Today’s was about the non virtuous action of Idle Talk or Gossip, which is the last of the 4 non virtuous actions committed by way of one’s speech, but Geshe la also gave a very powerful teaching reminding us of how the 10 non virtuous actions relate back to the 4 Noble Truths, and gave an enlightening introduction to the concept of “Emptiness”.
A. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS – HOW THE NON VIRTUOUS ACTIONS RELATE TO THE 4 NOBLE TRUTHS – AN INTRODUCTION TO EMPTINESS
Suffering – The 4 Noble Truths – Avoiding the 10 Non Virtuous Actions
Geshe la began by reminding everyone that the reason why we need to understand the 10 non virtuous actions is because of the 4 Noble Truths. The 4 Noble Truths focus on suffering and how to end it. And because suffering represents the ripening of previous negative karmic seeds, it becomes important to understand what actions lead to the sowing of negative karmic seeds. Therein lies the importance of knowing and recognizing the 10 non virtuous actions, and to practise avoiding them.
We see one common thread running across these non virtuous actions. They are invariably motivated by the 3 poisons of ignorance（痴), attachment/ desire (贪) and aversion/hatred/anger（嗔). The 3 poisons appear to be the masterminds of all our conduct, leading to the sowing of negative karmic seeds.
All our non virtuous conduct actually arise due to the perpetual state of restlessness in our unenlightened minds, which in turn have their roots in our ignorance, and indeed the other poisons of aversion and attachment that are at work in the background.
Modern psychologists and psychiatrists have interacted with Buddhist masters in recent times, and observed that the restlessness, unhappiness or uneasiness of human beings is caused by negative emotions, such as anger/hatred (嗔心). As to why such a poison is there, psychologists and psychiatrists are in constant dialogue with Buddhist masters, and have observed one common phenomenon – many people think their unhappiness is caused by others (external to oneself). It is always a case of “he/she made me angry”. But people don’t understand that the emotion of anger, is actually due to our own ignorance that clouds our human minds, which in turn leads to a (mis)interpretation of a certain state of affairs which, when (mistakenly) believed to be true, leads one to become angry. It is therefore a vicious cycle at work.
Geshe la gave an example of someone who performs many of the 10 non virtuous actions, due to the influence of the 3 poisons, and causes the suffering of many others. This happens because of, for example, anger or hatred. These, when they come into force, can be very destructive. But where does the poison of anger/hatred come from? Before we answer that question, we must learn how to our own state of mind carefully.
For example, we may feel happy in the morning when we awake, but a phone call comes in which brings negative news, and we become unhappy.
- We may receive news of us having failed in a business venture or an examination.
- We may hear news of a business competitor who succeeded in his business, winning a deal that we had pitched in, and we get jealous.
- We hear someone else telling others negative things about ourselves, then we feel angry.
- We hear that our partner is unfaithful and is dating someone else, and our attachment to the individual leads us to become angry and allow hate to arise.
So what happened to the happiness in the morning? It was eclipsed by the work of the 5 poisons of ignorance（痴）, attachment/desire(贪), aversion/hatred/anger（嗔）, jealousy （疑) and pride（慢）.
Many who study the science of the mind, even researchers at universities, have now concluded that it is important for every individual to learn the science of the mind. They are starting to believe that such sciences can borrow a leaf from the book of Buddhism. The study of the sciences had hitherto concentrated only on the way the brain as an organ (as opposed to the mind) works. There is now a paradigm shift in the approach in modern science, as cognition and consciousness are increasingly recognized to be a separate and distinct aspect from the way neurons in the brain work. Buddhism has infiltrated the field of neurological science and psychiatry/ psychology. The Buddha, from over 2,500 years ago, had identified the importance of understanding the nature of one’s own mind (as opposed to the brain), and emphasised the importance of learning how to observe one’s mind so as to enable one to create positivity and happiness in one’s life.
That is why the study of Buddhism is helpful to humanity. It would be wrong to think that Buddhism is all about offering incense, prostrating, meditating, pujas and chanting mantras etc. One must understand the scientific aspects of how the poisons affect us. This will enable us to recognize these poisons as they arise, and the next step would be to learn to subdue them the moment they arise. As we go along with our daily practices as such, we will be able to develop compassion to those (third parties) who act adversely to us, as we also understand they are acting under the influence of the poisons. It is important to remember that when one develops compassion for others, one automatically moves away from anger/ hatred. This is a very powerful tool that gives us great strength and courage to help others, but more importantly, transforms one’s own outlook thereby making it easier for one to be happy, or at least, not become so easily upset or angry by occurrences and/or people external to oneself.
Many in our modern world get mixed up as to what compassion and desire/ attachment mean. They wish to be nice to others, thinking (by their own reckoning) it is good for the other. This happens often in romantic relationships. But this is not compassion.
Desire/ attachment is conditional love, and bears indicia of a transaction – I give and in return, I expect to be treated a certain way.
Compassion on the other hand, is a universal love to which no conditions are attached.
The latter gives immeasurable joy, but the former is the road to suffering. Invariably, the “happiness” which we experience from worldly things such this, or such as praise from one’s boss, are fleeting like clouds. For instance, the praise in respect of a task done earlier, can easily give way to criticism over a subsequent task not well done, and we become unhappy or angry.
Therefore, our unhappiness is not “caused” by others. The “enemy”, for want of a better term, is not external to oneself. It is within ourselves. The Buddha, during His time, made it clear that unhappiness is caused by one’s own ignorance, which leads us to misconceive what the facts are. This inability to decipher and identify what is true, is what causes suffering.
For instance, a couple of individuals meet with an aggressor who expresses aggression to all of them. One of them develops hatred for the aggressor. Another feels compassion for the aggressor. There are various negative emotions that can arise in one’s mind, depending on the poison at work – it could be pride leading to jealousy, it could be attachment/ desire leading to aversion/anger when the attachment/desire is not fulfilled.
Emptiness
With this in mind, Geshe la went on to introduce the concept of Emptiness.
During the Second Turning of the Wheel, the Buddha taught the Wisdom of Emptiness (Skt: Shunyata). So what is meant by emptiness?
Let’s take the simple example of a flower. It may to our eyes, exist, but it does not exist from its own side. It exists only in relative terms, as observed by the observer. It is empty of (lacking in) inherent existence. Coming back to the flower, the conventional eye will see it as beautiful in its shape, colour, form etc. Where does the colour of the flower, say yellow, come from? Did it come about by itself? No, because it is dependent upon many other conditions, such as sunlight, for its growth. These other conditions extend beyond the role in the flower’s growth – the bright colours can only be seen (and appreciated as beautiful) by the observer due to the pleasant weather that day causing the sun to shine and it is sunlight reflecting off the flower that allows the observer to see its radiance. If any of these conditions are absent during the time of the observation, the bright and beautiful colours cannot be appreciated.
In addition, the question of whether the flower of beautiful is also dependent upon the abilities of the observer – some people may be colour blind or colour deficient – there may well be some people who are unable to see the colour yellow.
This analysis demonstrates that all phenomenon (in this example, a flower being beautiful) do not exist independently from their own side, and that is why we say they are “empty of inherent existence” – they come about following a combination of myriad conditions.
Our five senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste which we experience, all of which have a role to play in our moods everyday, are similarly devoid of inherent existence. They are dependent on causes and conditions coming into play at the relevant time.
Take the flower example again. Say it has 8 flower petals around its circumference, giving the flower its round shape. To say the flower is round is correct but perhaps an over-simplification – the flower is round because it has 8 petals around its circumference. The phenomenon of the flower being round, or capable of being described as being round, is dependent upon quite a number other factors being extant at the time.
If one puts a flower under a microscope, it becomes a network of veins and other ugly parts. So what it is in reality (just a network of veins and ugly parts), and what is conjured by one’s mind (the opinion of the flower being beautiful to which one can develop attachment in the same way we can become attached to any beautiful object), can be very different.
Buddhism, which teaches emptiness, places emphasis on the doctrine of Dependent Arising. Phenomenon or objects do exist, just that they are empty / devoid of inherent existence. The flower exists. It can, when certain circumstances come together, and if the observer has the complete gift of sight, it can be observed to be beautiful. Emptiness therefore does not equate to “Nothingness”.
B. THE 6TH OF 10 NON VIRTUOUS ACTIONS – IDLE TALK/GOSSIP
The Elements
Back in the days of the Buddha this was probably one of the lesser of the non virtuous actions committed by way of speech. But in today’s world of instantaneous communications, and with social media, this has the potential to create a lot of discord, misunderstanding and (mental) suffering, so one has to be very careful.
It is far broader than Lying, Harsh Speech and Divisive Speech.
Idle talk wastes time and has potential to cause unhappiness. It involves talking about things that are unimportant and inconsequential, and elevating their status to an issue.
The first element is an intention but would exclude a situation when someone for example is intoxicated). It can be motivated by one of the 3 (or 5) poisons,
The second element is the act itself of the idle talk. If one tells a joke to please one’s parents, or old folks at an old folks home, for example, and makes some small talk for the same of entertainment, that will not be “idle talk”. These examples carry a positive motive or intent.
The third element is completion of the act.
The fourth is the feeling of completion or satisfaction without regret post act.
The Effects
Regarding the consequences and effects, it depends on the severity and has potential to sow seeds that lead to rebirth in the hells, hungry ghosts or animal realms. Those of the most severe type relate to idle talk that affects others’ previously positive views of the Buddha Dharma, or relate to criticism of the Buddha Dharma or masters and/or one’s parents. We see may types of discussions on YouTube these days. These can lead to misunderstandings between countries and world leaders. These can lead to wars between states, so its negative impact can potentially be very destructive.
Even if one takes rebirth as a human being, one’s words will always be ignored, or respected or believed by others. One will also not have the ability to express oneself clearly.
Again, one after one’s rebirth will develop the propensity to continue this habit of idle talk, and as a result of that, will have no respect from others.
Further, one will face problems in having previous positive karma ripen in that life. For example if one were a farmer, one may have difficulty having a good harvest, and even if there were a harvest, the fruits are not sweet. The same effect can be felt by someone in the business world. This phenomenon is seen in people who, when they are supposed to be studying, are not paying close attention to studies, and when they start working, they struggle try to catch up on studies, and they miss the boat in terms of starting a family etc, and lead a difficult life where they cannot achieve any success.
Thus concludes the lessons on the 4 non virtuous actions carried out by way of speech.
Geshe la reminded the class that in next week’s session, we will move into the 3 non virtuous actions carried out by way of intent, they being (i) Covetousness, (ii) Maliciousness and (iii) Wrong Views (denial of the laws of cause an effect).
We thank everyone for attending and listening, as well as all who are reading this summary. May all sentient beings have auspicious causes and conditions!
The Maha Tare Team