Buddha Nature and Human Nature (...and babies)

person

Just a little personal reflection on the relation between human nature and Buddha nature. Something on my mind.

As we grow we experience the world, society and our experiences (good and bad) influence the way we develop. We learn ways of interacting and behaving, we become averse to situations that reflect traumatic experiences, etc. If we were to hypothetically remove all of this conditioning we wouldn't reveal our Buddha nature, we'd reveal our human nature. Infant studies show that many of our behaviors aren't learned, they're innate, evolution didn't stop at the neck. This 60 minutes report is still a very good summary of the mix of human nature, both "positive" and "negative" (more accurately pro social and self interested behavior, which aren't always either positive or negative).

Add to that studies on separated twins and adopted siblings and we can also see how genetics influences our personalities.
https://www.verywellmind.com/are-personality-traits-caused-by-genes-or-environment-4120707

My understanding of Buddha nature in the light of what we now understand of human nature I think lies beneath all that. Traditional Buddhist cosmology includes birth in a myriad of physical forms with their own sorts of in born conditioning. Another possible materialist interpretation of Buddha nature is some sort of intentional development of some aspects of our programming and a letting go of some of our accumulated obstacles. Part of human nature is the flexibility of the brain, we have the ability to direct and change its development.

RobinH

It's interesting, but this study portrayed in the video is rather speculative I think. Babies are nurtured, as they grow they clearly use dolls to "copy" this nurturing role with, What influences their choices we do not know, even in ages this young. And as they're older and learn to be generous... they also take more into account what people supposedly expect them to do or how they think success is more likely, which is game theory territory. I think that last "experiment" is something I would come up with different reactions to, depending on not just what stage I am in life, but also depending on what type of a day I've had. I'm more likely to treat others badly if I myself feel I was a victim of unjust treatment. These sort of things. But it is interesting to research these things from a young age.

Jeroen

I think it is true that if we were to remove conditioning from young children that we would reveal more of human nature. And it is a good thing that the unblemished human nature has such a capacity for laughter, joy, exploration… when we are little there is a fascination with making small things large, with collecting seashells at the beach, climbing trees, playing hide and seek. Just play, rather than games, which are a step towards seriousness.

Buddha nature on the other hand seems to be hard to classify exactly, but it seems to have to do with a capacity for the path of renunciation. If this was an inherited characteristic then millennia of monks staying celibate might well have bred it out of the gene pool.

person

@RobinH said:
It's interesting, but this study portrayed in the video is rather speculative I think. Babies are nurtured, as they grow they clearly use dolls to "copy" this nurturing role with, What influences their choices we do not know, even in ages this young. And as they're older and learn to be generous... they also take more into account what people supposedly expect them to do or how they think success is more likely, which is game theory territory. I think that last "experiment" is something I would come up with different reactions to, depending on not just what stage I am in life, but also depending on what type of a day I've had. I'm more likely to treat others badly if I myself feel I was a victim of unjust treatment. These sort of things. But it is interesting to research these things from a young age.

There have been thousands of studies at this point. It is a different idea than we've had in the past about how much human behavior is hard wired and how much of a blank slate we are, but I think its moved into the realm of established science. Its still a pretty open question what the ratio of nature to nurture is though.

person

@Jeroen said:
Buddha nature on the other hand seems to be hard to classify exactly, but it seems to have to do with a capacity for the path of renunciation.

I'm not sure how you mean this, but this doesn't really fit with any definition of Buddha Nature I've heard of.

If this was an inherited characteristic then millennia of monks staying celibate might well have bred it out of the gene pool.

I suppose my own belief isn't all that materialist and scientific. I think its outside of... beyond... underneath... any genetic programming.