Buddhism: The Middle Way

The middle way is an approach to thought and life which is a balance between rejecting and accepting the dogmatisms of materialism and spirituality. I see it as taking on the ideas of existence and nonexistence and placing them not at odds with each other, but recognizing the relationship between the two, and how they are in fact two sides of the same coin. Finding oneself enveloped favoring one side over the other will put one in a state of confusion because one may become too involved in that realm, and disregard the implications of ignoring the other. The middle way was discovered by the Buddha when he realized that neither asceticism nor self-indulgence could lead one to enlightenment. The connection between each method became apparent, and the illusion that ideas or happenings could be separate from others was also elucidated. The middle way is a frame of thought which is open to any and all ideas, forming sound conclusions based on comprehensive analysis of (or lack thereof) the whole, rejecting only ideas which are processed without regard for the context that goes with it.

“When you enter a village, think of it as an empty village. The forms you see there should appear as they would to a blind man, the sounds you hear should be mere echoes. The aromas you inhale should be so much thin air, the flavors you taste should be undifferentiated. Accept all sensations in accordance with the enlightenment of wisdom, and understand that all phenomena are no more than phantom forms. They have no intrinsic nature, nor do they take on any other nature.”

I think this particular passage from Vimalakirti does well to illustrate the attitude one should have when surveying their surroundings. No real effort should be made to perceive one's surroundings, because they are as they are without any evaluation. Attempting to separate these “phantom forms” is an exercise in futility, and inhibits one from viewing the whole of the situation that they may find themselves in. Seeing the nothingness in its entirety is the purest view one can take, and in taking in the whole as nothing, one can see all that is. The middle way is not a third concept between the two extremes because they are only reference points without any actual continuum existing between them. A genuine middle cannot occur between dualities, and because of this, the concept seems elusive or illusory in the way that enlightenment seems to be. One must first generate their own concept of what the middle way means in order to gravitate toward genuine understanding.