The Beast Within

Another post for the Fall Ohigan week. I was watching some classic Star Trek and wanted to share this quote:

Captain Kirk: Yes, well, those pressures are everywhere in everyone, urging him to what you call savagery. The private hells, the inner needs and mysteries, the beast of instinct. As human beings, that is the way it is. To be human is to be complex.…

Star Trek, “Requiem for Methuselah” (s3ep19), Stardate 5843.7

Being the homo sapiens that we are, we are indeed complex creatures. We are gifted with the capacity for logic and reason, and yet we are still savage in many ways. We still pattern ourselves in many ways our ancestors did, even if they are seemingly more modern and complex.

But also, from a Buddhist standpoint, we are capable of a great many things, both good and bad.

In Tendai Buddhism is a concept, later popularized in Nichiren Buddhism, called “3000 worlds in a single thought”, or ichinen-sanzen (一念三千). Broadly speaking, the idea is that with any moment in time, our thoughts and actions are capable of manifesting the highest levels of buddha-hood, or the very lowest, foul levels of a demon, and everything within that spectrum. There is certainly more to this, but that’s a brief summary.

Another way to look at it: we have within each of us that which is capable of being a bodhisattva or even a buddha, and yet we also have that within us that is capable of great evil. It comes down to things like environment, training, awareness and so on. We like to think other people as crazy and evil, but under the right circumstances we could just as easily slip down that path. In the same way, we see ourselves as hopeless, and yet with the right support and training, we can go on to do great things.

So, it helps to be a little vigilant of one’s own mind, especially when stressed, fatigued, or insulted. When times are good, it’s easy to behave kind and enlightened. The real test comes when under pressure, and given enough pressure anyone can crack and their brutal nature comes out.

On the other hand, when one does inevitably falter, it’s important to reflect and not flog oneself. Goodwill towards oneself is just as important as goodwill towards others. We are, afterall, human. It’s also why, especially in the Pure Land traditions, we acknowledge those faults and give thanks to the Buddha Amida for his goodwill towards us regardless.

P.S. More on the power of goodwill and the nembutsu.