The Essential Part of Knowledge in Buddhism
I no know, you know no
I no know, you know no
Information is the gathering of facts, figures, images and sounds that one can label and categorize. Knowledge, in its most basic definition is to perceive directly, have direct cognition of, or to have understanding of. In the Biblical archaic sense, it was seen as to have intercourse with as in that one could only truly know a woman by actually experiencing her (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2009). The emphasis on all the definitions is the personal act of experience. Foster compares the difference between information and knowledge by using the example of riding a bike. Instruction manuals will explain the basics of the bike, the parts and such, but the only way one can learn how to ride a bike is by actually riding a bike.
Foster says that the practices in Buddhism are to lead one towards knowing. In Sankrit, the word is Praj, which can also be translated as consciousness. (Shambhala Publications, 1991). This term is especially important in the philosophy of the Mayahana, as emphasized in the Prajpramit Sutras, in which one can let go, so that one can see reality and truly understand the nature of things and oneself(Harvey, 1990). As the Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen (p.171)explains, these are things "that cannot be conveyed by concepts or intellectual terms." Perhaps the best explanation I've seen so far is, "If you don't taste sugar, you can't understand sweet; if you don't taste salt, you can't understand salty. No one can taste for you. You have to do it yourself (Sahn S. , 2006, p. 313)."
Where's the Faith?
According to Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion, "Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." Blind Faith, such as stated by Dawkins, has no role in Buddhism, as Buddhism does not require "belief" or "faith" as part of one of the essential parts of the practice. Noted Zen Writer Thich Nhat Hanh agrees and claims in his book Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism, that one of the main principles of Buddhism is "do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth." It seems that Foster agrees, as he states that he has an issue with texts that translate words such as faith and belief in the Buddhist context. Instead, Foster says that the correct translation in these cases would be confidence, as that which is gained through experience. Confidence plays out in Buddhism, according to Foster, because one can see that certain techniques and facts laid out by the Buddha turned out to be true, thus one can have confidence that the other things that they can't prove immediately, are more likely than not to be true also. K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera explains in What Buddhists Believe that "confidence is an assured expectation, not of an unknown beyond, but of what can be tested as experienced and understood personally To a Buddhist, confidence is a product of reason, knowledge and experience. When it is developed, confidence can never be blind faith. Confidence becomes a power of the mind."
I think that it is important to note that Foster states that he says that belief in something may be harmful, because when someone believes something they stop examining it. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons throughout history in general Buddhism has not been violent: if you do not have blind faith, there is no reason to have to use violence to force people to believe in your religion. Instead, you ask practitioners to examine the principles and form their own insight. I believe that Rufus, from Dogma may have said explained it best, when he states "I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate(Smith, 1999)."
Read, Contemplate, Meditate
So how exactly does one gain confidence in the teachings? Foster states that there is a threefold mechanism to engaging Buddhist teachings. He explains that they are to read or hear the teachings, then to contemplate the teachings and lastly to meditate. This is based on the Three-Fold system of logic, often called the Ground, Path and Fruition system, which is used to engage a subject completely(Senge, 1987). Foster sees that the first step in engaging the Buddha-dharma is to actually listen or read the teaching of the Buddha. The next step is to contemplate the teachings to think about their relevance, their implications and their truth. The last step, meditating, is described by Foster as "steeping" where the previous two steps integrate themselves into us through just sitting. "You engage in practice by integrating what you have learned and then the knowledge that arises from meditation evolves... If you integrate these teachings in your practice, knowledge from meditation will unfold. (Senge, 1987)" Through this step, these processes one is lead towards actually knowing.
Go Buddha, Go
Armstrong states that the "later Buddhist scriptures would evolve elaborate mythological accounts" of the Buddha's going forth, (Pabbajja) but that her version is based on the straight Pali Canon of scripture. Many of the differences between the Pli Canon and that of the commentaries of the Nidanakatha has less to do with the historical differences between them, but an interpretation of the events filled with mythological happenings that explain the events that happened(Armstrong, 2001). It sees all of the events in Gautama's life as being of cosmic importance'(Harvey, 1990) and expounds on that to create an in-depth religious discourse.
Now and Then
Armstrong calls the time in which Buddha was born the Axial Age and says that throughout the world, especially in the China, Greece, India and Iran there was a great growth of religious upheaval. She sees this upheaval as part of a way to deal with the problems of the times, as a way to "cope with the misery of life, transcend their weakness, and live in peace in the midst of this flawed world. (Armstrong, 2001, p. 11)" The dominate religions that were developed during those times still exist today, albeit in different forms Judaism, Christianity and Islam are different forms of basically the same religious foundation, and dominate the world religious scene most of the time currently. I believe we are in a similar time now, in which humanity for whatever reason is looking for new solutions that go beyond the traditional beliefs. According to Jacquelyn Small in The Sacred Purpose of Being Human, research indicates "that there are some 50 million people in the United States today forming a new subculture interested in experiential personal growth these are not new agers' but scientists, architects, university professors(these people) are reshaping our larger culture stepping out of the old, fragmented ways of being and coming into your true selves.(Small, 2005)"
India of the past was a very poor country(Foster, 2003), and in the story of the Buddha, the rich had a great deal of money, and the poor were left to the streets often for begging. People were seeking ways out of this pain and suffering(Armstrong, 2001). In the United States, wealth inequality is growing at an extreme rate. In 1962, the wealthiest 1% of the nation had 125 times the wealth of the typical household but in 2004 they had 190 times as much as the typical household(Allegretto, 2006). In other words, the rich are getting richer, and the poor getting poorer.
I believe that in this country, we are facing a time where more and more people are looking now for a way out of this current trend. As the world shrinks and the average person has more and more access to information, it seems that we are more and more open to new ideas that challenge our preconceived notions. Similarly to the time of the Buddha, we are looking for something different to relieve the pain and suffering. According to the Buddhist Faith Fellowship of Connecticut, "from the years 1990 to 2001, Buddhism had grown 170% and transformed itself into the 4th most practiced religion in America.(Lewis, 2008)" Lewis says, and I agree that the trend of Buddhism is partial due to "Buddha's central message of compassion, tolerance and rationality, in which personal experience and spiritual transformation overrides traditional western religious fear and blind faith in ancient dogma and Christian mythology." Christianity has responded differently to the current economic situations, and a growing theology in evangelical Christianity is the Prosperity theology which teaches that God gives wealth onto those that deserve it(Biema, 2006).
How is this no different than the development of Caste system in India, where the poor were poor because of their bad Karma, and that the Gods thus ordained their downtrodden existence? This system was used in India for thousands of years in order to control the masses(Thapar, 2004) and even used to enslave the masses during British rule(Hobson, Unk). In the United States, the Prosperity Theology has even spouted a powerful organization called The Family, which is often referred to as the Christian Mafia by current and former members(Sharlet, 2009). Sharlet, a writer with Harper's and Rollingstone exposes this Christian Mafia as having a membership of prominent businessmen and US Congressman, and that they use Hitler, Mao and Lenin as models how to obtain power. According to him, they preach a gospel of biblical capitalism, military might, and American empire.
Obviously during these times, many people should be turning to new systems, or at least an old system that has taught for 2,500 years that the solution to all the problems, the pains of the world are not found in the powerful, the rich or even in our religious teachers but in ourselves. Buddha was able to respond to his times by revealing a method of practice that would change the way we think. Now in our times where we can kill millions of people just by the push of one button, how much more relevant is this?
The Essential Part of Knowledge in Buddhism
By: Pace Lattin
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