“Hubris” of Spiritual Practice

      In reading Surangama Sutra’s chapter, “Dangers May Arise with Advanced Practice” (p.391-395), I am struck by the parallels between the idea of demonic obstruction in Buddhism and the Greek concept of hubris, or human pride. Pride is not an inclination that is widely discussed in Buddhist texts; in fact, greed, anger and lust are more often described in Buddhist commentaries. I wonder to what extent we can attribute or link the concept of hubris to the notion of self, or ego, that is found in Buddhist commentaries. How might pride fit into the Buddhist cosmos, if at all?

In Surangama Sutra, it is remarked that many practitioners who are at a very advanced stage in practice become “satisfied with a small accomplishment” (p.391), leading to false claims about spiritual attainment. I wonder why this happens, though. Is it because spiritual practitioners might sometimes desire honor and fame that they would make such claims? I think it might go deeper than that. For example, practitioners might want to simply rest in the attainment of a certain stage simply because it feels good to be there. When a person is in a peaceful place, they might even legitimate that state by saying to the world that they have “made it”, and there is no further growth or learning expected from them. I feel that this is one of the dangers that the Greek figures and heroes in mythology often succumb to, which is the complacency that sometimes comes from being admired by others. The other factor is that people often reinforce (mutually) the fame and status of another person, leading to a trap where a person does not experience limits in their life, or might even be insulated from hard experiences.

Spiritual practice can fall into the same traps as worldly life, because there is a tendency for people to get stuck in familiar identities which are reinforced by social arrangements. In situations where one’s pride is challenged, they have this opportunity to realize that it’s not necessary for them to hold such a rigid identity in order to survive. But the barrier of fear prevents people from letting go of the power and privilege they have based on their reputation or attainments.

Surangama Sutra: A New Translation (2009). Buddhist text Translation Society