From another topic, on why the words of Buddha are not held as
absolute (http://buddhism.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=192355&page=1):
Ok first, you need to know what are the 8 fold path to
enlightenment. If guidelines are held as absolute it will
inevitably become a dualism. In Christianity, the essential two
commandments is "Thou shalt love
the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might." (Deut 6:5, Mat 22:37) and " Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself." (Lev 19:18, Mat 22:39.). Why are
they the essentials? Because when there is the Unconditional Love
which is itself without discriminations as Jesus always taught,
things will fall in place, everything will become One and naturally
all other 'commandments' are met without fail.
Book: Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen
Page 53:
5. The Art of Seeing
THE FOURTH TRUTH OF THE BUDDHA-dharma, also known as the eightfold
path, offers us a realisation and a practice for bringing about the
cessation of dukkha.
This is not a path we can take to get from point A to point B. Its
peculiar nature is that the moment we step on it, the entire path
is realised at once. Still, with each step we take we can deepen
our understanding.
The eight aspects of this path are right view. right intention, right speech,
right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness, and right
meditation.
We'll preview each of these in a moment, but first let's consider
the word "right." The word the Buddha actually used was
samma. Samma is translated
as "right" - but not "right" as opposed to "wrong," or "bad," or
"evil." Normally, the moment we say "right," we've already implied
"wrong." We've implied dualism.
For those unfamiliar with the term as it's being used here, dualism
simply refers to the world of left and right, dark and light, good
and bad, pure and impure. It's the psychological backdrop for our
everyday world of chasing after something and running away from
others, the world in which if you differ from me, then there's
something wrong with you.
Obviously, this isn't what the Buddha meant by samma. The term suggests something far
more subtle. It's better that we understand right as "this is
appropriate," "this works," "this is in sync with Reality." Right,
on the eightfold path, doesn't mean right versus wrong so much as
it means seeing versus
not seeing. It refers to
being in touch with Reality as opposed to Samma refers to Wholeness rather than
fragmentation.
Thus, when I use the word "right" in the chapters to come, I intend
it to refer to what is conducive awakening, rather than something
that can be compared against something wrong.
................................
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6. Wisdom
................................
page 66:
Right view is seeing reality in all its fullness and
fluidity. Yet there's nothing in particular to be seen.
In the world of our common ordinary mind, everything is divided up:
left and right, good and bad, above and below.
For example, we see the puma stalking the deer and we want to call
out to the deer to help him escape. And when the puma pounces on
the deer, our heart goes out to the deer.
So we look for a way to protect the deer. We put bells on the puma
so the deer knows when she's around. As a result, the puma suffers.
Eventually, she starves.
With no more puma to keep the deer population in check, the number
of deer increases. Before long there are more deer than the local
environment can support. The deer overgraze the land and strip the
trees and shrubs bare of leaves. And eventually, due to
overpopulation, the deer, too, begin to starve.
We believe we're expressing compsasion. But compassion must be
balanced with wisdom. To the extent we don't see, we waste our compassion.
If you see Reality
in its fluidity and fullness, then you see the puma as well as the deer. You
see how the two fit
together as parts of a seamless Whole.
..............
-----------------
7. Morality
.............
page 78:
What's the point of right
speech? It's to remind ourselves, to constantly bring
ourselves back to this moment - not only for ourselves, but for
others as well. It's to do whatever leads us out of confusion and
bondage. It's to see
what's really going on.
The Buddha did not lay down any commandments. If we say,
"Thou shalt not lie," applying it as a rule, what are we to do when
the Gestapo pounds at our door and we're harbouring a family of
innocent fugitives in the attic? If not lying were an absolute rule
to live by, we'd be in deep moral trouble.
Nevertheless, it's not the case that buddhas simply live out of
their own individual truths. The buddha-dharma - what the awakened
teach - is about directly seeing Truth itself, prior to forming
any ideas about it. It is about responding to each
particular situation as it comes to be, not according to some
lockstep programs of do's and don'ts. We can't use a hard and fast
rule to deal with the dilemmas and uncertainties and ambiguities of
life. A rule - any rule - would only open the door for more
relativism and contradiction.
Nevertheless, we can see
what's morally appropriate in each situation. We can easily
see what actions and
speech will lead us and others into hatred, confusion, difficulty,
and suffering. And we can see what actions and speech will lead
us and others into hatred, confusion, difficulty, and suffering.
And we can see what words
and actions will not. It all has to do with our intention. Is our
intention to hoodwink, mislead, inflate, or deceive others - or is
it to be awake?
Here is the focus for right
speech. In any given moment, our eyes must be open to
see our situation fully
for what it is. Our intent- and the action, speech, and though that
arise from the intent - is that we all become free of our
confusion. For this, it's not necessary that we see one thing
pitted against another.
Right speech omits nothing. It includes the whole
picture: the Gestapo, the fugitive family, yourself, and the world
in which you live.
Right speech doesn't rely
on judgment or discriminative thinking. In judging we weigh
everything out. We base our speech on some conceptual frame that
we've arranged to accommodate ourselves and process ideas - like,
for example, the idea that the Gestapo are inherently bad, and the
people upstairs are inherently good. This is precisely the thinking
that got us into trouble in the first place. Indeed, it's the very
thinking that produces both the Gestapo and the fugitives.
Instead, we have to simply see the situation in all its pain,
conflict, difficulty, and contradiction, and see how it is we become so confused.
Then, and only then, can we speak and act in a way that's conducive
to awakening.
We must also observe our own intent, so that we can know when we're speaking or acting out
of a leaning mind, out of a desire to bring about some particular
end. Right speech concerns
your intention. Are you using speech because you're trying to
manipulate the world and other people? Or are you speaking in order
to help yourself and others wake up?