Tetsunori Koizumi, Director

In the conventional world in which we exist and in which Newtonian laws of nature prevail, space is a frame of reference that tells us where we are relative to things around us. Time, too, is a frame of reference that tells us where we are relative to events taking place around us. According to such a conventional conception of space and time, “here and now” can be represented as the origin of the four-dimensional coordinate system, with three dimensions for space and one dimension for time. What is noteworthy about the conventional conception of space and time is that “here and now” can be objectively defined and, thus, be the common origin to be shared with others, as when we make an appointment to meet with someone in a specific location and at a specific time.

The conventional coordinate system plays an important role in our lives because it helps us to orient ourselves in space and time. As a matter of fact, the Buddha appeals to the three-dimensional coordinate system consisting of north, south, east, west, up and down when he talks about “six directions” as representing six types of human relationships in the Sigalaka Sutta. The Buddha’s discussion in the Nidanasamyutta in which he presents twelve factors of dependent origination as a sequence starting from avijja (ignorance) and ending with jaramarana (aging and death) can be considered as an example in which he appeals to the conventional conception of time as a linear flow. Of course, it is possible, as the Buddha does, to interpret the twelve nidanas as forming a circle of mutual dependency. Indeed, as T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) puts it in his Four Quartets, “In my beginning is my end. … In my end is my beginning.”

What about the idea of “here and now” that plays an important role in Buddhist thought? Can it be represented as the origin of the four-dimensional coordinate system? It is possible to interpret the concept of anatta, or non-self, as representing the origin of three-dimensional space in that a thing, or a composite entity, can be placed there. By the same token, the concept of anicca, or impermanence, can be interpreted as representing the origin of one-dimensional time line that runs from the past to the future. However, the important point about the Buddhist conception of “here and now” is the interaction between the two, for both anatta and anicca are implied by the central concept of Buddhist thought: paticca-samuppada, or dependent origination. The concept of paticca-samuppada, which expresses the idea that everything in the world around us comes about with a concurrence of causes and conditions, explains why nothing in the world around us possesses of separate self and stays stationary even for a moment. It is thus possible to interpret the three-dimensional coordinate system as the space of interdependence between parts and whole of forms around us, and the time-dimension the frame of interdependent chain of causality that gives rise to forms.

What the concept of paticca-samuppada implies is, however, that “here and now” in Buddhist thought is defined only in the context of the web of interdependence among causes and conditions. This means that “here and now” cannot be represented as the origin of the conventional four-dimensional coordinate system, where space and time serve as independent frames of reference for phenomena and events that take place in the world around us. Indeed, there is interdependency between “here” and “now”. In this sense, “here and now” in Buddhist thought is a reference frame in the four-dimensional space-time continuum as conceived by Einstein (1879-1955) in his special theory of relativity. A reference frame in the four-dimensional space-time continuum, in Buddhist terms, can be characterized as a point of intersection between anatta and anicca, where strict distinction between space and time disappears. To borrow Thich Nhat Hanh’s terminology, space and time inter-are, meaning that instead of talking about “here and now”, we should really be talking about “here-now”.

In Zen Buddhism, we are told about the importance of establishing ourselves at the present moment, or arriving at “here and now”. If “here” and “now” are not separated but are combined into “here-now”, how should we go about placing ourselves at “here-now” in our daily practices? The Buddha offers us this advice in the Anguttara Nikaya (IV.11): “One who, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, has calmed his thoughts and delights in the stilling of thought: a bhikkhu such as this can reach the highest enlightenment.” Whether we are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down does not really matter, for wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we are already at “here-now”, a reference frame at which anatta and anicca intersect. All we need to do is to still our minds to become aware of ourselves as being an integral part of the web of causes and conditions evolving around us.

Tetsunori Koizumi, Director

“Greed, hatred, and delusion of every kind are unwholesome. Whatever action a greedy, hating, and deluded person heaps up—by deeds, words, or thoughts—that too is unwholesome.” (Anguttara Nikaya 3:69) These words summarily express what the Buddha regarded as unwholesome actions, or misconducts, for us humans. Known together as kilesa, or “three poisons”, greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha) are the root causes of human misery and suffering: “Bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, and mental misconduct. These three qualities lead to one’s own affliction, the affliction of others, and the affliction of both.” (Anguttara Nikaya, 3:17)

Why does the Buddha talk about greed, hatred, and delusion as three poisons, as unwholesome actions? As is represented by his concept of paticca-samuppada, or “dependent origination”, the idea about three poisons, too, is derived from, and reflect, a systems view of the world held by the Buddha. First of all, the Buddha conceives of us humans as a system consisting of three types of actions—bodily, verbal, and mental actions, which are expressed in the first quote above as “deeds, words, and thoughts”. Through these three types of actions, we humans interact with the world around us, which consists of the natural, the social, and the spiritual environment. To be more specific, we humans interact with the natural environment through our “deeds” in satisfying our material needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, with the social environment through our “words” with which we communicate with our fellow human beings, and with the spiritual environment through our “thoughts” with which we formulate our concepts and ideas about the world around us. Three poisons of “greed, hatred, and delusion” are thus the unwholesome manifestations of our “deeds, words, and thoughts” in our interaction with the natural, the social, and the spiritual environment.

While our deeds, words, and thoughts tend to lead to greed, hatred, and delusion, we cannot totally suppress them, for our existence in the conventional world is defined by our bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Whether a certain action is regarded unwholesome or wholesome is, in a way, a matter of degree, for our actions range from foolish ones to wise ones. Thus, the Buddha talks about what kinds of actions define a fool, and what kinds a wise person: “Bhikkhus, one who possesses three qualities should be known as a fool. What three? Unwholesome bodily action, unwholesome verbal action, and unwholesome mental action. … one who possesses three qualities should be known as a wise person. What three? Wholesome bodily action, wholesome verbal action, and wholesome mental action.” (Anguttara Nikaya 3:2)

Our bodily actions, or deeds, in our interaction with the natural environment become unwholesome when greed takes over as the motivation behind our deeds, for greed would lead us to exploit natural resources beyond what is needed for sustainable living. Our verbal actions, or words, in our interaction with the social environment become unwholesome when hatred enters in the choice of our words, for hateful words would not only hurt the feelings of those to whom they are addressed but would also destroy the communal foundation of our societies. Our mental actions, or thoughts, in our interaction with the spiritual environment become unwholesome when delusion guides the formation of our thoughts, for delusional thoughts cloud our vision of the world around us and prevent us from seeing reality as it truly is.

Reflecting, as they do, the Buddha’s systemic view of the world, three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion are systemically connected with one another. Delusion, for example, in the form of a thought clouded by envy towards those who are materially better off than we are leads us to hatred in expressing that thought about them in derogatory words, and to greed in transforming that thought into a desire to employ whatever means necessary to acquire wealth for ourselves. Conversely, greed about material wealth breeds envy towards those who are materially better off than we are, which is transformed into hatred towards them, and into delusion about the way they have acquitted their wealth. Once we are trapped in the vicious cycle of greed, hatred, and delusion, it is very difficult for us to escape from it that causes affliction for ourselves and for others. But escape we must if we are to find happiness for ourselves and for others.

How, then, can we escape from the vicious cycle of greed, hatred, and delusion? Since they are connected to one another through paticca-samuppada, or dependent origination, eliminating one poison will lead us to the elimination of the other two in a chain of causality. As we are an animal species endowed with the capacity to think, a good starting point would be to try to eliminate delusion. Consider, for example, the idea that progress is possible for us humans in the sense of increasing material standards of living. This idea was once considered a sound idea, even an enlightened one by influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. However, that same idea has now been shown to be a delusion in view of our increasing awareness about the finite carrying capacity of the natural environment. Eliminating that delusion is the first step we must take if we are to call forth concerted actions among individuals and nations to eliminate hatred and greed towards building a sustainable world with more equitable distribution of wealth.