| History of the Dhammapada | | | | "mind" as both the perception machinery we have |
| The Dhammapada is not a transcription of a single talk | | | | been talking about and theconsciousness which |
| by Gautama the Buddha. | | | | perceives the perception, the consciousness that |
| Rather, it is a collection of his words on the most | | | | isunconditioned and permanent-in other words, the spirit, |
| important subjects for thoseseeking Nirvana. It was | | | | the eternal self. ("The Selfis ear of the ear, mind of the |
| compiled only three months after his passing away by | | | | mind, speech of speech. He is also breath of thebreath, |
| hisenlightened disciples (arhats), who gave it the name | | | | and eye of the eye"-Kena Upanishad 2.) From this |
| Dhammapada, which means | | | | higher aspect of Mind allthings proceed-in both the |
| "Portions of the Dharma" or "The Way of Dharma." | | | | macrocosmic and the microcosmic sense. From the |
| The Dhammapada consists offour hundred | | | | Mindof God all things are projected that are found in |
| twenty-three Pali verses that were gleaned from | | | | the cosmos; and from the mind ofthe individual are |
| about three hundreddiscourses of the Buddha. It is a | | | | projected all that are distinctive to his life. We are all |
| distillation of forty-five years of teaching. | | | | co-creatorswith God, even though we have long ago |
| What is the mind? | | | | forgotten that and attributed everythingthat goes on in |
| "Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed | | | | our life as acts of God. From this delusion erroneous |
| and mind-made." | | | | religion hasarisen-religion that thinks it necessary to |
| (Dhammapada 1) | | | | pray to and propitiate God in order for the |
| What is the mind? The language of Buddha, as well as | | | | "good" to come to us and the "bad" to be eliminated |
| Pali, in which his completeteachings are set down, was | | | | from our life. It is this religionand its false God that |
| based on Sanskrit, so we can get some | | | | Buddha adamantly rejected and from which we must |
| understandingby looking at the Sanskrit terms from | | | | be freedif we are to gain any true understanding of |
| which the Pali was derived. (In fact, we mayget a | | | | what is really happening to us from lifeto life. On the |
| better understanding than if we rely on the Pali | | | | other hand, we need true religion-the conviction and |
| commentaries and theirexplanations, considering that | | | | aspiration forthe uniting of the finite consciousness with |
| they were begun exactly five hundred years after | | | | the Infinite Consciousness in eternal |
| thedeath of Buddha, who had stated that in five | | | | Being. The call of the self to the Self is the essence of |
| hundred years the dharma he waspreaching would | | | | true religion, and in thatsense those who would turn |
| begin to be lost.) Sanskrit and Pali have the same | | | | from death to life must be thoroughly religious. Anygod |
| word for mind:mana. Mana comes from the root verb | | | | that is separate from us is a false god; the true God is |
| man, whichmeans "to think." However, mind takes in | | | | the very Self of our self. |
| more territory than the intellect; itincludes the senses | | | | Though distinct from us, He is not separate. We are |
| and the emotions, because it is in response to feelings | | | | eternally one with Him. But wehave to realize that-not |
| andsensory impressions that thoughts arise in the | | | | intellectually only, but through direct experience. And |
| attempt to label and understandthem. Evolved minds | | | | thatexperience is only possible in meditation. |
| have the capacity to think abstractly and to determine | | | | All right: mind precedes its objects, which are |
| whatshall be experienced by the senses or the | | | | themselves governed and made bythe mind. This has |
| feelings. That is, in lesser evolved mindsthese | | | | profound implications. |
| impressions precede thought, but in higher evolved | | | | 1) Karma is the creation of the mind-is simply the mind |
| minds thought becomesdominant and not only | | | | in extension. Karma neednot be worked out or fulfilled; |
| precedes those impressions but also determines them. | | | | the mind need only be changed, or better yet |
| Undoubtedly this is progress, but like everything in | | | | broughtinto complete abeyance. Then karma is no |
| relative existence it has a downside, and that is the | | | | more and its attendant compulsions-including birth and |
| capacity of the mind to "create reality" rather than | | | | death-no longer exist. |
| simplyrespond to it or classify it. Perception is not a | | | | 2) Our entire life experience is but a mirroring of the |
| matter of exact and undistortedexperience. Perception | | | | mind. If something is notalready within our mind it |
| itself is learned and is therefore extremely subjective. | | | | cannot be projected outward as a (seemingly) |
| Peopleborn blind who have gained their sight in later | | | | externalfactor or experience of our life. So our life is |
| childhood or even in adulthood havesaid that it took | | | | our mind in motion! By observing it wecan come to |
| them weeks to tell the difference between circles, | | | | know what is in our mind. If we do not like what is |
| squares,triangles, and other geometric shapes-as well | | | | happening in ourlife, the solution is to alter our mind. |
| as the difference between many otherkinds of visual | | | | People who like to tell of how cruel, selfish,dishonest, |
| impressions. This tells us that we do not just perceive | | | | and disloyal others habitually are to them are merely |
| spontaneouslythrough the senses. We learn | | | | telling us how cruel,selfish, dishonest, and disloyal they |
| perception-it is not just a faculty. In other words, | | | | are. "Victims" are only victimizersin a down cycle. The |
| thesenses do not perceive; it is the mind alone that | | | | moment the upswing comes in their life rhythms they |
| perceives even though it uses theimpressions of the | | | | will goback to victimizing others. Action and reaction |
| senses as its "raw material" for those perceptions. | | | | are purely psychological matters, thefilm in the |
| Objectivity inhuman beings is virtually impossible. We | | | | projector-the light and sound on the screen being only |
| might even hazard the speculation thatobjectivity is | | | | its projection. |
| impossible outside of enlightenment. | | | | Change the film and you change the experience. Since |
| All of the foregoing might worry us greatly-indeed, the | | | | objects come from the mindthey can only be |
| insight into this truth aboutthe nature of the mind may | | | | compatible with the mind and therefore express and |
| well be the seed of paranoia, for it is well-known | | | | reveal itscharacter. |
| thatthe Eastern description of the enlightened mind and | | | | 3) All the factors of "life" are really only thought, |
| personality is closely akin towhat modern psychiatry | | | | attitude, and outlook inmanifestation. |
| calls paranoid schizophrenia. Some might say they | | | | 4) Study your life and thereby know your mind. |
| areidentical, but they would be wrong, for the | | | | 5) You are always in control, even though that control |
| enlightened respond to their vision withpositive behavior, | | | | may be on an unconsciouslevel. |
| peacefulness of mind, and lovingkindness towards | | | | 6) Change your mind and you change your life. (Do not |
| others. Thementally ill, on the other hand, respond with | | | | forget that "mind" includesconsciousness.) |
| anxiety, fear, hostility, and mistrust ofothers. The sage | | | | 7) Mary Baker Eddy was right: All is Mind and Mind is |
| has profound self-understanding, whereas the | | | | All. |
| paranoidschizophrenic has almost no self-realization at | | | | Action and reaction |
| all. (More than one psychiatric nursehas told me that | | | | "To speak or act with a defiled mind is to draw pain |
| they often took their problems to the paranoic | | | | after oneself, like a wheelbehind the feet of the animal |
| schizophrenics intheir charge, who gave them | | | | drawing it." (Dhammapada 1) Suffering is inevitablefor |
| remarkably insightful and wise advice. But | | | | the person with a defiled mind, for it is impossible not to |
| regardingthemselves, those same patients were just | | | | act or think (speakinwardly, even if not outwardly). |
| plain crazy and without a clue. This is aterrible and | | | | "Good" or meritorious acts done by a person with |
| cruel dichotomy.) | | | | adefiled mind will bring suffering-perhaps not as much |
| The understanding to be gained from all this is that our | | | | as evil acts, but still thesuffering will not be avoided. |
| life experiences are atraining film, an exercise in the | | | | This is imperative for us to comprehend: Actionis not |
| development of consciousness with the mind as | | | | the determining factor in our life-Mind is! And mind |
| itsmain instrument. We are to look and learn. The | | | | alone. This why inthe Bhagavad Gita Krishna describes |
| question of "Is it real?" is almostirrelevant, "Is it | | | | how bad people do good in a bad way and |
| comprehensible?" being more vital. There is a sense in | | | | thusaccrue more misery to themselves. |
| which theindividual alone exists and all that he | | | | It is so important to understand this fact, since we tend |
| experiences is but the shifting patterns of themovies | | | | to mistakenly assume that |
| of the mind-but for a purpose: insight that leads to | | | | "good" acts produce "good" karma, etc., when in reality |
| freedom from the needof any more movies. Then the | | | | the actions mean nothing-itis the condition of the mind |
| liberated can rest in the truth of his own self. | | | | that determines their character and therefore |
| The problem is that those who have only an intellectual | | | | theirconsequences. (Buddha was very insistent on this.) |
| idea about the relation ofexperience to | | | | Selfish people do "unselfish"deeds to either cover up |
| reality-ourselves-will come to erroneous conclusions | | | | their selfishness or to get merit for themselves so they |
| that may resultin very self-destructive thought and | | | | canenjoy this or a future life. Their intentions defile the |
| behavior. And those observing them will rightlyconsider | | | | actions and no good accrues tothem whatsoever. |
| them either fools or lunatics. Only right experience | | | | Instead their selfishness and pettiness is compounded! |
| garnered from rightmeditation and right thought (which | | | | This is theplain truth. False religion gets rich on such |
| is based on meditation) can clear away theclouds of | | | | persons with false promises of merit andremission of |
| non-perception and misperception and free us. | | | | sins. And even after death the deception goes on as |
| The demarcation between "out there" and "in here" | | | | their relatives andfriends offer prayers and almsdeeds |
| must become clear to us in apractical sense. We must | | | | that supposedly will mitigate their negativekarmas and |
| also come to understand that "real" and "unreal" have | | | | alleviate-or even eliminate-the after-death |
| bothcorrect and mistaken definitions, that all our | | | | consequences of theirdefiled thoughts and deeds. It is |
| perceptions areinterpretations of the mind and never | | | | common to hear patently evil people excused onthe |
| the objects themselves. Ourperceptions may be more | | | | grounds of "all the good" they do along with their evil |
| or less correct as to the nature of the outside object, | | | | actions. The truth is plain:evil minds can only produce |
| buthow can we know? The enlightened of all ages | | | | evil actions that produce evil results. |
| have told us that a stage of evolutioncan be reached | | | | How then can a negative person break the pattern of |
| in which the mind is no longer necessary, a state in | | | | negativity and escape it? Bythinking and acting with the |
| which we can gobeyond the mind and enter into direct | | | | intention to change from negative to positive. |
| contact and communication with "out there"and then | | | | Theadmission of negativity and the resolution to turn |
| perceive objects as they truly are-or at least as they | | | | from it can produce positivethoughts and deeds when |
| momentarily "are." | | | | the intention is to change the consciousness, not just |
| The knowledge of temporality or eternality is | | | | theconsequences. Without the desire for real change |
| inseparable from that state, soconfusion cannot arise | | | | nothing worthwhile can take placein the life. |
| regarding them. | | | | Unavoidable good |
| In our childish way we always think of perfection as | | | | Buddha then repeats his statement about the nature |
| consisting of all our good traitsgreatly increased and | | | | of objects and then continues: |
| our bad traits eradicated. (If we are "good" enough | | | | "To speak or act with a pure mind, is to draw |
| children toadmit we have bad traits, that is.) We think | | | | happiness after oneself, like aninseparable shadow." |
| of God as being just like us, but with Hisgoodness | | | | (Dhammapada 2) |
| expanded to boundless dimension, and badness | | | | What is defiled and what is pure? Buddha is speaking |
| impossible to Him. In thesame way we think of eternity | | | | of something much more thangood and bad thoughts |
| as time without end rather than a state thattranscends | | | | and deeds in the ordinary sense. Instead, he is |
| time. Our ideas of eternal life are pathetic since we | | | | speaking ofdefiled and pure minds. What is a defiled |
| have no idea whatlife is, much less eternity. It only | | | | mind? One that is smudged and cloggedwith egotism |
| follows, then, that our ideas of enlightenment | | | | and its demon attendants: selfishness, greed, jealousy, |
| andliberation are equally puerile and valueless. This is | | | | spite, hatred,and materiality. A pure mind is free from all |
| why the wise center theirattention on spiritual practice | | | | these things, including the root ofegotism. Further, a |
| rather than theology and philosophy. Experience- | | | | defiled mind is outward-turned and a pure mind is |
| Right Experience-will make all things clear or else | | | | inward-turned. One roves through the jungle of illusion |
| enable us to see that they do notexist. | | | | and delusion that is the world ofman's making, and the |
| At the moment we can say that we do not know just | | | | other rests in the truth and perfection of its immortal |
| what the mind is, but we areworking on knowing it. So | | | | self. Aperson who is spirit-oriented cannot but produce |
| let us again set forth the opening words of the | | | | peace and happiness for himself. |
| Dhammapada. | | | | It is as inevitable as the suffering of the |
| Mind-the source | | | | matter-oriented person. It is a matter ofpolarity of |
| "Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed | | | | consciousness. |
| and mind-made." | | | | Again we see that suffering and happiness are |
| First there is the mind. Let us go deeper than we have | | | | matters of the mind alone. |
| so far. It is possible to view | | | | |