Psychology of Buddhism. Monograph

view must be based on deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths, which suggests their integration into one’s world view.

And here every sane person (and by “sane” I mean everybody except for the enlightened Buddhists) face a global methodological and psychotechnical difficulty. Deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths means living and looking at reality from the point of view of the Four Noble Truths, looking with the eyes of the Four Noble Truths, changing your life so that in your world model, in your understanding of reality, in your psychic reality there will be nothing but the Four Noble Truths.

Deep understanding and acceptance of the Four Noble truths implies changing your focus of thinking, shifting the point from which you look at the world.

There is suffering – what does it mean? It means that there is nothing but suffering. What does it mean? It means that you have to get rid of the duality of your European thinking. You have to get rid of the way of thinking that suggests that there is suffering and there is pleasure, - there is nothing but suffering: birth is suffering, death is suffering, illness is suffering, old age is suffering, wanting something that brings pleasure is suffering, and separation from something that brings pleasure is suffering.

When you want something – you suffer from your desire.

Once you have achieved the desired – you suffer because you have filled and emptied yourself.

You suffer when you want to be gentle.

You suffer when you are gentle.

If you do not have a husband – you suffer because you want to get married. Once you get married you suffering increases.

You suffer when you do not have children.

You suffer when you have them.

You suffer when you want to be beautiful.

You suffer when you are beautiful.

You suffer when you want to get power.

But your suffering is twice as strong if you have power.

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All is suffering. The unbiased, impartial intuitive insight into the nature of things leads to realizing that the only anthological and psychological fact of existence is the fact of suffering and nothing else.

If you think this way and no other, you have the right view, you have a deep understanding of the all-embracing nature of suffering.

It is at this point that you will understand the cause of suffering, which lies in desire, attitude, attachment, thirst.

The point is not whether you want to suffer or not.

You suffer because you live.

Every life, from that of the most primitive microbe to humanity as a whole, every life is associated with suffering. Suffering is the core factor of existence of any living being, as every living creature desires and every living creature is attached to its desires, dreams and ideas.

Having mastered the first and the second noble truths, we become aware of the existence of the path leading to the end of suffering. Thus we acquire the right all-embracing view.

You have to recognize and accept all the joyless things that bring suffering, you have to accept the fact that suffering exists, you have to understand the reason for suffering, you have to realize that the reason is in you and you are the only one who is able to eliminate it. Thus you will understand and live through the Four Noble Truths, not with your mind and intellect, but with your heart and soul.

And only when you have acquired the right view, when you have mastered the Four Noble Truths, can you turn to the second step – right intention.

2. Right intention (samma samkappa) is based on the perfect knowledge of the previous step, it provides resistance to subconscious tendencies caused by ignorance.

At this stage you must show an absolute determination to follow the path of Buddha. The knowledge of the Four Noble Truths is useless without a firm intention to change your life. Right intention means that you have to put in a great deal of effort in staying on the Path; you have to focus all your attention on realization of all of its steps. The Four Noble Truths are mastered in order to be able to make an effort and step onto the Path, step onto

Buddha’s sadhana.

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Right intention means that you have to renounce worldly concerns, bad intentions and hostility towards others. These three conditions constitute the basis of right intention.

The perfect intention involves self-awareness: awareness of your thoughts, words and actions does not let you indulge the base tendencies of your ego and cultivate joy, equanimity, loving-kindness and compassion.

3. Right speech (samma vaca) implies a certain way of formulating your thoughts and being perfectly conscious of what you say. It means not only that you should abstain from lies, divisive speech, abusive speech and idle chatter, but also implies that you have to tell the truth and consider your speech as a means of developing morality, spirituality, good intentions and deeds in other people.

Right speech is described in Anguttara Nikaya in the following way: “...He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world. Abandoning divisive speech he abstains from divisive speech. What he has heard there he does not tell here to break these people apart from those people there. Thus reconciling those who have broken apart or cementing those who are united, he loves concord, delights in concord, enjoys concord, speaks things that create concord. Abandoning abusive speech, he abstains from abusive speech. He speaks words that are soothing to the ear, that are affectionate, that go to the heart, that are polite, appealing and pleasing to people at large. Abandoning idle chatter, he abstains from idle chatter. He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma and the Vinaya. He speaks words worth treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the goal. This is how one is made pure in four ways by verbal action”. (Anguttara Nikaya, X, 176)

Thus, the right speech not only obliges one to abstain from lies, abusive and divisive speech, which encourages hostility, but is also based on the ethical principle of doing good.

4. Right action (samma kammanta) implies control over one’s psychophysical complex and sense organs; it obliges one to refrain from taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct, and other actions that are not in accordance with the Buddhist moral code.

Lay Buddhists take the minimum of vows, leading to accumulation of good karma. They oblige to:

-refrain from killing living beings;

-refrain from incorrect speech (lie, divisive speech, etc.);

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-refrain from stealing;

-refrain from sexual misconduct (including adultery);

-refrain from taking intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness. Monks and nuns follow many more rules (there are a few hundreds of them). They

are described in the part of the Tripitaka called “Vinaya” (the texts of “Pratimoksha” being especially important). Buddhist percepts for monks are oriented not towards accumulating good karma, as in the case of lay Buddhists, but towards its full elimination and achievement of nirvana. In addition to the negative side of actions (expressed in the system of precepts), there is also the right and perfect conduct, which is in full accordance with the inner ethics of the Buddhist. It is expressed in the following words of Buddha: “Without stick and sword, conscientious, and endowed with sympathy, he dwells with compassion towards all living beings”.

5. Right livelihood (samma ajiva) organizes the external aspects of life and implies control over connections and contacts with the outside world. It is similar to the right action, but it concerns the social dimension of life. Both lay Buddhists and monks have to refrain from any form of activity which contradicts the rules of the right action. For example, they must refrain from slave or animal trading and weapon trading (however, Buddhism does not prohibit serving in the army, as it is seen as a means of protection of all living beings in case of danger, while weapon trading encourages conflicts), selling intoxicating drinks or addictive drugs, prostitution, as well as any kind of activity associated with cheating (palmistry, fortune-telling, drawing up horoscopes, etc.).

In addition to the above mentioned rules, right livelihood also implies that one should find an honest way to earn his living. One should work with good intentions for the benefit of other living beings. The one who follows the Noble Eightfold Path has to forget about all kind of activities, associated with deception, treachery, betrayal, and usury.

Right livelihood consists in the purity of thoughts and actions, justice and benefit for one’s own physical and mental well-being, and well-being of all living creatures.

6. Right effort (samma vayama) is mental effort or energy, which is needed to resist emotional impulses and affects. Following the Noble Eightfold Path requires great effort, deep awareness and strong motivation. Even if bhikshu is guided by the right view, right

intention, right speech, right action and right livelihood, he is haunted by ideas and emotions

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of his previous Ego, which can prevent him from staying on the right way, as well as by no less dangerous new ideas and states.

Right effort implies constant struggle against the fragments of your former Ego, which is always present and never gives up without a fight.

The path is slippery and dangerous; a wrong look, a wrong idea, an ugly thought, a flash of anger and you risk leaving it. You have to show great zeal and be aware of what you are doing.

Right effort consists of the four following statements:

1)Prevent the unwholesome that has not yet arisen in oneself.

2)Let go of the unwholesome that has arisen in oneself.

3)Bring up the wholesome that has not yet arisen in oneself.

4)Maintain the wholesome that has arisen in oneself.

The seven factors of enlightenment (satta bojjhanga) are the seven good qualities that one has to develop in oneself:

1)Mindfulness (sati);

2)Investigation (dhamma-vicaya);

3)Energy (viriya);

4)Joy, delight, rapture (piti);

5)Relaxation, tranquility (passaddhi);

6)Concentration (samadhi);

7)Equanimity (upekkha) (25).

These phases and qualities are intended mainly for monks; they require regular yoga practice. The Sanskrit word “yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj”, meaning “to unite”, “to join”. The English “yoke” and Russian “eego” (translated as “yoke”) have the same root. “Yoga” means concentrating, uniting all of one’s efforts to achieve the goal. In

India this word has been used to define complex systems of psychophysical trainings

(“psychopractices”, “psychotechniques”), aimed at the alteration of consciousness and transition from the worldly, samsaric state into the sacred state of “immortality and freedom”.

In the narrow sense of the word, yoga is one of the orthodox brahmanic religious and

philosophical systems (darshana), created by rishi (sage) Patanjali in IV-V cent. AD.

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In the broad sense of the word, yoga corresponds to any kind of psychopractice, aimed at achieving liberation from samsara (nirvana, moksha, mukti or kaivalya); it has been practiced by ascetic hermits and members of various monastic communities. In this sense we can speak of Buddhist yoga, Jain yoga, Hindu yoga, etc.

Right effort here means that one should train him or herself to do regular deep yoga meditation practice, which finally leads to nirvana.

7. Right mindfulness (“samma sati”, also translated as “awareness”) means that you should constantly keep your mind alert, make sure that you resist craving and attachment and direct your thoughts accordingly. Right mindfulness consists of four aspects: you should be aware of what is going on with your body (kaya), feelings (vedana), mind (citta) and psychic elements (dhamma). However, it is not limited to the analysis and control of one’s consciousness as it is, but leads to a higher synthesis and intensification of consciousness through samadhi.

Right mindfulness (also translated as “right memory”) means not only that the practitioner should constantly keep in mind everything that he has learnt, but also look at reality from the factual point of view: he should remember that a body is just a body, a feeling is just a feeling, a mind is a mind and a psychic state is a psychic state.

Ego’s false thinking consists in the following pattern: body – it is my body – it is me.

It is like in the famous anecdote about a dialogue between Jung and Freud on Freud’s dream: “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”. In Buddhism, a cigar is just a cigar, a car is just a car, the sun is just the sun, a raven is just a raven, without symbolism and division into “me and not me”, “mine and not mine”.

We find it hard to accept the idea that our body, mind, feelings and psychic states is something useless, impermanent and unimportant. Being physically and mentally healthy we are always sure that our Self is something extremely valuable.

My body is probably a little bit too big (or small), and still I have no doubt that it is good enough to love its ontological sin; my feelings are so unique and my mental states are so deep that we ought to have called my worldly realization Bhavagan Sri Vladimir; and my intellect is sure to have cosmic creative dimensions...

Our Ego is used to this way of thinking (and as far as I have learnt from my travels

around the world, it concerns both Europeans and Asian people). I have not seen any

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difference between Hindus, Malays, Balinese, Latvians, Germans or Russians: they all have

“Me” and “Mine”.

It is hard for modern people to imagine the feeling of non-attachment to themselves, their body, feelings, ideas and values, states and regrets about their disappearance.

Being the cause of attachment, even calamities, crises and tragedies serve as a source

of the pride and swelling of Ego...

Right mindfulness means that one should recognize the transitory, perishable, abhorrent nature of attachment. Only being aware of the factual character of the world we can liberate ourselves from attachment and from regrets about losing material, social, and spiritual values.

Buddha gave very detailed instructions on how to practice this kind of understanding. For example, when you look at your body you have to remember that it is just a combination of four elements (earth, water, fire and air), that it is full of different kinds of disgusting matter: meat, bones, skin, internal organs, filth, bile, phlegm, blood, fat, etc. At the cemetery you can see how a dead body decomposes; being eaten by dogs and vultures, it gradually becomes mixed with other matter, and then disappears. Such enhanced meditation can help you not to forget what your body really is: it is disgusting, transitory and perishable! Thus you will be able to get rid of the false feelings and attachment to the body: your own body and bodies of other people (from Digha-Nikaya, sutta 22).

This “aloofness” is essential to be able to concentrate one’s thoughts on the truth continuously. The absolute control over thoughts, feelings, emotions and psychophysical processes leads to mastering the two methods of right mindfulness: samadhi and vipassana.

The first method, samadhi, is when one’s mind becomes still and calm, mental excitement evaporates, and affects, psycho-emotional and mental instability disappear. Vipassana is characterized by analytical meditation, cultivation of “good” states of consciousness (those that are “good” from the Buddhist point of view) and getting rid of the “bad” ones.

Recently, looking through my teenage diary, I stumbled upon an entry saying: “You have come naked and you will go naked; the things that have “stuck” to you are not you and not yours”. My mindfulness was right then. Perhaps immaturity is closer to wisdom.

8. Right concentration (samma samadhi) is a state of total concentration and

integration of creative powers. It determines the process of rebirth and finally eliminates it

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together with suffering, which is inherent in it and inseparable from it. This is the eighth and the last step of the Noble Eightfold Path. It is characterized by achievement of the state of samadhi, the higher level of concentrated meditation, in which consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the object which is being experienced.

The objects of concentration are the same as those of the seventh step; the leading factors are the same as those of the sixth step. Before this stage the seven factors of enlightenment exist in embryo; at the stage of samadhi they reach full maturity.

In the course of the seventh stage objects remain in the field of discourse (conceptual) thinking, at the eighth stage they rise into the sphere of intuitive consciousness.

Right concentration is the basic characteristics of samadhi and at the same time the power (indri), which transforms consciousness completely, merging the subject and the object; the world becomes consciousness and consciousness becomes the world.

Such experience is considered to be pure, as it is free from the binarity of relationships and feelings, the ideas of good and evil, biased attitude of acceptance and denial, arrogance and contempt, suspicion and trust.

When one’s consciousness becomes full of this pure feeling, when the most secret sources of delusions and attachments, one’s deepest motivation become apparent, one reaches nirvana, the state of liberation.

Buddhist tradition describes numerous types of samadhi, which do not lead to nirvana. The right samadhi practice finally results in liberation; the monk who has achieved it becomes an Arhat (the “worthy one”; the Tibetan etymology, translating it as the “vanquisher of enemies”, i.e. affects, is not philologically correct).

Even if nirvana does not take place, the state of samadhi, or temporary enlightenment, produces a strong transformational effect: it deepens one’s understanding of the world, opens the gates of trust, eradicates prejudices and makes aspirations higher.

Enlightenment is like washing your face with morning dew: whatever person you are, the sun begins to shine brighter for you.

Right concentration consists of four stages. But first of all, it requires strict observance of the seven above mentioned principles of the Path, including liberation from passions and evil thoughts. If this condition is fulfilled, practitioners can go through the four

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stages of concentration, which gradually becomes deeper and deeper, leading to the ultimate goal of the long and difficult Path, to the cessation of suffering.

1. Bhikkhu concentrates his pure and still mind on studying and understanding the truths. He enjoys the pleasure of deep thinking and the calm of detachment from earthly things.

2. When his faith in the Four Noble truths becomes so strong that all his doubts are dispelled, and there is no more need in reasoning and research, bhikkhu enters the second stage of concentration, which is characterized by joy, serenity and inner calm.

3. At the third stage bhikkhu tries to achieve the state of equanimity (Upekha), i.e. ability to get rid of the feeling of joy that he gets in concentration. Thus he experiences perfect calm and freedom from the feeling of bodiliness. Although he becomes indifferent to the joy of concentration, he is still conscious of his own feelings, freedom and equanimity.

4. At the fourth stage of concentration bhikkhu tries to get rid of the awareness of his freedom and of the feeling of equanimity, as well as from the feeling of joy and excitement that he has experienced before. Thus he attains his goal, the cessation of suffering, perfect wisdom and perfect righteousness.

Here I would be happy to say that bhikkhu passes into nirvana. But most Buddhists believe that Buddha has been the only one to have done it. So we can only suppose that the fruit of the Noble Eightfold Path (arya ashtanga marga) is arhatship. This is how an arhat is described in the chapter of the Dhammapada devoted to this question: “He whose appetites are stilled, who is not absorbed in enjoyment, who has perceived the void and unconditioned freedom (Nirvana), his path is difficult to understand, like that of birds in the air. The gods even envy him whose senses, like horses well broken in by the driver, have been subdued, who is free from pride, and free from appetites” (The Dhammapada, chapter VII: The Venerable (Arhat). At the same time, it is believed that the one who has experienced nirvana attains arhatship.

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In order not to get lost in words and concepts, it has to be mentioned that an arhat is a buddhist spiritual practitioner, who has mastered brahmaviharas, the four sublime attitudes

(the one who has “laid down the burden”): equanimity, joy, loving-kindness and compassion. The crucial transformational mental state, which opens the gates leading to brahmavihara and arhatship, is called samadhi. It is the state of enlightenment, attained with the help of the right concentration at the fourth stage, characterized by a still and pure mind. The elimination of contradictions between the inner and the outer world, and the merging of individual consciousness with the universal one (dharmakaya). It is close to nirvana, but not identical to it. It is similar to Satori in Zen and the process of merging of individual soul with the Holy Spirit in mystical Christianity.

As for the Four Noble Truths, there is an apt metaphor used to describe them in Buddhist literature.

A man lives in the valley of the Ganges River. One day the whole valley is struck by heavy floods, and flood water enters his hut. This is the First Noble Truth: there is suffering.

He finds the hole in the wall, through which the water is entering. This is the Second Noble Truth: there is a cause of suffering.

The man plugs the hole. This is the Third Noble Truth: there is the cessation of suffering.

But he realizes that the temporary suspension of water flow will not save his life, that he should get out of the valley and find a hill where there is no water at all; so he plans his journey. This is the Fourth Noble Truth: there is the Eightfold Path leading to the cessation of suffering.

He has to become convinced of the need to get out of the valley filled with water (samsara) and climb up the hill, where there is no water (nirvana).

Basic Generalizations

We have described what can be called the original, or basic Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path represent the essence of Buddhism, as they deal with philosophy, ontology, psychology and psychtechniques of the path leading to nirvana.

The Path itself is an integration of Buddhist teaching with its four-component

formula. The first stage, right view, consists in mastering the Four Noble Truths (about the

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