What is Dharma? In the last 1500 to 2000 years, to its great misfortune, India lost the true meaning of the word ‘dharma.’ How indeed could one live according to its tenets when its very meaning was lost! To make matters worse many types of support, one could say crutches, were added to it. Various communities created their own respective dharma; hence there came about Buddhist dharma, Jain dharma, Hindu dharma, Christian dharma and so on.
These sectarian terms were the crutches attached to Dharma, though it does not need any support. It gives support. But when these crutches arise, they take precedence and become prominent, while Dharma recedes into the background, unseen. To our great misfortune this is what happened.
In ancient India Dharma meant that which is imbibed, lived by – dhāretīti dhammam. That which arises on the surface of mind at a given moment was considered the dharma of the mind. What does the mind imbibe but its own nature, its own characteristics, that is its ‘dharma’. Dharma meant the characteristics, the nature of a particular element. Dharma in the language of those days was also called rit, meaning the law of nature. For instance, the nature or characteristic of fire is to burn and burn whoever comes in contact with it. The nature or characteristic of ice is to be cool and cool whoever comes in contact with it.
DHARMA AS NATURE’S LAW
We also say that it is nature’s law that all beings face death, illness and old age. The law of nature, in other words, was Dharma. Let us examine what the nature of the mind is. Whatever has arisen at this moment in my mind: anger, animosity, jealousy or arrogance for example. These are negativities that may arise from time to time, and as such have been called the nature of the mind, that is, the law, the Dharma of the mind. The great researchers of yore – the Rishis, Sages, Saints, Gurus, Arahants, Buddhas searched long and hard to find what was Dharma, or the nature of the mind.
Any defilement, any negativity of anger, jealousy, or arrogance, when it arises, it results in tremendous heat and agitation within. This is its nature. It is inevitable. If anger has arisen within, then another part of nature, agitation, will follow as an inevitable result every single time. These defilements always arise coupled with agitation. This was called sahajat – meaning together; this misery arises along with its own consequence, its own effect every time.
Let us understand this better – when burning coals are put in a container, these will burn the container before heating up the external environment. Anyone who comes near it will feel the heat. Similarly, if one keeps ice in a vessel, it will first cool the vessel before cooling the external environment. This is the unchangeable law of nature.
Just like fire, when a person is angry, he first becomes the victim of his own anger before spreading vibrations of agitation and heat in the environment. All those who come in contact with this person feel the agitation. This is the expression or nature of a mind dwelling in ignorance manifesting itself. As soon as one distances oneself from the burning coals, the heat will subside.
The Sages of yore, as mentioned earlier, realized the profound truth that when any defilement like jealousy, anger, arrogance etc. arise then it will inevitably burn them. If they put burning coals in their mental vessels, then the result can’t be anything but heat and agitation. At such times they behaved this way in ignorance not realizing the immutable law of the nature; since no one in their rightful mind would want to generate burning agitation for themselves.
A child in his ignorance does not know that fire burns and puts his hand on burning coals. Startled, he pulls his hand back. Curious, he again puts his hand on fire then pulls it back when it burns. This may be repeated a few times, until he finally realizes that this is fire, it burns and should never be touched.
A child understands. But what do we do? We keep filling ourselves with more and more burning coals, burning ourselves and others. Sheer ignorance! When anger, jealousy, aversion, arrogance or some such defilement arises, it keeps multiplying within filling us with thoughts of the event or the person who was instrumental in its occurrence. We justify it to ourselves by saying, ‘Such and such happened which angered me, so it was not my fault. It is only natural that I became angry’.
Natural indeed! You are angry with someone or some event which obstructed you from reaching your desired goal. Maybe, but the fact also is that you are burning yourself. You have not seen the heat within. The mind is only looking outwards.
On the other hand, if instead of burning coals, cool ice is put in the vessel then it will result in soothing, calming coolness since ice will also follow its own nature to cool.
The attributes of mind that carry cooling properties are loving-kindness, compassion, and joy in another’s happinDítě ve své nevědomosti neví, že oheň hoří, a položí ruku na hořící uhlí. Vyděšeně stáhne ruku zpět. Zvědavě znovu položí ruku na oheň, a když hoří, stáhne ji zpět. To se může několikrát opakovat, dokud si nakonec neuvědomí, že je to oheň, hoří a nikdy by se ho neměl dotýkat.
Dítě rozumí. Ale co máme dělat? Stále se plníme stále větším množstvím hořících uhlíků, spalujeme sebe i ostatní. Naprostá neznalost! Když se objeví hněv, žárlivost, averze, arogance nebo nějaká taková nečistota, neustále se množí a naplňuje nás myšlenkami na událost nebo osobu, která se na jejím vzniku podílela. Ospravedlňujeme si to tím, že říkáme: ‚Stalo se to a to, co mě rozzlobilo, takže to nebyla moje chyba. Je přirozené, že jsem se rozzlobil."
Opravdu přirozené! Jste naštvaní na někoho nebo na nějakou událost, která vám bránila v dosažení vytouženého cíle. Možná, ale faktem také je, že se spálíte. Neviděli jste teplo uvnitř. Mysl se dívá pouze ven.
Na druhou stranu, pokud se místo spalování uhlí vloží do nádoby chladný led, bude to mít za následek uklidňující, uklidňující chlad, protože led bude také následovat svou vlastní povahu, aby se ochlazoval.
Atributy mysli, které mají chladivé vlastnosti, jsou milující laskavost, soucit a radost ze štěstí druhého.