Issue

14th Issue (Dec, 2009)

Dependence and Sovereignty or Self-sufficiency: A Brief Exegesis

Rev. Upali University of Peradeniya
revupalisramon@gmail.com

Introduction

One of the major concerns of human endeavors is to live not depending on others. Considering a nation or country as an individual unit this concern is generally expressed as economic and military ‘self-sufficiency’ or political sovereignty. Initially such an idea seems to invigorate the working spirit of a person or country, but, there are danger-spots that must be identified and fixed in order to authenticate the purpose for lasting social harmony. But a mistaken definition of ‘self-sufficiency’ may do more harm to the society than doing good. For example, when an individual tends to isolate from the other people or country in order to prove his/her ‘self-sufficiency’ that would certainly contravene the stability of social relations. Subsequently, they would feel extra-ordinarily superior and try to control the others applying some unhealthy methods. They would fail to realize the relative dependence without which it is impossible to imagine our social existence. In such occasions the idea of being self-sufficient could be an illusion.

During the Buddha’s time kings had the sovereign power and most people had to depend on the wishes of the king. Once, Visākha, a virtuous lady approached the Buddha in the noon time, in a despondent mood. Being questioned by the Buddha she replied that the king Pasenadi had promised her of fulfilling a business, but, left it unaccomplished in the end. In response, the Buddha explained her, the suffering that is entailed in the law of being dependent upon others. He also said that sovereignty is happy or joyful. To quote his own expression: sabbaṃ paravasaṃ dukkhaṃ, sabbaṃ issariyaṃ sukhaṃ... This theory, if we may call it one, may be subject to question: as to what exactly the Buddha meant by ‘dependence’ and ‘sovereignty’? Why is dependence ‘sorrowful’ and sovereignty or self-sufficiency happy’? And, most importantly, how to be sovereign or self-sufficient?

Categorical answers to these questions may require a systematic treatment of the key terms of the verse consulting their occurrences and explanations in the other texts of the Tipiṭaka. In this essay I hope to give only a brief explanation of ‘dependence’ and ‘self-sufficiency’ or ‘sovereignty’ emphasizing that Buddhism encourages being self dependent, not by isolating from the rest of the society, but, maintaining harmonious social relationships and developing one’s intellectual bliss at the same time.

“Dependence is Suffering”

The Buddha said that dependence is sorrowful. The expression is explained as: for whatever material necessity one has to depend on others, not being able to accomplish it as he/she wants, that is conducive to suffering. In a way or other it is impossible to imagine human existence without being dependent, be that upon other members of society or upon the environment. Certainly not all dependence is sorrowful. In that case, we may distinguish dependence as threefold:

1. Passive dependence – Depending on others for some matters passively. One has the idea that one’s objective will be accomplished by somebody else. Therefore when things do not happen according to one’s expectations, having got no other options, one undergoes sorrows. In a different circumstance, in spite of one’s abhorrence one may have to be a victim of others and depend on their wishes without any opportunity to practice or materialize one’s own ideas.
2. Active dependence – Although depending on others one is aware of the fact that everything is subject to change. Somebody may promise to do something in favour of us, but, different circumstances may make him/her unable to fulfill the promise. In such cases, unlike the previous person, one does not feel depressed or mentally disturbed, but, prepares him/herself for other possible options. Remaining undisturbed in such situations is not true only for theoretical purposes, but, it also has immense practical importance.
3. Overpowered by the law of the nature: in the Udāna we see that the king Pasenadi Kosala had the sovereign power in the country and all the people used to depend on him in most of the ways. Even if the king’s decision was an unjust the public, in this instance lady Visākha, did not have the power to defy the king’s judgment. Yet, one must not forget that the king was a victim of dependency, of a different kind. In one of his conversations with the Buddha the king Pasenadi expressed his position as king and despite the fact that he had the sovereign power in his country what were the causes of his lamentations. He said that he was the lord of and used to subdue the people of the four castes so that no one could speak against him. He had many elephants, horses, vast extant of lands, chariots, treasury, etc. He was the leader of many ministers, and soldiers and had won many battles. Yet, how was it that he escaped from the law of falling sick and the fear of death. In consolation the Buddha said, when one is thus in the grip of disease and death what else does one have but to dedicate in the observance of righteousness, maintain spiritual quietism, practice kusalas, and do meritorious activities. Therefore although he appeared as domineer to Visākha, king Kosala was a victim of domination of a different kind – the changing of the nature.

Sovereignty is Blissful

“All sovereignty or becoming self-sufficient is joyful”. In this expression sovereignty is twofold: worldly or mundane and supra-mundane. There the mundane sovereignty includes the sovereign power of kings and even attainments of magical powers produced from mundane absorptions. The intention in such sovereignty is to control others by physical power or by some magical powers. Whatever the sovereignty, by becoming the wheel rolling monarch in the human world, or by becoming the lord of gods in different realms of heaven like the Sakka and others, - both appear to be happy and joyful since they are influenced by kamma and accordingly producing desirable results. But, due to the inherent nature of changing, such desirable and joyful sovereignty is also subject to bring sorrows.

The supra-mundane sovereignty is attained by becoming the governor of the mind and thoughts by following the transcendental path that leads to the cessation of suffering. In other words, the yardstick for measuring the supremacy of supra-mundane sovereignty is not by considering the geographical extant of one’s dominion but by observing how far one is able to rule his mental process and thinking pattern following the proper path. The sovereignty of the mind is in fact the nature of not being disturbed or shaken by the worldly ups and downs and the happiness that one enjoys thereof.

In one of his conversations the Buddha clearly said to Visākha that although one may wish to be sovereign lord of colonies (mentioning the famous sixteen Janapadas) that sovereignty is not equal to even one sixteenth of the merit which is gained by the exercise of the eight precepts. Therefore it is pity that humans try to control other beings, people, colonies, nations etc. waging wars while the practice of the eight precepts is bound to yield divine happiness in this life as a human as well as after death.

Conclusion

Humans generally have the tendency to control others by employing physical powers or by enticing others using various magic etc. In the brief discussion above I attempted to show briefly the difference between ‘dependence’ and ‘self-sufficiency’. According to Buddhism, as indicated above, attaining sovereign power means overcoming the grip of sickness and death. In this sense, one overcomes all the dependences by becoming the true governor of oneself. In fact, self-sufficiency in Buddhism means realizing the insubstantiality of the ‘self’ in the experiential level.