Is Ignorance Really Bliss?

With evolving media and technology, there is an abundance of information available. With news around the world varying from heinous terrorist attacks to devastating natural disasters, it is often considered acceptable and even advisable to adopt a non-concerned attitude and concentrate on individualistic issues. In such cases, ignorance of suffering which does not concern an individual directly is supposed to protect him/her from this information overload, or in some cases emotional stress. But, does ignorance really lead to a blissful existence? Detailed study of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism suggest otherwise.
First Let us try to understand the role of ignorance and its implications in the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism as worded by Keown- a) Duhkha - all existence is suffering; b) Samudaya – suffering is caused by craving; c) Nirodha – suffering can have an end; c) Marga – the way to the end of suffering is the noble eight fold path (Keown 4). The acknowledgement and application of these four truths helps an individual break the cycle of worldly existence and thus break the vicious karmic cycle of suffering and thereby attain Nirvana. The acceptance of the first noble truth is essential for the understanding of the other three truths. Ignorance towards this truth can be characterized as the foundational hindrance in the path of Nirvana. The first truth might be hard to deny, as it is evident from our daily lives that suffering does exist. However, it is difficult to grasp the true nature of suffering as understood in Buddhist philosophy. As Siderits mentions in his book, “…Buddhists claim this [first] truth, properly understood, is among the hardest for most people to acknowledge” (Siderits 19). Siderits claims there are three different layers within the realm of suffering – suffering arising due to pain, impermanence and conditions. Most of the suffering perceived by our basic understanding is that due to pain; physical or emotional. Ignorance of the other two layers is what keeps one from truly understanding the first noble truth. Ignorance regarding impermanence would be discussed in detail while examining the second truth. ‘Conditions’ essentially mean “the factors that are said to be responsible for rebirth” (Siderits 20). Now, the question arises – does rebirth inherently entail suffering? If we look into the concept of rebirth, we realize that re-birth essentially entails re-death. This implies that by being reborn, we are merely continuing our existence in the vicious karmic cycle and encountering impermanence, the same impermanence we wish to escape. Since ignorance of the concept of ‘conditions’ hampers one’s efforts to acknowledge true suffering, it also hampers one’s efforts to end true suffering. Thus, ignorance of the three layers of suffering is what ensures prolonged Duhkha and hence a much delayed escape from the vicious karmic cycle and attainment of Nirvana.
After accepting the first truth “all existence is suffering”, one needs to concentrate on the cause of this suffering. Only by knowing the cause of suffering, one can strive towards eliminating it. This is what brings us to the second noble truth, according to which “suffering is caused by craving”. The main cause of ‘craving’ is ignorance of impermanence and non-self. Impermanence is the idea that nothing in this world lasts for eternity. So, all worldly attachments are non-permanent and hence only by getting rid of these attachments one can proceed towards Nirvana. Note that early Buddhism does not necessarily endorse getting rid of the object that one is attached to, but rather getting rid of the spiritual attachment to that particular object. It is attachment to worldly possessions that cause anxiety and thereby more Duhkha. Thus, attachment to worldly possessions and ignorance of the impermanence associated with these objects lead to suffering. The concept of non-self is also very important in order to understand the origins of Duhkha. According to Siderits, Buddha defines every person to be made up of five skandhas – rupa (anything physical), feeling (sensations of pleasure, pain and indifference), perception (mental events that help one grasp the particularities of a perceptible object), volition (the mental forces responsible for corporeal or psychological activities) and consciousness (the awareness of the physical and mental states) (Siderits 35-36). Here, Buddha argues that since all the Skandhas are impermanent, the “self” which is completely made up of these five skandhas is impermanent too. From these premises, the conclusion arises that there is no permanent “self”. True understanding of this non-permanent “self” or non-self concept helps one escape one’s ego and encourages the cultivation of virtues; a person who understands the concept of non-self sees other’s interests similar to his/hers and thus is always parsimonious and egalitarian in his/hers approach. Ignorance of non-self leads to vices like greed, sexual depravity and other self-pleasing attributes in humans where one tries to benefit one’s self over others. Thus ignorance of the concepts of impermanence and non-self causes attachment to worldly possessions and the cultivation of vices within an impermanent “self” , thereby perpetrating more Duhkha.
After educating oneself about the origins of suffering, one needs to know whether this suffering can be ended, or in other words, if it is possible to escape this vicious karmic cycle and thereby attain Nirvana. The third noble truth gives us hope in the form of an affirmative answer to the above mentioned question. In his book, Siderits mentions “Ignorance is a remediable condition” (Siderits 24); however, if one understands the first two truths but declares it impossible to escape this suffering, more suffering arises from this hopelessness. Thus, ignorance of the third noble truth also leads to more suffering. The fourth truth shows the pathway to escape Duhkha by following the eight-fold path. These eight precepts could be divided into three major sections – insight, morality and meditation (Keown 5). ‘Insight’ leads one to understand the true form of Nirvana, ‘morality’ or rules for right conduct leads to proper actions and ‘meditation’ helps control one’s mental state. These three factors mutually reinforce each other and the true mastery of this eight-fold path leads to the attainment of Nirvana. Again, ignorance of the true concept of the three sections of the eight fold path causes further suffering.
So far we see that ignorance of the four noble truths and the basic ideas of non-self and impermanence lead to suffering in the world. One might argue that ignorance of the concept of non-self, the Four Noble Truths, the karmic cycle and impermanence might lead to temporary happiness or blissful existence for the impermanent association of the five skandhas. However, through this temporary bliss true liberation is never achieved. Egoistic actions arising from ignorance leading to the temporary benefit of a set of skandhas might harm other set/sets of skandhas and thereby overall suffering is not minimized. Therefore, the argument fails if we look into the bigger picture and embrace the egalitarian concept on non-self.
Thus, we can conclude that ignorance does not lead to a blissful existence, but rather it helps generate more Duhkha. And since elimination of Duhkha can be the only condition for blissful existence, one needs to find a remedy for one’s ignorance. And according to Buddhist philosophy, this arduous task can only be accomplished by truly understanding the Four Noble Truths and following the eight-fold path to spiritual redemption and attaining Nirvana.

Works Cited
Keown, Damien. Buddhist Ethics - A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 2005.
Siderits, Mark. Buddhism As Philosophy - An Introduction. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2007.