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Facets of the Natural Unfolding of the Dharma - Ying Chen, 陈颖

The following talk was given by Ying Chen, 陈颖 at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on July 08, 2024. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Facets of the Natural Unfolding of the Dharma

So good to be with you all, both those who are here in IMC and those who are online. I'm very delighted to be here.

I want to share some reflections today that were inspired by what Gil offered a couple of weeks ago, where he spoke about this natural unfolding of the Dharma, or used the term naturalist Dharma. I've been reflecting about this a lot recently, inspired by what he shared and in my own practice. So I want to offer something based on my own reflections and learnings with this.

There is an interesting sutta I would like to bring in. This is a Pali Canon text in the Aṅguttara Nikāya 10.2, for those who might be interested in looking it up. The sutta describes a kind of natural flow of the Dharma that started from sīla¹, or the cultivation of ethical conduct, and that leads all the way to Awakening. I'd like to read the sutta; it's actually quite evocative. The translation is based on Bhante Sujato’s translation², and it's called "Making a Wish."

So here it is:

Practitioners, an ethical person who has fulfilled ethical conduct need not make a wish, "May I have no regrets." It's only natural that an ethical person has no regrets.

When you have no regrets, you need not make a wish, "May I feel Joy." The Pali term is pāmojja³. It's only natural that joy springs up when you have no regrets.

When you feel joy, you need not make a wish, "May I experience Rapture." The Pali term is pīti⁴. It's only natural that Rapture arises when you're joyful.

When your mind is full of rapture, you need not make a wish, "May my body become tranquil." It's only natural that your body becomes tranquil when your mind is full of rapture.

When your body is tranquil, you need not make a wish, "May I feel sukha⁵, or Bliss or happiness." It's only natural to feel happiness when your body is tranquil.

When you feel happiness, you need not make a wish, "May my mind be immersed in samādhi⁶, or concentration." It's only natural for the mind to be immersed in samādhi when you feel happiness.

When your mind is immersed in samādhi, you need not make a wish, "May I truly know and see." It's only natural to truly see and know when your mind is immersed in samādhi.

When you truly know and see, you need not make a wish, "May I become disenchanted and dispassionate." It's only natural to become disenchanted and dispassionate when you truly know and see.

When you're disenchanted and dispassionate, you need not make a wish, "May I realize the knowledge and vision of freedom." It's only natural to realize the knowledge and the vision of freedom when you are disenchanted and dispassionate.

And so the sutta ended with this: "And so practitioners, good qualities flow on and fill up from one to the other, from going from the near shore to the far shore."

So that's the sutta of making a wish. You don't need to make a wish. When I read this, I feel myself both very happy about knowing this, and at the same time, like, "Really? Is this really like this?" [Laughter]

Some of you may be familiar with another sutta that has a similar kind of flow. There's an unfolding that overlaps with this one to a big degree. It's the teaching on liberative dependent arising, and it didn't start with sīla, but it started with some different aspect of the Dharma, and then it also unfolds just like this, very naturally towards liberation and freedom.

So how is this possible? For most of us, Dharma practice doesn't feel that natural. As I was reflecting about my own practice, there are lots of ups and downs, and it's bumpy. Lots of zigs and zags, and sometimes you feel like you're taking one step forward and three steps backward. So with all this range, how do we understand this kind of natural unfolding of the Dharma?

I wanted to unpack this a little bit, and I'd like to distinguish between two words: normal versus natural. What is normal? I looked up the definition a little bit, and normal seems to mean that it's something that conforms to a certain kind of standard or commonality. Other words that we often use that are like normal are "usual" or "regular," something like that. So it's normal that we stop at the red traffic light. That's normal; we all behave like this, and that's the norm of the society. It's normal that we line up in the grocery line to go through the checkout counter, and that's normal, right? There is a kind of a normality to it, a norm. It guides how we behave within ourselves and in society.

Natural is a little different. Natural comes from this word "nature." It's a kind of quality that's manifesting or expressing itself according to the nature of things, and it has a certain kind of alignment or harmony with the nature of things. So it's natural that we're born and then we'll die. That's the nature of life. It's natural that apple trees grow apples. As I was sitting here this morning, I just vividly realized when we sat for a while and all the walking and the movements and the sounds settled down, it's natural that it becomes quiet when there's not a lot of movement and doing. It's natural to quiet down.

So that's the nature of things. Sometimes what's natural is also normal. Just like this, some part of us knows that we're born, we'll age, and we die eventually. So that's kind of normal; some part of us knows that. And yet, a lot of times what seems to be normal is actually not necessarily natural.

Let's take this birth, aging, and death as an example again. Even though some part of us knows that's the nature of life, if we look at our behavior, how we manifest and how we relate to this nature, our normal behavior often does not match the nature. We don't like aging. We don't like death. Most of the time, you hear this a lot from various people, we live as if we would never die. That's the normal way of how we live a lot of times. I noticed when I just sat down today, I did not bring my glasses and I looked at my pages and thought, "Oh, I'm going to read this." And then some part of me had this moment of not liking it. That's the normal thing. I don't like what is actually pretty natural for our eyesight to deteriorate. But when we are seeing it, we can begin to see, "Oh, there is this part of normal, habitual tendency to not liking it." And it can harden. For a lot of us, when we're not noticing it, we believe that is the normal way. It should not be happening. This shouldn't be here. Or when our loved one passes away, it's hard for us, and we really wish that would not be the case. That's a normal behavior, a normal tendency of our minds and hearts.

This behavior and manifestation can be normal, but they actually don't reflect the nature or the natural unfolding of our lives. Because of that, there can often be a kind of inner tension between the two. And I like to say this inner tension is actually good news. This inner tension itself carries an aspect of us that is aligned with nature and an aspect of ourselves that did not want to come together in harmony with nature. So that's a hint as to how we might practice with this. This may be good news, worthwhile to explore and not to dismiss right away as, "Oh, this is painful, this is not good, I don't like it."

In reflecting about this, we can see there can be a host of seemingly normal ways of relating to ourselves or relating to the world that actually leads to dukkha⁷, or leads to suffering. Often, this kind of seemingly normal behavior tends to arise under a lot of influences of underlying greed, hatred, and delusion. That's the three poisons that the Buddhist teachings point to. Instead of enlivening us, these kinds of forces, when we operate in that mode, they tend to take a lot of precious moments and energy away from us. Sometimes, I would feel that they're actually deadening, far more than what we think.

I want to use some examples of this. For example, when our body and mind may be distressed, whether it's because of physical pain or emotional pain or mental pain, there can be normal tendencies that come up to try to fix them, get rid of them, or be scared about it, or be frustrated, even angry about it when we can't really do anything to alleviate the pain.

There are also other cases. For example, I remember my son is very generous with his praises of some dishes I make at home. He'll tell me, "Oh, this is the best palak paneer I've ever had." And so it's great, and I could feel momentary happiness, but then at the same time, boom, there can be this sense of, "Oh, look at me." A kind of flowing happiness just tightens up and becomes about me. So there can be all of these kinds of normal ways that we feel.

Sooner or later, through our Dharma practice, we can begin to see that these kinds of seemingly normal and habitual tendencies are actually not serving us. It's like rubbing salt on wounds. If we already have a physical pain, do we think beating ourselves up is going to help? If we're already emotionally stressed, would kicking up a big fixing or self-improvement project help? Not really, right? And yet, that can be the norm that we go to.

A big part of the Dharma practice is to begin, little by little, to see through these kinds of patterns that almost feel automatic. They are wired in us somehow, and we can begin to see through this and say, "Oh, actually they are harming us more than serving us." So we can learn to begin to have different kinds of choices in how we choose to respond to the situation we're in.

In a way, we can say that our Dharma practice supports us to find the ways from following the norms that don't necessarily serve us, the kinds of norms that lead to dukkha, and to become more and more aligned with the nature of our being. I'm not saying that somehow all of the normal ways of our manifestations are problematic and lead to dukkha; that's not true. In fact, there are many supportive norms or the culture that we live in that supports us to become more and more aligned with the nature of our being. I'm often reflecting on coming to a community like this, IMC, that sits in the culture of generosity, a culture of kindness. When we soak ourselves in that, it's very nourishing to our heart and mind. It's in fact enlivening to some degree for us. So I'm not trying to say that all of the norms or normal ways of being are an issue. More importantly, the invitation is for us to begin to be able to discern what are the ways that we manifest that are supportive to us and what are the ways that actually lead to more harm.

I want to shift gears to talk a little bit about how we do this. We know there are these patterns that manifest in us. Often, I would say it's not even just within us. We all know that many habitual ways of engaging in the world feel normal to us because it feels normal all around. It's normal to be living a very busy or in a very competitive environment, and that's normal all around us. How do we find our ways to come more aligned or in harmony with nature? How do we do that?

Gil likened this process as a kind of naturalist practicing in line with a naturalist Dharma. In a way, we're learning to become a naturalist of our own being. In my mind, if you think about naturalists in the wilderness, they often have a curious, open, discovery attitude in terms of exploring what's out there. They're not in a big rush to try to nail something; they're in this open, learning, and receptive, engaging kind of process. That's the same way in terms of this naturalist orientation within our own practice. We're directing ourselves to begin to see, being curious about what's really happening here. What is this tension about? How does this manifest and how does it unfold? How do we get caught in the normal, habitual tendencies? And how do we become free?

The Buddha Dharma teachings offer this kind of orientation for us to begin to learn to look in this way. I would say the mindfulness practice, being present with our own being, is a big part of this. We're learning to really begin to see what's happening. The Buddha recognized that in his time there are different kinds of people. In one of the suttas, he spoke about four kinds. There is one kind of people that's said to "go along with the stream." Those are the people who take part in chasing worldly winds. Some of you would know the Eight Worldly Winds⁸: gain and loss, praise and blame. These are the things that we chase, and that was true in the Buddha's time as well. In his time, that seems to be the norm because that's the stream people follow along.

So there is this kind of a person that goes along with the stream. I remember just reflecting about my own experience; for a long while, I bought into those ideas. I had this idea of what I have to do to make myself successful or to have some sort of good life. I went along with a lot of what a deep culture instilled in me, almost ancestrally, and I kept bumping my head against this. Often, after some long while, it just feels like a dead end. It's like, "Wow, I'm not getting anywhere just keep going with this."

There is a second kind of a person that the Buddha spoke about. The Buddha spoke about the second type of people, and they are called "who goes against the stream." That one doesn't take part in these kind of worldly pursuits. The person lives a more spiritual life. What's really interesting about this part of the description—I'm going to paraphrase it and not read the sutta itself—is that this person, these kinds of people going against the stream, feel like it's got a lot of difficulties too. So they're not like they're just happy, but it said there's a lot of difficulties and they actually cry and they have things happen to them. I loved it, and I feel like that's the nature of going against a stream. Just to say, learning to be natural doesn't mean it's easy. No one said it's easy.

This going against the stream is to learn the Dharma practice, the practice that goes against the stream of greed, hatred, and delusion, which is the popular culture we live in. It can feel like going against the stream of the notions of being speedy or efficient or convenient. That's what we hear a lot, right? But this going against the stream is not necessarily easy to do, even though we're learning to come in line with nature more and more. What's natural isn't easy or convenient or efficient.

The Buddha went against the stream of his own times and his own circumstances. He went against his own family and society culture norms he lived in. He realized his life wasn't just about power, status, and wealth, which, based on the documentation and record, seems to be the kind of life he lived in. So he left all of that and engaged with all kinds of different practices, including quite extended years of ascetic practices. But it's not until he remembered an experience under a rose apple tree when he was little that he spontaneously entered a kind of deep sense of well-being that is not dependent on pursuing anything. He realized, "Oh, there's something different here." That is a kind of natural wellspring, a natural welling up that is not dependent on keeping pursuing and chasing externally. That was a turning point for him to discover this more of a naturalist Dharma. So he began to more and more come in line with this natural upspringing or natural welling up of the Dharma, and that led to his awakening.

That's this aspect of practicing and going against the stream, but becoming a naturalist of our own being. As a naturalist, we're not going to just know the ins and outs of our nature overnight, but we keep exploring and keep discovering in the midst of difficulties and challenges. The more we discover within, the more we'll begin to recognize that the alternatives of going along with the normal stream of greed, hatred, and delusion don't serve us in the long run. Rage on top of anger doesn't serve us. Frustration on top of fear is not nourishing. Greed on top of more desire and aversion is just endless. It's endless. That's the Pali term called samsara⁹. It's endless. We can keep swimming in that. We can even feel like we may sometimes feel smart about it in some ways, but it's just endless in this kind of circle.

The invitation is that we practice sincerely, patiently, gently, and honestly. Gradually, little by little, our practice deepens and enriches. In this way, the practice life gradually becomes more and more part of who we are, how we are. Maybe that's pointing to this kind of a felt sense of the natural unfolding of the Dharma beginning to emerge in us. Initially, it may feel like a small stream that comes to us, and over time it becomes more and more natural. "Oh, you know, I'm not going to go beat myself up. I'm choosing to be kind to myself." That becomes more and more natural.

In the sutta, it describes this. When sīla, that ethical conduct, becomes more and more natural, our actions, speech, and mental activities are more and more aligned with this kind of deeper sense of inner goodness, generosity, kindness, and compassion. It's just natural to not engage in ways that are harming us. I remember, for those who have small children or have a chance to observe small children, you see actually lying is not natural in us. The first time little toddlers lie, you would just know because it just feels off. It's awful. It's really not good. And you can see when they release that burden, when they tell the truth, they release that burden, wow, they're so happy. They're so relieved. So we can come in contact with that, and that's very natural in us.

I was reflecting on one of my neighbors who does a lot of yard work. It's very inconvenient at times. It feels like he would spend a whole day caring for some plants. Other people might think it's neither convenient nor efficient. "I could have done something different to make it go very quickly and get done." But he's so happy. He's so happy spending that whole day caring for a few little plants or a tree. What's the trade-off, right? Is more convenient and more efficient better than taking away from a whole day of happiness and joy?

So this natural unfolding, when there is sīla, there is no regret. We don't have to wish, "Oh, let me have no regret." It's just natural that way. And when there's no regret, our heart is happy. It's joyful. It's just like that. You don't have to analyze it; we know that. So this sutta went on in this unfolding. With this kind of joyful, happy heart and mind, it's easy for us to get gathered and collected, concentrated, because we're not so busy thinking about making a big project to get concentrated. It's just natural. It's just like that.

And when we're steady, gathered, collected, it's easy to see. It's conducive for us to see clearly because that's the nature. If we're all stirred up and rocking around, it's very difficult to see clearly. But if we're steady, gathered, not chaotic, things are very clear. And when things are clear, it's natural for the deep kind of insight to emerge in us. We don't have to hunt for them; they just come forth for us. I sometimes reflect that the Buddha did not have anyone who gave him a map. He was just really curious, really there to look at his own nature. So the insight becomes very natural. It naturally emerges for us.

It can become easy for us to see, "Oh, wow, just claiming something like, 'I'm the best cook of a delicious meal,'" that's a big claim. That's a big leap you're making, right? It's easy to see, "Wow, you're just making a huge leap here." It almost feels ridiculous. That becomes easy to see when we're gathered, collected, and we really open ourselves to see this kind of phenomena. And when our minds are pulled off, and inevitably it will happen, pulled off into something, and we recognize that's happening, we come back. We come back to the present.

That's part of the natural unfolding of the practice too. We recognize that we're off, and then we come back. There is this third type of the person that the Buddha spoke about, which is called "someone who is steadfast on the path." Someone who entered the Dharma stream and who is steadfast on the path. I really like that. It's not some big, grand fireworks happening, but it's really saying that once we know clearly, more and more, we find our way. We know the path. We come back again and again, and we stay on the path in this steadfast way. It's by staying on the path in this steadfast way that one crosses over to the far shore. That's the fourth type that the Buddha spoke about.

So may that be the possibility for all beings. Thank you.

Q&A

Bill: Ying, you spoke a lot about what's natural in us. I wish I knew more biology, but I have this idea about our natural tendencies to seek the more pleasant of the four worldly winds and to avoid those that we don't like. I'm sure that it's built into our DNA to seek some and do our best to avoid others. But thinking about it, I don't think it's hardwired; I think it's soft-wired. These are only very strong tendencies, but maybe the genius, if I may anthropomorphize, of Darwinian evolution is that it's still malleable. That with effort and conscious awareness, we can morph all that. But how does that sound to you?

Ying Chen: Great, sounds great. It's hard to use the words completely accurately, but yes. In fact, I would say that it does feel quite natural that we naturally seek for something. We can see it this way. It's also in that this is a conditioned way. In that when we're reinforcing in this way, it becomes more and more a part of the norm of us. It almost feels natural that way. But when we begin to see, "Oh, it's through us keep feeding this way that it becomes like that," kind of like you're saying, it's soft-wired. It's really soft-wired. And yet when we're seeing it, that's where we begin to have a different possibility. You're using the word we're becoming more conscious of it. When we're not seeing this, the normal almost becomes kind of, we believe it's natural to us. We don't believe there is a different possibility.

Bill: Oh, and by the way, that sutta that you read at the beginning was great. I've never read it before, but I will reread it.

Ying Chen: Yeah, yeah, thank you.

Dedication of Merit

So why don't we end with a moment of a dedication of merit.

Together, may whatever benefit and merit that arose out of us practicing together and learning Dharma together be a source of nourishment for our own heart and mind and body. And may the benefit and goodness be shared wide open with all beings. May all beings be well, happy, and may all beings be free.