4. Evaluate the meaning and significance of the three posions as the basis of Buddhism and the centrality of such for different Buddhists. (30)
The three poisons, namely greed, hatred, and delusion, are the basis of Buddhism and the central theme of Buddhist philosophy. Peter Harvey says "The three poisons (greed, hatred, and delusion) are fundamental to the Buddha's teaching on the nature of suffering and its causes. They are often referred to as the three unwholesome roots, and are the foundation for Buddhist ethical and contemplative practices" (Harvey, 2012, p. 158).
Thesis: This essay will defend the view that the significance of these three poisons lies in the fact that they are considered the root causes of all suffering and dissatisfaction in life. The different schools of Buddhism place varying degrees of emphasis on these poisons, but they all agree that understanding and overcoming them is essential to achieving enlightenment.
Argument: The concept of the three poisons is central to Buddhism, and its importance is reflected in the teachings of the Buddha. The three poisons, also known as the three unwholesome roots or three fires, are greed, hatred, and delusion. According to the Buddhist tradition, these poisons are the root causes of all suffering and dissatisfaction in life. The Buddha's teaching emphasizes the importance of understanding and overcoming these poisons to achieve enlightenment. As Walshe (2005) explains, "the Three Poisons can also be seen as the raw material for enlightenment, because by transforming them we can cultivate positive qualities such as wisdom, love, and compassion" (p. 75). By recognizing and understanding the Three Poisons in oneself, one can develop insight into the nature of reality and cultivate positive qualities that lead to liberation from suffering.
In the Dhammapada, a collection of the Buddha's sayings, he states, "Greed is the root of all suffering; hatred is the cause of all conflicts; delusion is the source of all ignorance" (Ch 14, verse 5). This statement summarizes the significance of the three poisons in Buddhism. The Buddha teaches that greed, hatred, and delusion are the three fundamental obstacles to the attainment of Nirvana, the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice.
Different schools of Buddhism place varying degrees of emphasis on the three poisons. For example, Theravada Buddhism emphasizes the role of greed in causing suffering, while Mahayana Buddhism focuses more on the importance of compassion and the role of hatred in causing suffering. However, all schools of Buddhism agree that understanding and overcoming these poisons is essential to achieving enlightenment. For example, Theravada Buddhism places a strong emphasis on the practice of mindfulness as a means of recognizing and transforming the Three Poisons. As Harvey (2000) notes, "Mindfulness is the key to unlocking the Three Poisons, for it is through mindfulness that we become aware of our own thoughts and emotions, and the way they condition our experience of the world" (p. 42). Harvey further says "Although all Buddhist traditions acknowledge the importance of the three poisons, there are some differences in how they are understood and emphasized" (Harvey, 2012, p. 160). Mahayana Buddhism, on the other hand, places a greater emphasis on the cultivation of compassion as a means of transforming the Three Poisons.
Counter-argument: While the three poisons may be central to Buddhism, some scholars argue that they are not unique to Buddhist philosophy. Other religious and philosophical traditions also recognize the importance of overcoming greed, hatred, and delusion. For example, Aristotle's ethics emphasize the importance of overcoming the passions and cultivating virtues such as moderation and wisdom. "The three poisons, for example, are similar to the seven deadly sins of Christian theology, and are found in many other religious and philosophical traditions" (Harvey, 2012, p. 159).
Counter-counter-argument: While it is true that other traditions recognize the importance of overcoming these negative emotions, the significance of the three poisons in Buddhism lies in their role as the root causes of suffering. The Buddha's teaching emphasizes that it is not enough to cultivate virtues or avoid vices; one must understand and overcome the fundamental obstacles to enlightenment. Keown says "In Buddhism, the three poisons are viewed not merely as character defects, but as the fundamental causes of suffering in the world" (Keown, 2001, p. 55).
Synoptic link: The study of ethics and virtue is closely linked to the concept of the three poisons in Buddhism. Buddhist ethics emphasize the importance of cultivating virtues such as compassion, generosity, and wisdom while avoiding negative emotions and actions that lead to suffering. The three poisons are seen as the fundamental obstacles to cultivating these virtues and achieving enlightenment. In his book, "Buddhist Ethics," Damien Keown explains that the three poisons are the primary focus of Buddhist ethics. He states, "Buddhist ethics is essentially the study of the three poisons and their antidotes" (Keown, 2001, p. 55). Buddhist ethics emphasizes the importance of cultivating virtues and avoiding negative emotions and actions that lead to suffering. He further says "Buddhist ethics is essentially the study of the three poisons and their antidotes. The goal is to cultivate the opposite of the poisons - generosity, compassion, and wisdom - which serve as the foundation for the path to enlightenment" (Keown, 2001, p. 55).
Furthermore, the concept of the three poisons is closely related to the Buddhist concept of karma. According to the law of karma, our actions have consequences, and the three poisons lead to negative consequences in this life and future lives. Therefore, understanding and overcoming the three poisons is essential to avoiding negative consequences and achieving a good rebirth or ultimately reaching Nirvana.
In conclusion, the concept of the three poisons, namely greed, hatred, and delusion, is central to Buddhism and the Buddhist philosophy. These poisons are considered the root causes of suffering and dissatisfaction in life, and understanding and overcoming them is essential to achieving enlightenment.
References
Harvey, P. (2012). An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history and practices. Cambridge University Press.
Harvey, P. (2000). An introduction to Buddhist ethics: Foundations, values and issues. Cambridge University Press.
Keown, D. (2001). Buddhism: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
The Dhammapada. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/index.html
Walshe, M. (2005). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya. Wisdom Publications.
4. Evaluate the importance of the three fires/poisons to Buddhists. (30)
4. Evaluate the Belief in the Four Noble Truths is essential for all Buddhists. (30)
4 Evaluate the opinion that dukkha is central to all forms of Buddhism. (30)
4 Evaluate the claim that an understanding of dukkha is essential to achieve nirvana. (30)
4 Evaluate the opinion that the Buddha’s teaching on the cessation of craving/desire in the Four Noble Truths samudaya/tanha is the most important Buddhist teaching. (30)
4 Evaluate the opinion the strenghts and weaknesss of the claim that the Middle Way was a new development. (30)
4 Evaluate the relative importance of nirodha for different Buddhists today. (30)
4 Evaluate the view that ‘Nibbana cannot be explained.’ (30)
4 Evaluate the significance of the way or magga in the contemporary world . (30)
4. Evaluate the meaning and significance of the Eightfold Path in the contemporary world. (30) 2019 Paper Q
4 Evaluate the claim that ‘Sila is more important than samadhi in the eightfold path.’ (30)
4 Evaluate the view that it is more important to develop wisdom than meditation and ethics in Buddhism (30)
The three things in the title refer to the threefold way, that is the dissection of the eightfold path into three subjects that cover wisdom, meditation and ethics. The metric which will be used to judge the importance of each is how far they go to reach enlightenment; as enlightenment is the end goal for ever Buddhist. From the offset, these three factors are interlinked similar to a chain, without one piece of the chain the goal shall never be reached. However, it is clear to see that the lynchpin of Nirvana relates to wisdom. That is to say, if one does have wisdom then it is impossible to successfully develop meditation and ethics to a sufficient reason. Therefore, on balance, this statement is correct.
In a Buddhist context, wisdom is essential to combat one of the three poisons, ignorance. Along with craving and aversion, these are the three ‘fires’, which must be blown out in order for one to reach Nirvana. Keown defines the Pali word for ignorance, Moha, in his dictionary of Buddhism as ‘delusion, confusion and dullness.’ Therefore, the aim of developing wisdom is to avert these states and directly blow out the fire of ignorance. This is done by gaining access to the Dharma. While ethics and mediation are also essential to access the Dharma, wisdom appears to be the most significant reason. Bhikku Bodhi colourfully summarises this when he calls wisdom ‘the crowning virtue among all the requisites of enlightenment, drives away the darkness of ignorance and lights up the true characteristics of phenomena.’ As Bodhi calls wisdom the ‘crowning virtue’ it is obvious that in his opinion it is the most significant factor for one to obtain enlightenment, thus making it the most significant out of wisdom, ethics and meditation. Wisdom is also needed to gain access to what the Buddha taught. In the Pali Canon and other such scriptures, the Buddha lays down several profoundly complicated sermons that require a significant amount of wisdom to access. An example of this is the ‘Deer Park Sermon’ in which the Buddha taught of the four noble truths the noble eightfold path. Of these sermons, the Buddha said ‘when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.’ This clearly shows how wisdom is needed to gain access to cessation of suffering and further to enlightenment making it hugely important. On the other hand, Mahayana Buddhists disagree with this sentiment expressed, which is mainly held by Theravada Buddhists. A Mahayana critique of this is the ‘Doctrine of Original Enlightenment,’ which states that everybody is already enlightened but is covered by ‘defilements.’ Therefore, for them, wisdom and extinguishing the fires matters not, as they wish to only get rid of the defilements. The Mahayana scholar Alex Wayman displays this sentiment in the quotes ‘luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is defiled by incoming defilements.’ By calling the mind ‘luminous’ it is contradictory to Bodhi as Bodhi clearly expressed the imperfections of the mind and the obvious need to drive away darkness. By Wayman calling every mind ‘luminous’ it shows how the darkness has already been driven away which directly contradicts Bodhi. To evaluate these two arguments is rather difficult as both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhists have such fundamental differences. However, on the face of it, the Theravada appears stronger as wisdom directly correlates to the extinguishing of the one of the three fires, which the Mahayana side fails to address. The Buddha certainly gives clear indication that to end suffering one requires wisdom, which, again, the Mahayana arguments gives little credit to. So, on this point, when judging which argument is better made, it is the Theravada argument as it has more correlation to the direct end of suffering and furthermore to Nirvana. Therefore, it still stands that wisdom is indeed the most important reason.
As named in the question, meditation can be thought of to be the most significant out of the three. In the dictionary of Buddhism, Damien Keown defines meditation under two branches. Firstly, Keown defines Samatha as a ‘one-pointedness of the mind,’ that is to say meditation in the classic and intuitive sense, such as reaching higher Jhanas. The second definition of meditation is Vipasyana, which is concerned with intellectual understanding in a state of consciousness. Meditation is significant because it gains an insight into relality. Bhikku Bodhi argued that meditation, and by extension mindfulness, is essential to gain insight into the Dharma. Indeed, a famous aphorism of the Buddha is ‘to see me is to see the Dharma,’ thus by meditating on the Buddha’s wisdom one gains access to the Dharma. Moreover, meditation covers all general aspects of mindfulness, which the Buddha places great emphasis on. An example of this is the quote ‘if with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows them like a never-departing shadow,’ which demonstrates the obvious significance of having a pure mind which is obtained via meditation. Another significant reason why meditation is significant comes from an unexpected secular source. Sam Harris, who many would regard as a form of Buddhist, argues that meditation can have positive psychological effects, such as reducing stress. Thusly, Harris agrees with the Buddha, as both seem to emphasise the positive psychological impacts of meditation. However, on the other hand, there are some significant critiques of the positive impacts meditation. One comes from Michael Persigner’s ‘God Helmet,’ which claims to be able to reciprocate positive religious experience. This weakens the classical Buddhist argument because the fact that the Jhanas are unique adds a lot of weight to their argument. The concept of a Jhana is, at its very core, supposed to be unique to Buddhism, but should Persinger be able to reciprocate it on somebody who is not a devout Buddhist it weakens the argument in favour of meditation. However, Perseigner’s argument does not weaken Harris’ analysis of meditation as he is seemingly disinterested whether it is metaphysically true or not. Another critique of meditation is that it is too inaccessible for the common Buddhist. Indeed, to sufficiently reach the fourth Jhana it takes years of practise and meditation, which is simply out of the question for the laity. Whereas with wisdom, one can study Buddhist scriptures and reflect upon them while not becoming a Bhikku, it is too demanding for many to abide by in such a manner that it has the desired effect. Compared to the previous factor of wisdom, it is clearly less accessible and thus has less impact on Nirvana. So, while still significant, wisdom is more significant than meditation, thus proving this statement to be true.
Lastly, intrinsic to the question is the aspect of ethics out of the threefold path. Keown defines ethics (Sila being the Pali word for ethics) as ‘normative moral rules,’ which have been laid down in various scriptures, such as the Vinaya Pitaka. Analysing Buddhist ethics, a significant amount of it is derived from the Vinaya Pitaka. Due to a lot of the rules of the monastic Sangha being formed concurrently with its development, many of the rules are derived from the time of the Buddha. It is also of note that these rules are rather flexible too. Zen Master Dogen is quoted as saying on Buddhist ethics ‘what you think in your own mind to be good, or what other people of the world think is good, may not necessarily be good.’ This highlights the teleological aspects to the rules and Dogen hints at the fact that some rules may be put if to serve a better purpose. This is remarkably similar to John Stuart Mill’s weak rule utilitarianism, which states that rules in society are generally regarded as good but one should not be legalistic or deontological in regard to rules; they can be put aside if to do a greater good to the greater number. In this way, Buddhist ethics can be seen as rather similar to 19th centaury utilitarianism, particularly under JS Mill. Thusly, the same evaluative pieces apply to Buddhist ethics as with utilitarianism, such as the difficulty to judge the outcomes and whether justice can be properly served under these ethics. However, within the confines of the question, ethics clearly places last in significance in comparison to wisdom and meditation. This is because the previous two are a perquisite to have a strong ethical sense in Buddhism. Firstly, wisdom is needed to know about ethical rules and how they should be applied. As previously shown, wisdom covers a large branch Buddhist knowledge and is necessary for one to be able to apply ethics in such a way as to extinguish the fire of ignorance. Thusly, as ethics is reliant on wisdom, wisdom must be more significant than it. Moreover, meditation is also vital for successful ethics, especially Vipasyana. Without the constant meditative state of reflection, these ethics would not be successfully put into practise. Therefore, while ethics is still vitally important, its existence relates too closely for the other two for it to be judged as the standalone most significant factor. So, ethics places below both wisdom and meditation in order of significance.
In conclusion, what has been alluded to is that the threefold path is greatly interlinked. But, it is clear that wisdom lies at the very core of the path. As shown, wisdom is needed for meditation, for what would one meditate upon if not wisdom? Wisdom is needed especially for the meditative state of Vipasyana that demands constant intellectual awareness. Moreover, ethics is further derived from wisdom, as the dharma and scriptures is where ethics is derived from. It clearly takes wisdom to have ethics, thus wisdom remains the most important factor out of the three. Wisdom, by itself, is uniquely directly related to one of the three poisons in a way that neither meditation nor ethics is. It is therefore clear that this statement is correct, on balance; wisdom is indeed more significant than meditation and ethics in Buddhism.
References
Damien Keown's dictionary of Buddhism: Keown, D. (2004). A dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press.
Bhikku Bodhi: Bodhi, B. (2010). The noble eightfold path: The way to the end of suffering. Buddhist Publication Society.
Alex Wayman: Wayman, A. (2013). The Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan esotericism. Routledge.
4 Evaluate the claim that the main purpose of meditation is to improve moral behaviour. (30)
4 Evaluate the status of the qualities of metta, karuna and khanti for Buddhists today. (30)
Thesis: The qualities of metta (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), and khanti (patience or forbearance) are essential for Buddhists today, as they provide a foundation for ethical behavior, personal transformation, and the cultivation of wisdom.
Argument: Metta is one of the foundational qualities of Buddhist practice, as it involves the cultivation of an attitude of goodwill and loving-kindness towards all beings. As Bhikkhu Bodhi (2005) notes, "The cultivation of metta is an essential aspect of the Buddha's path to liberation, and is a powerful antidote to the negative emotions of anger, hatred, and ill-will" (p. 14). Through the practice of metta, Buddhists are able to develop a deep sense of connection to others, and cultivate a sense of universal love and compassion that extends beyond the boundaries of self and other.
Argument: Karuna is closely related to metta, and involves the cultivation of a deep sense of compassion for all beings. According to Harvey (2012), "Karuna is the natural expression of metta, and arises when one recognizes the suffering of others and feels a genuine desire to alleviate it" (p. 207). The practice of karuna involves developing empathy for the suffering of others, and actively working to alleviate that suffering through acts of kindness, generosity, and service.
Argument: Khanti, or patience and forbearance, is another essential quality for Buddhists, as it involves the ability to remain calm and composed in the face of difficult situations or challenging people. According to Keown (2001), "Khanti is the capacity to endure without resentment or ill-will, and is seen as an essential quality for the cultivation of wisdom" (p. 71). Through the practice of khanti, Buddhists are able to develop greater equanimity and inner peace, even in the face of adversity.
Counter-argument: While the qualities of metta, karuna, and khanti may be important for personal transformation and ethical behavior, some may argue that they are not always practical or appropriate in every situation. For example, in situations where one is being actively harmed or oppressed, the practice of khanti may be seen as a form of passive acceptance rather than active resistance.
Counter-counter-argument: While it is true that the practice of khanti may not always involve overt resistance or confrontation, it is still an essential quality for Buddhists, as it allows them to remain calm and centered in the face of difficult situations. Moreover, the practice of khanti does not necessarily preclude the use of skillful means or compassionate action to address injustice or oppression.
Synoptic link: The study of ethics and virtue is closely linked to the cultivation of metta, karuna, and khanti in Buddhism. The practice of these qualities involves the development of ethical behavior, as well as the cultivation of wisdom and insight. Moreover, the practice of situation ethics - the idea that ethical behavior must be contextual and responsive to specific situations - is also reflected in the practice of metta, karuna, and khanti. By cultivating these qualities, Buddhists are better able to respond to the ethical challenges and dilemmas that arise in their lives, and to act with greater compassion, wisdom, and skillful means.
Reference:
Bhikkhu Bodhi. (2005). Loving-kindness: The revolutionary art of happiness. Wisdom Publications.
Harvey, P. (2012). An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history and practices. Cambridge University Press.
Keown, D. (2001). Buddhism: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
4 Evaluate the importance of the relationship between the principles of metta, karuna and khanti and the Four Noble truths. (30)
4 Evaluate the debate between Theravada and Mahayana about the nature of the four noble truths. (30)