Western and Eastern Ways of Thinking

Western and Eastern Ways of Thinking
From
Sita Vajramati

Lecture at the celebration of Lama Govindas 120th birthday, 30.9.18, Zalazsanto, Hungary

When Western people study Buddhism, it is natural that they understand the words and concepts through their own cultural prism. However, Buddhist concepts exist in a very different and specific Eastern cultural and philosophical system - which we in the West may find difficult to comprehend instinctively. It is not just about translation. Even the best translation may inadvertently mislead. Whilst we may think we know the words being used in the translation, we may not fully understand their meaning. We may be unaware of the different meaning caused by the thought system in which they are formulated.
This may present a difficulty for Buddhist teachers and disciples because they sometimes may not be aware of how misguided their understanding is.

On my way to becoming a practising Buddhist this caused me some painful experiences. Therefore, I studied both systems in depth in order to work as a facilitator of understanding between the two systems. In this respect I follow the footsteps of Lama Govinda whose 120th birthday we are celebrating today.
I now lead the Dharma centre Schaffhausen and work as a conflict consultant, psychotherapist and leadership-coach in Switzerland, having freelanced for more than twenty years.

An Experiment in Thinking

In this lecture, I want to give an example of the nuances in meaning caused by the differences between the Eastern-Buddhist and the Western-Christian systems of thinking.
In order to enable you to experience this, I invite you to follow me in a little experiment.

I am now going to read a quotation from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I will only read the first half of his sentence and I want you to finish it spontaneously. Please write down how you would finish this sentence. The Dalai Lama said:

„We can’t be happy without other people therefore we must.....“

Please complete this sentence now in your own words and write it down.

Now I am going to read the second part of the Dalai Lama’s sentence and I would ask you to compare your conclusion with what he actually put forward. This is what he said:

„We can’t be happy without other people, therefore we must train our mind to acknowledge that it does not exist as a separate entity.“

I hope you are as surprised as I was, when I read the sentence for the first time.
I did this experiment too and studied the reactions of my mind in order to find out what might be happening spontaneously in a western mind.

Without Buddhist thinking I came to the conclusion that the end of the sentence might be:
„..We can’t be happy without other people”, therefore we must work on our relationships.
However, the Buddhist way of thinking behind the quotation of the Dalai Lama leads me to a different view, to a deeper level of truth: we can’t be happy without other people because we humans existentially don’t exist in isolation.

In this example, the differences between the Western-Christian and the Eastern-Buddhist way of thinking can be well clarified.
Thinking in a western way - my attention is directed to the outside. Instinctively, I check my social network and I ask myself: is there a weakness or a problem?
My mind creates something external to deal with. I analyse the problem in order to find out what can be done in practical terms to solve it.

Conversely, thinking in an Eastern-Buddhist way, my attention is directed inwards. I must train my mind to become aware of the truth. As humans we can’t exist separately.
The message is, don’t think about the problem but go to its universal root. Instead of trying to solve the problem, accept it in order to gain deeper insight into the nature of being.
The practical thing to do is to train the mind. The ultimate objective of that training is to live and to experience life according to the universal truth.

This is the teaching of the Dalai Lama expressed in the sentence:

We can’t be happy without other people therefore we must train our mind to acknowledge that it doesn’t exist as a separate entity“.

Five Premiss

This quotation contains five premiss of the Buddhist way of thinking, which are alien to the Western way of thinking.
I would like to explain them step by step, in order to show the differences between the two systems and the danger of misunderstanding.

Premis Nr. 1: We must train our mind to become aware

In his process of enlightenment the Buddha discovered that everything that we experience in our life has its source in our mind. Fortune as well as misfortune. To think in this way is absolutely unheard-of for Western people. They think in terms of facts and people who act. They want to isolate single causes, which can be considered as responsible for our controlling action. Then we don’t need to feel helpless, we can plan strategies to deal with problems. All this is projected onto an external source.
When Western people hear that everything is caused by our mind, they understand that the individual is therefore personally guilty of all misfortune in the world. And that can’t be right. Western people think in dualistic terms: either – or, subject or object.

The key word within this misunderstanding is the word „mind“. There are different concepts behind this word in the Eastern-Buddhist and in the Western-Christian systems.

In the West «mind» means thinking, cognition or intellect. It is associated with the head, above, ideas, sky, God, theory, concept or brain.
Whereas in the East, mind is the term for the all-embracing medium of all our feelings, thoughts and actions. It is associated with centre, heart, unity, universality, with the nature of all being. Therefore, to train the mind doesn’t mean to learn a new theory but to fundamentally change how we experience life and how we behave.
How can we do this? - By training the ability of our mind to become aware of what really is.

Premis Nr. 2: Nothing exists as a separate entity

In Buddhist thinking there is nothing at all that exists on its own. Actually, we think and feel and behave as if it did, but when we look deeper we discover something different.
It is not even possible to survive without other humans. We all breathe the same air, live on the same earth and suffer from the same climate change. Globalising makes it more and more obvious. We are absolutely dependent on each other. Whether we like it or not, we have no choice, all of existence is interdependent. It is created and it is kept alive by other beings. This truth is valid everywhere and at any time.

Premis Nr. 3: Because we don’t acknowledge the truth we can’t be happy.

The meaning of this is quite the reverse: if we acknowledge the truth, our suffering will cease and the conclusion is - that therefore we must train our mind. Our suffering is caused by the difference between our thinking and the way things are in reality.
What is reality? What is the real truth? Again, there are deep differences between the two meaning systems.

In the West something is true when it is a matter of fact. When it can be perceived by the senses and when its existence can be proven by the empirical methods of science. If not, it is considered a matter of belief. For this kind of truth, religion is regarded as being responsible.

In Buddhism the „true reality“ or „the real truth“ is only to be found by subjective methods and by deep insight into our own being. And that isn’t a matter of believe but of experience. The Buddha consequently abstained from any metaphysical speculation and the Dalai Lama does as well.

In the process of enlightenment as it is described in the scriptures, the Buddha became all knowing. That does not mean he knew everything. The sutras tell us that he achieved the true knowledge in three aspects.

The first was the true knowledge of impermanence.
Nothing, neither subject nor object, neither body, soul nor consciousness’ lasts for ever. There is no substance only a dynamic process. There is continuity by transformation but no substance that changes.

The second was the true knowledge of interdependency.
Where there is a cause there is a result and where there is a result there is a cause.
Everything exists in a state of interdependence.

The third was the true knowledge of the roots of suffering.
Suffering comes from our blindness. It is caused by our not knowing the truth.

In the Eastern-Buddhist system to acknowledge the truth means to become aware of the fundamental laws of life and to live accordingly. The truth is what is ultimately valid at any time and in any place. Everybody can know it. It is not a question of intellectual education. Such a fundamental law of life is the truth of our interdependency, which means we can’t be happy without other people. And this, the Dalai Lama points out, must be acknowledged.

Premise Nr. 4: We must train our mind to acknowledge.

What does it mean „to acknowledge“ or „to recognize something“? There is a different understanding of these words in the Eastern-Buddhist and the Western-Christian thinking.

For Westerners „to acknowledge something“ is the result of an intellectual activity. We recognize something by thinking about it and than we are aware of it. This process is based on words and concepts.

In Eastern-Buddhist thinking it is different. It is about deep insight through focussing the mind on itself. Then we become aware of the truth. In order to gain true insight we have to go beyond conceptual thinking. It is regarded as an experience that changes our whole being, the body, the soul and the mind.

Both, Eastern and Western people, must be trained in this deep insight because in our modern world conceptual thinking is our first approach. Were this not the case the world would be a better place.

Premis Nr. 5: Change can only happen through mental training.

Western people are not able to understand this conclusion. Because according to their
thinking patterns change is not dependent on mental training. It needs power and political activity.
Obviously - but according to the Eastern-Buddhist system - mental training is not opposed to political activity as we can see when we look at the worldwide engagement of the Dalai Lama. Furthermore political activity will help to make the world a better place only when it is in harmony with the laws and the wisdom of life. And that needs mental training. In the dualistic thinking of Western people without this understanding the Buddhist approach to change the world by mental training seems to be an irrational, idealistic dream.

Summary

Now I would like to summarize the different logics of the two thinking systems.
Western thinking is founded on a concept of duality. Its origin is described in the holy scripture of Christianity. The Bible says: God created the human being and authorized him to rule the earth. When you are born into the western system, whether you believe in The Bible or not, you are conditioned in this dualistic and theistic thinking.
Creator and creation, human and the world of nature, mind and body, subject and object are conceptualized as separate entities. This perception has been functioning for over 2000 years. It is responsible for our disassociation from natural resources and from our own body. The subject is related to the object in terms of benefit. The mind of the individual is cut off from its communion with the universal mind. They seem to be two.

Whereas, in the Eastern Buddhist view reality is conceptualized as a permanent unfolding dynamic process. There is continuity but no beginning and no end in an absolute sense. Everything is in a process of transformation. A static being is nowhere to be found. Therefore dualism is not possible. Subject and object, body and mind, humans and the natural world, plants, animals and human individuals - they all express transient life in different forms. However, from the point of view concerning their true existence, they don’t differ. That means, nothing exists separately and nothing lasts forever, that is their true existence. The Eastern-Buddhist system is nondual and nontheistic.

I hope I have given you an impression of the fundamental differences between the two systems. When Westerners hear Buddhist concepts their initial reaction is based on their own thinking system. For them the „Buddha Dharma“ is just theory or ideology or a moral demand. You can believe it or not. That is natural; there is no reason to judge this negatively. The main point is Buddhist teachers must keep it in mind.

In contrast, for someone born into Buddhist culture these concepts founded on the „Buddha Dharma“ are lived experiences. For them western thinking is just theory or ideology but for Westerners it is how they live and experience life.

Negative consequences

Not being aware of these differences can cause negative consequences. In the worst case, even the opposite of Buddha’s aim to liberate us from suffering. Now as I approach the end of my lecture I would like to outline this danger.

There is a well known quotation from the eighth century Buddhist master Shantideva, which is often cited in Western spiritual scriptures:
’All unhappiness comes from being concerned about my own well-being and all happiness comes from my concern for the well-being of the others.’

Someone who is socialized into the dualistic system of Western Christianity will misunderstand this Buddhist teaching of nonduality as a teaching of morality. He or she will be forced into even more separation between themselves and the others, more disassociation and self-denial and will be proud of it. How can that happen?

It depends on the very specific historical, cultural and religious conditions in the West.
There is a specific kind of determination in the Wssestern psyche, which is derived from the life of Jesus. It works at the level of the subconscious. It says: Sacrifice your own well being in order to serve others and you will gain benefit in a higher realm. That is not compassion that is identification with suffering.

Western Buddhists may therefore not realize the true meaning of Shantidevas message. It says: all beings are equal with the same longing for and the same right to happiness. Don’t believe you are more important than the others.
Based on dualistic thinking Westerners believe the message is: I am not important. The others are important, therefore I must sacrifice my own well being.
Denying their own needs they subconsciously take the role of the victim and identify their ego with a spiritual hero.

That is not Shantideva’s and not Buddha’s teaching but we see that nondual wisdom interpreted in a dualistic system can become harmful.
Those among us who have been denied the right to be an individual in their own right are at most risk of being misguided
They may have been exploited and abused in many ways and therefore they are unable to believe in their own value as a precious human being.

Many spiritual seekers in the West suffer from such traumatic experiences. In order to survive abuse they have been forced to deny their feelings. Therefore they feel empty, desperate and alienated from themselves. They understand Shantidevas quotation: don’t be concerned about your own well being - as a demand to carry on suppressing their own needs. Thus, their concern for the well being of others is not motivated by love but by self hatred.
In Buddhist concepts they may find justification for that.

It is a pity that Buddhist teachers from the East and even often from the West don’t know enough about this psychological determination and its dynamic. Therefore they are not able to avoid the danger of misunderstanding.

I would urge Buddhist teachers in the East and in the West and their followers, to be aware of this and to be mindful of it in their teaching.