I was able to go and see the new StarWars movie with my children yesterday. George Lucus has brought us full circle to where the first Star Wars movie started 28 years ago. We now know how Luke Skywalker’s father came to be the evil Darth Vader.
For those that have not seen the new movie yet, let me just say that Darth Vader was overcome by his selfishness and the devil of compassion, and because of this, he chose to join the dark side of The Force, the Sith Lords, and betrayed the Jedi Council.
The Sith are portrayed as totally selfish, and the Jedi ideal is that of selflessness, or no-self. Hence, we have the classic battle between good and evil. Because George Lucus had total control of the script, naturally, goodness has prevailed. Life isn’t always so black and white.
In Buddhism, self and no-self (or, non-self) are both aspects of one Dharma, just as the dark side of the Sith, and the light side of the Jedi, are both part of The Force.
Just as the Sith and Jedi eternally battle, so is it perceived that what is termed good is always at odds with what is termed evil. Among some Buddhists, there is the view that there is no self in Buddhism, that the goal of practice is to attain a state of no-self.
What is termed good and what is termed evil is often a matter of perspective. It can also be said that self and no-self are also a matter of perspective, and relative to the circumstances of the present moment, as are specific actions that are deemed good or evil.
My own thought is that the conflict between self and no-self is completely resolved by awakening to a state of life where self equals others, and that such a state of life is what it means to attain Buddhahood as a common mortal, to manifest Buddhahood in ones present form and in ones present circumstances.
I maintain that there are both a self and a no-self in the practice of the Lotus Sutra, and to deem one view as separate from the other is ignorance of the true nature of life.
I ran across an interesting (and supportive) term in ‘The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism’:
four inverted views
[四�倒] (Jpn.: shi-tendo)
Also, four wrong-headed views or four topsy-turvy views. They are called "inverted" because one takes an opposite view of the truth. Mistaking impermanence for permanence, suffering for happiness, non-self for self, and impurity for purity. This indicates the inverted views of ordinary people who do not recognize the world of delusion for what it is.
The term “inverted views” also means to mistake permanence for impermanence, happiness for suffering, self for non-self, and purity for impurity. This indicates the inverted views of voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones, who recognize the world of delusion for what it is but do not recognize the world of enlightenment for what it is. Taken together, the above are referred to as the eight inverted views.
What are your thoughts?
Sincerely, chikushonin 智倶諸人
大求道心,妙覚,命時僧倶經.
南無妙法蓮華命時儈倶經