Delusion and Awakening are Inseparable
Dr. Dominick Scarangello
International Advisor to Rissho Kosei-kai
Last time we considered how accepting the difficulties in life as opportunities for personal growth and awakening can greatly transform our experience of life and allow us to, even within those very difficulties, discover a freedom from suffering. This time, we’ll consider a closely related topic: our relationship to our own delusions.
As Shakyamuni Buddha showed us, transcending suffering comes through awakening. We might think, then, that our first priority should be to totally eliminate all our delusions and awaken as quickly as possible. But like our relationship with the difficulties we face in life, here too, categorically negating our delusions may not be the wisest approach.
You may have come across this paradoxical line in the closing sutra, “The Sutra of the Method for Contemplating the Bodhisattva Universal Sage”: “ ‘Bodhisattva practice is neither cutting off the bindings of delusions nor sinking in the sea of delusions’ ” (The Threefold Lotus Sutra 404). Why would the Buddha tell us to neither cut off our delusions nor allow ourselves to wallow in them?
Before embarking on his spiritual quest, Shakyamuni Buddha lived a life of excess as his country’s crown prince, freely indulging his various desires. But realizing the emptiness of such a life, he made the decision to leave the palace and seek the answer to human suffering. In the mountains and forests, he threw himself into severe ascetic practices to eradicate those delusive desires. It is said that he ate as little as a single grain of rice a day. Yet even after six years, this self-mortification failed to eliminate his delusions, and one day he simply abandoned those practices. Why? Because he realized that such extreme self-denial is simply attachment in reverse—we remain ruled by delusive desires. Negation is not transcendence.
We can understand this through our own experiences of attempting to give up some habit. For example, I’ve tried to swear off certain snacks, like Doritos, but oftentimes I’ve just ended up buying the party-size bag at a convenience store and eating the entire bag myself. The negation of our appetites can actually strengthen them. And even if we were able to snap our fingers and make our delusions and desires instantly disappear, we would lose the opportunity to discover what lies beneath them. Since they are symptoms of deeper, underlying issues, we need to listen to what they can teach us about ourselves, rather than simply negate them.
Here again, Rev. Kosho has some wise words for us. “We are neither good nor bad people. We are many selves: we can be kind or cold, compassionate or abusive according to how our circumstances change. There is no need to fear our inadequacies or shortcomings. For those very inadequacies are the engine that drives us toward happiness” (“Rissho Kosei-kai’s Fundamental Vision 2018–2037” 18).
Much like the troubles in our lives, our delusions also provide opportunities for growth and self-development if we respond to them properly. This is why we should not simply negate them—to do so would be to throw away opportunities for awakening.
In Buddhism it is often said that “delusion and awakening are inseparable.” What stance, then, should we take toward our delusions?
Again, Rev. Kosho teaches: “Let us not turn our eyes away from our imperfect selves but instead look directly into our delusions and desires. Within our very inadequacies lie the seeds of happiness, and through connecting with others, the story of each member creating a way of life through facing oneself and connecting with others begins to move forward” (“Rissho Kosei-kai’s Fundamental Vision 2018–2037” 18).
If we look deeply into our delusions and desires, they have much to tell us. By openly sharing our experiences with others, and by listening to their experiences as well, we can help one another discover that there are actually bodhisattva aspirations within our delusions—the desire for ourselves and others to be happy. And that is the discovery of buddha nature within us.
Recently, at the Flower Festival of the International Buddhist Congregation (a Rissho Kosei-kai outreach group for non-Japanese residents of Japan), Mr. Go Tokuka, a member from Tokyo, expressed this teaching in wonderfully poetic words during a spiritual journey talk; I would like to close by sharing a portion of his talk.
Through the Buddha’s teachings,
I am beginning to learn
that I do not need to fight my attachments.
Instead,
I can gently look at them,
accept them,
and little by little, learn to let them go.
The most important thing I have gained is this—
To be honest, I am not yet fully confident,
and I am still on the path.
But little by little, I am beginning to feel that
the Buddha is not somewhere far away,
but that buddha nature may already exist within me.
Field Report from the Sangha
Rev. Takashi Yoshizawa
Director, Rissho Kosei-kai International of North America
One day, I received a phone call from Ms. H, a member who works as a manager for a home care agency. She told me she was confused after receiving a sudden court notice informing her that Mr. B, a caregiver who had worked under her, had filed a lawsuit against the company.
According to the complaint, Mr. B filed the lawsuit because he “was treated unfairly in the workplace,” “was subjected to verbal abuse and discrimination by clients, yet the situation was not adequately addressed,” and “was not given enough work, causing him financial hardship.”
When I asked about the circumstances leading up to the lawsuit, Ms. H explained that there had been very few clients whose needs matched Mr. B’s qualifications and availability at the time, and as a result, the company had no choice but to reduce his assignments, for which she felt genuinely sorry. Ms. H also said that since she had been preparing for a long-term trip back to her home country around that time, she was unable to fully address the issue before handing it over to a colleague, which left her with a sense of regret. She added that the lawsuit was filed shortly after she returned to work.
When I asked about the current status of the case, she told me: “We responded through the court with supporting evidence and copies of the employment agreement, but the other party was not satisfied with our explanation and seems determined to pursue the matter to the very end.”
When I spoke with Ms. H during Dharma circle and over the telephone, I recommended that she try to carefully and objectively observe her own feelings, as though through the eyes of another self. Later, in response, she honestly shared with me that when she had first learned of the lawsuit, she asked herself “Why me?” and felt betrayed by Mr. B. She also shared how various other emotions, such as frustration toward her colleagues and regret over her own naivety, had welled up one after another.
A few days later, Ms. H contacted me again and said, “I became able to see many attachments and emotions that I was previously unaware of. And rather than getting caught up in Mr. B’s outward words and actions, I found myself reflecting on the suffering and feelings he must have experienced before filing the lawsuit, and I realized that I was trying to empathize with him. I tried not to deny the thoughts and emotions that arose within me but instead accepted them. Then I reviewed them in light of the teachings and worked to bring my mind into balance.” I suggested that during her morning sutra recitation, she connect her heart not only to her own ancestors but also to the ancestors of Mr. B and seek the meaning of this karmic connection.
A few weeks later, during Dharma circle, Ms. H shared her resulting reflection and realization: “Mr. B had already been accumulating dissatisfaction toward the company before I became his supervisor. I kept asking myself, ‘Why did this happen during my time?’ However, I gradually came to accept it, thinking ‘perhaps the Buddha is giving me the spiritual training I need at this point in my life,’ and my mind slowly became calmer. When I looked even deeper into my heart, I realized that I had been wishing to practice spiritual discipline. As Rev. Yoshizawa often teaches us, the Buddha grants us what we truly wish for. The real challenge is whether we can gratefully accept it when that deepest wish manifests itself in the form of actual circumstances.” As she shared these words, I could only nod in agreement.
From the very first day Ms. H consulted me, my sole prayer was for the best possible outcome for both Ms. H and Mr. B. After nearly six months of exchanges and legal proceedings, the day of the trial finally arrived.
Later, Ms. H called me to report what had happened. She also shared her experience during Dharma circle: “On the morning of the trial, as I was offering sutra recitation, I understood what it meant when people say, ‘Everything happens through the Buddha’s compassion.’ At that moment, it felt as though something within me quietly settled into place. The trial ended in a completely unexpected way. The plaintiff reportedly rushed to the court a little late and told the judge that he had to board a flight immediately due to an emergency in his family. The judge explained that if he withdrew the lawsuit, he would not be able to file the same claim again. Mr. B accepted the terms, and the case was dismissed on the spot. I felt there was great significance in the fact that it ended without anyone being deeply hurt, and it was not simply a matter of winning or losing. Through this personal experience, I was able to deeply engrave in my heart the truth that when we walk in accordance with the teachings, the Buddha will show us the best path.”
A year has passed since then. I am truly happy and moved that Ms. H, without denying the emotions and attachments that had taken root in her heart, was able to recognize her true wishes by looking deeply into them and turn the ordeal of the lawsuit into an opportunity for spiritual growth. Together with everyone in the sangha, I would like to deeply reflect on the meaning of repaying our debt of gratitude toward the gods and buddhas and toward all our ancestors—a lesson we have learned from Ms. H’s experience.