Here is the latest podcast. It concerns the Buddhist teaching of pratityasamutpada - dependent origination or conditional arising. The Buddha defined his own enlightenment in terms of his having fully grasped the meaning of dependent arising both forwards and backwards. Forwards means that all worldly things arise in dependence upon conditions. Backwards means that that which does not depend upon worldly conditions is nirvana.
Thus, Buddhas accept and love unconditionally.
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There is a poem by Johnathan Robertson here
https://jeweledtree.blog/2020/05/27/the-love-of-the-buddhas/?fbclid=IwAR1tA9_hfzlcebLqSfSHGrNYBZ7d4bop_oo-CK9wcpOM7M7B2j4GDxgjeOo
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Podcast
The relationship between Tom and Mary has progressed. There is now a baby. Baby Jennifer is dependent upon Tom and Mary. She would not have come into the world, if Tom and Mary had not got together. This is the basic model of conditional origination: for one thing to be, other things have to come first.
Conditional origination is a fundamental principle of Buddhism. All ordinary things are dependent upon conditions. However, there are many different kinds of conditions and there are also some general principles to clarify.
Firstly, a condition is not a cause in the full sense.
The emergence of Jennifer is dependent upon the prior sexual relation of Tom and Mary, but that relationship doesn’t guarantee the arrival of Jennifer. Tom and Mary have been trying for over a year before Mary got pregnant. So, phenomena arise in dependence upon conditions, but those conditions do not fully determine that the phenomena, in this case Jennifer, will appear.
There is no predetermination, no predestination in Buddhism.
Some conditions, some combinations of conditions are conducive to certain outcomes. But there’s no guarantee. The more the conditions are conducive, the more likely the outcome but nothing is completely certain.
Secondly, some conditions we can generate ourselves, but many are out of our control; and the ones that are out of control include the really big ones.
Jennifer depends upon Tom and Mary. But Tom and Mary and Jennifer all depend upon the sun rising in the morning. With no sun, there is no Tom, no Mary, no Jennifer.
So, self-power is puny beside other-power.
In the world of conditions, we are not the masters.
Thirdly, this also illustrates that, while there are some conditional relations where we can say there is inter-dependence, the great majority of instances of dependent origination are one-way streets.
No sun, no Tom, Mary, Jennifer, you or me. But even if we all disappear tomorrow, the sun will go on rising without us.
Interdependence is a special case, not a universal state of affairs.
We depend on it; it doesn’t depend on us. We are the dependent ones.
Conditional origination and conditioned relations in general are fundamental to Buddhist psychology. Evidently, little Jennifer depends on some conditions that are material, like food, and some that are intangible, like love. The intangible ones manifest in concrete actions in the world, that mind precedes. The love has to be in the mind, in the heart, and then, the action flows from it. A good mind is conducive to good outcomes. A bad mind is conducive to misery and suffering. This is psychology.
Now, the psyche is the condition for states of affairs. A bad mind drags along suffering like the way an ox drags along a heavy cart, whereas one who stands in the light of love is accompanied by happiness, just as a person standing in the sun is effortlessly accompanied by their shadow.
The teaching of conditional relations provides us with much practical wisdom, and can help us navigate the complexities of life. Nonetheless, Buddhism is not merely concerned with living a successful, practical life.
Fundamentally, Buddhism is concerned with nirvana, with that which is not dependent upon conditions. Not everything is impermanent. Not everything arises from contrivance. There is a domain beyond conditions which is the Dharmakaya. When we have faith in it, our lives can transcend the “slings and arrows of fortune”; and when this conditional universe comes to an end, the mind of faith will pass through the fire to return to the Dharma.
Ok, that’s enough for today. If things go well, Baby Jennifer may be a Buddha one day.
Thank you very much
Namo Amida Bu
Dharmavidya
David
Replies
It is so good to sit quietly and read the podcast one after another. Thank you, teacher.