plunge himself into an ocean of pain. He alone can do so who does not "see the upshot," that is, the unknowing man. That is why in the moral teachings of the Buddha there are, at bottom, no good and bad men in our sense of the words, but only wise men and fools. Therefore in it there is also no contempt for the wicked, but only boundless compassion for them, who, even as ourselves, "cherish the desire, the wish, the intention: 'Oh, might the undesired, the unwished for, the unpleasing decrease, and the desired, the wished for, the pleasing increase.' But for them 'the undesired, the unwished for, the unpleasing increases, and the desired, the wished for, the pleasing decreases.' And why so? Because even thus it must happen, if a man is ignorant."* 306 B. THE SEVERAL STEPS OF THE PATH The 1. THE GOING INTO HOMELESSNESS he more exalted anything is, all the less is it generally understood, because it exceeds the mental capacity of the average man; and all the more is it exposed to misinterpretations. Indeed, because the cause cannot be removed, it is also quite impossible to meet these misinterpretations successfully. Hence it has always been the fate of the highest verities not only to be misunderstood, but also, in so far * We do many things which we would not wish a being beloved by us to do. Why is this? As soon as we use our cognizing apparatus in our own interest, our cognizing activity is forced into the service of the inclinations that fill us. These falsify cognition, hence we then act in a state of ignorance. But if the welfare of a beloved being is at stake, then our own inclinations are silent; we remain purely cognizing, and accordingly see much more keenly and clearly. If therefore we wish to know how to behave in any particular case, we need only ask how we would wish the loved being to behave. What we then and thus cognize, represents the high-water mark of our capacity for cognition. as in their practical effectuation they attract the attention of the average man, to be ridiculed. It is therefore nothing astonishing that the doctrine of the Buddha also, the highest truth ever communicated to mankind, has frequently met this fate, especially in the countries of the West. This has been the case to a quite particular degree, from the fact that in its full, practical realization, it issues in monachism, an institution against which the ordinary man of the world instinctively revolts, because, if it were concordant with truth, it would mean the severest condemnation imaginable of his own way of living, which is entirely given up to the pleasures of the senses. There are even in Europe "Buddhists," in all seriousness believing themselves to be such, who consider this institution of the Buddha superfluous! Of course they thereby only prove the truth of the old Indian proverb: "Even in the ocean, more than its own measure a jug cannot hold." But to us it will have become clear merely from what we have heard up till now about the way of salvation taught by the Buddha, that it cannot possibly be trodden in its entirety in the world. It demands nothing more and nothing less than the cultivation of the deepest contemplation and ceaseless watchfulness with regard to every single act, even the most insignificant, in the activity of the senses, so as at once to recognize as such every motion of thirst for the world in all its perniciousness, and thus allow no kind of grasping any more to arise. But how should such unceasing control of all and every impression of the senses be possible within the world? It is impossible, because in the world these impressions are far too numerous for us to be able to maintain complete watchfulness over every single one of them. In the world, it is only on the rarest occasions, and then only for a brief period that we attain thoughtfulness, to say nothing of unbroken watchfulness. "If I really understand the doctrine expounded by the Exalted One, it is not possible, living the household life, to carry out point by point, the perfectly purified, perfectly stainless holy life," says Ratthapala to the Master, after having heard him. 307 Not even the fundamental precepts can be constantly kept. "Who lives at home, is much busied, much occupied, much concerned, much harassed, not always wholly and entirely given to truthfulness, not always wholly and entirely restrained, chaste, devout, renouncing." 308 Certainly, also in the world, we may restrict our relations to it as much as possible; for instance, we may enter no profession, found no family, but these relations will never allow of being cut off entirely. For to live in the world just means to maintain relations with the world. So far, however, as these relations extend, to that extent we are occupied with worldly things; to this extent, therefore, we are cultivating and strengthening the fetters that chain us to the world. In so far, therefore, the ties cannot be definitively severed; and hence, to this extent, complete deliverance is impossible. For, wholly delivered he only is who "has cut through every tie." 308 On this point there can be no reasonable doubt. And thus it is really only a self-evident thing when the Buddha expressly asserts the impossibility of reaching Nibbana while living the ordinary life of the world. "Is there, O Gotama, any householder, who, not having left off household ties, upon the dissolution of the body, makes an end of suffering?" "There is no householder whatever, O Vaccha, who, not having left off household ties, upon the dissolution of the body, makes an end of suffering?" 309 Precisely in consequence of this his point of view, the Buddha has founded the Sangha, as the Society of all those who have left home for the life of homelessness, in order, under his guidance to strive as monks towards the great goal of complete departure out of the world. In this Sangha, therefore, not less than in the Buddha and in his Doctrine itself, as in the Three Jewels, Tiratana, must those take their refuge who wish to tread the most direct road to deliverance, as it is expressed in the formula of confession which up to the present day constitutes the actual confession of faith of all Buddhists. "To the Buddha I will hold in clear faith.* He, the Exalted One, is the highest, holy Buddha, the knowing one, the learned, the Blessed One, who knows the worlds, who tames man like a bull, the teacher of gods and men, the exalted Buddha. "To the Doctrine I will hold in clear faith: well expounded by the Exalted One is the Doctrine. It has visibly appeared; it is independent of time; it is called, 'Come and see;' it leads to salvation; in his own interior it is recognized by the wise. "To the Order-Sangha-I will hold in clear faith. In right conduct lives the community of the Buddha's disciples, in true conduct lives the community of the Buddha's disciples; in straightforward conduct lives the community of the Buddha's disciples; in correct conduct lives the community of the Buddha's disciples; the four pairs,** the eight classes of men: ** this is the community of the disciples of the Exalted One, worthy of sacrifices, worthy of donations, worthy of gifts, worthy of raising the hands to in veneration, the highest state in the world in which man may do good." 3 After this, the utter folly will probably be apparent of all those who think they must advocate a Dhamma without * Faith (Saddhā) means, in the doctrine of the Buddha of course, as we have sufficiently gathered from the foregoing, no blind believing. "Saddha is nothing but perfect trust in the Buddha, as in the best spiritual guide, won by insight and confirmed by the experiences and the facts of life; trust in the Dharma, (the Sanskrit form of dhamma, doctrine,) as in the expression of eternal truth; and in the Sangha, as supporter and proclaimer of the exalted doctrine of salvation." ** The four kinds of saints-see below!-as well as those who are on the way to it. 310 a Sangha. For they take away the blade from the knife; or, what is the same thing, they would have us believe that a bather might become dry before he has got out of the water. Such a standpoint, of course, they can only adopt because they are unable to grasp the kernel of the Buddha's doctrine, and with it, their own eternal destiny. That is to say, they are unable to comprehend that "the whole world is really a burning house, from which we cannot save ourselves quickly enough." 312 For if they did understand this, then it would be simply impossible that, instead of speaking contemptuously of "flight from the world," they should not draw a breath of relief every time they saw yet another person flee out of this burning house, and only regret that they themselves cannot find the courage to do the same. From the foregoing it will probably also be clear what is to be thought about those complaints which culminate in the objection, that, according to this, all men ought to become monks and nuns, and that the world will thus be in danger of dying out.* Such complaints amount just to this, that one would regard it as a calamity if all men were to be cured of their bodily ailments because then there would be no more hospitals. Certainly, the world would cease to exist, if all beings could be brought to realize their eternal destiny; but thereby it would only be Suffering that would reach its definitive end. However, those who are so intensely concerned about the continuation of the world may console themselves, since this will not happen, and probably never will happen. For there will always be those who far from * Such complaints were already current in the Buddha's own day. "But at this time well-known young people from the noble families of Magadha under the guidance of the Exalted one led the life of purity. Thereby the people were perturbed, became ill-disposed, and grumbled: 'The ascetic Gotama has come to make us childless; the ascetic Gotama has come to make women widowed; the ascetic Gotama has come to cause families to die out'." 313 |