When we come across a word whose meaning we don’t know, or don’t know in this context, we expect to look it up and then to know what it means. It could be an unusual word in a novel, a concept in physics, a computing term – when you know it, you know it.
In Dharma reading this is not the case. The whole aim of Dharma practice is to change our view of the world and ourselves, so our understanding of Dharma terms changes as our meditation experience unfolds. The deepening of our understanding is a matter of ‘purifying’ our mind of its limiting assumptions – until ultimately we go beyond views.
The meaning of a word from such an ultimate perspective is obviously not going to be apparent to us at our present level. So we need to hold our interpretation of terms lightly, despite our natural desire to fit a word into our present framework of concepts. At any rate we need to remember that our current idea of its meaning is provisional: as our practice deepens, the word comes to point to something we could not have guessed, something which in the end is beyond verbal description.
Discovering the Heart of Buddhism
Lama Shenpen’s course Discovering the Heart of Buddhism is carefully designed for such a development. She uses everyday words like “openness”, “clarity”, “sensitivity” which in common language point to aspects of experience we can all recognise. But each of these are signposts to a journey of profound Awakening. We simply cannot uncover their ultimate meaning and significance without wholeheartedly taking this journey. We cannot think our way there any more than we can think our way to Timbuctu. Meditation and personal guidance are essential to this movement.
We could not even imagine ultimate sensitivity – boundless compassion for all beings – although trying to would be a useful aid. The move from “there is openness” to “I am Openness”, the difference between “clarity is an aspect of my perception” and “everything I know is Clarity: Openness, Clarity and Sensitivity are all there is”, these are the journey, perhaps of lifetimes.
It is truly amazing how words point to something beyond words: penetrating the depth and significance of “impermanence”, “suffering”, “selflessness”, or “heart” for example, is Awakening. Let’s resolve never to stick with a view which comfortably accommodates a fixed meaning for such a mighty river!
Pieces of Five 