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March 10, 2016 Endless Further
Re-post of an entry from March 2013:
A while back I highlighted some of the keywords, search terms and queries that cause people to stumble upon The Endless Further. I know that most of those folks probably found what they were looking for, either here or elsewhere, but it’s interesting to discuss them anyway. Here’s another one:
“what does it mean to untangle the tangle buddhaghosa”
“Untangle the tangle” is a well-known phrase found in the the Jata Sutta (“Samyutta Nikaya”, Chapter 7, Sutta 6). Buddhaghosa was the Indian Buddhist scholar who stands out as the pre-eminent commentator on Theravada understanding. His Visuddhimagga, or Path of Purification, believed written in Ceylon in the beginning of the fifth century CE, is a comprehensive study of Buddhist doctrine and meditation technique. In his introduction to this work, Buddhaghosa quotes, and then comments on the Jata Sutta passage:
The sutta tells how a Brahman named Jata (“Tangle”) Bharadvaja visiting the Buddha at Savatthi posed this question :
‘Tangle within, tangle without,
Sentient things
are entangled in a tangle.
And I would ask of
you, Gotama, this:
Who can untangle
this tangle?’
Buddhaghosa comments:
By ‘tangle” is meant the net of craving. For craving is like the tangle of the network of branches of bamboo-bushes and the like, in the sense of an intertwining, because it arises again and again, repeatedly in connection with such objects as visible things. And it is said to be a ‘tangle within and a tangle without,’ because it arises as craving for one’s own needs and others’, for one’s own person and others’, and for consciousness subjective and objective. Sentient beings are entangled in such a tangle. Just as bamboos and the like are entangled by such tangles as bamboo-bushes, so all living beings, are entangled, enmeshed, embroiled, in that tangle of craving, this is the meaning.
And because of such entanglement, the meaning of, ‘I would ask of you, Gotama, this,’ is to be understood in this way: So I ask you, addressing the Awakened One by his family name, Gotama, ‘Who can untangle this tangle?’ means: Who is able to untangle this tangle which has entangled existence?”
Naturally, we are the only ones who can untangle the tangle, for the entanglement is our own doing. It is no good looking outside of ourselves for the solutions to problems created within. From the Buddhist perspective, relying on external beings or forces will provide only temporary solutions. Lasting change must come from our own inner being.
When questioned in this way, the Awakened One, walking in unobstructed knowledge of all things, confident with the Four Confidences, bearer of the Tenfold Strength, possessor of unimpeded knowledge and the all-seeing eye, spoke this stanza in answer:
‘When a wise person, established well in virtue,
Develops
consciousness and understanding,
Then as a seeker
with concentration and insight,
That person may
untangle this tangle.’
Buddhaghosa defines virtue as the life condition of a person who refrains from killing living things, lying, stealing, etc; virtue is ethics. It has long been held in the West that ethics or moral behavior is only possible through belief in a supreme being. Without belief and without fear of the creator, humans would be free to make up their own moral standards and it would be a case of “anything goes”.
I feel that Buddhist ethics is different. As I see it, Buddhist ethics are based on four core principles: hri, apatrapa, prajna and karuna.
Hri is “self-respect” or “conscientiousness,” although it can be translated as a “sense of shame.” Apatrappa can also mean “shame”, as well as “decorum” or “consideration”. Put together they mean that a person should avoid committing unwholesome acts out of respect for one’s own being (striving to keep the mind pure) and out of consideration for others.
Prajna is wisdom, having a clear understanding of what harm oneself, and karuna, compassion, is recognition of what harms others.
The goal of Buddhist ethics is supply guidelines for what should or should not be done to insure the highest good and avoidance of evil. This, is what Buddhaghose means by “pure.” Actually, he gives “purification” a threefold meaning. One is the purity of virtue. Secondly, refining the mind, having thoughts free of discrimination, cultivating a non-dual mind that sees all things equally without prejudice. And thirdly, Buddhaghosa equates purity with nibbana (nirvana), “which is free from all stains and is exceedingly pure.” In this sense, we can say that ethics and nirvana are identical.
This one very chim, but i will try to understand