QUESTION: What is Buddhism?
ANSWER:
The name Buddhism comes from the word
budhi which means
to wake up
and thus Buddhism is the
philosophy of awakening. This philosophy has its origins in
the experience of the man Siddhata Gotama, known as the
Buddha, who was himself awakened at the age of 36.
Buddhism is now 2,500 years old and has about 300 million
followers world-wide. Until a hundred years ago, Buddhism
was mainly an Asian philosophy but increasingly it is gaining
adherents in Europe and America.
QUESTION: So Buddhism is just a philosophy?
ANSWER:
The word philosophy comes from two words
philo
which means
love and
sophia which means
wisdom .
So philosophy is the love of wisdom or love and
wisdom, both meanings describing Buddhism perfectly.
Buddhism teaches that we should try to develop our intellectual
capacity to the fullest so that we can understand clearly. It
also teaches us to develop love and kindness so that we can
be like a true friend to all beings. So Buddhism is a philosophy
but not
just
a philosophy. It is the supreme philosophy.
QUESTION: Who was the Buddha?
ANSWER:
In the year 563 B.C. a baby was born into a royal
family in northern India. He grew up in wealth and luxury
but eventually found that worldly comfort and security do
not guarantee happiness. He was deeply moved by the
suffering he saw all around - and resolved to find the key
to human happiness. When he was 29 he left his wife and
child and set off to sit at the feet of the great religious teachers
of the day to learn from them. They taught him much but
none really knew the cause of human suffering and how it
could be overcome. Eventually, after six years study and
meditation he had an experience in which all ignorance fell
away and he suddenly understood. From that day onwards,
he was called the Buddha, the Awakened One. He lived for
another 45 years in which time he travelled all over northern
India teaching others what he had discovered. His compassion
and patience were legendary and he made thousands of
followers. In his eightieth year, old and sick, but still happy
and at peace, he finally died.
QUESTION: Wasn't it irresponsible for the Buddha to
walk out on his wife and child?
ANSWER:
It couldn't have been an easy thing for the Buddha
to leave his family. He must have worried and hesitated for
a long time before he finally left. But he had a choice,
dedicating himself to his family or dedicating himself to
the whole world. In the end, his great compassion made him
give himself to the whole world. And the whole world still
benefits from his sacrifice. This was not irresponsible. It was
perhaps the most significant sacrifice ever made.
QUESTION:
The Buddha is dead so how can he help us?
ANSWER:
Faraday, who discovered electricity, is dead, but
what he discovered still helps us. Luis Pasteur who discovered
the cures for so many diseases is dead, but his medical
discoveries still save lives. Leonardo da Vinci who created
masterpieces of art is dead, but what he created can still uplift
and give joy. Noble men and heroes may have been dead
for centuries but when we read of their deeds and achievements,
we can still be inspired to act as they did. Yes, the Buddha
is dead but 2500 years later his teachings still help people,
his example still inspires people, his words still change lives.
Only a Buddha could have such power centuries after his
death.
QUESTION:
Was the Buddha a god?
ANSWER:
No, he was not. He did not claim that he was a
God, the child of a god or even the messenger from a god.
He was a man who perfected himself and taught that if we
followed his example, we could perfect ourselves also.
QUESTION:
If the Buddha is not a god, then why do people
worship him?
ANSWER:
There are different types of worship. When someone
worships a god, they praise and honour him or her, make
offerings and ask for favours, believing that the god will hear
their praise, receive their offerings and answer their prayers.
Buddhists do not indulge in this kind of worship.
The other kind of worship is when we show respect to
someone or something we admire. When a teacher walks into
the room we stand up, when we meet a dignitary we shake
hands, when the national anthem is played we salute. These
are all gestures of respect and worship and indicate our
admiration for persons or things. This is the type of worship
Buddhists practise. A statue of the Buddha with its hands
rested gently in its lap and its compassionate smile reminds
us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves. The
perfume of incense reminds us of the pervading influence
of virtue, the lamp reminds us of the light of knowledge and
the flowers which soon fade and die, remind us of
impermanence. When we bow, we express our gratitude to
the Buddha for what his teachings have given us. This is the
nature of Buddhist worship.
QUESTION:
But I have heard people say that Buddhists
worship idols.
ANSWER:
Such statements only reflect the misunderstanding
of the persons who make them. The dictionary defines an
idol as - an image or statue worshipped as a god .
As we have seen, Buddhists do not believe that the Buddha was
a god, so how could they possibly believe that a piece of
wood or metal is a god? All religions use symbols to express
various concepts. In Taoism, the ying-yang is used to
symbolise the harmony between opposites. In Sikhism, the
sword is used to symbolise spiritual struggle. In Christianity,
the fish is used to symbolise Christ's presence and the cross
is used to symbolise his sacrifice. And in Buddhism, the
statue of the Buddha is used to symbolise human perfection.
The statue of the Buddha also reminds us of the human
dimension in Buddhist teaching, the fact that Buddhism is
man-centred, not god-centred, that we must look within not
without to find perfection and understanding. So to say that
Buddhists worship idols is not correct.
QUESTION:
Why do people burn paper money and do all
kinds of strange things in Buddhist temples?
ANSWER:
Many things seem strange to us when we don't
understand them. Rather than dismiss such things as strange,
we should strive to find out their meaning. However, it is
true that Buddhist practice sometimes has its origin in popular
superstition and misunderstanding rather than the teachings
of the Buddha. And such misunderstandings are not found
in Buddhism alone, but arise in all religions from time to
time. The Buddha taught with clarity and in detail and if some
fail to understand fully, the Buddha cannot be blamed. There
is a saying;
JN 28-9
If a man suffering from a disease does not seek
treatment even when there is a physician at
hand, it is not the fault of that physician.
In the same way, if a man is oppressed and tor-
mented by the disease of the defilements but
does not seek the help of the Buddha, that is not
the Buddha's fault.
Nor should Buddhism or any religion be judged by those who don't practise it properly. If you wish to know the true teachings of Buddhism, read the Buddha's words or speak to those who understand them properly.
QUESTION:
If Buddhism is so good why are some Buddhist
countries poor?
ANSWER:
If by poor you mean economically poor, then it
is true that some Buddhist countries are poor. But if by poor
you mean a poor quality of life, then perhaps some Buddhist
countries are quite rich. America, for example, is an
economically rich and powerful country but the crime rate
is one of the highest in the world, millions of old people are
neglected by their children and die of loneliness in old
people's homes, domestic violence and child abuse are major
problems. One in three marriages end in divorce, pornography
is easily available. Rich in terms of money but perhaps poor
in terms of the quality of life. Now, take Burma, a country
that is economically backward. Parents are honoured and
respected by their children, the crime rate is relatively low,
divorce and suicide are almost unheard of, as are domestic
violence and child abuse, pornography and sexual licence
are non-existent. Economically backward, but perhaps a
higher quality of life than in a country like America. But
even if we judge Buddhist countries in terms of economics
alone, one of the wealthiest and most economically dynamic
countries in the world today is Japan where 93% of the
population call themselves Buddhists.
QUESTION:
Why is it that you don't often hear of
charitable work being done by Buddhists?
ANSWER:
Perhaps it is because Buddhists don't feel the need
to boast about the good they do. Several years ago the
Japanese Buddhist leader Nikkho Nirwano received the
Templeton Prize for his work in promoting inter-religious
harmony. Likewise a Thai Buddhist monk was recently
awarded the prestigious Magsaysay Prize for his excellent
work among drug addicts. In 1987 another Thai monk, Ven.
Kantayapiwat was awarded the Norwegian Children's Peace
Prize for his many years of work helping homeless children
in rural areas. And what about the large scale social work
being done among the poor in India by the Westem Buddhist
Order? They have built schools, child minding-centres,
dispensaries and small scale industries for self-sufficiency.
Buddhists see help given to others as an expression of their
religious practice just as other religions do but they believe
that it should be done quietly and without self-promotion.
Thus you don't hear so much about their charitable work.
QUESTION: Why are there so many different types of
Buddhism?
ANSWER:
There are many different types of sugar: brown
sugar, white sugar, granulated sugar, rock sugar, syrup and
icing sugar but it is all sugar and it all tastes sweet. It is
produced in different forms so that it can be used in different
ways. Buddhism is the same. There is Theravada Buddhism,
Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Yogacara Buddhism
and Vajrayana Buddhism but it is all Buddhism and it all
has the same taste - the state of freedom. Buddhism has
evolved into different forms so that it can be relevant to the
different cultures in which it exists. It has been reinterpreted
over the Centuries; so that it can remain relevant to each new
generation. Outwardly, the types of Buddhism may seem
very different but at the centre of all of them is the Four Noble
Truths and the Eightfold Path. All major religions, Buddhism
included, have split into schools and sects. But the different
sects of Buddhism have never gone to war with each other,
they have never expressed hostility towards each other and
to this day, they go to each other's temples and worship
together. Such tolerance and understanding is certainly rare.
QUESTION:
You certainly think highly of Buddhism. I
suppose you think your religion is right and all the others
are wrong.
ANSWER:
No Buddhist who understands the Buddha's
teaching thinks that other religions are wrong. No one who
has made a genuine effort to examine other religions with
an open mind could think like that either. The first thing
you notice when you study the different religions is just
how much they have in common. All religions acknowledge
that man's present state is unsatisfactory. All believe that
a change of attitude and behaviours is needed if man's
situation is to improve. All teach an ethics that includes love,
kindness, patience, generosity and social responsibility and
all accept the existence of some form of Absolute.
They use different languages, different names and
different symbols to describe and explain these things; and
it is only when they narrow-mindedly cling to their one way
of seeing things that religious intolerance, pride and self-
righteousness arise.
Imagine an Englishman, a Frenchman, a Chinese and
an Indonesian all looking at a cup. The Englishman says,
"That's a cup."
The Frenchman answers,
"No it's not. It's a tasse." The Chinese comments,
"You're both wrong. It's a pei."
And the Indonesian laughs at the others and says
"What fools you are. It's a cawan."
The Englishman gets
a dictionary and shows it to the others saying,
"I can prove that it is a cup. My dictionary says so."
"Then your dictionary is wrong,"
says the Frenchman
"because my dictionary clearly says it is a tasse."
The Chinese scoffs at them.
"My dictionary is thousands of years older than yours, so my
dictionary must be right. And besides, more people speak
Chinese than any other language, so it must be a pei."
While they are squabbling and arguing with each other, a Buddhist
comes up and drinks from the cup. After he has drunk, he
says to the others,
"Whether you call it a cup, a tasse, a pei
or a cawan, the purpose of the cup is to be used. Stop arguing
and drink, stop squabbling and refresh your thirst."
This is the Buddhist attitude to other religions.
QUESTION: Is Buddhism scientific?
ANSWER:
Before we answer that question it would be best
to define the word science . Science, according to the
dictionary is - knowledge which can be made into a system,
which depends upon seeing and testing facts and stating
general natural laws, a branch of such knowledge, anything
that can be studied exactly.
There are aspects of Buddhism that would not fit into
this definition but the central teachings of Buddhism, the
Four Noble Truths, most certainly would. Suffering, the First
Noble Truth is an experience that can be defined, experienced
and measured. The Second Noble Truth states that suffering
as a natural cause, craving, which likewise can be defined,
experienced and measured. No attempt is made to explain
suffering in terms of a metaphysical concept or myths.
Suffering is ended, according to the Third Noble Truth, not
by relying upon a supreme being, by faith or by prayers but
imply by removing its cause. This is axiomatic. The Fourth
Noble Truth, the way to end suffering, once again, has
nothing to do with metaphysics but depends on behaving in
specific ways. And once again behaviour is open to testing.
Buddhism dispenses with the concept of a supreme being,
as does science, and explains the origins and workings
of the universe in terms of natural laws. All of this certainly
exhibits a scientific spirit. Once again, the Buddha's
constant advice that we should not blindly believe but rather
question, examine, inquire and rely on our own experience,
as a definite scientific ring to it. He says:
AI 188
"Do not go by revelation or tradition, do not go
by rumour, or the sacred scriptures, do not go by
hearsay or mere logic, do not go by bias towards
a notion or by another person's seeming ability
and do not go by the idea 'He is our teacher'.
but when you yourself know that a thing is good,
that it is not blamable, that it is praised by the
wise and when practised ard observed that it
leads to happiness, then follow that thing."
So we could say that although Buddhism is not entirely scientific, it certainly has a strong scientific overtone and is certainly more scientific than any other religion. It is significant that Albert Einstein, the greatest scientist of the twentieth century said of Buddhism:
"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the erperience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism."