Ignorance

The theme of the teaching at this Zen Center this month is ignorance. Tonight, we discussed what we thought ignorance was. The dictionary defines "ignorance" as "the state or fact of being ignorant." Ignorant is "a: destitute of knowledge or education (an ignorant society), also: lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified (parents ignorant of modern mathematics); b: resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or intelligence (ignorant errors)" (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).

In Zen, we are not so concerned with knowledge, education and comrehension as we are with wisdom. The absence of wisdom, then, needs to be distinguished from the mere absence of knowledge. The Sanskrit word for ignorance is "avidya." Avidya has been defined as:

Avidya - Skt., lit., "ignorance, nescience." As a Vedantic term, avidya refers to both individual and cosmic ignorance. Individual ignorance is the inability to distinguish between the transient and the intransient, between the real and the unreal; cosmic ignorance is maya. Its effect is the same as that of ajñana (Pali, avijja), which is delusion, that is, noncognizance of the four noble truths, the three precious ones (triratna), and the law of karma. Avidya is the first part in the nexus of conditionality, which leads to entanglement in the world of samsara as well as to the three cankers. It is one of the passions (klesha) and the last of the ten fetters.

Avidya is considered to be the root of everything unwholesome in the world and is defined as ignorance of the suffering-ridden character of existence. It is that state of mind that does not correspond to reality, that holds illusory phenomena for reality, and brings forth suffering. Ignorance occasions craving (trishna) and is thereby the essential factor binding beings to the cycle of rebirth. According to the Mahayana view, avidya with regard to the emptiness of appearances means that a person who is not enlightened will take the phenomenal world to be the only reality and thus conceal from him- or herself the essential truth.

- A Glossary of Buddhist Terminology
Adapted from The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen

Ignorance is the first link in the 12-link chain of Dependent Arising (pratityasamutpada). Ignorance gives rise to dispositions, which gives rise to consciousness, and so on to old age and death, grief, lamentation, suffering, dejection and despair. Thus arises the entire mass of suffering - all out of ignorance.

"Ignorance is like a black hole that sucks everything into it, even illumination. Thus we can't see it, at least not directly.

One of the characteristics of ignorance, then, is that we're ignorant of our ignorance. This puts a pernicious spin on our predicament.

There are two kinds of ignorance: blindness and self-deception. Blindness is ignorance of the basic realities of existance: impermanence, duhkha, and selflessness (Buddha called these the "three marks of existence.") Self-deception is our belief that we can know intellectually what things are. "Oh! That's water," we say. "Hydrogen and oxygen." And then we dismiss the actual experience of this moment. (But if we want to know what water is, just take a drink, or go for a walk in the rain, or take a swim.)

In short, we're simply confused about this moment. As Huang Po said, in our ignorance we reject actual experience in favor of what we think. Thus we posit a self in our thought, and we see permanence where there isn't any.

If instead we would attend to this moment, we would see that nothing actually arises, persists, or dies as a separate entity. This is what we truly can know - but we ignore it and suffer greatly as a result.

This moment is complete unto itself. There's nothing lacking in this moment. If we would actually see this moment for what it is, we would see all of space and time as nothing other than here and now.

In ignoring this - our actual experience - the mind no longer rests quietly in Wholeness, but begins to lean. The Buddha called this "disposition of mind," or intention. This forms the second link on the chain. Any actions that come out of such a mind are willed."

- Steve Hagen

Here's the good news, however - from the utter falling away and ceasing of ignorance, there is ceasing of dispositions. From the ceasing of dispositions, there is ceasing of consciousness, and so on to the cessation of old age and death, grief, lamentation, suffering, dejection and despair, the entire mass of suffering.

On a whole 'nother note . . .

I thought the following cartoon from Sunday's New York Times perfectly captured the whole on-line dating experience.