Some Western Buddhists believe that there is no absolute in Buddhism, which is nihilism even though they may deny it. When a Western Buddhist says, for example, "The middle-way is the ultimate because it repudiates both being and non-being with nothing else to realize or analyze" this is a strong indication of nihilism. The middle-way is not repudiation or just the absence of being and non-being. It is as if this person were to suggest that Siddhartha, before he became a Buddha, only had to repudiate both the sensual world (being) and the ascetic world of denial (non-being) in order to become the Buddha! But this is nonsense.
Such a position forgets that our internal world of thoughts that arise (being) and fall (non-being) do so depending on the medium of pure Mind. The true middle-way, in other words, is the absolute medium upon which both being and non-being depend which is, itself, independent and non-ascertainable by either being or non-being.
It is not enough just to repudiate being and non-being to establish the middle-way. To be sure, the problem goes much deeper than averring, “I am done with being and non-being, therefore, I am the Buddha.” In fact, the main problem for the unawakened is with their thoughts arising and falling; not seeing the beyond (param). What is to be noetically seen, instead of nothing, is the glory or radiance of the pure Mind, itself, from which the arising and falling of thoughts have their dependence.
The truth of the matter is that even the most learned of Buddhists are not wise enough if they have not cognized that (tathata) which is beyond the measure of being and non-being. At stake is whether or not they can see the transcendent which is the very stuff of thoughts which is beyond the category of being and non-being.
Do such people actually believe that a sage like the Buddha is like they are? If this is true, such people are quite mad. The Buddha was more than an ordinary person. The Buddha transcended suffering in a very real sense. The Buddha lived, continually, in the glory of his attainment so that he was able to empower many—awaking in them the pure Mind which is the true middle-way. Thus, they were able to testify, for themselves, the correctness of his teaching.
The Buddha had no desire to live as a king, although he could have done so. Nor did the Buddha wish to continue the ascetic path. He realized that both paths were a mistake, leading only to more suffering and rebirths. The true middle-way he attained is the awaking of spirit from its deep sleep so that it touches the world and everywhere opens up the hearts of beings (sattva) previously lost in suffering. Had the Buddha realized the spirit when he was still the young Siddhartha there would have been no need to leave his father’s kingdom to take up ascetic denial.
Nice post - I'm just discovering your blog and liking it quite a bit.
Peace.
Posted by: William Harryman | June 09, 2008 at 09:52 PM