After even the most cursory review of his
work, its obvious that Shakamuni Buddha was a very careful
teacher. His teachings are decidedly direct, always logical and
extremely well constructed. Though many are in response to
spontaneous, individual circumstances they are certainly not
incomplete or haphazard. Even an informal reading the early
sutras shows that the Buddha’s teaching were distinctly purposeful.
Recognizing that, its important to note
that before Shakamuni shared his most fundamental teachings regarding
the nature of suffering and the path to liberation he laid a
cornerstone that deserves special attention. It’s common thinking
that the first teaching of the Buddha was the Four Noble Truths.
And in essence this is correct. But it’s also not quite
exact. Before the Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths, he set
the ground, describing the context for the first turning of the wheel
of Dharma.
“O, bhikkus, one who has gone forth
from worldly life should not indulge in these two extremes. What
are these two? There is indulgence in desirable sense objects, which is
low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, unworthy, and unprofitable and there is
devotion to self mortification, which is painful, unworthy, and
unprofitable.”
“O bhikkhus, avoiding both extremes,
the Thathagata has realized the Middle Path. It produces vision, it
produces knowledge, it leads to calm, to higher knowledge, to
enlightenment, to nibbanna.”
(Rewata, p. 17)
In the brief statement above, Shakamuni
expounds a teaching that is pivotal to correct understanding of
Buddhism and its whole history of teaching. If we let it, the
above quote can be the context in which all subsequent teachings, from
the Four Noble Truths to the nature of the Dharmakaya Buddha,
Mahavairocana are apprehended and all our practices are
conducted. And that context, that perspective couldn’t be any
more simple, it couldn’t be more down to earth. That context,
that perspective is nothing more than balance.
In our modern life we are continuously
exposed to extremes. Commercial media constantly bombards with
fickle,conflicting messages, “must do this, never do that”.
Crisis is ever present and the promise of salvation, whether from ill
health, financial struggle, personal inconvenience or spiritual need is
also everywhere. The opportunity to indulge oneself is
ubiquitous. Likewise the urge to disconnect, to reject our lives
as we find them can be equally powerful. Its easy to begin
viewing much of modern life as negative or corrupt. If we
believed everything we see or read in the news its as if we can’t do
anything without triggering catastrophic consequence.
The first and perhaps most important step
once we choose Dharma as our path is to gently and consistently try to
bring a balanced approach to all things - life, work, relationships,
everything. Even our pursuit of Buddhism should be tempered with
balance. This is especially true as we undertake training in the
Shingon tradition. Heavenly Buddhas, fierce protectors, regal
bodhisattvas, esoteric rituals, mudra, mantra, visualization - it is
easy to stray into the extremes in this rich and sometimes ambiguous
environment. As we follow our chosen path, balance in all things
can be our best friend.
Master Kukai taught that all teachings
contain important, but easily missed esoteric elements. Our own Ajari Tanaka, while spending a
lifetime teaching powerful and profound
esoteric meditation methods consistently brings our attention to the
fundamental teachings of Shakamuni Buddha. The small, maybe
overlooked teaching about the two extremes and the middle way is one of
these elements - simple in form but profound in its implications for
the practitioner, whether embraced or neglected. The Buddha
himself tells us that by avoiding the extremes he found the middle way,
which lead to his insight, his wisdom, his tranquility, his deep
understanding and ultimately to his complete enlightenment. Bibliography
The First Discourse of the Buddha, Turing
the Wheel of the Dhamma
By Venerable Dr. Rewata Dhamma
Wisdom Publications, 1997 |