Episode 266 – Arrogance Obstructs the Noble Path
>>”The Buddha safeguarded the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. He remained quiet for a long time instead of rushing to teach it. He worried those with overbearing arrogance would slander it because of their doubts. Not only would it not be of benefit, it would be of more harm.”
>>”Then the World-Honored One restated His meaning in verse, ‘Stop, stop, there is no need to speak it ‘My Dharma is wondrous and difficult to comprehend, and when those with overbearing arrogance listen to it, surely they will neither respect nor believe it.'”
>> This was the third time the Buddha said to stop. The Dharma expounded in this chapter is what the Buddha fundamentally wanted to teach. When those who cannot happily hear it with firm and deep faith are given these teachings, they will certainly be shocked and begin to doubt. This will cause bhiksus with overbearing arrogance to not only not benefit from it, but also commit wrongdoings by slandering it out of doubt.
>> The first kind is “typical arrogance,” which is ordinary arrogance. What is ordinary arrogance? “If we claim to have greater wisdom and virtues than others, this is arrogance.”
>> Fourth of the seven kinds of arrogance, self-arrogance: This is the foremost of all self-attachments; it is seeing ourselves as higher than others. With such attachment to self, we see our views as superior to others’ and try to prove that others are not as good as we are. This is self-arrogance, the foundation of all kinds of arrogance.
>> Fifth of the seven kinds of arrogance, overbearing arrogance: Some who have realized the fruit of Arhatship still have not eliminated all afflictions. They claim to have attained what they have not. Claiming to have realized what they have not is overbearing arrogance. This is a common problem for practitioners.
>> Seventh of the seven kinds of arrogance, deviant arrogance: This is not carefully observing and examining whether things are right or wrong and remaining attached to our initial deviant views. We then become disdainful of everything and do not believe in karmic retributions; this is deviant arrogance.
“The Buddha safeguarded
the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.
He remained quiet for a long time
instead of rushing to teach it.
He worried those with overbearing arrogance
would slander it because of their doubts.
Not only would it not be of benefit,
it would be of more harm.”
This is telling everyone that the Buddha had safeguarded the True Dharma of the One Vehicle from the start. However, He remained quiet for a long time about the teaching He always wanted to give because. He recognized that sentient beings’ capabilities were not yet mature. Therefore, He remained silent for a long time.
During these 40-plus years, why wasn’t He able to quickly and freely express what He originally wanted to teach? Because He had to consider those with overbearing arrogance, who might slander it because of their doubts. The Buddha thought the timing was not right, so He did not teach it yet. Moreover, if He did teach it, not only would those with overbearing arrogance reap no benefits from it and be unable to accept it, they might actually be harmed by it.
So, what is the reasoning behind this? Of course, the Buddha’s compassion led Him to safeguard the teachings about the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. But, if sentient beings were not ready for it, not only would it not be useful to them, they might end up slandering it. So, He continued to “remain quiet for a long time” and did not freely express Himself. So, “not rushing to teach it” did not mean. He was withholding it. He simply feared that after He taught it, not only would it not be beneficial, it would be harmful to those with overbearing arrogance.
This is like prescribing tonics to those who are not in good health. However, some people cannot bear to take tonics. Although tonics are beneficial to physical health, if they are not prescribed for the right illness, taking a tonic could lead to [negative] side effects. The Buddha’s [thinking] showed His compassion.
So, let us look at the next sutra verses. Now this section of verse again states,
“Then the World-Honored One restated His meaning in verse, ‘Stop, stop, there is no need to speak it ‘My Dharma is wondrous and difficult to comprehend, and when those with overbearing arrogance listen to it, surely they will neither respect nor believe it.'”
So, the Buddha said, “Stop, stop.” Because Sariputra kept sincerely asking, the Buddha kept saying, “Stop, do not keep talking. There is no need to say anything else ‘My Dharma is wondrous and’ difficult to comprehend.” Once again, the Buddha mentioned this to help them understand that the teaching He had realized, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle, is very subtle and wondrous and cannot be understood by just anyone.
“When those with overbearing arrogance listen, surely they will neither respect nor believe it.” If the Buddha explained it in detail, some overbearingly arrogant people might become impatient and not listen to it. Their minds would be become irritated, and they would not respect it. Therefore, this was not the time to teach the subtle and wondrous Dharma.
This was the third time the Buddha said to stop. The Dharma expounded in this chapter is what the Buddha fundamentally wanted to teach. When those who cannot happily hear it with firm and deep faith are given these teachings, they will certainly be shocked and begin to doubt. This will cause bhiksus with overbearing arrogance to not only not benefit from it, but also commit wrongdoings by slandering it out of doubt.
This is telling everyone that the Buddha had consecutively said. “Stop, stop” three times in the sutra. There was no need to say more; He was still not going to teach it. Sariputra repeatedly asked, three or four times, for the Buddha to give teachings.
But the Buddha said “Stop” three times. Now, this is telling us that, the Buddha had originally intended to teach it. Right after the Buddha attained enlightenment, His one great cause was to expound this Dharma. Originally, the Buddha was going to teach it, but if He taught it to “those who cannot happily hear it with firm and deep faith,” ․”they will certainly be shocked and begin to doubt.” If people with overbearing arrogance heard it, because they could not realize it, they would become frightened and suspicious. Then inevitably, they would slander it. For people at the assembly whose faith was not firm, the Buddha worried that they would be shocked, feel doubts and commit slander.
So, not only do heavenly beings, humans and asuras have overbearing arrogance, in fact, among the bhiksus, bhiksunis and the fourfold assembly, there were also those with overbearing arrogance. So, not only would they not benefit from it, they would give rise to doubts and commit slander. The Buddha was very worried that people would commit this kind of wrongdoing.
Overbearing arrogance is part of “the seven kinds of arrogance and the eight kinds of pride.” As humans, we have seven kinds of arrogance and eight kinds of pride. These are all afflictions in our minds. This is why, in this world, we cannot be in perfect harmony with others and constantly create afflictions in our interactions. This is because we have [all kinds of] arrogance and pride.
What are the seven kinds of arrogance? Let us review them and reflect on ourselves to see if we have these traits.
The first kind is “typical arrogance,” which is ordinary arrogance. What is ordinary arrogance? “If we claim to have greater wisdom and virtues than others, this is arrogance.”
This is the first kind of arrogance. It gives us the feeling that our wisdom and the virtues from our spiritual practice are always greater than and superior to others. This is what ordinary people are like.
The second is “excessive arrogance,” which is regarding oneself as superior to equals. Our wisdom and virtues are the same as others, but we feel, “No, I think am superior to that person.” It is always like this at the beginning. When we are around people who are equally talented, we think we are superior to them. This is “excessive arrogance.”
Another kind is “severely excessive arrogance.” Having “severely excessive arrogance” is when our wisdom and virtues are not equal to others, or are just barely even with them, but we still consider ourselves better. In this case, our wisdom is definitely inferior, and other people are wiser than us, but we are still arrogant. We cannot even compare to them, but we still have this sense of arrogance.
The fourth is “self-arrogance.” When we think highly of ourselves, we have “self-arrogance;” this is very common. The pronoun related to “self-arrogance” is “I.” This comes from our sense of self, our egotism, which reflects a very strong attachment to self. If we are attached to “self,” we see ourselves as better than others.
In this way, we end up focused on ourselves, thinking we are revered and respected by the entire world. We think we are the most important person and nothing can happen without us. If we are conceited in this way, we will feel that no one is as good as us. If we have such conceit, we have “self-arrogance” and think others are just not as good. This feeling is “self-arrogance,” which is the foundation of all kinds of arrogance, because we think everything revolves around us.
Fourth of the seven kinds of arrogance, self-arrogance: This is the foremost of all self-attachments; it is seeing ourselves as higher than others. With such attachment to self, we see our views as superior to others’ and try to prove that others are not as good as we are. This is self-arrogance, the foundation of all kinds of arrogance.
The fifth is “overbearing arrogance.” Some [who call themselves] Arhats have not yet completely eliminated afflictions. They claim to have attained what they have not. They have not eliminated the subtlest of afflictions, but they think they have. Claiming to have realized what they have not is overbearing arrogance. The Buddha worried about the people who claimed to have attained what they had not. This is the most serious affliction in Buddhism, this overbearing arrogance, so it is an obstacle to spiritual practice.
Fifth of the seven kinds of arrogance, overbearing arrogance: Some who have realized the fruit of Arhatship still have not eliminated all afflictions. They claim to have attained what they have not. Claiming to have realized what they have not is overbearing arrogance. This is a common problem for practitioners.
The sixth is called “inferior arrogance,” which is feeling that we are not as good as others. We may always think that we are not as good as others. But if they are talented, that has nothing to do with us. We do not need anything from them. This is called “inferior arrogance.” People with this kind of self-indulgence do not respect others. They know they are not as good as other people, but they feel that they do not need anyone’s assistance, that they will just stay the way they are. This is how we cause our own degeneration. So, this is called “inferior arrogance.” A person who does not seek to grow will have an inferiority complex, which will produce a type of arrogance, a form of self-arrogance. So, “inferior arrogance” will also sever our roots of spiritual practice.
The seventh is “deviant arrogance,” which is to not carefully observe and examine whether things are right or wrong. This kind of “deviant arrogance” is why we must seek the Buddha-Dharma and exercise our wisdom. Spiritual practice has a right and wrong [path]. The right path is right understanding, right view, right mindfulness, right thinking, etc. This is what we spiritual practitioners must recognize very clearly.
However, some people’s spiritual practice may have deviated slightly, so their every step is on the wrong path, and they cannot strengthen their faith in Right Dharma. These slight deviations from lack of careful observation and examination in our spiritual practice are also very dangerous. Not only do we not carefully contemplate, we do not consider whether teachings are deviant or proper. Instead, we remain attached to our initial deviant thoughts.
Some say they are engaging in spiritual practice, but they have gone astray right from the start. If they have deviated at the very beginning, even if they encounter Right Dharma, True Dharma, and someone tries to correct them, they will still continue to do as they please. They will not be willing to change their deviated beliefs from the past. “They remain attached to their initial deviant views.” In the past, we already strayed from the path, and now we are not changing our ways. Or, we may be learning Right Dharma now, but karmic conditions or evil phenomena tempt us, and we deviate toward evil. If so, we will become disdainful of everything and act to humiliate ourselves. We will also be disdainful of the True Dharma and may even turn around and slander it. This all comes from “deviant arrogance.”
With this kind of “deviant arrogance,” we do not believe in karmic retributions. In the past, haven’t we discussed that we must have right faith? There is wondrous existence in true emptiness and true emptiness in wondrous existence. We must believe that within wondrous existence, there is true emptiness and subtle and wondrous principles. Where can these principles be found? As the Buddha said, in the law of karma. In His teachings, the law of karma is found in the wondrous principles of true emptiness. If we deny the law of karma and do not believe in karmic retributions, then we have fallen into deviant views.
Seventh of the seven kinds of arrogance, deviant arrogance: This is not carefully observing and examining whether things are right or wrong and remaining attached to our initial deviant views. We then become disdainful of everything and do not believe in karmic retributions; this is deviant arrogance.
If we practice, we attain; the virtuous attain. The work of spiritual practice begins with earnestly purifying ourselves. We must not develop arrogance, neither self-arrogance nor overbearing arrogance. Overbearing arrogance will sever the roots of our spiritual practice. “Self-arrogance” is something all ordinary people have. Because of their attachment to the self, people will discriminate against and judge others. Within the “seven kinds of arrogance,” these two are the most common and will sever the roots of our spiritual practice.
So, any of the “seven kinds of arrogance,” whether “excessive arrogance, typical arrogance” or “severely excessive arrogance” and so on, they are all sources of pride and arrogance. But “self-arrogance” and “overbearing arrogance” are the most fundamental [problems we have]. So, we must be very mindful. When the slightest trace of arrogance arises, it is difficult for us to free ourselves from it. Even the Buddha cannot help us.
Because sentient beings have these kinds of arrogance, especially overbearing arrogance, they hinder the Buddha from freely carrying out His original intent. This is a tremendous obstruction. Therefore, we must be self-vigilant. Only when we all have respect and faith will the Buddha teach the True Dharma. Therefore, everyone must always be mindful.