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The non-arising of ill-will is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we protect ourselves and protect others. 不生惡心是法明門、自護護他故。 When we considered the gates related to each of the four brahma viharas, or divine abodes--benevolence, compassion, joy and abandonment—we saw that cultivating these qualities is said to help us overcome ill will. Maybe you've also encountered the five hindrances that are known to be obstacles to tranquility of mind—sensory desire, sloth and torpor, restlessness, doubt and ill will. That last one refers to all kinds of thoughts related to wanting to reject: feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred and bitterness. Early teachings say that ill will arises when we encounter an object of aversion, and that when we pay undue attention to our aversion we both nourish existing ill will and create the causes and conditions for additional ill will arising. Paying attention to loving kindness does the opposite: it keeps ill will from arising and diminishes the impact of ill will that already exists. Let’s start with this object of aversion that gives rise to our feelings of ill will. Hostility, hatred, resentment and bitterness arise when we feel threatened in some way. Somehow, the small self isn’t going to get what it wants, and on that basis it’s afraid of annihilation, this despite the self being a temporary collection of five skandhas. We dwell on the things about this object of aversion that we find unpleasant until we get caught up in ill will and look for ways to remove this thing from our experience. Thus ill-will is about aversion, running away from stuff we don’t want and creating rejection and separation. Craving is the opposite, but it provides the same energy and we’re always chasing or running away from something. However, there’s some subtlety here. My understanding is that in the Sanskrit, ill will or byapada is not interchangeable with anger or hatred. It’s the intention to do harm, a malevolent intention. There’s connotation of movement, rather than just feeling or thought. Even so, there are those who say that ill will is the same as anger or aversion or other things. We don’t need to decide that here, but let’s just not lose sight of the aspect of ill will that’s about actively wishing harm to others. We investigate what’s happening for us in the moment by moving our attention away from the object of aversion toward the ill will itself. When Buddha taught about the hindrances of which ill will is one, he said we have to know when it’s present and when it’s not. We have to know how it arises and how it’s dissolved. We also have to know how to keep it from arising in the first place. In addition, we can ask: What is our ill will covering? Frustrated desire, fear, insecurity, some other discomfort? Ill will is the ninth on Buddha’s list of ten unwholesome actions. These are things done with body, speech and mind, and they’re related to the three poisonous minds of greed, anger and ignorance. Anger or hatred is said to give rise to ill will. When we engage in ill will or any of the ten unwholesome actions, we create suffering for ourselves and for others. Avoiding these actions is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering for ourselves and protects others. Psychologists say there are various reasons that ill will can arise. We’re envious of what someone else has and we think it’s unfair that we don’t have it. We’ve convinced ourselves someone else is inferior in some way, and either we need to feel that we have power over others, or we’re worried that we have the same inferior characteristics so we want to distance ourselves to show we’re not the same. Maybe we’ve been injured or humiliated by someone else, or maybe we’ve just learned this ill will from our parents or community or other social groups. All of this is based on feeling powerless. The five skandhas are clinging to the five skandas as tightly as possible, even though the self is impermanent and even though the self is not separate from anything, let alone from the object of our aversion. Ill will towards others fuels separation and ill will from them can help to fuel isolation. A like-minded group can be bound togther by aversion; it’s how members connect with each other. Ill will provides energy and makes life interesting and not flat. There’s a lot of energy in ill will, and once we get caught up in it it’s hard to find our way out. The Pali Canon says, If there is a pot of water heated on the fire, the water seething and boiling, a man with a normal faculty of sight, looking into it, could not properly recognize and see the image of his own face. In the same way, when one’s mind is possessed by ill-will, overpowered by ill-will, one cannot properly see the escape from the ill-will which has arisen; then one does not properly understand and see one’s own welfare, nor that of another, nor that of both; and also texts memorized a long time ago do not come into one’s mind, not to speak of those not memorized. If we’re caught up in ill will, that’s all we can see. There’s a famous section of the Dhammapada, one of the earliest teachings, that says, He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me: for those who harbor such thoughts ill will never ceases. He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me: for those who do not harbor such thoughts ill will ceases. In this world hatred is never appeased by ill will; ill will is always appeased by love. This is an ancient law. We turn ill will and resentment around by cultivating loving-kindness. That sounds nice, but what does that mean? The Dalai Lama says we need "internal disarmament" in order to bring about genuine peace. Internal disarmament is letting go of things like ill will in ourselves before we can work for peace with others. If we don’t first deal with our own ill will, we might draw from it the energy needed to make external change, but we’ll simply replace one flawed system with another. We might get angry about systemic injustice and out of that might come some useful change, but then our ill will persists, and when we’re the ones in charge, we can start abusing our own power. We project that ill will onto whoever opposes us, and then our other hindrances kick in. I think my intentions are good. I think I understand the real reality we’re facing better than others. Therefore, I need to be in charge and run things myself so that they run properly, and I never stop to take care of ill will and anger I’m still carrying. Non-arising of ill will doesn’t mean we ignore our difficult feelings or repress them somehow. It means we have to transform how we see whatever it is that’s giving rise to these feelings. We have to see all beings as those for whom we cannot harbor ill will. In that earlier essay on benevolence I mentioned that it’s difficult to have ill will for dogs or infants or beings who may be vulnerable. Can we have that same approach to all the beings we encounter? Okumura Roshi has written: Of course it is usually very difficult or seemingly impossible for us to do so. In fact, if we can love someone, that person is not our enemy; people become our enemies because we cannot love them. So each of us must transform our consciousness and go beyond discriminations between friends and enemies. The gate statement says that we are to protect ourselves and others. It’s more difficult to have ill will for someone you’re trying to protect. There has to be some little spark of compassion. We can ask: is there some good quality in the object of our aversion? That tiny spark is the place where we can begin to cultivate some loving kindness. Is there some common ground, something we share? Maybe it’s simply that we both care strongly about the topic at hand? Or simply that we’re both human beings who suffer? Is there something we can do to encourage this little spark to grow in the other person? Can we encourage positive behavior? What can we offer? Approaching someone with an open hand that’s offering something rather than with a closed fist is a first step. Maybe it’s only for ourselves. We don’t know what causes and conditions have led to someone’s words or actions. While we’re not being asked to condone toxic behavior or ignore injury, we are being asked to give up clinging to hatred and the desire for revenge. It’s not so much that we can change the people around us and make them stop being objects of our aversion; people suffer from some pretty deeply entrenched delusion, and they don’t necessarily want to change. The point is that by meeting ill will with loving kindness, we take care of ourselves as well as others. We foster our own calmness and peace, and by extension that protects others in addition to reducing our own suffering with feelings of agitation and unhappiness. We can notice what’s happening and how we feed our ill will. When those feelings start to arise, we can notice them in body and mind before we get hijacked. We can stop replaying scenes and fantasies in our minds about the injuries that have been done to us and how we’re going to get even. Being stuck in that loop is a hindrance to taking useful action. We have to let go even if we didn’t get our revenge and even if circumstances didn’t change, and then we can decide to do something else even though ill will feels good. Righteous indignation feels strong and powerful. I know I’m right and someone else is clearly inferior! Dogen says in the Shobogenzo Zuimonki: Even when you are clearly right and others are mistaken, it is harmful to argue and defeat them. On the other hand, if you admit fault when you are right, you are a coward. It is best to step back, neither trying to correct others not conceding to mistaken views. If you don’t react competitively and you let go of the conflict, others will also let go of it without harboring ill-will. Above all, this is something you should keep in mind. We can choose not to accept the gift of ill will and to leave it alone. In other words, we can choose not to argue unless we have to. That’s how we protect ourselves and others. Those early Buddhist teachings go on to say that our own ill will doesn’t really help us achieve anything. It doesn’t have any effect on the object of our aversion because our feelings are our own creation. Likewise, someone else’s ill will for you doesn’t diminish your own virtues and good qualities because those feelings are that person’s own creation. Ill will is no real help to anyone and it takes a lot of energy and attention that you’d really rather be putting toward other things. Nonetheless, ill will and its resulting actions by one person or organization can lead to ill will and unskillful action by another. This is why the gate statement says that nonarising of ill will is the way we protect ourselves and others. If we don’t take on someone else’s ill will toward us and we don’t engage with it, it’s said to be like an unaccepted gift. If we don’t accept this “gift”, then that ill will has nowhere to go and nothing to engage with. Hojo-san has several times told the story of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging: In the Lotus Sutra there is a chapter called “Bodhisattva Never-Disparaging.” This chapter is the story about a bodhisattva who made prostrations to everyone he met saying, “I will never disparage you because in the future you will attain Buddhahood.” Other monks and lay people were arguing about Buddhist teachings, each trying to prove their own understanding was best. But the bodhisattva Never-Disparaging did not study systems of doctrine or meditation; he just walked the streets and made prostrations to whomever he met, saying he would never disparage them because they would someday become Buddhas. But those arguing did not like this bodhisattva because he would not choose sides in arguments; he said he respected everyone involved in any argument since all were bodhisattvas. From the perspective of the people arguing and fighting, a person who respected all points of view in their conflicts could not be a friend. Sometimes people even beat or threw stones at Bodhisattva Never-Disparaging, but as long as he lived he did not stop his practice of honoring everyone he met. Here’s example of someone who didn’t take up the gift of ill will. He approached everyone with open hands. Early teachings give two other ways to work with ill will. One is noble friendship and the other is suitable conversation. These are both about putting ourselves into wholesome surroundings that let us take care of ourselves and others, and about developing healthy habits and letting go of unhealthy ones. Noble friends are people you hang out with who are good examples or models for you. They have experience with living a wholesome life. These could be sangha friends and practitioners, but they could really be anybody in your life who has wisdom and compassion. Spending time in the company of people who don’t harbor ill will helps us not to feed that habituated thinking in ourselves. As for suitable conversation, one of the ways ill will takes hold is when we forget about right speech and start griping and complaining with others. Everyone’s views start to reinforce each other and we fan the flames of our ill will. We really want to be validated in what we think, and if what we think is that this or that person or organization deserves contempt, then we want to know that others agree. That’s powerful stuff, both because we want to fit in and because we can pick up all kinds of stuff we can use to shore up our ideas about I’m right and they’re wrong and I’m going to get my own back. We tend not to immerse ourselves in material that challenges what we believe. We’d rather pay attention to material that reinforces our views and makes us right and comfortable. That’s one of the reasons that practice is both valuable and difficult. We’re frequently asked to put aside our habituated thinking and see what’s really true, and not just because the teacher or the sangha says so; we have to do own practice. Causes and conditions are huge and outside our ability to completely know, so it’s good to maintain some perpsective. We have to be careful about attributing bad intentions to others. Someone did something and I feel injured, but was that injury really directed at me personally? Was there really a malevolent intention or do I just need someone to blame? Is the threat or injury to me really as big and long-term as I think it is right now? Of course, one important aspect of being bodhisattvas is accepting that there is suffering in our lives. We’re all going to be injured and wounded in some way. We’ll never have peace if we think that happiness and a normal life is a life without suffering. We need to put that expectation aside, because reality doesn’t work that way and we’re just setting ourselves up. We have to give up clinging to our ideas about how things “should” be. I shouldn’t have any less than those around me. She shouldn’t have been rewarded for poor performance. We shouldn’t have to put up with people who aren’t like us. It’s important not to deal with your ill will by having ill will for yourself, feeling bad about your feelings. As the Dhammapada said, hatred doesn’t get dealt with by applying more hatred. Just like other feelings and situations, ill will is impermanent. It arises and passes, so we can watch it and identify it but we don’t need to identify with it. Ill will is not the sum total of who we are, even though when it’s happening it’s all we can see. We don’t need to have guilt about our feelings. They’re part of the human condition. We do need to have the courage to look them in the eye and see what’s really going on. Then we get to consider what will help that ill will dissolve. Questions for reflection and discussion:
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About the text The Ippyakuhachi Homyomon, or 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination, appears as the 11th fascicle of the 12 fascicle version of Dogen Zenji’s Shobogenzo. Dogen didn't compile the list himself; it's mostly a long quote from another text called the Sutra of Collected Past Deeds of the Buddha. Dogen wrote a final paragraph recommending that we investigate these gates thoroughly. Hoko has been talking about the gates one by one since 2016. She provides material here that can be used by weekly dharma discussion groups as well as for individual study. The 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination
[1] Right belief [2] Pure mind [3] Delight [4] Love and cheerfulness The three forms of behavior [5] Right conduct of the actions of the body [6] Pure conduct of the actions of the mouth [7] Pure conduct of the actions of the mind The six kinds of mindfulness [8] Mindfulness of Buddha [9] Mindfulness of Dharma [10] Mindfulness of Sangha [11] Mindfulness of generosity [12] Mindfulness of precepts [13] Mindfulness of the heavens The four Brahmaviharas [14] Benevolence [15] Compassion [16] Joy [17] Abandonment The four dharma seals [18] Reflection on inconstancy [19] Reflection on suffering [20] Reflection on there being no self [21] Reflection on stillness [22] Repentance [23] Humility [24] Veracity [25] Truth [26] Dharma conduct [27] The Three Devotions [28] Recognition of kindness [29] Repayment of kindness [30] No self-deception [31] To work for living beings [32] To work for the Dharma [33] Awareness of time [34] Inhibition of self-conceit [35] The nonarising of ill-will [36] Being without hindrances [37] Belief and understanding [38] Reflection on impurity [39] Not to quarrel [40] Not being foolish [41] Enjoyment of the meaning of the Dharma [42] Love of Dharma illumination [43] Pursuit of abundant knowledge [44] Right means [45] Knowledge of names and forms [46] The view to expiate causes [47] The mind without enmity and intimacy [48] Hidden expedient means [49] Equality of all elements [50] The sense organs [51] Realization of nonappearance The elements of bodhi: The four abodes of mindfulness [52] The body as an abode of mindfulness [53] Feeling as an abode of mindfulness [54] Mind as an abode of mindfulness [55] The Dharma as an abode of mindfulness [56] The four right exertions [57] The four bases of mystical power The five faculties [58] The faculty of belief [59] The faculty of effort [60] The faculty of mindfulness [61] The faculty of balance [62] The faculty of wisdom The five powers [63] The power of belief [64] The power of effort [65] The power of mindfulness [66] The power of balance [67] The power of wisdom [68] Mindfulness, as a part of the state of truth [69] Examination of Dharma, as a part of the state of truth [70] Effort, as a part of the state of truth [71] Enjoyment, as a part of the state of truth [72] Entrustment as a part of the state of truth [73] The balanced state, as a part of the state of truth [74] Abandonment, as a part of the state of truth The Eightfold Path [75] Right view [76] Right discrimination [77] Right speech [78] Right action [79] Right livelihood [80] Right practice [81] Right mindfulness [82] Right balanced state [83] The bodhi-mind [84] Reliance [85] Right belief [86] Development The six paramitas [87] The dāna pāramitā [88] The precepts pāramitā [89] The forbearance pāramitā. [90] The diligence pāramitā [91] The dhyāna pāramitā [92] The wisdom pāramitā [93] Expedient means [94] The four elements of sociability [95] To teach and guide living beings [96] Acceptance of the right Dharma [97] Accretion of happiness [98] The practice of the balanced state of dhyāna [99] Stillness [100] The wisdom view [101] Entry into the state of unrestricted speech [102] Entry into all conduct [103] Accomplishment of the state of dhāraṇī [104] Attainment of the state of unrestricted speech [105] Endurance of obedient following [106] Attainment of realization of the Dharma of nonappearance [107] The state beyond regressing and straying [108] The wisdom that leads us from one state to another state and, somehow, one more: [109] The state in which water is sprinkled on the head Archives
September 2024
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