The Noble 8-fold Path: Perfect Vision

Sangharakshita – Perfect Vision talk

Intro – excitement at starting a new series – don’t know whether ppl will come and ppl don’t know whether they will enjoy it.

Noble eightfold path in general

·        Noble = arya – used in a racial sense in the old days in India

·        Here arya = whatever pertains to spiritual path / nature of reality – holy might be a better translation. Funny story about different translations in Germany – audience giggled.

·        Not so much steps or stages as limbs – simultaneous rather than successive

Relationship between this first step and the others

·        Usual translation but better is proper / integral / complete / perfect sight / view / vision – hence integral view or perfect vision. Conveys something less dry and intellectual than right understanding

·        Forms the first part of the two-fold division into path of vision & path of transformation, which contains all 7 other limbs. Represents the stage of insight and the rest is the transformation of the whole being in its heights and depths in the light of this vision. Said with some force or vision of his own – it’s in his voice.

·        Can arise in different ways for different people – as a result of tragedy; as spontaneous ‘mystical’ experience (happens more than one might think) – incl  being carried away by experience of nature or art; philosophical study / thinking through; result of meditation when thoughts are abolished but clear awareness is present; altruistic activities / self-sacrifice; as a result of normal life experience / maturity; in a dream.

·        Important to not lose it / forget it – very easily happens… cherish it, cultivate it, try to develop it and use it to transform our life.

·        Aim is to bring the whole of our being up to the level of the highest moments of our life – this is what it means to evolve spiritually – to transform our whole being in accord with our vision.

Right understanding itself, or rather perfect vision

·        Often presented as a whole collection of Buddhist thought, which gives the impression that one needs to learn volumes of stuff before one starts practicing. But it is nothing to do with study – more of the nature of a spiritual experience than intellectual understanding (though it can be expressed as such).

·        = vision of the nature of existence. Can be communicated through images & through concepts.

·        Images first. 3 main images – some of the audience already know them: the great image of the Wheel of Life – representing all conditioned existence; the Buddha – seated under the Bodhi tree radiating light + many other images; the path – also known as the spiral of spiritual progress that connects the other two. – described as the path for the whole future course of human evolution I think he said. Mindane / transcendental or samsara / nirvana with the path between.

·        Then concepts. Traditionally seen as seeing the truth of some doctrinal categories – briefly touched on here – not intellectual understanding. Firstly the 4 noble truths – with connection drawn out to the three images just given. Secondly the 3 laksanas. Thirdly karma and rebirth.

o   More on the 3 laksanas. 3 types of suffering: actual suffering, potential suffering (may lose some pleasure); metaphysical suffering – nothing conditioned can give true and final satisfaction. Will never be truly happy till enlightened. Impermanence: obvious all around and within us. Devoid of true selfhood: don’t find true being, true individualty anywhere, we don’t feel real or authentic ourselves – only find true selfhood at the level of the unconditioned. [!?]

o   More on karma and rebirth – reference to the vision before the Buddha’s enlightenment of people being reborn according to their karma

·        And another set of concepts, not from the Hinayana but the Mahayana – closing with ‘one of the most important of these: the four sunyatas’. Sunyata = empty / void. Sometimes means real, sometimes unreal, sometimes other things. These attempt to express something that the enlightened have directly seen.

o   The conditioned is empty with regard to the unconditioned or of true selfhood or true being or nirvana or something – will never find the real on the level of the unreal.

o   The unconditioned is empty of the characteristics of the conditioned – won’t find unhappiness, suffering, impermanence, no time (no past, no future just one eternal now), no unreality, no non-selfhood only true being, the One Mind, pure awareness, …

o   Great emptiness = empty of the distinction between the conditioned and the unconditioned – it swallows up all dualities whatsoever. Can’t speak of real /unreal, individual / universal , immanent / transcendent…

o   Emptiness of emptiness – even great emptiness is empty – get rid of the concept of emptiness altogether – the vision soars beyond all concepts.

·        All these conceptual categories are important but don’t confuse their intellectual understanding with an actual vision in accordance with which we must transmute our being.

·        Close with a simile: enlightenment as a mountain peak – once we first see it, even from a great distance, that is perfect vision – once we see that we keep our eyes on it and can move towards it – the path of transformation.

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QQuestions from mitra study

1.      1.  Sangharakshita translates the term ‘samyak’ (or ‘sammā’) as ‘perfect’ rather than ‘right’ throughout this series. Why does he do this and what are the implications of using this translation? What does ‘perfect vision’ communicate to you that ‘right view’ might not?

It's meant to get to the volitional/emotional, not just intellectual bit of us – to inspire us!  It’s a vision of the nature of existence, that is in accord with reality (laksanas, karma) and that points to a way out from circling round the wheel of life.    

2.       2. What has been your own experience of Perfect Vision and what conditions gave rise to that experience?

Started learning meditation because I felt trapped in my own mind and thought: surely there has to be more to life than this! So: looking for perfect vision. And actually in drop-in meditation, seeing the leader present the same material over and over again each time with a seriousness of purpose - not going I'm bored now - that blew me away. 

3.      3.  When you have experiences of seeing things more deeply, how can you know whether it is right view and perfect vision we are experiencing? What are the implications of mistaking right view for perfect vision?

So now I am confused – I thought Sangharakshita said they were the same thing??

Maybe right view is the intellectual understanding and perfect vision is the experience – which will change us more. Right view is still a view - ultimately we go beyond all views.

How do we know it is right view? Usually we don't but through experience we can start to feel the signs: evidence of clinging can be felt, the hindreances. Insight should feel freeing - we should feel lighter. 

4.      4, Do you tend to be drawn more to the Dharma expressed through image or through concept? What might be the strengths and weaknesses of each form of expression?

Image, but both are necessary.

Image: 

• strengths - it's inspiring, it can speak directly to the non-conceptual parts of our mind, it can convey things of great subtlety and can serve as a reminder of many facets- can get richer over time. 
• weaknesses - 

Concept:

• Strengths - helps us get to the truth of things, to the extent we are able to. Guides us in the right direction, if used wisely, helps us make sense of our experience in a way that supports growth in understanding.
• Weaknesses - can feel dry, can be hard to see how to apply them, can be easy to mis-apply them. Can be very easy to be misled if we don't clock exactly how the words are being used. 

5.      5. Sangharakshita explores three images – the wheel, the Buddha and the path. Which speaks to you most, and why do you think that is? If there are any of these you that you don’t connect with, how might you connect more with them and what might be the benefits of doing this?

sagag

6.       6.What practical relevance does the teaching of the four levels of śūnyatā have for your Dharma life?

A bit dazzling - a slight taste of what is possible. But at our level we can look for dualities and quetion them - can learn to hang looser to our ideas of what is going on   

 

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