The Dhammic Life Which Is Still a Secret
Photo: Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives C02185
“An important law of nature is the law of evolution (Translators note: According to modern science it hasn’t been absolutely proven). During evolution only those individuals who were able to survive and give their genes to the next generation were highly selfish and had a strong desire of sexuality and good food, and were able to learn from the past and to think about the future. Thus the development of dukkha is inseparably related with the development of the human mind. Dukkha is a natural part of it – without dukkha, no human mind. According to the law of evolution, the quenching of dukkha means quenching of a natural part of the mind. The law of evolution says ‘dukkha is in line with nature.’ Buddhism says ‘dukkha is not in line with nature.’ That is a misunderstanding. Do you deny the law of evolution as a law coining the nature of mind?”
~ Response by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~
There isn’t just one evolution, there are many many lines of evolution, the vast majority of which have failed and ended in extinction or death. These are all forms of evolution which are incorrect, but the kind of evolution or line of evolution which has survived is that which is correct. The incorrect lines of evolution have failed due to their incorrectness and it’s only the correct line of evolution which succeeds and leads to true survival, and it does so because of its correctness. Isn’t it better to follow the correct line of evolution so that the evolution of life leads to no dukkha? The implication here is if one is still experiencing dukkha, one has not yet followed the highest line of evolution and one is not really surviving. If one looks at dukkha it’s hard to call that ‘survival’! Buddhism is asking, ‘Isn’t it better to follow the correct line of evolution so that there is no dukkha?’ To live correctly, to evolve correctly, is to live without any attachment to life, without any sense of self or ego in life, and then everything will be correct. By removing the self and ego everything is correct, and then this form of evolution will lead to true survival of the fittest. The correct form of evolution can be called ‘survival of the fittest,’ but to be really fit one must be free of self, free of ego.
We don’t stress sex or the material sensual things that support sex and sexuality. We don’t stress these the way modern society does because they easily become excessive, and when these things become excessive or incorrect – out of balance –they become the basis and the object of all kinds of egoism and selfishness. All the wars that have troubled humanity arise in the end because of this imbalance or excess of sexuality, sex, and materialism. Because of this obsession with sensual pleasures and sex, and with luxuries, the vast majority of tragedies that humans have inflicted upon themselves are due to this excess, due to this imbalance. Instead we stress a correctness – although there might be sex, it’s not excessive, it’s not out of place, out of balance, it’s dealt with correctly and wisely. There will be material things but they’re not excessive, they don’t become an obsession like they have for most of the world now. And then when these kind of material things and sex and the like are in proper balance, and are not excessive but are sufficient, then we don’t have the kind of problems with selfishness which create wars and crimes and the exploitation and the destruction of the environment. Any kind of evolution which leads to excess or imbalance – and we can see many forms of these in the modern world – is not the correctness of true survival of the fittest. The true survival of the fittest is truly correct and there’s nothing excessive, there’s nothing out of balance. This will bring about the highest evolution of the human mind, of human life.
To put it briefly, the positiveness and negativeness which cannot be controlled have tremendous power over us and have no benefit whatsoever, but the positiveness and negativeness which can be controlled have no power over us and have benefit for us.
From the retreat “The Dhammic Life Which Is Still a Secret,” as translated from the Thai by Santikaro
Dhamma Questions & Responses sessions were offered by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu in 1990-1991 to foreign meditators attending Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage courses.
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