When we become arrogant

A certain amount of arrogance is in all of us.  We can’t help it.  We want to make others aware of our station in life, the important people we know, our academic degree and certainly our vast knowledge [sarcasm].  But there is a price to pay with arrogance.  When we become arrogant we begin to lose our inner sense of humility.  As a result, we close our self off to being further educated.  We forget the words of Thomas Huxley who in a mood of humility said,

“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.”

But arrogance instructs us not to give up every preconceived notion.  We imagine that we have almost everything figured out.  But soon we find that we are coasting downhill into the abyss because of our arrogance, being content with security and not truth.  This may lead to our eventual extinction.

Just an aside, over the past 20,000 years the human brain is not growing in volume.  So far we have lost a chunk of brain about the size of a tennis ball.

Traditionally, we in the West have suffered from a humanistic arrogance towards nature which comes down from Christianity.  It has become much worse in the 20th century.  This arrogance has also grown into egoism, a kind of selfishness in which our self-interest acts to put blinders on us.  Our vision then becomes quite limited.  This collectively grows and spreads.   This then becomes “humanism” which still falls under the banner of arrogance.

In a way, humanism is modernity’s religion.  Economics, politics, science, medicine, and technology accept the religion of humanism which in no way diminishes man’s arrogance returning him to humility where he is open to a new and higher vision. It only serves to strengthen it.

Buddhism and, especially, Zen Buddhism have failed to make any inroads in the new religion of humanism.  In fact, it looks like humanism has almost swallowed up both Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.

Arrogance is also spiritual blindness.  Relative to our potential to realize our true nature and, thus, to free ourselves from the prison house of rebirth we have made no progress.  We are still prisoners.  Instead, we deal with the problem by arrogantly saying in our prison of the five skandhas, “I don’t believe in rebirth.”  Yet we have no assurance that born once, already, we won’t be born again.

Comments

[clyde]

Yeti; Take care and be well.

[n. yeti]

Clyde:

“What one teaches, transgresses; for the truth (tattva) is beyond words.”

(Lankavatara Sutra chap. IX)

[clyde]

Yeti; I’m glad you’re familiar with the verses.

If you believe in Mind Only, where can anyone, Buddhas or ordinary people, go – for wherever you point is fundamentally, ultimately Mind? Or do you believe in the duality of the Conditioned and Unconditioned?

Both the Zennist and I have shared some personal history. What’s your background? And who was/is your Zen teacher(s)?

[n. yeti]

Clyde:

Thank you, I am familiar with these verses.

The basic premise of Buddhism is that the cycle of birth and death is not a limitation for the Tathagata. For sentient beings, however, the wheel still turns due to the production of karma, and rebirth in one form or another is assured.

What you seem to be implying is that because the Tathagata is freed from rebirth, the cycle of birth and death does not pertain to sentient beings. That is a very arrogant and misguided view.

I think you should ask Reb Anderson for your money back.

[clyde]

Well, I’ll offer you these snippets from the Aggi-Vacchogotta Sutta (To Vacchagotta on Fire), but I recommend reading the whole short sutta :

“A 'position,' Vaccha, is something that a Tathagata has done away with.”

“Freed from the classification of consciousness, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, boundless, hard to fathom, like the sea. 'Reappears' doesn't apply. 'Does not reappear' doesn't apply. 'Both does & does not reappear' doesn't apply. 'Neither reappears nor does not reappear' doesn't apply.”

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.072.than.html