(I used to write on Dioenglish and recently move to Jianshu. Previous writings are to be moved on Jianshu next week.)
Have you ever watched the anime ‘Naruto’(《火影忍者》)?If you haven’t, it is perfectly fine skipping the following two paragraphs. If you have, I am going to review some characters and plot in the anime in the scope of Buddhism as an opening.
Remember the rebel force, “Akatsuki(晓)”? It consists of eight defectors under the government of the figurehead leader Yahiko(弥彦), aka “Pain Deva Path(佩恩天道)” who plots against all nations. “Pain(佩恩)” is actually a battle unit made up of six puppet-like zombies revived and controlled by Nagato(长门), “Pain Outer Path(佩恩外道)”. “Pain” and its controller carry a lot of Buddhist symbols: its name “Pain” suggests the first Noble Truth—life is nothing but eternal duhkha; Nagato’s distinguishing feature,his spring of power, “Rinnegan(轮回眼)” indicates the eternal, round-after-round rebirth in the circle; six puppet-like zombies are named after the Six Path in the wheel of Karma. Like other villains in literature, myths, or art, Nagato stereotypically announced that he would destroy the whole world in order to bring suffering to all the people and then reshape this world in his will.
Nagato in the end, however, gave up his world-destroying plan, because our protagonist, Naruto (鸣人) reclaimed his good soul by arguments about the nature of love and bond (爱与羁绊) after a prolonged, fierce battle with Pain. This plot can be conceived of, from Buddhist perspective, as the cessation of duhkha. We are tempted to ask:does love and bond have the magic of ending suffering? A Buddhist answer would be: of course not; love and bond cannot do that. In the rest part of this essay, I am to introduce you the second two Noble Truths—Buddha’s prescription of human predicament,and after reading Buddha’s path toward the ending of suffering, you will find that Naruto’s path, love and bond, sides with Confucianism, not Buddhism.
From Internet
The Third Noble Truth: The Cessation ofDuhkha—Nirvana
In the first two Noble Truths, Buddha’s diagnosis of human predicament, the core idea is that humans fail to see the fleeting nature or impermanence of pleasure (or everything), crave things bringing pleasure, and this failure and craving lead to pervasive duhkha(suffering or unsatisfactoriness). The third Noble Truth implies that this pervasive duhkha could come to an end, which is Nirvana (涅槃,Nirvāna/Nibbāna).
The Sanskrit word,Nirvāna, literally means “blowing out” or “extinguishing”. If craving is our “sin”, the birthplace of duhkha, then extinguish it—let go, let go all of the craving. Nirvana is a tricky term which some part of its meaning is still controversial. Vary as the interpretation of the term “Nirvana” might, we can still understand its meanings, according to Foundations of Buddhism, in the following three points of view:
(1)It is the extinguishing of the defilements of greed, aversion and delusion. According to Buddhist thought, the cause of duhkha is“thirst” or “craving”(渴爱,trsnā/tanhā) that is the result of the interaction of three fundamental defilements of human mind: greed (贪, rāga/lobha), aversion (嗔,dvesa/dosa), delusion (痴,moha,avidyā/avijjā). In this context, Nirvana refers to the cessation of these three defilements that control human mind.
(2)It is the final condition of the Buddha and arhats (罗汉) after death consequent upon the extinction of the defilements. This interpretation is quite common in our daily language.
(3)It is the “unconditioned realm”(无为法, Pali: asamkhata-dhātu)known at the moment of awakening. “Unconditioned realm” involves the round of rebirth that as mentioned in my previous essays, won’t be discussed further in detail,but you can consider this term as the contrast of “impermanence”.
The Fourth Noble Truth: the Eightfold Path leading to Nirvana
The Fourth Noble Truth tells us there are practical ways leading to cessation of duhkha, Nirvana.Before heading to its content, three things we should bear in mind in the first place:
First, there is no “Omnipotent God” whom we can turn to help. Buddhism is entirely different from Christianity: in Christianity, as a result of the existence of Almighty God, one could reasonably end his suffering and gain consolations through his faith, whereas in Buddhism, such a God does not exist and one is of his full responsibility of his suffering;
Second,although the Eightfold Path are stated in an understandable fashion, for over 2000 years, seldom if ever have serious Buddhists of all traditions of Buddhism attained full liberation, or nirvana in all spectrums. You might be tempted to ask: well, if that is the case, what a religion is that, why bother to practice. Nonetheless, one could still achieve partial liberation: to see the Four Noble Truths, to harvest true happiness, and to become a better person;
Third,one would be caught in the pitfall of craving, attachment or clinging to Buddha’s ideas themselves. This sort of craving can be easily understood and vividly described by the Chinese phrase “走火入魔”. This craving should also be extinguished through the practice of Eightfold Path.
Let us go to the content of Eightfold Path:
From the Coursera Online Course: Buddhism and Modern Psychology
Opposite to the three defilements, greed, aversion and delusion, they are non-attachment(无贪, alobha), loving kindness (慈悲，Pali: adosa mettā) and wisdom(般若(pinyin: bōrě),prajñā/paññā). These three help us break out the cycle of defilements and lead to the cessation of duhkha.
The Eightfold Path suggests that we start with certain views, ideas, beliefs, and opinions about ourselves, others, and the world; depending on these we turn to the world with various intentions; depending on these we speak, act, and generally make our way in the world. The hard-to-interpret part lies in the last three:they go hand in hand with meditation where Buddhist practice ends. Meditation is going to be discussed further in the psychology part of my writings.
网友评论