setting up the world's first social welfare state, the worlds first animal sanctuaries (and had their rights to live unharmed wherever possible LEGISLATED), and established one of the worlds first gender-equal societies. Is it any wonder then that my Dickensian fascination surfaced around the same time that I started deepening my interest in growth and Buddhism? Therefore I hope you enjoy that which I have prepared for you, (a little longer than normal) as it deals with the most all-important principle in Buddhism, Self-Transcendence, and reminds us that we too can change for the better. There's hope for all of us, in other words, if there is hope for people like Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Ashoka's transformation from psychotic sadist to the worlds 1st Buddhist Emperor, dedicated to ethics, love and the path of peace was so unexpected and unprecedented that it is still made into films and books today, 2,300 years later. Not all of them great, needless to say. He built over 84,000 monuments to the Buddha all over India, all of them jaw dropping and many still standing unchanged today. His political, humanitarian and social influence, and even more obviously his four-lions crest is still visible on the Indian coinage and the corresponding Ashokan Wheel of the Dharma, beneath the feet of each Lion, takes it's rightful place in the centre of the national flag. 

For me, inner transformation of the individual for the benefit of other beings, culminating drop by drop in wider social change, is the sublime ideal of the spiritual path. Whilst I try to work with my own sense of spiritual individualism, my motivations often tend to err more naturally towards the altruistic aspirations of what Mahayanan (second phase) Buddhism terms the "Boddhisatvas" (beings who aim to liberate all others from the bonds of suffering before final liberation themselves). In many ways, this classic Western story could be considered comparable and analogous to many of the Eastern parables, teachings and suttas in the Buddhist tradition. Often, a protagonist with a very dubious background is confronted by some shocking home truths before realising this sublime ideal and their true limitless potential, and strive on unrelentingly for the sake of all beings to ultimate Awakening or Enlightenment. In fact there are many themes in "A Christmas Carol" that can be view upon through Buddhistic, psychological and humanitarian lenses, as we shall see. During this series, I aim to plot the five "Staves" of the story over the five stages of Sangharakshita's model of spiritual development, and seek shared symbolism, metaphors and ideology. Can we hear the Buddha speaking to us through such an unlikely medium? If so, what does this point towards and how could this be relevant to each and every one of us in our own personal quest for inner peace and contentment? Even occasional happiness and joy, should we be so lucky! 

The Five Jinas or Archetypal Buddhas, from left to right:
Ratnasambhava (Equality)
Akshobhya (Stillness)
Vairocana (Insight)
Amitabha (Love)
Amoghasiddhi (Energy)

Not only that, in writing and reflecting on this task I noticed certain correlations between the characteristics of each of the five stages and the Mandala of the Five "Jinas" ("Essential Energies/Aspects of the Enlightened Mind"). Composing as it does Five Archetypal Buddhas of the Vajriyana (predominantly Tibetan) Tradition, I offer this reflection as a means to deepening my understanding of the Mandala, The Five Stages and of course, the Dickens classic itself. We could even arrange them into three levels based upon their refinement as vehicles for expressing Ultimate Truth. On the most accessible and least refined level, the story expresses spiritual and existential Truth through prose, through simile and metaphor. With the Five Stages we see the same process of change expressed in a more refined manner, with it not only using metaphor (the "Path") but also simultaneously expressing Truth in abstract and conceptual form. Finally, in the case of the Mandala however, the use of metaphors, simile and even language itself is discarded. Here we see social, spiritual and existential Truth expressed in terms of archetypal symbolism, the meaning behind various images pointing us towards a silent and wordless Truth so refined as to be inexpressible in verbal or written language itself. Thus we could safely say that on one level, "A Christmas Carol" is not just a classic of English literature or a great children's story, but can be seen to be an expression of Ultimate Truth and read as an authentically applicable and eminently practical self-help handbook designed to bring about life-changing inner-transformation, spiritual peace and fulfilment, a concern as relevant today as it was in 1843, if not more so now than ever before. If ever there was an age which could do with a bit more inner-communion and soul-searching, a few more drops of festive and warm-hearted cheer, the eternal "Now" of digital 21st century life and Cyber-Samsara would be it... We may not be able to do it overnight like old Ebeneezer (I can never seem to find an apparition when I need one) but if we are looking for a deeper truth in life, a sense of purpose, belonging and direction then look no further. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Let us start at the beginning... Are you sitting comfortably children? Then sign up for the mailing list, because I know how busy we all are this time of year and I would hate for you to miss the next "verse" of this fascinating tale. Be brave! I hope you join us, it looks like it might be a bit of a mental ride. On a very literal level, I hope it is. So join me and our new "Famous Five" as this year we explore "A Bodhisattva's Christmas Carol"....

 Yours, with festive excitement and Metta,

The Dharma-Farmer xx