Молчание Будды
|
<<Назад Сверхъестественные способности |
Оглавление |
Далее>> Как следует отвечать на вопросы |
| Перевод | Таблица | Оригинал |
The Buddha’s Silence
When the questioner was unable to understand the real meaning of the answer or when the questions posed to Him were wrong, the Buddha remained silent.
THE scriptures mention a few occasions when the Buddha remained silent to metaphysical and speculative questions posed to Him. Some scholars, owing to their misunderstanding of the Buddha’s silence, came to the wrong conclusion that the Buddha was unable to answer these questions.
When the Buddha knew that the questioner was not in a position to understand the answer because of its profundity, or if the questions themselves were wrongly put in the first place, the Blessed One remained silent. Some of the questions to which the Buddha remained silent are:
- Is the universe eternal?
- Is it not eternal?
- Is the universe finite?
- Is it infinite?
- Is soul the same as the body?
- Is the soul one thing and the body another?
- Does the Tathagata exist after death?
- Does He not exist after death?
- Does He both (at the same time) exist and not exist after death?
- Does He both (at the same time) neither exist nor not exist?
The Buddha who had truly realised the nature of these issues observed noble silence. An ordinary person who is still unenlightened might have a lot to say, but all would be sheer conjecture based on his or her imagination.
The Buddha’s silence on these issues is more significant than attempting to deliver thousands of discourses on them. The paucity of our human vocabulary which is built upon relative experiences cannot hope to convey the depth and dimensions of Reality which a person has not experienced through Insight. On several occasions, the Buddha had very patiently explained that human language is too limited and cannot describe the Ultimate Truth. If the Ultimate Truth is absolute, then it does not have any point of reference for worldlings with only mundane experiences and relative understanding to fully comprehend it. When they try to do so with their limited mental capacities, they misunderstand the Truth like the seven blind men and the elephant1. A listener who has not realised the Truth cannot fathom the explanation given, just like a man who was blind since birth will have no way of visualising the colour of the sky. The Buddha did not attempt to give answers to all the questions put to Him. He was under no obligation to respond to meaningless questions which reflected gross misunderstanding on the part of the questioner and which in any case had no relevance to one’s spiritual development. He was a practical Teacher, full of compassion and wisdom. He always spoke to people fully understanding their temperament, capability and capacity to comprehend. When a person asked questions not with the intention to learn how to lead a religious life but simply to create an opportunity for splitting hairs, the Blessed One did not answer these questions. Questions were answered to help a person towards self-realisation, not as a way of showing His towering wisdom.
Translator's note
Translator's note 02-03-1
|
<<Назад Сверхъестественные способности |
Оглавление |
Далее>> Как следует отвечать на вопросы |
Редакция перевода от 01.07.2015 19:37