Chapter 3
The co-director of the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center is a woman named Eve. She told us that she would be giving the class that day because her husband Judd was “chained to his computer” in order to complete a book manuscript. Judd had been working on a translation of a classic Tibetan text for several years and his publisher was putting the pressure on him to complete this project. Judd and Eve, a happily married couple who worked well together in running the Center, often traded off teaching assignments, sharing their wisdom with the small group of students who would appear on a Sunday afternoon for some Dharma instruction. The class began with the traditional Tibetan prayer prior to study.
I go for refuge
To the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
Until I achieve enlightenment.
By the power
Of the goodness that I do
In giving and the rest,
May I reach Buddhahood
For the sake
Of every living being.
Today Eve announced, “It’s always good to review some of the basic tenets of Tibetan Buddhism. This afternoon I would like to go over the Four Noble Truths. Actually, the Four Noble Truths are something that all Buddhists adhere to, not just we Tibetan Buddhists.
Eve stood up and went over to the green chalkboard and began writing, her hand banging the chalk forcefully against the board as she wrote out the ancient teaching. Then she pointed to the old wobbly board.
The fact of suffering /difficulty
The origin of suffering (craving / desire)
The cessation of suffering (detachment)
The eightfold path leading to the cessation of suffering
“To me,” the teacher continued, “these four radical statements sum up a whole philosophy of life. They teach us that suffering is an integral part of living--as if we didn’t know that one! They also suggest that our suffering comes about largely by desire, that is, we cling to what we have or what we want and in that way we cause ourselves pain. The Four Noble Truths provide a way to free us from suffering by suggesting detachment or a letting go and to enter into this more deeply by means of the Eightfold Path. We will discuss the Eightfold Path in detail later. I will write it here for your own reflection in the meanwhile.”
More clicking on the board with chalk was followed by another point of Eve’s hand.
The Noble Eightfold Path
Right speech
Right action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right awareness
Right concentration
Right thought
Right understanding
“There are those who believe that the Judeo-Christian tradition emphasizes suffering. There are even those who believe that suffering is holy, or somehow something that is to be sought out so that we might earn credits to get us into heaven. For the Buddhist there is plenty of suffering without seeking it out; it is intrinsic to life.
“One may wonder why there is this grappling with the concept of suffering in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Some of this was spawned by the Buddha’s own upbringing. Does anyone know the story of the person we are talking about? There were certainly other Buddhas before him, more ancient ones.”
A petite woman in her late thirties with long blond hair raised her hand, and after a nod from Eve began to explain her view of the Buddha’s background. The woman was a pediatrician and saw a great deal of suffering, both in children and their loved ones.
The student answered, “About 2,500 years ago there was a man named Siddhartha who was born as a prince in an Indian region of Asia. His father was a king and when the prince was born, a sage prophesied that Siddhartha would be either a great world ruler or a great spiritual leader. The father, who wanted his son to inherit his kingdom, kept Siddhartha from being exposed to any form of suffering, sickness, poverty, or difficulty, so that he would not be attracted to helping those conditions improve through spirituality, and thus be drawn away from inheriting his kingdom.”
The doctor continued in a more animated state now that she had begun telling her story: “One day Siddhartha was taken out of the palace compound in a kind of parade to see things beyond the palace walls because he was very curious and his father thought this might allay his curiosity. Young and healthy people lined the streets; the old and infirm were not allowed to be anywhere in sight, but somewhere along the route Siddhartha did catch a glimpse of an old man in the distance. He was so captivated by this sight that he got out of his coach and chased after the man. The man led him to other sick and elderly people, thus Siddhartha’s illusionary world was dashed.”
A biker with tattoos all over his hairy forearms adjusted his position on a rickety couch and mumbled something about how cool and fascinating this story was.
The pediatrician explained that this glimpse of what the young prince thought of as most challenging, so transformed Siddhartha that he left the palace and took up with a group of ascetics living in the woods and began fasting to an extreme. This lifestyle did not help him find enlightenment, or the meaning of life, or the reason for suffering.
“Siddhartha continued to wander, to meditate, and to struggle to bring some meaning into life,” the doctor said. “Eventually, sitting under a Bodhi tree, he experienced enlightenment, a deeper sense of what life is all truly about. “Bodhi” actually means enlightenment. He began his teaching career at that point and his followers grew in numbers quite rapidly.”
Eve applauded her student, telling her that the gist of everything she said was accurate and that the deeper challenge of all this was to internalize and understand some of Siddhartha’s teachings. Siddhartha, now the Buddha, the enlightened one, was leading them off to struggle within themselves to understand and grapple with the deeper meaning of life. The Four Noble Truths were simply a way to embrace a kind of courage so that one could move past the illusions we create in life and live peacefully with what is real.
A middle-aged man with an English accent who worked with computers for a living turned his head toward Francis and asked, “Don’t Christians talk about detachment and surrender in some fashion as they try to deal with life and come to terms with the deeper reality of what life means?”
“Yes they do, Colin, but detachment is not the same as apathy, and I don’t think the Buddhist teaching on not clinging is apathy either. The Christian tradition teaches us not to cling to what is fading or what is passing or what is basically only illusion anyway. Christ teaches us to look for what is good and valuable in life, and to move forward with that. So, for example, it means that looks, health, money, what kind of car we drive, are not the substance of life for us. St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal, the patrons of our monastery, teach us that we can enjoy good things in life but it is not helpful to get addicted or attached to them.
“There was some twisted theology going about in the Middle Ages that suggested the more something hurts, the holier we were for enduring it. I don’t subscribe to that, and certainly my spiritual teachers don’t subscribe to that philosophy either. There is enough hurt in the world to go around--we do not need to look for more.”
A teenaged boy with multicolored spiked hair and pierced tongue chimed in, “Yeah, I started to get that message. I used to think that Catholics were so into rules and regulations that there was no room left for real spirituality. I used to think that they really didn’t care much about relating to another person--the Jesus they followed.”
Those in the room who had not been in the presence of Tommy before looked a little startled at the revelation that this young punker had such depth. He continued without noticing, or perhaps not caring about, the shift in the energy of the room. “My oldest sister had a baby recently and I was asked to be the Godfather. I’m not Catholic but the other Godparent had to be Catholic and then it would be kosher, so to speak. Anyway, I went to some classes prior to the baby’s Baptism and learned some interesting things.
“Firstly, priests are human. The guy who taught us couldn’t have been more down to earth and pleasant.
“Secondly, he said that even though Baptism does wash away sin, a large part of the ceremony has to do with welcoming the child, sometimes an adult, into the Church community. So Baptism is really a welcoming ceremony that is supposed to be fun, not something negative or medieval.”
Eve reoriented the conversation to the Buddhist path. “Tommy, that was very insightful and I was happy to hear your comments. I’m wondering about a parallel to that Baptism ceremony in the Buddhist tradition. Can anyone think of something that might be even remotely like a welcoming ceremony or way of incorporating it into Buddhism?”
“I can,” said the pediatrician. “I think 'taking refuge’ would have some parallels to Christian Baptism or perhaps a Jewish Bar / Bat Mitzvah.”
Eve seemed pleased that her students were thinking things through on this level. “Exactly, why don’t you continue on Deb, and tell us a little bit about what taking refuge is about.”
Deb continued. “Well I have been studying here but I, and some others, have not actually taken refuge in a formal way. I’ll give it a try though. When we realize that life is about suffering one way or another, the need for help, support, or for refuge increases within us. That realization motivates us to turn to the ‘Three Jewels’ of the Buddhist tradition and seek refuge and support there.”
“Deb, you’re just outstanding in what you’re telling us but I want to draw some other people into this so I’ll stop you there for a moment and ask if somebody can tell me what the Three Jewels are.”
Someone in the back of the room hollered out “the Buddha.” Another voice that had not been heard from yet timidly voiced “the Dharma,” and a third new voice said “the Sangha.”
Eve was now elated. She said, “That’s it exactly. The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. All we need do now is to define each one of those jewels within which we take refuge.”
Judd, Eve’s husband and co-teacher, walked into the classroom at that point. “I’ve been listening to you out in the hall folks, and enjoying this class very much.” Eve gave Judd a quizzical look. He put his hand up as if to stop any verbal assault and said, “It’s done, it’s done, I just finished the last page of my translation from the Tibetan.”
Everyone broke into applause and Judd, tall and lean, longish brown hair, crashed down into an old chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Eve offered, “Congratulations, I knew you could do it if I pushed you into it.” Everyone laughed. Eve continued, “I’m not going to let you hijack my class, darling, but because you’re the newest student here today, you’ve got to tell us the meaning of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
He responded humbly, “I’ll give it a try.”
“The Buddha is the enlightened one, the one who struggles to lead us to a deeper understanding of life, and who has compassion for all sentient beings. The Dharma is the teaching of the Buddha and also our destiny, our fate; Christians might call this the Will of God. The Sangha is the spiritual community; this is the group of people with whom we unite to strengthen us on our journey towards enlightenment. For example, in this room we are a Sangha, a spiritual community.”
Eve smiled and said devilishly, “Very good, Judd. You may stay because you knew the answer.”
Hearty laughter broke out within the group and the biker had a strange look in his eye and a slight smile on his face. “I don’t know if I’d take that from a biker chick.”
Tommy spoke up next. As he spoke, the ring of silver metal through his red tongue clicked against his teeth every now and then. “Eve, you mentioned the Eightfold Path, and wrote it on the board. Can you explain it to us at least a little bit, please?”
“Thanks Tommy, I would like to because I think it is such a practical way of life. Eve stood up and in doing so, was barely as tall as her seated husband. She went over to the green board and underlined the title of the Eightfold Path. As Eve was transitioning to the board, Francis was reflecting.
The Eightfold Path is a little bit like the Beatitudes or the Ten Commandments. It looks like a code of life that helps people to live in a healthy and positive fashion. I have seen so many people leave “organized religion.” Perhaps I prefer disorganized religion. They say that there are too many rules and regulations. Many of the Eastern traditions have far many more rules and regulations but somehow we Westerners don’t see that. Okay, Jesus, I remember you teaching us--judge not and you will not be judged.
The class was rapidly winding down and before he knew it, the group was reciting the prayer that was said at the end of every class. This prayer offers up what has just been done for the good of all sentient beings.
Dedication of the Goodness of a Deed
By the goodness
Of what I have just done
May all beings
Complete the collection
Of merit and wisdom,
And thus gain the two
Ultimate bodies
That merit and wisdom make.
The group began to disperse, saying good-byes and drifting off in various directions. Francis lingered, and asked Judd and Eve if he might take a walk with them because he wanted to run an idea by them. It was a beautiful day, the sky was a luminous blue, and they graciously accepted his invitation.
The trio made their way down the stairs and outside into the welcoming sun and green grassiness that seemed to go on endlessly. They wandered past a stupa containing the bones of their founder, Geshe Wangyal, affectionately know as “Bakshi.” The stupa was about twelve feet tall and six feet square at the base, whitewashed, coming to a point at the top. It had various colorful markings on it, including the painting of the all-seeing eye of the Buddha.
Just beyond the stupa was a lake, around which the trio moseyed reflectively. Francis shared with his Buddhist mentors that he had been invited on a trip to the Far East, namely to Tibet, along with having some time in Nepal and Bangkok. He wondered if it was his Dharma for him to go on such a trip. His friends left him with one question in return. “Why in the world not go?”