Can we ‘Mercedes’ our way to
nirvana?
Tulsathit Taptim The Nation February 24,
2016
It's a lot trickier for Buddhists to defend a senior
monk's possession of a Mercedes Benz. For one thing, "evil" in
Buddhism doesn't refer to those who might try to attack the luxury
vehicle but apparently to the vehicle itself. The "Just in case" or
"A little caution" argument might still work, but it has to be used
intricately.
So, if you were a lawyer hired to defend the senior monk against
charges of violating the key principles of Buddhism, what would you
say? This question has haunted me for the past few days, until I
came up with the following. Lord Buddha might disagree with it, of
course, but everyone deserves a chance to defend his actions.
Here's what the lawyer in me would say to a Buddhist court (if such
a thing existed):
"Show me one senior monk, Your Honour, who doesn't have a car, who
has to walk for miles to give sermons to his followers. Or better
still, show me any part of the Buddhist canon that says riding in a
thing with four wheels and running on a special liquid sucked up
from the ground is a sin.
"No? How about I show you photos of some of the world's most
revered Buddhist monks on aeroplanes? Surely that's a bigger crime
than travelling in a Mercedes Benz, don't you think?
"That Lord Buddha never banned air-conditioned vehicles from his
disciples' lives means they can own them. He only said Buddhist
monks should limit their possessions to 'necessities'. Take my word
for it, Your Honour, cars are a must in today's world. You need
them to reach the sorry souls living in areas where monks could
never travel otherwise.
"So why can't it be a cheap Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki or Honda? That's
your question, isn't it? It's trendy to say you can't 'Mercedes'
your way to nirvana, but please hear me out. My question is, which
car is safer? This is Buddhist economy, Your Honour. Thanks to its
superior safety record, a Mercedes Benz gives you better insurance
- or assurance - that you will reach nirvana in this life.
"You don't want to spend hundreds of lives trying to reach nirvana,
Your Honour. You would be a waste of precious resources, which goes
against Buddhist frugality. You are a lot less likely to be killed
in a road accident if you own a Mercedes, so it's safe to say it's
a fast vehicle to nirvana.
"I sense you still have doubts, Your Honour. You remain suspicious
that my client possesses the car not because he wants to reach
nirvana as fast as possible, but because he is, well, a big-time
materialist. If you don't buy my argument that a Mercedes is a
nirvana insurance policy, I have this question, sir: Who can preach
"detachment" better - someone who has never owned a thing, or
someone who has everything? A wise man once said that you can never
really understand sin until you become a sinner yourself.
"Even Prince Siddhartha once had everything. If there had been
luxury German cars during his time, I'm certain his palace garage
would have boasted a few. Buddhism is a process of learning, Your
Honour. And when you come to think of it, the word "detachment"
needs an object. You can't detach yourself from anything if you
have nothing to begin with. To understand Buddhism, you need
something to detach yourself from. See?
"And on that point I rest my case, Your Honour."
There you have it, my imaginary defence of the under-fire monk. On
a more serious note, though, if possessing a Mercedes is wrong then
much else is also morally dubious in the Thai Buddhist Sangha.
Senior monks owning luxury cars might seem outrageous, but it's
just a symptom of a sickness so pervasive and deep-rooted that we
don't know exactly who to blame. We can't change things by adding
"Mercedes Benz" to the list of banned items. Buddhism doesn't work
that way.
We aren't talking about a set of rules here. Buddhist enlightenment
is not something that can be reached by finding loopholes. In other
words, you can't comb greed's hair, dress up your un-Buddhist
actions and expect to access nirvana. The road to the destination
is so simple and complicated at the same time, depending on your
choice of vehicle.