Back to the Garden

Vol. 36. February 18, 2023

In the Book of Genesis, God cursed the Snake saying, “On your belly you shall crawl all the days of your life.”

To the Woman he said, “In pain you shall bring forth children.”

To the Man he said, “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread. Thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.”

They were cast out of the Garden to a land east of Eden.

And no one lived happily ever after.

The Fall of Man in a dramatic story. It vividly depicts how human beings left a state of unity and entered a state of duality. This rich story can be interpreted on many levels.

In Taoist terms, humans abandon the mystery of the eternal Tao for its manifestations. In psychological terms, humans leave a state of infantile dependence on a father god to forge a heroic destiny on their own. In Buddhist terms, we leave the bliss of nirvana for the sorrows of samsara.

According to the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy, when we are cast out of the Garden of Eden, we ignore absolute truth and embrace conventional truth.

Conventional truth holds you are you, and I am I. We live our lives separately, distinctly, according to our self-centered desires.

Absolute truth proclaims all things are empty.

You and I, at a fundamental level, are nothing. Our true self is an absence of self.

The Buddha taught, “All things are impermanent. All things are without a self.”

Most people don’t want to accept absolute truth. We prefer the sorrows of samsara. We chose to live life on a conventional level.

Once in a while, however, we like to be reminded of fundamental truth. We see this reluctant acceptance of absolute truth very powerfully on display every Ash Wednesday.

On Ash Wednesday people wait in long lines to receive ashes on their foreheads. They listen to the minister repeat the words: “Remember: Thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.”

Ash Wednesday is the single largest attended church service of the entire Christian liturgical year. Churches are bursting with people, even more than on Christmas and Easter. Why?

We know the truth of emptiness in our hearts. But we need that stark fact affirmed in the comfortable setting of other people.

We don’t want to accept we’re empty. We identify with our egos. I am Joe Schmo of 372 Evergreen Terrance. I have these degrees, these kids, and this big fat bank account. That’s me!

But is that really you?

Our true self is an absence of self.

The Buddha woke up to this truth, and we can too, any day of the week.

Egoless-ness is the Redemption of Man.

And a cheap ticket back to the Garden.