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INTRODUCING BUDDHISM
REVISED EDITION
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It is generally said that those who fail to identify themselves with the Three Treasures fall easily into three categories of personality; namely, epileptic, maniac-depressive, and schizoid types of men. The epileptic type of man is mostly adhesive with a strong mind, and sometimes reaches the point of paranoia. The manic-depressive type of man is mostly extrovert with an unyielding spirit, and sometimes reaches the point of hysteria. The schizoid type of man is mostly introvert and faint hearted, and sometimes reaches the point of neurosis. These different types of men are, good or bad, intermingled with each other, and form a particular kind of society or nation in the course of their life history. It seems that when we go to such extremes as paranoia, hysteria, or neurosis, we are prone to become either mad, frenzied, or spiritually dead; there are no alternatives other than these choices. Such an inclination is so deeply rooted in our distorted human nature that in Buddhism we are instructed to always look up the Three Treasures for guidance in order to normalize our onesided character. The Japanese novelist, Soseki Natsume, wrote the novel, "The Three Cornered World" in which he said, "While going up a mountain track, I could not but think the following: When I approach my life rationally, I become harsh. Give free rein to my desires, and I become uncomfortably confined. Pole along in the stream of emotions, and I am swept away by the current. I feel the world of ours to be disagreeable to live in. When the unpleasantness increases, I want to draw myself up to someplace where life is easier. However, when I realize that life will be no more agreeable no matter what heights we may attain, a poem may be given birth to, or a picture drawn."
For those who live in this world, there is no escape no matter how horrible this world is; we have to simply accept it and make a living within it.
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