Robin Beck

The Root Causes of Crime and Violence?

On Bonno soku Bodai
Ki to Revitalization
Bonno or Klesha
Buddhism & Positive Thinking

This is still being revised. A few things shall be adjusted.

"And what, friends, is the unwholesome ...? Killing living beings is unwholesome; taking what is not given is unwholesome; misconduct in sensual pleasures is unwholesome; false speech is unwholesome; malicious speech is unwholesome; harsh speech is unwholesome; gossip is unwholesome; covetousness is unwholesome; ill will is unwholesome; wrong view is unwholesome. This is called the unwholesome. ... "And what is the root of the unwholesome? Greed is a root of the unwholesome; hate is a root of the unwholesome; delusion is a root of the unwholesome. This is called the root of the unwholesome." -- the Buddha from the Sammaditthi Sutta 4.5.

The principle expounded by the Buddha in the above cited passages is the "Three Unhealthy Roots," or Akusala Mula. Mula means root; while Akusala is variously translated as Unwholesome, Unskillful, Unintelligent, Malcontented, Non-beneficial, Harmful. and Evil. He apparently saw these three basic afflictions, Avarice/Greed; Hatred/Anger, and Delusion/Ignorance as the roots of crime and violence. Moreover, what I really like, he evidently saw crime and violence as unskilful action, resulting from an uncultivated mind. People are not intrinsically good or evil; we all have delusive inclinations.

The Three Roots are also known as the Three Fires and Three Poisons. While there is some variation in terms, these all refer to the three main undelrying kilesa/klesha. The Sanskrit word Klesha, or Kilesa in Pali, was translated into Chinese as 煩悩, read as Bonno in Sino-Japanese. The original meaning of Bonno was something like "troublesome attitude;" though it has sadly come to mean "earthly desires," or even lust, in the modern parlance.

Klesha is most commonly translated into English as defilement. Other translations include afflictions, emotional obscurations, fires, evil passions, desires, illusions, and impurities. While these are primarily emotional afflictions, the lists do include illusions of thought. There are many lists, and not all agree, some list 4, 5, or 6 primary Klesha, from which all secondary afflicted attitudes are derived. Right now, I see "afflictions of perception" as a decent definition of Klesha.

I combed through a lot of sources and came up with this, which is newly revised:

Trsna; Tanha: Craving; Gluttony. Literally, hunger & thirst
Upadana {clinging}
Raga: Passsion, Emotion.
Lobha: Avarice, Materialistic Greed.
Kama: Sensual Lust.
Irsya: Envy. Coveting what others have.
Matsarya: Stinginess; miserliness, jealousy.

Atrapa/Anapatrapya/Anottappa: No conscience
Ahrikya Shamelessness.
Maya: Deceit, Duplicity, Fraudulence.
Asatya: Guile, Cunning.

Mana: Pride, Arrogance; measuring one's worth against that of others.
Mada: Conceit, Egoism, Self-infatuation, Hubris. atmasneha
Mraksha: Concealment.
Dambha: Hypocrisy
Garva: Arrogance, Haughtiness, Vanity.
Pramada: Arrogance, Impudence, Carelessness, Recklessness

Arati: Aversion.
Dvesa; Dosa: Hatred.
Pratigha: Anger, Displeasure, Repugnance
Upahana: Resentment.
Pradasa: Spite, Vindictiveness, Vexation.
Byapada: Enmity, Malice, Ill-will.
Manyu: Grudge
Asuya: Malice, Malevolence.
Krodha: Fury, Wrath, Rage.
Jighansa: Treachery, Vengefulness, desire to kill.
Vihimsa: Violence, Harmfulness.

Moha: Bewilderment, Confusion.
Avidya; Avija: Ignorance.
Vicikitsa: Skepticism, Doubt
Ashraddha: Mistrust; Faithlessness

Drsti; Dhitti: Opinion, Perspective, Viewpoint.
Mudhi: Stupidity.
Styana: Torpor, Mental Obscuration.
Silabbataparamasa: Superstition

Kausidya: Lethargy, Indolence.
Thina: Slothfulness; Lazy Nature.
Middha: Drowsiness.
Musitasmrtita: Heedlessness, not Mindful.
Viksepa: Distraction.
Auddhatya; Uddhava: Restlessness, Dis-ease.
Kukkucca: Anxiety.
Asamprajanya Thoughtlessness

By the way, there aren't really 108 distinct Bonno. IIRC, in that scheme, there are 5 delusive inclinations, and 5 illusions of thought. These sort of repeat over and over in various contexts, with some being shed along the way. Then, there are 10 subordinate Kleshas that are tacked on at the end.

“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principles.” -- Ghandi

"The tree of violence is rooted in social injustice based on inequality in race, class, gender, and sexual orientation." -- Paul Kivel

"Poverty no more causes crime than wealth causes virtue." -- William F. Vallicella {I think}

"Liberals (and here I use the word in its North American sense – as a euphemism for socialists), answer that the reason for crime is « child poverty » and « discrimination ». Kids who come from « disadvantaged backgrounds » are pre-disposed to anti-social behaviours. The answer therefore is the same one that liberals always have to any problem: get the government to spend more of other people’s money on it. Welfare, subsidized daycare. You name it." -- David MacRae

"The root causes of crime are well documented and researched. Crime is primarily the outcome of multiple adverse social, economic, cultural and family conditions. To prevent crime it is important to have an understanding of its roots. ... Social root causes of crime are: inequality, not sharing power, lack of support to families and neighborhoods, real or perceived inaccessibility to services, lack of leadership in communities, low value placed on children and individual well-being, the overexposure to television as a means of recreation." -- Community Safety and Crime Prevention Council {CS&CPC} Statement on the Root Causes of Crime approved in 1996

"The Root Cause of Juvenile Crime and Violence Is Poverty." -- unknown

“The root cause of crime is lack of moral character." -- Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson

"Poverty is not the root cause of crime." -- Rush Limbaugh

"I suggest that poverty is the key root cause. In particular, the extraordinary (and growing) gap between the richest and poorest in our society. Poverty does more [to] limit your economic possibilities. It also limits your opportunities, and the opportunities you can envision for yourself. Poverty disenfranchises by emphasizing class differences, and this disenfranchisement is more destruction than the fact of being poor. ... If we want to do something concrete about crime, then poverty must be addressed." -- David Empey

What is Shikan?

Ki to Revitalization
Words mean things

Most people who are at all familiar with Nichiren Buddhsim have probably heard of the Maka Shikan {摩訶止観}; a meditation manual taught byT'ien T'ai.{天台} Chih-i {知礼} (538–597). This title has been variously translated as "Great Concentration and Insight," "The Great Calm-Observation," " Calming and Contemplation," "The Great Calm, Abiding Meditation," and "Stopping and Seeing, "

Also, those who are even casually acquainted with Zen have likely heard of Sikan Taza, another term for koan free za-zen which is explained as meaning "just sitting," "Meditation Only," "silent illumination," “only minding sitting,” or "sitting quietly and doing nothing".

So, what exactly is Shikan?

The word is composed of two Kanji

In Japan, \Kanji, or the Chinese Script, have two main readings. The On reading is an Ancient Chinese reading with a Japanese accent, also called shindoku {used in a liturgical sense} or Sino-Japanese. The kun is a native or domestic Japanese reading.

止: The On reading is Shi; Kun readings include Tomaru, Ashi, and Tomeru. The Korean reading is Ci, and Vietnamese; Chỉ. The mandarin is generally given as Chih, Cantonese; Zi, and Pinyin; Zhi. Literal English translations include stop, halt, desist, ceae, detain. In this context, Shi {止} is used to translate the Buddhist term Samatha. The Pali and Sanskrit is pretty much the same, though the Sanskrit is sometimes romanized as Shamatha.

Samatha is very similar to a common meditation-related term, Samadhi. In fact; I gather that they are pretty much forms of the same word. Samatha and Samadhi are often taken as synonyms; though the nuance of meaning of Samatha in this context, of Shikan, is slightly different from Samadhi. Sam means to integrate, to bring together, towards. Sama is also found in the word samahita, meaning complete or balanced. The syllable Tha means something like to hold or retain. Samatha is translated variously as calmness, quietude, stillness, tranquility, quiescence, serenity; or occasionally as concentration, or even absorption. We shall take a closer look at this in another segment.

観: The On reading for this is Kan, the Kun reading is mi-ru. The Mandarin is generally given as Kuan, or Kwan; while the Korean is Gwan, and Vietnamese is Quan. Literal English translations include see and obeerve.

Two different Indic words are translated as Kan {観}. One of these, Lok, as in Lokita, is a verb meaning to look, see, observe, behold; in the literal sense of the ocular faculty. The other is a noun; vipasyana in Sanskrit; or vipassana in Pali.

The etymology of Vipassana has three parts; the prefix Vi, a form of the verb pas, and na. Vi is the same as the original meaning of the Latin dis; though if we take it in the modern English sense of a negation, we get the opposite of the intended meaning {not-seeing?}. Vi means to separate, clarify, discriminate, clarify, discern, distinguish, differentiate, divide, make distinct, etcetera.

Vi can also mean to clarify is the sense of an intensive, indicating something deeper, more profound; to make what is clouded or opaque become transparent. Passa refers to vision or sight. The Buddha would invite people to Ehipassiko; come and see for yourself. Finally, Na means path. Vipassana is translated as insight, clear seeing, insight meditation, introspection, intuition, inward vision, contemplation, and "the intuitive light flashing forth".

At any rate, from the context, it seem that Kan is intended as a translation of vipasyana, rather than the lok or lokita as in Kanzeon {see What is in a Name?}. Maka is simply a transliteration of the Sanskirt Maha, meaning Great, with all the same literal and metaphorical nuances & connotations as in English. In other contexts, it is translated with the kanji 大, usually read as Dai or Tai in Sino-Japanese; Kun-reading oo. So Maka Shikan means Maha Samatha Vipassana; the Great Quietude and Insight; a kind of broad based meditation practice. Perhaps there is more to it than "just sitting" infers at a glance?

The Buddhist concept of the Threefold Training {Sikkha}, which is found in both Nikaya Buddhism and Mahayana, includes three practices; Ethics, Meditation, and Wisdom. The Noble Eightfold Path, which is an expansion of the Three Fold Training, mentions three kindfs of meditation; Right Effort, Right Concentration, and Right Mindfulness. I am told that, in the Path of Purity, the great 5th Century Theravadin Scholar Buddhaghosa discusses two main kinds of meditation; Samatha and Vipassana.

I presently sort all of this out as follows:

Samatha is the Meditation {Samadhi-Dhyana} of the Threefold Training. It is inclusive of Right Effort {Samma Vayama} and Right Concentration {Samma Samadhi}.

Vipassana is the Wisdom of the Three-fold Training. In the Eightfold Path, this includes Right Viw {Samma Ditthi} and Right Intention {Samma Sankappa}. However, it is also inclusive of Right Mindfulness {Samma Sati/Smrti}.

That is my take right now. It puts 5 of the elements of the Eightfold path, and two of Three Trainings in a format that I can apply to my own primary practice of Mantra Chanting Meditation. In a way, the third training is even implicit, the place where I chant is the gathering of my Sangha of One, where, with palms together, I receive and observe the diamond chalice precept.

What is in a Name? Kannon, Kanjin, Shingyo.

Update:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I got a bum steer on something, and had to reword this piece.
That it why we should not be attached to views. Making mistakes
and correcting them is how we learn. So far, the other points in
the original still check out. So if you read this earlier, it might
have changed. I am now satisfied the wording. Also, thanks to
Pam for catching another error, which I have since corrected.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most of you have probably heard of Kuan Yin? She is the Chinese female Bodhisattva of Compassion; one of the Four Mahasattva Bodhisattvas associated with the Flower Garland Sutra and Mahayana Buddhism in general. Her full name in Chinese, given with romanized Mandarin, Sino-Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese readings, is:

Kuan, Kan, Gwan, Quan {観}}: meaning "observation," "insight," or "see." The Sanskrit would be Lok; meaning to look {behold, regard, observe}; which is used in the literal, biological sense of eyesight.

Shi, Ze, Se, The {世}: meaning world. The Sanskrit would be Loka, meaning land, place, world, etcetera.

Yin, On. Um, Am {音}: meaning sounds or cries. The Sanskrit would be Svara; meaning "noise," or "sound."

Thus, Kuanshiyin literally means something like "Observing the cries of the World," an action of compassion. The most common Sanskrit name is Avalokitesvara. Strangely, neither "world" nor "sound" is found in this name. The three Sanskrit words are:

Ava: Descend, come down, downward.

Lokita: Beheld; past participle of lok.

Isvara: Lord, ruler, sovereign

Thus it means something like "Lord Who Looks Down," which is a bit different than the Chinese "Observer of the World's Cries." Loka {world} is possibly not there simply because it would sound redundant as "Lokalokita." Loka might be inferred, and it is found in an alternate name; Lokesvara {Loka-Isvara}, meaning "Ruler of the World."

Also absent is "svara" {noise, sound}. This might be inferred from a double entendre of esvara/isvara. However, some scholars now believe that his/her original name was Avalokitasvara, with svara {sound}, rather than isvara {ruler, lord, master}. It is thought that svara was changed to isvara sometime after the 7th Century CE. Kuanshiyin would then be a fairly literal translation of Avalokitasvara {[One] who observes the [world's] cries and descends}.

Kuanshiyin {kanzeon}, often shortened as Kuan Yin {Kannon}, is the most common Sinic translation of Avalokitesvara or, perhaps more correctly, Avaloltasvara. It is the one used by Kumarijiva and is thus found in the Myoho Renge Kyo {Chinese version of the Lotus Sutra} Chapter 25.

However, in the Heart Sutra, the name Kan {観} Ji{ 自} Zai {在} is used instead of Kuanshiyin. I was told that this means something like; "Observing At Will" or 'Master of Observation" {thanks P. Jones a.k.a youzhangme}; and was likely a more literal translation of Avalokitesvara {Lord Who Looks Down}.

The Chinese name of the Heart Sutra is 般若心経; read as Hannya Shin Gyo {Heart of Wisdom Sutra} in Sino-Japanese. The Sanskrit name of this jewel of a sutra is Prajna Hridaya Sutra. Hannya {般若} is transliteration of Prajna, and Gyo {経} (phonetic alteration of kyo) is a translation of Sutra; so all is fine and well there.

The curious thing is that "hridaya," rather than "citta," is translated as shin. Hridaya means either the biological heart, or is used metaphorically as kernal, core, or essence; as in "heart of the matter." So here, in the Heart Sutra, shin represents heart, in the metaphorical sense of essense, kernal, or core.

Citta means something like mind, heart, and soul. It is mind, but not the organic brain {manas]; it is heart, but not the organic heart {hridaya}. Citta refers to intelligence or mental and spiritual energy.

If I understand correctly, the kanji character shin {心} can be used to mean either mind or heart; in both the literal senses of brain and biological heart; as well as in the abstract and metaphorical senses of mind-energy and essence.

Note: A fuller title of the Heart Sutra would be Seson Hannya Haramitta Shin Gyo. There, Haramitta is a transliteration of Paramita. Seson is a translation of Bhagavata. meaning "Blessed One," or "World Honored One." In romanized Sanskrit; it is Bhagavata Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra; or in English; " The Blessed One's Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra."

One thing to iterate; the Indic, Pali and Sanskrit, languages of the suttas and sutras are more advanced, for discussing technical aspects of religious philosophy, than the Sinic languages to which they were translated. That is why we see more than one Indic term collapsed into a single kanji. Hridaya {biologocal heart or kernal/core} and Shin {mind, heart, soul, spirit) both translated as 心, read as kokoro {kun} or shin {On}, is one example.

Another confusing thing is that there are a number of Kanji read as shin. At least two or three of these are, or ought to be, familiar to most Buddhists, even SGI members. But that, Sino-japanese homophones that become homonyms in romanji, is another blog. Moreover, I don't want to kick fellow SGI members in the shins, but study "outside the box" of President Ikeda's lectures and Organizational publications is another issue as well. See: Who Put the Shu in the Shoshu? {scroll up to the top} at A Byrd's Eye View.

How Infinite is Eternity?

Let me see if I can paraphrase one of Nichikan's arguments that show Nichiren to be the True Buddha:

In the lifespan chapter of the Lotus Sutra, we find that Shakyamuni did not actually attain Enlightenment for the first time in India. The time period of his Enlightenment is the Remote Past of Gohyaku Jintengo. This was a long time ago, but it is still a finite time period. Therefore, Shakyamuni's Enlightenment is not Eternal. His Buddhism is obviously only a provisional teaching. There can be no doubt about this.

In the "Mystic Principle of the True Cause," Nichiren Daishonin elucidates that Shakyamuni's teacher in the Remote Past was actually an older Buddha, the Original Buddha of Kuon Ganjo. This is the Buddha of Musa Sanjin; or the Buddha who is naturally or intrinsically endowed with the Three Bodies. In the Kaimoku Sho, Nichiren Daishonin clearly reveals that this Buddha from the really infinite past is none other than the Daishonin Himself. He appears in the Latter Day to reveal True Buddhism exactly as predicted by Shakyamuni.

As some of you know, Soka Gakkai has finally pretty much admitted that the "Mystic Principle of the True Cause" or Hon'in Myo Sho is a rather lame forgery -- more on that later. As far as I know, that Gosho was the only source for the term koun ganjo. So it seems like we could move past this old discussion of remote versus remoter, even more remote, and remotest past.

Nichiren Shonin apparently referred to the Shakyamuni who awoke in the Remote Past as the Buddha of Musa Sanjin. It seems to me this is obviously no particular person, since all three bodies are uncreated and eternally existent. However, in recorded history, Shakyamuni was still the temporal identity of the Buddha of Musa Sanjin. At any rate, gohyaku-jintengo, understood this way already covers eternity, or time without beginning or end.

IIRC, the other Nichiren Schools also take gohyaku-jintengo or 'Remote Past' to already be a symbol for deathlessness, eternity, or time without beginning. There is no need for Kuon Ganjo, a term which does not appear at all in the Lotus Sutra or Nichiren's authentic writing.

It will be difficult, but I hope Soka Gakkai scholars can put this line of reasoning -- "The inconceivably long period of Shakyamuni's original enlightenment as described in the Lotus Sutra is known as gohyaku-jintengo -- but this is still a finite time." to bed. We need to forget about it, and move on.

Alas, I was informed that Kuon Ganjo has a corresponding term in Tiantai; Kuon Jitsujo. I am told this indicates the most remote past possible. Argh! While attempting to research this I came across four more terms for the remote past, for seven in all.

These incude gohyaku jintengo, kuon jitsujo, kuon ganjo, sanzen jintengo, hai karate jingle bells, hai on ganja, and kawasaki nintendo. I still take all these as symbols for eternity. However, I am a bit spacey on this, my eye lids are puffy, and now have the munchies. This multiple terms for remote past thing is something I would like to see explained by sources other than SGI & Taisekiji. Can anyone help with some sources?

Suttas & Sutras

Why were the Sutras Composed?

Sutta is the Pali word, Sutra is Sanskrit. Both generally refer to records of lectures, sermons, or discourses delivered by the Buddha Shakyamuni. Sutta refers to the discourses collected in the Pali Canon of the Theravada School.

Neither the Suttas nor the Sutras were directly composed by the Buddha. Rather, they are third person accounts which describe the setting of the lectures and the content of the Buddha's words. In fact, the Buddha does not even appear in some Suttas; some record or describe conversations of the Buddha's disciples.

In the cases of the Sutras [of Mahayana], these often start with, "Thus I have heard. At one time the Bhagavan {Blessed One, World Honored One} ...". So the third person narrator does not even claim to have witnessed the events; he or she is simply relaying what they claim to have heard.

This may also be true of the Theravada Suttas. However, it is generally conceded that the Pali Canon contains recollections of the Buddha's actual words. I don't know if they are verbatim accounts, it seems like they were set to verses, so as to make memorization easier. I don't know that the Buddha spoke exactly that way.

The Pali Suttas were not, however, recorded at the same time they were composed; they were handed down orally for several centuries. I have noticed there are often long versions and short, condensed versions of the same sutta. The long versions appear to be more literal accounts. The short suttas seem to introduce mythical elements, as metaphors, to replace 'technical' passages that are hard to follow.

On the other hand, it is generally thought that the lectures or sermons recorded in the Mahayana Sutras are not the Buddha's actual words. Perhaps the Buddha appeared in his Ascended Body {Sambhoga-Kaya] and spoke them; I don't know. It seems likely they were composed by monks living around the same they were recorded, and attributed to the Buddha posthumously.

That makes the Mahayana Sutras problematic to interpret. We do not know who wrote them, exactly when, or what their intent was. In fact, it appears that not all of them have the same intent. I think that most of the time, the intent is to expand upon themes found in the Agamas [a sankrit version of the nikayas, extant only in Chinese, but known to the early Mahayanists]. The Prajna Paramita Sutras are possible, or even probable, examples of this.

At least one Sutra, the Vimalakirti, looks like a politically motivated satire, written by adherents of one sect, and intended to pan or belittle a rival sect. I am guessing, among other things, those rival monks being panned believed that only male monastics could attain Enlightenment in this life, and that nuns and lay followers were inferior to monks.

In the Vimalakirti Sutra, the names of the Buddha's disciples appear to be given to fictional characters who seem to represent such arrogant, narrow minded, nihilistic, elitist monks. In the tale, these characters meet up with a Lay follower, who puts them to shame.

I think that, because that satire was later taken by some to be a literal historical account, Shariputra and the other arahant disciples of the Buddha came to be thought of arrogant buffoons. The terms Arhat/Arahant, which originally meant one who attains Enlightenment in this life; and people of the two vehicles [Nijo], came to indicate self centered monks who were incapable of ever reaching Enlightenment. Some East Asians still use Sharihotsu as a pejorative term for intellectuals with swollen egos.

Hinayana, which originally meant a base, vile, or lowly vehicle, came to be pejorative for the narrow minded interpretations of the rival sect targeted by the Vimalakirt Sutra. This was later misconstrued to be a label for the Buddha's teachings, or Suttas, as recorded in the Agamas. That is why, IMO, the Lotus Sutra steps in and redeems the original Arhats {Sanskrit} or Arahants {Pali}.

Much later, the Nikayas of the Pali Canon and Theravada were even falsely or mistakenly slandered as "Hinayana." Actually, Theravada never had anything to do with the early Mahayana versus Hinayana squabbles. As far as I know, neither of those early feuding schools are even extant.

The original dispute. IMO, was not over the validity of the Buddha's teachings, as our Dharma Friends commonmortal, hello, and wonder suggest, but over the interpretation. Unfortunately, the refutation of one distortion eventually created another distortion, one that was maybe more egalitarian and anti-intellectual.