Marxist Critique of the Four Noble Truths - Part 3
3) The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Dukkha Nirodha Ariya Sacca)
The third noble truth states that suffering can be transcended, over-come, abandoned and extinguished, through uprooting ‘craving’ (tanha), which is defined as insatiable attachment to the five aggregates. This permanent state of emancipation is achieved through human effort related to the cultivation of the practices of:
1) Moral discipline (sila)
2) Concentration (samadhi)
3) Wisdom (pañña)
This conditioned practice leads to the uprooting of:
a) Greed (ragakkhayo)
b) Hatred (dosakkhayo)
c) Delusion (mohakkhayo)
When greed, hatred, and delusion are uprooted, the non-conditioned state of ‘extinction’ (i.e. nibbana) is realised. Nibbana is not a special divine or heavenly state that a freed practitioner enters upon successful completion of the path. It is not a paradise of spiritual reward for a life of piety, nor has it anything to do with gods and spirits. The Buddhist texts state clearly that it is an ‘unconditioned’ state which is apparent when ‘craving’, (the root of greed, hatred, and delusion), is no longer functioning through the mind processes; but nibbana is not ‘caused’ by, nor is it a product of - the lack of presence of delusion. Nibbana is revealed by clearing the mind of craving, but clearing the mind of craving is not the cause of nibbana. The realisation of nibbana signifies the permanent extinction of suffering (dukkha) in the mind and body in relation to the environment. This final stage of the Buddha’s path has a number of different names within the suttas:
i) Nibbana (extinction)
ii) Lokuttara (supramundane)
iii) Asamkhata (unconditioned)
iv) Mutti (release)
v) Cago (giving up)
vi) Analayo (detachment)
vii) Patinissaggo (abandonment)
viii) Nirodho (complete cessation)
ix) Amato (immortal state)
x) Vimutti (absolute freedom)
The Buddha equates the direct realisation of this ultimate unconditioned state, with the simultaneous attainment of absolute and noble wisdom. For the Buddha, it is the seeing into, and understanding of the conditions of reality that is the extinction of desire, and the attainment of insight. The abandonment of craving is the understanding of the four noble truths, and the nature of existence. As volition is predicated upon craving, and is the creative driving force for Buddhist karma, the cessation of craving equates with the cessation of karma-producing force. Those who realise the highest state of craving-cessation are no longer subject to karma-producing volition – and all aspects of existence previously predicated upon its functioning. This means that although the Buddha appears to entertain the notion of rebirth in his teachings, he definitely includes this idea as being within the scope of delusive existence. The Buddha definitely does not include this idea within the realisation of the fully enlightened state where all karmic-force has been thoroughly and completely extinguished. As repetition through karmic-force is the theoretical underpinning of Buddhist notions of rebirth, it logically follows that when karmic-force is absent, rebirth can not occur. If rebirth does not exist in the highest state, then it is equally logical (as the Buddha states) that rebirth only appears to exist in the deluded state. The implication is that rebirth, as a popular misconception during the Buddha’s lifetime, only exists in the minds of those who have not broken the root of craving. Craving, at its root, is the over-powering need to survive and continue at any and all costs. The Buddha, although using rebirth metaphors and allegories in his teachings, nevertheless, also repeats in many places, that rebirth and karma are illusions that cease in the realisation of emancipation – which is really the state of extinction of ignorance. This approach tends to equate ‘karma’ and ‘rebirth’ with the state of delusion and not with the state of wisdom.
The monkish body of knowledge known as the Theravada Abhidhamma literature, states that the notion of a past life, a present life, and a future life, equates with the moment already passed; the current existential moment, and the future moment yet to come. This is an important distinction that allows rationality to take the place of theological belief. If the passing of time is clearly denoted as ‘each passing moment’ fulfilling a particular function of past, present, and future, then a past life is a past moment, a present life is a present moment, and a future life is a future moment. This association means that the superstition of Brahmanic rebirth – with its basis in imagined theology – becomes a matter of the scientific observation of time as distinct and experienceable passing moments. Craving and attachment to the experience of past, present, and future moments in relation to the existence of the five aggregates, is the essence of suffering as defined through Buddhist philosophy. The Buddha secularises Brahmanic rebirth, with its reliance upon punishments meted out by gods and spirits, and then ultimately discards the notion altogether. It is as if he is freeing the mind of humanity from its theological conditioning in stages suitable to the socio-economic conditions of the times within which he lived. Rebirth is really an allegory for continuation, and as the Buddha’s teaching is designed to ‘break’ this cycle of habit, rebirth as a distinct teaching is not required. It was probably retained to a certain degree in the time of the Buddha – despite his rejection of it – because most, if not all of his students, being of Brahmanic upbringing, believed in it fully as a fact. The Buddha utilised this historical conditioning to ‘undo’ its premise. In other words, to free his students, the Buddha applied his teachings in a manner which took into account the psychological state of their minds. As they believed in rebirth, rebirth was used to lead them out of this superstitious belief. Taking into account the psychological state of the student reduces the element of ‘resistance’ to the meditative methods employed by the Buddha to uproot ‘craving’ and end suffering.
This article continues with: Marxist Critique of the Four Noble Truths - Part 4
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2014.
The third noble truth states that suffering can be transcended, over-come, abandoned and extinguished, through uprooting ‘craving’ (tanha), which is defined as insatiable attachment to the five aggregates. This permanent state of emancipation is achieved through human effort related to the cultivation of the practices of:
1) Moral discipline (sila)
2) Concentration (samadhi)
3) Wisdom (pañña)
This conditioned practice leads to the uprooting of:
a) Greed (ragakkhayo)
b) Hatred (dosakkhayo)
c) Delusion (mohakkhayo)
When greed, hatred, and delusion are uprooted, the non-conditioned state of ‘extinction’ (i.e. nibbana) is realised. Nibbana is not a special divine or heavenly state that a freed practitioner enters upon successful completion of the path. It is not a paradise of spiritual reward for a life of piety, nor has it anything to do with gods and spirits. The Buddhist texts state clearly that it is an ‘unconditioned’ state which is apparent when ‘craving’, (the root of greed, hatred, and delusion), is no longer functioning through the mind processes; but nibbana is not ‘caused’ by, nor is it a product of - the lack of presence of delusion. Nibbana is revealed by clearing the mind of craving, but clearing the mind of craving is not the cause of nibbana. The realisation of nibbana signifies the permanent extinction of suffering (dukkha) in the mind and body in relation to the environment. This final stage of the Buddha’s path has a number of different names within the suttas:
i) Nibbana (extinction)
ii) Lokuttara (supramundane)
iii) Asamkhata (unconditioned)
iv) Mutti (release)
v) Cago (giving up)
vi) Analayo (detachment)
vii) Patinissaggo (abandonment)
viii) Nirodho (complete cessation)
ix) Amato (immortal state)
x) Vimutti (absolute freedom)
The Buddha equates the direct realisation of this ultimate unconditioned state, with the simultaneous attainment of absolute and noble wisdom. For the Buddha, it is the seeing into, and understanding of the conditions of reality that is the extinction of desire, and the attainment of insight. The abandonment of craving is the understanding of the four noble truths, and the nature of existence. As volition is predicated upon craving, and is the creative driving force for Buddhist karma, the cessation of craving equates with the cessation of karma-producing force. Those who realise the highest state of craving-cessation are no longer subject to karma-producing volition – and all aspects of existence previously predicated upon its functioning. This means that although the Buddha appears to entertain the notion of rebirth in his teachings, he definitely includes this idea as being within the scope of delusive existence. The Buddha definitely does not include this idea within the realisation of the fully enlightened state where all karmic-force has been thoroughly and completely extinguished. As repetition through karmic-force is the theoretical underpinning of Buddhist notions of rebirth, it logically follows that when karmic-force is absent, rebirth can not occur. If rebirth does not exist in the highest state, then it is equally logical (as the Buddha states) that rebirth only appears to exist in the deluded state. The implication is that rebirth, as a popular misconception during the Buddha’s lifetime, only exists in the minds of those who have not broken the root of craving. Craving, at its root, is the over-powering need to survive and continue at any and all costs. The Buddha, although using rebirth metaphors and allegories in his teachings, nevertheless, also repeats in many places, that rebirth and karma are illusions that cease in the realisation of emancipation – which is really the state of extinction of ignorance. This approach tends to equate ‘karma’ and ‘rebirth’ with the state of delusion and not with the state of wisdom.
The monkish body of knowledge known as the Theravada Abhidhamma literature, states that the notion of a past life, a present life, and a future life, equates with the moment already passed; the current existential moment, and the future moment yet to come. This is an important distinction that allows rationality to take the place of theological belief. If the passing of time is clearly denoted as ‘each passing moment’ fulfilling a particular function of past, present, and future, then a past life is a past moment, a present life is a present moment, and a future life is a future moment. This association means that the superstition of Brahmanic rebirth – with its basis in imagined theology – becomes a matter of the scientific observation of time as distinct and experienceable passing moments. Craving and attachment to the experience of past, present, and future moments in relation to the existence of the five aggregates, is the essence of suffering as defined through Buddhist philosophy. The Buddha secularises Brahmanic rebirth, with its reliance upon punishments meted out by gods and spirits, and then ultimately discards the notion altogether. It is as if he is freeing the mind of humanity from its theological conditioning in stages suitable to the socio-economic conditions of the times within which he lived. Rebirth is really an allegory for continuation, and as the Buddha’s teaching is designed to ‘break’ this cycle of habit, rebirth as a distinct teaching is not required. It was probably retained to a certain degree in the time of the Buddha – despite his rejection of it – because most, if not all of his students, being of Brahmanic upbringing, believed in it fully as a fact. The Buddha utilised this historical conditioning to ‘undo’ its premise. In other words, to free his students, the Buddha applied his teachings in a manner which took into account the psychological state of their minds. As they believed in rebirth, rebirth was used to lead them out of this superstitious belief. Taking into account the psychological state of the student reduces the element of ‘resistance’ to the meditative methods employed by the Buddha to uproot ‘craving’ and end suffering.
This article continues with: Marxist Critique of the Four Noble Truths - Part 4
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2014.