La Via Del Nirvana by Gedun Tharchin - English translation of the Second chapter
KARMA
It
is of fundamental importance to deepen the topic of Dharma:
the ultimate Dharma
is the one called Nirvana. Nirvana can be considered the end of
suffering;
the Dharma is therefore the pathfinder for the attainment of
Liberation.
It is nothing else than the oneness of all means that lead to
Liberation, to Enlightenment: studying, listening and contemplating.
There is another term in Sanskrit called Abidharma,
which stands for the supreme realization of the nature. Abidharma
is the direct understanding, the sublime appearance of the ultimate
awareness of phenomena. Abidharma
is what we call supreme Dharma,
which is the ultimate way to achieve Nirvana. By analysing the term
Dharma
we notice that it possesses different meanings. In the beginning, in
order to start apprehending it, we have to study what is in relation
with it and find out about what we need to do to connect to the
supreme, the ultimate Dharma.
When we talk about Dharma
it
means that we are dealing with the way that can lead us to the
cessation of suffering, to liberation from Samsara.
Samsara
and Nirvana
are two very distinct entities: Samsara
is chaos; Nirvana
is a mental state of realisation in which everything is clear and
lucid and in which there is no confusion left. The fact that we seek
Nirvana means that we find ourselves in a state of disorder. The
instruments that allow us to change that state and to attain
realisations, and the clarity of Nirvana,
are referred to as Abidharma.
Abhidharma
is the profound realisation of emptiness, it is the final perception
of reality, it is the ultimate understanding of the real nature of
things. The process is linear: Samsara,
Abhidharma
and after that Dharma,
that is to say Nirvana.
From
the moment we find ourselves in Samsara,
in a confused state, we try to understand and study the Abidharma.
This is the conventional level of Abidharma;
the ultimate level or the level of real understanding of the true
nature of things is different. Therefore, what we call the
conventional Abidharma,
which is connected to the traditional Abidharma, are all the
instruments allowing us to achieve the definite one. These
instruments are studies and contemplation which both allow us to
understand the nature of reality.
Presently
we live in Samsara
no
matter if we are a Buddha, an Arhat or a Bodhisattva
and want to exit that state. The means that allow us to do so are
interdependent with the essence of Karma.
We
live in Samsara
due to Karma.
The willingness to exit Samsara implies our wanting to change our
Karma.
By Karma
we mean our personal work, the concrete action to take. Everything
that happens in Samsara
depends on Karma.
Sometimes we wonder how it is possible that so many events can be
produced by Karma,
and this is difficult to imagine.
The
Buddha stated that grasping the various levels and subtle ways in
which Karma
works
is more difficult than understanding the concept of emptiness.
Besides, he also explained that all superior beings, Bodhisattvas
and Arhats,
may have realised the concept of emptiness but only the Buddha is
really able to know how emptiness and the subtle levels of Karma
function.
Therefore we cannot expect to understand everything that has to do
with Karma,
it would be impossible. I will do my best to try and explain it
though.
How
can we grasp the concept that each event is produced by Karma?
Let us start with the definition of Karma.
According to traditional Buddhist scriptures it is a state of
awareness. For this purpose there are two mental levels: one is the
temporary mind or the mind which appears and disappears, the other
one is the primary mind. Karma
is
connected to the secondary mind. The secondary mind is the mind that,
according to a western definition, could be said to be “volatile”. Anger
for example belongs to the secondary mind and not to the primary one
because we are not constantly angry. The angry state of mind arises
or not depending on the circumstances.
This does not mean that when we are
not angry we have abandoned anger: anger is within us, in subsoil, as
if it were in a state of drowsiness. This characterizes the temporary
mind which, as I have mentioned before, appears and disappears
depending on the events that manifest. The secondary mind can be more
clearly understood as a process of intention.
Intention
accompanies every mental function and there are five generating
states: the first one is feeling, the second one is concept, the
third one is intention, the fourth is inspiration, and the final one
is contact. The five omnipresent mental factors accompany every
mental function.
When
it comes to feeling we distinguish three types: pleasant, unpleasant
and neutral. About
intention we can say that every action we undertake is always
accompanied by intention, by motivation. Positive states of mind like
understanding and goodwill are also accompanied by these mental
states. Even negative states of mind like anger and hatred respond to
such a mechanism of functioning. When we are upset there is always an
intention behind our anger. The intention bears the principal aspect
of what we call Karma.
From a psychological point of view it is quite obvious how Karma
is created. For instance, if we give money to a beggar in the street
this creates good Karma.
But how does this come about? It comes about from the positive
intention that motivates our action.
Dedicating
oneself to spirituality is a lot more important than dedicating
oneself to the material aspects of life. Buddha uses the example of a
tiny sesame able to produce a big tree though.
The same has validity for us: a small positive intention can produce
big things.
Therefore
it is clear how it is possible to produce good Karma.
It is not blind faith or something we have to attribute a similar
connotation to. Positive Karma
creates positive results, negative Karma
creates negative results.
There
are four characteristics of Karma:
The
first one is certainty, it is certain that a positive Karma
creates
a positive result and vice-versa. The
second one is the fact that we will not experience any type of Karma
we have not created ourselves. The third characteristic is that if we
create positive or negative Karma,
it
will not disappear and will not be lost. The fourth characteristic is
that a small positive Karma
can generate a big result. These
four characteristics of Karma
are the bases of Buddha’s teachings. They can be condensed into
three simple verses: doing virtuous actions, not doing non-virtuous
actions and trying to train the mind.
It
is very simple, if we commit a negative action we will experience the
consequent result. The result of wickedness is suffering, the result
of kindness is happiness. The events, be they positive or negative,
depend on our intentions and therefore they depend on Karma.
Trying
to train or dominate our mind means to address our intentions, to
change them into something virtuous. So, in the verse where the
Buddha says “not to commit unvirtuous actions” he summarizes all
of his teachings about ethics (sila). If one abides by the rules of
morality, by ethical principles, it will be impossible to commit
negative actions.
The
first verse reads: “Do virtuous actions, do good things” this
verse sums up Buddha’s teaching about concentration (samadhi). The
major substance of concentration is the awareness of the mind. If one
is consciously vigilant one will commit virtuous actions. When we
lose our mindfulness we act in the wrong way.
The
third (verse) reads: “Try to dominate your mind”. This verse
contains Buddha’s teachings about wisdom (prajna) in the sense of
development of good qualities. Having wisdom means to try to
determine what is right and what is wrong. We make mistakes because
we do not have a pure view. If we had an unambiguous understanding of
what is positive and what is negative we would refrain from making
mistakes. One
therefore needs to have a solid base founded on ethics, be rooted in
morality and develop concentration. Once morality and concentration
are attained wisdom is developed.
Gedun Tharchin
Gedun Tharchin
