Self-transformation
by Bhikkhu Bodhi
It is
perhaps symptomatic of the "fallen" nature of the ordinary human
condition that few of us pass the full extent of our lives comfortably
reconciled to our natural selves. Even in the midst of prosperity and success,
grinding notes of discontent trouble our days and disturbing dreams come to
haunt our sleep. As long as our eyes remain coated with dust we incline to
locate the cause of our discontent outside ourselves - in spouse, neighbor or
job, in implacable fate or fluky chance. But when the dust drops off and our
eyes open, we soon find that the real cause lies within.
When we
discover how deeply the cause of our unhappiness is lodged in the mind, the
realization dawns that cosmetic changes will not be anywhere near enough, that
a fundamental internal transformation is required. This desire for a
transformed personality, for the emergence of a new man from the ashes of the
old, is one of the perennial lures of the human heart. From ancient times it has
been a potent wellspring of the spiritual quest, and even in the secular,
life-affirming culture of our own cosmopolitan age this longing has not totally
disappeared.
While
such concepts as redemption, salvation and deliverance may no longer
characterize the transformation that is sought, the urge for a radical
reshaping of the personality persists as strong as ever, appearing in guises
that are compatible with the secular worldview. Where previously this urge
sought fulfillment in the temple, ashram and monastery, it now resorts to new
venues: the office of the psychoanalyst, the weekend workshop, the panoply of
newly spawned therapies and cults. However, despite the change of scene and
conceptual framework, the basic pattern remains the same. Disgruntled with the
ruts of our ingrained habits, we long to exchange all that is dense and
constrictive in our personalities for a new, lighter, freer mode of being.
Self-transformation is also a
fundamental goal of the Buddha's teaching, an essential part of his program for
liberation from suffering. The Dhamma was never intended for those who are
already perfect saints. It is addressed to fallible human beings beset with all
the shortcomings typical of unpolished human nature: conduct that is fickle and
impulsive, minds that are tainted by greed, anger and selfishness, views that
are distorted and habits that lead to harm for oneself and others.
The purpose of the teaching is to
transform such people - ourselves - into "accomplished ones": into
those whose every action is pure, whose minds are calm and composed, whose
wisdom has fathomed the deepest truths and whose conduct is always marked by a
compassionate concern for others and for the welfare of the world.
Between these two poles of the
teaching - the flawed and knotted personality that we bring with us as raw
material into the training, and the fully liberated personality that emerges in
the end - there lies a gradual process of self-transformation governed by
highly specific guidelines. This transformation is effected by the twin aspects
of the path: abandoning (pahana), the removal from the mind of all that
is harmful and unwholesome, and development (bhavana), the cultivation
of qualities that are wholesome, pure and purifying.
What distinguishes the Buddha's
program for self-transformation from the multitude of other systems proposing a
similar end is the contribution made by another principle with which it is
invariably conjoined. This is the principle of self-transcendence, the endeavor
to relinquish all attempts to establish a sense of solid personal identity. In
the Buddhist training the aim of transforming the personality must be
complemented by a parallel effort to overcome all identification with the
elements that constitute our phenomenal being.
The teaching of anatta or
not-self is not so much a philosophical thesis calling for intellectual assent
as a prescription for self-transcendence. It maintains that our ongoing attempt
to establish a sense of identity by taking our personalities to be
"I" and "mine" is in actuality a project born out of
clinging, a project that at the same time lies at the root of our suffering.
If, therefore, we seek to be free from suffering, we cannot stop with the
transformation of the personality into some sublime and elevated mode as the
final goal. What is needed, rather, is a transformation that brings about the
removal of clinging, and with it, the removal of all tendencies to
self-affirmation.
It is important to stress this
transcendent aspect of the Dhamma because, in our own time when
"immanent" secular values are ascendent, the temptation is great to
let this aspect drop out of sight. If we assume that the worth of a practice
consists solely in its ability to yield concrete this-worldly results, we may
incline to view the Dhamma simply as a means of refining and healing the
divided personality, leading in the end to a renewed affirmation of our mundane
selves and our situation in the world.
Such an approach, however, would
ignore the Buddha's insistence that all the elements of our personal existence
are impermanent, unsatisfactory and not self, and his counsel that we should
learn to distance ourselves from such things and ultimately to discard them.
In the proper practice of the Dhamma
both principles, that of self-transformation and that of self-transcendence,
are equally crucial. The principle of self-transformation alone is blind,
leading at best to an ennobled personality but not to a liberated one. The
principle of self-transcendence alone is barren, leading to a cold ascetic
withdrawal devoid of the potential for enlightenment. It is only when these two
complementary principles work in harmony, blended and balanced in the course of
training, that they can bridge the gap between the actual and ideal and bring
to a fruitful conclusion the quest for the end of suffering.
Of the two principles, that of
self-transcendence claims primacy both at the beginning of the path and at the
end. For it is this principle that gives direction to the process of self-transformation,
revealing the goal toward which a transformation of the personality should lead
and the nature of the changes required to bring the goal within our reach.
However, the Buddhist path is not a perpendicular ascent to be scaled with
picks, ropes and studded boots, but a step-by-step training which unfolds in a
natural progression.
Thus the abrupt challenge of self-transcendence - the
relinquishing of all points of attachment - is met and mastered by the gradual
process of self-transformation. By moral discipline, mental purification and
the development of insight, we advance by stages from our original condition of
bondage to the domain of untrammeled freedom.
Publisher's note
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