Progressing in the Buddhist Path

I don’t spend nearly as much time delving into Buddhist texts the way I used to in previous blogs, but I found this one recently and it was too good to ignore. This is actually the first sutra of the Samyutta Nikaya collection of the Pali Canon, or the Ogha-Tarana Sutta (SN 1.1):

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. Then a certain devata, in the far extreme of the night, her extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Jeta’s Grove, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, she stood to one side. As she was standing there, she said to him, “Tell me, dear sir, how you crossed over the flood.”

“I crossed over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place.”

“But how, dear sir, did you cross over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place?”

“When I pushed forward, I was whirled about. When I stayed in place, I sank. And so I crossed over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place.”

[The devata:]

At long last I see
a brahman, totally unbound, who
without pushing forward,
without staying in place,
has crossed over
the entanglements
of the world.

That is what the devata said. The Teacher approved. Realizing that “The Teacher has approved of me,” she bowed down to him, circumambulated him — keeping him to her right — and then vanished right there.

A deva or devata, by the way means a divine or god-like being and one of the six states of rebirth traditionally in Buddhism. They lived long life-spans, had terrific powers, but would ultimately have the same demise as everyone else, and would backslide into a worse rebirth. So, the devas, like humans and other beings, were all students of the Buddha, hence he is known as a “teacher of gods and men”.

This sutra, tiny as it is, says some pretty important things for a Buddhist’s practice. The key here is how one approaches the practice. If they are slothful, or just neglectful, then they sink into the river. If they strain themselves and push hard, their ego racing to reach to end, they lose their way and get tossed about in the river. The key here is to be centered and diligent. By “centered” I mean composed and your mind not running out of control, either pursuing gratification or pursuing Enlightenment. The classic Zen story runs like so:

A student went up to the mountain where a master swordsman lives to study the art of sword fighting from him. The student asked how long he can expect to master sword fighting if he practices every day for four hours. In response, the master says ten years. The student asked if he can expect to achieve mastery faster he practices every day for eight hours. The master says no, that he will not achieve mastery for twenty years if he practices that long. The student ask how long he can achieve mastery if he practices twelve hours daily. The master says thirty years. The student then asks how long will he have mastery if he practices all his waking hours. The master says that he will never achieve mastery.

One must put forth effort toward the goal of bodhi, or awakening, but there’s a difference between living a concerted, long-term practice, and trying to rush things to get there sooner. The latter is just another example of the mind grasping for something, and feeding off itself. If you are sincere in directing your efforts toward bodhi, then the rest will just attend to itself. Don’t worry, just don’t be lax either. If you practice Buddhism for a while, you’ll find the right balance in time. Diligence, diligence, diligence.

For us Pure Land Buddhists, the meaning is the same. Though we practice the nembutsu, we know that we are inevitably carried along by Amida Buddha’s Light, so that although we don’t seem to be moving forward, it’s also true that we’re somehow still moving away from the darkness of ignorance, hatred and selfishness toward awakening. If our intentions for rebirth in the Pure Land are sincere, the rest will attend to itself.

Namu Amida Butsu