Jim Seidel lives in Center Barnstead.
The Buddhist doctrine of conditioned co-production has the meaning that we are all connected vis-a-vis Indra’s net. While this metaphor is used by some Chinese Buddhist schools I have not found it within my studies of Indian and Tibetan schools.
The concept that we are all connected in some profound sense may be valid, but my opinion is that it is not the meaning of this particular sutra. The Buddha’s doctrine on causality is key to understanding the first noble truth and from this point, the other three.
A metaphor is a figure of speech (tool) we use to attach a particular meaning to an abstract concept. The object used as the metaphor must be a recognizable physical entity. The reader is meant to interpret the physical entity as being the same as or exemplifying the abstract concept.
The Buddha warned: do not mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the moon (metaphor). Indra’s net predates Buddhism and is part of the Hindu belief in Atman (eternal self) which is an essence that underlies existence. The concepts of a permanent self and essence are antithetical to Buddhist philosophy and the point being made by the Buddha’s sutra on causality.
If searched, “paticcasamuppada” (Sanskrit), what will be found in numerous references to the Buddha’s early teaching on causality. This doctrine is considered seminal to the understanding of the Four Noble Truths. The simplest way to express this is that inherent causality and essence are impossible because they lead to an infinite regress. Like the chicken or the egg, we ask, what came first, the cause or the effect?
If the effect is already present in the cause, it is not the cause and the effect is not an effect. This leads to the first truth. If all phenomena do not have an inherent existence or essence then no experience of reality can lead to satisfaction because it isn’t inherent in phenomena. The result of this misapprehension is suffering.
The study of meaning is hermeneutics. Yes, there is such a thing, and the books written on the subject are tomes. The definition is not necessarily the same as its meaning. We think of definition as a description that gives us a sense of its subject so we will identify it when encountered. Meaning is connotation or denotation. The single word used to describe meaning is interpretation.
According to one philosopher, there are three hermeneutic circles that need to be considered when discerning meaning in context:
1) Meaning in the relationship of its parts to the whole. 2) Meaning in relation to the tradition to which it belongs. 3) Meaning in relation to the person encountering the concept or text.
We perceive that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but we all know that the earth turns and the sun doesn’t move. Just maybe it is the poetry of our conscious experience that has meaning.