Hendersonian Museum: 81. "The Path of Perfection" -- Juan Mascaro's Introduction to the Dhammapada (Buddhist Wisdom)

Excerpts
from

"The
Dhammapada:
The Path
of Perfection",

translated
from
the Pali
with an
introduction
by
Juan Mascaro,

Penguin Books,

1973

+++

The Dhammapada
is a collection
of 423 aphorisms
which,
in Pali verse form,
are revered
by southern Buddhists
as illustrative
of
the Buddhist
dhamma
or
moral system.

It was incorporated
before
the beginning of
the Christian era
into
the fifth section
(nikaya)
of
the Pali
sutta-pitaka,
or
collection
of
sermons.

+

Juan Mascaro
was born
in Majorca.

The beauty
of the island,
then un-spoilt,
and
the strength
of
the living
folk tradition
made
a deep impression
on him
as a child.

At
the age of thirteen
he copied
a book
on
occultism,
but
this proved
spiritually
misleading.

However,
a reading
of
the
Bhagavad Gita
he found
highly illuminating,
though
it was in
a poor translation,
and
this
led him
to learn
the elements
of Sanskrit.

Later
he went
to Cambridge,
where he read
modern
and
oriental languages,
Sanskrit,
Pali,
and English.

He lectured
in Oxford,
on
the Spanish mystics,
and
then went to Ceylon,
where he was
Vice-Principal
of
Parameshvara College
at Jaffna,
and to
the University
of Barcelona,
where he was
Professor of English.

After
the Spanish Civil War
he settled
permanently
in England.

He lived at first
on the hills
above Tintern Abbey;
he translated
some Upanishads
and
began the translation
of
the Bhagavad Gita,
both
Penguin classics.

He then returned
to
Cambridge University,
where
he has been
a supervisor
in English
and
has lectured on
"Literary
and
Spiritual Values
in
the
Authorized Version
of the Bible".

He is now
[in 1973?]
collecting materials
for a book
to be called
"A New Life".

In 1951
he married
Miss Kathleen Ellis,
and
they have
a son and a daughter.

[Taken
from
the fly page.]

+++

Introduction

The Pali
word
Dhamma
corresponds
to
the Sanskrit
Dharma,
the
first word
of
the
Bhagavad Gita
when
the field
of Dharma,
the field
of Truth,
is mentioned.

Pali,
the language
of
the
Buddhist scriptures
of
Ceylon,
Burma
and
Indochina,
is connected
with
Sanskrit
just as
Italian
is
connected
with
Latin.

As in Italian,
most words end
in
a vowel sound,
and
most consonants
are softened
to
a double consonant:
thus
Sanskrit Dharma
becomes
Dhamma
in Pali,
and
Nirvana
becomes
Nibbana.

The
Pali scriptures
are
reckoned to be
about
eleven times
as long
as
the Bible.

Besides
the scriptures
in Pali,
there is
a vast Buddhist
literature
written in
Sanskrit
and in
Chinese
and
Tibetan
translations.

The word
Dhamma
is
of
supreme importance
in Buddhism,
and
behind
the mere word
there is
the highest
spiritual meaning.

Dhamma
comes from
the Sanskrit root
DHR,
which carries
the meaning
"to support,
to remain"
and thus
of
"law,
a moral law,
a spiritual law
of righteousness,
the eternal law
of the Universe,
Truth".

In
Christian terms
it corresponds
to
"the will of God".

Pada,
both
in Sanskrit
and Pali,
means
"foot, step"
and thence
has
the meaning
of
a path.

Thus
Dhammapada
suggests
the Path
of Dhamma,
the
right path
of life
which leads us
to
the supreme Truth.

The
Dhammapada
is
the path of Truth,
the path of light,
the path of love,
the path of God.

Even if we
do not reach
the end
of
the path,
the joys
of
the pilgrimage
are ours.

We
can buy them
"without money
and
without price".

What is
in truth
the Path supreme
becomes
for us all
the Path
of Perfection.

The word
Buddha
comes from
the root
BUDH,
to
be awake,
to
be conscious of,
to
know.

From
the same root
comes
the word
Buddhi
found
in
the Bhagavad Gita
and
meaning
in different contexts:
intelligence,
reason,
vision,
wisdom.

It is
the faculty of man
that helps him
to distinguish
what is
good and beautiful
from what is
evil and ugly,
what is true
from
what is false,
and thus
helps him
to
walk on the path
where
the great prayer
of
the Upanishads
finds its fulfillment:

From delusion

lead me to Truth.

From darkness

lead me to Light.

From death

lead me to Immortality.

The
progress
of man
on this earth
is
a
slow awakening,
and
every
poetical
or
artistic vision
and
every discovery
is
an awakening;
but
behind
man's visions
of something
infinite
in the finite
and
of something
eternal
in things
that pass away
that make possible
his creations
of
art
and
poetry
and
all the discoveries
of science,
there is
the great awakening
into the law
of Dharma,
the eternal
Nirvana,
the Kingdom of heaven.

The call for
an awakening
is heard
from many
spiritual seers.

We hear Kabir,
1440 - 1518,
the Indian saint
and poet,
saying:

"O, friend,

awake

and

sleep no more!

The night

is over and gone,

would you

lose your day

also?

You have slept

for

unnumbered ages;

this morning

will you not

awake?"

[translated by

Rabindranath Tagore]

We can listen

to
the great poetry
of
Jalal'ud-Din Rumi,
1207 - 1273,
the Sufi mystic
in his
Shamsi Tabriz:

"O lovers,

O lovers,

it is time

to abandon

the world;

The drum

of departure

reaches

my spiritual ear

from heaven.

Behold,

the driver

has risen

and

made ready

the file of camels,

And begged us

acquit him

of blame:

why,

O travelers,

are you asleep?

These sounds

before and behind

are

the din of departure

and of

the camel-bells;

With each moment

a soul and a spirit

is setting off

into the Void.

From these stars

like inverted candles,

from these

blue awnings

of the sky

There has

come forth

a wondrous people,

that

the mysteries

may be revealed.

A heavy slumber

fell upon thee

from

the

circling spheres:

Alas

for this life

so light,

beware

this slumber

so heavy!

O soul,

seek

the Beloved,

o friend,

seek

the Friend,

O watchman,

be wakeful:

it behooves not

a watchman

to sleep.

On every side

is clamor

and tumult,

in every street

are torches

and candles,

For tonight

the teeming world

gives birth

the world everlasting.

Thou wert dust

and

art

a spirit,

thou wert ignorant

and

art

wise."

[Translation by R. A. Nicholson]

Buddha

was the name
given
to
the Indian prince
Gotama,
563 - 483 B.C.,
when
after six years
of strenuous
spiritual struggle
he awoke
into
the infinite Light.

In the radiance
of this Light
he gave us
words of wisdom
and love,
words
that have
helped travelers
in times past,
that help us
now,
and
that shall help men
in times to come.

Because
whatever
an
unimaginable future
may bring to man
in ages unborn,
the great words
of his
spiritual leaders
shall be
for ever
his Light;
and
the words
of Jesus
give expression
to
this truth:

"Heaven

and

earth

shall

pass away,

but

my words

shall not

pass away."

What

has been
a Light
for a few
shall be
in time
a Light
for all.

Buddha
was a prince
and
was born to be
a king,
but
he felt
the vanity
of
earthly kingdoms
and
longed for
a kingdom
of heaven,
Nirvana.

In
the poetical story
of Buddha's
childhood
and youth
we are told
that his father,
the king,
in fear
that his only son
might one day
leave his court
and
become
a mendicant ascetic,
as it was foretold
at his birth,
decided
to surround
the prince
with
all kinds
of pleasures,
built for him
three palaces
for
the three
Indian seasons
and
arranged
that his son
might never see
an old man,
a sick man,
a corpse,
or
a mendicant ascetic.

As fate decreed,
the young prince
in time
saw the four,
and
the mystery
of
the sorrow of life
did not allow him
to rest.

He felt
the longing
for something real
behind
the transience of things,
that longing
that made
the Hebrew prophet
say:

"As the hart

panteth after

the

water brooks,

So panteth

my soul

after thee,

O God.

My soul

is athirst

for God,

for

the living God:

When

shall I come

and appear

before God?"

Or as

the
old English song:

"Hierusalem,

my happy home,

When shall I

come to thee?

When shall

my sorrows

have to end,

Thy joys

when shall I see?

as the Castilian poet
Jorge Manrique,
1440 - 1479,
begins
his magnificent poem:

"Let

our sleeping soul

remember,

and be awake

and

be alive,

in contemplation,

of how

our life

passes away,

of how

our death

comes forward

to us,

so silently".

It is the sorrow

which impels
Shelley to sing:

"We look

before and after,

And pine for

what is not:

Our sincerest laughter

With some pain

is fraught;

Our sweetest songs

are those

that tell

of saddest thought."

It is the feeling

that there is
a division
in us,
a separation
from
something infinite
with which
we want
to be reunited,
because
we are like
a lost
little child
who is
crying
in the dark
for his home.

The young prince
did not know,
but he
was longing:
he was not happy
in
the
established conventions
of his time.

He felt
that
in order
to find
something higher
he had to
cut a path
through the jungle
of desires
and fears,
of illusions
and contradictions.

He knew that
power
and
pleasures
only mean
a little life
and
a little death.

His
"arrows of desire"
impelled him,
in the words
of the Upanishad,
to travel
from
darkness
to
Light,
from
the unreal
to
the Real,
from
death
to
Immortality.

He must
leave
the palace
and
his lovely wife
and
baby son.

He must first
find salvation
and
then return
for the salvation
of all men,
for the salvation
of those
he left
in the palace.

How touching
is the description
of
the departure
of the future Buddha
from
his wife
and
his baby son
Rahula:

"Now

the future

Buddha,

after he has

sent Channa

on his errand,

thought

to himself,

'I will just take

one look

at my son';

and,

rising

from the couch

on which

he was sitting,

he went to

the suite

of apartments

occupied by

the mother

of Rahula,

and

opened the door

of her chamber.

Within

the chamber

was burning

a lamp

fed

with

sweet-smelling oil,

and

the mother

of Rahula

lay sleeping

on a couch

strewn deep

with

jasmine

and

other flowers,

her hand

resting

the head

her son.

When

the future Buddha

reached

the threshold,

he paused,

and gazed

the two forms

where he stood.

'If I were

to raise my wife's hand

from

off the child's head,

and

take him up,

she would awake,

and thus

prevent my departure.

I will first

become

a Buddha,

and then

return

and

see my son.'

So saying,

he descended

from the palace."

[Translated by
H. C. Warren]

Prince Gotama

leaves his palace
by night
and goes
into the Unknown.

That night
seems
a symbol
of a verse
in
the Bhagavad Gita.

"In

the

dark night

all beings

awakes

Light

the

tranquil man.

But

what is

day

other beings

night

for

the sage

who sees."

[2.69]

It is the night
of
Saint John
of the Cross,
1542 - 1591,
when
in one of the
most sublime poems
of all literature
he tells us
that
the soul
"aflame
with longings
of love"
leaves her home
in
deep darkness,
in a night
of silence,
and goes
for
her great adventure
"with
no light
nor
guide,
except
the Light
that
was burning
in my heart".

"Sin otra

luz y guia,

Sino la que

en el corazon ardia."

Buddha

left
for
the great adventure
of all men
who
long for life
and
"having put
his hand
to the plough"
he never
looked back.

His spiritual struggle
lasted for
six long years
until at last,
in despair,
he sat under
the Bodhi tree
with
the heroic determination
either
to die
or
to find
eternal life.

His heroism
had its reward.

During that night
Buddha
saw
the Wheel
of becoming,
the Four
great truths,
the Path
of eight perfections,
the Middle Way
and
at last
NIRVANA,
Truth.

What is
the Truth
that Buddha
tells us
he found?

Other
spiritual leaders
say they found
Truth.

Reason
tells us
that
Truth
must be
One.

We know
that science
is
perpetual progress,
but that
the spirit
of science
which leads
the scientific world
into
their great
adventures
is
one.

We
know that
there are
great poems
composed
in languages
past
and
present,
that
those poems
are poetry,
but
that
the spirit of poetry
is
one.

We know that
there are
many sacred books
and
that
there are
different religions,
but
if we read
the sacred books
carefully
and
spiritually,
we see
that
the highest
in them,
their
most spiritual
and
moral elements,
is
one.

And
we know
that
in spite of
many countries
and races
there is
something
in
the spirit of man
which
a sensitive person
feels
as
one.

The Truth
of the universe
must be
One,
even
as
the spirit
of science,
of poetry,
and
of religion
and
humanity
is
one.

Is it
the One
which
Buddha found
and
the greatest
spiritual leaders
have found?

"Seek
and
ye
shall
find."

Science
walks
on earth.

Poetry
flies
above
the earth.

Both
are necessary
for
the progress of man;
but
his progress
is his pilgrimage
and
his pilgrimage
is his becoming.

Beyond
becoming
there is
Being,
and
from
Being
comes
love
and
comes
the
good
and
the
beautiful;
but neither
love,
nor
the good,
nor
the beautiful
can be seen
by
the telescope
or
the microscope.

This
is why
the poetry
of
the past
is never old
as
the science
of the past
is.

Buddha
found
NIRVANA,
the union
of the finite
with
the Infinite,
that Truth
that
according to
the
Kena Upanishad,

"comes
to the thought
of those
who know him
beyond
thought,
not to those
who think
it can be
attained
by
thought".

It is
the Nirvana
mentioned
in
the Bhagavad Gita
when it says:

"The Yogi

who,

lord

of his mind,

ever prays

this

harmony of soul,

attains

the peace

of Nirvana,

the peace

supreme

that is

me."

[6.15]

And also
in
the last verse
of
the second chapter:

"This

is the Eternal

in man,

O Arjuna.

Reaching him,

all delusion

is gone.

Even

in the last hour

of his life

upon earth,

man can reach

the Nirvana

of Brahman --

man can

have peace

the peace

his God."

Tradition tells

that
when Buddha
found Nirvana
under
the Bodhi tree,
he poured out
his
joy of liberation
in
the
two famous verses
of
the Dhammapada:

"I have gone

round

in vain

the cycles

of many lives

ever striving

to find

the builder

of the house

of life and death.

How great

is the sorrow

of life

that

must die!

But now

I have seen thee,

house-builder:

never more

shalt thou

build

this house.

The rafter

of sins

are broken,

the ridge-pole

of ignorance

is destroyed.

The fever

of craving

is past:

for

my mortal mind

is gone

to the joy

the immortal

NIRVANA."

[153, 154]

The description

of NIRVANA
given
by Buddha
in Udana 8
can be compared
to that
of
the fourth state
of consciousness
of
the Mandukya Upanishad
and
with
the four stages
of prayer
of Saint Teresa:

condition

there is,

brethren,

wherein

earth,

water,

fire,

and air

are not;

wherein

is neither

consciousness,

nor

space,

nor

a void.

Neither

this world

nor

a world beyond

are there,

neither are there

the sun

and

the moon.

It is not

a coming,

it is not

a going,

nor

a standing still,

nor

a falling,

nor

a rising.

That is

the end

of sorrow.

That is

Nirvana.

There is

also,

brethren,

that which

not born,

nor become,

nor made.

If that

were not,

there would be

no refuge

from that

which

is born,

is become,

is made.

That is

the end

of sorrow.

That is

Nirvana."

Saint Teresa,

1515 - 1582,
describes
in
Christian terms
four ways
of prayer
which
can be
compared
to what
the Yoga Sutras
tell us,
or
to
the Buddhist
meditations.

She speaks
of
our making
a garden
where
we plant
the seeds
of
our
good works
in life.

That garden
must be
watered
by
the waters
of love.

Those waters
we can draw
in four ways:
out of a well
with buckets,
a laborious way;
by using
the wheel
of a windlass,
a machine
for drawing water;
by
the waters
of a stream;
or
by rain
from heaven,
the easiest way.

The four ways
correspond
to
recollection,
meditation,
contemplation
and
union.

Recollection
requires
attention
and
concentration.

When it is pure,
unselfish,
un-self-conscious,
it goes beyond pleasure
and
it reaches joy,
the joy of love.

The second stage
is meditation:
the mind thinks,
but
the thoughts
are limited
to
a definite object.

In this
stage
we find
the use
of thought
in
all forms.

Most thought,
including
scientific,
scholarly
and
philosophical thought
belongs
to that
second stage.

When thought
is clear
and
used for something
good and beautiful,
we find
the joy
of meditation,
and this
joy
is also
love.

In
the third stage
there is
contemplation,
a much
higher stage.

Saint Teresa
calls it
"prayer
of quietness".

It is
a silence
of the mind.

We are
in the region
of
poetry
and
art,
where there
is
greater
joy
and
love.

This
cannot be
reached
by thought,
because
thought
is sound
not silence,
and
only
silence
in Eternity
can go
beyond sound
in time.

The knowledge
that comes
from
contemplation
is described
in
the Bhagavad Gita:

"When one

sees

Eternity

in things

that

pass away

and

Infinity

finite things,

then one

has

pure

knowledge."

[18.20]

Contemplation
goes
beyond thought
and is
a higher stage
of
joy and love.

The silence
of contemplation
made possible
such verses
as those
beginning
the

"Ode
on a
Grecian Urn"
of Keats:

"Thou still unravish'd

bride of quietness,

Thou foster-child

of Silence

and slow Time..."

Thought

alone

can never create

these verses

silent wonder,

and

thought alone

can never

understand them.

The
fourth stage
is called
by
Saint Teresa
"Prayer of Union".

This

is beyond
concentration
or
recollection,
meditation
and
contemplation:
it is
the culmination
of
the highest
man
can reach.

In
that stage
his
becoming
has stopped
and
he is
pure
Being.

This
is felt
by
Wordsworth
when he says
in his
"Lines Composed
above
Tintern Abbey":

"That serene

and

blessed mood,

in which

the affections

gently

lead us on, --

until,

the breath

this corporeal frame

and

even the motion

our human blood

almost suspended,

we are

laid asleep

in body,

and become

a living soul;

while

with an eye

made quiet

by the power

of harmony,

and the

deep power

of joy,

we see

into the life

of things."

It is

in moments
of Being
when
man has found
THAT
beyond
words
and
thought
and
has called it
Brahman,
Atman,
Elohim,
God,
Nirvana,
Tao,
Allah,
or
OM
which
according to
the Upanishads
includes
all names,
and
other
sacred words.

In a state
of contemplation
and union
the
knower
and
the known
are one.

Ego-consciousness
has
disappeared:
the painter
of the tree
has
become
the tree.

In the normal
state
of consciousness
the mind
is like a lamp
that flickers
in
the winds of time,
but
in supreme oneness:

"Then his soul

is a lamp

whose light

is steady,

for it burns

in a shelter

where

no winds come."

[Bhagavad Gita 6.19]

The great
Japanese
spiritual scholar
Dr. Daisetz T.
Suzuki,
1871 - 1966,
wrote
two days
before his death
an
Introduction
to the book,
"A Flower
Does Not Talk"
by
Rev. Zenkei
Shibayama,
and
what he says
has
a relevance
in this connection:

"Zen teaches

that

in order

to understand

a mountain

to be

a mountain

the Zen way,

the experience

is to be

negated first --

a mountain

is not

a mountain --

and

it is only when

this negation

is understood

that

the affirmation

'a mountain

is a mountain'

becomes

Reality."

The great task

of
man on earth
is to see
the
Real
behind
the
appearance
of
waking dreams,
described
by Shakespeare
in
The Tempest:

"Be cheerful, Sir,

our revels

are now ended.

These our actors,

as I foretold you,

were all spirits,

and

are

melted into air,

into thin air:

and,

like

the baseless fabric

of this vision,

the

cloud-capp'd towers,

the gorgeous palaces,

the solemn temples,

the

great globe itself,

yea,

all which it inherit,

shall dissolve,

and,

like this

insubstantial pageant

faded,

leave not

a rack behind.

We are

such stuff

as dreams

are made on;

and

our little life

is rounded

with

a sleep."

As to the joy

felt
in the high prayer
of union,
the Chandogya Upanishad
says:

"Where

there is

creation

there is

progress.

Where

there is

no creation

there is

no progress:

know

the nature

creation.

Where

there is

joy

there is

creation.

Where

there is

no joy

there is

no creation:

know

the nature

joy.

Where

there is

the Infinite

there is

joy.

There is

no joy

the finite."

Describing

the stage
of contemplation,
"The Prayer
of Quietness",
Saint Teresa
says:

"We begin

to lose

our craving

for things

this earth;

and

no wonder,

because

one sees

clearly

that

no riches,

no power,

no honors,

no pleasures,

can

for

a moment,

even

for

the twinkling

of an eye,

give

such

true joy."

About

the prayer
of union
she can
only say
what those
who have attained
a state
beyond words
can say:

"Let us now speak

of the joy

felt

when that union

has been achieved.

Let him

who knows

try to express it:

it cannot

be understood,

how much less

be put

into words."

And

according to
the
Taittiriya Upanishad:

"Words

and mind

to him,

but reach him

not

and

return.

But he

who knows

the joy

of Brahman,

fears

no more."

In union

with
Being
the Upanishads
found
a condition
that is
"neither
outer
nor
inner
consciousness,
neither
semi-consciousness
nor
unconsciousness",
a condition
that is
"peace
and
love".

Buddha
found
in
NIRVANA
a condition
"wherein
there
is neither
consciousness,
nor
space
nor
a void.

It is not
a coming,
it is not
a going,
nor
a standing still,
nor
a falling,
nor
a rising".

Saint John
of the Cross,
1542 - 1591,
says that
when
the soul
is in union
she sees
the splendor
of God
as
many lamps
of fire,
his qualities:
love,
omnipotence,
wisdom,
mercy,
justice,
and
many others.

All these

lamps of fire
merge
in
the Lamp
of
the Being
of God.

We thus see
that
at
the end
of the Path
they all
have found
ONE
who is
in
the many
and
to whom
we all can go.

The good
and
the beautiful
are
the two great
ideals
of
ancient Greece,
the
"kalos kai agathos"
(physical
and
moral beauty).

Plotinus,
A.D. 205 - 270,
expresses it
in
his philosophy:

"To make

our soul

good

and

beautiful

to make

ourselves

like unto

God:

because

God

is beauty.

Ugliness

is the same

as evil:

its contrary

beauty and good."

The love

of the Beautiful,
the true religion
of Greece,
was expressed
by Keats
in immortal words:

"Beauty

truth,

truth

beauty, --

that is all

Ye know

on earth,

and all

ye need

to know."

Keats
had seen
the
Spirit of Beauty
in all things
and
he knew
that
this Spirit
is Truth:
that was
his
supreme knowledge
on earth,
and that
was all
he needed
to know.

To see
the beauty
of nature
and
art
is to see
the truth
of
art
and
nature,
and
to see
the beauty
of
the universe
is
to see
the
truth
of
the universe.

When
in his search
for God
Saint Augustine
questions
the heavens
and the earth,
he exclaims:

"My
questioning
with them
was
my thought,
and
their answer
was
their beauty."

It was
the vision
of
the Hebrew poet:

"The heavens

declare

the glory

of God,

and

the firmament

sheweth

his handiwork."

The true

spiritual seer
is
a poet,
whether
he
composes verse
or not,
and
a radiance
of beauty
shines
over
his words:
let us think
of the beauty
of the words
of
Jesus,
and
of this life
as
a life
of beauty.

Let us hear
Buddha,
the words
of
Buddha:

"It is told

that once

Ananda,

the

beloved disciple

of Buddha,

saluted

his master

and said:

'Half

the holy life,

O master,

is friendship

with

the beautiful,

association

with

the beautiful,

communion

with

the beautiful.'

'Say

not

so,

Ananda,

say

not so!'

the

master replied.

'It is not

half

the holy life.

It is

the whole

the holy life.'"

"Some people,"
said
Buddha,
the master,
"have
accused me
of uttering
these words:

When one
attains
the release
called
the Beautiful,
and
abides therein,
at
such a time
he considers
the
whole universe
as
ugly.

But
I never said
these words.

This
is what
I do say:
When one
attains
the release
called
the Beautiful,
at
such a time
he knows
in truth
what
Beauty is".

[From
the Samyuta
and
the Digha Nikaya]

Love
is beauty
and
beauty is truth,
and
this is why
in the beauty
of a flower
we can see
the truth
of the universe.

This is how
Buddha
speaks of love
in
the
Majjhima Nikaya:

"Buddha
spoke thus
once
to his disciples:
The words
of men
to you
can be
of five kinds:
at the right time
or
at the wrong time,
true
or
false,
gentle
or
bitter,
profitable
or
unprofitable,
kindly
or
resentful.

If men
speak evil of you,
this
must you think:
'Our heart
shall not waver;
and
we will abide
in compassion,
in loving-kindness,
without
resentment.

We
will think
of the man
who
speaks ill of us
with
thoughts
of love,
and
in our thoughts
of love
shall we dwell.

And from
that
abode of love
we will
fill
the whole world
with
far-reaching,
wide-spreading,
boundless love'.

Moreover,
if robbers
should attack you
and
cut you
in pieces
with
a
two-handed saw,
limb
by
limb,
and
one of you
should feel
hate,
such
a one
is
not
a follower
of
my gospel."

The

Upanishads
are the path
of light;
the Bhagavad Gita
is the path
of love;
the Dhammapada
is the path
of life.

Buddha
avoided
metaphysical
questions.

He
might have
answered them
in the words
of
Jesus:

"Seek ye

first
the
kingdom
of God
and
his righteousness;

and

all

these things

shall be
added
unto
you".

Buddha
therefore
makes
his teaching
free
from
metaphysics.

He simply says:

"Do not

what

is evil.

what

is good.

Keep

your mind

pure.

This

the teaching

of Buddha."

[Dhammapada 183]

It is said

that once
a man of arms
undertook
a long journey
to see
a holy follower
of Buddha,
and
asked
if
the message
of Buddha
could be taught
to him.

The answer
was:

"Do not
what is evil.

Do
what is good.

Keep your mind
pure.

This is
the teaching
of Buddha".

"Is this all?",
said
the man of arms;

"Every
child of five
knows this."

"It may be
so,
but
few men
of eighty
can
practice it",
he
was told.

The first
of
the great truths
of Buddha,
that
"all
is transient",
and
therefore
all
is sorrow,
has been part
of
the vision of man
through
the ages
expressed
in
the memorable words
of Ecclesiastes:

"Vanity of vanities,

saith the preacher,

vanity of vanities;

all is vanity".

But Buddha

makes it
very clear
that
it is only
the transient life
which is vanity,
not
the eternal life,
or
those moments
of eternal life,
which
we can enjoy
in
our transitory life.

It is
in
the second
of his
great truths
that
Buddha
makes
his deep
spiritual
and
psychological
contribution
to
the
problem of man:
the cause
that man suffers
under
the transient,
under things
that pass away,
is
that
he clings
to the transient,
he craves
for things
that pass away,
thus
forgetting
the
ever-present
Eternal
in him.

A few men
in all times
have longed
for Eternity
and
have attained
Eternity,
but
only a few.

When
the light
seen by
a few
becomes
the light
of
the many,
then man
will be able
to
fulfill himself
on this earth.

In
the meanwhile
we cannot
but
see the truth
of
the Song of God:

"Among

thousands

of men

perhaps

one

strives

for perfection;

and

among

thousands

of those

who strive

perhaps

one

knows

in truth."

[Bhagavad Gita 7.3]

Buddha
makes
craving
the source
of suffering
and
freedom
from craving
the source
of liberation.

As to
the simple,
necessary,
earthly necessities
the
words of Jesus
could be
the words
of Buddha:

"Seek ye
first
the kingdom."

Of
freedom from
craving desires
comes
peace
in man
and
between men.

Freedom
from desires
is
an undertone
of wisdom
that
runs through
spiritual vision.

The Gita
makes it
an
absolute condition
for
liberation:

"When a man

surrenders

all desires

that

come

to his heart

and

the grace

of God

finds

the

joy

of God,

then

his soul

has indeed

found

peace."

[Bhagavad Gita 2.55]

But
the
Bhagavad Gita
also
makes clear
that
there is
an
absolute difference
between
desire
and
a
good will,
and
thus
Krishna says:

"I am

the power

those

who

are strong,

when this power

free from passions

and

selfish desires.

I am

desire

when this

pure,

when

this desire

is not

against

righteousness."

[Bhagavad Gita 7.11]

The
greatest battle
of
the
Bhagavad Gita,
the battle
of life,
is the battle
of
contrary desires,
and thus
we hear:

"Be

a warrior

and

kill

desire,

the

powerful enemy

the soul."

[Bhagavad Gita 3.43]

Saint John
of the Cross
says that
all
voluntary desires,
great or small,
or
even
the smallest,
are
in the way
of union,
because
communion
is
the transformation
of
the
will of man
into
the
will of God,
and
the smallest
selfish desire
is
a
division,
a
separation.

In
the
Samyuta Nikaya
we read
this story:

"Suffering,

the cause

of suffering,

the end

of suffering,

and

the Path

that leads

to the end

of sufferings:

these

are

the four truths

of Buddha.

The son

of Malunkya

was old,

and

he was anxious

to know

the doctrine

of Buddha

in brief.

He went

to the Master

who asked him:

'Do you feel

any craving,

O son

of Malunkya,

for things

which you

never saw,

which you

do not see,

and which

you do not

want to see

in the future?

-- 'No, Master'.

And

the same

could be asked

about

the other senses.

Now,
do you feel

any craving

for things

you never thought,

you do not think,

and you do not

want to think

in the future?

-- 'No Master'.

Even as you

have no craving

for things

that are

not

in your thoughts

senses,

have

no cravings

for things

that are

in your senses

and

in your thoughts.

This

is the path

that leads

the end

of suffering.

-- 'I have

understood,

Master.'

And the son

of Malunkya

saw

the Truth,

and

left the Master

with

joy

in his heart."

Rabindranath Tagore

sings
of the sorrow
of man:

"'Prisoner, tell me,

who was it

that bound you?'

'It was

my master',

said

the prisoner.

'I thought

I could outdo

everybody

in the world

in wealth

and power,

and

I amassed

in my own

treasure-house

the money

due

to my king.

When sleep

overcame me

I lay upon the bed

that was

for my lord,

and

on waking up

I found

I was a prisoner

in my own

treasure-house.'

'Prisoner,

tell me

who was it

that wrought

this
unbreakable chain?'

'It was I,'

said

the prisoner,

'who forged

this chain

very carefully.

I thought

invisible power

would

hold

the world captive

leaving me

in freedom

undisturbed.

Thus

night and day

I worked

at the chain

with huge fires

and

cruel hard strokes.

When at last

the work was done

and

the links

were

complete

and

unbreakable,

I found that it

held me

in its grip.'

The stopping

of desires
and
the peace
of liberation
is suggested
in
the Tao Te Ching:

"Without going

out of my door

I can know

all things on earth.

Without looking out

of my window

I can know

the ways of heaven.

For the further

one travels

the less

one knows.

The sage

therefore

arrives

without travelling,

sees all

without looking,

does all

without doing."

[Tao #47]

The

Middle Way
of Buddha
helps us
to understand
why
there
must be
a peace
from
craving,
from desires.

This Middle Way

is
the narrow path
of perfection
that leads
to
the top
of
the holy mountain
as painted
in
some
early editions
of
Saint John
of the Cross.

On the right
there is
the wrong path
that leads to
desire
for things
of the earth,
and
on the left
the wrong path
that leads to
desire for things
of heaven.

Two verses

of the
Bhagavad Gita
might refer
to those
two wrong paths:

"There are men

who have

no vision,

and yet

they speak

many words.

They follow

the letter

of the Vedas,

and they say:

'there is

nothing

but this'.

Their soul

is warped

with

selfish desires,

and

their heaven

a selfish desire.

They have prayers

for

pleasure and power,

the reward

of which

earthly rebirth.'

[Bhagavad Gita

II. 42,43]

But in the center
there is
the narrow path
that leads
to the top
of the mountain.

That path
suggests
a harmony
in life:
"not for him
who eats
too much,
nor
for him
who eats
too little;
not for him
who sleeps
too little
nor
for him
who sleeps
too much",
as
the Gita says
in 6.16.

It is
a
Path
of Perfection,
as explained
by Buddha
in this story:

"Sona Kolivisa

was

the son

of a rich merchant

who

had joined

the order

of monks

of Buddha.

Through

excess of zeal

he had been

walking on thorns

and

the path

where he walked

was covered

with blood.

Then

he thought:

'And if I

were

to return

to my home

and

use my wealth

in doing

good deeds?'

Buddha,

the Master,

knew his thoughts,

and went to him

and asked him:

'When you

were at home,

Sona,

could you play

the lute?'

-- 'Yes, Master.'

'When the strings

of the lute

were over-taut,

did your lute

give proper sounds?'

-- 'No, Master.'

'When the strings

of your lute

were neither

over-taut

nor

over-slack

the lute

gave

the proper sounds.

Was it

not so?

-- 'It

was so,

Master.'

'Even so,

Sona,

an excess of zeal

leads to

self-exaltation,

and

a lack of zeal

leads to

indolence:

have

an evenness

of zeal,

master

your powers

in harmony.

Be this

your aim.'

And

Sona Kolivisa

heard

the words

of the Master

and

obeyed them;

and

in a short time

reached Nirvana."

And what

do we find
at the top
of the mountain
of God?

On the path
we find
the word
nada,
nothing,
written
five times:
nada,
nada,
nada,
nada,
nada.

And
on the mountain
is written,
"And on
the mountain
nothing",
"Y en
el monte
nada".

The path
that leads
to nothing
is
the path
of
the Infinite,
mentioned
in
the
Tao
Te Ching:

"Go far

into the Void

and

there

rest

in quietness".

It is

the famous
Sunyata
of
Buddhism.

Saint John
of the Cross
wants
to make clear
the importance
of nothing,
in its
positive
and
negative sense:

"That thou mayest

have pleasure

in everything,

seek pleasure

in nothing.

That thou mayest

know everything,

seek to know

nothing.

That thou mayest

possess all things,

seek to possess

nothing.

That thou mayest

be everything,

seek to be

nothing."

Father A. Baker,

1575 - 1641,

explains
in these words:

"Nothing

and nothing

make nothing.

Understand

and

bear in mind

this mystic saying

taken out of

the practice

of arithmetic,

where one,

being

to add together

two ciphers

saith,

as I said:

'Nothing

and nothing

make nothing'.

This is a state

of perfect union,

which is termed

by some

a state of nothing,

and

by others,

with

as much reason,

a state

of totality."

"But

the Spirit
is not this,
is not this",
says the
Brihad-Aranyaka
Upanishad.

Sunyata
comes
from
a Sanskrit verbal
root,
SE,
which has
the negative meaning
of
empty
and
the positive meaning
of
full.

The suggestion
of emptiness
is found
in
the Dhammapada:

"Empty

the boat

your life".

[369]

And also
when it says:

"When

with a mind

in silent peace

a monk enters

his empty house,

then he feels

the unearthly joy

of beholding

the light

of Truth."

[373]

It is clearly

suggested
in verse 93:

"Who can trace

the invisible path

of the man

who soars

in the sky

of liberation,

the infinite Void

without beginning?"

When
the Dhammapada
was compiled,
probably
during
the third century
before Christ,
a few ideas
common
to Indian thought
may
have been used,
and
original verses
of
the Dhammapada
may
in turn
have
found their way
into
Indian writings.

If we select
a few verses
from
the Hitopadesa,
we may find
the spirit
of gentle irony
and wisdom
found
in some verses
of
the Dhammapada:

"Of what use

are

words of wisdom

to the man

who is unwise?

Of what use

is a lamp

to a man

who is blind?

Hear

the essence

of thousands

of sacred books:

to help others

is virtue:

to hurt others

is sin.

A man rises

goes down

his own actions:

like

the builder

of a wall,

as the digger

of a well.

The

narrow-minded man

thinks

and says:

'This man

is one of us;

this one

is not,

he is a stranger.'

To the man

of noble soul

the

whole of mankind

but

one family".

But that

the spirit
of
the Dhammapada
is
the spirit
of Buddha
is accepted
both
by
his followers
and
by scholars.

Buddha
wants us
to
stop the wheel
of becoming
so that
we can rest
in
the center
of Being.

He wants us
to follow
the middle Way
which is
the way
of
the Bhagavad Gita,
and
to be
fully conscious
of
the four great truths
and thus begin
to follow
the great Path.

His message
is
a message
of life,
of life
here and now,
at
this very moment,
so that
every moment
of our life
is a progress
on the path
of perfection.

As to
metaphysical
questions
he is
silent,
suggesting
the metaphysical fact
that
the Supreme
is
beyond words.

When asked
whether a man lives
after death,
he might well
have given
the answer
of
one of his disciples:

"We

do not know

whether

the body,

other than

the body

whilst alive:

how

can we know

whether

after

the death

of the body

is dead?"

Buddha

wants us
to feel
a sense of urgency
in
the solution
of
our spiritual problem,
and
use our reason
for
the solution
of
our moral problem.

There is
an old Indian prayer
that could be
a universal prayer
for man:

"May

the evil man

become good,

and may

the good man

have peace.

May he

who has peace

become free,

and may he

who is free

make others free."

A verse

of
the Dhammapada
expresses this
sense of urgency:

"How can there be

laughter,

how can there be

pleasure,

when

the whole world is burning?

When you are

in deep darkness,

will you not ask

for a lamp?"

[Dhammapada 146]

The Dhammapada
is a lamp.

Let us think
of
the first two verses
that tell us
that
if a man has
a pure mind
joy follows him,
but that
if he has
an impure mind
suffering follows him.

The spirit of these verses
is suggested
in the Maitri Upanishad:

"Samsara,

the

transmigration of life,

takes place

in one's mind.

Let one

therefore

keep the mind pure,

for

what one thinks

that

he becomes:

this is

the mystery

of Eternity."

The
Sanskrit words
beginning
this sentence
could be
a motto
for
a book
of psychology:
Cittam eva
hi Samsaram,
the mind
is
Samsara.

Every moment
of our life
is
a new life
and
an old death:
we die
in a past
that is gone
and
we live
in a future
to come,
and
thus
our life
on this earth
is
a perpetual
transmigration.

The Path
given
by Buddha
is
a path
of eight stages.

The eight stages
are
eight perfections.

From
melodies
and
harmonies
on the journey
we arrive
to
the silence
of Nirvana.

The
Maitri Upanishad
says:

"The sound

of Brahman

is OM.

At the end

of OM

there is

silence.

It is

a silence

of joy.

It is

the end

of the journey

where

fear and sorrow

are

no more:

steady,

motionless,

never-failing,

ever-lasting,

immortal.

In order

to reach

the Highest,

consider

in adoration

the sound

and silence

of Brahman.

For it

has been

said:

'God

sound

and

silence.

His name

is OM.

Attain

therefore

contemplation --

contemplation

in silence

on him'."

The first verses

of
the Dhammapada
show us
the beginning
of the Path.

In those verses
a law
of
spiritual gravitation
is given
in
sublime simplicity.

A pure mind
makes it possible
to have
right views,
the first stage
of the Path.

A pure mind
is like
a clear mirror
which
reflects things
but
takes
nothing,
and
sees them all
under
the same light.

This

pure mind
is expressed
in the words
of Krishna:

"I am

the same

to all beings,

and my love

is ever one".

[9.29]

It is suggested
in
the words
of Jesus:

"If

any man

hear

my words,

and

believe them

not,

I judge him

not".

[John 12:47]

If we ask,
what is right?,
we may answer
in
the words
of
the Dhammapada"

"The perfume

of flowers

goes not

against the wind,

not even

the perfume

sandalwood

rose-bay

jasmine;

but

the perfume

of virtue

travels

against the wind

and

reaches

unto the ends

of the world."

[Dhammapada 54]

In the first stage
on
the Path
we also find
the four virtues
whose perfume
"reaches
unto
the ends
of the world",
the
four great virtues
of Buddhism,
and
indeed
of all
spiritual religion
or
humanism:

Maitri,

Karuna,
Mudita,
Upeksha.

Maitri,
Metta in Pali,
is
friendliness,
good-will,
benevolence,
love,
loving-kindness
to all.

Karuna
is
compassion,
pity,
sorrow
for
the sufferings
of all.

Mudita
is
joy
in
the good of all.

Upeksha
is
forgiveness,
overlooking
the
faults of all.

These virtues
help man
to
enter
the Path
and
are
his great friends
on
his journey.

"Right views"
is
a pure vision
of
the four great truths.

The second stage
is
right determination.

We see the star
over
the Path of Perfection
and
we determine
to
follow the star,
remembering
the words
of
the Upanishad:

"A man

comes

with his actions

the end

his determination".

the spiritual life
is one,
the words
of Jesus
can be
quoted:

"No man,

having

put his hand

the plough,

and

looking back,

is fit

for

the

kingdom of God."

The

third stage
is
right words.

The
Bhagavad Gita
says:

"Words

which give

peace,

words

which are

good

and

beautiful

and

true,

and also

the reading

of sacred books:

this

the harmony

of words."

[17.15]

And
the Dhammapada
tells us:

"Better

than

a thousand

useless words

one single word

that

gives peace".

Buddha

defines
right words
as

"words

the right time,

true,

profitable

and

kindly".

The ideal

of truth

absolute.

Only truth

can
save man.

The fourth stage
is
right action.

It is
the Karma Yoga
of
the Bhagavad Gita:
good
and
pure
work
as
an offering
of love.

This
will fulfill
the Indian verse
of wisdom:

"Hear

the essence

of thousands

of sacred books:

To help others

is virtue;

to hurt others

is sin."

It will fulfill

the
sublime words
of Jesus:

"Do good

to them

that

hate you".

The fifth stage

is
right means
of
supporting
one's life,
or
right livelihood.

The man
who follows
the Dhamma
of Buddha,
or indeed
the Dhamma
of
the great
spiritual leaders,
cannot
earn
his livelihood
by working
for
the production
and use
of things
that are
useless,
harmful
or
evil.

Only
an
inner light
and
spiritual heroism
can help man
in
his
moral
collective
uplifting.

The sixth
of
the eight stages
of the Path,
of those
perfections
that
like spiritual waves
impel man
to
the shore
of NIRVANA,
is
right effort.

Right effort
means
right tension
and
right relaxation.

In concentration

it means
the right attention
to something
whilst
there is
a relaxing
of
everything
not connected
with
the object
of attention.

All
right effort
is right
in the sense
that
we never
think
it is
an effort.

Wise men
of all times
have seen
this truth.

Epictetus,
A.D. 60 - 140,
writes:

"Know

that

there is

nothing

more easy

to handle

than

the human soul.

It needs

but

to will,

and

the thing

is done:

the soul

the right path.

the contrary,

it needs

but

to nod

and

all is lost.

For ruin

recovery

are from

within."

We have

to learn
the paradox
that
to want
not to think
about
something
is
in fact
to be thinking
about
that
something;
and that
as long
as
we think
that
it is
an effort
to
discard
undesirable thoughts
or
habits
we
make it
an effort.

The seventh stage
is
right remembrance,
a right
mindfulness.

It is an
ever-remembering
of the Path,
a
quiet watchfulness
of life.

This

is praised
in
the
second chapter
of
the Dhammapada
as
"the path
of immortality"
and
suggested
in
chapter thirteen:

"Arise!

Watch.

Remember

and

forget not".

Jesus says,

"Watch

and

pray".

Saint John

of the Cross
speaks of

"silence

and

work".

In our darkness

we remember
the words
of Isaiah:

"Watchman,

what of

the night?

Watchman,

what of

the night?

The watchman

said,

The morning

cometh,

and

also

the night:

if you

will

enquire,

enquire

ye:

return,

come".

[Isaiah 21: 11 - 12]

The
spiritual path
is
a watching,
an
enquiring
and
a returning.

The last

of
the eight waves
of spiritual life
that carry us
to
the other shore
is called
Samadhi,
communion.

It is

the final journey
mentioned
in
the Dhammapada:

"The traveller

has reached

the end

of the journey."

[90]

The word

SAM-A-DHI
comes from
the root
DHA
which means
to hold in place.

With the prefix
SAM and A,
Samadhi
suggests
a union,
a communion:
the union
with Brahman
of
the Upanishads,
the union
with God
of
the Christian mystics,
the union
with NIRVANA
of Buddha.

The four stages
of Samadhi
mentioned
in
the
Buddhist scriptures
remind us
of
the four stages
of prayer
of
Saint Teresa.

The first stage
of Samahdi
is
pure thought,
recollection
and
meditation,
and
this is followed
by
the stopping
of thought,
contemplation.

In those
two stages
there is
a
deep consciousness
of joy
and peace.

In the third stage
of the Buddhist
Samahdi,
the
"prayer
of quietness"
of Saint Teresa,
the consciousness
of joy
which
was common
to
the first
two stages
disappears;
but there is
still
a consciousness
of peace,
a remnant
of
the consciousness
of
the "I"
in time.

The burden
of the ego
at that stage
is very light,
but it is
still
with man;
until
in the final
fourth stage
NIRVANA
is attained,
the burden
of the ego,
the burden
of life,
has fallen
for ever,
and
man is free:

"The traveller

has reached

the end

of the journey!

In the freedom

the Infinite

he is free

from

all sorrows,

the fetters

that

bound him

are

thrown away,

and

the burning fever

of life

no more".

[Dhammapada 90]

The message

of Buddha

is in

the Dhammapada,

and

the hearing

of this message

is joy:

"Even as

a lake

that is

pure

and

peaceful

and

deep

so becomes

the soul

the wise man

when

he hears

the words

of DHAMMA."

[Dhammapada 82]

And

the words

of DHAMMA

are words

of Truth.

The message
of Buddha
is
a message
of joy.

He found
a treasure
and
he wants us
to follow
the path
that leads
to
the treasure
he found.

He tells man

that he is
in
deep darkness,
but
he also
tells him
that
there is
a path
that
leads
to light.

He wants us
to arise
from
a life
of dreams
into
a higher life
where man
loves
and
does not
hate,
where a man
helps
and
does not
hurt.

His appeal
is universal,
because
he appeals
to reason
and
to
the universal
in us all:

"It is you

who

must make

the effort.

The Great

of the past

only

show

the way".

He achieves

a supreme
harmony
of
vision
and
wisdom
by
placing
spiritual truth
on
the
crucial test
of
experience;
and
only
experience
can satisfy
the mind
of modern man.

wants us
to watch
and
be awake
and
he wants us
to seek
and
to find.

the Dhammapada
we
can hear
the voice
of Buddha.

This gospel

of light

and

of love
is
amongst
the greatest
spiritual works
of man.

Each verse

like
a small star
and
the whole
has
the radiance
of Eternity.

Juan Mascaro

The Retreat,
Comberton,
Cambridge
December 1971

+++

[Taken

from

pages 9 - 33,

that is to say,

this

Introduction

took up

twenty five

paperback book

pages]

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

81. "The Path of Perfection" -- Juan Mascaro's Introduction to the Dhammapada (Buddhist Wisdom)

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