Let's talk "Buddhism"

[X-press]

Members,

Judaism, Chrisianity and Islam has always been in our topics of discussion here. There are other religions existing in this world and I feel that even if we do not believe in their teachings, it is still interested to educate ourselves about them.

I am sure most of us don't know much about "Buddhism". Though I am not a believe of Buddha, I feel their is quite a wisdom behind this religion. The buddhists seems quite peaceful and spiritually connected with something.

Does anyone can tell us more about this practice? Who is Buddha? What are the believes and the retuals?

[Sun]

Xpress here is the information you are seeking:

Buddhism is a philosophy, a moral code, and, for some a religious faith which originated 2,500 years ago in India. It offers a diagnosis of the suffering of mankind and provides a formula for individuals to resolve that suffering. It offers a moral code based on compassion and non-violence, and through meditation a way to achieve spiritual insight. Buddhism provides a path to reach a deeper understanding of the nature of reality. Although it directs us inwards, Buddhism offers a practical way to connect with everyday life and with others. Today, an estimated 500 million people follow one of the many varieties of Buddhism.

How did it evolve and where did it begin?

Buddhism began with the Buddha, but who was he?

The Early Years

Actually, he was born Siddhartha Guatama and the term Buddha was a title meaning "the awakened one", or "the one who knows", and was used from the age of thirty-five.

There are two aspects of the Life of Siddhartha Guatama - the historical way and the legend, which has embroidered the story of this amazing man. I will cover the three main parts of his life, the early years as a prince, his search for the truth, and the years spreading his teaching, and some of the details are no doubt part legend.

The historical fact is that around 563BC, in Lumbini, in Northern India near the present border of Nepal, Siddhartha was born. The family name was Guatama and they were the rulers of a small feudal kingdom of the Sakya clan. Increasing urbanisation and trade meant that that there was increasing affluence in that era. .

His mother died seven days after the birth, and he was raised by his aunt, the King’s second wife.

Legend has it that, soon after Siddhartha was born, he was examined by the holy men, who announced that he would become either, a great political leader and would unify India, or a great religious leader. As the story goes, the king, his father wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. So he set about to provide a life of luxury without any hardships for the boy.

Siddhartha wore clothes made of silk, and he grew up in palaces and gardens. Musicians and dancers were there to amuse him. Fearful of the prediction, his father ordered that he be shielded from contact with ugliness, sickness, old age and death.

From about the age of seven, he was trained in athletic skills and was instructed in the spiritual disciplines of the day, and, by the standards of the day, well educated although it is not known whether he could read or write. At that time in India, Hinduism was the orthodox religion, and this was dominated by the Brahmins who controlled the religious process. The teaching was based on the Vedas and ritual was important. The Vedas are a collection of over a thousand hymns, some of which date back to 1200 BC. The Vedas present the world mythologically rather than philosophically. Siddhartha would have been schooled in the Hindu faith and introduced to the many Hindu gods.

When he turned sixteen, the council decided that it was time for him to marry. A young woman named Yasodhara was found and the couple married. Yasodhara soon had a son who was named Rahula.

At this point, he had everything it seemed possible to have in life, but despite all this affluence, Siddhartha in his early twenties, became discontent. The basis for this is a famous legend of the four encounters, or passing sights. If Siddhartha went out of the palace, the king had always first ordered that all those with any disability be hidden from view. The story is told that, one day, Siddhartha saw an old man, bent and trembling, and discovered old age. On the second encounter, he saw a sick man suffering from disease, and on the third journey, he witnessed a funeral procession and a corpse. Finally, on the fourth journey, he met a wandering monk who had an inner tranquillity despite living an austere life, suggesting to Siddhartha that he had come to terms with old age, sickness and death.

The king then called for more festivities to entertain his son, however on the night of his 29th birthday, the young prince renounced his regal life, left his sleeping family, and set out with a servant. Once he was far enough away, he cut off his long black hair, exchanged his fine clothes for simple cloth and sent back his servant and horse.

This decision was not an easy one for Gautama, and in making this choice, he took it upon himself to find out about the origin of suffering and how to overcome it. He did this for his own understanding and for all people.

The Search

So now we come to the second part of his life. Gautama took on the life of a wandering monk, accepting food as it was offered to him. He pursued his spiritual quest and studied under the well-known teachers of his day. He learned of deep meditation and followed the yogic practices, but in the end discovered that he reached a point where the teachers could offer him no more. So he left with five followers and he was now called Sakyamuni, sage of the Sakyas, the clan of his father.

It was widely accepted by the holy men of the era, that the body and its desires were an obstacle to spiritual development and that these should be subdued. For six years, Sakyamuni starved and punished his body and lived the most austere life imaginable. In the end, he vowed to try even harder to limit his physical body.

However, at the point of near death, he saw a three stringed lute, a musician's instrument. He was shown that if the string is too loose, no sound is produced, too tight and it breaks, and tuned just right it will produce pleasant sound. He saw that the austere way would not take him to enlightenment.

Guatama gave up his extreme life and began to eat normally again. His five followers now left him, disgusted that he had, in their opinion, been defeated. All alone now, he decided to tackle the quest once again, and he sat himself under a Bodhi tree at a place called Bodh Gaya.and determined not to move until he had found the answers he sought. His meditation was deep, and, on the night of the full moon in May, complete Enlightenment came to him. His mind became calm and clear and he understood the cycle of birth, death and the wheel of life. He understood his true nature and that of all living beings. This was the end of his spiritual journey, and at that moment he became "the Buddha".

The Buddha continued to sit under the Bodhi tree for some time, enjoying the supreme experience and contemplating the future. At first, he doubted whether others could grasp what he now knew, but then he decided that there were those who could be shown the way, and he would dedicate the rest of his life to teaching what he had discovered. He chose the path of greatest compassion for all his fellow men and women.

The Teaching

The third part of the life of the Buddha covers the most years.
Gautama was now thirty-five years old. For the next forty-five years, until his death at about eighty years of age, he pursued his life’s mission. The Buddha accepted many men as followers. He even accepted some from the lowest caste, called the Untouchables, which set a new precedent and angered many people who suggested that this would disrupt the existing order of the society.

Despite opposition, the Buddha founded an order of monks and for nine months each year, walked the roads of India, to towns, villages and cities, teaching to whoever would listen. For the remaining three months of every year, corresponding to the wet season, he retreated from public life with his monks.

Unlike the Brahmin priests, he would teach in the local dialects, and spoke to all castes, even those at the lowest levels, as well as to both men and women. While controversial, his words appealed to both beggars and kings. With royal patronage and assistance from some wealthy landowners, his monasteries grew and became permanent places for the monks.

After his father, the king died, his aunt asked the Buddha to allow her to become a nun in the Buddhist order. The Buddha first refused saying that it was not yet time for women to become nuns. She then shaved her head, put on the orange robes of a monk, and, together with fifty other women, went again to the Buddha. After discussing the situation with his advisors, the Buddha allowed the women to join, although they were subject to an additional set of rules. This was a most revolutionary idea for this era, as women had low status in the community. The Buddhist philosophy was then open to all, rich and poor, men and women of all levels of society, and all were equal in the community.

Many others of the Buddha’s own family also became his followers. And, in his own day, he became the best known and loved of all the spiritual teachers in India.

The Buddha never set himself up as an authority figure and there were incidents of internal squabbles between groups of his followers, but most were resolved in due course. His personality was a combination of dignity and friendliness, wisdom and kindliness. He had both a cool and logical mind and a warm heart. In debate, he was courteous and had a strong sense of irony.

The Buddha himself wrote nothing. His teaching was communicated entirely orally and the details we have today are from the writings many years after his death. When he was about to die, at the age of eighty, he lay down on his right side, and urged his followers to ask him questions. At this point, however, they were all silent. Then he spoke his final words, which were: "All component things decay, work on your own salvation with diligence."


The Philosophy of Buddhism consists of :

The Four Noble Truths
Dependant Origination
The Eightfold Path
The Three Characteristics of Existence
The Three Jewels and the Five Precepts
Karma and Intention
Rebirth and Nirvana

[X-press]

Indeed very interesting Sun and a big thanks for this great post. I believe I could search also on the net, but I always enjoy your replies as they seems to summurize the very essential of what we are looking for. So again, great job!

Actually I didn't really know that Buddha was a person. I was always under the impression that it was a "God" represented by a big sitting statue, like we see nowadays.

His life was in fact very interesting and he seemed to be a very wise man. So, for what I understand from your post, Buddhism is not in fact a religion as there was no devine revelations. It is more a spiritual guidance. Why do we call it a religion then?

Can you tell us more about the "untouchables"

Thanks in advance.

[Sun]

Buddhism was never claimed as a religion even its followers never claim that! Its a philosophy .

As for your second question :
Can you tell us more about the "untouchables"

Could you be more clear?

[Bimzoori]

Interesting post, Sun..

It would be interesting if we can aslo get sometihing about Hinduism..I often get confused between the practises of the two phylosophies..

[Arabian Princess]

very intresting post sun, I had to save it and read it as my mid night snack :)
Well I was also hoping to know more about Hundisim, seikh and religions of India, they are very close to each other.
Does budhist eat meet? or it is only hindus who dont?

[Sun]

Arby and Bimmy,
Its a trend for Pop star and actors /actresses to turnin to these 2 philosophy and its true there is a connection some how but I will post here the Budhisum and Hiduisum , as we all may understand the difference ;) if there is any .
Hinduisim, Buddhism and New Age thinking for none muslims

"Suffering, rather than evil, is seen as our major problem and much of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy is a response to this"
It is obviously simplistic to lump Hinduism and Buddhism together, but they do have certain basic beliefs in common. New Age thinking tends to be an adaption of some of these Eastern beliefs to Western culture.

Reality

Everything is God. We all share the same essence or "stuff" of reality, which is spirit (Hinduism - the Brahma; Buddhism - Nirvana). This philosophy of the unity of all things has been called Monism. The basic philosophy of New Age thinking has been summed up in three pithy sayings: "All is God", "All is one" and "All is well". The New Age concept of God is impersonal, usually described as Force, Energy, Essence, Consciousness, Vibration, Principle, or Being.

Matter

This material world is unreal, a sort of fantasy or dream of some kind. The "realised soul" understands that this world means nothing and is of no value. Ultimately, salvation consists in escaping from matter. New Agers tend to put a little more value on this world than do Hindus and Buddhists.

Humans

We are one with God. Our unity with all reality is emphasised. Individual personality is underplayed.

Meaning

Meaning in life comes through realising who we are in our oneness with the divine spirit. There are no criteria for judging true from false religious experience. "I believe" tends to become "I feel".

How we know truth

Our significant learning comes from withdrawal from the world, looking within, getting in touch with our real selves, the divine within. Hinduism, Buddhism and New Age share a distrust of reason. In Hindusim and Buddhism the Ultimate is unknown and unknowable. It is neti neti, Ônot this, not that'.

Morality

Sin is merely ignorance of the true nature of reality. We need enlightenment, not repentance. Suffering, rather than evil, is seen as our major problem and much of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy is a response to this. For some, there is no objective standard of right and wrong. As one spiritual sage from India put it, "It's not a question of whether you are good or bad...good and bad are relative. They are two sides of one coin, part of the same whole." In a similar vein, Carl Frederick wrote in Playing the Game the New Way, "You are the supreme being...there isn't any right or wrong." New Age guru Shirley Maclaine's philosophy, along with that of many other New Agers, could be summed up as: "If it feels good, do it."

Death

We die only to be reborn in a continuous cycle of rebirth - reincarnation. In our next life we will endure the consequences of our behaviour in this one - the Eastern doctrine of Karma. If we succeed in progressing in the steps of enlightenment we will eventually escape this cycle into Nirvana where individual personality will be absorbed into complete oneness with Ultimate Reality, like a wave being absorbed back into the ocean. Much of Buddhism denies the personal nature of God. New Age thinkers tend to be a little more optimistic about our continuous advance in this process than do Hindus and Buddhists.

History

Because we are caught up in this constant cycle of rebirth, history has little meaning. Eastern religion tends not to understand the world in terms of purpose. As someone has said, there is "movement and change without involving the idea of purpose."

In this worldview the focus tends to be on self, how we can improve ourselves, rather than on how we can know God, and better serve him and others. A typical statement from a popular New Age magazine says: "All paths lead to God. The true path finally becomes self empowerment: the path of self-love. Then one demonstrates that they can manifest God and no longer need to look outside themselves for this information. They have become the path themselves."

If you need more information :) will look for some ... Sun :)

[X-press]

Originally posted by Sun
The Buddha accepted many men as followers. He even accepted some from the lowest caste, called the Untouchables, which set a new precedent and angered many people who suggested that this would disrupt the existing order of the society.


Sunny, I heard before of the "Untouchables" as you mentioned them in your previous post and I believe even a movie was made years ago about them. Do you know there positions towards Buddhism? I thought they were Hindous?

In your next post, you said that the Hindus as well as the Buddhists believe that "everything is God" and that we are "one with God". They believe more in their "inner-self" rather than in the existance of the material world.

As I thought Buddhism was a religion and finds out that it is in fact just a philosophy, to what religion do most Buddhists belongs? If they believe in God but only in an energy form, do they still pray to something? Can someone be at the same time a Christian and a Buddhist, even if the two don't really match?

Thanks in advance.

[Bimzoori]

Thank you Sun..

so is there actually a sacred ."book." that they follow?.??

[Mr Tickle]

The teachings of the Buddha revolves around this central tenant known as the "Four Noble Truths". The Four Noble Truths form the central foundation of Buddhism. So, what are the Four Noble Truths?

The First Noble Truth states that "Life is Dukka". "Dukka" is very often translated as "sufferings", but I feel it's a very inadequate translation. A much better translation is "Unsatisfactoriness". Basically, the First Noble Truth states that life is unsatisfactory and imperfect. How so? All of us are subject to pain and sufferings. All of us cannot avoid disease, old age and death. We are subject to impermanence and uncertainty. Very often, we have to associate with things that are unpleasant and disassociate with things that are pleasant. All these are unsatisfactory.

The Second Noble Truth explores the source of unsatisfactoriness. Why is it that our lives are unsatisfactory? The answer is within us. Our lives are unsatisfactory because of "Tanha" and "Avija". "Tanha" is very often translated as "Cravings", but a much better translation should be "Thirst". "Avija" means "Ignorance".

What is "thirst"? Thirst is our natural tendency to clinging on to the pleasant and be aversed to the unpleasant. Most of us spend most of our lives chasing after and clinging on to things that satisfy our desires, egos, lusts, etc, and trying to run away from things we find painful, unpleasant etc. All these come under the umbrella of "Thirst".

What is "Ignorance"? Not to know that all conditioned things are impermanent is "ignorance". Not to know that all conditioned things are unsatisfactory is "ignorance". Not to know that all things are "without essence of self" is "ignorance". And not to know the Four Noble Truths is "ignorance". (The "ignorance" part is a little profound, I admit).

Is there a way to overcome "thirst" and "ignorance" then? That's the question the 3rd Noble Truth answers. The 3rd Noble Truth says, yes, there is a way. There is a way to overcome "thirst" and "ignorance". When that is done, one becomes calm and blissful. There is no more sufferings. There is no more unsatisfactoriness in life. That state of being is called "Nirvana".

Cool. But how do you overcome "thirst" and "ignorance" then? That's where the 4th Noble Truth comes in. The 4th Noble Truth is a package of self-cultivation that enables the practitioner to attain the goal of "Nirvana".

There are 8 parts in this package of self-cultivation. That's why it's also called the "Eight-fold Path". The 8 parts are: Perfect Thougths, Perfect Actions, Perfect Speech, Perfect Livelihood, Perfect Effort, Perfect Mindfulness, Perfect Concentration, and Perfect Understanding.

The 8-fold path can be grouped into 3 groups. The first is "Morality". The idea here is to live a life where one tries to constantly practice kindness and love, and to live life such that one's conscience is clear. That comes from our practice of Perfect Thougths, Perfect Actions, Perfect Speech and Perfect Livelihood. Basically, we live life to the best that we can.

The 2nd group is "Concentration". With a clear conscience cultivated with "morality", we cultivate our minds so that it'll be calm, peaceful and concentrated. This comes from our practice of Perfect Effort and Perfect Concentration.

The 3rd group is "Insight". With a very strong, calm, concentrated and peaceful mind, we learn to work with ourselves, to gain insight into ourselves, to eventually overcome all our problems and all the unsatisfactoriness in our lives. This comes from our practice of Perfect Mindfulness and Perfect Understanding.

In a nutshell, the above is Buddhism. Basically, we see the Buddha as a doctor here to solve a problem: unsatisfactoriness. In ancient Indian culture, the doctor performs 4 steps: he identifies and acknowledges the problem, finds the source of the problem, state that there is a cure, and prescribes the cure. The 4 Noble Truths can be seen as such an exercise. The 1st Noble Truth acknowledges that the problem of Dukka exists. The 2nd finds the source. The 3rd states that a solution is possible. And the 4th prescribes the solution.

[mimosa]

Superb post Mr P,

Exxy opened a good thread, Sunny researched the history without embellishment (skip the rock stars stuff, never mind), Mr P gave a non-judgemental interpretation.......and we are all enriched.

How's that for harmony? There's hope for the Religion Sabla yet.....

;)

Tell you what: how about a new rule to further the process of understanding? Nobody can post information on their own relgion, somebody else has to find out.....now that would be interesting.

Next threads I vote Bimzi on Zoroastrianism and El Brute on the Salafi movement.......

[Bimzoori]

Mimmi, how about if I asign "Suffism" for you :D ?

"Zoroastrianism" :confused: I should surely do some research about it :)

[mimosa]

Bimzi.....Sufism? OK, it's a deal :D

[Sun]

Great post Pino .
Im looking forward for your posts my friends .
I will try to seek other unknown religions and exchange the information too :)
keep it up family .

[Shakoosh Kabir]

X-P

The film "The Untouchables" is about Chicago gangsters and law enforcement officers in the 1920s. It has nothing but the name in common with the lowest of the Hindu castes:

Untouchables, now called Harijans, have traditionally occupied the lowest place in the caste system of Hindu India; they were called untouchable because they were considered to be outside the confines of caste. Their impurity derived from their traditional occupations, such as the taking of life and the treatment of bodily effluvia.

Such was their impurity that traditionally they were banned from Hindu temples; in parts of South India even the sight of an Untouchable was sufficient to pollute a member of a higher caste. In 1949 the Indian government outlawed the use of the term Untouchables. The group has been reclassified as the "Scheduled Castes" and has been granted special educational and political privileges. Today it is illegal to discriminate against a Harijan, yet they remain generally at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, performing the most menial roles demanded by society. They numbered an estimated 65 million in the late 1960s.

[X-press]

Originally posted by mr pinnochio
The teachings of the Buddha revolves around this central tenant known as the "Four Noble Truths". .....

Very, very interesting post here Pino and congratulations for your research!

I feel that everyone should in fact, beside their religious believes, try to apply this philosophy in their daily life. I am not sure we can be perfect in our thoughts, actions or livelihood but we can certainly try to be better people... to reach happiness within ourselves and peace with others.

Can someone tell me more about the representation of the Buddha? Does it represents a God or something else? Is it a He, a She, or both?

[X-press]

First, it is very important for me to tell the members that I have absolutely no doubt regarding my religion, which is Islam; my interest towards Buddhism is just a different level of intellectual or possibly spiritual enrichment towards a practise I know little about.

So for what I have found so far is that Buddhism is a method of achieving "Nirvana," or liberation from suffering. As Sun explained in his post, the method of realising this was discovered by a man called the Buddha (a title which means "The Awakened One" or one who has been awakened to the true nature of existence). From Pino, we have learned that the method of liberation he discovered is called the Eightfold Path (a very specific set of practical guidelines for daily living).

My understanding so far is that Buddhism is not a religion but a philosophy. The overall tone of the Buddhist lifestyle is living with compassion and kindness, doing no harm at all, and being helpful towards all peoples regardless of their racial, religious or political differences. The most important objectives a Buddhist has in life are to become liberated from suffering by realising the state of enlightenment, and also to help other beings become enlightened.

As Sun said The Buddha was a spiritual teacher The Buddha was a human being, not a deity. The word ‘Buddha' is a title, not a name.

According to my findings, it seems that the Buddha’s method does not rely on or incorporate the concept of a personal God or individual Creator. While the Buddha himself did not endorse or encourage the concept of an ultimate Creator-God, neither did he categorically deny the possibility of such a God – he simply said that the issue was not relevant to achieving the particular type of spiritual transformation he was interested in.

It seems that this "neutrality" exists in many countries. My question is: can a Christian or a Muslim follow some of the Buddha’s teachings, by following the Buddha’s Eightfold Path and at the same time maintain and keep their religions believes?.

[mimosa]

The answer from many religous people will, I suspect be no. Why would you need another set of rules to live and attain enlightenment if your own religion is complete? This is particularly true in relation to Islam, which is a very prescriptive religion in terms of daily life - how to eat, sleep, pray, marry etc etc. What more 'guidance' could you need than the Qur'An?

My own view is more liberal: If you find something useful in achieving greater spiritual accomplishment, and use it to improve your ability to concentrate, rest and treat others well, then there need be no contradiction. As you have said, the Buddhist path does not deny God, nor offer any alternative.

I have been looking at the Sufi movement of Islam, on which I will post later - Bimmie picked a subject for me which I was already interested in - lucky me! I am struck in Sufism by the similarites in its principles and practices with those of Buddhism: The basic concept is communing with the divine (however you envisage God, the Universe or both) by setting aside the trivial realities of wordly life. One specific simiarity which amused me was about fasting: Both Sufism and Buddhism make the point that while fasting may cleanse the mind and body, starving yourself as a religious devotion is as vain as boasting about it!

You will also find in the passive nature of Buddhism some similarites with the teachings of Jesus: the injunction to 'love thy neighbour' and 'turn the other cheek' in the face of aggression is very Buddhist. Christians might argue that the Buddhist way is wholly passive, in denying the mortal world's relevance, whereas the Christian way is to use peace and love as an active statement to change that mortal realtiy. But either way, I see a common thread.

The Philosophical writings of Nietsche might also interest you (although many are garbled with other rubbish due to his clinical madness!): Nietsche's concept of the Ubermensch or 'Superman' was misinterpreted by the Nazis as a theory of a master race (Nietsche's contemporaries Wagner and Schopenhauer may have had similar views, and feuded with Nietsche later in his life). But the 'Superman' was not a man: The principle was that in order to attain enlightenment, man must seek to forget his mortal needs, and commune with the Univers on a more holistic level and therefore become 'above mere manhood'. This is very similar to Buddhist philosophy. You may find Nietsche's other polemical assertions such as 'God is dead' a little difficult to stomach. But have a read, it's interesting. I recommend 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' as a starter.