Intuitive Insight, by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu !

Intuitive Insight, by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

Now intuitive insight, or what we call ‘seeing Dhamma’, is not by any means the same thing as rational thinking. One will never come to see Dhamma by means of rational thinking. Intuitive insight can be gained only by means of a true inner realisation. For instance, suppose we are examining a situation where we had thoughtlessly become quite wrapped up in something which later caused us suffering. If, on looking closely at the actual course of events, we become genuinely fed up, disillusioned and disenchanted with that thing, we can be said to have seen Dhamma, or to have gained clear insight. This clear insight may develop in time until it is perfected and has the power to bring liberation from all things. If a person recites aloud: ‘anicca, dukkha, anatta’ or examines these characteristics day and night without ever becoming disenchanted with things, without ever losing the desire to get things or to be something, or the desire to cling to things, that person has not yet attained to insight. In short, then, insight into impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and non-selfhood amounts to realising that nothing is worth getting or worth being.

There is a word in Buddhism that covers this completely, the word ‘sunnata’ (emptiness), the emptiness of selfhood, the emptiness of any essence that we might have a right to cling to with all our might as being ‘mine’. Observation which leads to the insight that all things are devoid of any essence that is worth clinging to is the real core of the religion. It is the key to Buddhist practice. When we have come to know clearly that everything of every kind is devoid of selfhood, we can be said to know Buddha-Dhamma in its entirety. The single phrase ‘empty of self’ sums up the words ‘impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha) and not self (anatta)’. When something is perpetually changing, devoid of any permanent unchanging element, it can also be said to be empty. When it is seen to be overflowing with the property of inducing disillusionment, it can be described as empty of any entity that we might have a right to cling to. And when we discover on examination that it possesses no stable component whatever that could be ‘self,’ that it is simply nature, changing and fluctuating in accordance with the laws of nature which we have no right to call a self, then it can be described as empty of self. As soon as any individual has come to perceive the emptiness of things, there arises in that person the realisation that it is not worth getting or being any of those things. This feeling of not desiring to get or to be has the power to protect one from falling slave to the defilements or to any kind of emotional involvement. Once an individual has attained this condition, he is thenceforth incapable of any unwholesome state of mind. He does not become carried away by or involved in anything. He does not become in any way attracted or seduced by anything. His mind knows permanent liberty and independence, and is free from suffering.

The statement: ‘Nothing is worth getting or being,’ is to be understood in a rather special sense. The words ‘get’ and ‘be’ refer here to getting and being with a deluded mind, with a mind that grasps and clings wholly and entirely. It is not suggested that one could live without having or being anything at all. Normally, there are certain things one can’t do without. One needs property, children, wife, garden, and so on. One is to be good, can’t help being a winner or a loser or having some status or other; one can’t help being something or other. Why then are we taught to regard things as not worth getting or being? The answer is this: The concepts of getting and being are purely relative; they are worldly ideas based on ignorance. Speaking in terms of pure reality, or absolute truth, we cannot get or be anything at all. And why? Simply because both the person who is to do the getting and the thing that is to be got, are impermanent, unsatisfactory (suffering) and nobody’s property. But an individual who doesn’t perceive this will naturally think, ‘I am getting…I have…I am….’ We automatically think in these terms, and it is this very concept of getting and being that is the source of distress and misery.

Getting and being represent a form of desire, namely the desire not to let the thing that one is in the process of getting or being, disappear or slip away. Suffering arises from the desire to have and the desire to be, in short, from desire; and desire arises from the failure to realise that all things are inherently undesirable. The false idea that things are desirable is present as an instinct right from babyhood and is the cause of desire. Consequent on desire, there come about results of one sort or another which may or may not accord with the desire. If the desired result is obtained, there will arise a still greater desire. If the desired result is not obtained, there is bound to follow a struggling and striving until one way or another it is obtained. Keeping this up results in the vicious circle of action (karma), result, action, result, which is known as the Wheel of Samsara. Now this word ‘samsara’ is not to be taken as referring to an endless cycle of one physical existence after another. In point of fact it refers to a vicious circle of three events: desire, action in keeping with the desire, and effect resulting from that action. The inability to stop desiring leads to desiring once more, to action once more, and once again to another effect, further augmenting desire… and so on, endlessly. Buddha called this the ‘Wheel of Samsara’ because it is an endless rolling on. It is because of this very circle of events that we are obliged to endure suffering and torment. To succeed in breaking loose from this vicious circle is to attain freedom from all forms of suffering, in other words, Nirvana. Regardless of whether a person is a pauper or a millionaire, a king or an emperor, a celestial being or a god, or anything at all, as long as that person is caught up in this vicious circle, he is obliged to experience suffering and torment of one kind or another, in keeping with his desire. We can say then that this Wheel of Samsara is well and truly overloaded with suffering. For the rectifying of this situation, morality is quite inadequate. To resolve the problem we have to depend on the highest principles of Dhamma.

An Extract from Handbook for Mandkind (PDF download) by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu.

Read more teachings from Buddhadasa Bhikkhu here.

Will special status of NE states also be removed: Prakash Ambedkar

Will special status of NE states also be removed: Prakash Ambedkar
Prakash Ambedkar said despite the special status, several North-East states were facing insurgency.

Prakash Ambedkar said the decision to scrap Article 370 was taken hurriedly. (Photo: Twitter)

Hitting out at the Modi government for "hurriedly" scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar on Friday asked whether the special status of the North East states will also be removed. He said despite the special status, several North-East states were facing insurgency.

"The decision to scrap Article 370 was taken hurriedly. Before deciding on the move, the people of Kashmir were not taken into confidence," Ambedkar said while addressing a press conference in Nagpur.

"The fundamental rights of the people are the same as per Article 14 of the Constitution. Hence, will the rule implemented in Kashmir be applicable to the states that have special status?" asked the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader.

"Will the special status of states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram stay intact after the Centre's move of scrapping Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir?" he asked.

"Home Minister Amit Shah made a statement that Aksai Chin is part of India. I see a danger in the statement as till now various insurgent groups in the North East were fighting individually, but now we have given China an issue to bring them together," said Ambedkar.

He said reservation provided to backward classes is also a kind of special status.

"The reserved category also has a special status, but the government is trying to remove that status," he said.

The former MP appealed to the government to provide details about the dams being built by China on the Brahmaputra in Tibet.

"The Brahmaputra river originates in Tibet and comes to India. I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to tell the nation about how many dams China is constructing on the Tibet side," he said.

"If that water is blocked, then the Brahmaputra water, which is perennial now will it remain perennial? Will the seven sisters of North East remain with India if that water does not remain perennial? As per our information, those dams are nearing completion in next 3 to 4 years," he said.

Replying to a query, he said, "Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was not in favour of Article 370 when the Constitution was made in 1950. I feel he was right at that time because the people of Kashmir were attached to India through their heart and mind then."

"But today's situation is different as the people of Kashmir moved away from us psychologically. Babasaheb wanted to implement the Constitution in Kashmir and the people of Kashmir were also ready to accept it. But, now it is not appropriate as the people of Kashmir are no more attached to us through their mind and heart," Ambedkar said.

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Let's talk about caste ! WE THE PEOPLE .

Let's talk about caste ,
The launch of Suraj Yengde's book saw some much-needed social insights and discussions.

BY :

Smitha Verma

New Delhi

Qamar Sibtain

Dalit scholar Suraj Yengde at the launch of his book 'Caste Matters'.

It was a book launch where people walked out feeling stirred. It's no surprise that the event in question was first-generation Dalit scholar Suraj Yengde's book launch. The thought that most went back home with was about how voices against caste had to be raised not just loud but clear as well.

His book Caste Matters, published by Penguin, was launched at the India Habitat Centre this week. And on the podium were stalwarts like Bezwada Wilson, activist and head of Safai Karamchari Andolan, activist JV Pawar and academic Pratap Bhanu Mehta.

"Caste is a reality we don't want to confront," said Yengde as started talking about his book.

"How cruel can a society be which harms the most vulnerable," questioned the 30-year-old to a packed auditorium, which was paying rapt attention to every single word uttered this scholar with the Department of African and African-American studies at Harvard University. He argued how casteism has affected Dalits so much that it has almost become invisible to outsiders.

"Dalits are not asking for something more or less. They just want to be at par with other Indians," he adds.

On his part, Wilson commented about the unpardonable way Safai Karamcharis are treated by society. "Caste seems like an illusion to everyone. But the basis of all problems is the way we are practising caste. It's a barbaric practice, it destroys human beings," he commented.

Discussing how some of the provisions of the Constitution had been tampered with, Wilson said, "I have nothing to dream besides my Constitution. When that Constitution is being taken away, it feels like you are taking my life away from my body."

Pawar, while lauding Yengde for his achievements, narrated incidents of Dalit activism and the way the ideology has shaped up. He stressed on how casteism exists in religions as diverse as Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, and how every caste has a sub-caste leading to further alienation. "Caste matters and only education will survive to eliminate this caste system," he said with a note of optimism.

It's a book that reflects the coming of age of the Dalit movement. And Yengde highlights how half a million crimes have been committed against Dalits between 2006 and 2016.

For Mehta, the book holds promise and showcases the author as a romantic. "Yengde is a rising star. The most profound insight is that you have to be a romantic to see injustice." Mehta talked in detail about how the book provides a compelling reflection of caste in India.

On a critical note, Mehta added, "Suraj has an intense desire to give this world a sense of wholeness. This desire is so deep that sometimes it makes him impatient of ordinary social movements. You are a little harsh on these kinds of movements you criticise. Even for your project that group is important."

The high-brow book launch was also attended by activist author Arundhati Roy, theatre guru MK Raina and filmmaker author Natasha Badhwar, to name just a few.