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.On the third stage, through medi-tation these facts become part of our living experience.Perhaps we might spend a few moments discussingthe attitude that one can do well to cultivate inapproaching the teachings of the Buddha.It is said thatone who approaches the teachings ought to seek to72 avoid three faults in his attitude and these faults areillustrated with the example of a vessel.In this context,we are the vessel, the teachings are what are to be filledinto the vessel.Suppose the vessel is covered with a lid,we will not be very successful in filling the vessel, saywith milk.This is similar to one who listens to theteachings with a closed mind, a mind that is alreadymade up.The Dharma cannot enter, fill the vessel.Again supposing we have a vessel that has a hole in thebottom.If we fill the vessel with milk, the milk will runout of the hole.This is similar to those of us who findthat what we hear does not stay with us.And finallythere is the case of the vessel in which there areimpurities.Suppose we fill the vessel with milk beforehaving cleaned it.Suppose there is some spoiled milkleft in the vessel.The fresh milk that we fill into thevessel will be spoilt.In the same way if we listen to theteachings with an impure mind, with impure attitudes,because for instance we want to achieve a certainamount of honour, or fame, with these kinds of selfishattitudes or desires, we are like a vessel tainted byimpurities.We must seek to avoid these faults in ourapproach to the teachings of the Buddha, in the study ofthe Dharma.Alternatively, it is said that one might listento the Dharma in the way that a patient listens to theinstructions of the physician.In this context, the Buddhais the physician, the Dharma is the medicine, we are thepatients and the practice of the Dharma is the means bywhich we can be cured of the disease, the disease of thedefilements greed, anger and delusion that producesuffering.We will surely achieve some degree of RightUnderstanding if we approach the study of the Dharmawith this notion in mind.73 We often divide Right Understanding into twoaspects.The first relates to the ordinary level while thesecond relates to a deeper level.Sometime ago, wespoke about the goals that Buddhism offers, in the senseof two levels of goals happiness and good fortune inthis life and the next, and ultimate liberation.Here too,in discussing Right Understanding, we see that there aretwo levels, two aspects of Right Understanding.Thefirst aspect corresponds to the first type of goal, and thesecond corresponds to attaining liberation.The firstaspect of Right Understanding is the understanding ofthe relation between cause and effect in the sphere ofmoral responsibility of our actions and our behavior.This briefly stated means that we will experience theeffects of our actions.If we act well, if we observe theprinciples of respect for life, property, truth and so forth,if we act in these wholesome ways we will experiencethe good effects of our actions.We will enjoy happinessand fortunate circumstances in this life and the next.Conversely, if we act badly, we will experience un-happiness, miseries and unfortunate circumstances inthis life and the next.On the level of understanding as it relates to theultimate goal of the teachings of the Buddha, we areconcerned with Right Understanding in terms of seeingthings as they really are.When we say seeing things asthey really are, what do we mean? Again one can getdoctrinal answers to this question.It can mean seeingthings as impermanent, as dependently originated, asnot-self, as impersonal, as seeing the Four Noble Truths.All these answers are correct.All express somethingabout seeing things as they really are, seeing the reality74 of things.In order to arrive at an understanding of thisfirst and in a sense the last step of the Noble EightfoldPath, we have to look for something that all theseexpressions of Right Understanding have in common.When we describe Right Understanding in all thesevarious ways, all these descriptions are opposed toignorance, to bondage, to entanglement in the cycle ofbirth and death.When the Buddha attained enlighten-ment, His experience was essentially an experience ofdestruction of ignorance.This experience is describedby the Buddha Himself most frequently in terms ofunderstanding the Four Noble Truths and understandingdependent origination.Both the Four Noble Truths anddependent origination are concerned with thedestruction of ignorance.In this sense, ignorance is thecentral problem, the central idea in both the formula ofthe Four Noble Truths and dependent origination.Let us look at the Four Noble Truths again for amoment.The key to transforming one s experience fromthe experience of suffering to the experience of the endof suffering is understanding the Second Noble Truth,the truth of the cause of suffering.Once we understandthe cause of suffering, we can then act to achieve theend of suffering.The Four Noble Truths as we havediscussed are divided into two groups, two of them to beabandoned, and two of them to be gained the truth ofsuffering and the truth of the cause of suffering are to beabandoned, and the truth of the end of suffering and thetruth of the path to the end of suffering are to be gained.Understanding the cause of suffering enables one to dothis.We can see this clearly in the Buddha s descriptionof His experience on the night of His enlightenment.75 When He saw the cause of suffering, when He under-stood that desire, ill-will and ignorance were the causesof suffering, this opened the door to His enlightenment.Ignorance, desire and ill-will are the causes of suffering.If we want to reduce our examination to the mostessential concept, we must focus upon ignorance be-cause it is due to ignorance that desire and ill-will arise.Essentially, ignorance is the idea of a permanent,independent self [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.On the third stage, through medi-tation these facts become part of our living experience.Perhaps we might spend a few moments discussingthe attitude that one can do well to cultivate inapproaching the teachings of the Buddha.It is said thatone who approaches the teachings ought to seek to72 avoid three faults in his attitude and these faults areillustrated with the example of a vessel.In this context,we are the vessel, the teachings are what are to be filledinto the vessel.Suppose the vessel is covered with a lid,we will not be very successful in filling the vessel, saywith milk.This is similar to one who listens to theteachings with a closed mind, a mind that is alreadymade up.The Dharma cannot enter, fill the vessel.Again supposing we have a vessel that has a hole in thebottom.If we fill the vessel with milk, the milk will runout of the hole.This is similar to those of us who findthat what we hear does not stay with us.And finallythere is the case of the vessel in which there areimpurities.Suppose we fill the vessel with milk beforehaving cleaned it.Suppose there is some spoiled milkleft in the vessel.The fresh milk that we fill into thevessel will be spoilt.In the same way if we listen to theteachings with an impure mind, with impure attitudes,because for instance we want to achieve a certainamount of honour, or fame, with these kinds of selfishattitudes or desires, we are like a vessel tainted byimpurities.We must seek to avoid these faults in ourapproach to the teachings of the Buddha, in the study ofthe Dharma.Alternatively, it is said that one might listento the Dharma in the way that a patient listens to theinstructions of the physician.In this context, the Buddhais the physician, the Dharma is the medicine, we are thepatients and the practice of the Dharma is the means bywhich we can be cured of the disease, the disease of thedefilements greed, anger and delusion that producesuffering.We will surely achieve some degree of RightUnderstanding if we approach the study of the Dharmawith this notion in mind.73 We often divide Right Understanding into twoaspects.The first relates to the ordinary level while thesecond relates to a deeper level.Sometime ago, wespoke about the goals that Buddhism offers, in the senseof two levels of goals happiness and good fortune inthis life and the next, and ultimate liberation.Here too,in discussing Right Understanding, we see that there aretwo levels, two aspects of Right Understanding.Thefirst aspect corresponds to the first type of goal, and thesecond corresponds to attaining liberation.The firstaspect of Right Understanding is the understanding ofthe relation between cause and effect in the sphere ofmoral responsibility of our actions and our behavior.This briefly stated means that we will experience theeffects of our actions.If we act well, if we observe theprinciples of respect for life, property, truth and so forth,if we act in these wholesome ways we will experiencethe good effects of our actions.We will enjoy happinessand fortunate circumstances in this life and the next.Conversely, if we act badly, we will experience un-happiness, miseries and unfortunate circumstances inthis life and the next.On the level of understanding as it relates to theultimate goal of the teachings of the Buddha, we areconcerned with Right Understanding in terms of seeingthings as they really are.When we say seeing things asthey really are, what do we mean? Again one can getdoctrinal answers to this question.It can mean seeingthings as impermanent, as dependently originated, asnot-self, as impersonal, as seeing the Four Noble Truths.All these answers are correct.All express somethingabout seeing things as they really are, seeing the reality74 of things.In order to arrive at an understanding of thisfirst and in a sense the last step of the Noble EightfoldPath, we have to look for something that all theseexpressions of Right Understanding have in common.When we describe Right Understanding in all thesevarious ways, all these descriptions are opposed toignorance, to bondage, to entanglement in the cycle ofbirth and death.When the Buddha attained enlighten-ment, His experience was essentially an experience ofdestruction of ignorance.This experience is describedby the Buddha Himself most frequently in terms ofunderstanding the Four Noble Truths and understandingdependent origination.Both the Four Noble Truths anddependent origination are concerned with thedestruction of ignorance.In this sense, ignorance is thecentral problem, the central idea in both the formula ofthe Four Noble Truths and dependent origination.Let us look at the Four Noble Truths again for amoment.The key to transforming one s experience fromthe experience of suffering to the experience of the endof suffering is understanding the Second Noble Truth,the truth of the cause of suffering.Once we understandthe cause of suffering, we can then act to achieve theend of suffering.The Four Noble Truths as we havediscussed are divided into two groups, two of them to beabandoned, and two of them to be gained the truth ofsuffering and the truth of the cause of suffering are to beabandoned, and the truth of the end of suffering and thetruth of the path to the end of suffering are to be gained.Understanding the cause of suffering enables one to dothis.We can see this clearly in the Buddha s descriptionof His experience on the night of His enlightenment.75 When He saw the cause of suffering, when He under-stood that desire, ill-will and ignorance were the causesof suffering, this opened the door to His enlightenment.Ignorance, desire and ill-will are the causes of suffering.If we want to reduce our examination to the mostessential concept, we must focus upon ignorance be-cause it is due to ignorance that desire and ill-will arise.Essentially, ignorance is the idea of a permanent,independent self [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]