AE research paper for extra credit
Contrasting Altruism In The Buddha Dhamma and Taoist
Curriculum
Quote from Dr. Chan’s first lecture: “opening the door to
question of ethics and intention – one of differences between Buddhism and
Taoism is that Buddhists tend to say we are here to help other people while
Taoists tend to say we have to respect everyone’s autonomy and if we are given
permission to help we can help but otherwise we back off. The Dalai Lama is
very clear about we are here to help people but Taoists viewpoint is that the
suffering or illnesses we have, the lifestyle we have that creates those things
are part of our karma and lesson process and when a person asks for help then
we have permission to come in and say this is our viewpoint this is what we
think. We don’t want to interfere with someone’s destiny or their
sovereignty.”
I have a personal agreement with what is said to be the
Taoist viewpoint here and had not investigated whether that was in keeping with
the Dhamma. I was moved to look for the Buddha’s words and commentaries
regarding generosity and wisdom that would expand on previous studies. Upon
investigation I found that the Dhamma is presented in a way that does not align
directly with the Taoist belief in a curriculum but gradually revealed a
symmetry between them. The Dhamma supports altruistic intention while
instructing the practitioner how to gain insight and lose attachment to prevent
causing harm. Generally there is a mass of reporting on those who sought and
received assistance but never have I seen a reporting of the Buddha pushing
Dhamma on anyone or advocating that. When speaking to Anjulimala the Buddha
persisted in the face of threats but did so at the behest of those in fear of
the murderer and it was his lack of fear that lead the killer to turn toward
him, but until he did so the Buddha made no other effort than to remain
unafraid.
From the Anjulimala Sutta, MN 86: “Who once was heedless,
but later is not, brightens the world like the moon set free from a cloud.”
The purpose of the Buddha Dhamma is to relieve suffering
thereby creating true happiness. Subtract one thing and its opposite will
arise. Suffering is caused by attachment to some desired outcome, so if the
attachment can be released we do not suffer from it and are free to be happy.
This is the fundamental teaching of the Buddha: There is suffering (lack of
happiness). The reason for suffering is attachment to desires. There is a way
to end suffering, it is possible in this lifetime, right now – the prognosis is
good. The Noble Eightfold Path is the prescription to follow to correct
suffering.
The Four Noble
Truths outlined above are given in a formulaic manner familiar to those
listening at the place and time they were given. Physicians of the day would state
the diagnosis, cause, prognosis and treatment for someone who came to them
seeking assistance.
False happiness is quickly lost, occurs at someone’s expense
or has drawbacks attached, which create further suffering down the road. True
happiness invigorates without dispersing, is beneficial to all and has a
quality that lasts and causes concrete changes. The difference between the two
has to be appreciated or we go astray.
Not one part of the Dhamma can be useful independent from
the rest, the formula must be taken in its entirety. Because of difficulties in
translation and communication all teachings must be evaluated in contrast with
the whole. The various traditions and schools of Buddhism all share the Four
Noble Truths so that is the basis for comparison. Centuries of dissemination
and commentary have both clarified and muddied the doctrine and the discipline.
Care must be taken to practice and speak from that experiential wisdom rather
than from intellectual analysis.
The three roots of
happiness (the opposite of suffering) are compassion, generosity and wisdom –
these cannot function independently and each must be cultivated with practice.
The Noble Eightfold Path describes the path of practice. Buddhism is an
experiential practice not intellectual. Wisdom (more clearly stated as
Discernment) is developed through meditation. Meditation is a practice
different from contemplation; it begins with a discipline that leads to
Stillness. When Stillness is achieved the mind is no obstacle to Discernment
and the path to true happiness is perceived. The active following of this path
known as the Jhannas or Four BrahmaViharas or the Measureless States is
Meditation. When meditation is practiced Discernment develops effortlessly.
Mindfulness or ‘present moment awareness’ is practiced on
and off the cushion, 24/7 and is not focused on external phenomena but on the
mind itself: our interface with existence. The mind is like a terrier that
continuously challenges its caretaker for authority, it thinks it knows best
and responds to desires with fearsome wit and power but ultimately is foolish
and only a tool or assistant to the one free from attachment. As Discernment is
developed in meditation it is utilized in Mindfulness and perceptions can be
contemplated through an unclouded lens that was previously marred by
attachments.
Attachment to desires is also called sticking, clinging,
holding, grasping. This causes obstruction or stagnation and is clearly seen in
diseases with accumulation of substances such as Qi, Blood and Body Fluids.
Desires are sometimes wrongly accused of being the root of suffering but desire
is nothing more than motivation that moves us through life, leading us to
explore and create. It’s our attachment to our desires that causes suffering. When
our attachment to a desire or opinion is released suffering is relieved.
Attachment is cultivated, maintained and promoted through
the telling and retelling of our stories. We tell ourselves and are agreed
with, sympathized with. We tell our friends and families and get the same
response or another response that inflames us just as well. What does
inflammation do? It stabilizes, solidifies, restricts movement ostensibly to
aid in healing but so often is the source of pain and limitation. This
inflammation is prized and rewarded with association and identity that serve to
make us feel safer. All safety is a delusion created by the urge to survive,
but as Ayya Khema says that is a forlorn hope, the only written guarantee we
can get is that none of us is going to survive. We are not here to survive
though so much of our energy is spent striving to. Every one of us dies.
So why do we live as though we are not going to die? Why do
we live in denial and delusion? Why is it so painful for most of us to contemplate
death and loss? Because of attachment and this can be lessened, diminished,
gradually released and let go of. As stated above when one thing is released
its opposite grows to balance the energy. That is the practice of the Buddha
Dhamma. It is a constantly spiraling teaching that returns again and again to
the simple truths found in practice but obscured by intellect. Intellect often
wants to create regulation and rules that appear to clarify but in fact hide
the truths discovered in practice. This is often the outcome of so many of the
commentaries, serving to keep the reader in their head and out of practice, or
in the practice of rites and rituals rather than the practice of the Noble
Eightfold Path.
The Buddha taught that a human life is a rare and precious
thing, as rare as a single grain of sand amid a vast beach of other
possibilities. In this form we have so many advantages that can bring us to
enlightenment if we do not squander it. But never did he say he could do it for
us, or that we could do it for another. He could explain the gradual path, the
middle way, so that some were convinced to try for themselves but he did not
convert everyone, and taught that there are only a few with little dust in
their eyes who could see. The Buddha was not judgmental, nor callous, not
coercive and not threatening, he did not use fear or punishment as a means to
gather followers or control disciples. Rather he taught that the Dhamma evoked
reality, should be tested out and if not useful then set aside. The discipline
he demonstrated was based on the Dhamma, the Noble Eightfold Path. The
guidelines that were later codified were created as conditions arose and were
never to be used to elevate one above the other but to bring harmony and
further the practice that would lead to happiness.
The Discernment that is gained through practice does not
allow one to impose ones’
opinion on another. That is what would happen if one
attempted to help another without their asking for help. No one knows what
another needs most. Like the cartoon of the boy scouts helping the old woman
across the street while she shrieks that she doesn’t want to go that way. But
that is what boy scouts are supposed to do, be helpful, help old ladies cross
the street! This is not the help the Dalai Lama advocates, service is the path
of compassion and generosity but without wisdom we could cause further harm.
What if we are asked to serve someone who practiced a wrong livelihood per the
Dhamma, they asked –should we not help them? Not if their intention is based in
the Three Poisons: anger, greed or delusion (which would include fear and
righteousness). Can we serve or help the poor by giving? Perhaps, but if what
we give causes suffering, enables an addiction for instance, have we helped?
No. What if we discern that what someone needs is to be looked in the eye and
greeted “good morning” with respect and friendliness and we do that - have we
helped? Probably, but there is no blanket statement that can be applied to all
situations. Perhaps what would have given the most benefit to all would have
been a direct challenge to their behavior. Every moment must be lived with
attention and enthusiasm for the richness inherent in the experience right then
because we can never “know” we can only choose to act from a place cultivated
through Generosity, Compassion and Discernment.
Our speech, action, livelihood can be guided by compassion,
generosity and wisdom melded together in practice. During this melding we are
in such good shape that we are impervious to harm, as a piece of metal being
shaped by a smith on a forge, the heat, the hammer and the skill of the smith
keep out imperfections, inclusions and impurities. See the Junha Sutta.
Afterward the implement is tempered and strong, flexible yet obdurate so that
it can accomplish the task it is designed for. This is the health achieved by
Buddhist practice. It cannot be given to another; we must each achieve it for
ourselves. This does not mean we should hide away and focus solely on private
hermitage. That can be a portion of our life but not the whole, assisting
others when grounded in the Three Roots of Happiness brings such happiness that
our treasure is multiplied exponentially. So if another requests the Dhamma,
requests assistance with anything that our stilled, composed and opened mind
can discern is beneficial then we are able to give in a way that is limited
only by the receiver, they get what they want and we get what we want, truly,
fundamentally, unconditionally.
We create our own suffering. A human body will experience
pain in some manner and measure that is inevitable. Suffering is entirely
different. Unless pain is labeled as negative and associated with fear it does
not cause suffering. Attachment to function, identity, and sensation is the basis
of fear and negativity. We have expectations that outline our attachments in
brilliant contrast to reality and this is where pain is enhanced by emotional
baggage. It is efficient to simply focus on the positive, excluding the
negative. To practice Gratitude and Appreciation and to do this now, before
catastrophe so we are conditioned to them when difficulty arises.
Challenges, difficulties, traumas, catastrophes and
disasters are experiences that rouse our spirits and kickstart our practice.
When we see them as such then the silver lining appears and we release the
delusion that our daily lives and ambitions are in keeping with the nature of
reality. The nature of reality is that we all have only a short time here, our
potential is limited only by our imagination and our conditioning. We don’t
have much of a map or a clue but the Buddha has given us the first part of the
puzzle. If we can follow the practice more becomes clear. It is a worthwhile
act because it holds the promise of transcending the mundane. Many of us have
beheld a hint of what the sacred holds beyond the mundane, the expansive
possibility that fills the sails and encourages us to seek for more. It is up
to each of us to do our best to pursue the course. But the course is not
solitary or divergent; our interaction with others forms the course itself.
Our intention is the potential energy in our tank. Intention
is the evidence Karma decides on. If we intend to harm but restrain or divert
that action we still suffer, if we do not intend to harm but accidentally cause
pain and suffering to occur then we are not culpable but only an instrument of
the others’ own Karma. We need have no more than intention to help another. We
can offer goodwill and beneficence and others can take it as they will or not.
No harm comes from that offering. But if we decide to make the world right in
our light, then we are acting without wisdom and doing at least ourselves harm.
There are parables in Buddhism that are valued in all
traditions and one of the best and most commonly known is the one about the
Farmer. This old grandmother has a small farm. One day a horse wanders in, lost
and stray. The neighbors find out and say “what good luck!” Grandma says
“maybe.” The horse becomes part of the farmyard and one day her grandkid takes
it out riding. The horse gets spooked and throws the kid who breaks a leg. The
neighbors find out and say “what bad luck!” Grandma says “maybe.” A war breaks
out between local gangs and the kid is called to come fight but can’t because of
the broken leg. The neighbors find out and say “what good luck!” Grandma says
“maybe.” The neighbors find out and say “what bad luck!” Grandma says
“maybe.” The neighbors say “what good
luck!” Grandma says “maybe.” The
neighbors say “what bad luck!” Grandma says “maybe.” Grandma’s wisdom is what
we all need to cultivate to discern the benefit or harm available in any
situation.
When a challenge like illness comes on a person there may be
a hidden benefit that they are unaware of, or fully aware of. It is not for
another to judge, but to perceive and possibly share if in keeping with the
guidelines for Right Speech. Life is mysterious; we can only take in this
moment. But we can prepare for this moment by following the Noble Eightfold
Path.
The Buddha who sought to end suffering did not become a
physician but Awakened and became a Buddha to teach the Dhamma. Nevertheless he
gave care when it was needed and offered Dhamma as requested when that care had
accomplished healing to the point at which attention could be given. Through
actions and teaching the Buddha advocated for us to maintain health attentively
so that the practice will benefit, recognizing that mind and body are one. We
are responsible for maintaining well-being so that we get the most mileage for
the practice out of the body and mind we have. It is within the guidelines of
Right Livelihood to be a healthcare provider, and the ordained can have another
livelihood if the place, time and culture they exist in allows and would
benefit from it and they choose to do so.
As I understand it the Buddha Dhamma shows how to live so
that all benefit and move toward a happiness that “surpasses understanding.” We
humans are not here to deliver a promise or build a better world because we are
not equipped for that, we are here to be better people so that we cause no more
harm than we already have either intentionally or not; to benefit all beings
through the ripple effect by increasing our awareness and cultivating the Three
Roots of Happiness: compassion, generosity and wisdom. And so we deliver on the
promise and build a better world without grandma winding up on the wrong side
of the street.
