Comparative Religious Studies: Buddhism and other Esoteric Religions

by Satiman

Introduction
All esoteric religions, such as Buddhism and other Esoteric monotheistic religions, such as Upaniṣads, Vedānta or  Hinduism, Christianity and Islamic Sufism differ exoterically or outwardly but they are identical in their final esoteric or inward journey to return to the Origin of Human beings. The Origin is known as Buddha-nature, Store-house of Thus-Gone (Tathāgatagarbha), Buddha-mind, True Mind, Mind of Enlightenment (Bodhicitta), Pure Mind, Pure Land or Nirvāṇa  in the Mahāyāna tradition. In the Theravāda tradition, the Origin is known variously as Pure Consciousness, Non-manifestative consciousness, Eternal luminous mind, Nibbāna, Five Aggregates of non-grasping. The Christians designate it as the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Christ or Spirit of God, Grace of God or  just God. In Islam, one is redeemed to the Origin called Supersoul or Baga in Sufism and Divine Essence, Najat or Allah in Islam. The Hindus are guided esoterically to return to the Origin called Mukhi, Brahman or Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. It is designated as innate Supreme Virtue  (Ming Te) in Confucianism and Path (Tao)  in Taoism. The Origin is dissimilarly designated in dissimilar religions to facilitate inter-communication in social intercourses. In actual fact, this Origin is an infinite, eternal Totality or Oneness   which is known as Divine Unity (Tawhid) in Islam and which is known as the Totality of Interdependence or Interrelatedness (dharmadhātu-pratῑtyasamutpāda) in Hua Yen Buddhism. In conclusion, all religions differ only exoterically or outwardly but are similar esoterically.

Conventional and Ultimate
The esoteric identity is that horizontal knowledge or conventional truth conceals or veils the Origin. Vertical knowledge or knowledge of Ultimate Truth pertaining to this Origin liberates  human beings. In other words, intellect or intellectual understanding creates the cosmic illusion of the multiplicity whereas universal intellect or wisdom destroy the cosmic illusion and annihilate the lower/ animal self or selfish / egoistic self. This self or ego is synonymous with self-interest or selfishness which activates greed and hatred in humans. All social ills of human society originates  from the illusive self or ego. All the esoteric religions concurs on an identical principal of salvation: Whoever superimposes the notion of I-ness or Mine-ness or claims  proprietorship of materialism or forms will not be able to make a return journey inwards  the Origin. It does not means that all material wealth should be renounced or abandoned by the householders or lay people. What is to be renounced or abandoned is the selfish or egoistic acquisition/utility of wealth. What is advocated is internal renunciation for the householders or lay practitioners. External renunciations are recommended for only the hermits but is not pragmatic or practical for the householders. Therefore, the householders or lay practitioners undertake an intense struggle to overcome  self-interest or egoism while they lead a mundane or secular life. Beautifully, the universal intellect or wisdom will liberate them from the bondage of egoism. Selfless utility of wealth is encouraged while selfish use of wealth is discouraged. Self-redemption of return to  the Origin is not possible if self-interest or selfishness obsesses one’s mind. The mind must be purified to make the return journey to the Origin. This is the common teaching of all esoteric religions. There is only one truth but not  two. All saints speak in the same frequency and wavelength. Succinctly put, religions teach all men to be not greedy so as to respect the basic rights of ownership of others  and to be not angry so as not to harm others whom we do not dislike. Such wholesome treatment of others helps construct a harmonious and peaceful society. This is what religions are all about. Religions unite and not divide as the Absolute Truth or Ultimate Truth expounded  by all esoteric religions is the Oneness or Unity of universe or cosmos. Buddha or God is synonymous with Truth (Buddhism: satya; Islam: Gaqq; Christianity: Truth).

Multiplicity
The Origin is reached by piercing through the illusion of the diversifying differentiations of the  knowledge of conventional truth and intuitively penetrating into the ultimate Truth of  Reality which is one and not two.  The diversifying differentiations are commonly  expounded by the religious masters or saints as the multiplicity or manifoldness of the empirical world perceived through our six sense faculties or organs. The multiplicity is conventionally designated as ‘All Phenomena’ (sabbe dhammā) in the Buddhist tradition. It is generally designated as the myriad things or beings of the cosmos by the secular perceivers. In the monotheistic esoteric religions, they are generally designated as the creatures or creations of God. The monotheistic masters, saints, savants, intelligentsia or philosophers expound them as the shadows or reflections of God. Mahāyāna Buddhism of the Yogācā̄ra tradition expound the contigent phenomena  of multiplicity  as the creation or manifestation  of the human consciousness or mind. The Yogācārins perceive everything as mind-made.  

Simple but Profound Messages
Gotama Buddha preached that one ought not to regard the five aggregates or the 6 sense faculties or 12 sense bases or 18 sense consciousness as ‘This is I; This is not Mine; This does not belong to me.’ This soteriological message to liberate oneself is not apprehended by the countless followers and therefore the worldlings are entangled by the bondage of suffering or vexation. God says,  “ Love your neighbour; Love your enemies.” or “ Love God and be the absolute
obedient servant of God.” or “ Fear God and remember God.”. Actually, all these utterances or statements of God are profound soteriological messages of salvation. If the worldlings have discerned intuitively or realized the Absolute Truth behind the  Word of Buddha or the Divine Message of God, all worldlings would be saved or liberated. The common soteriological message is that if and only if the worldlings annihilate the illusive self or ego (so called in Buddhism) or animal self or lower self of egoism (so called in monotheistic religions, such as  Islam or Christianity), the worldlings would have been awakened from the darkness of ignorance and resultant perversion and will gain eternal emancipation or salvation. With Buddha-realization or God-realization, the cosmic illusion of the multiplicity of the cosmos is pierced into and realized.

Supremacy of Man
Human beings are innately divine (so called  in monotheistic religions) or are potentially Buddhas (so called in Mahāyāna Buddhism). Human beings are supreme among all living beings in the sense  that only the human beings are able to intuitively penetrate the profound message  of the Buddha or God and teach the message of Absolute Truth. It is through the self-enlightened or self-realized men or men of God-realization that the ineffable eternal Buddha or God is seen by Man. Buddha or God is Truth and not an idoltry. Only Truth and  not idol is worshipped in all genuine esoteric religions, such as Upaniṣads, Vedānta, Kṛṣṇa or Hinduism, Buddhism, Tao, Confucianism or Neo-confucianism, Christainity and Islam.

Conclusion
The majority of the human beings  perceives the conception of salvation or deliverance at the supramundane level as the joy of  eternal blissful life after death on Earth. The universal intellect or perfection of wisdom ought to be applied universally while living or leading a mundane or secular life on Earth.  Human emancipation is judged from the absolute mental appeasement of man who loves himself and others non-discriminatively and  who treats oneself and others virtuously and wholesomely without any self-interest and with public interest at heart. He preserves his inner peace and silence of the mind and he is fully aware that being nice to others is actually being nice to oneself without any motive of self-interest or egoism. True liberation  is lived while one is still leading an earthly life. The mundane life can be lived divinely or wholesomely through universal intellect or wisdom by utilizing both the left and right-brain thinking in equilibrium. Basically, left-brain thinking is mundane and right brain-thinking is supramundane. Religious training releases the innate supreme power of right-brain-intuitive thinking. The false thinking of inferiority complex of the ordinary worldings vanishes once they are properly instructed in esoteric religious philosophy. Esoteric religions construct human confidence and virtue and harmonize society. Discrimination, injustice, racism, inequality and enmity all vanish when religious wisdom matures.