Psychology of Buddhism. Monograph

His Ego has not died. It still has considerable influence over him, sometimes becoming stronger and stronger, evoking memories from his former life, memories of success and pleasure.

In a sense, this situation is similar to a case of split personality: there is a clash of two conflicting forces – the good new forces (the ideas of sadhana and the status of bhikkhu seeking refuge in the Three Jewels) and the bad old forces (the Ego of ordinary person, whose experience still constitutes the fundamental part of novice’s personality). For such personality the seven steps of the Path, starting with right intention, is a kind of conflict resolution practice. It involves elimination (not transformation) of the old personality through failure to satisfy the needs and to preserve the values and goals of the layman Ego.

With the view of achieving integrity, bhikkhu has to deepen his understanding of the truth, cultivate will power and ability to control his feelings. Only absolute determination and awareness, passionless behavior, clear thinking and ability to stay uninvolved in human passions and desires make it possible for a bhikkhu to attain his goal. It is the only way to achieve harmony: his thoughts, will and feelings become perfect and purified in the light of the truth.

Only when bhikkhu kills the philistine in himself, when he destroys the remains of his former relationships and desires, eliminating ignorance (avidya), he can proceed to the last step of absolute concentration, as there will be no more obstacles on his way.

Only when bhikkhu goes through the seven stages of the Noble Eightfold Path, yellow robes become the symbol of his purity and clarity. Now he is ready for the highest level of concentration, which opens the truth to him: he acquires perfect vision, the highest wisdom, and he penetrates the mystery of existence.

Only when ignorance and desire are eliminated, the source of suffering disappears. But even if at this stage one possesses the clearest mind and the subtlest perception, it is possible that he experiences false samadhi. In “Vishuddha-marga” these states are described as “Ten Perversions in Insight”. At this stage, called “Knowledge of Appearance and Disappearance”, one may experience the following:

1.A vision of sparkling light or a luminous form;

2.A feeling of excitement, leading to gooseflesh, shivering, a feeling of levitation

and other signs of excitement;

111

3.A feeling of calm in one’s mind and body, which makes them light and flexible;

4.A feeling of faith in one’s guru and the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma and

the Sangha), or faith in meditation, accompanied by a feeling of joyful confidence in its

effectiveness and desire to advise one’s friends and family to practice it;

5.Zeal in meditation, accompanied by even energy, neither too calm, nor too tense;

6.Sublime happiness, overwhelming the body of meditator, a feeling of extraordinary bliss, which seems endless and makes people tell everybody about their exceptional experience;

7.Quick and clear perception of each moment of consciousness: visions are accurate, strong and clear, the concept of impermanence and the idea about the absence of “Self” and

dissatisfaction is grasped immediately;

8.Fixation on the experience that one has got in meditation, inability to forget it;

9.Being calm and reserved about what is going on in one’s consciousness: no matter

what comes into meditator’s mind, he stays indifferent to it;

10. Strong attachment to visions of light and other factors described above, getting pleasure from contemplating them.

Even the most zealous practitioners rarely go through such experience, therefore it will not be easy to convince a bhikkhu or a practicing European, that he has not attained enlightenment. It is also very difficult to label such experience “false samadhi”. Who are we to judge? Who are we to say that “what he takes for the Path is not the Path?” (Forgive me, the blessed Buddhist gurus).

In my opinion, the only effective strategy in such a case would be to follow the example of Buddha, who, having achieved enlightenment, sat under the Bodhi tree for seven days, thinking about his experience.

If bhikkhu concentrates on his experience and analyses it in depth, he will be able to decide for himself, whether it is just a part of his path or the fruit of sadhana.

At the moment of samadhi, bhikkhu can reap the fruit of the Path and become an arhat. It happens when wisdom (prajna), morality (shila), and concentration (samadhi) (the steps of the Noble Eightfold Path) turn into perfect wisdom, perfect morality and perfect

concentration.

112

I am not quite sure that it is nirvana, however, it is a fact that an arhat possesses the three fruits of the Path.

It is a stage of bhikkhu’s rebirth: he turns from pupil into guru, from the one who seeks into the one who has found, from the one who walks along the Path, into the one who has achieved his goal.

The one who has become an arhat enters the sacred circle of the initiates, the teachers of Buddhism, the keepers of real knowledge. They serve as an example to those who seek, they are living embodiments of the ideal realization of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Dimension Two: From the Alphabet of Dharmas to Bharmavihara

Many cultures had clearly defined ways of transmitting mental states and experience.

As for Buddhists, they used the word “dharma” in this context. There was a whole alphabet consisting of 50-121 dharmas, used to describe canonical mental states and modalities of experience.

As we have already mentioned above, the word “dharma” has several interrelated meanings in Buddhist tradition. They are:

-the teaching of Buddha;

-the set of texts, containing Buddha’s teaching;

-a state of consciousness.

In this case, the word “dharma” is used in the third meaning.

Dharma is a state integrating consciousness, body, and emotions. The language of dharmas is an alphabet of basic emotions, existing in psychic reality.

According to the Indian philosophy any natural substance (prakriti), whether it is manifested or not, has three gunas (qualities, principles or tendencies): Sattva – the balanced, harmonic, ordered tendency, Rajas – the active, passionate, dynamic tendency, and Tamas – the inert, stagnant, dark tendency.

For example, letter A denotes a state of delight (or joy, piti).

The sublime state of sympathetic joy, rejoicing in the virtues and success of others (mudita) is dharma one.

The passionate joy that one experiences as a result of achievement, victory,

overcoming, acquisition, struggle, completing something meaningful is dharma number two.

113

The malicious joy, the gloating delight got out of humiliation, degradation, failure, inferiority, stupidity of others is dharma number three.

Now let us take the letter B. Let it be Love.

The spiritual, pure, kind love is dharma number one.

The passionate and overwhelming love, the desire to possess is dharma number two. The apathetic, understated, devouring love corresponds to dharma number three. The language of dharmas lies at the basis of Buddhist psychology of mental states. Buddhist psychological training was organized in such a way that from the alphabet

of dharmas students passed on to grammar. It meant that they learnt to be in a particular state of mind (the letter A, than the letter B and so on), and then began to train themselves to consciously pass from one dharma to another.

Every bhikkhu and arhat was aware of what he was feeling.

Finally, having mastered the alphabet and the grammar of mental states, bhikkhu learnt to get into and remain in the state of bharmavihara – the four unrestricted sublime states of consciousness (the “Four Immeasurables”). These states represent both a kind of meditation, allowing “the mind to enter the paradise of pure land”, and the goal of meditation, a particular state of consciousness.

Bhikkhu acquired the ability to penetrate into the nature of things, he cast off the chains, preventing him from getting liberation. He became an “arhat”, an “awakened creature”, a saint. The word “arhat” literally means “the worthy one”.

An arhat is free from his Ego. He is free from false identity.

He realizes that the generally accepted notions of reality, fixed ideas and dominant conventional values are mere illusions.

He is completely free from suffering and from actions that could affect his future

karma.

He does not have the sense of “Self”, and all his actions are purposeful: when he does something, he does it either in order to maintain his own body or for the good of others. All his deeds are imbued with perfection. Nothing from his former life can make him feel hatred, greed, etc. His former karma ceases to influence his behavior, and he rids himself of his impurities.

114

He lives fully in the present moment: spontaneity is manifested in all his actions. At this stage, bhikkhu renounces the last traces of egoism: desire for worldly gain, fame, pleasure or praise, desire to get pleasure from material and formless dhyanas. Even a slight disposition for worldly thought and actions is unthinkable; moreover, it is uncomfortable for him.

Anger, attachment and ignorance cease to serve as his primary motives and give place to loving kindness, joy, compassion and equanimity, which become his basic states of consciousness.

Bringing the four sublime states of consciousness (Brahmavihara) to perfection leads to the highest spiritual level of arhatship.

Loving-kindness (“Metta”, which can also be translated as love, friendliness, benevolence) is a meditation on love. Bhikkhu has to set his heart on striving for the wellbeing of all living creatures, including his enemies.

Metta is a pure and selfless love.

Europeans see “love” as a multidimensional concept. To avoid confusion, let us discuss some of the meanings of “metta” in Pali. It will give us a clearer notion of what is worthy of cultivating and what is not.

The first meaning, “soma”, implies a wide range of sensual desires and pleasures.

But in this particular context it means sexual desires and sexual pleasure. This kind of desire always includes sensuality as a mental and emotional factor. It is considered to be an impure, profane state of consciousness, resulting in dukkha (dissatisfaction, leading to suffering).

It is clear that this state is often viewed as the basis of life on earth and the basis of its continuation, as well as the primary motive of existence, determining people’s lives.

Erotic love is selfish in itself: all it makes us wish for is pleasure for ourselves. We pay no attention to our partner. As for other people outside the couple, we do not think of them at all. The range of feelings inherent in Kama, i.e. erotic, sexual love, is very narrow and centered on “Self” (Kama is not to be confused with “kamma”, which means “karma” in

Sanskrit). However, this kind of love can be practiced with metta, it can serve as an instrument of cultivating loving-kindness, too, as it is done in Vamachara (“Left-Hand Path”, “Left-Hand Tantra”). But in most cases, Eros is fed by libido, serves libido, and ends with

that.

115

The next feeling we are going to discuss is called “sneha”. It is used to denote attachment between family members: there are families where people lack genuine warmth but still have close relationship, - this is what “sneha” literally means. This attachment is sentimental, and relationships in such families often turn out to be a kind of an agreement.

For example, the father earns a living and the mother ensures family’s security. However, this kind of love may be found between family members who do not have sexual relations, i.e. other family members.

Sneha implies care for other family members. Still, it may well be so that people bring harm to others outside the group or those who interfere in this kind of “love”. Therefore, sneha can be called egoistical to a certain extent: people’s own selfish goals are disguised as care for the wellbeing of their family.

However, sneha represents a better basis for cultivating loving-kindness, than kama. Metta is the opposite of kama and sneha, it is completely unselfish. It means caring

for the wellbeing of every person. Metta does not imply seeking support in others, gaining something from other people, using them. It is even free from sentimental attachment.

Kama and sneha always lead to physical and mental suffering, which can never be caused by metta. The only fruit it bears is happiness – both for those who cultivate it and for their surroundings.

Metta aims at the achievement of happiness by other people. Loving-kindness leads to virtue, inner peace and harmony in relations with other people, as well as freedom from irritability and excitement.

In order to achieve this, one has to cultivate loving-kindness towards all living beings. In Buddhism, love is considered to be the greatest virtue.

And yet Buddhism is not a poem celebrating love, it is a hymn of consciousness. Love is a dharma, an integrated state of consciousness. Buddha said: “All means of acquiring religious merit are not worth of a sixteenth part of love, salvation of the heart. Love, salvation of the heart, includes all of them, and shines, and glows, and sparkles”.

In Nagarjuna we read: “Even offering three hundred bowls of food three times a day does not match the spiritual merit gained in one moment of love”.

Buddha was a Teacher of love, as he always encouraged people to care for the spirit

of love.

116

The Mettasutta of Sutta Nipata runs: “As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child, even so should one cultivate a limitless heart with regard to all beings. With good will for the entire cosmos, cultivate a limitless heart: above, below, and all around, unobstructed, without enmity or hate. Whether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down, as long as one is alert, one should be resolved on this mindfulness”.

Love (Metta), compassion (Karuna), joy (Mudita) and equanimity (Upekkha) are the four “immeasurables”, but love is the source of the three others, it is always given the first place among them.

Metta is not only love for one’s neighbor, it is love for all beings, those who live, those who lived and even those who have just been conceived and wait in the womb of the Universe.

Loving-kindness is Love beyond passion, beyond attitude to the object of love, it is not conditioned by the object. It is a state of giving kindness and mercy, self-sacrifice. Metta is like the love of Christ on the Cross, it is like the merciful look of Buddha at all living beings under the Bodhi tree.... “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only

Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. (The Gospel of

John, 3:16).

Compassion (Karuna) is a meditation on compassion: bhikkhu thinks about all living beings that are in trouble, he imagines their sorrows in order to evoke a feeling of deep compassion towards them. Karuna is a feeling of compassion towards the grief of others and taking active part in helping them. Loving-kindness is the basis of Karuna, it is essential for cultivating compassion.

Karuna is characterized by the desire to liberate other beings from suffering. It is different from pity. It gives rise to generosity and desire to help others with one’s words and actions. Karuna plays an important role in Buddha’s Teaching. It is the feeling of deep compassion that made Buddha want to explain his Dharma to all living beings. Love and compassion are two cornerstones of Dharma practice.

Compassion means being outside of suffering. It is a state of being full of knowledge, strength and clarity, openness and helpfulness. It is beyond the emotions that are usually evoked by compassion, pity and empathy. When we are overwhelmed with emotions,

we lose awareness and clarity. We become emotions. When we are compassionate, we are

117

not involved in the feelings of other people, we are not involved in what we feel towards the situation. Karuna means being open to helping others. It is free from blaming, it is beyond any kind of attitude towards what other people do. It is beyond good and evil.

Joy (Mudita – delighting in other people’s well-being) is a meditation on joy: bhikkhu thinks about prosperity of other living beings and finds delight in their happiness. It is the joy we feel when we hear about well-being of other people. Mudita also means freedom from jealousy. It is a hymn of life, an unrestricted expression of one’s feelings. It is when one is free in the stream of feelings, when his body, eyes, voice, ears, everything in him celebrates life. Joy is a state of consciousness, characterized by pure energy of life, radiating from the one who practices it and giving warmth to all living beings.

Equanimity (Upekkha, the state of inner balance that cannot be upset by gain or loss, anger or sorrow) is a meditation on serenity: bhikkhu is beyond love and hate, cruelty and suppression, wealth and desire; he contemplates his own life with absolute calm.

Equanimity celebrates the calm, stable state of mind, which manifests itself when one faces misfortune and failure. The one who has trained upekkha in himself is able to face any situation with imperturbability and courage. He is free from worries, despair and regret. Equanimity is a meditation on actions (karma) and their consequences (vipaka). Upekkha makes it clear that everyone is the master and the heir of his own actions. It eliminates prejudice and discrimination.

Equanimity means having the same attitude towards everything. It often seems to us that life is being engaged in some kind of relations: we love some people and hate others, consider some things to be right and others to be wrong...

Upekkha teaches us to treat all people in the same way, regardless of their gender, age, race, caste, ethnicity, wealth, education, and family relations.

From the point of view of Equanimity, there is absolutely no difference between Africans and Russians, Japanese and Chechens, Jews and Tartars, my wife and my mother, my son Vadim and an Eskimo, sitting in an igloo, a billionaire and a poor man, Jesus Christ and Buddha Shakyamuni, Mohammed and Osho.

There is even no difference between man and other living beings. Therefore, the cat lying next to me in an armchair is equal to Bodhidharma, they have the same nature.

118

But equanimity is not indifference. It rather means impartial attitude towards reality: to the animate and the inanimate, the awakened and the sleeping, the spiritual and the spiritually impoverished, the verbal, emotional, perceptual and symbolic.... It means contemplating the river of life in such a way that the contemplation is beyond any kind of relations.

Upekkha is the state of Buddha. It is the state that one experiences when he has fully realized his spiritual potential and has become free from desire to be somebody and something, when he does not consider anything to be his own, when he does not have anything, and at the same time he has everything. He has all the states, ideas and reactions, and at the same time he is nothing. He has risen beyond the field of human worries. And now he is able to take any kind of form, to experience any kind of emotion, to enter any kind of state, relation or contact with reality, always maintaining Equanimity.

But Equanimity never comes alone. Compassion and goodness are like borders, through which Equanimity is filtered. The greatness of equanimity is determined by love and joy.

These four qualities, loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, are considered to be sublime in Buddhism, Lamaism, Christianity and Mohammedanism. It is so because they are extremely rare.

When one achieves Equanimity, which means that he consciously accepts this mental state, it becomes his homeland, it nurtures him and brings him into balance, helps him to achieve harmony at any moment. It is a place where you do not need help, where you become free.

The heart of Buddhist transformation is in the Four Sublime Attitudes (Brahmavihara) and the Great Compassion (Maha Karuna), which is beyond selfness and duality.

Thus, the second strategy of the way to awakening consists of three steps:

1.Studying basic dharmas, which is the alphabet of mental states.

2.Mastering “grammar”, the art of transition from one mental state into another, which requires strong will and knowledge of psychotechniques.

3.Keeping the Four Sublime Attitudes in one’s thoughts.

119

One has to master dharmas in order to gain the ability to be aware of one’s feeling and to be able to control them. The one who is able to stay in Brahmavihara all the time is said to have attained arhatship.

Dimension Three: Sadhana as a Play of Consciousness

The third version of the path concerns the most intellectually gifted and cultured bhikkhus.

The Sangha had originally been a system open for all castes (varnas) of Hindu society. The vaishyas and the shudras, the kshatriyas and the brahmins, people of different culture and education – all of them could enter Buddhist religious community. And each of them required his own level of complexity of mental structure. For those who enter the sangha, Buddhism becomes a religious system, a deep philosophical teaching and a refined psychological school.

Like any other tradition, Buddhism has its own concept of mental structure and its own hierarchical path towards integrity. Spiritual practices (sadhana) range from primitive to complicated, providing means of development for bhikkhus with different intellectual needs.

Buddhism grew in the cultural base of Hinduism. Therefore, Buddhist maps of consciousness had much in common with the concepts of Hindu culture. There is another simple reason for that: Buddha himself was a brahmin and a Hindu by birth.

According to Vedantic philosophy, every person consists of five “sheaths”, coverings, levels or dimensions of existence (“kosha”). They are often compared to an onion: peeling it layer by layer you finally get to the essence. The outside sheath, the grossest one, is called Annamaya kosha, which means “a food sheath”. It is the sheath of physical self.

Then comes Pranamaya kosha, which is composed of prana. Prana is the vitalizing force or energy (the one that Z. Freud called “libido”). The third layer is Manomaya kosha, the sheath of manas, the rational, abstract, linguistic mind. Then comes Vijnanamaya kosha, the sheath of intuition, wisdom, the refined intellect. The inner sheath, Anandamaya kosha, is the sheath of spiritual and transcendent bliss.

These five sheaths are grouped into three basic bodies: the gross body, the fine body and the causal body. The gross dimension, body or state, includes the lowest level, the

physical body (annamaya kosha). The fine dimension consists of the three middle sheaths:

120