Everything Old Is New Again

 

04.28.2023 EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN Whenever I hear the phrase “ancient wisdom,” it gives me pause, particularly when it’s used as a marketing device. The image that comes to mind is an antique store with all this wisdom lying around, some of it tucked off in various corners, collecting cobwebs. When you pick it up, you choke on the dust cloud. Some old dude has to explain what it is in ways that are hard to follow. Real wisdom isn’t like that. It’s fresh and alive in the moment. The original words and ideas may have come from long ago, but they emerge for you in this very moment—in a new book or online or recast in the contemporary words of a teacher or fellow student. And they can spark realization precisely because they are not a story about an ancient time and place. They are a story about now. In the Spring 2023 issue of Buddhadharma, we recently celebrated something ancient that is also very much alive and well today: the Nalanda Tradition. Nalanda was one of the great mahaviharas in India: monastic universities that were centers of practice, study, debate, ritual, and simple day-to-day living. Nalanda existed for approximately 800 years from the fifth to the twelfth century and drew practitioners from far and wide. Some of the most detailed reports of life there are from Chinese pilgrims. The teachings being incubated within Nalanda’s walls and courtyards are alive today because so many prominent teachers spent time there and passed on their legacy, which Jan Westerhoff beautifully covers in his historical essay about Nalanda’s significance. Norman Fischer and Liz Monson recount for us the exploits and insights of two of Nalanda’s most famous habitues: Shantideva and Naropa. In addition to the teachings coming out of Nalanda, the spirit of Nalanda lives on wherever Buddhism is shared openly, without dogma, and in a spirit of nonjudgmental inquiry and innovation that nevertheless adheres to what is ultimately true. Nalanda is no antique shop. It’s been serving fresh dharma every day of the week since before you were born. —Barry Boyce, Issue Editor, Buddhadharma, Spring 2023

Nalanda: Powerful Then, Powerful Now Jan Westerhoff explores what we know about the days when Nalanda flourished and what the essential teachings that emerged from it mean for us now. The origins of Nalanda are largely unknown, though its location connects it closely with the historical Buddha. About twelve kilometers from Nalanda is the town of Rajgir, once, under the name Rajagriha, the capital of ancient Magadha, and one of the Buddha’s favorite places. Its Vulture Peak Mountain is considered to be the place where the Buddha gave a number of important teachings, including the Heart Sutra, a central text of Mahayana Buddhism. One of the Buddha’s main disciples, Shariputra, who is said to be “foremost in wisdom” among all of the followers of the Buddha and plays an important role in the Heart Sutra, is said to have died in a town close to Nalanda. A large structure excavated at Nalanda, the so-called “Great Monument,” is often referred to as Shariputra’s stupa. This is a brick structure with stucco adornments; a long staircase leads to the top where a central shrine is located, surrounded by four towers at its corners. Some of the finest sculptures found on the site are the images found in niches of these towers. Reliquaries excavated in the monument carry inscriptions claiming they contain the remains of Shariputra.

The Boundless Energy of No Self Zoketsu Norman Fischer on his deep love for Shantideva and how the great teacher’s insights lead us unavoidably to a path of vigorous service to the world. As Buddhist teaching so simply points out, I want to be happy and avoid suffering in exactly the same way everyone else does. The Japanese Zen masters are saying the same thing in their funny way when they point out that we all belong to the same nose-hole society. In other words, we are all in the same boat; self and other are equal. Knowing this dispels all fear, loathing, and judgment of others. It’s universal brotherhood/sisterhood/otherhood that liberates me from my painful and small self-cherishing.

From Brilliant Scholar to Wandering Yogi Naropa, among the most revered figures in Vajra­yana Buddhism, began as one of Nalanda’s foremost scholar–practitioners. Elizabeth Monson tells the story of his transformation from brilliant pandita to fierce and wild yogi. Naropa’s life story echoes down to us through the centuries as a clear instruction that no matter how much time we may spend in studying and contemplating the Buddhist teachings, it is through harnessing the energies of the body and our emotions as the working ground for liberation that we find exactly what we need for freedom.

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