Why Some animals are more equal than others? V

In honor of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday

The choice of new liberty is based on a universal MENTAL principle

The gust of wind was fluttering his long and disproportionate ears as Abe walked on. He was feeling that clouds below his feet were fleeting vigorously on their spree. He laughed to himself. The nation he left on earth was now able to take a new shape of liberty with a new birth of freedom for Yankees and Negroes, Yahoos and Indians, the rich and the poor, the have or the have-nots, the government and the governed. Nonetheless, the building of the new nation was to be carried on, strictly without any exemption for the violation against his timeless, universal mental principle, “with malice toward none and charity for all”!

Suddenly, a yellow cloud nearby played some art of somersault. The cloud went back and forth, up and down in a very swift manner as if a fast-paced asteroid was approaching the earth; the magic cloud was often rolling like a child dragon under the sky floor, often dancing beautifully like an immortal angel on the roof of the earth horizon. Abe saw, on the cloud, there stood a four-foot tall figure who was manning all these somersault performances, a handsome monkey with a large porous nose. Blazing rays of golden light were coming out from his salubrious eyes of meditation. The bright rays of his eyes came in touch with the wrinkled lines of Abe’s forehead. Then the monkey saw the man. “Welcome Abe, Great Liberator of mankind, to our Heaven of Rationality”, the monkey started greeting.

Abe tried to greet back but the monkey’s individuality didn’t care to listen him, and continued playing with his circus cloud. He started chanting a song in a satiable mood in his undue sense of liberty. His happy pet cloud was flying with a wasp’s sound around Abe, rhythmically with his song about empty logic.

The empty logic of Buddhism AND Calculus

The mind is the Buddha and Buddha is mind
Buddha is a line and Buddha is mind
Try to perceive! Mind is a line.

The time is Buddha and Buddha is time
Buddha is a line and Buddha is time
Try to perceive! Time is a line.

There are zero-length lines on a line
Zero plus zero for infinite times
You will get zero and that is fine;
Zero is not a line, and why you get a line

A line is mind and a line is time
Buddha as well is a line,
You get the mind, you get the time, you get Buddha,
that is not fine and that is not your mind.

The real line is a line that has no line
The real mind is a mind that doesn’t have a line.
That is called the real nature,
the real luminous emptiness of Dharma,
the origin of the species!

The monkey was so carefree and happy reciting his mantra song so completely forgets the presence of Abe, who he greeted just recently as “Great Liberator of mankind”. Abe was attracted by the concept of the zero-length lines described in the monkey’s song. Of course, there are infinite points to make up a line. The meaning of a point is that a point can’t be further split off. To be eligible for this criterion of not being capable for further split off, a point must have no measurement of length i.e, it must be a line of zero-length. If a point has some length of measurement, this is still not a point as it can be further split into smaller measurements. So there are infinite points (zero-length lines) on a line, and the paradox is how these zero-length lines add up to become a non-zero line, for zero plus zero should be always zero. Abe's education was commonly known to the people as defective. The little known fact about Abe was during his time in Illinois, he ever had seriously learned about calculus from a gentleman called Mentor Graham. Abe recognized immediately that the principle presented in the monkey’s song lies at the heart of the calculus. Why this orient monkey was able to enjoy this cardinal principle of calculus, and why he was able to regard this principle as understanding the luminous emptiness, and the origin of all species, and envisioning the Buddha, who as far as Abe knew, was the Great Enlightened Sage of Asia.


The meaning of Wu Kong (in “Journey to the West”)

“Mr. Somersault, as you are so expert in these displays of acrobats, I like to call you by this name. But it could be useful if I am able to know your real name”, Abe tries to get the attention from the monkey.

“My name has no subject, is just a description of nature prevalent in the origin of the evolution of all species. Or simply I am the origin of species”, the monkey stopped chanting his song and perplexed Abe by his mysterious words of wisdom.

“Are you trying to answer or question me, Mr. Somersault? Confessing my humble knowledge, I have no idea about the origin of species. But my birth friend, Charles Darwin, has been seriously working on this subject for many years. I hope he could give a satisfactory answer to our science world within a couple of years”

“Well, Abe, a couple of years from now, your birth friend, Darwin will change the history of human mind-set and thinking by saying that the original ancestors of human beings are monkeys. He still is making a mistake. You have great opportunity to meet me and be knowledgeable about the fact that I am the real origin of species”.

“If Darwin will say the origin of men is the monkey, and my eyes tell me that you are a monkey, and if you ever have confessed to me that you are the original father of Homo sapiens, why you say Darwin is still making a mistake?” asked Lincoln.

Third person knowledge of science vs. first person knowledge of Buddhism

“Because I am not an ordinary monkey, Abe; my name is called Wu Kong which means Awaking from Vacuity (Emptiness). I am a Bodhisattva who is guarding the door for this heaven of rationality. I have two other Bodhisattva colleagues, who guard this heaven door together with me. My colleagues call me “Great sage of Nothing” as I understand pretty well about nothingness of the universe, its forms, its beings, its origin, its cause, its relations and its ends. In my mediation, I am able to develop great psychic power to transpose the sun, the moon, the Mount Meru, Land of Indus and the Middle Land, and the universe, the Kama heaven, the realm of Brahmas, and even the Lord Buddha into nothingness"

" Amazing, Mr Wu Kong. I know an interesting logic of Greek mathematics called reductio ad absurdum that manages to disprove a conventional proposition by following its implication into a logical but an absurd consequence. Perhaps, we might not have been aware of. This logic might be applicable to prove everything as nothingness.", Abe interrupted Wu Kong who was arduously speaking about his knowledge of nothingness.

" We easterners might have probably gone much ahead of your learned logic of mortal Greek Mathematicians, Abe. While Greek logicians are toddling in their inquiry about the mystery of the universe, in sheer shyness and curiosity like the Chinese virgins whose feet were tied; our swift celestial wisdom about nothingness as the emptiness have explored from one Mount Meru to another Meru, one galaxy to another galaxy, one black hole to another black hole, from the earth to Heaven, from Heaven to the Brahmans' worlds, from the Brahmans' worlds to Nirvana, and from Nirvana to the underworld Hell, to and fro with our immortal souls, with our radiant travel in perfect liberty."

" You can say it again, Mr Wu. Please carry on", Abe encouraged the monkey Bodhisattva to speak more.

"The knowledge of Bodhisattvas in understanding the void of everything is too arcane and too disintegrating for the ignorant beings to be able to comprehend, as they are only capable to be perceptible about their shadowy forms and their illusory lives. Darwin will not understand the prajna parami (the perfection of wisdom) of our fellows. As much the best of his capacity could serve, Darwin is only able to develop a third person’s knowledge from his subdued experiments under badly strained duress of validity and consistency checks. Our inquest for the luminous wisdom of emptiness is the first person's experiment to be able to explore and penetrate unto the real nature of beings into its innermost depth, unshackled by verifiability and testability that are imposing willy-nilly on our human entitlement to be able to enjoy gaining our abrupt enlightenment in an efficient, economic manner. "

Abe had to speak, " Mr Wu, I could agree with you that truth should be explored into its innermost depth. But I am not sure that simplification fits in with the demand of the survival of our living things. As a spiritual person, I will be happy to live with the real nature as I am, but so far, I will be uncertain about that living in absolute simplicity becomes absolute truth by itself".

" Abe, This is the Heaven called rationality. Believe me, Abe. No human is able to be rational as though our celestial beings are. Please get rid of your old mundane ways of thinking where fabrications of language and relations of institutions prevail. Try to live with understanding of your true nature, radiate your compassion on sentient beings in your surroundings, and do believe in your heart the possibility of transcendental knowledge about nothingness as luminous emptiness. This simple mindfulness to perceive everything as nothing is the best way of living, Abe. Simplification will make your life unimaginably comfortable. The secret has to be out, that is to reveal that everybody can become a Buddha by simplifying everything as nothing. We neither need any life experience nor struggles, neither learning nor commuting, neither follies nor blunders to become mature by reviewing our lessons; but the perfect way of understanding your life is just to get an insight into a zero, and hollowness of yours, yourself and other selves. As a matter of fact, this awareness of emptiness is simple, but is beyond the simplest as it can't be simplified further. It is the ultimatum of truth, but not the truth of beings as it has no functionality in the sleep of mundane beings. This understanding of hollowness is the only way to immortality, Abe."

"Mr Wu. My humble knowledge in human life has never believed in immortal soul. I have always been a revolt against God until my dear eleven-year old son, William died during my hardest years in civil war. I started to feel the power of Him at that time, came to become suspicious whether did this Supreme He intentionally create such kinds of miserable melancholies in my life. At such great hurdles in the near end of my life, I was not sure whether had I surrendered to Him or not. I had won this war; without His will, is something possible; with His great will, everything might be possible. The only knowledge I could assert at that time was that I seemed to assert myself to believe that I didn't believe.

Nevertheless, I appreciate this great liberty for mankind in your Buddhism way of thinking that every soul is capable of becoming equal to a supreme state of immortal soul that is unreachable by us with respect to our Abrahamic religions; but the difference has to be revealed: I had recognized my equal by not believing the possibility of an immortal soul, a sort of negation in my humble humanism logic; but Buddhism recognizes everybody's equal by believing the absolute possibility of the immortal souls of the beings, obviously a sort of positive skewness in your belief for this entitlement. The meanings of both conceptualizations are at the extreme ends opposing against each other, while they are serving the same purpose of realizing that all animals are equal, and not an animal's soul has the unjustifiable right to claim its divination of more equal than others. If we only want to take this good purpose, and this purpose as justifiable and good, the real problem might not be lying at arguing whether the ideal goals are feasible or not, but to find out together what are the ways to serve this good and just purpose of equality in our humanity, rather than ultimate reaching of these goals."

Monkey Wu Kong was surprised at Abe's speaking. A lightning seemed to hit him. Wu Kong recalled his life.He was an avid learner most of his life time for thousands of years. With his great willingness to learn, he mastered dualism, mohism, confucianism, taoism and 72 transformations from the teachings of his immortal teacher, Subodhi. He accompanied Hsuan-Tsang, the Buddhist scholar monk who rose during the period of tremendous social and intellectual ferment of China after Sui Wen-ti founded the empire of the Sui dynasty by reunification of China. After meeting Buddha, he decided to walk on the path of a Bodhisattva.

"After great struggles in our journey to the West, my master Tripitaka (Hsuan-Tsang) , my two pilgrim brothers, and I reached the land of Buddha. I had a chance of seeing the smile of the Lord; I was so fond of his charisma. The Lord forgave all my naughty sins as an ignorant being. After that journey, my master, pilgrim brothers and I departed, pursuing our own ways for our responsibility in making good for all sentient beings. I chose to pursue the art of the meditation of empty logic; have come to realize nothingness as the origin of species and developed my heart great compassion over those ignorant beings who are not able to understand this nothingness as their luminous nature of emptiness and taken the vow of Bodhisattvas with unflappable determination to become a Buddha to enlighten those creatures. By this time, I have been waiting like two millenniums for this great chance to transform these stupid universal creatures as the clever ones to know the nature of emptiness; all these commitments lead me to guard the door of this heaven,” the Bodhisattva monkey ended his life biography.

The oath of a Bodhisattva’s office and Bodhisattvas’ paradox

“I am glad to know that you have so great genuine sincerity in helping the beleaguered creatures by taking the oath for this great office of Bodhisattva. However, I am curious why you are here to guard the door of this Heaven instead of going to help the people who are suffering on earth”, Lincoln asked the monkey Bodhisattva.

“I am here to guard the heaven door because I have the responsibility to stop you from going inside the heaven of rationality”, the monkey is honest speaking to Abe.

“My goodness! Why you like to stop me from entering this heaven?” Abe was surprised at Monkey’s response.

“Because Abe, you are a Bodhisattva like I am and as my colleagues are. The moral duty of our Bodhisattvas is to bring the ignorant people to this heaven of rationality, but not to be self-righteous by entering himself. So I am here to stop you from entering the heaven. You must also take the vow of Bodhisattvas to help those all irrationals on earth, Abe”, the monkey explained.

“My good heaven! That might be OK even though I don’t fully agree with you. I could be culpable as the selfish one if I alone have managed to break my ties from the Karma master and don’t bother to break the chains of other slaves. But how long should I commit to sacrifice my entitlement for access to this heaven in exchange for my mission in redemption for emancipating the sins of those worldly people”. Abe is right: every mission should have a time line plan and should not be like the agenda of the timeless, sloppy, trite UN’s resolutions on Burma.

“Let’s me honestly speak my opinion, commitment is merely a week tool of resort for coward earthy people, Abe, not the way of our celestial Bodhisattvas who have unflinching determination in wending our way to the goal of delivering these ignorant animals from the Kingdom of Maya. All Bodhisattvas take an oath for their obstinate resistance in overcoming every obstacle on their path of becoming a Buddha no matter how long this path should be lasting: that vow essentially means you will never enter nirvana until a trace of a shadow of an ignorant animal is seen suffering from its ignorance.

You are right, Abe. In your American presidential language, what we Bodhisattvas are aiming at is to reach the ultimate supreme goal where all universal animals need to be set equal, must become equal by becoming Bodhisattvas, delivered all selves of ignorance; enjoying all selves their perfect wisdom; completely free from the worldly desires; no longer unsaddled from the needs and the wants of their irrational mundane illusions of senses. We are not the association of aristocrats like those little vehicle Hinayana arahat guys, who have those sluggish aims to become noble ones just for themselves, tending to create an unfair, unbalanced society for our great vehicle guys’ questioning on the principle of fairness and equality to every one: “why some animals should be more equal than others?”

(To be updated, the paradox of Bodhisattvas)