By Victor M Fontane
In any situation where there are multiple options to choose from, the problem of how to make a wise choice arise. As humans are not capable of going beyond the appearance to see the real and ultimate reality of all experiences in our search for the most profound and pervasive expression of peace and harmony, how we understand reality will directly influence the scope of our activities. If we choose to rely on a limited view, our activities and subsequent experience will also be limited. From this perspective, the aim is to develop a view free of limitation that has the capacity to support our experience on increasingly deeper levels.
To achieve this aim, we need to use a powerful method taught by the Buddha in various Mahayana sutras and presented in the Sutra on the Four Reliances in which the Buddha teaches a clear system for prioritizing how one should focus in order to penetrate to the most profound level of truth. This teaching acts as a clear reminder of the many ways we become stuck by creating artificial limitations for ourselves. The text reads:
Rely on the teaching, not on the teacher.
Rely on the meaning, not the words.
Rely on the definitive meaning, not the provisional meaning.
Rely on primordial wisdom, not consciousness.
Reliance on the Teachings
Take a moment to consider where your understanding of the Universe has come from. Have you ever been into space, seen our solar system revolve around the Sun, or observed what a quantum particle looks like? For most of us, our knowledge comes from second-or even third hand sources, requiring faith in the people who provide us with the information. This, then, begs the question:”Is everything we hear necessarily true?”.
This presents us with a problem. Simply because information is popular does not necessarily make it true.
For this reasons, we must go beyond the limits of reputation alone. We need to make the effort to examine the information we receive in order to determine what is actually being said. When the meaning becomes clear, we can distinguish which ideas are in accordance with reality and which are mere fabrications.
Reliance on the Meaning
The second reliance draws our awareness to the fact that we can’t rely solely on literal interpretations. These can be helpful to get a general sense for what is being said, but ultimately we must reflect on the deeper meaning to unveil the essential message. Through cultivating greater flexibility of mind, we can actively shift our perspective across multiple interpretations and thereby gain a more complete picture of what is actually being communicated.
Reliance on the Definite Meaning
By working with multiple perspectives for interpreting the teachings, we begin to develop a more well-rounded conceptual understanding of what reality is. Instead of revealing only a partial image, we can begin to work with a more complete picture of how everything fits together. Still, this picture only represents one layer of understanding and, therefor, is limited in nature. As we peel back this outer shell, we encounter another layer of understanding just below the surface. If we continue this process, we begin to slowly, uncover ever-increasing levels of subtlety. With each new layer, the perspective shifts and the story it tells about reality also changes. In this way, our conceptual understanding eventually becomes so refined that the story we tell ourselves comes to mirror the very essence of reality as it is.
Reliance on Primordial Wisdom
The term consciousness in this context refers to the dualistic mind that operates on the basis of a subject and an object. The subject is a person, a self, a reference point. The object is whatever appears to that subject and can consist of shapes and forms, sound, smells, flavors, tactile sensations, and numerous other mental activities. These are the elements that make up our regular day-to-day experience of the world. Objects appear within the mind and are experienced by the subject as a momentary relationship formed by endless array of conceptual constructs.
When the definitive meaning appears to a consciousness, it does so indirectly through a concept and so is one step removed from the actual definitive meaning-the nature of reality itself. Even though consciousness can be very subtle, there is still a separation between subject and object. It is this final grasping on to the dualistic perspective that blocks a person from experiencing reality free from limitation. Therefore, in order to experience ultimate peace and harmony, one must be able to transcend consciousness itself.
To do this, it is necessary to completely stop the flow of gross, subtle, and very subtle conceptual constructs. The subject is sustained by a perpetual grasping on to existence. When this very subtle concept of “I am” is dissolved, the dualistic mind unravels, and the pristine qualities of the ultimate nature are able to manifest in a nondualistic way. This level of experience is called “non conceptual primordial wisdom.”
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