The Parable of the Arrow

 

                One of the most central statements of what the Buddha’s teaching are all about is contained in the Dhammapada.  It is called The Parable of the Arrow.

         "Consider, Malunkyaputta, this story of a man wounded by a poisoned arrow.  His friends, relatives, and well-wishers gather around him and a surgeon is called.  But the wounded man says, ‘Before he takes out this arrow, I want to know if the man who shot me was a Kshatriya, a Brahmin, a merchant, or an untouchable.’
         "Or he says, ‘I won’t let this arrow be removed until I know the name and tribe of the man who shot me.’
         "Or:  ‘Was he tall, short, or of medium height?’
         "Or:  ‘Was he black, brown, or yellow-skinned?’
         "What do you think would happen to such a man, Malunkyaputta?  Let me tell you.  He will die.
         "And that is what happens when a man comes to me and says,  ‘I will not follow the Dhamma until the Buddha tells me whether the world is eternal or not eternal, whether the world is finite or infinite, whether the soul and the body are the same or different, whether the liberated person exists or does not exist after death, whether he neither exists nor does not exist after death.’  He will die, Malunkyaputta, before I get a chance to make everything clear to him.
         "Being religious and following Dhamma has nothing to do with the dogma that the world is eternal; and it has nothing to do with the dogma that the world is not eternal. 

For whether the world is eternal or otherwise, birth, old age, death, sorrow, pain, misery, grief, and despair exist.  I am concerned with the extinction of these.     [From The Dhammapada, The Noonday Press, 1967, pp. 18-20.  Translated from Pali by P. Lal, edited by Dale Lugenbehl.]

Thich Nhat Hanh has put it this way: “Whether the world is eternal or not…  the problem of your liberation remains the same.”  Liberation here means liberation from suffering, ignorance, hatred, greed, and ill will.

The Buddha’s teachings are quite focused in their scope.  He said he only taught two things:  the nature of suffering and the elimination of suffering.  And really, he only taught one thing because when we truly understand the nature of how our minds are creating our own suffering for ourselves and others, we stop doing it.  When I learn how to observe my mind in action and see how it creates suffering, I no longer fall for its same tricks.  Our suffering is eliminated.   Trying to answer theoretical or abstract questions is not the best use of our time and energy. 

 

Being a Buddhist—being able to say what all the teachings are—was much less important to the Buddha than becoming a Buddha yourself.   I become a Buddha—or more Buddha like—by engaging life moment to moment in a way that is more enlightened, wise, and kind.  The words involved in the teachings are only a device for helping us to see for ourselves what is actually going on.  This eventually deeply changes how we engage life moment to moment.  Not only that, but someone could be a Christian, a Jew, a Moslem, a Hindu or an atheist and still be a Buddha!

 

Many so-called primitive tribal societies already know much of the lesson of the Parable of the Arrow.  At some point in a young person’s life a tribal elder—someone with some wisdom—may take the youth out and show him or her how to build a hut for shelter.  Then they build a portion of the hut together, and then the young person continues the work alone but under the elder’s supervision who corrects mistakes along the way.  The youth then tries out what was learned in his or her own life and…  It eithers works or it does not.  If it does not work, the young person asks for help or tries a new method.  But…  There is nothing to have an intellectual debate about.  The hut teachings either help someone to build a better hut or they don’t. 

 

So the important thing is not being able to describe or explain the teachings in words.  What is important is knowing how to use the teachings (and actually using them) to cause less suffering.  If I am choosing a surgeon to correct a leaking heart valve, do I want a surgeon who can explain how all the instruments are used and all the various surgical techniques?  Or do I want a surgeon who is highly skilled in using surgical instruments and consistently gets good surgical outcomes?  Not a difficult question, is it?  

So it is important that we not get caught up in the words.  This is the essential approach in all the Buddha’s teachings.  They are practices—things you do—that help you see reality more clearly and reduce the suffering you cause to yourself and to others.  They are not theories to argue about.  You do the practices to cultivate compassion in yourself and they either help you become more compassionate or they don’t.

 

                I have seen many people who think they must have all their questions answered before they will do the practices.  They want to know how meditation impacts brain activity, or they want to know if they have the right personality type to do meditation or what is the definition of compassion or what caused them to be so lacking in compassion in the first place.  But you will never get all your questions answered.  What does it matter what chemical reactions are going on in the brain or what your brain waves look like if meditating changes your life, helps you to be more grounded and at peace and compassionate?  Your life feels completely different, and the quality of your contribution to the world outside yourself becomes much greater.

 

I conclude with a personal story.  I’ve always had great difficulty making sense of the theological claims made by Western religions.  And I used to argue against these beliefs to prove that they were not true.  I don’t do that anymore.  Following the lesson of the Parable of the Arrow, it now seems to me that it’s not that important whether a person’s beliefs about God are true or not.  What truly is important is whether that person treats others and the world at large with compassion, kindness, and caring for the welfare of others and the planet we live on.  If everyone did that, we would be living in a vastly better world than the one we have now. 

 

 

 

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