The Genius of the Buddha

 

The Genius of the Buddha

Did Einstein get it? Albert Einstein revolutionized science with his special and general theories of relativity, fundamentally reshaping how we understand space, time, and gravity.

Did Rutherford get it? Ernest Rutherford, often called the “father of nuclear physics,” fundamentally reshaped our understanding of atomic structure through groundbreaking experiments.

Did Newton get it? Sir Isaac Newton transformed science by formulating three laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation, uniting celestial and terrestrial mechanics under one elegant framework.

Did Tolstoy get it? Leo Tolstoy masterfully dissected human psychology, portraying characters who evolve with profound authenticity, growth, and moral complexity.

Did Michelangelo get it? Michelangelo transformed marble and paint into living drama, extracting a figure from stone—showcasing his ability to imbue cold mediums with breath and soul.

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All these geniuses excelled in their fields within the realm of duality. Their reality was a concept produced by a mortal mind. Yet everything that appears in the universe is an illusion because it has a beginning and an end. Only the Buddha mind never changes, as it is always empty. This profound realization that reality is absolutely quiescent leaves us with the true genius of the Buddha. But where is the Buddha? There is no Buddha. There is only the Buddha mind - awake to the liberation of silence.

Ramana Maharshi, Harilal Poonja, and Nisargadatta Maharaj - Indian Buddhas - were figures who existed in time and space, but their being is ineffable, existing in emptiness. Both Nisargadatta and Ramana had very little formal education, and Poonja was an army officer. Yet, they “got it.” They realized that the world is merely a mind play and that behind all phenomena is Brahman, the absolute reality. While billions only see the world, these geniuses realized the TAO, being in utter emptiness with no cycle of return. The geniuses of science, literature, and fine art were unable to liberate their minds from attachment despite their cleverness. As brilliant as their lives may have been, their mortal minds pale in comparison to the permanent genius of the Buddha mind.

While academics see formulas that lead to more calculations in a continuous, never-ending duality, the Buddha does not exist in time. The Buddha is the substratum from which space and time come to exist. Scientists can communicate their findings to equally finite minds, but the permanent Buddha mind cannot communicate with an impermanent mind. Any effort to understand the Buddha mind will not succeed.

At the heart of liberation from the attached mind is the rejection of duality. The scientist or artist presents their work where there is an observer and an observed - the painting and the person observing it. The Buddha mind sees no painting; only emptiness. There is no duality, only silence.

For the dualist who sees the world as separate from the self, consciousness is personal. It comes and goes, as in deep sleep, with drugs, disease, injury, or in a coma. Scientists and artists alike have a dualistic view of the universe, which may cause genius but also suffering. The human mind is a constant flow of thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and memories. These mental phenomena arise and pass away, creating a sense of impermanence and dissatisfaction. Both Einstein and Tolstoy realized the impediment of the mind to freedom and, in a last-ditch attempt to alter their “stuckness” in rank materialism, became vegetarians in an attempt to liberate the mind -
albeit too late.

The Buddha mind is universal. Krishna said the Buddha mind does not engage in actions, nor cause anyone to be engaged, yet the Buddha mind is present in all of the universe. The Buddha mind is not something that has to be achieved by doing something, like meditation, japa, chanting, or ritual. As Krishna says, the Buddha mind is present in all the universe but is obscured by an attached mind. To address this, one must deal directly with the mind by investigating the cause of its attachment.

Understand that the food body generates the attached mind and is therefore a primary cause of its attachment. By organizing foods that cause maximum attachment, like animal products, and using purely foods from vegetable sources, attachment can be drastically reduced. Meat, for example, can produce a scientist but never a philosopher, a sage, or a satvic person. This is because the creature whose flesh is consumed is also attached to life, and the meat comes packaged with that attachment. Plants don’t come with that attachment and are therefore more conducive to demoting the mind, especially plants that carry satvic energetics. It is within this framework of non-stimulating food that the mind can be rendered inoperable. The Buddha says to just eat a satvic diet without any expectation, and all will come that will come, and that is the genius of the Buddha.

You can read more in the book Sacred Holistic Health.