Archive for May, 2008

Do you remember this verse by Dromtonpa (1005-1064) from the article on the tools for meditation?

Some think, Meditators do not need to study; those who teach need to study. Actually, learning is more necessary for the meditator; teachers may just incur the fault of explaining something incorrectly.

Have you thought about it’s meaning? It is pretty simple really. Dromtonpa is saying; it is vital for a meditator to study in order to properly understand what to meditate on. This may sound obvious however, for many studying or doing philosophy is thought of as getting in the way of real practice. Dromtonpa, however, is saying, it is more important for a meditator to study than a teacher, because all a teacher can do is say something wrong. Whereas a meditator who has not studied, could potentially waste years meditating on an incorrect object or wrong understanding of the nature of reality - Emptiness¹.

In this essay I intend to argue (not in the sense of a quarrel but, rather in the sense of a philosophical argument or essay) that studying philosophy is a form of dharma practice in and of itself. That there is real and tangible benefits in the practice of studying philosophy. Moreover studying philosophy is vital if one is seriously engaging the Buddhist path. Without the ability to think deeply and clearly on subjects such as; the nature of conditioned existence or Dependant Arising, these subjects cannot be properly understood. Do you really expect to be able to meditate on these subjects, if you cannot think deeply and clearly on them? In fact, I would argue, without the ability to analyze and use critical thinking, even the compassion spoken of in Buddhism cannot be fully developed. Therefore the wisdom lineage, as in “method and wisdom”, pervades the method lineage.

The late Gelug lama Geshe Jampa Gyatso, who was one of my teachers, a great scholar and meditation master² once said:

The Kadampa Geshes have a saying:
‘Meditating without having listened to teachings
is like someone without hands trying to climb a snow mountain’.

In order to fully appreciate the benefits of philosophical knowledge. I believe a distinction needs to be made between studying philosophy and doing philosophy. There has been much made of the worthiness of Buddhist scholars. That perhaps they are merely academics. That their knowledge of the dharma is merely knowledge for the sake of knowledge. This sentiment has, at times, caused me great concern, because I feel it is sometimes used as an excuse to do no study at all. Although there will be a time when a practitioner needs to focus almost exclusively on meditation. This is only after gaining a proper foundation in Buddhist thought. While it is true that some people think all they need to do is meditate. That thinking gets in the way of real practice and that study is for teachers and academics, upon reflection most people can see this to be incorrect. However these people may not intuitively see the benefits of doing philosophy. Therefore I will attempt to detail the difference between studying philosophy and doing philosophy.

Studying Philosophy vs Doing Philosophy

Studying is generally thought of as, the act of analyzing a given subject as a means of understanding that subject. However more often than not, we engage this process by merely learning definitions and divisions. We then think we know the material. If we are studying computer programming as a means to find employment this method of study is fine. We will be able to find suitable work and earn a living. However, this approach doesn’t work when it comes to the study of dharma. Why? Because the purpose of studying dharma is not merely the collection of information. Understanding the dharma is not merely the ability to repeat the definition and divisions of a text.

Philosophical truths are not things that we look up in books; they are truths we acquire by hearing, reading, thinking, contemplation and meditation. If you merely report what someone else says, then you are not doing the thinking for yourself. Moreover, doing philosophy requires analysis and an ability to think critically. As Buddhist practitioners, we need to unearth the wisdom of an ancient tradition for ourselves. Therefore we need to think for ourselves. We are not reinventing the dharma wheel, but we are discovering that wheel for ourselves.

Doing philosophy is therefore an investigation into the fundamental ideas and concepts we hold as true. We must challenge our every day assumptions of personal identity, free-will and even if enlightenment is possible! Doing philosophy is taking, for example, the idea that all phenomena are dependant on causes and conditions, parts and an imputing consciousness and, critically and rigorously investigating these assertions to see if in fact, this is the case. Being able to merely explain Dependant Arising is therefore not doing philosophy and therefore I suggest it is also not studying philosophy.

However this investigation is only part of the process of doing philosophy. Developing responses to these questions is an important component in this process. Traditionally in India and in the monastic traditions of Tibet, this process of doing philosophy was engaged through debate. But this required the participants be in one place at the same time.

On the other hand, in western philosophy³ this same conversation of the rigorous questioning of our unchallenged assumptions takes place via a written essay. In this tradition, the essay is the central communications device. It is the tool used to tease out from our subconscious those assumptions, to investigate them, and to formulate clear and concise thoughts on them. The written essay speaks our ideas, if you like. There is also the tradition in western philosophy of other philosophers responding to our claims via their own essays. Bringing to the conversation, points of difference, counter-arguments and objections. In this tradition the same conversation of “call and response”, takes place, albeit over a longer period of time.

My point here is, I would like to see more of this type of conversation take place between western Buddhists. We as a tradition can leverage our own cultural heritage in the form of essay writing, and use it to benefit both Buddhism and our own understanding of it. Lets not leave this conversation to only university professors and those from academia that merely engage it because it is interesting. Let us learn how to communicate as they do, and use these tools to forward the project of presenting Buddhism to the west.

There are also other benefits by communicating in this way. The most powerful of which is; writing as a means of learning. When writing in your own words for example, what is meditation, your thoughts on the subject need to be very clear. Writing is therefore a tool for learning and engaging the tradition. The other advantage is that others may also benefit from your efforts. This is something that western university philosophy departments have been acutely aware of for some time. Much emphasis is placed on the ability to think critically and write clearly. Because of the importance of these skills, students of western philosophy in universities are taught how to read and write critically.

Raising Possible Objections

Some people might object to the argument that doing philosophy is a practice in and of itself. They might say that knowledge for knowledge sake is a waste of time. That wisdom will arise through meditation alone. They assume that study is knowledge for knowledge sake. They do this because they fail to see the distinction between doing philosophy and knowing lots of different stuff. As to whether wisdom will naturally arise through meditation. I believe that even the action of meditation comes from learning it from a teacher or a book. So, if one needs to hear and think about how to meditate, how can the ultimate nature of reality dawn without any guidance? Surely if this were the case we would have already finished the job of becoming enlightened.

Others criticize those who debate details of, for example, the view of emptiness or the meaning of cessation. They believe that these things are beyond conceptuality and therefore; speaking, debating (as in the monastic sense) and discussing them will not bear fruit. That one should just meditate, they might say. However, these people fail to understand that discussion is part of the process of hearing, thinking and meditating. While it may be true that the direct cognition of emptiness is beyond words. That does not invalidate the benefits gained by investigating the nature of such things. Moreover, I would assert that in order for the direct non-conceptual cognition of emptiness to arise, it must be proceeded by a conceptual cognition, which is a union of calm-abiding and special insight. This union in turn is proceeded by thinking about the meaning of emptiness. So you can see from this, an understanding of the ultimate truth of all phenomena starts by deeply, clearly and critically contemplating the meaning of reality.

Yet others may think that combining western and Buddhist philosophy will weaken what the Buddha had to say. Besides that fact that this counter-argument commitments the Straw-person fallacy⁴, I would suggest that if something is worth believing, it is worthy of critical analysis. If the basic assertions of Buddhism are true, then these assertions will be validated when placed under critical analysis. I would also suggest that we are not conflating two traditions but, rather leveraging the tools of one tradition for the betterment of the other.

Summary and Call to Action

Given the different locations and time zones of Buddhist scholars, authors and practitioners, using the tool of essay writing to discuss ideas and thoughts on philosophical truths seems like the perfect communication device. I would like to see those in the position to do so, begin to engage each other in this way. I don’t know where or how that would happen. Perhaps one of the Buddhist magazines could help publish and distribute these essays much like university academic philosophical journals do.

In this essay I have tried to posit the benefits of rigorous investigation and critical thinking as a means of gaining insights. That is to say, studying philosophy is not merely knowledge for knowledge sake. That it can in fact be an actual dharma practice. Much of the Buddhist path is made up of insights and perspectives. So if we are to achieve the paths to enlightenment, we need to develop these insights and perspectives. In order to do that, we need to challenge our everyday assumptions on how things exist. Thus we must do philosophy.

Footnotes:

1. Emptiness is a technical Buddhist term that relates to the ultimate nature of reality [↩]
2. At the time of his death, Geshe Jampa Gyatso remained in clear light for seven days [↩]
3. though perhaps this is merely my observation based on limited exposure to this tradition [↩]
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man [↩]

According to many, our mind plays a major role in the quality of our life and how we relate to both oneself and others. Understanding this, we can come to better understand ourselves and, thereby make extraordinary advances in what Aristotle called eudemonia, or the good life. Eudemonia is a sense of well-being, a deeply seated feeling of joy. Not the happy-happy-joy-joy type but, a grounded feeling of contented joy that is both stable and constant. One that is unshakable even in the face of modern life with all its problems and difficulties.

You Are Your Own Friend

All living beings want a happy life and, every living being wants to be free of any form of suffering. Everyone has this innate wish, the wish for greater happiness, and it is not a selfish wish. However we often employ erroneous methods in our endeavor to find happiness or eudemonia. Many people, believing that happiness can be found through physical stimuli or financial security, spend their entire lives chasing after money, power and fame only to be exhausted by their efforts. They may spend countless hours building businesses and careers only to find themselves struggling with feelings of loneliness or even guilt for being away from their families. Does this mean you cannot have a good job or career? Does this mean you cannot enjoy a wealth of resources? Good cars, nice restaurants or the latest pair of shoes? No, it certainly does not. But, if we think that happiness will be gained once we have this or that item, this way of thinking will surely end in tears! It is not money, fame or power that are the causes of problems, rather it is how we relate to them that is the real cause of our problems. We usually struggle to gain them and when we finely do achieve this or that we grasp onto them thinking…my precious…my precious.

This shows that happiness or suffering is generated from within our own mind. Clearly everything is dependent on mind. And this is great news.

Knowing that happiness can be found from within the mind, we have a real chance, right now, right here, to begin softening our mind to include the actual causes of happiness.

1. Compassion.
2. Friendliness.
3. Patience.
4. Wisdom.

All these minds can be cultivated. It is possible through practice to increase compassion for both oneself and others. In the Buddhist tradition compassion starts with being compassionate towards yourself. Do you really think it is possible to have real compassion for others yet, not for yourself? By having compassion for oneself we are able to have faults yet not let these faults become overwhelming and all consuming. If this were to happen these so-called faults become obstacles. We can start to identify with them. I am a terrible person. I have this problem or I have that problem. But these faults can also be our teacher. They can show us what we need to work on. By not identifying and grasping onto our faults we can place some space between them and us. We simply recognize faults as faults and, we endeavor to remove them from our minds.

This is where the tool of meditation comes into play. Meditation is not just something you do in order to lower your blood pressure, or remove stress. It is also a tool used to develop positive minds like compassion, love and wisdom. This is why monks meditate and it is also the object of their meditations. They meditate In order to develop their minds and to remove neurotic states of consciousness. The end result is what in Buddhism is called enlightenment. Enlightenment is merely the experience of infinite love, compassion and wisdom. It is the final experience of a fully developed mind. It is something that you and I can achieve. Once this is achieved you are then in a real position to help others. You don’t stop living. An enlightened person carries on life after life showing others how to achieve this same experience called enlightenment.

You Are Your Own Protector

No one can force you to begin the process of turning inwards. It is something that you must decide to do for yourself. Turning inwards is something that Buddhist monks have done for more than 2500 years. The process of introspection is not about focusing only on yourself at the exclusion of everyone else, nor is it about sitting in a cave blanking out. Rather, turning inwards, is an active investigation into who we really are and how life really works! What western philosophers call doing philosophy. Only you can make the choice to begin doing philosophy.
The Buddha once said:

You are your own protector
Who else will be this protector.
By thoroughly knowing themselves
The wise will attain higher status.

This investigation is not an easy task. It can take time, effort and patience. That is why unfortunately, most people don’t even begin. However it can be an extremely satisfying and incredibly rewarding journey. Not only for yourself but, also for your family, friends and others you meet through life. You don’t need to go off to a mountain cave or wear funny clothes in order to start. Changing your life starts right now, right here!

There is a funny story that will illustrate my point quite well. It is an old Tibetan story about the meaning of practising patience.

There was once an old lama who was the abbot of a monastery in Eastern Tibet. The monastery like many in Tibet sat at the base of a mountain. He lived there with his attendant, a cook and many many students. The lama was a famous scholar and a great yogi (meditation master). People would come from all over Tibet to hear his lectures. One day the cook came to the abbot and said, ‘Lama I have decided to go off to the mountain caves to meditate. I now see that my life is impermanent and, I think it is important that I no longer waste time with mundane things’. The Lama asked the cook what he planned to meditate on, what subject. The cook replied patience, and then said, ‘will you let me go?’ The Lama agreed. So the cook prepared for his journey, all excited that he was finally getting his chance to meditate and practice the dharma. The following day he set off, taking with him just the clothes on his back and some tsampa (Tibetan roasted barley)to eat. It took two hours of trekking to reach the cave but, once he did he felt so good, so happy he almost cried. He told himself, ‘Now I will achieve enlightenment’, or so he thought!

About a week later the lama called for his attendant. He said, ‘Please go up to the mountain and find my cook. Once you have found the cave he is in, sneak in and slap him across his face!’ And so the attendant did as he was asked. He found the cave, snuck up to the cook and, slapped him across the face as hard as he could.

The cook angrily leapt from his meditation shouting, ‘How dare you interrupt my practice you fool!’ The cook chased the attendant down the mountain, all the way back to the monastery. As they reached the monastery and came around the last corner, there was the lama waiting. ‘How is your meditation now?’ he asked.

So, the meaning behind this story is, we have all the necessary circumstances to transform our lives right here and right now. We don’t need to go off to some exotic land of Lamas or some magical shangri-la to find happiness. It is found right within our own minds.

The process of transformation to a being endowed with compassion, empathy, love and wisdom begins with one simple thought…I can do this…I will do this!

The rest will naturally follow. In this way we are our own protectors.