A Question of Will

Sunday 22 Feb 2015

People talk about the world being just “as it is”! “It is as it is” seems to be a wise statement of the obvious, but then, if we can see that it is not wise to have the world as it is, we do by and large have the ability to change it. At least at our human scale! Humanity with its ability to self-reflect provides the perfect vehicle to move from the instinctual behaviour used by our animal relations, to see the bigger picture that self-reflection brings. With this context we can use our abilities and act beneficially for all. (The You Tube clip below demonstrates this beautifully) It gives us a way to shape the world for the benefit of all beings. The will that comes out of an intention like this will generally lead to more harmony, peace and unity in us and give beauty to the world. The opposite, which is also there for us to see in ourselves and others, is a will that has the intention to divide, dominate and manipulate. This latter form of action usually brings trouble to the world along with resistance struggle and war in our population. 

The Buddha addressed this issue in his “Noble Eight Fold Path” where he identified “Right View” and “Right Intention” as important aspects in his path to enlightenment. He pointed to peace of mind as the beacon to attract us. It is true however, that with human nature being “the way it is”, there will always be different choices being made and this will no doubt keep the world changing and creating.  However for those who start to see clearly the Buddha’s first noble truth, a pathway to peace will become important to discern. The first noble truth is that everything in the world has the characteristic of Dukkha, a Pali word that translates to Suffering or Dis-ease --- Unsatisfactory. The more controversy and trouble the more Dukkha we have in our lives!

Even though I have set the issues up this way for the purpose of my context, it does remain true that intention or will can take us towards knowledge of real absolute truth, where we can discern a freedom that heralds enlightenment. On the other hand this same intention or will can take us back to base instincts and deliver a perception that can make us ignorant and trick us into thinking we are following freedoms path. The choice is essentially ours to recognise using Dukkha as a measure, because in essence the absolute truth is always present in both directions. The world “is as it is” and any reasonable reflection reveals that Absolute Truth is right in the heart of this present moment, in all times and places. It is our experience of how we live that defines the Dukkha we perceive in our lives and whether it will lead our mind to freedom and enlightenment or keep us trapped in ignorance.

There is a remarkable film about wolves being reintroduced into an environment that changed when they were removed. This film demonstrates the harmony and beauty at play in nature and the beneficial results of using our will in a wise way. When the wolves were reintroduced it worked to bring back benefit for many different species of flora and fauna in the park. I would say it had a positive effect on our planet. It demonstrates the way ignorant actions can cause trouble, even though we may have initially thought that what we were doing was right. This issue may continue be a debateable point because there is always a bigger picture, but the harmony developed with the reintroduction of the wolves, as opposed to what happened with their removal, as shown in this film, does seem compelling. The film can be seen here:  

So on the face of it will is important for us to open up to the bigger picture --- important to take us in a direction that is more truthful, a direction where more harmony, unity and enlightenment can to be observed. We can then start to notice the universal nature of consciousness that is playing in us and the world at large, then beyond into the universe that we live.

As we look deeper we start to see that will itself is a construct of consciousness. It is our perceived individual mind streams of consciousness that deliver personalities and individual or collective experience. Consciousness does manifest in an infinity of different forms. It delivers to us the physical experience we perceive as we interact with the universe that it has made.  It also constructs the different senses we use to apprehend what we experience. Ear, eye, taste, smell, touch and mind consciousness.  Understanding this shows us that there comes a point where consciousness gets in the way. It shields us from seeing the enlightenment the Buddha saw. It becomes a case of being unable to see the wood from the trees.

The most sublime fact in this world, that becomes clear at this point, is that we can know consciousness. It is this knowing that allows us to move to the freedom of letting go of our will. To understand that will itself is a construct, that will not allow us to know the truth of enlightenment. It is a question of self-preservation. When we know consciousness directly and beyond any doubt, we can be mindful of it and we can objectify it. Then like all other conditioned objects it will finish. Our will then naturally finishes along with all the other karma that we would usually make. We can develop a position to notice and know that our personal consciousness stream is playing out its karmic dance without feeding itself back into consciousness because consciousness is finished.  In computer terms “it has nothing to write to”. Karma is now an empty dance.  The mind has moved into a latent unified state and will fully unify with the death of the knower should that knower be skilful enough to hold this State open. The world still “is as it is” and the paradox is that this knower has brought the entire universe with them into this knowing.

Note on consciousness

In Buddhist terms consciousness, or pure consciousness (Still Consciousness observed in the Mind), is an aggregate.  An aggregate is a compounded component. It has a dependent arising! That is, it is dependent on something else to arise. In its purest form, consciousness is fungible. That is, it is interchangeable with every other element of pure consciousness that has arisen. You cannot identify an individual conscious element from another in any aggregation process. I have written more fully on this in an earlier blog called Fungible Consciousness.