The Mechanics of Life, from a LONG Buddhist perspective

Asiaprod

Had a very interesting dialogue with a new friend about the 3,000 life conditions, and a request to feed back on the three sutra/teachings I mentioned in the "Twelefold chain of interdependent arising" thread. During the dialogue I realized that I had become so used to this concept that I had great trouble explaining it in a simple clear way. So I wrote it all down, and then decide I would throw it out here for review. Its rather long, but it does help to understand the mechanics that govern our lives from a Buddhist perspective. So here goes.

These ten worlds are contained inside of everyone. Nobody is outside of these states of mind, not even a Buddha. With these ten states of mind, a person could be in 3000 possible combinations of worlds. This is because each of the ten worlds contains the ten worlds, giving us one hundred. Then these hundred worlds are multiplied by the ten factors1 that make up any human. That gives us 1000 worlds. These 1000 worlds are each present in the three realms of existence. These realms of existence are Self, our Society and our Environment. That gives us 3000 possible life states to be in for every single moment that we are alive.

The Ten Worlds as they were originally written are distinct realms or categories of beings. From the lowest to the highest; they are the realms of 1) hell, 2) hungry sprits, 3) animals, 4) asuras, 5) human beings, 6) heavenly beings, 7) voice-hearers, 8) cause-awakened ones, 9) bodhisattvas, 10) Buddhas. The Ten Worlds are also interpreted as states of life, and describe how life seems to change from moment to moment. Although some of these "worlds" might seem better than others, they are all necessary parts of life. And we always have the ability to make these worlds more enlightened. The worlds all have positive sides as well as negative sides. The purpose of Buddhism is twofold, to make the world of Buddhahood our most frequent state, and to show the positive sides of all the other worlds in our life. We all have an equal ability to reveal any of our Ten Worlds, including Buddhahood. As we continue to study and practice Buddhism, Buddhahood becomes our most frequent world. And in turn, we begin to show more of the positive sides of all the other worlds too. In this way, based on our daily practice, our lives become charged with positive, value-creating activity. We are able to change our environment — our family, our friends, home, school and/or workplace — and become happy. We can also help others to become happy too, and this point is probably the unwritten oath that all Buddhists end up making to themselves.

Here is a simple explanation of the ten worlds broken into 4 distinct groups under their more commonly know titles.

Group 1, the 4 lower worlds of suffering
HELL: A condition in which one feels totally trapped and filled with frustration, rage, helplessness, and destructive impulses. In this state, the person is suffering. Being poor or sick or in jail might show what this state is like. The positive thing about Hell is the feeling of "hitting the bottom" — this can help the person to change and improve things. One example might be a person who has been ill and then uses that suffering to become more healthy. This is called "turning poison into medicine.
HUNGER: A person in this state is always craving things. But the feeling doesn't go away, even when he or she gets the thing! So the person just keeps wanting more. When hunger is seen positively, it can create an unstoppable drive. For example, people fighting tirelessly for nuclear disarmament are hungry for peace.
ANIMALITY: This is a condition that is ruled by animal instinct. A person has no sense of reason, living only for the present. One in this state fears the strong and prays on the weak. Because of this he or she may be seen as "two-faced."
On the positive side, animality protects one from danger and alerts us to basic needs such as food and shelter.
ANGER: This is a condition dominated by selfish ego, competitiveness, arrogance and the need to be right about all things. Anger can also be the source of great ideas and fuel for achievement. Many organizations which work for social change have been driven by people with a burning sense of anger and indignation at the way people are being treated. This is the positive side of Anger.

Group 2, the 4 worlds of learning and realization
TRANQUILITY: In this calm state of life one can pass fair judgment, and can control desires with reason. A person can act in harmony with the environment.
However, like most of these ten worlds it is unstable and hard to maintain. So while this might be a good state to be in, it is unable to endure the conflicts that we face in our daily lives. Because of its unstable nature, this the world is usually encountered or reach through chanting or meditation.
RAPTURE: This is the condition of pleasure that is often experienced when a person's desires are fulfilled. Unlike the true happiness of Buddhahood, however, this state is only temporary. Like Tranquility, it is easily disrupted by even a slight challenge. And even if things do not change, Rapture simply disappears with the passage of time.
LEARNING: A condition in which one seeks some skill, lasting truth, or self-reformation from the teachings of others. When you honestly study in school, you are in the world of Learning.
A person in a state of learning nevertheless may not be in a position to make decisions or take action.
REALIZATION (or Absorption): This is a state where a person discovers a partial truth through his or her own efforts. The worlds of Learning and Realization are closely related. The problem with Learning and Realization is that people in these states may become arrogant and self-centered. They may look down on those people who seem "less smart" than themselves. They may start to think that they have nothing to learn. Also, people in these states find it hard to admit mistakes

Group 3, the world of preparation and truth, and the place we really want to be in.
BODHISATTVA: This is a condition where a person does not just think only of himself (or herself). This person is devoted to helping others.
Some examples might be nurses or emergency rescue workers or teachers. But even this state can have a negative side: the Bodhisattva may continue to act for others, but, over time, may come to resent doing it.

Group 4, the final frontier
BUDDHAHOOD: The highest of the Ten Worlds, a condition of pure, indestructible happiness that is not dependent on what is happening in one's life. The Buddha is happy, no matter what: problems in life are seen as challenges to be overcome. It is a condition of freedom, full of wisdom, courage, compassion, and life force.

Now for the tricky bit.
Our environment and our state of mind is constantly shifting, I could be in a state of learning reading a book on a bus home and some drunk decides that he is going to take time out to explain to me what the book is really all about. My state instantly flips from learning, to anger. Lucky his stop is coming and away he goes and my state flips to rapture that he is gone, back to the book and a final flip back to learning where it all started. In a space of 10 mins I have flipped through 4 states. For this reason, we say that each of the ten worlds contain within the potential to switch to any of the worlds.

We have now arrived at 100 states (10 world x 10 potential worlds = 100)

Now we need to add in the 10 Factors
The ten factors describe the workings of our lives in the context of the Ten Worlds and how we manifest change from one moment to the next. The concept of the ten factors can be said to provide a philosophical still-shot of our lives. A bit like MeditationMom was explaining in her movie analogy. It clarifies the functions common to all life in any given condition at any given moment.

The ten factors are described in the second, or “Expedient Means,” chapter of the Lotus Sutra: 1) Appearance, 2) Nature, 3) Entity, 4) Power, 5) Influence, 6) Inherent Cause, 7) Relation, 8) Latent Effect, 9) Manifest Effect, and 10) their consistency from beginning to end. The first three factors--appearance, nature and entity--make up life itself. “Appearance” describes the visible, outward aspect of life such as facial expressions and behavior. It also represents the physical or material aspects of life. “Nature” indicates the invisible inner quality and tendencies of life, for example, our disposition and character. It also represents the spiritual aspect of life. “Entity” means life as a whole or the essence of life itself from which the material and spiritual aspects of life are manifest.

The remaining seven factors describe the workings of life and their characteristics. “Power” is the capability latent within life. When this latent power becomes manifest, it is called “influence.” “Inherent cause” refers to our karmic orientations or tendencies formed by our past actions, that is, our thoughts, words and deeds. It refers to the internal causes or karma active at the moment we exert “influence” on our environment. “Relation” refers to our relationships with external circumstances, through which inherent causes become manifest. In this sense, “relation” may be viewed as an external cause. “Latent effect” is the result simultaneously implanted in one’s life when an “inherent cause” acts in “relation” with an external event. “Latent effect,” however, is not yet manifest. When a “latent effect” becomes visible, it is called “manifest effect.” From the standpoint of a “manifest effect”--that is, if manifest effect is the only recognized effect--“inherent cause,” “relation” and “latent effect” collectively constitute a cause. “Consistency from beginning to end” means that life’s appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, inherent cause, relation, latent effect and manifest effect all consistently express the condition that life is in at any particular moment.

For example, when doctors tell their patients that they have a serious illness, despair may result. The patients’ complexions may pale (“appearance”), and they may feel depressed (“nature”). The body and mind, that is, their whole existence (“entity”) expresses a state of suffering. This hellish state can be also explained as follows: Upon hearing the diagnosis (“relation”), the fear of illness (“inherent cause”), developed through past experience, is brought forth. The patients’ latent feat is now realized, and they feel hopeless (“latent effect”). They become anxious, break into a sweat and breathe heavily (“manifest effect”). When they hear this unfortunate news, all aspects of their entire being consistently manifests the state of Hell (“the consistency from beginning to end”). But if they later find out that their illness is much less serious, they may experience a state of joy.

What state or condition of being we manifest at any given moment determines how we experience our environment. On the deepest level, it is not our environment or external circumstances that determine our state of life but the nature of our “relation” without environment. The same event, for example, may cause different reactions in different people. Some may feel defeated by illness or relationship problems while similar difficulties may inspire others to further develop their strength and character. Angry people are upset by small things while optimistic, confident people tend to remain calm regardless of their circumstances. The Ten Worlds are potentials within each of us. What we experience day to day, however, differs vastly from one person to another.

From the standpoint of Buddhism, how we relate to our environment largely depends upon how we have lived our lives, not only in this lifetime but in our past lives as well. Our past actions from karmic orientations, or what we might term life-habits, which constitute “inherent causes.” Based on these deep inner tendencies, we sometimes react automatically, either positively or negatively, to stimuli in our environment. Our reactions to our environment are often beyond conscious control or intellectual understanding. It is hard to explain why we hate certain animals or insects or feel attracted to a certain type of person.

The concept of the ten factors, therefore, teaches us the importance of developing good karmic habits in our lives so that we may consistently from positive “relations” with the events in our environment regardless of what they are. No matter how adverse our current circumstances, if our karmic tendencies are firmly grounded in the states of Bodhisattva or Buddhahood, our lives can transform every hardship into personal growth. Without such grounding, we tend to react negatively to negative situations and cause further confusion and suffering for ourselves and others. Our Buddhist practice and encouraging others to practice--is the key to solidifying within us the states of Bodhisattva and Buddhahood, thus developing the habits or “inherent causes,” of happiness.

We have now arrived at 1,000 states (10 world x 10 potentials x 10 factors = 1,000)

Finally we have the three realms of existence: the Self, our Society and our Environment. They are also known as 1) The realm of the five components, 2) the realm of living beings, and 3) the realm of the environment (or the land). The word realm here comes from the Japanese term seken, which, in Buddhism, also means distinction, difference or diversity. The realm of living beings and the realm of the environment are fairly self-explanatory and refer to the place where living beings exist and carry out their activities. The realm of the five components is a bit more complex. Buddhism traditionally defines living beings as being formed of five constituent elements, or components; 1) form, 2) perception, 3) conception, 4) volition and 5) consciousness. The realm of the five components refers to the way each of the ten worlds are expresses throughout these five components.

We have now arrived at 3,000 states (10 world x 10 potentials x 10 factors x 3 realms = 3,000)

I do not claim after 20 years of study to understand all of this, nor my it resonate with everyone, but it is interesting and for me a is better explanation of the mechanics of life than anything else currently out there.

MeditationMom

Wow, Asiaprod! Thank you for this - a lot of work! Buddhism is so exact in its observations of the mind. More detailed and exact than I have seen anywhere else. It is a great map of the mind and yes, we usually are all over the map - so good to have a description like this to help us check where we might be at any given time and not fall into any delusion about ourselves.

Buddhahood is nothing but the speed with which we notice, and then return from the slightest movement, into anger or any other emotion, back to the peace of Buddhahood. In other words, before we "meet" Buddha within - that within us that is Buddha, Enlightenment, Nirvana - we practice in order to get there, to recognise ourselves as that. After that, the same practice continues, but now with more and more vigilance, skill, speed and it becomes our life. Therefore Buddha comes to life the more we disappear with all of our reactions.

So good friends push each other's buttons lucky we have so many good friends from so many different religions on boards. Thanks again for the post.

In case any of our atheist friends are reading this - this is where the idea of "God is Love" comes from. As your true self shines through more and more, unhindered by all the typical human reactions as mapped out above by Asiaprod, you become Love, as in "(s)he's nothing but Love". So maybe "God is nothing but Love" would be more clear. For Christians and Catholics though, this idea seems to conflict with many Bible descriptions of God. Jesus tried to teach us otherwise. Love is nothing but God's presence!

And off my mind flies to the trinity idea. As love has a million faces, could we say there are three main forms of love as in human love (social), divine love (absolute forgiveness and benevolence independent of human concerns like self-preservation and procreation) and the spirit, the very idea of Love itself, without differentiation? And as we manifest all three at once we manifest Love, Christ, God, Buddhahood on Earth, as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed and many others, did.

And now I am wondering whether anywhere in the Qu'ran it says "Allah is Love" - I can't remember whether I asked that in the Islamic Forum already -
off to find out

scojones

Thanks a million for taking the time out to help me understand this Peter. A great write up and it cleared a few things up for me.

Asiaprod

sjones wrote:

Thanks a million for taking the time out to help me understand this Peter. A great write up and it cleared a few things up for me.

Then it was well worth it. I will tackle the 5 components after my fingers are rested:)

Doc Farrell

Fascinating stuff Asiaprod!
Thank you.
d.

Asiaprod

Doc Farrell wrote:

Fascinating stuff Asiaprod!
Thank you.
d.

You are welcome