Category Archives: Buddhism

What Does the Immune System Mean from the Perspective of Buddhist thought?

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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)

Santutthi: The Buddhist Path to Sustainability

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Tetsunori Koizumi, Director

“Health is the highest gain, Contentment is the highest wealth”, go the first two lines of Verse 204 in The Dhammapada, or The Word of the Buddha. We all know how important health is for our wellbeing, especially for those of us who are prone to illness and bad health. But what does the Buddha mean by saying “contentment is the highest wealth”? Is the Buddha referring to “material wealth” when he speaks of “wealth”?

What the Buddha means when he says “contentment is the highest wealth” is made explicit in one of the suttas in Anguttara Nikya titled santutthi, which is the Pali word translated as “contentment”: “Bhikkhus, there are these four trifles, easily gained and blameless. What four? A rag-robe is a trifle among robes, easily gained and blameless. A lump of alms food is a trifle among meals, easily gained and blameless. The foot of a tree is a trifle among lodgings, easily gained and blameless. Putrid urine is a trifle among medicines, easily gained and blameless. These are the four trifles, easily gained and blameless. When a bhikkhu is satisfied with what is trifling and easily gained, I say that he has one of the factors of the ascetic life. When one is content with what is blameless, trifling and easily gained; when one’s mind is not distressed because of a lodging, robe, drink, and food, one is not hindered anywhere.” (Anguttara Nikaya, IV.70)

While the sutta is intended for his monastic disciples, what the Buddha is trying to convey to us is very clear: we should be content with a modest way of life with respect to what we wear, what we eat and drink, and where we dwell. When we are content with what we can gain easily and blamelessly, what we have, the Buddha assures us, becomes the highest wealth. What the Buddha means by “the highest wealth” is not, therefore, “the highest material standard of living” that has become the goal of many individuals and nations in the world since the Industrial Revolution.

The Buddha’s message of “be content with what we have”, which is behind the concept of santutthi, has been transmitted to Buddhist practitioners by generations of Buddhist masters in all traditions. In the Chinese Chan tradition, for example, we find the following words of Master Sheng Yen: “To purify the mind, start by reducing desires and knowing contentment; to purify society, start by extending loving care to others.” (108 Adages of Wisdom, 2008, p.222) Here the Pali word santutthi has been translated as “知足” in Chinese, which literally means “knowing enough.” Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen master in the Plum Village tradition, translates santutthi into a simple message of “You have enough”, which is circulated among his followers with his beautiful calligraphy. In the Japanese Zen tradition, “knowing enough” has been translated into a pictogram that combines the four Chinese characters “吾唯足知”, which means “I just know I have enough”. One striking example of such a pictogram is a stone hand-washing pot in the garden of Ryoan-ji, a Zen temple in Kyoto.

The Buddha’s message of “be content with what we have” behind santutthi is not only relevant but also becoming of imminent importance in the world today, with the environment around us threatened by climate change brought about by the universal pursuit of economic growth and material progress. While COVID-19 is still on everybody’s mind, global warming is wreaking havoc on the environment, with fires in mountains and rainforests, with floods from rising sea levels caused by the melting of icebergs, and with heat waves getting more oppressive year after year. It is in recognition of these threats to the environment that the Dalai Lama reminds us of the importance of the Buddhist teaching of santutthi as he writes in his latest book: “As a Tibetan Buddhist monk, I am committed to a moderation of our consumption patterns. A responsible life is a simple and contented life. We must learn to cooperate, work and live with nature, not against it.” (Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World, 2020, p.74)