Today is the 4th of July. In America, this is celebrated as Independence Day; and in Britain, today, this is the day that the government has chosen for a lifting of lockdown. Probably not a co-incidence, these two items, since the British prime minister was born in New York.
During my lifetime, a lot of countries have become independent. Some have prospered, some have struggled. Independence can have its difficulties; and of course, independence in the modern, hyper-interconnected world may not be all that it appears to be; and a country that becomes independent but remains poor, remains dependent upon many other countries. A country that becomes independent that is relatively rich is bound to be interconnected with many other countries.
In Buddhism there is a certain kind of independence of the individual, that is valued. This is called ekagata. Ekagata literally means something like to go alone, or we might in a more colloquial English way say to stand on one’s own feet.
Ekagata means that one in not swept away by the popular trend. We talked about samjña in the previous podcast and how easy it is to be swept up in things. The person who has ekagata is not caught in this way. That is not to say they are impervious to surrounding events, the feelings of others, or what is in the news. They see these things; they have natural reactions to them, but they are not carried away by them. They make their own judgement and they have a source of faith and stability that gives them an equanimity in the midst of all the turmoil and crosscurrents of life.
The Queen of England has something of this quality. She is not a Buddhist, but she has a deep faith. There was an occasion, when she was riding her horse, and a man started shooting at her from the crowd. Bang! Bang! Bang! She didn’t flinch. Her first thought and first action was to calm the horse, which she did, as the security men bundled in and overpowered the man with the gun. Having calmed the horse, she carried on with the parade. This shows a great steadiness of mind, in which self-concern is not the uppermost consideration. This is the fruit of faith.
Such a person has, what, in Pureland Buddhism we call anshin. Anshin means literally a peaceful mind. Often it is translated as settled faith. One has something one can rely upon – as my mother would have said “come hell or high water.” It doesn’t matter what comes along, there is something one can take refuge in.
In Buddhism, to have independence is to have a true refuge; and this refuge is so established that it has not required thought. It happens automatically. These were the final words of the Buddha. The final words of the Buddha were along the line of “If you want to be an island, a light onto yourself, then you must make the Dharma your light.”
When we take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha we acquire an independence from fashion, from what is swaying the popular mind from week to week. We acquire something very special and deep, a kind of treasure that remains in the heart. This treasure which has been given to me by the Buddha stands me in good stead, through sickness and health, through all the chopping and changing that is brought about by the circumstances of this life in this world. This is Namo Amida Bu.
Namo Amida Bu
Thank you very much
Dharmavidya
David
Replies