|
|
Precursors to Buddha's Right Mindfulness
Right Mindfulness
"Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualization in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go."1
Ecclesiastes includes a vivid example of attempted right mindfulness by Solomon:
I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.2
This excerpt illustrates how Solomon attempted to observe and control the way his thoughts were going. He was trying to be vigilant in being ruthlessly objective about his own thoughts and feelings. He sought to have wisdom guide him in his mind as he was tempted in various ways. And he believed that his wisdom stayed with him.
Solomon sought to objectively evaluate his own heart and mind as they were being pushed and pulled by feelings, temptations, and rationalizations. He sought to stand outside of himself and yet to be very nearby, carefully observing his own actions, feelings, and thoughts and impartially judging them on the basis of "wisdom." Perhaps Solomon was the first "Buddhist." He once wrote:
The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.3
Being king, Solomon had no human authority to report to, so he reported directly to himself, just as Buddha advocated doing. And he exhorted his sons to do likewise:
Hear, my son, and be wise. And guide your heart in the way . . .4
The sources of help in being more mindful each espoused were:
- The support and honest critique of like-minded seekers;
- Companionship with righteous people;
- Avoidance of relations with women;
- The power of proverbs memorized and much meditated upon (as discussed in the next excerpt); and
- The "trinity" of Buddhism (or Judaism).
First Aid: The Support and Honest Critique of Like-Minded Seekers
The great worth of having righteous friends who care enough about you to encourage you and to exhort you when you are heading off in the wrong direction was emphasized by Solomon:
Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man's friend does so by hearty counsel.5
Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.7
Second Aid: Companionship with Righteous People
The second aid in maintaining righteousness is closely related to the first, but there is a slight shift in emphasis. The first aid, having the support and honest critique of like-minded seekers, emphasizes friends consciously keeping each other on track through intentional dialogue and vigilance on each other's behalf. It involves keeping each other accountable.The second aid emphasizes the more subtle good and bad influences that friends can have on each other. The point here is that if you "hang out" with people who are wicked, they will have an influence on you, possibly entangling you in evil deeds. Likewise, if you associate with righteous people, they will influence you to do good things and pursue wisdom.
Solomon stressed the importance of having the right kind of friends in this proverb:
The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.8
One should avoid spending time with wicked or evil people, for their influence most likely will be corrosive, or worse. Solomon made this emphatically clear in the following proverbs:
Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them; for their heart devises violence, and their lips talk of troublemaking.9
Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.10
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. . . . But, the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.11
Third Aid: Avoidance of Relations with Women
Solomon offered words with respect to immoral women:
For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife. Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.12
To Solomon, an immoral woman symbolized all of the perilous attractions of this world. However, he did not by any means advocate renunciation of all relations with women. In fact, one of his proverbs is unabashedly pro-marriage:
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.13
Fourth Aid: The Power of Proverbs Memorized and Much Meditated Upon
As noted above, this aid is discussed quite extensively in the next excerpt.
Fifth Aid: The "Trinity" of Buddhism (or Judaism)
Both Buddha and Solomon looked to three sources of teaching. For Solomon, they were Moses, the Torah, and the Levites. In Buddhism, they were the "Three Jewels." Consecutive proverbs recite the three central helps for the Buddhist:
The disciples of Gotama (Buddha) are always well awake, and their thoughts day and night are always set on Buddha . . . the law [the teachings]. . . the church [the Order of Monks].14
Each of the elements is parallel: Moses/Buddha (a person); Torah/Dhamma (sacred writings); and Levites/Monks (a priestly order).
Return to Interrelationships.
Continue to Precursors to Buddha's Right Concentration: Meditation.
Footnotes
1Thomas Knierim, editor and webmaster, "The Noble Eightfold Path," Raison d'Etre, TheBigView.com, retrieved May 12, 2010 (emphasis added).
2Ecclesiastes 2:1-9 (NIV) (emphasis added).
3Proverbs 14:15 (NKJV).
4Proverbs 23:19 (NIV).
5Proverbs 27:9 (NKJV).
6Proverbs 27:17 (NASB).
7Proverbs 27:6 (NKJV).
8Proverbs 12:26 (NKJV).
9Proverbs 24:1-2 (NKJV).
10Proverbs 22:24-25 (NKJV).
11Proverbs 4:14-17, 19 (NIV).
12Proverbs 6:23-29 (NIV).
13Proverbs 12:4a (NKJV).
14Dhammapada 296-298.
Dhammapada Reference
Friedrich Max Muller, trans., The Dhammapada: A Collection of Verses, Being One of the Canonical Works of the Buddhists, in vol. 10, Part 1, The Sacred Books of the East, translated by Various Oriental Scholars, edited by F. Max Muller, available at Dhammapada (Muller), Wikisource. This work is cited as "Dhammapada" hereafter. To save space, line breaks in quotations from the Dhammapada have not been retained.
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org).
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
|
