BUDDHISM IN A NUTSHELL
Buddhism in a Nutshell [draft]
june 2003
It is perfectly possible to compress the entire practice and
understanding of Buddhism into a very small compass of words, or into a
nutshell. And to attempt this is a very worthwhile exercise. This task has
always been one of
the great concerns of high lamas when giving public teachings, so as to
give a short address that contains sufficient depth for the advanced
student to appreciate, but also containing a simple overview for the less
advanced – profundity combined with lucidity.
Apart from trying to ‘do good, avoid evil and purify the mind’
[Dharmapada], which are most certainly the primary activities of the
Buddhist life, then briefly, to gain a full and true understanding of
Buddhism, replete with
powerful insights, one needs above all else, to gain a very deep grasp
of impermanence and then to combine this with the stillness of meditation.
Those two need to be cooked long together. Once impermanence is fully
grasped, and peace obtained, it must be crowned with the glory of
compassion for all living beings, just as if they were our own dear
mothers. This last point is not easily followed.
The dear and tender, fragile preciousness of all living beings is only
truly appreciated in the light of impermanence or once impermanence has
been fully grasped. It is best to see this against the vast immensity, and
the painful,
raging melting-pot of the inexorable disintegratedness of samsara,
which is a raging furnace of change, a ruthless and all-consuming
continuum of flux, change, decay, disappointment and loss. Against such a
raging maelstrom,
containing as it does the inevitable nature of death, the fragile
nature of each life form stands out as so precious and tender. Once the
preciousness of each life is drawn against the terrifying background of
samsara’s cargo
of pain and loss, that will inevitably be delivered, then this view
generates the deep compassion one needs: a true sense of the great
preciousness of all life.
Thus, in summary, Buddhism combines the wisdom of emptiness with the
utter joy of compassion, set in the stillness of an empty meditating mind.
Contemplating regularly along these lines brings great mental bliss and
pliancy and one attempts thereby to transform feelings of unhappiness
into states of greater joy.
This sequence of meditation on impermanence and emptiness and then
realisation of compassion is also the sequence followed by the Buddha
himself in his enlightenment experience. It was his realisation of
emptiness that gave rise to, or laid the foundation for, his subsequent
realisation of deep compassion [bodhicitta]. After his Enlightenment,
which can be regarded as his realisation of the emptiness of all
existence, the true nature of samsara, he subsequently realised the
supreme power of compassion, which is regard for the preciousness of all
life. He thus came to blend both views by realising that all events can be
seen as aspects of bliss and emptiness.
The love and compassion we generate for all living things must
constantly be measured against their certain death, and the disappointment
and suffering that samsara will inevitably inflict upon them. Repeated
contemplation of
this deepens and reinforces one’s sense of compassion Thus, emptiness
and compassion really do feed and reinforce each other as topics of
meditation.
By continually mingling in this way the contemplation of suffering and
impermanence with contemplation of compassion for living things, one
gradually deepens and extends one’s feelings of great love for all living
beings, on the one side, and deepens one’s realisation of the pervasive
emptiness of all created things, on the other side.
I try to observe all people in terms of their suffering state, because
this reinforces my feeling of love for them. It deeply reinforces a sense
of compassion for them. I try to especially love them for their faults and
impurities, just as they are in their innate suchness. I try to tune into
and feel the suffering that they feel, their sadness, their pain, their
loneliness, their fears, their hurt, their unhappinesses – because to do
so refines my sense of compassion, and leads to an appreciation both of
emptiness and compassion together. Each person can be observed as a focal
point for the interplay of emptiness and suffering. This is in fact a very
difficult perception to grasp. It is indeed genuinely very hard for most
people to regard their pain as a blend of bliss and emptiness!
Yet, the suffering of each living being is and can eventually be seen
as an aspect of bliss and emptiness, for ‘form is emptiness; emptiness is
form’ [Heart Sutra]. Thinking along these lines is very fertile and one
realises that each individual is a slightly different blend of forms of
suffering, some mostly desire, others mostly hate, some mostly fear,
others mostly loneliness, depression or despair. However, it is not a
purpose of Buddhism to stand in judgement over people, to condemn them for
the suffering they endure in samsara. But it is a purpose of Buddhism to
study suffering, and to attune to these facts of our lives, to understand
them and to use them in religious practice to refine our own good
qualities, like compassion, love, forgiveness and acceptance, as well as
to contemplate these unpleasant aspects of life as ‘cocktails’ of bliss
and emptiness.
Therefore, we might say that deep scrutiny of our lives and the
suffering it contains, as well as the suffering of others, not only
inspires us to feel deeper compassion for them, it can also be employed as
a meditation in its own right, leading to deeper understanding of
emptiness, which is undoubtedly the most advanced and difficult Buddhist
teaching.