MURYOKO
'Infinite Light'
Journal of Shin Buddhism
John Paraskevopoulos
The Self
A traditional Buddhist concern has been with the concept of the 'self'. One often hears that Buddhism is concerned with the elimination of the 'ego' or the ego-centric perspective in one's outlook on life. Indeed, this perspective is seen as the root cause of much of the suffering and anxiety that afflicts all people. Why is it that our conventional belief in a 'self' should be the cause of so many difficulties in our lives ? Can we possibly achieve an ego-less state of awareness ? What are we left with in the absence of any kind of self ?
The Buddhist tradition teaches that what we consider our everyday self comprises a collection or bundle (skandhas, literally 'heaps') of constituents, such as form, perception, volition, consciousness etc., which are finite and ephemeral. Indeed, they are constantly changing throughout our lives and eventually dissipate at the time of death. Thus Buddhism denies that this 'individuality', to which we seem so inordinately attached, is in any way a permanent self. Accordingly, it endures only as long our lives. However, the karma generated by our actions, which are informed by our skandhas, is capable of generating another individuality (not necessarily in human mode) subsequent to the dissolution of the physical and mental elements of our current existence. In other words, although our present individuality does not survive, it nevertheless forms the seed for a future existence based on unresolved karmic tendencies and dispositions that must needs continue to play themselves out so to speak. Therefore, what survives in each succession of rebirths is not our self or personality as we comprehend it in this life but the karmic 'current' that runs through them all like a thread of necessity fuelled by an endless chain of cause and effect.
Needless to say, this outcome is considered to be highly undesirable as it involves further suffering in the realm of 'birth and death' known as samsara. This realm is one of pain and delusion, the complete antithesis of the enlightened state which the Buddha attained in his great awakening under the Bodhi tree. It is precisely to extricate us from samsara that the Buddha taught his message for forty-five years. He did so by exhorting us to realize a reality that transcends samsara and which alone is capable of securing our liberation from the misery of constant rebirths. This reality has many names but the most familiar of these is Nirvana. Furthermore, the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism went a step further and stated that this reality effectively constituted our true self from which we have become estranged during our long and painful sojourn in samsara. Indeed, the only true happiness that is possible in our human state is to become awakened to this reality as the source of all illumination, beauty and joy. It is only when we attain such an awareness and embrace it that we can properly be said to have fulfilled the meaning of our existence and thereby put an end to the karma that perpetuates future rebirths. As all such existences are finite and marked by imperfection, there can never be any true resting place for us in samsara.
The Pure Land tradition of Buddhism has been very sensitive to the existential anxieties we face in trying to free ourselves of the shackles of despair and imperfection that we constantly face in our transitory lives. While recognizing the infinite reality of Nirvana as our ultimate resort and guarantee of genuine freedom (personified as Amida Buddha), it was also realistic about the manifold impediments we face as ordinary people in trying to find genuine spiritual relief from the incessant demands of our 'self' and its innumerable cravings and desires. Indeed, the Pure Land faith denies the possibility that we can eve rid ourselves of our ego-centred existence with all its passions and distortions, so long as we remain human. In fact, to be human is, precisely, to be a being that is subject to endless limitations and infirmities. This highly unsatisfactory state of affairs is the central insight of the Buddha's teaching on duhka. So what is to be done ? Is there a way out of this seemingly hopeless morass ?
The solution, while appearing to be deceptively simple, is, in fact, among the most difficult accomplishments but not necessarily for the reasons which one might expect. We must remember that the very thing to which we are most attached, namely our 'self', is the very thing we must surrender. Of course, we must surrender to something, otherwise such an act would be impossible. Amida Buddha, as the personal face of Nirvana (which is formless and inconceivable) is not just a static or remote reality. It forms the heart of all reality, of all beings, of all things in the world. More importantly, its essence is boundless wisdom and compassion. There is no escaping its presence yet we remain oblivious to it. Nevertheless, by residing deeply at the core of reality, it is able to summon us from these hidden depths, if we could only lend our ears to this call.
The Buddha calls us through His Name - Namo Amida Buddha. 'Namo' is the original Sanskrit word denoting the act of taking refuge or surrendering. The Buddha is calling us to surrender our selves so that we may be embraced by His light of wisdom and compassion; by the true reality that infinitely enriches us and gives our life true meaning. When we do surrender, we find ourselves saying, in joy and relief, the Buddha's Name in response to His original call. This may not sound terribly significant but it is, in fact, deeply so. It signals the breaking-through of that which is true and real (Nirvana) into the realm of the falsehood and delusion (samsara). When this occurs in the benighted heart of each individual, we become aware, for the first time, that our formerly-cherished self has been but a shadowy and insubstantial chimera in the face of the 'great self' that is Amida Buddha. This realization, called shinjin, is the wisdom of the Buddha dawning within us and annulling the unwholesome karma that perpetuates our meaningless round of samsaric rebirths. This is a source of great and abiding joy in our lives and the supreme consummation of our spiritual quest. The ultimate destiny of one who is thus awakened is the attainment of Nirvana itself - an incomprehensible and eternal peace beyond all tribulation.