Quotation

He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain that we cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

The Elephant-Path of Enlightenment

The Buddha made some very bold claims.  He claimed that he remembered all of his past lives unfolding through the ages (keep in mind that in the Indian cosmology which the Buddha took largely for granted, these ages were very long indeed), and that he knew how to end the cycle of death and rebirth.  He claimed to be perfectly enlightened as well, among other things.

Despite his claim to have transcended the cosmos of infinite suffering, he did not simply reach the end of existence with serenity, taking his perfect enlightenment with him as if it were something one would have to earn and learn completely on one's own.  He chose to dedicate his lifetime of enlightenment to helping others reach the other shore.

The Buddha understood that anyone could simply claim to be perfectly enlightened, and that people would need a chain of evidence and reasoning to accept such an incredible claim.  At least according to the recorded oral tradition of his disciples left to us in the Pali canon, people found that chain of evidence and reasoning.  We see one example of this below:

On one occasion that Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jeta's grove, Anathapindika's Park.  Now on that occasion the brahmin Janussoni was driving out of Savatthi in the middle of the day in an all-white chariot drawn by white mares.  He saw the wanderer Pilotika coming in the distance and asked him: "Now where is Master Vacchayana coming from in the middle of the day?"
"Sir, I am coming from the presence of the ascetic Gotama."
"What does Master Vacchayana think of the ascetic Gotama's lucidity of wisdom?  He is wise, is he not?"
"Sir, who am I to know the ascetic Gotama's lucidity of wisdom?  One would surely have to be his equal to know the ascetic Gotama's lucidity of wisdom."
"Master Vacchayana praises the ascetic Gotama with high praise indeed."
"Sir, who am I to praise the ascetic Gotama?  The ascetic Gotama is praised by the praised as best among devas and humans."
"What reasons does Master Vacchayana see that he has such firm confidence in the ascetic Gotama?"

So far we can see that Pilotika Vacchayana has been very impressed by the Buddha.  He insists that he is not capable of judging the Buddha's wisdom because he is not equal to it, and humbly puts forth the idea that he is not even worthy to praise the Buddha, so much greater than he is the Buddha.  Understandably, the brahmin wants to know why, out of the numerous ascetics, the Buddha should be viewed so especially favorably.  So why is it that Pilotika believes the Buddha is perfectly enlightened?

"Sir, suppose a wise elephant hunter were to enter an elephant wood and were to see in the elephant wood a big elephant's footprint, long in extent and broad across.  He would come to this conclusion: 'Indeed, this is a big bull elephant.' So too, when I saw four footprints of the ascetic Gotama, I came to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'  What are the four?
Sir, I have seen here certain learned nobles who were clever, knowledgeable about the doctrines of others, as sharp as hairsplitting marksmen; they wander about, as it were, demolishing the views of others with their sharp wits.  When they hear: 'The ascetic Gotama will visit such and such a village or town,' they formulate a question thus: 'We will go to the ascetic Gotama and ask him this question.  If he is asked like this, he will answer like this, and so we will refute his doctrine in this way; and if he is asked like that, he will answer like that, and so we will refute his doctrine in that way' 
...They go to the ascetic Gotama, and the ascetic Gotama instructs, urges, rouses, and gladdens them with a talk on the Dhamma.  After they have been instructed, urged, roused, and gladdened by the ascetic Gotama with a talk on the Dhamma, they do not so much as ask him the question, so how should they refute his doctrines?  In actual fact, they become his disciples.  When I saw this first footprint of the ascetic Gotama, I came to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'"

He goes on to describe the same scenario with brahmins, householders, and other ascetics; these are the other three footprints from his simile.  What we learn is that Pilotika is impressed by how those with status and knowledge in his society are turned away so quickly from trying to prove the Buddha wrong to following the Buddha, suddenly confident in his teachings.  For Pilotika, the fact that those generally considered wise become the disciples of the Buddha is evidence that the Buddha is perfectly enlightened.

This is enough to pique the interest of the brahmin to whom he is speaking about the Buddha.  So Janussoni visits the Buddha himself.

"Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One!  Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One!  Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One!  Perhaps some time or other I might meet Master Gotama and have some conversation with him."
Then the brahmin Janussoni went to the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he sat down to one side and related his entire conversation with the wanderer Pilotika.  Thereupon the Blessed One told him: "At this point, brahmin, the simile of the elephant's footprint has not yet been completed in detail.  As to how it is completed in detail, listen and attend carefully to what I shall say."  "Yes, sir," the brahmin replied.

The brahmin is convinced that the Buddha is indeed perfectly enlightened, which we know because the brahmin addresses him as such prior to conversing with the Buddha.  At this point, the Buddha could have chosen to simply confirm that Pilotika's reasoning was correct, to confirm that the one to whom all the learned ones are turning for right teaching in the Dhamma is indeed perfectly enlightened.

But as usual, the Buddha does not take the easy route and confirm us in our false confidence in him.  He helps us to understand that we need more than the crowd of learned people to help us discern who is perfectly enlightened.

"Brahmin, suppose an elephant hunter were to enter an elephant wood and were to see in the elephant wood a big elephant's footprint, long in extent and broad across.  A wise elephant hunter would not yet come to the conclusion: 'Indeed, this is a big bull elephant.'  Why is that?  In an elephant wood there are small she-elephants that leave a big footprint, and this might be one of their footprints.  He follows it and sees in the elephant wood a big elephant's footprint, long in extent and broad across, and some scrapings high up.  A wise elephant hunter would not yet come to the conclusion: 'Indeed, this is a big bull elephant.' Why is that?  In an elephant wood there are tall she-elephants that have prominent teeth and leave a big footprint, and this might be one of their footprints.  He follows it further and sees in the elephant wood a big elephant's footprint, long in extent and broad across, and some scrapings high up, and marks made by tusks.  A wise elephant hunter would not yet come to the conclusion: 'Indeed, this is a big bull elephant.' Why is that?  In an elephant wood there are tall she-elephants that have tusks and leave a big footprint, and this might be one of their footprints."  He follows it further and sees in the elephant wood a big elephant's footprint, long in extent and broad across, and some scrapings high up, and marks made by tusks, and broken-off branches.  And he sees that bull elephant at the root of the tree or in the open, walking about, sitting, or lying down.  He comes to the conclusion: 'This is that big bull elephant.'
"So too, brahmin, here a Tathagata appears in the world, an arahant, perfectly enlightened, perfect in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.  Having realized with his own direct knowledge this world with its devas, Mara and Brahma, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, with its devas and humans, he makes it known to others.  He teaches a Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and expression; he reveals a holy life that is perfectly complete and purified."

For Pilotika, it was evidence enough to see that the Buddha was making disciples of his erstwhile opponents.  For the Buddha, this is insufficient evidence.  Though it would be convenient for the Buddha to gain followers to put forth a lower standard of evidence that is easier to meet, he proposes that it is much harder to know that he is perfectly enlightened, that we need various other kinds of evidence to know that someone is perfectly enlightened.

Setting aside his acknowledgements of the tempter demon Mara, the devas, and the creator Brahma which are common to his time, we can see here a summary of some of the Buddha's bold claims about himself.  Some of the more interesting claims are that he has access to perfect knowledge and is perfect in his moral conduct, and also that he reveals to us how to live a life of perfect moral conduct.  The Buddha explains what he means by living a holy life of perfect conduct and what he means by attaining perfect knowledge as he continues the discourse with Janussoni.

Unsurprisingly, as I've mentioned before, he starts with morality before explaining mindfulness.

"A householder or householder's son or one born in some other clan hears that Dhamma.  On hearing the Dhamma he acquires faith in the Tathagata.  Possessing that faith, he considers thus: 'Household life is crowded and dusty; life gone forth is wide open.  It is not easy, while living in a home, to lead the spiritual life utterly perfect and pure as a polished shell.  Suppose I shave off my hair and beard, put on the ochre robe, and go forth from the household into a life of homelessness.'  On a later occasion, abandoning a large or small fortune, abandoning a small or large circle of relatives, he shaves off his hair and beard, puts on the ochre robe, and goes forth from the household life into homelessness."

Like Pilotika, the Buddha begins by pointing out that a footprint of the Tathagata is that those who hear the Dhamma become his disciples.  But the Buddha, rather than emphasizing how very learned these people are, emphasizes how much it impels them to change their lives.  The discipleship that marks the presence of the Perfectly Enlightened One is a discipleship of abandoning the material support we rely on, of striking out into the wilderness which requires us to learn new ways of supporting ourselves, new ways of sustaining ourselves and finding peace without the constant presence of others.



For the Buddha, the Dhamma is not merely a correct set of ideas; it should radically change our lives.  Though, as I've mentioned before, the Buddha does not believe that faith alone is a virtue, he does recognize that we generally begin with faith, and that it comes from hearing a powerful truth which leads us to have faith in the truth-speaker, and that this faith is often what motivates the beginner to start the journey to enlightenment.

"Having thus gone forth and possessing the monk's training and way of life, abandoning the destruction of life, he abstains from the destruction of life; with rod and weapon laid aside, conscientious, merciful, he dwells compassionate to all living beings.  Abandoning the taking of what is not given, he abstains from taking what is not given; taking only what is given, expecting only what is given, by not stealing he dwells in purity.  Abandoning sexual relations, he observes celibacy, living apart, refraining from the coarse practice of sexual intercourse."

Not only does the Buddha propose that his disciples who seek perfect enlightenment abandon their homes and families to dwell without a home, he also proposes that they abandon all sexual activity.  The Buddha understood that craving was a constant barrier to enlightenment, and there is no greater set of cravings than food, sexual pleasure, and intimacy.  In order to abandon the craving which leads to suffering, he prescribes the abandonment of activities which habituate us to craving, whether we crave the pleasure of delicious food, the pleasure of the orgasm, or the pleasure of intimacy with another human being.

The Buddha knows that enlightenment requires us to relinquish our reliance on our easy pleasures, and that includes power.  He proscribes the reliance on power when he emphasizes the need to avoid stealing or the destruction of life, instead asking us to live a life of nonviolent loving-kindness to all beings.

"Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech; he speaks truth, adheres to truth, is trustworthy and reliable, one who is no deceiver of the world.  Abandoning malicious speech...Abandoning harsh speech...Abandoning idle chatter, he abstains from idle chatter; he speaks at the right time, speaks what is fact, speaks on what is good, speaks on the Dhamma and the Discipline; at the right time he speaks such words as are worth recording, reasonable, moderate, and beneficial."

Part of this loving-kindness is of course a commitment to truth, and not the harsh truth of anger, but the truth spoken in love.  The avoidance of malicious or harsh speech is a continuation of the  nonviolence of this path the Buddha sets out for both those who would know the Perfectly Enlightened One and those who would follow in his footprints.

"He abstains from injuring seeds and plants.  He eats only one meal a day, abstaining from eating at night and outside the proper time.  He abstains from dancing, singing, music, and unsuitable shows.  He abstains from wearing garlands, smartening himself with scent, and embellishing himself with unguents.  He abstains from high and large couches.  He abstains from accepting gold and silver.  He abstains from accepting raw grain.  He abstains from accepting raw meat.  He abstains from accepting women and girls.  He abstains from accepting men and women slaves.  He abstains from accepting goats and sheep. He abstains from accepting fowl and pigs.  He abstains from accepting elephants, cattle, horses, and mares.  He abstains from accepting fields and land.  He abstains from going on errands and running messages.  He abstains from buying and selling.  He abstains from false weights, false metals, and false measures.  He abstains from accepting bribes, deceiving, defrauding, and trickery.  He abstains from wounding, murdering, binding, brigandage, plunder, and violence."

While a feminist analysis of this text might rightly find something deeply problematic in the inclusion of accepting women and girls along with accepting food, precious metals, slaves, animals, and other kinds of property (just as it would in other discourses of the Buddha), I think we can nonetheless find valuable insight in the narrative used by the Buddha to explain the path to enlightenment.

The Buddha continues the theme of nonviolence, both against plants and animals.  The Buddha also continues the theme of a rejection of reliance on material goods; while it is true that his disciple should not take what is not given, it is also true that his disciple should not take even many things that are given.  Whether because they will habituate him to craving a transient pleasure, puff up his vanity, or busy himself with doing the bidding of others instead of seeking the Buddha by following his path, these things should be avoided by one seeking enlightenment because they turn us away from the path set for us by the Buddha.

"He becomes content with the robes to protect his body and with almsfood to maintain his stomach, and wherever he goes, he sets out taking only these with him.  Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its wings as its only burden, so too the monk becomes content with robes to protect his body and almsfood to maintain his stomach, and wherever he goes, he sets out taking only these with him.  Possessing this aggregate of noble moral discipline, he experiences within himself the bliss of blamelessness.
On seeing a form with the eye, he does not grasp at its signs and features.  Since, if he left the eye faculty unguarded, evil and unwholesome states of longing and dejection might invade him, he practices the way of restraint, he guards the eye faculty, he undertakes the restraint of the eye faculty.  On hearing a sound with the ear... On smelling an odor with the nose... On tasting a flavor with the tongue... On feeling a tactile object with the body... On recognizing a mental phenomenon of the mind, he does not grasp at its signs and features.  Since, if he left the mind faculty unguarded, evil and unwholesome states of longing and dejection might invade him, he practices the way of restraint, he guards the mind faculty, he undertakes the restraint of the mind faculty.  Possessing this noble restraint of the sense faculties, he experiences within himself an unsullied bliss."

While we might have thought that the Buddha's path of self-denial could not get any more difficult and the life he exemplified more impoverished, he proposes that we go further and discipline thoroughly even our senses so that not even everyday sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and thoughts are the objects to which we cling.  Not even the perceptual mechanisms by which we navigate the world can be allowed to draw us away from the path to enlightenment and back into the life of clinging to transient pleasures and comforts.

Finally, after rigorous moral discipline and abandoning all that we previously relied upon for our contentment, we find that in leaving behind all those things to which we clung, emptying our hands has allowed us to accept the contentment of one who no longer clings to anything and accepts gratefully all that is needed.  The Buddha has led us out of the land of contentment with a few things to which we clung into the land of contentment with all things, now freed of our need for clinging.

"He becomes one who acts with clear comprehension when going forward and returning; who acts with clear comprehension when looking ahead and looking away; who acts with clear comprehension when flexing and extending his limbs; who acts with clear comprehension when wearing his robes and carrying his outer robe and bowl; who acts with clear comprehension when eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting; who acts with clear comprehension when defecating and urinating; who acts with clear comprehension when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent.
Possessing this aggregate of noble moral discipline, and this noble restraint of the faculties, and possessing this noble mindfulness and clear comprehension, he resorts to a secluded resting place: the forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a ravine, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, an open space, a heap of straw."

At the end of the incredibly long and arduous path of moral discipline, the mind becomes clear and free at all times.  The Buddha shows us that moral discipline is what leads us to a clear mind, but a clear mind is not the final goal; it is the beginning of the path.  A clear mind is what will allow us to correctly follow the footprints of the Tathagata.

Until now, the disciple of the Buddha has not been able to track the Tathagata.  But now that moral discipline has cleared away the thoughts that have for so long clouded our minds, filling them with distractions that obscure our mind's eye like an impenetrable fog, we can see well enough with the mind that the footprints will be readily visible to us.  And so we retreat to a place where we can turn the mind's eye inward and turn the powers we have developed through moral discipline toward the long and difficult training of the mind itself.

"On returning from his almsround, after his meal he sits down, folding his legs crosswise, setting his body erect, and establishing mindfulness before him.  Abandoning longing for the world, he dwells with a mind free from longing; he purifies his mind from longing.  Abandoning ill will and hatred... Abandoning dullness and drowsiness... Abandoning restlessness and remorse... Abandoning doubt, he dwells having gone beyond doubt, unperplexed about wholesome states; he purifies his mind from doubt.
Having thus abandoned these five hindrances, defilements of the mind that weaken wisdom, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, he enters and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought and examination, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion.  This, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata, but a noble disciple does not yet come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'"

Finally we can see the first footprint after a lengthy process of moral discipline and purification of our minds.  It is tempting to stop and believe that surely, after all this effort, we are at the end of the journey, that perfect enlightenment has been reached.  But the Buddha draws us onward, urging us to venture beyond our newfound ability to see the footprint toward an encounter with the big bull elephant who leaves the footprints.

"Again, with the subsiding of thought and examination, he enters and dwells in the second jhana, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought and examination, and has rapture and happiness born of concentration.  This too, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata, but a noble disciple does not yet come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'
Again, with the fading away as well of rapture, he dwells equanimous and, mindful and clearly comprehending, he experiences happiness with the body; he enters and dwells in the third jhana of which the noble ones declare: 'He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily.'  This too, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata, but a noble disciple does not yet come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'
Again, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and dejection, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant and includes the purification of mindfulness by equanimity.  This too, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata, but a noble disciple does not yet come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'"

These next footprints teach us, if we follow them, that even the greater and more reliable happiness resulting from a life of moral discipline and training the mind, so much better than the transitory happiness of satisfying our cravings, is still not the end of our journey to perfect enlightenment.  The end lies beyond even the greatest contentment we can reach by the path of discipline for the body and mind.

"When his mind is thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to the knowledge of past lives.  He recollects his manifold past lives, that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many eons of world-contraction, many eons of world-expansion, many eons of world-contraction and expansion: 'There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my nutriment, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life-term; and passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere; and there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my nutriment, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life-term; and passing away from there, I was reborn here.'  Thus with their aspects and particulars he recollects his manifold past lives.  This too, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata, but a noble disciple does not yet come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'"

This vivid description of what it is like to be able to recall all of ones past lives shows us that for the Buddha, enlightenment is the culmination of an incredibly long process, something which has no doubt not escaped anyone who has read this far into the Buddha's discourse on enlightenment.  The image the Buddha paints for us is one of a stark choice between an endless round of deaths and rebirths, trapped in the cycles of pleasure and pain, or a cumulative process in which we can gradually shape the stream of our consciousness so that it leads us to the end of the path.

"When his mind is thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to the knowledge of the passing away and rebirth of beings.  With the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate.  He understands how beings pass on according to their actions thus: 'These beings who behaved wrongly by body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong view, and undertook actions based on wrong view, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell; but these beings who behaved well by body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right view, and undertook action based on right view, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.'  Thus with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions.  This too, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata, but a noble disciple does not yet come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'"

Now, as we near the end of the path, the Buddha reminds us of the waystations between our lives, the horrible tortures of the deepest naraka and the greatest bliss of the highest heavenly planes which are the inevitable consequences of our actions.

He also helps us to understand that enlightenment is not a purely self-centered path, that though it will lead to a deeper understanding of the illusion we call self, it also leads us to understand the suffering of others more deeply, to see with the divine eye how long they have languished in the cycle of death and rebirth marked by the waystations of the torture of the lower worlds and the bliss of the heavenly planes.

"When his mind is thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to the knowledge of the destruction of the taints.  He understands as it really is: 'This is suffering.  This is the origin of suffering.  This is the cessation of suffering.  This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.'  He understands as it really is: 'These are the taints.  This is the origin of the taints.  This is the cessation of the taints.  This is the way leading to the cessation of the taints.'
This too, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata, but a noble disciple does not yet come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'  Rather, he is in the process of coming to this conclusion."

The Buddha here explains to us the penultimate step: the direct realization of the escape from suffering, the true liberation which ends the endless cycle of death and rebirth in which so many are stuck.
"When he knows and sees thus, his mind liberated from the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of existence, and from the taint of ignorance.  When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: 'It is liberated.' He understands: 'Birth is destroyed, the spiritual life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming back to any state of being.'
This too, brahmin, is called a footprint of the Tathagata, something scraped by the Tathagata, something marked by the Tathagata. It is at this point that a noble disciple has come to the conclusion: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, the Sangha is practicing the good way.'  And it is at this point, brahmin, that the simile of the elephant's footprint has been completed in detail."

At long last we see the big bull elephant to which the Buddha referred, the proof of no more lives which is the destination for those who seek enlightenment.  The elephant is now clearly visible; we have no more need to follow the footprints through the long and arduous path marked out for us by the Buddha.  We also find that the path is not so short or simple as we first thought.

In the simile used by Pilotika, he reasoned that we could infer from the four large footprints that there was a bull elephant, and in the same manner he reasoned that we could infer from the fact that these four types of wise people were following the Buddha that the Buddha was perfectly enlightened.  In the simile used by the Buddha, the evidence was not sufficient until, after a long process of assessing the evidence, the elephant was actually seen.

For the Buddha, it is best to verify things by direct experience; he is a very strong empiricist, which is how we would describe his approach in the context of the Western philosophical tradition.  Though he recognizes that we will probably start with faith, he draws us into a mode of realization which is more direct; the Buddha would have us move from raw belief to a belief which is firmly grounded in the experience of growing closer to illumination through discipline.  For the Buddha, discipline is the bridge from faith to enlightenment.

While it is very helpful for the disciple of the Buddha to know the signs of perfect enlightenment, it is more important to know the first step to take, which is faith in the Buddha, and the path to get there, which is the path of hard discipline and radical self-denial.  The Buddha's depiction of finding the Perfectly Enlightened One is in the end a depiction of the path we must take if we are to be one who is enlightened.

The Buddha does not leave us with a mere precise and clinical explanation of how to discern those who are enlightened; he walks us to the end of the path and invites us to see the elephant in the wood for ourselves.



Note:  The image above is part of the cover art for the anthology I use as one of my Sources for explorations of Buddhism.  I highly recommend that you buy it if you have an interest in studying an authentic presentation of Buddhism.

No comments:

Post a Comment