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Using the "true" middle path?
Zayl
Veteran
The word "true" in the title is in quotation marks for obvious reasons, as I believe Truth is entirely subjective from person to person. Anyway, on with the topic.
Forgive me if I am mistaken, as I may have missed out on/forgotten some of the nuances of Gautama Buddha's messages. But did he not advise a middle way, to all things? Does this mean we must balance and master both love and hate? joy and anger? compassion and passion? confidence and fear? Most Buddhists I meet choose to focus solely upon these positive aspects, while often times trying to block out and ignore the negative ones. I feel this is just as harmful as indulging in the negative and ignoring the positive, they are both extremes, just opposites.
So the middle way then. Does this mean in some situations, in some scenarios in our lives, these negative facets of the human psyche come into their own, and are of use? The way I see it, you cannot have balance without having a weight on both sides of the metaphorical scale. You have to temper your Hatred with Peace, but it cuts the other way I believe. Without the internal conflict that these negative aspects bring to us I firmly feel we could never grow. How could we understand our anger, fear, jealousy, and other such emotions and thoughts if we decide to try and block them out? When I get angry, as I often do in my day to day life, I do not let it rule me. It has taken much practice, but I have learned to simply observe my anger, to look where these thoughts come from, and where they are going.
The same things goes for Joy or Contentment. If those were all we felt (which seems ideal, but it really isn't) we would grow complacent and lazy. So in the height of ecstasy I observe these thoughts and emotions as well, but I temper them with the opposite end of the spectrum, to bring me back down to earth as it were.
To put it simply, we are human, and this means we must fully accept everything about what we are. Even the most terrible of emotions, passions, and thoughts have their uses. They give balance. In my mind the "Middle Path" is not such a path, but a tightrope that must be tread carefully. Leaning too far in either direction leads us astray.
So embrace your love, but also your hate. Embrace your fear, but also your happiness. Understand that mechanically, we are just animals, and nothing will ever, ever change that. And that ignoring that fact by trying to elevate ourselves is sheer arrogance and that hinders us. Accept yourself, all of yourself, and work with it. This is infinitely difficult, but in my mind I feel it is correct.
In our hearts we are wild beasts, but in our minds we are something other-worldly. We must bring balance to these two forces else we can never truly get ahead.
Forgive me if I am mistaken, as I may have missed out on/forgotten some of the nuances of Gautama Buddha's messages. But did he not advise a middle way, to all things? Does this mean we must balance and master both love and hate? joy and anger? compassion and passion? confidence and fear? Most Buddhists I meet choose to focus solely upon these positive aspects, while often times trying to block out and ignore the negative ones. I feel this is just as harmful as indulging in the negative and ignoring the positive, they are both extremes, just opposites.
So the middle way then. Does this mean in some situations, in some scenarios in our lives, these negative facets of the human psyche come into their own, and are of use? The way I see it, you cannot have balance without having a weight on both sides of the metaphorical scale. You have to temper your Hatred with Peace, but it cuts the other way I believe. Without the internal conflict that these negative aspects bring to us I firmly feel we could never grow. How could we understand our anger, fear, jealousy, and other such emotions and thoughts if we decide to try and block them out? When I get angry, as I often do in my day to day life, I do not let it rule me. It has taken much practice, but I have learned to simply observe my anger, to look where these thoughts come from, and where they are going.
The same things goes for Joy or Contentment. If those were all we felt (which seems ideal, but it really isn't) we would grow complacent and lazy. So in the height of ecstasy I observe these thoughts and emotions as well, but I temper them with the opposite end of the spectrum, to bring me back down to earth as it were.
To put it simply, we are human, and this means we must fully accept everything about what we are. Even the most terrible of emotions, passions, and thoughts have their uses. They give balance. In my mind the "Middle Path" is not such a path, but a tightrope that must be tread carefully. Leaning too far in either direction leads us astray.
So embrace your love, but also your hate. Embrace your fear, but also your happiness. Understand that mechanically, we are just animals, and nothing will ever, ever change that. And that ignoring that fact by trying to elevate ourselves is sheer arrogance and that hinders us. Accept yourself, all of yourself, and work with it. This is infinitely difficult, but in my mind I feel it is correct.
In our hearts we are wild beasts, but in our minds we are something other-worldly. We must bring balance to these two forces else we can never truly get ahead.
1
Comments
Now consider why Buddha did not say, "The problem is Dukkha. But this is the Middle Way, which means we won't strive to eliminate it. We'll try to bring it into balance, instead."
It's a wonderful quandary, isn't it?
It's so easy to jump into a river and go with the flow, but you might have to go over a waterfall or some white water rapids on the way down though. Then you get to the ocean - what lies beyond that horizon?
Going against the flow of the river can be equally challenging. But when you reach it's source and see a natural spring gently bubbling up from the ground in its natural environment to become a stream - that might be something to behold? After you have admired it's natural beauty a bit you might then decide to follow the river down to the sea (navigating the hazards carefully) and tell all those standing on the shore admiring the ocean and wondering what is over the horizon, that you may not know what lies beyond it but have seen the source of the ocean.
Taking the path back could involve a luxury helicopter ride, but the noise and thrill of the ride and the few minutes staring at some water coming out of the ground before having to get back in the chopper might overshadow everything. I paid how much to see that!
Similarly jumping into the ocean and trying to swim against the currents and flow of the river with all your might, climbing up the waterfalls and wet and cold walking up the stream may mean you get there eventually, but you went through all that for this little gurgle of water - what a let down! Really, I went through all that for this?
The other way is to look at the well-trodden path that someone made and is continually being walked. It may take a lot longer than a helicopter ride, but is quicker and easier than trying to swim up river. Also there are some amazing sights to see on the way. People who have trodden the path by the river may point out some things you may have missed along the way, 'look at that little stream over there joining this one to make the river. Look at that fish and the beautiful flower sitting still in the little lagoon off to the side over there. Listen to the wind rustling the trees' And you can sit down and admire other sights and sounds along the way, have a nice cup of tea with a few of your companions. Some may be a little more eager and go on ahead, but you will eventually get there. OK so there may be a little diversion here or there, but eventually you get back on the path. Then when you reach the spring, you can stay as long as you like, before going back to the shore (perhaps a year or 2), then you may want to tell people about the trip, or even be a guide. At some point though you have to take that trip across that ocean to see what lies over the horizon. But seeing how a spring transformed into a stream, a river and then a vast ocean, can only make you wonder: 'what do the oceans become?'
But you know the answer, already - the oceans evaporate and paint the sky with clouds, whose rain falls to the ground to replenish the spring. And everyone drinks of it!
Whatever my destination is, there may be many paths. Paths along the extreme left or the extreme right may have problems. These problems are not caused by the destination, they are caused by the path. Buddhism advises us therefore to seek a middle path.
Let's say my destination is Love. I'm certainly not an expert in Buddhism, but I haven't encountered anything yet that advises me to balance Love with Hate. I don't seek a balance between Love and Hate, but I might be well-advised, as I journey toward Love, to travel a path toward the middle, so as to not encounter obstacles and distractions.