Issue

16th Issue (June, 2010)

Understanding the ‘Law of Nature’ is a Way Out of Suffering!

Bhikkhu Nyanabodhi
nyanabodhi@gmail.com

Two most common instincts of all life are ‘hankering for happiness’ (sukhakāma), and ‘aversion to pain’ (dukkhapaṭikkūla).[1] Buddhism says that beings experience suffering due to not understanding the ‘Law of Nature’. As soon as there arises in beings the knowledge regarding the law of nature their experience of suffering diminishes. Thus two aspects of life are seen to be discussed in the teachings of the Buddha – ignorance (avijja) and wisdom (paññā). Ignorance leads to Saṃsāra which is full of suffering and wisdom, on the contrary, leads to Nibbāna which is blissful.

“Although hard, but not impossible to comprehend this ‘law of nature’ “, enumerates the Buddha. How hard it is to understand the ‘law of nature’ is evidently explained in many discourses in the canon. In the Ariyapariyesanasutta the Buddha says; “This Dhamma that I have attained is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, peaceful, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced (only) by the wise….and this is the doctrine of causally connected condition co-production.”[2] In slightly different way in the Mahānidānasutta of Dīgha Nikāya too in reply to Venerable Ānanda, the Buddha says “…this dependent origination is profound and appears profound. It's through not understanding, not penetrating this Doctrine that this generation has become like a  tangled ball of string, covered as with a blight, tangled like course grass, unable to pass beyond states of woe, the ill destiny, ruin and the round of birth and death.”[3]

But what this ‘law of nature’ is and how one should actually understand it are a few important questions that every concerned individual should sincerely consider.

The ‘Law of Nature’ or Dhamma-niyāma (also known as Dhamma and Dhammata) is one of the five niyāma-s in the Buddhist literature. The other four niyāma-s are 1) Utu-niyāma (seasonal law), 2) Bīja-niyāma (law of seed), 3) Kamma-niyāma (law of action) and 4) Citta-niyāma (law of mind). This Dhamma-niyāma includes the four above mentioned niyāma-s too in its scope. It, as Reverend U Nyana says, refers to “…the whole cosmos or universe (the 31 stages of bhūmiyo, the Buddhist point of view) with its inhabitants both animate and inanimate.”[4] But Venerable Ledi Sayadaw Mahāthera in his reply to a letter by C.A.F. Rhys Davids says that ‘Dhamma’ refers to things which mutually stand in relation to one another as cause and effect, and ‘niyāma’ is the fixity of sequence of cause and effect.[5] Therefore, we understand that it is the conditionality or causal relation of the phenomenal existence that is called the ‘law of nature’ a clear understanding or a proper realization of which leads to cessation of suffering.

However we should now focus our attention on the following questions as to – how does this ‘law of nature’ function? Does it influence our life and how? Everything in the 31 planets are causally connected. Nothing happens abruptly. The law is precisely and most appropriately summarized by the Buddha in the following formula:

“When this is, that is;
With the arising of this, that arises.
When this is not, that is not;
With the cessation of this, that ceases.”[6]

The Buddha explained in his first sermon to the five old colleagues that there is suffering which is not without cause and the cessation of suffering is possible for which an appropriate path is to be followed. Venerable Sāriputra was first converted into Buddhism by listening to a verse told by Venerable Assaji. Having observed the outward appearance of venerable Assaji Sāriputra asked him who his teacher was and what was his teaching. In his answer to Sāriputra, Assaji said “of those things which proceed from a cause, the Tathāgata has explained the origin. Their cessation too he has explained. This is the doctrine of the great ascetic”.[7]

Once the Buddha said that he did not say that one actually truly can know the world but he also said that without knowing the world one cannot end the suffering. Commentators explained that the ‘world’ in the first sense refers to the external world whereas the second meaning of it is the internal world within the long fathom body of every individual with its perception and consciousness. And while explaining about dukkha he said it is totally a subjective experience. Therefore we will focus on the second meaning of the term ‘world’. Loka or world here refers to the five aggregates of an individual – namely form, feeling, perception, formation and consciousness. In short they are termed as nāma or mind and rūpa or matter. These mind and matter function in complete mutual dependence. The unenlightened individuals due to their ignorance to this ‘law of nature’ are said to be mistaken to consider this body and mental function as independently existing self-entity. As a result they fall into the pit of suffering.

Suffering does not exist in the five aggregates says the Buddha. It is in the grasping of them that an individual experiences suffering. Thus it is said “in short, the five groups of grasping are suffering”. It is a gross mistake in the life of men. How does consciousness arise? And how does one feel or experience anything? These questions are clearly explained by the Buddha in a number of discourses. The process of human experience, based on which the misunderstanding about ‘self’ is evident is to be seen in the following chart:

Thus being subject of conceptual proliferation he/she thinks in the following way: “this is mine (etaṃ mama), this I am (eso’haṃ asmi), this is myself (eso me atta)”. And this personalization of his/her experiences which are dependently co arisen and which have no fundamental base bring him suffering in his/her everyday life. In the Mahānidānasutta the Buddha enumerated the psychological process of the origin of conflict more extensively. To have a clear understanding of the process I shall present the direct quotation of the passage.

“And so, Ānanda, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions seeking, seeking conditions acquisition, acquisition conditions decision making, decision making conditions attachment, attachment conditions appropriation, appropriation conditions avarice, avarice conditions guarding of possessions, and due to guarding of possessions there arise the taking up of stick and sword, quarrels, disputes, arguments, strife, abuse, lying, and other evil unskilled states.”

Anything we experience in life we experience them through our six sense organs. And we always categorize them either into our likeness or into dislike-ness. If we generate likeness in the objects we tend to posses them and if we dislike we try to avoid them. And if we fail to posses what we want and fail to avoid what we do not want we experience suffering. Thus the Buddha precisely says, “the world is established on suffering”.[8] Anything that runs contrary to our volition is suffering and anything that occurs in harmony with our volition, but find resistance, is also suffering.[9] The cause/s of suffering are ignorance, desire and ill-will as enumerated in the explanation of the four noble truths and ignorance, craving and clinging as enumerated in the exposition of the Paṭiccasamuppāda. It is due to ignorance we develop a belief in the existence of an independent existing entity called ‘self’. And it is due to ignorance we crave for pleasures of senses, for existence and for non-existence. It is also due to ignorance we cling to pleasures of the senses, to pleasant experience, to ideas – most importantly to the idea of an everlasting self.  So, the suffering that we are having in this life can be traced back to the ignorance, which refers to the misunderstanding of the phenomenal world. This misunderstanding manifests in four ways namely 1) impurity (asubha) as purity (subha), 2) suffering (dukkha) as happiness (sukha), 3) impermanent (anicca) as permanent (nicca) and 4) non-substance (anatta) as substance (atta). It is because of this misunderstanding that we remain in the cycle of samsāra and continue to suffer. And that is why Buddhism mostly emphasizes on the right understanding (samma ditthi) of the nature of reality.

Understanding the ‘law of nature’ would not be proper without understanding the three characteristics of existence, namely impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and insubstantiality (anatta). All conditioned things are said to be impermanent and produce suffering. And since they are impermanent and produce suffering they are without any permanent substance. It is ok with the fact that all conditioned things are impermanent, but then why and how they produce suffering. Impermanency becomes suffering if we cannot accept the fact as it is. It is an occasion for suffering not a cause of suffering. And it is an occasion for suffering as long as ignorance, craving and clinging are present says Dr. P. D. Santina.[10]

In the Anattalakkhanasutta and in many other sutta-s the Buddha enumerates that neither our five aggregates are permanent, nor our sense faculties, nor sense objects and nor consciousnesses are permanent. If they were permanent we would not become old, fall ill and die. We would be able to remain as we want to be. Unfortunately that is not the case. On the other hand if everything was fixed then there would have no possibility for men to strive for liberation too. Therefore it is a blessing that the phenomenal existence is governed by the law of impermanence.

This ‘law of nature’ as is mentioned in the Nidānavagga-Saṃyutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya is not created by the Buddha or any other supreme being. It is there in the nature. Thus the Buddha says:

“whether, O monks, there be an arising of Tathāgatas, whether there be no such arising, this natural order of elements exists, this establishment of sequence of causes and effects, this fixity of natural relation of causes and effects. Concerning that the Tathāgata is fully enlightened, that he fully understands. Fully enlightened, fully understanding he declares it, teaches it, reveals it, sets it forth, manifests, explains, makes it plain, saying, ‘Behold’. Through rebirth conditions becoming………through ignorance conditions karma-formation etc. This o monks is called dependent origination.”[11]

Venerable Sangharakkhita[12] observes that there are two great orders in the ‘law of nature’ or conditionality. They are: 1) cyclical or reactive order and 2) spiral or progressive order. In two different orders of conditionality our minds work differently. In the former it works reactively whereas in the later it works creatively. Working reactively means responding automatically to whatever stimuli are presented to us. If we fall in this system of reactive order – then we repeat the same old pattern of our lives. We do today what we did yesterday, we do this week what we did last and thus we do this life what we did previous lives. Hence we remain in the cycle of Samsāra. On the contrary if we follow the spiral order of conditionality we can come out of the cyclic existence of Samsāra. Personal development is possible if we follow the spiral order. We have to understand these two orders of conditionality well. For if we are not well aware of them we will face difficulties to choose whether to act reactively or creatively in our life situation. For example; somebody speaks to you unkindly, here is a test for you to prove yourself whether you want to remain in the cyclic existence or come out of it. You can determine it by way of your respond to the person. You can respond either reactively by being angry or feeling hurt or you can respond by remaining untroubled to his unkindly word. If you are able to follow the later path you are then one step ahead towards Nibbāna or the final bliss.

It is important to understand the ‘law of nature’ so that we can reason about every situation of our life. By understanding the ‘law of nature’ we are able to identify the causes and effects of our thought process and actions. We are able to understand how unskillful mentalities bring about harmful consequences and skillful ones bring beneficial results. Thus we can choose to work creatively rather than reactively. And we can thus reduce our suffering and move to the final bliss of Nibbāna.

Editor’s Note:

The ‘Law of Nature’ is the communal Truth of perennial Wisdom of dynamic process becoming of contigent causes and conditions governed by the Law of Dependent Co-arising (Paṭiccasamuppᾱda). Dependent Co-arising is Unity of Existence of Oneness.  Discovery of this ‘Law of Nature’ (Dhamma) produces peace and happiness that condition social harmony. Harmony conditions  sustainable development. Whoever understands the spirituality of this ‘Law of Nature’ (Dhamma) understands everything under the sun. Spirituality and secularity are non-dual and inseparable. Phenomena (multiplicity) and Principle (Unity) interpenetrate and pervade each other.

Reference list:

1. Sangharakshita, 1995 (1990): A Guide to the Buddhist Path, Brimingham: Windhorse Publications.
2. Santina, P.D. (1984): Fundamentals of Buddhism, Singapore: Srilankaramaya Buddhist Temple.
3. Grimm, George 1973 (1958): The Doctrine of the Buddha: the religion of reason and meditation, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
4. Ledi Sayadaw, Mahathera 2004: The Manuals of Buddhism, Yangon: Mother Ayeyarwaddy Publishing House.
5. Wijesekera, O.H.De.A. 1977: Buddhist Essays, Colombo: Department of Government Printing.
6. Rahula, Walpola 1957: What the Buddha Taught, Bedford: The Gordon Fraser Gallery ltd.
7. Oldenburg, Hermann (1996): Buddha (his life, his doctrine, his order), tr. by William Hoey, New Delhi: Aryan Books International.