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| Tuesday, 4 May 2004 |
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Why I stay a Buddhist The Moving finger by Lionel Wijesiri Buddhism can be regarded as a system of practice based on morality, concentration and insight, and culminating in liberating insight; a system which when practised to completion enables one to break free from suffering. This is Buddhism as Religion. Then there is Buddhism as Psychology, where the nature of the mind is described in remarkable detail. Buddhist psychology is a source of interest and astonishment to students of the mind even in the present day. It is far more detailed and profound than present day psychological knowledge. Another aspect is Buddhism as Philosophy. Philosophical knowledge can be clearly seen by means of reasoned logical proofs but cannot be demonstrated experimentally. It contrasts with science, which is knowledge resulting from seeing something clearly, with our eyes, or through physical experimentation and proof, or even with the "inner eye" of intuition. Profound knowledge such as that of emptiness is just philosophy for a person who has not yet penetrated to the truth, and science for another who has done so, such as a fully enlightened individual, or arahant, who has seen it clearly, intuitively. Many aspects of Buddhism, in particular the Four Noble Truths, are scientific in so far as they can be verified by clear experimental proof using introspection. For anyone equipped with awareness and interested in studying and carrying out research, the cause - effect relationships are there just as in science. Buddhism is not just something obscure and vague, not just philosophy, as are man-made subjects. Some look on Buddhism as Culture. Anyone with a high regard for culture finds many aspects of Buddhist practice which are common to all cultures and also many that are characteristically Buddhist and far better and higher than anything in other cultures. Of all these various aspects, what I take most interest in is Buddhism as Religion. I like to look on Buddhism as a direct practical method for gaining knowledge of the true nature of things, knowledge which makes it possible to give up every form of grasping and clinging, of stupidity and infatuation, and become completely independent of things. To do this is to penetrate to the essence of Buddhism. True understanding Buddhism begins as a search for truth. It does not begin with unfounded assumptions concerning any God or First Cause, and it does not claim to present the whole truth of the absolute beginning and end of mankind's spiritual pilgrimage in the form of a divine revelation. The Buddha himself searched and discovered with direct insight the nature of the cosmos, the causes of its arising and of its passing away, and the real cause of suffering and a way in which it could be brought to an end for the sake of all living beings. Having done so, he proclaimed the principles on which he had conducted his research, so that all who wished to do so could follow his system and know the final truth themselves. It was for this reason that the Buddha was able to make a statement that was entirely different from that of all other religious leaders of his time who said, "You must have absolute faith in me and in what I tell you", whereas the Buddha said, "It is natural that doubt should arise in mind. I tell you not to believe merely because it has been handed down by tradition, or because it had been said by some great personage in the past, or because it is commonly believed, or because others have told it to you, or even because I myself have said it. But whatever you are asked to believe, ask yourself whether it is true in the light of your experience, whether it is in conformity with reason and good principles and whether it is conducive to the highest good and welfare of all beings, and only if it passes this test, should you accept it and act in accordance with it." (Kalama Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya) Understanding that neither God nor ceremonies can help or save him, the true Buddhist feels compelled to rely on his own efforts and thereby he gains self-confidence. The tendency to rely on God or any other imaginary power weakens man's confidence in his own power and his sense of self-responsibility, while the tendency to trust in one's own power strengthens self-confidence and the sense of self-responsibility. Moral or spiritual progress is possible only where there is freedom of thought. Where dogmatism prevails there will be no mental progress. Freedom of thinking leads to mental vigour and progress, while blind faith in authority leads to stagnation, spiritual lethargy. Misconceptions Perhaps the most pervasive misconception of non-Buddhists concerning Buddhism is the charge of nihilism. This view characterizes Buddhism as an overly negative philosophy, the practice of which leads to total annihilation. Meditation is reduced to a method of self-negation. Any concern for ethics or social action is rendered superfluous, as we are headed for oblivion in the best case, rebirth into more suffering in the worst. Early Western interpreters of Buddhism misunderstood the doctrine of nirvana. Nirvana was interpreted as the total annihilation of the self, rather that the destruction of the causes of rebirth (craving, hatred and delusion). These are highly subtle philosophical points, easily misunderstood when taken out of the context of ancient India from which they came. Buddhist philosophy is actually very positive, holding a view that is both realistic in its description of the human predicament, and amazingly optimistic in its description of human potential. Humans have the potential of awakening. This awakening is not annihilation, nor is it a blissfully self-absorbed meditation state. An awakened being sees reality as it truly is, without filters and projections. An awakened being also sees other beings as they truly are, with all of their suffering and potential to move beyond suffering. The natural reaction to seeing the suffering of beings is compassion, which leads to actions to alleviate that suffering. Insight leads to compassion, which leads to action. Taken to the extreme, this insight literally breaks down the barrier we imagine to exist between ourselves and others. The pain of others becomes our own pain. Sharing food with another person is the same as feeding ourselves. The Buddhist tradition sees this type of insight as not only helpful to social action, but actually necessary in order to commit any action free of egotistic self-interest. Whether you put this article down and walk away or decide to take some of these ideas further, bear this in mind. Underpinning Buddhist philosophy are ideas of tolerance, unselfishness and equality. Can anyone put up a serious argument against those? No matter if we call ourselves Buddhists or not, you'll find that most people have a spot of Buddha in them already. Whether you treat Buddhism as a religion, a philosophy or as a passing interest, the principles of it are relevant to all of us. |
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