Buddhism

Welcome to the series on world religions and cults. In this article we will be examining the doctrines and practices of Buddhism and pointing out the multitude of contradictions in this religion. The material for this article comes from two of my university textbooks, Practical Systematic Theology, and Religion: History and Mystery. 

Siddhartha Gautama, the man commonly referred to as Buddha, was born a prince around 563BC in Nepal. Legend has it that after witnessing the suffering of the common people beyond his palace walls, he left his wife and son and went on a six year search for enlightenment, using yoga, and meditation in the traditional Hinduism in which he was raised. He found no answers in Hinduism, and concluded that the root of suffering is desire, and if one can eliminate desire, they can know freedom. There are three types of Buddhism, Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.

1. Buddhist Texts

The Tripitaka are said to be the first sacred writings in Buddhism. The word means 'three baskets', as these were stored in 'pitakis' (baskets). The baskets themselves are divided into subjects, the first being the Discipline Basket with its 277 regulations for monks. The second is called the Discourse Basket which contains the records of the Buddha's teachings and sayings, the basic theology of Buddhism. The third basket contains the Special Teachings, including poems, songs, and stories from the Buddha's previous lives. The Tripitaka are the writings of Theravada Buddhism.

Mahayana Buddhism contains around 2184 sacred writings apart from the Tripitaka. The majority are called Sutras and were developed between 200BC and 200AD after the split from Theravada Buddhism. The main sutra is called the Lotus Sutra and is said to be a sermon by Buddha about how to become a Bodhisattva, a kind of angel/helper, and how to reach 'buddha-nature'. The Heart sutra is also considered to be very important as it outlines the ideas of Nirvana and emptiness. The Perfection of Wisdom sutra speaks about Emptiness, a notion which was developed further by an early Buddhist philosopher called Nagarjuna. 

Vajrayana Buddhism draws heavily upon all of the texts mentioned above, but in addition uses a number of Tantric texts. Two of these texts have become quite well-known in Western countries, The Great Stages of Enlightenment and The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

2. Buddhist Teachings

In his first sermon Buddha is said to have outlined what has become the foundation of Traditional Buddhism, namely the Four Noble Truths.

1. The Truth of Dukkha. The word 'dukkha' is often translated as 'suffering', but in fact it has a much wider meaning. Dukkha is the empty satisfaction that human beings feel, a desire for more, perhaps even reaching out to perfection. The problem is that everything is subject to change, nothing is permanent. Happiness can be found, but it doesn't last; desires can be met but they return. Buddha's first noble truth is that we must first recognize dukkha.

2. The Origin of Dukkha. The second noble truth is to recognize and understand the origin of Dukkha which Buddha defined as 'craving'. He categorized craving in three ways.

● Sense-pleasures such as sexual desires. We sense objects which we believe will provide pleasure, and desire those objects. This becomes compulsive and destroys freedom of action. Desire leads to attachment.

● New forms of existence, or clinging to life; the fear of death. Attachment to life brings the desire for offspring, to have physical existence both future and past.

● Self-extinction. The desire to die, to be free of this world, free from life. Even desiring to be free of desire can be an attachment, and we cannot achieve freedom until we learn to be unattached.

3. The Elimination of Dukkha. The elimination of craving is the Buddhist idea of Nirvana, one of the most difficult and perhaps contradictory ideas in Buddhism because it refers to the extinction of desire. Western minds might see this as a form of self-annihilation, but there is no self to annihilate in Buddhism. Buddha described this as blowing out a flame, but the question the 'self/individual' asks is, 'where does the flame (I) go?'

4. The Path to the Elimination of Dukkha. This path is known as the Noble Eightfold Path. Primarily, the path is Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Buddha's path is not a stage 1, then stage 2 idea, but a whole of life path in which each is dependent on the other.

Before moving on to explore the Eight Noble Truths we need to understand one of the most obvious problems in Buddha's teachings. Buddha insists that there is no God, either in the form of Brahman or any other. He also insists that there is no 'self', no real individual. 

Therefore, several problematic questions arise.

● Who or what determines the ideas of right understanding, right thought, speech, action, effort, etc.? If it is Buddha who is making this determination, then are we to understand that Buddha is not an individual who has determined these ideas? Where, if not from a man, did these ideas come from? Buddha's answer would be that we are not a 'permanent' self.

● If there is no individual self, then what is it that is trying to follow the path? In order to follow Buddha's path, a self or something/someone must have a conscious awareness of right and wrong and make personal decisions and efforts to change. Buddha taught that self is not permanent; it's just a step along the way to Nirvana. How can a non-permanent, or any other form of non-existent self, accumulate karma in the first place?

● If there is no 'God', no intelligent being of infinite wisdom who gave Buddha this path, then again, where did it come from? Also, how can ideas, such as right action, thought and effort, manifest themselves out of anything other than a conscious being, a being aware of the possibility of wrong actions, thoughts and effort?

Buddha never actually offers a satisfactory answer to these questions, which resulted in another form of Buddhism in which there is a 'god' or gods known as Bodhisattvas, enlightened/spiritual beings who guide seekers to truth. The only answer Buddha gives is that desire binds us to attachment and endless rebirth cycles. For Buddha, even desiring to do good deeds in order to accumulate good karma is an attachment. The inherent contradictions in this teaching became the subject of a huge amount of what we now call Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. 

3. The Eightfold Noble Path

From our condition of ignorance come wrong actions, which lead to bad karma, which leads to rebirths, etc. The key is a strict adherence to certain rules. The self, who only exists non-permanently on the 'wheel of life', enters into a strict regime of self-discipline in order to be the catalyst of positive cause and effect. Buddha gave ten basic precepts. Non-monks must obey the first five, and monks all ten.

1. Do not harm any living thing; 2. Do not steal; 3. Do not be sexually immoral; 4. Do not use wrong speech; 5. Do not use drugs or drinks which cloud the mind; 6. Do not eat after midday; 7. Do not dance, sing, listen to music or go to the theatre; 8. Do not wear garlands, perfumes, cosmetics or jewellery; 9. Do not have a luxurious bed or one which is above the ground; 10. Do not accept gold or silver.

Cause and effect is very important in Buddhist thinking. Everything that exists only exists because of something before it. If the monk is producing right causes, then the end result will be right effects. For Buddha, there is no single cause to anything. The flame burns because of the oil, but without the oil there is no flame. The flame is therefore reliant on the oil; however, if we believe in gods such as Brahman, we will rely on them, even need them as the flame needs the oil. If you rely on God you'll be dissatisfied, so you must rely only on your self. One of Buddha's most famous sayings was; All composite (permanent) things pass away; therefore, strive for your own salvation with diligence.

Theravada Buddhism tried to keep to Gautama's idea that there is no god, no permanent self, and therefore, salvation is solely up to the individual. This teaching is referred to as the 'first turning of the wheel'. The second main branch of Buddhism, known as the 'second turning of the wheel', is Mahayana Buddhism. The first is considered the broad path and the second the narrow path. Mahayana Buddhism teaches a belief in creatures called 'bodhisattvas'. These are thought to be enlightened beings that are perhaps similar to Western ideas of angels. These bodhisattvas are said to have stored up huge quantities of good karma through their previous earthly lives, and after being joined to a person, can help them find enlightenment. Consider these 7 fundamental differences in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.

T1. Psychologically and philosophically realistic. The world is real; suffering is real.

M1. Psychologically idealistic. Ideas are more important than things. Suffering is not quite real.

T2. Denies any Absolute being behind phenomena or existence. No God, and even no self.

M2. Most believe in an Absolute being behind phenomena, source of absolute wisdom and truth.

T3. Buddha was only a man.

M3. Buddha was a projection of the Absolute being and, therefore, a god who can answer prayers.

T4. Salvation is completely through self-effort. No spiritual beings to help or guide you.

M4. Salvation can be helped by others, bodhisattva/saviors such as Buddha.

T5. Strict interpretation of karma connected to individual action.

M5. Karmic merit (stores of good karma) can be transferred to others by spiritual joining.

T6. The goal is Nirvana, the annihilation of Dukkha (suffering, craving, desires).

M6. Goal is to become a bodhisattva and help others to find salvation. Nirvana is to become conscious of your salvation.

T7. Rationalistic, individualistic, sober. One must become a monk before being enlightened.

M7. Attitude to life is to be emotionally happy, have concern for others. One doesn't need to become a monk, can marry, etc.

4. Critique

Buddha insisted that there is no God, but rather a concept of 'Absolute' which he considered to be neither a real being, nor creator/designer. For Buddha, nothing is permanent; everything continues in a state of flux. Human beings come into existence through cause and effect; they appear in the wheel of life and disappear into the Absolute nothingness as the wheel turns. The Absolute is assumed to be like perfect energy yet without a personality, therefore, this Absolute is nothingness and yet also everythingness; it has no beginning and no end. This is why he insisted that the self as an individual doesn't exist; we are only a part of this Absolute. This philosophy raises several fundamental contradictions.

1. Karma is a system which relies on the foundation that there is a difference between good and evil, but if there is no Creator/God and the Absolute has no personality, who determined right and wrong, and where did such ideas come from? If the Absolute has no personal moral code, then why should right actions be any more beneficial than evil ones, and if good and evil do not actually exist, then how can karma exist?

2. What is the goal of life? For Buddha the goal of life is to eliminate Dukkha, suffering. This sounds very noble, especially if it is to help the suffering of others. But who are these others? They are expressions of the Absolute nothingness; they only think they exist, for there is no self, no individual in Buddha's teaching. In truth, a non-existent self is helping another non-existent self to alleviate a suffering which is an illusion. Why, if we are not real 'selfs', should we want to help other non-selfs? This teaching gives no solid answers to a person seeking a goal in life. We strive to be good, to accumulate good karma, only to lose our individuality in the 'Great Nothingness'.

3. Dukkha is described by Buddha as a feeling of dissatisfaction; an emptiness within. He concluded that we come into existence from this perfect Absolute and are returning to it again on the wheel of life. This explains our feeling of imperfection. The problem is how the perfect Absolute could suddenly begin manifesting itself imperfectly, and why, if it has been through this entire process (wheel of life) before, would it start over again? Where is the purpose in this? It would seem that the 'Absolute' never learns from its mistakes, never learns to stop accumulating bad karma.

Without a God/creator/designer, there can be no explanation for morality, no goal to strive for, indeed, no real reason to be here in the first place.

4. Therevada developed in Mahayana Buddhism and then Vajrayana. Therevada concentrated on the individual self as the sole means of salvation, of trying to find enlightenment, but did anyone ever reach the goal of eliminating desire? The answer is no, therefore, Mahayana Buddhism insisted that participants need boddhisatvas to help them and used yoga arsenas to be joined to these beings. The word yoga means to yield, and specifically, to yield to a spiritual being and be united to that being. This is simply demonic possession which in reality brings various spiritual experiences and power, however, neither freedom nor the elimination of desire.

Vajrayana Buddhism, which produced the Tibetan Book of the Dead, practiced the idea of eliminating desire by joining oneself to those desires, especially those things which are forbidden. Participants used everything forbidden, poisons, extreme sexuality, murder and even eating human flesh with the idea that once we have done the forbidden, we will no longer desire what is forbidden as we have embraced it.

In Summary.

In Buddhism we see a progression. Buddha told his students to ‘work out their own salvation’ but could not answer the most fundamental questions regarding the origin of desire, evil, or good. This led to students using yoga arsenas to join themselves to spiritual beings for answers, and for some, indulging in forbidden practices guided by those beings. 

Many westerners have this romantic and naïve understanding of Buddhism. They see the monks sweeping the ground with a broom as they walk in order to be sure they do not step on an insect. They interpret this as a wonderful respect for all life, however, in truth it is utterly self-centered as is everything in Buddhist teaching. The monk believes that if he accidentally kills an insect, it will produce bad karma and he will have to re-live his ascetic life-style over again to reach the same level of enlightenment he’s been working so hard on.

The Buddhist is forever evaluating his own performance, and the one fundamental area he can never conquer is pride. He or she may appear to be meek, mild and humble, but in evaluating his performance as having even a limited success, he has indeed simply elevated personal pride. Such is the outcome of every religion which is focused on self and the elevation of self is the fundamental root of all sin.

I hope this article has been enlightening for you.  The series on World Religions can be watched on my YouTube channel @stevecopland6001.

Steve Copland