RIGHT UNDERSTANDING (samma ditthi)
The first practice of the path is Right Understanding. As
we have emphasized already, the Noble Eightfold Path like paticca
samuppada has no ultimate beginning or end but is rather a
dynamic set of interlinking practices leading to the extinguishing
of Dukkha. With this understood, Right Understanding is one of
the essential links in the path. It forms the starting point in
the initial awakening of saddha as well as the highest
fruit of the path in liberative wisdom (panna) which leads
to extinguishing Dukkha. As a reminder away from the objectifications
of Clinging to views (ditthupadana), Right Understanding
is a process of awareness, analysis and action that continues
to refine as we tread the path. In Right Understanding and Right
Intention, the Buddha developed a system of mental development.
In social terms we can understand this as a kind of Dhammic Pedagogy,
a systematic method of education which integrates the mind and
spirit.1
As we have noted, Right Understanding works on the initial level
of saddha and the higher level of wisdom (panna.).
This initial, mundane level of saddha is very useful and
applicable at the culmination of paticca samuppada in Aging
& Death (jaramarana). This is the level of ethical
action where through saddha and some initial insight, we
begin to try to act in ways that are ethically good. The higher
level represents a step beyond this. After our awareness and practice
have matured through following all the practices of the path,
we begin to gain a liberative awareness which goes beyond ethics
and the pitfalls of positive and negative thinking which we saw
in Clinging to Being (bhavatanha) and Cling to Non-Being
(vibhavatanha). At this level, we have rolled back the
concocting of paticca samuppada and begin to dissolve the
core defilement (kilesa) of Ignorance (avijja).
Although the initial ethical level of the Right Understanding
is where we normally begin, I would like to discuss some aspects
of the higher level as it concerns our consumer societies. This
higher level of Right Understanding corresponds to the very foundations
of our world view. In Chapter I, we explored the development of
modern man's world view in the development of the scientific and
mercantile revolutions. It is time now to explore the core foundation
of this Dhammic Pedagogy and the ways it differs from this present
world view.--> A Dhammic Pedagogy:
True Religion and True Science
RIGHT INTENTION (samma sankappa)
The five supporting
factors of our Dhammic Pedagogy began the process of putting Right
Understanding into action. This process continues in Right Intention
which further moves our Pedagogy forward into the three sila
of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. Flowing out
of our awareness and analysis of the consumer world around us,
we take these initial tastes of wisdom and begin to apply them
in the direction of benefit, firstly in terms of ourselves in
renunciation (nekkhamma) and then onward to others in good
will (abyapada) and harmlessness (avihimsa).
On the higher supramundane level, Right Intention means penetrating
and understanding our thinking patterns. As this is a process
of unraveling the more unconscious aspects of our mind which take
place before phassa, it is a practice we must consider
after first establishing ourselves in all eight factors of the
path. On the initial level of application, Right Intention corresponds
more to ethical thought ("wise want")2 and action which
aid us in confronting Craving-Clinging-Bhava. As we are still
not ready for the highest practice of going beyond positive and
negative (as seen in the cooperative law of nature), we should
focus on these three practices of renunciation, good will and
harmlessness.
1) Renunciation (nekkhamma)
Renunciation offers an extremely rich practice for us in our very
sensually indulgent consumer societies. Like the idea of duty,
renunciation is not a term that strikes us as very fun or friendly.
These terms feel like being drafted into the military. Renunciation
is no repression, however, but rather changing our perspective
on our attachments so that they no longer bind us. In the words
of Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, "Renunciation does not mean
giving up the things of this world but accepting that they go
away." This acceptance is an understanding of Impermanence
and idappaccayata, and thus shows how renunciation can
link us to the ecology of nature. Renunciation also ties us to
the higher levels of the nirodhavara in links #8 disenchantment
(nibbida) and #9 dispassion and fading away (viraga)
which lead to liberation (vimutti).3
As we saw earlier, following a practice of material and spiritual
requisites is a good way to realize this practice of renunciation
in our daily lives.
Concerning the four material requisites
this might mean:
a) food - confining our desires for snacks and sweets within the
two or three healthy meals a day as opposed to skipping or eating
incomplete meals because we snack too much. Renunciation with
food also involves taking time to eat properly with the TV and
newspaper put away and to chew and swallow properly.
b) clothing - again confining our desires for fashion within functionality.
Instead of buying two pairs of sports shoes, one for playing and
the other for relaxing, see if one pair can do the job. Making
sure that the things we buy are practical and comfortable so that
we'll continue to wear them after the fashion of them has passed.
c) shelter - avoid cluttering our houses with too many things.
Simple decoration enables the mind to be calm and uncluttered.
Some thoughts on this topic from Buddhadasa Bhikkhu:
Now homes are cluttered with things that nobody needs. Behind our homes the junk of unnecessary desires has piled up. This is both a problem and a burden. Further, it leads to competition over material goods and results in conflict and destruction. It destroys material peace and the physical ecology. Why not survey your homes to see how many totally unnecessary things there are? And how many genuinely necessary things are there? Some homes are absolutely cluttered with unnecessary luxuries and junk. I heard on the radio recently that a foreign couple spent $1000 to buy a pair of dove cages, one for the wife and one for the husband. They bought the best quality cages made in the South. When asked why they spent so much money on dove cages, they replied that they would put light bulbs inside to make some fancy lampshades. Just more unnecessary stuff to clutter their house? This is the way people do things nowadays. How long will we go on destroying what is correct and sufficient on its own?4
Further, housing and decoration that encourages intimacy with nature helps us make connections with natural ecology which can influence our inner ecology. Making houses out of fine woods may no longer be a responsible option, but avoiding windless concrete apartment buildings and using the Chinese architectural style of creating roofless spaces inside of the house are ways to increase our connection with nature and our basic health.
d) medicine - learn how simple herbs, spices, vegetables and other
foods can solve minor health problems. Ginger and honey tea clears
and flushes a cold effectively while being a lot cheaper and less
debilitating than powerful pharmaceutical drugs. Changing our
attitudes about intoxicants. Seeing them as medicines which should
only be used sparingly to benefit health and not as mental recreation.
A small glass of alcohol every day is supposedly good for the
health, but six beers is not.
As we have seen so many times, the Buddha's methodology is based
in moderation and middle way. Renunciation guides us to neither
over indulge nor waste energy despising physical forms. When we
begin to go beyond positive and negative, our attachments begin
to fade away and a natural ecology develops between us and the
things we consume.
Concerning our three new spiritual
requisites this might mean:
a) life - learn to take the time instead of making excuses
about not having the time for quiet, solitude, and personal
development through wholesome art and learning. Not everything
has to be done with a friend or partner. When we go spend time
with ourselves, we get in touch with our real feelings and more
greatly value our human connections when we return to them. Not
everything has to be a peak experience either. Learn how to appreciate
equanimity as a state of peace beyond positive and negative as
opposed to a state of numbness caught between positive and negative.
Having the TV on all the time disrupts the opportunities for this
kind of peaceful solitude and watching hours of it pacifies the
mind as we watch others create and activate.
b) society - we have seen how important it is to have kalyanamitta
to introduce and guide us along the path. Seek out relationships
based on the principals of kalyanamitta. Sex is the culmination
of a relationship not the criteria by which we begin relationships.
Relearn the art of conversation which gets lost in quick calls
on portable phones, in answering machines, and group trance in
front of the TV. Technology through the development of media,
faxes, phones and the internet is supposed to create connections.
However, it often results in the opposite as we avoid direct human
contact by watching strangers on the TV and sending faxes and
leaving messages instead of interacting directly. Seek to develop
relationships with those in your neighborhood or create a circle
of friends who meet regularly in person for a sustained period
of time.
c) nature - immersion in nature is a critical practice of de-alienation.
It is probably the central factor of the alienation of living
in cities. Seek out interactions with nature which do not focus
on objectified experience like going to see a beautiful
place. Immersion means using all the senses to experience interconnection
and Not-self. Seek out interactions with nature which cultivate
connection and allow for solitude. This can be accomplished in
city parks. The key is to not experience nature as other in "environment"
but to experience nature as oneself. To experience the cooperative
dynamics of idappaccayata is to learn to not squirm away
from a little dirt or a few insects. Once we learn their place
in nature, we begin to view their contributions, accept their
nuisances or petty dangers to our bodies, and cultivate a feeling
harmlessness towards them.
As all these seven practices interpenetrate, they build in energy
and momentum. This can happen in an unskillful way. For example,
when clothing that whips up a little too much Clinging to sensual
form (kamupadana) is combined with medicines used a recreational
entertainment, things can get out of control and our social interactions
can develop into consumption of the body. We can do things skillfully,
however. When our approach to food, clothing, shelter and medicine
is simplified, we clear out much new space in our lives. This
space provides quiet time to reflect on real priorities, free
time to explore relationships beyond the physical and superficial,
and all the time to experience connection with the natural world,
even for city dwellers in their own unique habitat.
2) Good Will (abyapada)
3) Harmlessness (avihimsa).
As we are beginning to see, this practice of renunciation begins
to spill into the other two factors of good will and harmlessness.
As nature is one large cooperative project, the act of renunciation
in oneself translates into an act of giving (dana) to others.
By being less selfish with material resources, there is a greater
abundance for all beings as well as cutting down on the amount
of waste we produce and burden others with. By being less selfish
with spiritual resources, we provide others with greater emotional
nourishment and end the harmful practices of exploitation (sexual,
labor, environmental) for selfish purposes.
The Buddha offered specific meditation practices for the development
of good will and harmlessness. Since we consider these feelings
to be spontaneous, we might feel phony in trying to develop them.
However, if we don't have a secure foundation of them within ourselves,
we are more likely to be spontaneously nasty and harmful. As we
saw in the Buddha's emphasis on process and means as ends, by
thinking good thoughts, we develop a predilection to good thoughts.
Bhikkhus, whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will become the inclination of his mind. If one frequently thinks and ponders upon thoughts of sensual desire, one has abandoned the thought of renunciation to cultivate the thought of sensual desire, and then one's mind inclines to thoughts of sensual desire......Whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will become the inclination of his mind. If one frequently thinks and ponders upon thoughts of renunciation, one has abandoned the thought of sensual desire, and then one's mind inclines to thoughts of renunciation.5
In the meditation practices of metta (friendliness) and karuna (compassion), we learn to extend our feelings of good will and harmlessness from those that we love to those who we simply know to those who we actually dislike. As we develop this skill, we begin to go beyond the limited ethics of good and bad and the prison of positive and negative. The next two steps in this process then emerge, muditha (joy in the joy of others) and finally upekkha (equanimity). When our competitive athletes sometimes realize these characteristics in fully congratulating an opponent, true sport is achieved. To realize this in society, we need to establish a true ecology where humans go beyond the pettiness of competition and enjoy the give and take of cooperation.
In this way, Right Intention calls for Right Leadership.6 In the
same way that Right Intention leads our Dhammic Pedagogy into
the action of sila, we need leaders like kalyanamitta
who "are well prepared with the proper qualities to teach,
suggest, point out, encourage, assist and give guidance"7
These leaders are steeped in Right Understanding as the panna
of benefiting others and follow deeply the three practices of
Right Intention: renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. Today,
we consider libertarian democracy to be our highest form of government,
but unfortunately our leaders within this system do not pay much
mind to Right Understanding and Right Intention. Public service
has been grounded in these values of renunciation and good will.
Unfortunately, in our free market democracies, the growing role
and influence of powerful business interests have helped to devolve
politics into a competition of private interests where leaders
receive personal benefits for their partisan efforts. In our practice
of the Eightfold Path, we must work to deconcoct these profit
based values which underlie consumerism and transform our leadership
from within through Right Understanding and Right Intention and
from without through the practices of sila .
NOTES:
1 see Santikaro Bhikkhu's ideas on Right Education and Right Religion
as social forms of Right Understanding in Watts, Jonathan; Senauke,
Alan; and Santikaro Bhikkhu, eds, Entering the Realm of Reality:
Towards Dhammic Societies (Bangkok: International Network
of Engaged Buddhists (INEB), 1997), 129-33.
2 Buddhadasa, "Conserving the Inner Ecology".
3 Majjhima Nikaya, Saccavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the
Truths, 141:22-25 (III.251).
4 Buddhadasa, "Conserving the Inner Ecology".
5 Majjhima Nikaya, Dvedhavitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought 19:6,
11 (I.115-116).
6 Santikaro Bhikkhu develops this idea of Right Leadership and
Right Organization&Government coming from Right Intention
in Entering the Realm of Reality, 133-37.
7 Payutto, Buddhadhamma, 224-25.