Recent Essays/Post-38

Buddha-Nature as Mother's Milk

[[ |300px|thumb| ]] The sūtras on buddha-nature use a large number of similes and analogies to illustrate the existence of buddha-nature in all sentient beings. The Ultimate Continuum, following the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, explains nine similes. However, in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra one can find an interesting simile of mother's milk. The Buddha compares the teachings on buddha-nature to mother's milk—the main and best nourishment that a sick child may have to be deprived of temporarily while going through medication for an illness. Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, Derge 119, folio 104 states:

The Blessed One said: O son of noble family. For example, a woman has a child who is ill. The woman, at that time, summons a doctor, and the doctor feeds the child medicine mixed with butter and sugar and instructs the woman to not breastfeed the child until the medicine has melted. The woman, in order to stop the child from breastfeeding, puts a paste of neem and tells the child that her breast is anointed with poison and he should not breastfeed. The child, out of thirst, would think of breastfeeding, but sensing the smell and taste of neem, would cry and give up until the medication is done. When the medication is over, the mother would wash the two breasts with water and tell the child: "Son, you can breastfeed now." The child would cry and resist breastfeeding with the fear of poison. He would not even look at them. The mother would then explain: "Earlier, with the fear of you becoming more ill or dying, the breasts were anointed with neem paste until the medication was over. Now, you can suckle." The child would gradually breastfeed.

O son of noble family. In the same way, previously, for the sake of the beings to be tamed, just as the medicine with butter for the child has to be melted, the monks have to destroy the view of the world, have to show properly the greatness of going beyond the world, have to show properly the falsity of worldly truth of the self, and have to purify the body through meditation on non-self, I have instructed the monks "meditate on all phenomena being without self, by doing so self-clinging will be eliminated, having eliminated self-clinging totally, one can reach nirvāṇa." Just as the mother of the child has anointed her breasts with the paste of neem, I have also said: "meditate on all phenomena being without self and empty." Just as the mother of the child washed her breasts and said "Earlier, I have anointed the breasts with neem and stopped you from suckling. Now you can suckle," in the same way, I have also, in order to turn people away from worldly matters, taught there is no self. Now, I teach buddha-nature exists. O monks. Not being scared like the child, just as the child investigated and again suckled, in the same way, O monks, investigate to see there is buddha-nature, meditate on it, and persevere. I have shown you this.

Buddha-nature, like breast milk, is shown to be the true and ultimate nourishment, and the teachings of non-self and emptiness are considered to be provisional teachings dispensed, like neem paste, to turn people away from worldly desires and afflictions.

Weekly quote

 

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