Religious week (1)

This week acknowledges a confluence of religious events. In the Christian calendar, it is Holy week, the week that precedes Easter. In the Jewish calendar it is the time of Pesach or Passover. In the Hindu calendar there is the festival of Hanuman Jayanti and, on the same day in the Buddhist calendar, it is the day on which the birth of Gautama Buddha is celebrated.

In the NGV collection there are eight statues of the Buddha calling the ‘Earth to witness’. This is a classical pose most commonly seen in representations of the Buddha found in Burma or Tibet. In each, the Buddha is represented seated on a dais (often a double lotus) in a crossed leg position.  His feet are upturned and present the wheel marks on his soles – symbolic of Dharma and one of the 32 marks of the Buddha. His body is held still and he looks downward with an expression of gentle and serene but sustained contemplation.  His ushnisha (cranial bump symbolizing wisdom) is present. The gilded Buddha reminds us of the simple but radiant life adopted by the Buddha when he renounced his early courtly life. The Buddha’s left hand rests face up on his lap in the meditation mudra (position).  Whilst his right hand, with fingers outstretched, hangs down over his lower leg and reaches towards the earth.  This gesture is known as the bhumispara mudra.  With this gesture the Buddha invokes the earth to witness his resistance of the spirit of evil known as Mara.

The pose and gestures of the Buddha in these sculptures refer to the moment in Buddhist narrative when, on the eve of his enlightenment, Prince Gautama (the future Buddha) was tempted in various ways by Mara, the god of desire and death. While the Buddha was sitting under the Bodhi tree, Mara sent his daughters to entice him and armies of demons and monsters to frighten him. In response, the prince, resisting the temptations, extended his hand to touch the Earth, from which the earth is said to have responded with the roar: ‘I bear you witness’. This particular mudra not only represents the defeat of Mara (and his demonic army), it also represents the unwavering or firmness shown by the Buddha while in the pursuit of enlightenment through meditation. Thus, the gesture represents the moment of the Buddha’s awakening as he claims the earth as the witness of his enlightenment. In a more general sense, the Bhumisparsha mudra is used to demonstrate the transformation of the ‘delusion’ of anger or fear into wisdom as the two positions of the hands reference ‘groundedness’ on the right and ‘wisdom through meditation’ on the left.

Buddhist wisdom for these uncertain times. Our current ‘contagious world’ creates extraordinary anxieties and uncertainties and the impact on our mental health will evolve over the coming weeks and months.  There are both the practical issues of day to day coping and the more elusive existential questions swirling around.  We are in the hands of others (scientists, doctors, economists and politicians) and only have limited personal control over our future. It seems like the demonic Mara, in the guise of COVID-19, is constantly challenging us.  However, the Buddha and his teachings remind us that we can control our own reactions, thoughts and feelings and there are a number of ways we can do this.

We can start by acknowledging that fear and uncertainty are a natural part of life and that attempts to avoid them create and add to suffering. Instead of reacting with fear, Buddhist teachers, like the Theravada monk Ajahn Brahm explain that when: “we fight the world, we suffer… the more we accept the world, the more we can actually enjoy the world”.

Becoming ‘stuck’ in rumination is common but Buddhism reminds us of the transitory nature of our thoughts and feelings. The practice of mindfulness and meditation allows us to experience our emotional landscape as similar to Melbourne’s weather – feelings and sensations come and go – they are simply passing reactions to an impermanent situation.

Buddhism also reminds us that reflecting on the ‘four immeasurables’ – loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity – acts as an antidote to negativity and counteracts fear and helplessness. This is reinforced by remembering that everything is interconnected. We tend to operate from a position of dualistic thinking, seeing ourselves as separate from others and from society. This is challenged today through our awareness that our survival depends on one another.

Finally, Buddhist teachers argue that times of uncertainty can be opportunities for individuals and societies to reassess what is important for each and all of us. The world today presents an opportunity to reflect, enjoy the small things in life, and to just be.

It is worth remembering that we can all become Buddhas.