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Published in 1886, Robert Lewis Stevenson’s novella was written in Victorian England, a period of time when expectations of outward appearance ruled. Some analysts suggest the social constraints of the times lead the protagonist, Dr. Jekyll, to liberate himself and experience this dualism, the evil part, without guilt.
Why bring up this gothic work of Stevenson on our first full day of Spring 2025? Mostly because of spring cleaning, the spring cleaning of our cluttered thoughts of self.
Who hasn’t experienced being two different people at the same time? Who hasn’t tried to reconcile both the good and evil we know we are capable of? Stevenson explores this in his writing as well as in himself as he tried to understand his own dualistic nature.
Bringing dualism into a message centered on Buddhism is a bit tricky solely because of language. Buddhists are non-dualist, period. I believe the dualism here speaks to how
we try to comprehend who we are when we can be both a good person and at times, the opposite.
I know nothing at all of good or evil. For if I could know thoroughly, as Amida Tathagata knows that an act was good, then I would know good. If I could know thoroughly, as the Tathagata knows, that an act was evil, then I would know evil. 1
Shinran Shonin also grappled with good and evil as he wrote the above passage and many more similar ones. It is a question we cannot avoid because we experience it - the rage; the stark and sharp opinions of behavior; the fear when we are most alone with the thoughts or desires for one more experience of an addiction…
Spring cleaning is a good time to remember what we do know – that we are humans, not gods. To remember we are embraced, just as we are, by Amida Buddha. To remember the Three Jewels of Buddhism:
- the Buddha (who gave us the teachings)
- the Dharma (the teachings that we must put to the test ourselves)
- the Sangha (our support, guidance and strength)
Springtime is a time of rebirth for nature. As we shed the heavy winter clothes, as we air out our homes, as we begin to go fly that kite in the March winds, why not also liberate ourselves from at least some of the clutter that drags us down? Dr. Jekyll had a choice, to stop before it was too late. But like any heavy weight we don’t clear away when we can, we turn around one day and find it is December 2025, and, not much has changed.
How we view our life is not fixed. Within the causes and conditions we find ourselves, there is space to put the teachings to the test. That is the first step. Buddhism isn’t pie in the sky. The Dharma gives us what we need to clear the burden of the clutter we carry with us, clutter accumulated over a lifetime. We don’t have to be the “dreadful shipwreck” of Dr. Jekyll. Like him, we have a choice to change, if we take it by stepping onto the white path.
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
Rev. Anita
1 Collected Works of Shinran, Vol.1, JōdoShinshū Hongwanji-ha Kyoto 1997. P. 679
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