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1 year ago

HOW BUDDHA TAUGHT: DHARMA AS PLACEBO

The word karma is practically synonymous with Buddhism. It is usually understood as a sort of moralistic system of retribution — “bad” karma and “good” karma. But karma is simply a law of cause and effect, not to be confused with morality or ethics.

No one, including Buddha, set the fundamental bar for what is negative and what is positive. Any motivation and action that steer us away from such truths as “all compounded things are impermanent” can result in negative consequences, or bad karma.

And any action that brings us closer to understanding such truths as “all emotions are pain” can result in positive consequences, or good karma. At the end of the day, it was not for Buddha to judge; only you can truly know the motivation behind your actions.

In a discussion with his disciple Subhuti, Siddhartha said, “Those who see Buddha as a form and those who hear Buddha as a sound have the wrong view.”

Four hundred years later the great Indian Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna concurred. In his famous treatise on Buddhist philosophy, he devoted an entire chapter to “Analyzing the Buddha,” and concluded that ultimately there is no externally existing buddha.

Even today, it is not unusual to hear Buddhist sayings such as, “If you see buddha on the road, kill him.” This is of course meant figuratively; certainly one should not kill him. It means that the real buddha is not an externally existing savior bound by time and space.

On the other hand, a man named Siddhartha did appear on this
earth who became known as Gautama Buddha and walked barefoot on the streets of Magadha begging alms. This buddha gave sermons, nursed the sick, and even visited his family in Kapilavastu.

The reason Buddhists will not dispute that this physical buddha existed in the fifth century B.C.E. in India — as opposed to modern-day Croatia, for example — is that we have historical records that for centuries he has served as a source of inspiration in India.

He was a great teacher, the first in a long line of learned masters and disciples. It is nothing more than that. Yet for a serious seeker, inspiration is everything.

Siddhartha used many skillful methods to inspire people. One day a monk noticed a tear in Gautama Buddha’s robe and offered to stitch it, but Buddha refused his offer. He kept walking and begging alms in his torn robe.

When he headed toward the hideout of a destitute woman, the monks were puzzled because they knew that she had no alms to offer. When she saw his torn robe, the woman offered to mend it with what little string she had. Siddhartha accepted and declared that her virtue would allow her to be reborn in her next life as a queen of the heavens. Many people who heard this story were inspired to acts of generosity of their own.

In another story, Siddhartha cautioned a butcher that killing generated negative karma. But the butcher said, “This is all I know, it is my livelihood.” Siddhartha told the butcher to at least take a vow not to kill from sunset to sunrise. He was not giving permission for the butcher to kill during the daytime, but was guiding him to gradually minimize his unwholesome actions.

These are examples of the skillful means that Buddha employed to teach the dharma. He was not saying that because the poor woman stitched his robe, she was going to heaven, as if he were divine. It was her own generosity that caused her good fortune.

You might think that this is a paradox. Buddha contradicts himself, saying that he doesn’t exist, that everything is emptiness, and then teaching morality and salvation. But these methods are necessary in order not to scare people who are not ready to be introduced to emptiness.

They are pacified and made ready for the real teachings. It is like saying that there is a snake and throwing the tie out the window.

These infinite methods are the path. However, the path itself must eventually be abandoned, just as you abandon a boat when you reach the other shore. You must disembark once you have arrived.

At the point of total realization, you must abandon Buddhism. The spiritual path is a temporary solution, a placebo to be used until emptiness is understood.


What Makes You Not a Buddhist -
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse -
Shambhala Publications, Inc.

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