Dharma Talk by Nick Ozuna - Impermanence

"Impermanence"
December 5, 2005

This is first time that I’ve had the privilege of giving a Dharma Talk here at the IBC, and I must say beforehand I was a bit apprehensive since I am relatively new here. But I feel much support from this sangha and I am very passionate about the Dharma, and the Lotus Sutra in particular, so when this opportunity arose, I jumped at the occasion because spreading the teachings is, I believe, the greatest donation I can give. So, as I was deciding on what to talk about, and reviewing my previous lectures given in the States, I kept coming upon an isolated teaching in every single one of them, and that was of impermanence. So I felt that today I should elaborate further on it to express change in its multiple dimensions and its effects on our lives and bodhisattva practice.

When you really come to think about it, the nature of reality can be limited to basically two distinct concepts; those being truths and appearances. Truths are such things that are permanent, eternal, non-spatial and non-temporal, whereas appearances are in constant flux. Truths are not only laws of physical nature, but also the fabric of our Buddha nature, while appearances are observable representatives in the natural world, including thoughts and experiences.

We look to the world of appearances to find truths, and thereby gaining knowledge of ourselves and of our surroundings (this is uncovering our Buddha Nature). We already possess this truth, yet our conscious existence clouds and obscures it beyond recognition. We, as humans, tend to label appearances and believe in their reality. What we see in these appearances, though, is change. We know that all things are impermanent, but the question is, what exactly is this impermanence or change? To the most simplistic description, it is a substance that is acted upon by a force. Can anyone tell me what this force might be? That’s right, Cause and Effect. Cause and effect explains change. But is this change all chaotic and uncontrolled? No, there is a systematic order to things; all phenomena are dependent upon everything else.

Change can be witnessed through sense-experience through the revolving motion of potentiality and actuality. It’s implausible to believe that there was a first cause or that there will ever be a final cause or potential, since reality itself is eternal. Furthermore, potentiality cannot arise on its own. This kind of goes back to the Chicken and the Egg paradox, which came first? Well it’s hard to say (Also big bang theory). So there is always this pure activity, an ever-changing now.

There are 3 fundamental realities of existence which are suffering, emptiness, (or lack of ego) and impermanence. When we consider Physical impermanence, change between form and matter, this seems to be the most readily apparent and observable of such realities because our sense-experience is built upon observation and tangibility. There’s a common analogy of crossing the river: two people cross at different times at the same place, but the question is, are they crossing the same river? If we believe that change is constant then it is impossible that they are crossing the same river. Hence, it is the observer as much as the observed that reveals Reality.

As a university student, I studied zoology, concentrating on physiology of various organisms. One biological principle that I found quite elegant in my studies was what’s called homeostasis. This is essentially resistance to change. A homeostatic system is a system that maintains its structure and functions by means of various interdependent regulation mechanisms. That’s just a fancy way of saying “it keeps things in balance”. (An example is that of perspiration, common cold).

Ecological & biological, systems are homeostatic, which bring a balance to nature’s random change. However, the fact of the matter is, it is the nature of formations to dissolve. All phenomena are constantly in upheaval. The universe itself, at the cosmic level, is in a heightened state of entropy, or chaos, where all phenomena are gradually becoming more and more disordered (An example is the expansion of the universe since the big bang). This disorder from a Buddhist perspective does not imply chaos, rather actuality; caused by a condition, though unfathomable. We should know that nature doesn’t act on logic, rationale, or morals; nature just is.

So now that we have addressed physical change, one thing that is worth noting is that we have such a limited control on the actualization of appearances. Instead, appearances tend to take control of us, through various forms of attachment that inevitably lead to suffering. Behind every suffering, is the desire for things to be different. This is the framework of mental change. Though we are aware of our existence through consciousness, it is still too vague an awareness to constitute true knowledge. The mind instead tends to identify with sense-experience. So, stability is but a hindrance to our ambitions and desires and that is why the desire for difference arises.

There’s another type of homeostasis though, what I call psycho-social homeostasis. This can also be seen as habit, or comfort. This habit is what drives our attachments, our ceaseless craving for possessions, status, or attention. It is what manifests our ego for the preservation of self. As these attachments engulf our true nature, so do the afflictive emotions that correspond. These afflictive emotions include the 3 poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance, as well as conceit, doubt, etc., all notions of self that bind and restrict us.

What are most hindering though of the changes of our mind are our thoughts. In the Eight-fold path, having right thought is the ability to tolerate uncertainty. But this involves unlearning the habits of mind and illusion of the self. This is quite a task in itself. However, realizing such habits as existing is the other factor. In our kyouten chanting book, we see thoughts compared to that of a frantic monkey swinging from branch to branch. It requires mindfulness and concentration to subdue it.

In India, a monkey is tamed by pounding a big stick into the ground and attaching a long rope to it, at the far end of which is fastened to the monkey. Through time the rope is made shorter and shorter, until the monkey settles down. I know this sounds pretty bad, but it is analogous to taming our own monkey minding through meditation. In this respect, concentration on the breath is like the stick in the ground; it is the central object around which we structure our meditations. Mindfulness is like the long rope. When our minds are wandering, it jerks us back into the present moment. It seems the more we practice this mindful meditation, the shorter the rope gets, and the monkey mind begins to calm down.

With this practice of mindful or even Zen meditation, spiritual change is also taking place; evolving from a materialistic, narcissistic or otherwise deluded frame of mind to awaking to one’s own pure Buddha nature. Spiritual change does not come by trying to get rid of our problems or by going into them more deeply. It comes from accepting what is true about ourselves and working from there. The first task in meditation is to discipline the mind by noting all of its reactions. Discipline means restraining the habitual movement of the mind. So by being mindful of these reactions through notation, we can begin to disregard them and remain focused on just being.

( Talk about matoi struggles and meditation) Once I could see what I was doing to myself, I could start to change it (had to be stopped to become aware). The more we bring our attachments into awareness, the freer we become. And it’s not because we eliminate the attachments, but because we learn to identify more with awareness than with desire. The obstacles that prevent us from living in a fully aware state must be brought into consciousness. The key is not to be distracted by our own reactions. By cutting our habitual responses to things, awareness grows naturally. But that awareness is only half the effort, we actually have to do something about it to change ourselves and to benefit others. This requires faith.

(Mother’s loss of job; First Reaction, Questioning, Seeking, Go-Shugo-Sonjin Enshrinement and Faith)

We despise the idea of loss because it equals pain, suffering, and unhappiness. It’s so easy to see and define ourselves by our losses. Of course, we suffer because we are attached to the things that we lose, labeling permanence to something realistically impermanent. The same thing goes for losing comfort or interest in what we have, so that we may acquire something more or something better.

Faith must reside in the truth, not just satisfying our egos. Furthermore, the truth requires suffering, though not for the sake of suffering, but for spiritual progression (how my mother can be compassionate to others in the same situation). It’s hard to see that we can be empowered and strengthened by our losses. However, with every loss or separation, comes the possibility of change, growth and transformation. Loss reminds us that we are not invincible, thereby making us more sensitive and aware. When we become aware of our pain, as a natural consequence we become able to extend that understanding to be more compassionate with others.

(Nassrudin Fable) Find meaning in seeking itself; every step along the way IS the way. Einstein thought the most beautiful thing in the world was the mysterious and profound question mark. Why do we seek, ask, doubt or wonder? He said it’s because we must. Striving to find the reality of nature is the ultimate reason for our practice.

And by following the Bodhisattva way, we come to find the one real purpose in life, above even service to others, is to know ourselves. Once we understand that our pain and suffering is due to our various attachments, and changes from the current condition, we are set to do something about it. It is at this point that knowledge and faith become one.

This faith or keeping the precepts involves listening to and reading the Lotus Sutra with our bodies and our minds. This means to take the effort of applying what we have learned and using it for the sake of helping others. Once we think of others, our problems seem less critical. In doing so, we should be aware that the past cannot be changed, and we have weak foresight for the future, so we must be aware and change ourselves now in the present. Though we may not yet be enlightened, we will be confident that we can handle loss and suffering. This is essentially what Nirvana is all about.

Nirvana is the capacity to maintain one’s composure in the face of ceaseless change. We can find nirvana through overcoming one’s self-created obstacles to that composure. The path to nirvana means adapting and not resisting to the change that surrounds us, to the change that we are. This is recognizing impermanence and interconnection. All that’s needed then is a little faith to believe that this is true for any circumstance that suffering can and will be extinguished.
Gakurin Seminarian