I believe these days most of us (including, I understand, His Holiness the Dalai Lama) do not believe in the Six Realms as actual locations. Instead, they are more often understood as metaphors for our psychological projections. As such, it seems to me the Six Realms teachings shed light on our ongoing financial crisis.
We're still hearing news stories about the luxurious lifestyles of Wall Street executives. Remarkably, even as their extravagant excesses were making headlines, some firms continued their frivolous spending. One firm that had received $10 billion in taxpayer bailout money recently held a three-day conference for clients at a luxury oceanfront resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Another firm that had received $45 billion in federal funds sponsored a five-day carnival near the site of the Super Bowl game at a cost of several million dollars.
We're learning that Wall Street executives have to be told, as if they were children -- No, you may not buy new corporate jets. No, you may not add to your fleet of luxury limousines. Many, including one senator, are calling the executives "idiots" for their appalling lack of judgment. However, I think it's more useful to see the "idiot executive" phenomenon in the context of Buddhist teachings on human psychology and the Six Realms.
For example, consider the teaching that outer reality is a projection of inner reality. I think it's fair to say that the leaders of the financial industry have been living in a very different reality from the rest of us -- more specifically, the god realms.
The Six Realms include two god realms, which are sometimes combined into one -- the realm of Devas and the realm of Asuras. Asuras also are sometimes called the Jealous Gods or Titans. I think most corporate executives are Asuras.
Asuras are hyper-competitive and paranoid. They are driven by a desire to beat their competition, and everyone is competition. They are greedy, yes, but (unlike, say, Hungry Ghosts) it's the desire to be at the top of the power pyramid that really drives Asuras. Their wealth is not so much the goal as it is the way they keep score.
Understood this way, you might see how CEOs would be driven to take bigger and bigger risks, to the point of self-destruction, to stay on top. It's not in them to be prudent and sensible when the other Asuras are getting ahead.
Frank Berliner, who teaches Buddhist psychology and meditation at Naropa University, makes some good points about Asuras.
[The Asura realm] is much more sophisticated than the hell realm. Though based on the same underlying quality of aggression, it is far subtler, more politically correct. Whereas the hell realm is just bluntly out there with its hatred or violence in a way that is completely tortured, stupid and gross, the jealous gods mask and rationalize their fundamental arrogance and unfriendliness (until the right time to strike the enemy presents itself). ... ... In the jealous god realm, compassion is regarded merely as another strategy. In The Prince, Machiavelli writes that the great ruler should not really possess the qualities of wisdom and compassion, but he should seem to, particularly if and when it will further his own ends. If it will not, he should simply abandon such qualities right on the spot.
Chih-i (538-597), a patriarch of the T'ien-t'ai school, described Asuras this way: "Always desiring to be superior to others, having no patience for inferiors and belittling strangers; like a hawk, flying high above and looking down on others, and yet outwardly displaying justice, worship, wisdom, and faith -- this is raising up the lowest order of good and walking the way of the Asuras."
I'm saying the "idiot" Wall Street executives are not so much "idiots" as lost in their own projected reality. They don't see their own behavior as outrageous, because in their reality it's normal.
I think that most corporate and political leaders have a foot, at least, in the Asura Realm, or they wouldn't be corporate or political leaders. Maybe a high-ranking executive or politician with the clarity to see the Asura Realm for what it is would not get utterly lost in it. But getting lost in the Asura Realm is always a danger for powerful people, including those we want to like.
It seems to me we have to use caution when we talk about mental projections and the heaven or god realms.
In Buddhism, all phenomena are mental projections; according to the twelve links of interdependent origination and emptiness (sunyata)teachings, all appearances are conditioned fabrications which arise from a Buddha Mind in a condition of ignorance.
The teachings are ontological in nature, not merely descriptive of human psychology.
We should be cautious in reducing mental projections to the banal concepts of western psychology.
In Buddhism, the heaven realms are the product of mental projections in the same way all appearances are mental projections.
The realms exist as subtle levels of fabrication — and have location. Though not one place, but a number of “places.”
At the same time, we have beings who, having played out the dramas of the Asuras, continue to manifest that behavior in this realm. They are “broken down Asuras.”
Thus, we see Asura behavior in the human realm, but this does not negate the existence of actual heaven realms.
What we find is an interdependent net of interconnectedness (Indra’s net), in which we find repeating harmonics and overlapping of projections. A good metaphor is the hologram.
We find Asura behavior, hungry ghost behavior, and much more, mirrored and reflected in this realm.
This does not mean the other realms do not exist onto themselves, as the reduction of the concept to realm of western psychology might suggest.
Does that make sense?
Greg – That’s fine; you can understand the Six Realms on several levels. One level of understanding does not negate the other levels. Certainly all phenomena are projections of mind, and the post does not say otherwise. But it’s looking at a very specific kind of projection in light of a current event, not attempting to explain the Six Realms in all its nuances. I’m not quite up to that, frankly.
uggh
Yes, I agree Barbara, one can focus at various levels of fabrication.
I was reacting to the tendency, prevalent today, to reduce Buddhism to western psychology, and in so doing dismiss its more profound and spiritual aspects.
My comment may have been triggered by the quote from Naropa.
Many years ago, I met Chogyam Trungpa when he first arrived in Boulder. He was hosted, up in the mountains, by acquaintances of mine who were psych grad students at CU.
The good news is that he was able to soften the influence of materialism on psychology. The bad news is the influence of the psychs became intertwined with Naropa and, to this day, tend to present a challenge to a clear understanding of Buddhism.
While there are many who are happy reducing Buddhism to western psychology, as it fits within their comfort zone, I find joy in pointing out the differences between the two disciplines for the few who care.
The topic of the realms and such aspects of Buddhism lies within my comfort zone and my range of experience, so I make the mistake of speaking too freely at times.
My apologies if I offended anyone.
“I believe these days most of us (including, I understand, His Holiness the Dalai Lama) do not believe in the Six Realms as actual locations. Instead, they are more often understood as metaphors for our psychological projections.”
I believe that most of the Buddhist world would strongly disagree with this statement. This is an ethnocentric westernized view of the six realms, not a Buddhist one. HHDL teaches the authentic Buddhist version of the six realms , not the western psychological/empirical interpretation that many of us are comfortable with.
HH is an atiyoga Buddhist. Tibetan practice is chock full of multiple meanings and secret teachings. There are entry points and levels of meaning for everyone. As a practitioner of secret teachings I have learned mostly to keep my mouth shut about them because often when I try to explain people don’t get it…that’s why they are secret.
We start where we are with what makes sense to us. Maybe some of us need to start with psychology that points the way free from suffering. Others of us will drink nectar from a skull cup and ring bells. Some of us will “just” sit. Same mountain, different paths.
Barbra I thought this was a great little piece and well written, thanks.
JayHoo,
You raise the critical issue that often gives me pause.
“Maybe some of us need to start with psychology that points the way free from suffering.”
What if psychology does not point the way to overcome suffering? What if the discipline takes the opposite approach and strengthens that which the Buddha taught brings about suffering — for example, clinging and attachment.
What if the discipline negates the Dharma and leads students to turn in the opposite direction?
When is is appropriate to step out of the cave and offer a few signs of the road the Buddha traveled?
Would the Buddha Shakyamuni say, “Hey, whatever floats your boat, that’s the Dharma.” Even when he could see clearly they were headed in the opposite direction?
Or would he say, “Here’s the path I have discovered. If you wish to find the way to cessation of suffering, follow me this way…”
While he would not advocate the use of coercion and would leave the choice to the student, I believe he would leave the path clearly marked.
J: I do have one source (that I don’t trust 100 percent) quoting the Dalai Lama saying that the Six Realms are not actual places. However, as JayhooRay says, there are many layers of teaching, many of which are not made public. The same is true of Zen. Often what beginners are told is different from what more advanced students are taught. I suspect the teaching that the Six Realms are actual places, and that the Six Realms are not actual places, are both beginner-level lessons but for different audiences. Neither is right, neither is wrong.
One source that goes into the realms in some detail is [i]The Tibetan Book of the Dead[/i] or The Great Liberation through Hearing.
The best discussion of the material I have found can be found in [i]Luminous Emptiness[/i] by Fremantle (mentored by Trungpa.
[i]The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying[/i] by Sogyal Rinpoche is quite good.
The idea is that one experiences rebirth in one of the realms, according to variations in awareness in the post-mortem state.
well the executives are all suffering from the delusion of greed and also the gradaddy of all delusions, i.e. “delusion”
If someone say Gods are among humans, its going against Buddhas teachings directly, and if one do he is rejecting most of Buddhas ‘Suttra Deshana’ as most of them are done on god’s requests.
If you study the Sutta Pitaka (One of 3 Sections of Dharma) you may clearly see that most of the ‘Sutta’ or teachings of Buddha has done to Devas(gods)
As an example ‘Maha Mangala Sutthra (great ouspicious things to perform), Karaniya metta Suttha (great compation or mettha to practice), Parabhawa Suttha (ways that can one deteriorate once livehood) and the list go on.
Bhuddha had most significant 9 great charactors, and one of them is “Saththa Deva manussanam” which is being a compassionate teacher for both Humans and gods.
Another point, there are number of incidents that gods came to see Buddha time to time including Great Sakkra-the king of two god realms and listned to Dhamma and got enlighten. So if someone say gods cannot be enligten by dhamma, its a Myth. Buddha was born among human coz this is the very last level that has the ability to practice Dhamma. If he was born among Gods, humans will never reach Dhamma.
Buddha clearly explained about gods realms on “Vimana Watthu’ about 6 God realms (Nimmanarathi, Thusitha, Thawthisa, yama, Paranimmitha etc.) and how one get in to these levels and the life span of existance. Buddha always encourage people to get enligten at this very human live, and if couldnt work it out to go to these heavens after the death. So one can still keep Dhamma in track after the death.
Even the lowest level of Heaven’s one day equals to 50 human years, with the life span of 500 years (heavenly) god will live 9,125,000 years, so the gods who got enlighten after hearing Dhamma from Buddha has a memory of 2600 years at this point. So you may meet them and you meet real Buddhas teachings!!
May tripple gem protect you!! (Buddha , Dhamma , Sanga)
Kenneth — Lots of people consider the stories of gods to be allegorical, not literal. Very likely at least some of the stories of gods are highly mythologized accounts of interactions between the Buddha and human beings. Stories are often “improved” in the retelling. Many schools of Buddhism reject teachings that tie the Six Realms to linear time and physical places.