My theme the last few posts has been the “five great fears”—fear of death, fear of illness, fear of dementia, fear of loss of livelihood, and fear of public speaking. This week I’d like to take a break from talking about fears, and talk instead about gifts—in particular, the gift of human birth.
It is a core teaching of Buddhism that birth as a human being is the best birth for attaining awakening, and that human birth is a rare and precious gift. How rare? Imagine, say the texts, a turtle swimming face down in the vast ocean with one eye in its belly. All it wants to do is see the sun, but it can’t, because its eye is in its belly, which is facing down. What are the chances, the texts ask, of that turtle finding a board floating in the ocean with a hole in the center of it, just the right size that it could turn over, reach up, hold onto the board, and through the hole in the board see the sun? That, conclude the texts, is how rare it is to be born as a human being.
So we are lucky. But why is human birth the best? Many animal rights activists and others have objected to what they consider this anthropocentric view. Why not a whale, or a dolphin? Can’t they be Buddhists too?
I’m not prepared to make a strong defense in principle of the Buddhist view, but I think this teaching has something to do with the cortex—the logical or thinking part of the brain. Even though meditation essentially quiets and neutralizes the cortex, and allows deeper brain systems to come out (neurophysiologically, this may be what Samadhi is) the Buddha and his enlightened successors were clearly logical thinkers and empirical observers. Nagarjuna, considered in many traditions to be the “second” Buddha, developed a special kind of dialectic—the logic of the “middle way”—as a way of engaging the cortex to see beyond the cortex.
Another argument I often hear is that since human beings have made quite a mess of our planetary habitat, threatening all other species, maybe human birth is not so auspicious after all.
What do you, the readers of this blog, think about this?
I invite your comments!
When I think of last night, I would have felt “lucky” or thought it, if I would have decided to stay home. Our family, primarily my wife’s family, went out to eat and to a “religious”, “musical” performance after, and I, just… wanted to be outta there. Like, sitting here in “peace” and “quiet” instead, and reading, without all the noise and “hoo-ha”. I can be a “jerk” sometimes, especially when I don’t go with the “flow”, cuz I’m not a fish… or maybe I am, or was, or will be, just not at dinner time… “blub blub blub”. Heads or tails?
Last night a friend asked what was the point of spending hour after hour, week after week, years of sitting quietly in front of a blank wall.
“Imagine you are at an exquisite symphony performance, the most delicate solo violin is taking you to a deep place of joy, when a man behind you starts a cell phone conversation. You can no longer enjoy the music. Meditation practice is politely training the loudmouth in the back seat to quiet down and pay attention to the lovely music.”
And it would never have been possible to train the mind with out the dedicated ancestors who have preserved and protected the Dharma.
Human birth is a rare gift, but the good fortune to have the Dharma alive and well and having the inclination and desire to be available to practice is the rarest gift of all.
Gassho to all and to all a joyous life.
Lewis, this is quite a rich topic. How can a species that destroys its environment claim to be “the best birth for attaining awakening”? In the 20th century the earth’s human population tripled and the rate of extinctions grew geometrically What reason is there to believe we won’t crowd ourselves and many other species off the planet? There is no wisdom in our collective behavior and little reason to be hopeful about the future. Human birth is not a gift, it’s a burden to the rest of life.
Perhaps the gift is that we have greater opportunities for making choices than other species. The fact that, individually and collectively, we so often make choices that lead to unhealthy results doesn’t detract from the fact that the opportunity and ability to choose is a great gift.
“Human birth is a rare and precious gift”. I would agree with this statement for the most part, but my bulldog meditates with me and she has a wonderful life! I think with the way the world is if I had a choice I would come back as a loved house dog!!! I could still meditate and have my belly rubbed….lol…
Metta,
Howie
Another thought provoking post, I will be reading it several times over the next week. For me, all I need to do is spend time with my grandchildren and my grown son and daughter to see what a wonderful thing the gift of human birth is.
Our planet is always changing. We, humans, may not have been good stewards during our time here but the earth will correct our mistakes over time. We are just ‘renters’ here, we may own property, build buildings, plant crops and trees, etc. Things we leave behind maybe give to others but we can’t take it with us. All we can take is our experiences and what we have learned.
Best to all
Here’s a thought: just because the Buddha taught it doesn’t mean it’s right–or right forever.
Whether or not in a grand cosmic scheme humans are somehow entitled or not to their preciousness is a great debate.
The point of the teaching however, is its support in motivating our lazy asses into action. Precious human birth goes hand in hand with impermanence. How much time is left in this preciously short human life cycle? And what will be done with it?
Shakyamuni taught that misery, while habitual, can be healed. If we deny a sense of our own precious qualities, those very human qualities of fragility, love, kindness, death and so on, then why should we give a damn about our misery being alleviated?
Being precious in our engagement with each other and the world seems quite right. Sounds a lot like grace. That is our nature fundamentally and the first principle should well be recognizing how we are precious, not why.
In my experience there has been no more precious a gift than regaining life when it seemed lost to dying.
Precious human birth, sample the alternative, not all human birth is precious, hold a starving orphan baby in Ghana. Be grateful.
Well if you are considering the idea of how precious a human birth is, chances are you are a human. THIS LIFE is it, and it includes all species too.
This is a beautiful web site, when I have slow time at work it is nice to read. I like your non-defense of Buddhism.
My two cents’ worth? We may believe this human rebirth is precious, but that includes, in the “lamrim”descriptions, the ability to study Dharma, which often comes on late in life, after the youthful drug experiments that somewhere, somehow, cause death – killing. By the time Westerners figure out there is a Dharma and begin to practice, they have done a great deal of harm. Even in Tibet, damage is done when fields are plowed and animals are deprived of “mother’s milk” so we can eat milk and cheese.
But the world has gone through upheavals before. She sloughs off the “cancer” – us. The people that are run by greed and disrespect. Circular as my thought may be, the Dharma teaches us to live better, more gently. Check the def. of “perfect human rebirth” in say, “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.” It changes one’s outlook.