Dhamma Q&A with Students from Puget Sound University
Photo: Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives C00781
“If everything goes according to Dhamma and the natural law, including the mind which is naturally free of impurities, then how is it that the idea of self, which arises instinctually, is unnatural and impure and needs to be gotten rid of?”
~ Response by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~
This is a problem of semantics. Ordinary people understand the word ‘nature’ in one way. In Buddhism, the word ‘nature’ is understood in another way. In Buddhism, all things are natural. Things that are wrong are natural. Things that are right are natural. Things that are happy are natural. Things that are painful are natural. All things are natural. Whether they arise from the instincts or they arise from learning and intelligence, all things are natural – they all arise out of nature. There isn’t anything which isn’t natural. So part of the problem is the questioner hasn’t understood the Buddhist meaning of nature. All things are natural. The self arises out of nature and is therefore natural.
It’s a matter of the words we use and not a matter of truth. Ordinary people make an exception for something that they think is supernatural, or above nature. But in Buddhism there’s nothing supernatural. Everything is part of nature, everything is natural. So if one is studying Buddhism, one must understand the word ‘nature’ correctly. Even the things that human beings have recently created, these are still from nature, they’re still natural.
Even these microphones are made from nature. The things that have been put together all come from nature, and the production, the manufacturing, is done according to the Law of Nature. Nothing escapes from the Law of Nature, so even things like these microphones are natural.
So from the tiniest speck of dust all the way to perfect nibbāna, everything is nature no matter how many distinctions or separations we make, or if you divide it into how many trillions of things, it’s all natural, it’s all nature.
You should be aware that we have a special objective or purpose, which is to have everything be nature, to relinquish everything to nature so that we’re not left with anything as self. Instead of clinging to some things as self, as ‘me,’ as ‘mine,’ we acknowledge that it’s all nature. The positive is nature, negative is nature, so then what is left to be a problem? If we are above problems, then we see that everything is nature. So even dukkha is a nature, and the quenching of dukkha is also a nature. Can you see how it fits together?
(From Dhamma Questions & Answers with students from Puget Sound University, State of Washington, USA as translated from the Thai by Santikaro)
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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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