すぐれた人
Outstanding person
2024-05-30 18:00:00
When we talk about an "outstanding person" in worldly terms, it usually refers to someone who can do things others cannot, understands things others do not, or accomplishes what others cannot. In other words, a special individual who is generally in the minority.
On the other hand, in Buddhism, the term "outstanding person" is endowed with a different meaning than in the worldly sense.
Regarding this, for example, we can observe the following principle in the early Buddhist scriptures of Shakyamuni.
535 One who has severed the roots of all defilements and attachments and attained wisdom will not return to the womb. He who has cut off the three types of thoughts and defilements and does not go into conceptual discrimination - he is called the "excellent one." (Buddha's Words, Sutta Nipata, Chapter 3: The Great Chapter, 6: Sabhiya, translated by Hajime Nakamura, Iwanami-Bunko)
Here, the three types of thoughts refer to "the thoughts of being superior, inferior, and equal," and the mud refers to "prejudice."
Regarding prejudice, the following principle can be observed in the same scripture.
789 If a person could become pure through views, or if a person could abandon suffering through knowledge, then those caught in the defilements would also be purified by other methods (besides the correct path). Such a person is called 'one with prejudice.'
790 A true Brahmin does not claim that one can become pure through views, traditional learning, precepts, morality, or thoughts, (except through the correct path). He remains untainted by fortune or misfortune, abandons the self, and does not create causes (for fortune or misfortune) in this world.
795 A (true) Brahmin has transcended the realm of defilements. Whether he knows or sees something, he does not cling to it. He neither craves desire nor craves the absence of desire. He does not hold to the belief that 'this is the highest thing in this world.' (Buddha's Words, Sutta Nipata, Chapter 4: The Chapter of Eight Verses, The Chapter of Eight Verses on Purity, translated by Hajime Nakamura, Iwanami-Bunko)
Additionally, I discussed prejudice in the article dated February 17, 2024, so those interested should refer to it.
Now, the important point here is that in Buddhism, when we refer to someone as an "outstanding person," it is based on the qualities mentioned above, and it is unrelated to being in the minority.
On the contrary, everyone has the potential to become an "outstanding person," and in this sense, it becomes evident that there is no judgment of superiority or inferiority.
And that is why "outstanding persons" do not indulge in delusional discrimination.
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