Short of the actual intuition of one’s true nature which is sudden, which happens to be the goal of Zen Buddhism, there still are, and have been in the past, those in Buddhism who have interpreted Buddhism differently.
Mentioned in the last blog, one might follow Zen master Dahui’s war against Caodong’s quietism or Silent Illumination Chan 默照禪 which was subsequently taken up by Dōgen which he turned into Japanese Sōtō Zen, a Zen that doesn’t accept the idea of intuiting or seeing one’s true nature, i.e., kenshō. Dogen sadly never understood what Siddhartha realized under the Bodhi Tree, and the purpose of Bodhidharma's mission to China, including the basis of all koans.
Some other Buddhist traditions have argued that ultimate truth is necessarily a mere absence. This was the standpoint of the Sautrāntika in which nirvana was considered to be unreal or the absence of passions and even a kind of non-existence (abhāva) being the total absence of every thing.
Turning to Tibetan Buddhism, Tsongkhapa consistently argued that the ultimate truth or reality is necessarily a mere absence. To be more concise, ultimate truth is the absence of inherent existence. No matter how far and deep the adept looks within they will find no inherent existence in things—call it a state of non-findingness. This means that things or dharmā exist in a conventional way only. Everything for us is dependently arisen there being no such thing as an inherent existence or even an unconditioned nature or even nirvana. You might almost say that it is absence or conventional existence all the way down!
But then such theories shut out Buddha-nature which is an underlying ontological reality, totally without thingness or appearance and certainly unconditioned. Buddha-nature, as a pure, dynamic essence, abides in all living beings who suffer in the world of samsara. Buddha-nature is certainly more than mere absence or quietude attained by crosslegged sitting ramrod straight on a cushion.
I see Buddha-nature not as something new which has been added to Buddhism but more of a necessary correction by which to reestablish traditional Buddhism which was more than just telling everyone that there is only impermanence, suffering and insubstantiality. In other words, learn to enjoy your doom 'cause you can't escape it.
What for me made the Buddha’s teaching so powerful was his teaching that within each of us is a spiritual germ that can be conceived by us—call it an immaculate conception. It is a direct intuition by which we give birth to a Buddha body that we eventually transform into which is free from the travails of samsara.
In my own life, trying to see what Siddhartha saw, I intuited something beyond this world—unbelievable by today's values. Still it happened. I cannot change that. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we all have the Buddha-nature. It is not an absence, or empty as in nothing. It is ultimate reality whereas this world of ours is not real in comparison with it. Another name for our world is samsara. It both deceives us and is illusory. It is not our refuge. Cling to this world at your own peril.
The older I get and the more I am disinclined to follow any dogma or doctrine. Actually I was never very inclined in the first place. Perhaps the time has come for me to depart this blog. I am preparing to depart this world in any case, perhaps sooner, perhaps later, and maybe one day I will discover for myself some greater insight that will make everything I have learned up to now seem trivial and of no consequence. It often does, really. A good example of this I suppose is this question of self or non self. My contemplation on this has for long been informed by studying sutras and listening to others with an open mind and looking inward, and keeping it as a kind of open question, one that I neither expect to nor need to conclude. If Manjusri held a sword to my throat to pry my answer, I would say what I conclude is approximately the same as I understood it even as a small child: this world is illusory, it all just goes away, but it continues as long as we are here. No fear of death, no great attachments to earth. Just passing through. And behind it all a great blank space that mysteriously extends total support and compassion. And freedom, real freedom. The more I look into this mystery the more I see the self, and as I look into the self, I see nothing there but the great blank mystery. I’m actually ok with that. My doubts are put to rest. I let it go, I let it go, I let it go…and what’s left has only ever been there from the beginning, and what remains, who can say. I hope it amounts to something worthwhile at the end of the day. If I had to sum it up, I suppose I could say the zero point is the same as the absolute, but that wouldn’t even touch the matter. Be well everyone.
Posted by: n. yeti | February 27, 2019 at 11:48 AM
Tsongkhapa was a Gelugpa, which is one of four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Unfortunately, the same tendency towards nihilism tends to be present in the other three as well. One exception would be a small sect that emerged in the 13th century called Shentong, founded by Dolpopa. He said that his realization was not of a mere absence but of an Absolute that had qualities, such as luminosity and goodness.
Posted by: Jack | February 26, 2019 at 09:43 PM