Love it. 100% agree
Thank you
I was thinking about your statement last night while listening to a talk by Dr. Lee.
He used analogies to point out three kinds of misunderstandings of what Middle Way means:
Chopsticks need to be middle length. If they’re too short, you can’t use them. If they’re too long, you can’t use them. If you know how long chopsticks should be, you can gauge what’s too long or too short.
But that’s not how we should interpret Buddha’s Middle Way, it doesn’t just mean moderation.
There’s also the story of Sona in AN6.55 that uses the example of a harp to illustrate how our effort shouldn’t be too tight or too loose.
But that’s not how we should interpret Buddha’s Middle Way, it doesn’t just mean balance.
If you’re firing an arrow, you aim to hit the bullseye, right in the middle. Deviating in any direction means you’re off target.
But that’s not how we should interpret Buddha’s Middle Way, it’s not a static target.
A better analogy for the middle way is when you’re traveling down a river in a raft, you need to stay in the center of the channel, and not veer into either bank. The river is always flowing, your environment is always changing, but there are always two extremes on either side that are threatening to make you stuck.
The Middle Way keeps the mind balanced in the midst of constant change, without veering into the extreme of thinking that things exist or that they don’t exist. Rather, existence is a creation of the mind that names things; we create this world of names because we crave certainty.
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It took me a little time to get an answer on this one.
Dr. Lee has heard of Ven. YinShun, but is not very familiar with his work. Thanks for pointing him out.
Thanks for your reply.
The reason I asked this question is the Chinese scholar-monk, Ven. YinShun in his works suggests that Saṃyukta-āgama/Saṃyutta-nikāya is the foundation of both the four āgamas/nikāyas, and the Mahayana Madhyamaka and Yogācāra’s essential teachings.
Cf.: Ven. Yinshun: Samyutta/Samyukta Buddhism
Someone had shared with me this article which makes a similar point. Now that I’m reviewing it, I see that the author is citing Ven. Yin Shun extensively.
The Samyutta Nikaya is the first Nikaya I’ve studied (I’m currently studying it with Dr. Lee), so I’m very happy to hear that I’m starting in the right place. It’s been a joy to learn so far.
Good to know you are currently reviewing the book by Choong Mun-keat on the Sutra-anga portion of SA/SN , and also studying SN with Dr. Lee. The following article by the same author provides further useful information on SA/SN:
Choong Mun-keat, “Ācāriya Buddhaghosa and Master Yinshun 印順 on the Three-aṅga Structure of Early Buddhist Texts” in Research on the Saṃyukta-āgama (Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, Research Series 8; edited by Dhammadinnā), Taiwan: Dharma Drum Corporation, August 2020, pp. 883-932.
((PDF) Ācāriya Buddhaghosa and Master Yinshun 印順 on the Three-aṅga Structure of Early Buddhist Texts | Mun Keat Choong - Academia.edu)
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