Ignorance, Is It Bliss?
Some of you may know that I have been having some health problems lately, nothing too serious though, and certainly nothing that won’t be manageable. But I’m going to be honest with you, I am behaving as the typical male of our species. There is definitely a part of me that irrationally says/believes that if I just push on through it will go away, or that if I ignore it long enough it will cure itself. Or heave forbid if we give it a name then it will be even worse.
Now of course I know that this is just non-sense, that ignoring the problem does not make it better, nor does it make it go away. And this kind of attitude is potentially even worse as I age. Yet I still engage in it, strange isn’t it. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to be inconvenienced by the illness, I don’t want to take time out to go have it diagnosed and possible treated, how crazy is that. There is also a part of me that says, well I know what it is anyway and it isn’t going to get better so why bother?
In Buddhism there are three poisons; anger, greed, and drum roll please IGNORANCE.
We have that little catchy expression, ignorance is bliss. In other words if we don’t name, identify, or recognize something we can somehow avoid the consequences and live an illusion of ‘bliss’.
“The World-Honored One of Immeasurable Wisdom expounded the various teachings, that is, the four truths and the twelve causes, saying: “All the causes, from ignorance to aging-and-death, rise one after another. You should know all these illusions.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter VII)
Ignorance does not make things go away. Just because we ignore something does not mean it won’t have an impact of be a factor in our lives. Me ignoring my health problems neither makes them go away, nor does it make them better. So too in our lives and in our Buddhist practice.
We can ignore the truths of Buddhism, we can ignore cause and effect, we can ignore the Four Noble Truths or dependent origination but that ignorance does not mitigate the effects in our lives.
In fact awakening too and recognition of the fundamental truths of life, or in my case the conditions of my body, actually can give us power over these things in our lives.
Just a closing FYI, the word ‘bliss’ does not appear in the English translation of the Lotus Sutra.
“Now I have heard from you the Dharma that I had never heard before. I have removed all my doubts. I am now calm and peaceful in body and mind.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter III)
