A Comparative Religious Study: Theravāda Buddhism and Monotheism Part 1

Wong Weng Hon

Introduction

 At a superficial glimpse between Theravāda Buddhism and monotheistic religions, the majority of us expect that there should be very glaringly controversial dissimilarity than unifying similarity between the two religious systems. I am referring to the issue of a permanent substance in the continuity of tri-temporal existence. If the God of monotheistic religions is conceived as a permanent substance, then Theravāda Buddhism, advocating against any permanent substance underlying the phenomenal or empirical world, will be dialectically in opposition to monotheism.

Permanent Substance

Theosophically put, God or Buddha is not a permanent substance. Both refers to a common eternal Truth of Unity and Non-duality. A permanent substance is totally independent and unrelated with others. Buddha or God, though beyond words, is the Principle intimately related with all phenomena. God or Buddha are not separate from the phenomenal world or the multiplicity of the uiniverse. in fact, they are closely related like shadow and object.

Immanence and Pervasiveness

God or Buddha has been misconceived as a permament substance because of substantial or metaphysical view of ontology and Theology. May I repeat? A permanent substance is a self-nature (svabhāva) independent and unrelated to others. If God or Buddha is independent not related with myriad beings of the cosmos, then general conception of immanence or pervasiveness of the God-essence or Buddha-nature everywhere is erroneous and misleading. It follows that pantheism is also incorrigible. God or Buddha is characterized by the attribute of immanence and pervasiveness. From the perspectives of Theosophy and Pantheism, the God-essence or Buddha-nature is intimately correlated with all beings or phenomena. In fact, this absolute Essence of the God or Buddha  is the father or mother of all beings.

Infinity or Borderlessness

The God or Buddha is essentially dependently co-arisen Non-duality or Unity. Non-duality is one and not two. Hence, Non-duality (advaita) is synonymous with Unity. This Unity is ultimately not even one but an infinity or borderlessness. Vedānta or Hinduism categorically exerts that Truth is one and not two. Gotama Buddha also promulgates a similar message thus : Truth is one and not two (Ekaṃ saccaṃ na dutiyaṃ).

Beyond Everything

 At the summit of spirituality, a Hindu passes from Brahman to beyond the designation of Brahman ; a liberated Buddhist passes from Buddha to beyond the designation of Buddha; a saved Christian goes beyond the designation of God ; a muslim Sufi goes beyond the name of Allah. All fully liberated saints will go beyond all denominations of religions culminating in a transcendental state indescribable (anirvacaniya). This is the true climax of any form of esoteric religion in which discrimination vanishes completely. This climax of all religions is known as great nirvāṇa from Buddhist’s perspective. In actuality, it is nameless known as Tao according to Chinese great saint, Lao-tze. In Tibetan concept, this supreme state is known as great perfection.

The clash of modern civilizations is the ignorant and perverse perception of the discrimination of illusive multiplicity. If that climax of crucial spiritual identity between them could be discerned, the currently imperilled world definitely can avert the clashes of civilizations and fosters the alliances of civilizations instead. The crucial identity at the spiritual climax, unveiled in the study of Theosophy, Pantheism and Comparative Religions, is rarely and seriously regarded by the modern religious adherents and even religious scholars or intelligentsia. In actuality, all religious adherents converges at an identical soteriological destination – the realization of perfect wisdom and virtue. It is one world with one dream.

Deficient Knowledge

 Paradoxically, most religious followers do not even have a satisfactory level of  faith in their respective own religions and are remote from their respective God. Being deficient of the knowledge about their own religions, they too do not have any right perspective of  the religions of others. To understand the religions of others, one ought to comprehend one’s own religion first. This is a basic requirement. The first step is to comprehend the religious scripture with proper helps of a good religious master or an experienced teacher. Without right understanding of one’s own religion, there is no way to understand the religions of others. Inter-faith understanding is not possible without a basic grasp of one’s own religion. Religious understanding is a basic living skill like the skills of language and mathematics.

 The perversion of the current world is that interfaith dialogue is not generally encouraged. They erroneously conceive that their own faiths are most superior and most perfect than others. They doubt the superiority and perfection of other faiths. The accusation of others as infidels is erroneous, humiliating and abusive. Intrinsically, all major world esoteric religions are equally superior and perfect. Any genuine esoteric religion is a teaching of absolute perfection because the climax of spirituality of all religions is supramundane and is beyond all religions. There is only one supramundane Truth beyond all religions.

Poisons of Discriminations

All religious teachings unveil the fact that discrimination or duality is ignorance or perversion. Religious discriminations lead to other forms of discriminations and conflicts. Political, racial,and religious distinctions are the most severe forms discriminations which imperil nations and the world. Discrimination plunges many nations and the world into the darkness of disruptions, confrontations, protests, humiliations and demonizations of others. The initial spark of collision of civilizations commences from those seeds of religious, racial or political discriminations, self-righteousness and insults which burn the emotions of others.

Religious non-discriminative wisdom penetrating into the universality of all major religions is the only savior for mankind. All other non-religious thoughts and dogmas are fundamentally discriminative and divisive.

Self or Ego

All Buddhist practices and in fact the practices of all esoteric monotheistic religions must be concluded with the annihilation of self or ego. This is the first principle of salvation which cannot be compromised. Eradication of self or ego leads to deliverance or salvation. Self or ego is ignorantly superimposed by all ordinary worldlings. Without its eradication, the fallibilities of human life can not be wiped out. Consequently, the eternal life of immortality  is not reached. Dissimilar esoteric religions employ dissimilar religious ritualistic and exoteric practices. Nevertheless, these different external practices are orientated towards the an identical esoteric goal of salvation or liberation from incessant suffering.

Self-Power and Other Power

Gotama Buddha promulgates the Buddhist practice of four establishments of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna). Right mindfulness (sammā Sati) and clear comprehension are developed and cultivated from these four establishments of mindfulness. The underlying objective of this mindfulness meditation is to develop the wisdom (paññā) of insight (vipassanā). The wisdom pertains to intuitive discernment of ‘Three Universal Characteristics’ (Tilakkhaṇas) of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and insubstantiality(anattā). This wisdom fruitfully relinquishes the false notion of self or ego. This is Buddhist strategy to attain emancipation.

Generally, the Theravādin Buddhists conceive that the savior is not the Buddha. The true savior is one’s personal effort of self-development and self-cultivation to destroy self or ego. This is known as self-power generally. In close scrutiny, asserting that the Buddha is not a savior is unjust to the Tathāgata, our common Buddhist Master. Without access to the Word of the Buddha, we will go astray. In this sense,, the Buddha is teacher who instructed men on the right path leading to liberation. However, if we are not willing to follow the instructions of our Master, we cannot be saved. Personal wills and the wills of Tathāgata must overlap or intersect to actualize the attainment of soteriological goal. A sound can only be produced only if two hands are clapped. The non-duality between the Buddha’s Word and personal efforts to seek salvation is the ultimate saviour or refuge. 

But if the Buddhist disciples refuse to accept the Buddha’s Word (external power),  adhere to his instructions, develop and  cultivate himself or herself (self-power), he or she can not be saved or delivered. The Buddhist Law of Dependent Co-arising states that we need both hands to clap to break into rapturous applause. Both external power of Lord and internal power of the self-effort of the believer are collectively called the savior. They are non-dualistic. The saving power is mutually produced. Emancipation or salvation is dependently co-arisen from both powers. Both the fuel and fire dependently co-produce the heat. The non-duality between self-power and other power is the true savior or refuge. Non-duality is the eternal Truth of Dependent-co-arisen Unity applicable universally. Non-duality or dependent co-arising pervades every phenomenon.

 Real Savior

In the monotheistic system, many of its adherents dogmatically single out their God as the sole Savior and the works of believers are marginized. This is reason why so many believers are not saved by the All-mighty Savior - God. The evidence is obvious- the principle of non-duality is violated. Such a general dogmatic assertion can be very misleading. If God is the sole Savior, all monotheists would be saved without any believer being left out in the cold to suffer. General knowledge reveals that not all monotheistic believers are saved and permeated with holy spirit or divine consciousness dwelling in their hearts. God does not automatically sit on throne of the life of a saved believer if the believer does not have faith to receive God.

A saved believer first develops absolute faith in God through right apprehension of the Word of God or the holy Scripture. This is first Christian commandment of loving God – the love of Truth. The second Christian commandment is to love neighbours (others) as one loves oneself. Without loving the neighbours, one does not truly love God.  In his work ‘Salvation and the Word of God’, David J.Stewart writes thus :

 The Bible is the ‘seed’ in our heart that sprouts into new spiritual life. Whether or not the seed dies or lives is dependent upon you. If you do not accept the Bible as God’s Word, then you are well nigh (near) hopeless.

Man’s Wills and God’s Wills

It is thus evident that whether or not a Christian is saved is contigent upon the believer who must do his or her homeworks. God alone without reciprocal actions from a believer can not save the believer. Man is given the freewill to accept or not to accept the will of God. Only those who surrender their own wills to God’s wills be saved. Those who insist on their own wills (let their own wills be directed by self or ego) are said to be sinful against God. The sinful, dominated by self or ego, can not be saved. God will save only those who desire to be saved. God helps only those who help themselves. We create our own karmas. God do not create the karmas for us. The karmic law of cause and effect is compatible with the monotheistic position that man himself has the freewill to surrender or not to surrender his wills to the God’s wills. If man does not surrender his wills to those of God, his or her self-interests are directed or empowered by self or ego. Thus, this man is said be and sinful and rebellious against God.

Mere sentimental or emotional belief in or love of God cannot save an ordinary believer. Faith, derived from wisdom of understanding, must be developed from insightful comprehension of the message of the messenger, apostle, the scripture or God’s Word. Without understanding and adhering fully to the commands in the servitude of God, the illusive self or ego will sit on the throne of a believer’s life. Self or ego directs all his daily activities. The assertion, that self or ego sits on the throne of one’s life, connotes that it is self or ego which directs and empowers all activities of an unsaved believer. Self or ego separates one from God or Truth.

 The clinging upon self results from ignorance and selfish emotions. Such self-centred emotions conceal one from perceiving the God or Truth. Only an absolute believer, who has arrived at the platform of selfless goodness or virtue, can discern the God or Truth. God and Truth are synonymous. A lover of God is a lover of Truth creating the intimate relation between the Lover (Believer) and the Beloved (God or Truth). The Truth is either discerned by the mind within the mind or outside the mind in the multiplicity of the empirical or phenomenal world. Truth pervades everywhere for those who are seers. Faith is arisen from the wisdom or knowledge of the Truth of God or Absolute essence. A monotheist must exert efforts to comprehend the message of God in order to develop absolute faith in God to save himself or herself. Absolute faith in God is earned and not freely given by God. If absolute faith is freely given, all beings will be saved. The true fact is that countless believers and non-believers are not saved.

 True religious faith is derived from penetrative wisdom or intuitive understanding of the Word of God or the Scripture. Penetrative wisdom refers to the intuitive perception of two crucial truths.Firstly, the world of creation is mere illusion as it is only the shadow of God. Secondly, the ordinary mind is directed and empowered by superimposed self or ego which separates one from God.  Having developed faith from such discerning perception, the believer can surrender willingly to the commandments of the beloved God in utmost devotion. To be saved by God is to be saved by the genuine understanding of the eternal Truth of What God or absolute Essence really is. The eternal Truth is expounded by the messenger or apostle of God. The Truth must be discerned by a believer in order to be saved. The messenger or apostle is the perfect image of God from whom we learn the Word of God. Human beings cannot learn directly from God but from His messengers or apostles.

Understanding God’s Word

 Today, we are sad to be informed that even church’s religious preachers are convicted of in sexual misconduct. This reflects that not all believers are saved by God. Only the combining understanding of God’s Word and virtuous conduct of love for others will save a believer.  Faith can never be developed through blind emotional belief or sentiments without apprehension of the Word of God and genuine practice of love for others. Both theory and practice must come together to effect salvation. Both grace of God and the works of believer dependently co-produce the salvation. I would like to stress here that a good preacher is very helpful. The believer must learn and seriously practise. There is no free lunch in the world.

A towering Sufi giant, Fakhruddin ‘Araqi in his Work ‘Lama’at’ (Divine Flashes) explains why the eternal Truth is not discerned by ordinary worldlings:

The magic spring
that gives eternal life
is in your own heart.
But you have blocked the flow.

The wisdom of discerning the Truth flows forth from the sincerity of the heart. But human ignorance has stopped the flow of that wisdom. According to ‘Araqi, the ignorant does not have the Certainty’s Eye (called Dhamma Eye in Buddhism). One with the Certainty’s Eye, on discerning the Truth, finds himself lost (his self or ego has vanished ) because the believer (lover) and the believed (the Beloved) merges into one non-dualistically. We can rely on the exposition of Araqi because he was himself a Sufi gnostic. The Certainty’s eye arises only from understanding the Word of God or His messenger or apostle.

                                  To be continued in Part II

Editor’s Note :

This article is written specially to unify the world through the right perception of universality of religions and the unity of universal brotherhood of humanity. The inspiring song ‘We are the world and the world is One’ still resonates incessantly and vividly in my ears hitherto. I heard that song when I was in my late childhood many many years ago. In those yesteryears, I immersed in the tune of the melody purely for joy of music. But today, I immerse and rejoice in its divine message of profound Truth – the Ocean of Unity.