In my last article on Buddhism, we read an introduction to it, coming to understand the five poisons. These poisons vex our souls and prevent them from achieving a perfect state of mind, called Nirvana. A method to help us fight these poisons is to understand the virtues of someone who has beat them. In this article we will look at the 6 qualities of a Buddha that we must strive for.
The indefinite article with 'Buddha' here is no typographical or grammatical error. Buddha is no single person, even though in our understanding it is Gautama Siddharta, the first Buddha.
Buddhists like to compare Buddhahood to the sun. It is ever present in the sky yet, some cloudy days, the sunlight fails to pierce to the ground. This cloud is a metaphor for the 5 poisons we learnt the last time around. By removing this cloud (the poisons), we are left with a clear sunny sky that is Buddhahood and it is achievable by all of us.
1. Jinpa (Giving with no end nor expectation)
Of all the central tenets of Buddhism, one of the most widely understood ones is that on Attachment. While most of us might understand it to mean the attachment to materials, it is much more than that. In my understanding, Attachment is Validation. If we allow ourselves to be validated by a memory of how we were, we will always struggle to find happiness in the present of how we are. If we look for validation from some lover who chooses against doing our search justice, we will not find happiness in that situation or from that person.
Therefore the first quality of a Buddha is Jinpa. It is the ability to let go of all such things; and the ability to give with no expectation of refund, barter or gratitude. In fact, with Jinpa, one must not even expect to receive spiritual merit (which we will cover in our future articles). Therefore Jinpa is different from Charity in that there can be no criticism of Jinpa.
People can make a case that Charity only happens because someone wants to show off their wealth or they want to stroke their own egos, or maybe they are doing it at the expectation of some greater thing for themselves (which can include spiritual merit). But if anyone attempts Jinpa by that method, they are not practising Jinpa at all.
2. Tshültrim (Ethical Conduct)
A reason Eastern religions like Buddhism are now becoming more popular in the West, seems to be the moral strength of these philosophies. The conducts of a Buddha is therefore guided by Tshültrim. This was highlighted in Buddha's teachings on Vinaya, the Buddhist moral code. Some parts of it are incredibly hard; but we must understand that this code only prepares to discipline for a lifestyle that is essential to practise other virtues.
However, like other virtues on this list, it is most important to understand why to have Tshültrim. If we treat it dogmatically, things are bound to go wrong. The Vinaya was taught 2500 years ago; if we try to practise it now, as it is stated, we will fail. But if we understand each aspect of it, we can include modern features to it and remove obscure ones.
3. Zoepa (Patience/Tolerance)
For all of us, the longest thing we'll ever experience is our life, and in this length, we are bound to be met by situations and people who will provoke us. Buddhists look to them as great teachers who have come to ask questions of our virtues. It need not only be vexatious beings that qualify for this role, it can also be people who we find pleasurable in conversation and company.
By testing our control against special attraction, they let us know of our failures and victories. In any situation that is outside our comfort zone, we will be tested and our greatest weapon against them is the virtue of Zoepa.
But how should we practice Zoepa? If an obnoxious person were to come up to us and call us a dimwit for no clear reason, we can close our eyes, say "what an assh*le!" in our minds and avoid that person to prevent confrontation and that would also be patience. But that would not qualify as Zoepa.
The basis of Zoepa is Wisdom. We must try to understand why that obnoxious person is the way they are, why they feel we are a dimwit and what can be done to make them understand otherwise. For this hard labour, Zoepa is not popular as a virtue.
4. Tsoendrü (Diligence/Concentration)
On front of my notebooks I always write "Tsoendrü chen gi rirab thelwa la," which translates as "Those who are diligent can reduce mountains to pebbles." This quote shows the power of Tsoendrü.
A consistent teaching in Buddhism is that every sentient being is a part of the infinite rounds of Samsara, meaning that at one instance at least, each of them were our parents and treated us with the love and dexterity of one (I tend to look at this as a metaphor in that, it asks us to love each sentient being as we would our parents. The reincarnation part is highly contestable).
This means that the Nirvana that one searches for, that state of mind and the path to it, is for the benefit of every sentient being. This wisdom is the basis to Tsoendrü. It can be easy to work hard, smart or intelligently for a while, Tsoendrü requires us to keep at it night and day.
5. Samten (Stable Mind)
By preparing ourselves for Nirvana (which again, is only a state of mind), we are preparing ourselves for a life without pride and ego. In that life, every little thing will bring great happiness in us (emphasis on every). But the part about letting go of the ego is a dangerous thing that sounds simpler than it is.
If we are able to attain the wisdom of a Buddha and see the truth of things for how they are, our reactions will be unpredictable. By our surprise, we might end up undoing all good we have achieved. For this reason, we must first harvest a stable mind. This happens by calming meditation. A beauty of this virtue is its immunity to perversion. Unlike other virtues on this list that come with 'warning' labels, this one does not. You cannot go wrong with a stable mind.
6. Sherab (Wisdom)
If we think we have achieved all of the five virtues above and yet fail to have Sherab, then we have failed to achieve the first five, too. This is because, at the base of all Buddhas is their wisdom and their insight to see things as they really are. In lacking this, we will have misunderstood other virtues.
But Sherab and the other five go hand in hand, there is no order for their achievement. If we are able to concentrate, maintain a stable mind by meditation, keep true to our ethics, practise letting go of our attachments, forgive ourselves and others in faults; we will be working towards a wisdom that is universal and compassionate and that removes the ideas of "I, others, and subject" from our minds.
These virtues are umbrella terms for many smaller ones. And it may not even be possible to perfectly have all of these but in practicing toward it, we will be better humans. I hope you are enjoying and understanding this series. By the end of it, I hope to make you understand a small part of Buddhist philosophy, after all that is everything I know. Next week, you will read an article on the Buddhist Universe.
