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| This kind of misunderstanding is rife online, and makes it easy to understand why some people spout such nonsense. |
"I recently made contact with someone who is suffering from a terminal illness. He believes that his illness is due to karma-vipaka and he will be reborn in a more healthy physical body. We are discussing karma-vipaka and that the body is also impacted by biological/ hereditary/ enviromental facts not solely 'KV' and its important to understand this. What other teachings can we discuss to support him to understand what/ why this is happening to him and to ease his suffering....thank you Uncle Dharma-Farmer..."
Wow... That's a really tough situation to be in. If you read this, my friend, I am very sorry to hear that, and considering that I am going through a cancer scare at the moment, it seems rather fitting to prioritise this request. To answer the question directly, yes, perhaps there are a few things to reflect on here which hopefully will ease your suffering. To keep this VAST subject as short as possible, I will look at Karma-Vipaka this week, and Rebirth will be considered in a few days time, if that's cool? Aside from the obvious suggestion to look into the Four Noble Truths, I hope the following is of use...
The Three Lakshanas:
The first teachings I would suggest discussing in conjunction with Karma-Vipaka are the Three Lakshanas, or marks/characteristics of conditioned existence. This is the teaching that all phenomena, including this screen, you and me, dear reader, are:
1. Impermanent (Anitya) - not eternal or ever-lasting.
2. Composite (Anatta) - compounded of other things and lacking a fixed, independent nature.
3. Frustrating (Dukha) - ultimately dissatisfying, and eventually, a source of suffering.
Cheery huh? It's easy to see why some people might initially think Buddhism is a pessimistic belief system, but when we consider these characteristics, they all offer us a gateway to freedom. If we see things as they really are, or at least try to, they begin to lessen their hold over us. We can see our own lives as they really are: as finite, inter-connected and full of ups and down which we don't have full control over. Life, in reality, is an absurdly complex series of arisings and ceasing of phenomena, people, places, and perceptions that are in a constant state of flux. Deal with it, or not, but don't expect it to be anything other than thus. In fact, there is a real freedom and appreciation that can come with getting your head around the idea that because nothing stays the same or is as it seems, all beings, times and places are to be cherished, honoured and savoured. Experiences are what we make of them. They are just experiences, and we create the labels 'good' and 'bad', positive or negative, based on our emotional responses (usually subconscious and habitual) to them. Life is neutral. It's is just... Life... Fleeting, finely interwoven and fluctuating, forever...
Buddhism in this sense is neither pessimistic nor optimistic. It is simply realistic. In light of this non-judemental realism, we can in fact go one step further and we can confidently assert that Buddhism is in fact melioristic, meaning that it encourages the individual to better society as a whole by their own conscious efforts of self-improvement. The teachings of Buddhism are very empowering, both collectively and for the individual, and as a belief system it refuses to accept any power you try and project onto it. That power is yours alone to squander or make use of, as you see fit. Surely, to work for the betterment of all beings is enough to give life a sense of meaning?
The human body and our minds are no different to a car, or anything else in that sense. They are temporary, and constantly changing. They are made up of mental events and organs and what we call 'the body' and 'the mind' are actually nothing more than linguistic conveniences, a synopsis through nouns, and nowhere can we find one specific thing called 'the body' or 'the mind' which is independent of all their constituent parts. They have a symbiotic relationship with each other, and in fact are both totally dependant and interconnected through a myriad of other obscenely complex and incalculable factors, both internal and external. Even the number of parts it involves changes from person to person, most obviously in amputees or people who have had organs removed.. No two bodies are identical, not even in twins. Each individual body is a not a fixed thing but in reality, a process, constantly changing, just like every other thing in the universe. It is the nature of reality itself, and the idea that our bodies should be any different, that 'we are the exception to the rule' is rationally absurd. If it is a fact of life that all things must pass, then we need to start coming to terms with it pretty sharpish. Often people, once they come to terms with the facts of the Three Lakshanas, actually feel a release, as if a huge burden has been dropped. They are no longer looking at their bodies, their minds and the world around them in terms of what the Buddha described as 'topsy-turvey views' - The Four Viparyasas or 'perverse delusions', we all have to some extent. As a supportive and closely related teaching I would advise us all to look them up and consider. They, along with the Three Lakshanas, explain much suffering in this world. They are, in brief:
The Four Viparyasas.
1. That which is pleasurable is actually a source of future suffering
2. That which is separate is actually inter-connected and interdependant/lacking fixed self.
3. That which is pure is actually impure
4. That which is permanent is actually transient and constantly changing.
Look at a beer for example: 1) at the very least it costs money and kills brain cells, whilst in excess it gives us a hangover. 2) To enjoy a beer outside a bar in a hot summer's day, many factors need to happen in exactly the right order. The beer didn't just magic itself into existence, neither did the bar nor the drinker, and on the most obvious level, your consumption of it is entirely dependant on someone having to (at the very least) provide you with a glass from which to drink. The beer is NOT just the liquid, it is everything that supports the creation of the liquid and it's epic journey from an idea in one person's mind, into a glass, into your actual face. 3) I think the idea of 'impurity' is easy enough to understand - it is made up of ingredients, and most people enjoy the idea of drinking a beer on a hot day more than actually drinking the beer itself... It's almost as if we try and match up the mental construct of 'beer' to the reality, but in doing so, we invariably fail. They never taste as crisp and refreshing as the adverts make out and this, again leads to a disappointment on our part. Jean Claude Van Damme and his unfeasibly restricted denim-clad crotch has much to answer for. Finally, 4) everybody knows that the first sip tastes the best, and the further down the pint you get, the more 'normal' it tastes. Besides, as you drink it, the beer in the glass changes in volume, and then is broken down by the body into different chemicals. In truth, that 'beer' was a process, from start to finish, and above all else it was a choice. It is a conscious, willed decision to drink the enticingly flavoured ethanol (in and of itself, a highly toxic poison) due to it's capacity to induce the pleasant sensation of mild brain damage. Thus we are brought onto the nub of the matter, the issue of conscious decisions and volitional actions of body, speech and mind having undeniable consequences, or Karma-Vipaka, as it is otherwise known.
Firstly then, let us clarify the term first:
The Three Lakshanas:
The first teachings I would suggest discussing in conjunction with Karma-Vipaka are the Three Lakshanas, or marks/characteristics of conditioned existence. This is the teaching that all phenomena, including this screen, you and me, dear reader, are:
1. Impermanent (Anitya) - not eternal or ever-lasting.
2. Composite (Anatta) - compounded of other things and lacking a fixed, independent nature.
3. Frustrating (Dukha) - ultimately dissatisfying, and eventually, a source of suffering.
Take a car for example. We all know it doesn't last forever, mainly BECAUSE is it made up of lots of smaller parts which wear down and break through repeated use and as a result cannot provide us a never-ending source of happiness. In fact, eventually it becomes a source of suffering BECAUSE it doesn't last forever and because it is compounded (made up) of other 'things'. It may even become a source of frustration before that... Think of the tax, the insurance, the stress when the paintwork gets scratched, the worry of it being stolen when parking in a decidedly dodgy neighbourhood etc. Not only that, no car, in and of itself, is able to be a fundamental source of uninterrupted happiness and joy. Nothing can, but because of our ignorance in this matter, we project our desires for things to be otherwise onto the world and thus time and time again we set ourselves up for a disappointing fall.
Cheery huh? It's easy to see why some people might initially think Buddhism is a pessimistic belief system, but when we consider these characteristics, they all offer us a gateway to freedom. If we see things as they really are, or at least try to, they begin to lessen their hold over us. We can see our own lives as they really are: as finite, inter-connected and full of ups and down which we don't have full control over. Life, in reality, is an absurdly complex series of arisings and ceasing of phenomena, people, places, and perceptions that are in a constant state of flux. Deal with it, or not, but don't expect it to be anything other than thus. In fact, there is a real freedom and appreciation that can come with getting your head around the idea that because nothing stays the same or is as it seems, all beings, times and places are to be cherished, honoured and savoured. Experiences are what we make of them. They are just experiences, and we create the labels 'good' and 'bad', positive or negative, based on our emotional responses (usually subconscious and habitual) to them. Life is neutral. It's is just... Life... Fleeting, finely interwoven and fluctuating, forever...
Buddhism in this sense is neither pessimistic nor optimistic. It is simply realistic. In light of this non-judemental realism, we can in fact go one step further and we can confidently assert that Buddhism is in fact melioristic, meaning that it encourages the individual to better society as a whole by their own conscious efforts of self-improvement. The teachings of Buddhism are very empowering, both collectively and for the individual, and as a belief system it refuses to accept any power you try and project onto it. That power is yours alone to squander or make use of, as you see fit. Surely, to work for the betterment of all beings is enough to give life a sense of meaning?
The human body and our minds are no different to a car, or anything else in that sense. They are temporary, and constantly changing. They are made up of mental events and organs and what we call 'the body' and 'the mind' are actually nothing more than linguistic conveniences, a synopsis through nouns, and nowhere can we find one specific thing called 'the body' or 'the mind' which is independent of all their constituent parts. They have a symbiotic relationship with each other, and in fact are both totally dependant and interconnected through a myriad of other obscenely complex and incalculable factors, both internal and external. Even the number of parts it involves changes from person to person, most obviously in amputees or people who have had organs removed.. No two bodies are identical, not even in twins. Each individual body is a not a fixed thing but in reality, a process, constantly changing, just like every other thing in the universe. It is the nature of reality itself, and the idea that our bodies should be any different, that 'we are the exception to the rule' is rationally absurd. If it is a fact of life that all things must pass, then we need to start coming to terms with it pretty sharpish. Often people, once they come to terms with the facts of the Three Lakshanas, actually feel a release, as if a huge burden has been dropped. They are no longer looking at their bodies, their minds and the world around them in terms of what the Buddha described as 'topsy-turvey views' - The Four Viparyasas or 'perverse delusions', we all have to some extent. As a supportive and closely related teaching I would advise us all to look them up and consider. They, along with the Three Lakshanas, explain much suffering in this world. They are, in brief:
The Four Viparyasas.
1. That which is pleasurable is actually a source of future suffering
2. That which is separate is actually inter-connected and interdependant/lacking fixed self.
3. That which is pure is actually impure
4. That which is permanent is actually transient and constantly changing.
Look at a beer for example: 1) at the very least it costs money and kills brain cells, whilst in excess it gives us a hangover. 2) To enjoy a beer outside a bar in a hot summer's day, many factors need to happen in exactly the right order. The beer didn't just magic itself into existence, neither did the bar nor the drinker, and on the most obvious level, your consumption of it is entirely dependant on someone having to (at the very least) provide you with a glass from which to drink. The beer is NOT just the liquid, it is everything that supports the creation of the liquid and it's epic journey from an idea in one person's mind, into a glass, into your actual face. 3) I think the idea of 'impurity' is easy enough to understand - it is made up of ingredients, and most people enjoy the idea of drinking a beer on a hot day more than actually drinking the beer itself... It's almost as if we try and match up the mental construct of 'beer' to the reality, but in doing so, we invariably fail. They never taste as crisp and refreshing as the adverts make out and this, again leads to a disappointment on our part. Jean Claude Van Damme and his unfeasibly restricted denim-clad crotch has much to answer for. Finally, 4) everybody knows that the first sip tastes the best, and the further down the pint you get, the more 'normal' it tastes. Besides, as you drink it, the beer in the glass changes in volume, and then is broken down by the body into different chemicals. In truth, that 'beer' was a process, from start to finish, and above all else it was a choice. It is a conscious, willed decision to drink the enticingly flavoured ethanol (in and of itself, a highly toxic poison) due to it's capacity to induce the pleasant sensation of mild brain damage. Thus we are brought onto the nub of the matter, the issue of conscious decisions and volitional actions of body, speech and mind having undeniable consequences, or Karma-Vipaka, as it is otherwise known.
Firstly then, let us clarify the term first:
"Karma"
Karma is NOT some all-seeing cosmic version of poetic justice, mysteriously floating through the universe, exacting revenge of 'bad' people once we ourselves are no longer looking. It is nothing to do with people 'getting their come-upance'. It has nothing to do with accruing 'merit' (whatever the hell that might be) and certainly isn't something you receive. It is not something to be feared, and almost certainly not what you think it is. Tibetan Buddhists talk about it a lot in relation to past lives, which again will be left to next weeks post exploring rebirth. It is not something which is aware of you, and it is not a creator God (and neither was the Buddha, for that matter). I shall allow my teacher, Sangharakshita, to explain further...
It is NOT a way of justifying treating people cruelly or unskilfully, and must NOT be used to perpetuate social inequality, as it is used in modern Hinduism and in the Brahminical society of the Buddha's day. This type of 'Kamma' is not what we are discussing, and was dismissed by the historical Buddha outright! "It is by worth, and not by birth that one is considered to live a noble life", he was quoted as saying on more than one occasion. Our 'worth' to society, of course, is defined by our contributions to the world's happiness and wellbeing, and not by hereditary honour, education, financial means or IQ. It is our Karma, our CHOICES and DEEDS of body, speech and mind that lend a higher purpose, a meaning and thus a sense of nobility to our lives. Karma is 'chosen action'. Vipaka is the consequence of that action. It is as simple as that.
Karma is one of the five categories of natural laws which the Buddha said govern our universe, called the 'Niyamas'. They are the five orders of unalterable forces which shape our lives, and within which we have to operate. We don't have a choice, any more than a fish chooses to live in water. We need to understand these laws if we are to grow into happier, well rounded individuals. It's like gravity: it just is. Whether you believe in it or not has no bearing on how gravity operates, but how well you understand it (or not) will affect how you operate within. It is a context to reality itself, and by understanding how it works, you will react and respond accordingly, and as with the gravity, a misunderstanding of these natural laws can have serious effects on our lives. It's why ducks take off from the ground, just to be sure. So what are these Niyamas? Briefly and in the most simplistic of terms, they are:
1. The Utu Niyama - The Physical-Inorganic
These laws, such as magnetism, gravity etc cover subjects like geology, chemistry and physics.
2. The Bija Niyama - The Physical-Organic
This covers the laws governing the realm of botany, biology, genetics, stem-cell research etc. 'Bija' means 'seed'.
3. The Citta Niyama - Perception and Mental activity
This is the laws which govern organisms once they are aware of their surroundings, and covers behavioural sciences in animals and psychology. 'Citta' means 'mind'.
4. The Karma Niyama - Volitions and Conscious Choices
This is the order of existence which is concerned with human beings who have the capacity to be self- aware, and conscious that their actions affect other people. This covers intentions, speech and actions. The world 'Karma' means 'action' and pertains to the world of ethical responsibility. The word 'Vipaka' literally means 'ripening' or 'consequence'. People in popular culture say "Karma" when what they are actually referring to is the "Vipaka".
5. The Dharma Niyama - The Spiritual
The most mysterious of them all is the Dharma Niyama. Once a self-aware person starts leading a 'spiritual' life, they start to come under the operation of these sets of laws as well as the others. Here we are into the realm of the Sublime, The Wordless, The Transcendental and moving towards Ultimate Truth of Reality itself! This covers the arts, poetry, religious experience and music. Here the word is used to mean 'in relation to Ultimate Truth', though 'Dharma' itself changes in meaning dependant upon the context.
From the outset, I do want to be clear that this conception of the Niyamas is a very simplistic one, and I am fully aware that, for example, biology is, ultimately, an expression of physical processes (most things are, as one of my high-school teachers was so keen to self-righteously point out, much to my perpetual irritation. It made me want to set fire to his Lancia Delta). The other thing to note is that like my old physics teacher, we have a tendency to over-simplify things in an effort to make sense of them. We are all, constantly under the sway and influence of many of these laws at once.
For example: I experience the light of the sun (Utu Niyama) which is perceived by my eyes and my skin (Bija Niyama). This pleasurable experience makes me happy and overconfident (Citta Niyama) and more likely to wear ill-fitting shorts (Karma Niyama). The resulting distress caused to onlookers and passing traffic makes me question my desire to be attractive or the centre of attention. Wishing to be more self-assured or less vain, I start to meditate and after a while I gain flashes of Insight into the transience of life (Dharma Niyama) and more at ease in myself, I bin my disturbingly tight shorts. In this way, we can see the progressive order of conditionality, of reality and of the Niyamas themselves, each one marking a definite evolutionary milestone on the long, long road from the first explosive nanoseconds of the Big Bang to the our present day world of iPads, fracking and frappuccinos.
As should now be clear, the fact that this person has been diagnosed with a terminal disease involves the interaction of many different Niyamas (or groups of Laws). It explains why 'bad' things happen to 'good' people, and in fact urges us to disregard the notion of value judgements altogether. Earthquakes happen because the earth is composed of tectonic plates floating above a molten ball of semi-liquid magma and due to the pressures exerted along plate lines, we experience sudden shifts and pressure release as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The 100,0000 people who lose their lives in a tsunami do so as a result of having mortal bodies, governed by the Bija Niyama, and those bodies being entirely dependant on the earth, on terra-firma, which in turn is dependant on the relative stability of geophysical phenomena, the Utu Niyama... It has NOTHING to do with "their Karma in a past life", and to suggest so is glib and an insult to those families destroyed and leaves the ones left behind heartbroken and confused.
In life, I personally believe that there are no acts of God, just acts. Acts of kindness, acts of cruelty, but conscious acts which arise in dependence on a VAST network of condition, some social, some genetic, some environmental but ALL of them governed and operating by the natural and unavoidable laws of the different Niyamas. One of the inevitable drawbacks of having a body is that one day, you won't. Not you, not me, none of us are exempt. In little more than 100 years, most humans alive today will be gone, and the world will be in the hands of a hopefully healthier and happier generation. This is why we make the effort to practice and lead by example NOW, to set up better conditions for them to inherit. For BILLIONS of years you and I didn't exist, but that's not upsetting, and it will be no different when we are gone. That's fine by me, just so long as we appreciate what we have whilst we have it and tidy up before we leave, clearing our plates and laying the spiritual table out neatly and with polished silverware for the next diners to enjoy.
The world is full of real people experiencing very real problems, just like this guy, for whom I have every sympathy, but we need to concede, at the end of the day, that all suffering is born out of our merely rational understanding of the truths expressed above. If I really, and I mean really understood the teachings of the Lakshanas and the Niyamas, I wouldn't be loosing sleep at night about the state of my colon. I wouldn't be bursting into tears at the silliest things - the smell of cut grass, the cool breeze in the air and the curiously gratifying sensation of fishing a cold, soggy tea-bag out of the sink. For some reason, I can't get my head around the fact that my sister will never get to experience this last one ever again... Silly I know, but it's a reminded to me to stay present, to "be here, now" as my father's hippy generation used to say.
Unless this brother of ours has been subsisting solely on red meat, cheep vodka and deep-fried cigars for the last 20 years, it is profoundly unlikely that his actions, his Karma, have been the sole cause of his illness, his Vipaka. Come to think of it, that's been pretty much my life up to the point when I discovered Buddhism in a meaningful way, but even so, if I do have cancer, it doesn't mean it's my fault per se. It just means that I have a body, albeit for a limited time only, and that ahead of you, dear reader, I am going jump the cue and get a sneak preview of the greatest unanswerable question in the world: What happens at and after death? This will be our subject to kick around in a few days time, but for now, I just want to send out lots of love and Metta to this guy who, in the words of the Buddha, is "going through a seriously sh*t time". I may be wrong on that quote, but if I am, it sure as hell ain't my Karma... Besides, all this talk just takes us away from our present moment, this present experience, which fleeting, imperfect and compounded as it is, is the only place we will ever be, the only place our hearts can heal. It's the power of Love. It's the 'wow' of the now.
This article is dedicated to anyone who is living with a terminal illness, or a serious illness of any sort.
May all beings be well, may all beings be content, may all being find peace in the maelstrom of life.
May all live without fear. May we value each other whilst we still have the time.
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The world is full of real people experiencing very real problems, just like this guy, for whom I have every sympathy, but we need to concede, at the end of the day, that all suffering is born out of our merely rational understanding of the truths expressed above. If I really, and I mean really understood the teachings of the Lakshanas and the Niyamas, I wouldn't be loosing sleep at night about the state of my colon. I wouldn't be bursting into tears at the silliest things - the smell of cut grass, the cool breeze in the air and the curiously gratifying sensation of fishing a cold, soggy tea-bag out of the sink. For some reason, I can't get my head around the fact that my sister will never get to experience this last one ever again... Silly I know, but it's a reminded to me to stay present, to "be here, now" as my father's hippy generation used to say.
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| This very sums up Karma-Vipaka and the experiential nature of faith in Buddhism. We must try to think clearly, act decisively and then reflect on the outcome for ourselves and others as to whether they were skilful or unskilful. Operating on the basis of Love rather than Power, we can't go too far wrong. |
It all comes down to you and your own actions and choices, about taking responsibility where you can (in the Karma Niyama) and accepting those things you have no control of. If you try and hand all your responsibility and power to the Buddha, he simply smiles silently and hands it back, encouraging us all to take full responsibility for our states of mind and our lives in general. It is worth reminding ourselves that the Hindu conception of 'Kamma' is something very different, and is arguably a belief for self-substantiating and justifying the horrors of the Caste system, but more on that another time.
Yours, wishing you all health, happiness and harmony in your healing hearts,
The Dharma-Farmer xx
This article is dedicated to anyone who is living with a terminal illness, or a serious illness of any sort.
May all beings be well, may all beings be content, may all being find peace in the maelstrom of life.
May all live without fear. May we value each other whilst we still have the time.
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12145665/?claim=y7uj9kx57z9">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
Buddhism is pessimistic. The main purpose of Buddhism is to escape samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death. The ultimate buddhist eg siddharta, left his family, friends and career to meditatate in the forest.
ReplyDeleteI can see where you are coming from, and why you say this, and it is a good point. I wonder though, did the young Prince judge his family and palatial life or did he simply see that in and of themselves they wouldn't bring him lasting contentment? It was always my understanding that he left because he sought that which was 'the deathless', and to seek that which he knew not what. I worry that for me (and I went through a stage of this) if we see the path as one of aversion and negativity, then we end up simply oscillating between the craving of release and the rejection of the mundane world.
ReplyDeleteI suppose as well it all depends on the tradition you practice in: Theravadin approaches do emphasise a certain distain for the female and male form, as well as contemplating the decomposition of a corpse to remove libido, so what you say is very much understandable. Then again, the Vajriyana teaches of Tantra and complete realisation within the act of union between practitioner and consort, so perhaps we tend to see the path through our eyes only... I know I can, sometimes.
Certainly, the Mahayana exposition of the Dharam, of Sunyata, is an attempt to break down the dichotomy and duality of positive and negative, even of dualism and non dualism... The shunyata-shunyata as they say... For me, just me, personally, I think that we can still engage in the world with 'dispassion' for the limitations of the mundane world, as the Pali cannon puts it, but I not sure, in the light of the Bodhisattva ideal, that we can see all the teaching of Buddhism, in it's length and breadth, as pessimistic... If for no other reason than the word 'pessimism' involves a value judgement, and the Buddha went to lengths to point out that value judgements and speculative opinions were to be abandoned as too limiting... We can still stay "this or that leads to suffering" without judging it :-) I feel that we must try to avoid spiritual individualism, otherwise we fall into a kind of 'selfish Buddhism', though I know that's not what you are saying Wini Cyut :-)
Thanks so much for commenting, and bringing this to my consideration, I genuinely really appreciate it, and it's got me thinking about it in more depth so again, thank you :-)
Whilst I can't say that I think Buddhism as a whole is pessimistic, You are absolutely right - I TOO WANT OFF THIS ENDLESS TRAIN! :-)
Have a lovely day xx