ETHICS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA
RIVERHEAD BOOKS 1999
PART III
Chapter 3: Dependent Origination and the Nature of Reality
- At a public talk I gave in Japan I was reminded that the way in which things and events unfold does not always coincide with our expectations.
- This fact of life – that there is often a gap between the way in which we perceive phenomena and the reality of a given situation – is the source of much unhappiness.
- This is especially true when we make judgements on the basis of a partial understanding, which turns out not to be fully justified.
Before considering what a spiritual and ethical revolution might consist in, let us therefore give some thought to the nature of reality itself. The close connection between how we perceive ourselves in relation to the world we inhabit and our behavior in response to it means that our understanding of phenomena is crucially significant. If we don’t understand phenomena, we are more likely to do things to harm ourselves.
- The problem of misconception, which, of course, varies in degree, usually arises because of our tendency to isolate particular aspects of an event or experience and see them as constituting its totality.
- This leads to a narrowing of perspective and from there to false expectations.
As a means to understanding this complexity, I find the concept of dependent origination (in Tibetan, ten del), articulated by the Madhyamika (Middle Way) school of Buddhist philosophy, to be particularly helpful. According to this, we can understand how things and events come to be in three different ways. At the first level, the principle of cause and effect, whereby all things and events arise in dependence on a complex web of interrelated causes and conditions, is invoked. This suggests that no thing or event can be construed as capable of coming into, or remaining in, existence by itself. For example, if I take some clay and mold it, I can bring a pot into being. The pot exists as an effect of my actions. At the same time, it is also the effect of a myriad of other causes and conditions. These include the combination of clay and water to form its raw material. Beyond this, we can point to the coming together of the molecules, the atoms, and other minute particles which form these constituents (which are themselves dependent on innumerable other factors). Then there are the circumstances leading up to my decision to make a pot. And there are the co-operative conditions of my actions as I give shape to the clay. All these different factors make it clear that my pot cannot come into existence independently of its causes and conditions. Rather it is dependently originated.
On the second level, ten del can be understood in terms of the mutual dependence which exists between parts and whole. Without parts, there can be no whole; without a whole, the concept of parts makes no sense. The idea of “whole” is predicated on parts, but these parts themselves must be considered to be wholes comprised of their own parts.
On the third level, all phenomena can be understood to be dependently originated because, when we analyze them, we find that, ultimately, they lack independent identity. This can be understood from the way in which we refer to certain phenomena. For example, the words “action” and “agent” presuppose one another. So do “parent” and “child”.
- As far as mental phenomena are concerned, we see that again there is a dependence. Here it lies between perceiver and perceived.
- If we take consciousness itself as the object of our investigation, although we tend to think of it in terms of something intrinsic and unchangeable, we find that it, too, is better understood in terms of dependent origination.
- We speak of time past, present and future. However, when we look more closely, we see that again this concept is merely a convention. We cannot actually pinpoint the present.
These observations have a number of important implications. Firstly, when we come to see that everything we perceive and experience arises as a result of an indefinite series of interrelated causes and conditions, our whole perspective changes. We begin to see that the universe we inhabit can be understood in terms of a living organism where each cell works in balanced cooperation with every other cell to sustain the whole. If, then, just one of these cells is harmed, as when disease strikes, that balance is harmed and there is danger to the whole. This, in turn, suggests that our individual well-being is intimately connected both with that of all others and with the environment within which we live. It also becomes apparent that our every action, our every deed, word, and thought, no matter how slight or inconsequential it may seem, has an implication not only for ourselves but for all others, too.
- If all phenomena are dependent on other phenomena, and if no phenomena can exist independently, even our most cherished selves must be considered not to exist in the way we normally assume.
- We come to see that the habitual sharp distinction we make between “self” and “others” is to some extent an exaggeration.
- The word “self” does not denote an independent object. Rather it is a label for a complex web of interrelated phenomena.
- I believe the concept of dependent origination provides a robust framework within which to situate cause and effect, truth and falsity, identity and difference, harm and benefit.
- The sharp distinction we make between self and others arises largely as a result of conditioning.
- We see that self-interest and others’ interest are closely interrelated. There is no self-interest completely unrelated to others’ interests.
- It becomes clear that “my” interest and “your” interest are intimately connected. In a deep sense, they converge.
- Particular causes lead to particular effects and certain actions lead to suffering while others lead to happiness.
- It is in everybody’s interest to do what leads to happiness and avoid that which leads to suffering.
- Because our interests are inextricably linked, we are compelled to accept ethics as the indispensable interface between my desire to be happy and yours.
Chapter 4: Redefining the Goal