Tetsunori Koizumi, Director
What does the immune system mean from the perspective of Buddhist thought? To pose this question, in a way, is meaningless as there is no explicit discussion of the immune system in the Buddhist suttas. However, it is possible to talk about what the immune system means in the context of the Buddhist view of the world as expounded in the suttas and commentaries.
The idea that the immune system is a defense system we humans possess and develop against invading pathogens must be said to be a foreign idea in the Buddhist conception of life and matter in the universe. However, as a system that is formed in and around us, there is certainly a place for the immune system in the interconnected and interdependent web of causes and conditions called paticca-samuppada, usually translated as “dependent origination”. As a system that is formed in and around us, there is certainly a place for the immune system in that interconnected and interdependent web of causes and conditions among all living and non-living systems.
The term that corresponds to a “system” in Buddhism would be sankhara, which is a Buddhist term that refers to “an entity that is constructed or put together” as it combines two words: san (together) and karoti (to make). A sankhara is usually translated as a “compound entity”, a “conditioned phenomenon”, or simply a “formation”. Another Buddhist term that corresponds to a “system” would be dhamma, written with the lower-case “d” to distinguish it from Dhamma, which refers to the Buddha’s teachings. A dhamma is usually translated as a “phenomenon”. As a sankhara, or a dhamma, the immune system is intimately tied up with all the other sankharas and dhammas that come and go in the interconnected and interdependent web of causes and conditions among all living and non-living systems.
As a sankhara, or a dhamma, the immune system is subject to tilakkhana, or the “three characteristics of existence”: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), and anatta (no-self). As the Buddha states in Anguttara Nikaya, for example, “Bhikkus, whether Tathagatas arise or not, there persists that law, that stableness of the Dhamma, that fixed course of the Dhamma. (1) Sabbe sankhara anicca (All conditioned phenomena are impermanent), (2) Sabbe sankhara dukkha (All conditioned phenomena are unsatisfactory), and (3) Sabbe dhamma anatta (All phenomena are without self).” (Anguttara Nikaya, III. 136)
The first characteristic of existence when applied to the immune system implies that it, as a sankhara, is subject to the law of anicca, or “impermanence”. To be more specific, the immune system is an evolutionary system that undergoes change and transformation along with all the other systems in the universe. The second characteristic of existence implies that, while it does perform a useful function of protecting us from external substances that threaten our health, the immune system is to be treated as a source of dukkha, or “suffering”, not as an object of attachment. Lastly, the third characteristic of existence implies that the true nature of the immune system, like any system in the world around us, is of the nature of anatta, or “no self”. Given that we humans are of the nature of anatta as implied by panca khandha, or the “Five Aggregates”, the immune system as a system formed in and around us is also of the nature of anatta.
If the immune system is, as a sankhara, or a dhamma, subject to the three characteristics of existence, what should we make of the role it plays for us from the Buddhist perspective? To be sure, we humans are endowed with the innate, as well as the acquired, immune system. But is there more to the immune system than the mere designation scientists employ to highlight the role it plays in protecting us from external substances such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses that threaten our health?
The reason we possess the immune system is because we humans have co-evolved with all the other living and non-living systems in the universe. From the Buddhist perspective, the immune system is not therefore a defense system that shields us from invading pathogens. Rather, it is an adaptive system that allows us to co-evolve with pathogens, serving as an interface between the individual human being and all the other systems in the universe. For Buddhist practitioners, what this means is that we need to develop panna, or “wisdom”, to see things as they really are. Here again, the Buddha reminds us of the need to develop wisdom through constant practice: “When through wisdom one perceives, ‘all sankharas are transient,’ then one is detached as to misery. This is the path of purity. When through wisdom one perceives, ‘all sankharas are suffering,’ then one is detached as to misery. This is the path of purity. When through wisdom one perceives, ‘all dhammas are without self,’ then one is detached as to misery. This is the path of purity.” (Dhammapada, 277, 278, 279)