The object of life and the means of its attainment
(A talk by Graeme
Lyall given to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of Australia on Religious Founders'
Day, Al Masjid bait ul Huda, 5th May, 1996)
I am delighted to be able to
share this important occasion with you, the centenary of the publication of the
book, "Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam". I am dealing with one
of the themes of the book, "The Object of Life and the Means of its Attainment".
What, then, is the object of life? To this question people will give diverse answers.
Some may say - to make a lot of money. Why do people want money? Because they
believe that this will bring them many material posessions which, they imagine,
will bring them happiness. Can material posessions bring happiness? To a limited
extent, they can, but is one really satisfied? Usually it's the case that no matter
what you have you can always envisage having something better or bigger. These
posessions can also be the cause of anxiety for fear of losing them. A story from
the Buddha's time tells of the Buddha sitting by the side of the road with some
of his monks when a farmer came by looking very distressed. "Did you see
a herd of cows pass this way?" he asked. "No!" said the Buddha.
"Oh dear!" said the farmer, " I have lost all of my cows and last
year there was no rain and my crops failed. I'm so unhappy. My life is ruined".
After he had gone, the Buddha turned to his monks and said, " Monks, aren't
you fortunate that you don't own any cows?". There is always present a craving
or attachment. This craving or attachment, whether it be for material things,
friends or family can be a source of sorrow - the opposite of happiness. This
sorrow or unsatisfactoriness is described in the Buddha's teachings as 'dukkha',
whereas happiness, which most people seek is called 'sukkha'. The Buddha taught
that the nature of life is dukkha. Most of us would prefer to experience sukkha
but the very fact that our happy states don't last, makes them, in effect, unsatisfying
or sorrowful. The object of life, for most of us, then is to find happiness -
a lasting happiness, but, life by its very nature is full of sorrow. The essence
of the Buddha's teaching is contained in the Four Noble Truths, the first of which
states that "Life is, by its very nature, dukkha, unsatisfying or frustrating".
Dukkha is often translated as 'suffering' but it is much more than that. It certainly
means physical and mental suffering but it also means that life is full of frustrations
- we would always prefer things to be other than the way they are. As we grow
old, we wish we could remain young. If we are poor, we wish we could be rich.
When we are separated from our friends and loved ones, or, in the case of the
farmer, our possessions, we are saddened. Dukkha includes birth, sickness, old
age, pain and despair, separation from those whom we like and association with
those whom we dislike. All of these are examples of Dukkha and that is the First
Noble Truth. No matter what is the nature of things in life, we always crave for
them to be other than the way they are. We don't want to face the fact that life
is unsatisfactory or frustrating. We always seek to relieve this unsatisfactoriness
by craving for more of this or more of that. This brings us to the second of the
Four Noble Truths which tells us that the cause of dukkha is rooted in what are
known as the three poisons, greed or attachment, anger or hatred and a deluded
mind. We tend to be attached to people and material things and when we are separated
from them, we suffer regret. We cling to these things as if they will last forever
and we find it hard to accept the fact that they don't. We get angry or have aversions
to those things that we do not like. Buddhism teaches that anger harms the one
who is angry more than the object to which this anger is directed. Anger causes
heating of the blood and an unpleasant appearance. The more we get angry with
someone and they react to our anger the more this anger increases. Anger is unproductive
- it doesn't solve any problems. Our minds are deluded because we do not see things
as they really are - that is, subject to impermanence (anicca, Pali), frustrating
(dukkha, Pali) and devoid of a permanent self or substance (anatta, Pali). Everything,
material or immaterial, is subject to change or impermanence. Perhaps you are
sitting comfortably in your chairs at the moment. If you remain in that chair
for the next three hours, without moving, do you still think you could regard
the chair as comfortable? If you remained fixed in that chair for a month, you
would probably find that you are crippled and unable to move. If you remain in
that chair for a hundred years, you will probably be a skeleton and the chair
will be fairly seedy too. What starts as being regarded as 'comfortable' can soon
change to being uncomfortable. Everything is relative. The way we see things depends
on the time, place and current situation. We, ourselves, are subject to this change.
Every cell in our body is constantly aging and dying and being replaced. Our thoughts
and ideas are constantly changing or being modified. Your thoughts and ideas,
since you arrived in this beautiful mosque, are different from before you arrived.
They have changed considerably. Is there anything in you, which is not subject
to this change? I don't think so. This is why Buddhists say, in the ultimate sense,
there is no 'you' or unchanging self entity. There is no ghost in the machine
pressing the buttons. This concept of change and the comprehension of the idea
of "no self' is difficult to accept and is, therefore, Dukkha. The third
Noble Truth concerns the overcoming of Dukka, that is, overcoming the greed, anger
and delusion that are the source of Dukkha. Accepting change as a characteristic
of life and not becoming angry or frustrated about it is part of the way to overcoming
Dukkha. This overcoming of Dukkha is termed "Nirvana". Nirvana is not
a place but could be described as a state of mind - a mind that sees things as
they really are and not clouded by delusion. Yet it is more than just a state
of mind. It transcends speculation and description. The Buddha spoke of it thus:
'Monks, there is an unborn, a not-become, a not-made, a not-compounded. Monks,
if that unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded were not, there would be
apparent no escape from this that here is born, become, made, compounded. But,
monks, since there is an unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded, therefore
the escape from this that here is born, become, made and compounded is apparent.'
Some may refer to this unborn, not-become, not-made, not compounded as God. Buddhists,
however, are reluctant to use the term "God". God means different things
to different people. Some will say that it refers to an anthropomorphic being
like ourselves who created the world whilst others, such as the Christian Philosopher
of Religion, Paul Tillich, suggests that God is the 'ground of being' - the very
fact of existence, whereas others prefer not to define God because such things
as descriptions are inadequate when speaking of the transcendental. It is because
of the confusion surrounding meaning of the term "God" that Buddhists
avoid using the term altogether. Buddhists speak of Nirvana - that which is unborn,
not-become, not-made, and not-compounded. Nirvana is not anihilation, as many
non-Buddhists claim but is a state beyond becoming - a transcendental state. It
is beyond comparison with anything that we can know in the world so how can we
define it? All descriptions are inadequate. The Fourth Noble Truth is the method
taught by the Buddha for attaining this state of Nirvana. It is the Noble Eightfold
Path. You may be wondering why the term 'Noble'(Ariya) is used for the Path. One
who walks the Path is considered to be a noble or worthy person. The eight steps
of the Path are: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action,
Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. Right
Understanding is knowledge that the Four Noble Truths lead to the overcoming of
Dukkha. It does not imply a total understanding of these Truths but a confidence
that, by following the Path, the result, Nirvana, will be attained. Right Thought
is to be constantly aware of one's thoughts and actions and thereby avoiding harm
to any living creature. Right Speech is awareness of one's speech so that, what
one says, is beneficial to the hearer. Right Action is to be aware of one's actions
and observe the five precepts of avoiding the taking of life, taking what is not
given to you, sexual misconduct, lying and deceiving and the partaking of alcohol
and drugs which tend to distort the mind. Essentially one should avoid any action
which may cause harm to oneself or any other living creature. Right Livelihood
is to earn one's living in a way that does not cause harm or suffering. Such occupations
as the selling of intoxicants, firearms or animals for slaughter would be considered
inappropriate for Buddhists. Right Effort is the avoiding of evil which has not
already arisen, rejecting evil which has already arisen, the acquiring of wholesome
things which have not yet been acquired and the stabilising of those wholesome
characteristics that have already been acquired. Right Mindfulness is training
in constant awareness of the effects of one's actions, whether of body, speech
or mind, and thus avoiding harmful actions. Right Concentration is cultivating
the mind through concentration and meditation so that one attains intuitive insight.
Meditation (Bhavana) is a central part of Buddhist practice. In the Theravadin
tradition, two forms of meditation, calm (Samatha) and insight (Vipassana) are
recognised as essential practice in achieving spiritual progress. Calming the
mind is achieved by concentration on a specific object and excluding all extraneous
thoughts. Often, the breath or the movement of the diaphragm is used as a suitable
object for concentration. At other times, objects, such as coloured discs (Kasinas)
or meditation beads (Mala) or even counting the breaths are used to fix the mind
during this preliminary practice. This concentration practice, calms the mind
and induces a feeling of well-being. It is also a necessary practice for gaining
one-pointedness of mind or full concentration. Once the mind has been trained
in concentration, the meditator can then reflect on the feelings and sensations
of the body, noting them as they arise and pass away. This latter practice is
known as Vipassana and is the means of cultivating insight or mindfulness. In
the Cha'n (Zen, Japanese) tradition, two techniques are employed. One method is
to concentrate on the breath and then try to clear the mind of all thoughts whatsoever.
This method eliminates the constant chatter of the mind and results in an awakening
(satori). Another Cha'an technique is to ponder a question (Kung-an, Chinese,
Koan, Japanese), which has no rational answer. Typical koans are, "what was
your face before you were born?" "what is the sound of one hand clapping?"
or the word "Mu". These techniques are aimed at pushing the mind beyond
rational thought in order to experience the ultimate awakening. A technique used
by the Pure Land Sect of the Mahayana is to constantly recite the name (nien-fo,
Chinese, nembutsu, Japanese) of the Buddha of infinite light, Amitabha Buddha
(Omi t'o-Fo, Chinese, Amida Butsu, Japanese). This, again, is a means of fixing
the mind on one object and not dissimilar to repetitions of prayers used by many
Christians. The result is a calmed mind, and, according to Pure Land Buddhism,
rebirth in the Pure Land where enlightenment may be attained by listening to the
teaching of Buddha Amitabha. Most Buddhists believe that, upon the disolution
of the body, rebirth may take place in a state consistent with the qualities of
the consciousness energy, or resultant of past actions (karma) at the time of
death. This rebirth may occur in human form, animal form, as a ghost (preta),
in a blissful state (deva) or in a woeful state. Each of these states is impermanent
and lasts as long as the karmic energy, which resulted in that rebirth state,
sustains it. In other words, we are subject to a constant round of rebirths (Samsara)
until Nirvana, or the release from rebirth is attained. In summary, then, the
object of the Buddhist life is the overcoming of Dukkha or the unsatisfactory
nature of life. In the process of overcoming this Dukkha, one empathises with
the Dukkha of others and identifies with them. By this means we tend to see all
creatures as one in this sea of suffering and thus we cultivate compassion for
all living creatures. All have the potential, the seed of enlightenment or Buddha
nature within them so we see each living creature as a potential Buddha. Once
we see that all creatures have Buddha nature, we can overcome anger and aversion
- two of the poisons that are the source of Dukkha. By following the Noble Eightfold
Path, we have a tried and proven means of overcoming our deluded minds and attaining
the wisdom to realise the bliss of Nirvana. May you all be well and happy.