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Oneness In Buddhism
shanyin
Novice YoginSault Ontario Veteran
I'm pretty sure my shaman reiki Master asked me if I had come across the concept of oneness in Buddhism. Does it have it's place?
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in interconnectedness, dependent-arising and emptiness.... there is Self, there is not-self, there is the process of the skandas and if you take that away, what have we all got in common?
Personally, I'd say that the idea of oneness doesn't have as much of a place in Buddhism as many believe. And traditions where it does resemble things like Advaita more than Buddhism proper, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a distinction that needs to be made, in my opinion. The Buddha himself was all about making distinctions when appropriate, and ultimately transcending ideas of oneness, duality, and plurality altogether.
I'm "suffering" from a periodic bout of insomnia.
(I use the term 'suffering' advisedly, especially on a Buddhist forum...! Let's just say I'm not sleeping for as long as I'd like, at the moment, so I'm using my time in a productive way.... to read, mark, inwardly digest, and learn.....)
BACK TO TOPIC......!
Oneness is a projection from mind that makes two reference points into one.
Emptiness points to the fact that there are absolutely no reference points. Thus emptiness cannot lead to oneness, but interdependence.
So one taste in Buddhism is the meeting of luminosity and emptiness. but such one taste isn't posited as a metaphysical entity, but rather dependently originated phenomena, thus lacking any reference points.
But where the rubber hits the road and students commit to serious practice, I think "oneness" is every bit as off the mark as "separation."
I once asked my teacher if Buddhism were dualistic. "No," he replied. Well then, I pressed, was Buddhism monistic? "No" he replied. OK -- so how would he describe it, I asked? "Maybe," he replied with reluctance, "it's like a pointless point.
Identity of Relative and Absolute
The mind of the Great Sage of India was intimately
conveyed from west to east.
Among human beings are wise ones and fools,
But in the Way there is no northern or southern Patriarch.
The subtle source is clear and bright; the tributary
streams flow through the darkness.
To be attached to things is illusion;
To encounter the absolute is not yet enlightenment.
Each and all, the subjective and objective spheres are related,
and at the same time, independent.
Related, yet working differently, though each keeps its own place.
Form makes the character and appearance different;
Sounds distinguish comfort and discomfort.
The dark makes all words one; the brightness distinguishes good and bad phrases.
The four elements return to their nature as a child to its mother.
Fire is hot, wind moves, water is wet, earth hard.
Eyes see, ears hear, nose smells, tongue tastes the salt and sour.
Each is independent of the other; cause and effect must return to the great reality
Like leaves that come from the same root.
The words high and low are used relatively.
Within light there is darkness, but do not try to understand that darkness;
Within darkness there is light, but do not look for that light.
Light and darkness are a pair, like the foot before
and the foot behind, in walking. Each thing has its own intrinsic value
and is related to everything else in function and position.
Ordinary life fits the absolute as a box ands its lid.
The absolute works together with the relative like two arrows meeting in mid-air.
Reading words you should grasp the great reality. Do not judge by any standards.
If you do not see the Way, you do not see it even as you walk on it.
When you walk the Way, it is not near, it is not far.
If you are deluded, you are mountains and rivers away from it.
I respectfully say to those who wish to be enlightened:
Do not waste your time by night or day.
Is it the lack of dualistic separation. The projection of subject/object separation and the resulting self delusion
or
Is it seeing the universal nature of all human suffering.
or
maybe something else ?
That is oneness.
LOL!! jokes
made me think of a story when a man came to my apartment with paintings that he was selling. I thought 'cool art' not planning to buy but I figured I would be friendly and take a look.
he laid down everything and he commented and asked my reaction and preferences. i asked him if the artists felt bad losing their paintings to 'the world'. He said 'no' and that they wanted it that way but that they needed some dollars to flow back to them.
Now a lot of those such as psychiatrists are in it for the big bucks. But lets hope that some are wanting something good to go out into the world...
I'll PM you.
"I am a tiny fragment of a larger system we call earth. There are no autonomous beings. The independent self is an illusion. Therefore, because I am simply an interdependent part of this complex organism, it's all me.
I am the angry driver, perceiving my environment as adversarial. I am the cautious driver, emotionally distraught by the violent gesture of another. I am the patriotic, but battle fatigued soldier, feeling exploited by my government. I am the enraged insurgent, fighting my oppressors. I am the homeless refugee, struggling to survive. I am the righteous ethnic cleanser, protecting my birth rite. I am the frightened world leader, displaying the wealth and power of my nation. I am the shunned head of state, emasculated before my fellow countrymen. I am the short sighted healthy person with an "every man for himself" attitude. I am the terminally ill, debilitated and deflated patient, waiting to die. I am the suffering, empty capitalist, frantically consuming in an attempt to fill the void. I am the sick planet, futilely applying age old wisdom to maintain ancient balance against brand new forces.
How can I feel anything but compassion and empathy for all the other interconnected parts of myself? It’s all me. "
'He has been stilled where the currents of construing do not flow. And when the currents of construing do not flow, he is said to be a sage at peace.' Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? 'I am' is a construing. 'I am this' is a construing. 'I shall be' is a construing. 'I shall not be'... 'I shall be possessed of form'... 'I shall not be possessed of form'... 'I shall be percipient'... 'I shall not be percipient'... 'I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient' is a construing. Construing is a disease, construing is a cancer, construing is an arrow. By going beyond all construing, he is said to be a sage at peace."
Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta
We can grasp; but only at the finger; the moon is out of reach.
And even though we cannot grasp the moon - the heart of the Buddha’s teaching – it’s shining into our faces.
(Just my shot at it).
Chan Master Sheng Yen teaching style outlines "3 steps to meditation". "oneness" is the 2nd stage.
The Three Stages of Chan Meditation
At present [1977], the methods of meditation that I am teaching in the United States are divided into three stages.
Stage 1: To Balance the Development of Body and Mind in order to Attain Mental and Physical Health
Stage 2: From the Sense of the Small 'I'
The first stage only helps to bring concentration to your confused mind; but when you practise concentration, other scattered thoughts continue to appear in your mind - sometimes many, sometimes a few. The concept of your purpose in practising Chan is for mental and physical benefits. This is a stage where your concept is purely self-centred. There is no mention of philosophical ideals or religious experience. When you reach the second stage, it will enable you to liberate yourself from the narrow view of the 'I'. In the second stage you begin to enter the stage of meditation. When you practise the method of cultivation taught by your teacher, you will enlarge the sphere of the outlook of the small 'I' until it coincides with time and space. The small 'I' merges into the entire universe, forming a unity. When you look inward, the depth is limitless; when you look outward, the breadth is limitless. Since you have joined and become one with universe, the world of your own body and mind no longer exists. What exists is the universe, which is infinite in depth and breadth. You yourself are not only a part of the universe, but also the totality of it.
Stage 3: From the Large 'I' to No 'I'
When one reaches the height of the second stage, he realises that the concept of the 'I' does not exist. But he has only abandoned the small 'I' and has not negated the concept of basic substance or the existence of God; you may call it Truth, the one and only God, the Almighty, the Unchanging Principle, or even the Buddha of Buddhism. If you think that it is real, then you are still in the realm of the big 'I' and have not left the sphere of philosophy and religion.
I must emphasise that the content of Chan does not appear until the third stage.
http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/lib/wcf////what-is-chan/