(Originally written February 15, 2007 in Book 14)
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 3 - Buddhism
Name
Buddhism comes from the teachings of Buddha.
Buddha means "Enlightened One".
Buddhism has many different branches.
Numbers and Distribution
Buddhism is the fourth largest religion with 360 million practitioners.
Buddhism is an Asian religion. It originated in India.
Buddhism is practiced in its most traditional forms in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Tibet, Korea, China and Japan have different forms of Buddhism.
Buddhism is often adapted and adopted by Westerners, but this adaptation is not as traditional.
Symbols
Buddhism has many subgroups and thus, many symbols.
One symbol pervades all of Buddhism, the wheel with eight spokes.
This symbol has many levels of meaning:
1) The eightfold path
2) No matter how far one is, one is always a distance from the middle (which is nirvana)
The swastika is also an important symbol to Buddhism. Because of the swastika's negative implications, Asian religions shy away from its usage in the West. It is a symbol of spiritual truth and good fortune. The swastika brings together the four noble truths, the eight fold path and the convergence of all at the center.
History
The Buddha
The story of Buddhism begins as a fairy tale: Siddhartha Gautama was born in the 6th century BC. It was prophesied that he would become a great king or a great monk. His father, the king, kept him inside the palace and raised him to be a great king.
Siddhartha, being curious about the outside world requested to see it. His father arranged the route so he would not see monks, funerals or sick people. But the gods positioned four visions along the way:
1) An old person - so that Siddhartha could learn that every person will eventually fade
2) A gravely ill person - so that Siddhartha could understand the fragility of life
3) A funeral procession - so that he could see that all life must come to an end
4) A monk in meditation - so that he could see the solution to all these problems
Siddhartha became obsessed with these visions and kissed his wife goodbye while she was sleeping and said goodbye to his infant son and rode off into the world. He then lived as an impoverished monk. After seven years of torturing himself he sat down with a bowl of rice. He then became the buddha and realized the path to enlightenment was neither in self-indulgence nor self-denial, but the middle path.
To become a buddhist while Siddhartha was still alive meant to become a monk.
Later Developments
After his death, the religion continued to spread, but underwent some major transformations.
Enlightenment was reserved for monks, a few centuries after his death though, enlightenment was opened to all.
Scriptures
Several hundred years after the Buddha's death, his disciples compiled all his teachings in to one vast collection: Tripitaka (or the "Three Baskets").
The Content of Tripitaka includes:
1) Ethical exhortations
2) Philosophical discussions
3) Stories from the Buddha's past lives
Other writings called sutras were composed laster to further shed light on the Buddha's teachings.
Major Beliefs
Buddhism shares a number of fundamental assumptions with other Indian religions, but gives the interpretive twists.
Buddhism teaches that each human being is caught in a potentially never-ending cycle of reincarnations. The goal of Buddhism is for each human to escape this cycle.
Buddhism teaches that the way to escape from the cycle is to reorganize that the cycle is not real.
There are four noble truths in Buddhism:
1) To live is to suffer
2) Suffering is caused by attachment to this life
3) The way to end suffering is by ending attachment to this life
4) We can end attachment to this life by following the noble eight-fold path
Traditional Buddhism teaches that a monk who observes all the principles and archives enlightenment will enter the state of nirvana upon death.
Nirvana literally means "blowing out" or "extinction".
Noble Eightfold Path
- Right Concentration
- Right Belief
- Right Intention
- Right Speech
- Right Action
- Right Livelihood
- Right Effort
- Right Meditation
Subgroups
There are numerous subgroups, known as Schools
Major Division: Theravada and Mahayana
This split took place within a few centuries of Buddhism
Theravada - literally means "the tradition of the elders"
Mahayana - literally means "the big raft"
The Theravada claimed the original monk-oriented Buddhism was the true Buddhism; whereas, the Mahayana took a more inclusive view of this religion.
The Mahayana belittles the Theravada by calling it the Hinayana ("Little Vehicle")
Theravada Regions
Theravada is practiced in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. "Sri Lanka became the main home of Buddhism when it waned in India" (Corduan, 31).
Buddhism is focused on monks who are capable of enlightenment in Sri Lanka. Lay persons are obliged to support the monks. Lay persons work toward a better reincarnation while monks work toward Nirvana.
The Laypersons and monks are governed by the ten precepts:
The Monks & Laity:
1. Do not harm any living being
2. Do not lie
3. Do not steal
4. Do not engage in sexual immorality (celibacy for monks)
5. Do not consume intoxicating beverages
Monks & Laity on Special Days:
6. Do not eat in excess after noon
7. Do not attend entertainments
8. Do not sleep on wide or high beds
Monks Only:
9. Do not sleep on wide or high beds
10. Do not touch gold or silver.
In Thailand, Theravada Buddhism has a number of enrichment:
1) The Hindu gods receive special attention because they helped Buddha choose the religious life.
2) The god Brahma is paid special attention for encouraging Buddha to preach
3) The king of Thailand is the incarnation of the god Rama
Mahayana Schools
1. Tibetan Buddhism
- The Dalai Lama
- The Tibetan Buddhism is the most complicated form because it is tied to the ancient spirit-oriented religion of the Tibetan Plateau.
- Tibetan Buddhism's end is still to realize enlightenment and enter Nirvana
- Tibetan Buddhism focuses on monks called lamas
- The Dalai Lama is the highest Lama. When the Dalai Lama died he is reincarnated as an infant and officials search for the child who is supposed to bear certain distinguishing marks
2. Pure Land Buddhism
- Popular in Japan
- Focused on worshiping a different Buddha (there are many Buddhas and those about to become Buddhas are called Bodhisattvas called Amida
- Amida has an all-consuming person for human beings, especially common people
- Amida created a a paradise for those commoners who could not achieve nirvana. He created "the pure land".
- Those who accept the gift from Amida will be reborn in to this "pure land" and have a better shot at nirvana
- Pure land Buddhism celebrates the grave of Amida Buddha
3. Zen
- Zen is well-known in the west, but in a diluted and caricatured form
- Zen construes enlightenment as something that occurs beyond rational understanding
- Zen practitioners attempt to discover enlightenment by puzzling over conundrums (Koans) or intense meditation (Zezen)
- "The moment of enlightenment is not so much a higher level of spiritual existence as the acceptance of one's life exactly as it is, without further explanation" (Corduan, 34).
- Zen is often linked to martial arts like Kung Fu, but many schools of Zen have nothing to do with martial arts
Worship Practices
Worship practices vary from sect to sect.
Many Buddhists claim they do not worship the Buddha as a god but their veneration of him is comparable to that of a god.
Meditation and chanting are the most universal worship practices of all subsets of Buddhism.
Religious Buildings
Buddhist temples look very different from one another.
Theravada Temples have a statue of the seated Buddha with an altar and another statue of the lying down Buddha to depict his entrance into nirvana.
Buddhist temples are often adapted to their particular sect's function.
Thai temples tend to be highly decorative.
The Amida Buddha is standing on a lotus blossom.
The hand positions of a Buddha are important.
- Left had rising on thigh, right had pointing downward - the assertion of Buddha-hood.
- Right hand upward with a palm facing the viewers - the blessing the people with his presence
- Right hand upward with thumb and forefinger closed - teaching the way to salvation
Home Practices
Buddhist homes often contain a statue of Buddha.
Most Buddhist culture put high value on ancestor veneration, so homes often have ancestor shrines.
Clothing
- Nothing for the laity.
- Traditional schools have monks keep their heads shaved and wear saffron robes.
- Tibetan Buddhism has various orders of monks who wear different colored robes
Diet
Monks are vegetarians; so many laypersons are as well.
Some Buddhist monks abstain from garlic and onions because they are viewed as aphrodisiacs in South Asian culture
Calendar
Different regions incorporate holidays unique to their subset.
Some holidays are universal, but celebrated on different days.
Japan uses the Western calendar, but other countries operate on a lunar one.
Major Universal Holidays
-Buddha's Birthday (Vesak)
Buddha's Enlightenment
Buddha's Death
Ancestor Veneration Festival
"Buddhism is a religion that combines moral earnestness with deep philosophical speculation" (Corduan, 37).
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