Buddhism is the religion of more than 500 million
people around the globe. The majority of those people live in Asia but
there are substantial Buddhist communities in other continents. There are
two main Buddhist traditions, Theravada (The School of the Elders) and Mahayana
(The Great Vehicle). Buddhism is not strictly a religion and is often
described a philosophy of life.
Who was the Buddha?
According to Theravada scripture the Buddha (Siddartha
Gautama) was born in the 5th century BCE. He was the son of
King Śuddhodana, the ruler of a small kingdom in what is modern day
Nepal. Shortly after his birth, eight Brahmins were called upon to
predict the child’s future. Seven Brahmins prophesised that the young
prince would either be a great ruler, or renounce worldly pleasures and live
the life of a holy man. One however, was sure the child would be a holy
man. The King had great worldly ambitions for his son therefore kept the
Prince within the confines of the royal palace. At age 29 the prince
escaped confinement and had several encounters with the outside world.
These encounters became known in scripture as the four sights.
When Siddartha saw an old man, a sick person, a corpse
and an aesthetic who had renounced all worldly goods he resolved to embark on a
spiritual quest. This quest was to find a permanent end to the suffering
he observed. He studied with the best religious teachers but found they
could not put a permanent end to suffering. He next practised extreme
aestheticism, believing that he could free the human spirit by denying the
flesh. Siddartha underwent prolonged fasting, breath-holding, exposure to
pain and almost starved himself to death before he realised that this was not
the way to put an end to human suffering.
Siddartha did not abandon his quest but decided to
trust his own inner feelings and practice meditation. He sat under a fig
tree, known as the Bodhi tree, in the town of Bodh Gaya, India, and vowed not
to rise before achieving enlightenment. After a number of days he destroyed the restraints of his mind, liberating himself from the cycle of
suffering and rebirth, thus becoming a fully enlightened being.
It was through this meditation that Siddartha discovered what Buddhists
call the Middle Way, a path of moderation between the extremes of
self-indulgence and self-mortification. [1] Shortly after enlightenment Buddha (the
awakened one) previously known as Siddartha formed a monastic order and spent
the rest of his life travelling and teaching the path to enlightenment.
The Buddha died at around 80 years of age in Kushinagar, India. [2]
This account is according to the Theravada school of
thought and differs somewhat from other accounts. The historical accuracy
has also been called into question but according to author Michael Carrithers,
“the outline of the life must be true: birth, maturity, renunciation, search,
awakening and liberation, teaching, death”. [3]
Basic Buddhist Teachings
Buddhism is divided into two main divisions and
several sub divisions based on country and culture, however most traditions
share a fundamental set of beliefs. One fundamental belief of Buddhism is
often referred to as reincarnation however this is not strictly correct.
The Buddhist belief is rebirth rather than reincarnation. The
internet site Religious Tolerance explains it in the following way.
“In reincarnation, the individual may recur
repeatedly. In rebirth, a person does not necessarily return to Earth as
the same entity ever again. He compares it to a leaf growing on a
tree. When the withering leaf falls off, a new leaf will eventually
replace it. It is similar to the old leaf, but it is not identical to the
original leaf.” [4]
Other fundamental beliefs include the three jewels,
the four noble truths, the eightfold path and the five precepts. The three
jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and
the Sangha (the community) and taking refuge in them is the basis of Buddhist
practice. The four noble truths are the universality of suffering,
the origin of suffering, the overcoming of suffering and the way leading to the
suppression of suffering.
The way or path is known as the eightfold path
and consists of dṛṣṭi (ditthi): viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be, saṃkalpa (sankappa): intention of
renunciation, freedom and harmlessness, vāc (vāca):
speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way, karman (kammanta):
acting in a non-harmful way, ājīvana (ājīva):
a non-harmful livelihood, vyāyāma (vāyāma): making an effort to improve, smṛti (sati): awareness to see things for what they are with
clear consciousness, being aware of the present reality within oneself, without
any craving or aversion, samādhi (samādhi): correct meditation or concentration.
The five precepts outline Buddhist
ethics. Do not kill, be kind to all creatures. Do not steal, give
rather than take. Do not lie, be honest and open. Do not misuse sex
and do not consume alcohol or use recreational drugs.
Just as the Hindu and Buddhist explanations of
reincarnation and rebirth differ so too does the use us the term nirvana.
In Hinduism it is union with the Supreme Being, to aesthetic holy men in
various Indian religions including Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism it is the
state of being free from suffering and in Buddhism it takes on its literal
meaning of “blowing out” or extinguishing the fires of hatred, greed and
delusion. Nirvana is also characterized by transcendental knowledge or
bodhi a concept translated into English as ‘enlightenment’. The Buddha
himself never gave an exact definition of Nirvana. However there is no
God in Buddhism, rather, by breaking the cycle of rebirth and achieving
enlightenment Buddhists believe that they will reach the state of Nirvana –
eternal being, the end of suffering, a state where there are no desires and
individual consciousness has come to an end.
In the next article we will delve a little deeper by
discussing further the concept of God in Buddhism and comparing some of the
basic Buddhist beliefs with Islamic teachings.
In Buddhism, [5]
the ultimate goal is to break the cycle of rebirth and achieve
enlightenment or nirvana. Nirvana is a transcendental state in which
there is no suffering, desire, or sense of self. The Buddha
however, did not give a complete definition of nirvana. It is worth
noting that the term Buddha most commonly refers to the founder of Buddhism,
Siddartha Gautama, however any person who has achieved full enlightenment, or
nirvana, may be referred to as a Buddha.
In most religious groups and traditions the key belief
is the acceptance of a Supreme Being, in other words, a Creator God.
In all Buddhist traditions however, the key belief is the importance of
meditation. It is considered the path to liberation – the end of human
suffering. Buddhists do not believe in either a creator or personal God, in
fact Buddhism rejects such a notion and considers God a response to human
fright and frustration. According to Buddhist ideology humans create the idea
of God to console themselves in a fear filled and hostile world.
Primitive man lived in fear of wild animals and natural phenomena such
as thunder and lightning. Buddhists believe that the concept of God arose
out of this fear; they also consider that there is no evidence or research to prove that God exists thus God is not necessary for
human beings to have a happy or meaningful life. After all, Buddhists
say, millions of people are, and have been happy without any belief in gods or
God. On the other hand, Muslims know with certainty that true happiness
is not achievable without submission to the will of God. Fear and
frustration, says Islam, can only be conquered by complete and total trust in
God.
Although Buddhism has no one all powerful Creator God,
Mahayana Buddhists worship bodhisattvas. They are god-like people
who have gained enlightenment and could enter Nirvana but chose to stay in the
world to help others. Some Mahayana schools that flourished outside India
do ascribe some degree of divinity to a transcendent Buddha (anyone who has
attained enlightenment), however this is not comparable to the God of
monotheistic religions such as Islam. In some Buddhist sacred texts
Buddha (Siddartha) refutes the claims of one of these gods and shows him
to be subject to Karmic law.
The concept of Karma existed before the advent of the
Buddha (Siddartha) but he defined and explained it. Put into plain words,
the law of karma explains the inequalities that exist between people.
According to Buddhism, inequality is the result of our own past actions and our
own present doings. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness
and misery. We create our own Heaven or Hell; we are in fact the
architects of our own fate. Buddhism tells us that nothing is fixed
or permanent, change is possible, and actions have consequences. A
concept that could be compared to the Christian theory of reaping what you sow
or the verse from Quran that states,
“If you do good, you do
good for your ownselves, and if you do evil (you do it) against yourselves.” (Quran 17:7)
In direct contrast to Buddhist belief Islam teaches that there is One,
All Powerful Creator God, Sustainer of the universe, all merciful and oft
forgiving. He is alone, without partners or associates.
According to many Buddhist web sites and books Buddhism is not about
believing or not believing in God, it is about recognizing that such a belief
is not useful when trying to attain enlightenment. Buddhism is not
atheism it is essentially nontheism. Why then, you may wonder, is it
common to see people throughout Asia praying to, or making devotional offerings
to representations or iconography of the Buddha?
When a Buddhist makes offerings of flowers or food he is showing
respect to Buddha, he gives flowers and incense for the shrine and food for the
monks. When a Buddhist prostrates before an image, he acknowledges that
the Buddha attained perfect enlightenment. In
contrast, when a Muslim prostrates there are no images or iconography;
the Muslim touches his forehead to the ground declaring his complete submission
to God, who is alone without partners, offspring or intermediaries.
In the 5th century BCE, after Siddartha supposedly achieved enlightenment, the Buddha and
his followers travelled widely throughout India spreading the message.
Buddhism, in its various forms, was soon found across India and in Sri Lanka,
South East Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia. Even
now, so many years later, Buddhism continues to spread into the western world.
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