Ah Sweet Mr Rhee of 'Life'

Swan's article is, as ever, thought-provoking and raises many issues.

It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes science to get round to examining theories which were expounded as universal truths 2500-3000 years ago. For example the Buddha, who lived around 500BC, said ‘form is emptiness, emptiness is form’. Which can be crudely translated as 'matter is mind and mind is matter'. Only relatively recently have scientists come to view matter as purely energy. They will be telling us next that there could be an infinite number of universes (an idea copyrighted by the Buddha 500BC).

One may think of the brain as a muscle which, if exercised regularly, will improve in its tone and strength. There have been a number of similar articles lately which appear to prove that doing difficult crossword puzzles and su dokus help to ward off alzheimers disease and general senility. To me, the meditation described in Swan's article is simply another form of brain exercise, but this time used to build concentrative rather than deductive powers.

However Buddhist meditation is much more than a relaxation and concentration technique. While these exercises have real value for our health and mental well-being, they are merely the warm-ups for the real task, i.e. the uncovering of ultimate reality. Having calmed and concentrated the mind, one is then able to use it to search for or, more accurately, quieten it to reveal the ultimate truth. To use two oft-quoted analogies, one must let the mud settle to reveal the clear water that was there all the time; or let the clouds pass in order to have an unobstructed view of the moon. These practices are known as Vipassana, or insight meditation, in the Theravadan tradition and as Zazen, or 'just sitting', in the Zen tradition. Put crudely, their aim is to examine that which exists in-between our thoughts.

Regarding Swan’s question about how many times does it take to be reborn before reaching Nirvana, two stories may help:

1. A man has struggled up the slopes of a bright white mountain. When he reaches the summit he looks down at his feet and realises that the mountain is composed of countless human skulls. These were the lives he had previously led before reaching this point.

2. There is a turtle that swims all the oceans of the world ceaselessly. It surfaces only once every thousand years to draw breath. There is a plank of wood floating somewhere on the ocean waves with a hole in it just large enough to accomodate the turtles head. The number of years it will take to reach Nirvana is the number of years that must pass before the turtles head pops up and fits exactly in the hole in the plank.

If these stories appear discouraging, may I offer a tiny bit of hope; who knows where we are currently on this time track. There are many records of people achieving enlightenment within living memory. You may read The Three Pillars of Zen by Roshi Philip Kapleau for some descriptions.

Regarding the question ‘is enlightenment reached by everyone?’, it may perhaps be worth saying that there is actually nothing to be reached, as we already have enlightenment within us but we just do not recognise it. We have merely to let go of everything else to see it. Just imagine what life could be like if you could let go of all your hopes, fears, lusts, anxieties, fleeting pleasures, distractions, obsessions, delusions, dreams……

As someone who has travelled not even one tiny step upon the way, I feel I must add that there is of course no such thing as Nirvana or meditation or enlightenment or body or mind or you or me or here or there.....

But still the seagulls cry over Watchet harbour in the winter.