We shouldn't ignore what the Buddha said

Alan Watts in his book, The Spirit of Zen, reminds us that one may study great spiritual literature such as the Bhagavad-Gita and the Dialogues of Plato or Buddhist Scriptures “without being any the wiser” which is also like expecting “the sight of a menu-card to reach and satisfy the inner processes of a hungry man” (p. 21).  This is certainly true.  A menu has a particular but limited purpose when we go to a restaurant.  So does a recipe book which is not like Watts’ “menu-card” which has a different purpose; which requires some culinary skills on our part if we are to make a special dish to serve our friends.

The discourses of the Buddha are not quite like a menu or a recipe book.  The basis of the Buddha’s teachings, which are to be found in his discourses or Suttas/Sutras, is what he is trying to get us to awaken to.  However, his teachings cannot be fully put into words sufficient to awaken us.  This is the problem with language.  Meeting this hurdle, however, we should not ignore the discourses or avoid their study.  It is by reading and studying the discourses of the Buddha’s that we come to acquire a clearer picture of where the path lies which stretches beyond the boundaries of our flesh and bones, and certainly beyond phenomena.

While it is true that the fruition of the path certainly surpasses all the discourses that we might ever read, acquiring this supreme insight, as the Buddha did, requires a compass of sorts, even though a compass, like a map, has nothing to do with the terrain.  This is why the discourses of the Buddha are so very important.  Indeed, they are like a compass, always pointing us in the proper direction even when, sometimes, we find ourselves lost, that is, spiritually lost.

Not giving much weight or importance to the discourses of the Buddha is what modern Buddhism (I really mean to say ‘pop Buddhism’), especially Zen, does too much of.  The one Sutra Zennists appear to read, if not the only one, is The Heart Sutra.  Believe it or not, they even get that Sutra wrong along with the Diamond Cutter Sutra (Vajracchedika Sutra).  On the same score, they believe that doing lots of zazen makes up for their lack of Sutra study.  This is like believing that if I just walk a lot, without a sense of direction (and without a compass), I will find my way out of a forest in which I managed to become lost.

Incidentally, much of the wrangling and heated arguments that can occur in Dharma centers and on Internet Buddhist forums, for the most part, comes from an incomplete study of the Buddha’s discourses.  I have especially found this to be true when people argue with me on the subject of the ‘self’ or ‘atman’ who it seems have never read much of the Pali canon or the Mahayana canon but nevertheless believe that their opinions about self are essentially correct. 

 

Comments

[clyde]

Yes, I agree we shouldn’t ignore what the Buddha said.

And I’m exactly as you describe the one Sutra Zennists.

What can I say? I understand your concern. Thank you.

I will follow your example and examine for myself.

My single reflection for you is to be more generous.

clyde

[Paul]

>> On the same score, they believe that doing lots of zazen makes up for their lack of Sutra study.  This is like believing that if I just walk a lot, without a sense of direction (and without a compass), I will find my way out of a forest in which I managed to become lost. <<

Yes, and even with a compass you still need to have ‘faith’ that the instrument will function properly, or that there isn’t any type of magnetic anomaly to give you a false reading. That faith, just as within the Christian paradigm, is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” Hence, we still need some evidence that all is okay with our compass reading. And not seeking for same is not any more a disadvantage as seeking out, or watching out for these evidences in the wrong way or places, for example, unreasonable expectations. You can’t expect to become enlightened by solely visiting ashrams, sitting zazen, etc, anymore than you can become a Class A licensed auto mechanic by simply standing around an auto repair shop. Or, as as it states in the epistle of James (James 2:18), “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” In other words, faith without works (the correct kind) is to no avail; or as you have pointed out: “they believe that doing lots of zazen makes up for their lack of Sutra study.” Zazen is not solely the work you need to do!