Buddha stood for peace, and one would think that he would praise us if we ended the present war (and all wars.) We are told that the American people have now woken up to the folly of the invasion of Iraq. Since wars are where illusions die the fastest, Buddha would also want us to end a war because we became more awake. I think these things are true, but Buddha was more radical. He wanted us to wake up in general, to see through all illusions. That is the only way to escape suffering before it occurs. Learning after the fact, as we are doing in Iraq, doesn't really accomplish Buddha's goal.
Observing how Buddhists follow his teaching, the steps of waking up include the following:
--Meditating on the core of silence within the mind.
--Observing the shifting contents of the mind carefully, separating out anything that sustain suffering and illusion.
--Unraveling the ego's version of reality and piercing through the ego's claim that it knows how to live properly.
--Facing the truth that everything in nature is impermanent.
--Letting go of materialism in both its crude and subtle form.
--Becoming detached from the self and realizing that the individual self is an illusion.
--Being mindful of one's being, overcoming the distraction of thoughts and sensations.
--Abiding by a set of higher ethics whose basis is compassion for other people and reverence for life.
Some or all of these things stand for Buddha's method by which the human disease might be cured. So how is the cure proceeding? The cure hasn't found enough people, beautiful and noble as it is. Let's say an outsider is coming in from the cold. He or she wants to be free of pain and suffering, wants to feel that life at its core is meaningful. To an outsider, it seems that the Buddhist cure has become difficult, complicated, and confusing.
--Sitting and trying to find a core of silence is beyond short attention spans and doesn't fit into the hectic pace of modern life.
--Watching and examining the shifting contents of the mind is time-consuming and exhausting.
--Confronting the ego is nearly impossible, because it has a hundred heads for every one you cut off.
--Facing the truth that everything is impermanent frightens people.
--Seeking detachment makes people think they will be giving up worldly success and comfort.
--Abiding by a set of higher ethics makes them anxious that they will be prey to anyone who is stronger, less moral, and capable of using violence without any sense of guilt or remorse.
Bringing wisdom to a world built on illusion and suffering is difficult. Solving violence through peace seems unworkable. Detaching from materialism has little appeal when people everywhere are pursuing materialism with every breath. Yet the genius of Buddha's teaching lies in its universality, and whatever is universal is also simple. Buddha's cure has the capacity to appeal to the entire world.
Right now Buddha's cure isn't simple for most people because being alone isn't simple. By asking people to go inside, Buddha seems to be asking them to be more alone. We must get to the very root of the problem first. Who feels alone? You and I. The minute we use those three basic words we confront the real difficulty. "You" are someone separate from me. "And" implies that we might be connected, and yet we don't feel connected. "I" stands for my ego and everything it is stubbornly or desperately attached to. Buddha had to resolve all three issues of "you and I" before his teaching, the Dharma, could work a cure.
(To be continued)
Deepak Chopra's most recent book is a novel Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment