Download Buddhism The Religion of Thailand

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Buddhism
The Religion of Thailand
By Richard Burns
We live in the eternal now, and it is now that we create our destiny. It follows,
that to grieve over the past is useless and to make plans for the future is a waste
of time.
There is only one ambition that is good, and that is: to live now that none may
weary of life's emptiness and none may have to do the task we leave undone.
- We pay homage to the Buddha for revealing to us the eternal truths of
liberation.
- We pay homage to the Dhamma (the teaching of the Buddha) for making
known to us the nature of existence.
- We pay homage to the Sangha (the order of monks) for preserving the Teaching
and practicing its precepts.
Introduction
In recent years Western visitors to Thailand have displayed an increasing interest
in our national religion, Buddhism. "Who was the Buddha?" "What do Buddhists
believe about life after death, good and evil and the beginning of the world?" To
answer these and similar questions the present writing is intended.
The Buddha's teachings can be understood on two distinct levels. One is logical
and conceptual and is concerned with an intellectual comprehension of man and
the external universe. It is on this level that the above questions are more easily
answered.
The second level is empirical, experiential and psychological. It concerns the
ever-present and inescapable phenomena of everyday human experience -- love
and hate, fear and sorrow, pride and passion, frustration and elation. And most
important, it explains the origins of such states of mind and prescribes the means
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for cultivating those states which are rewarding and wholesome. It was to this
second level that the Buddha gave greater emphasis and importance, for its truth
is demonstrable within the realm of everyday human existence, and its validity is
independent of any world view or belief about life after death.
However, as a means of introducing Buddhism to those who have little or no
previous knowledge of the religion, this writing will give greater emphasis to the
former level. The experiential and psychological aspects of the Teaching are
outlined at the end.
The Buddha and His Teachings
In this essay we shall focus our attention on the teachings of the Buddha as
preserved in the Pali language. These scriptural writings form the basis of the
Theravada school of Buddhism, which predominates in Burma, Laos, Cambodia
and Ceylon.
About the year 543 B.C., in a region which is now the land of Nepal, a son was
born to King Shuddhodana, ruler of the Sakya clan. The child was named
Siddhartha Gotama, and his father surrounded him with vast stores of material
wealth and luxury. Although the young prince was given an excellent education,
King Shuddhodana took measures to prevent the boy from learning of the
misery and suffering which prevailed throughout the world. However, we are
told that on a certain occasion young Siddhartha rode through the village streets
and beheld a man old and decrepit, then he saw a man severely stricken with
illness, a dead man, and finally an ascetic or holy man. Shocked by the cruel
realities of life and moved by a deep compassion for the sufferings of humanity,
the young prince abandoned the pleasures of his aristocratic heritage and went
forth alone in search of truth and salvation.
First, he sought out the great spiritual teachers of his day and mastered their
meditative exercises. He soon realized, however, that trance states and mysticism
are no the paths to salvation. Next, he undertook the disciplines of rigorous selfmortification, as was commonly practiced in ancient India. But asceticism proved
to do little more than produce a weak and fragile body. Finally, after six long and
strenuous years he sat in quiet meditation beneath the now- famous Bodhi Tree.
There looking deep into the nature of his own being, he achieved a level of
insight which few men have known. This he called Nirvana, and from that time
forth he became known as "The Buddha" or "The Enlightened One". The
remaining forty-five years of his life were dedicated to the service and
instruction of his fellow beings.
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Five Fundamental Concepts
The Buddhist worldview can best be under stood if we see it as being based
upon five major assumptions:
I. Mutability or Change
All objects, conditions and creations are regarded as being in a continuous state
of change. Nothing finite is eternally fixed or unchanging. Birth, growth, decay
and death are inevitable for all material objects, men, societies and states of
mind. Herein lies the answer to the mystery of creation: new forms arise out of
the old; each new condition is determined by that which preceded it.
II. Cause and Effect
This process of change, however, is not considered to be chaotic but rather is
regulated by a universal Law of cause and effect. The laws of cause and effect are
impersonal, impartial and unchanging. The only things, which do not change are
the laws of change.
III. Selfishness and Suffering
The Law of cause and effect includes not only the laws of physics and chemistry
so familiar to the Western world, but also includes laws of moral or
psychological cause and effect known as karma-vipaka, or more commonly,
karma.
Karma acts through time, and thus the full effects of one's thoughts and deeds
may not become manifest until some years later. Karma is inescapable, for the
Buddha said:
Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, nor if we enter into the clefts of the
mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where a man might be
freed from an evil deed.
Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, nor if we enter into the clefts of the
mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where death could not
overcome a mortal.
(Dhammapada 127-8)
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One important aspect of the law of Karma is that selfishness results in suffering
for the selfish party in proportion to the amount of wrong that has been
committed.
Conversely, love, compassion and other virtuous states of mind create
proportionate amounts of happiness and emotional well- being. Often this is
stated, as "Desire is the cause of suffering." And in this context the word which
has been translated into English as "suffering" is the Pali word dukkha. Dukkha
is a term, which includes all types of unpleasant experiences such as worry, fear,
sorrow, dissatisfaction, disharmony, etc. When the mind is craving pleasures or
is strongly motivated by greed, hatred or egotism, it becomes predisposed to
dukkha. A paradox is noted in that happiness is best found by those who are not
preoccupied with looking for it. Thus we find in Buddhism no eternal
punishment or eternal reward, but rather happiness and sorrow in proportion to
one's own thoughts and actions.
Karma operates independently of any social mores or cultural standards of good
and evil. Also, it does not account for all pleasure and displeasure, for the
Buddha said that many of one's pleasures and painful experiences are not the
result of ones previous actions. (Anguttara-Nikáya I, 173)
IV. Nirvana (Nibbána)
Since all, which is born, must die, since all which is finite must change, the only
thing immortal, infinite and unchanging is that which was never born and is not
compounded. This is Nirvana. But the Buddha talked relatively little about
Nirvana, for since it is neither matter nor energy, and since it does not exist
within space and time, it is completely unrelated to anything with which we are
familiar. Thus, it cannot be described, conceptualized nor understood by the
normal human mind. It is known only by direct experience beyond sense
perception and is the end of all dukkha.
When Nirvana is experienced, egotism has died, for Nirvana comes only with the
abolition of all selfishness and craving. Yet one does not vegetate but continues
to act and work as long as the body remains alive. This is Buddhist salvation, and
it is found by the training of one's mind and a maturing of the personality. Since
it can never be known or comprehended except by direct experience, one should
not concern one self with looking for Nirvana per se, but rather one should seek
to abolish selfishness from his own personality, and this is a rewarding endeavor
regardless of whether or not the highest goal is reached. Said the Buddha:
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"Liberated, the wise are indifferent to the senses, and have no heed to seek
anything; passionless they are beyond pleasure and displeasure." (Sutta-Nipata
IV)
Verifiability
Finally, it is stated that the above four premises can be verified by one's own
reasoning and experience with no dependence on external authority. In a Tibetan
text the Buddha is quoted; "Just as people test the purity of gold by burning it in
fire, by cutting it, by examining it on a touchstone, so exactly should you, my
disciples, accept my words after subjecting them to a critical test and not out of
reverence to me." ("Self Mastery", by Soma Thera. Kandy, Ceylon: Buddhist
Publication Society.)
Some Further Aspects Of The Doctrine
On the basis of the above five postulates there develop a number of important
ramifications:
1. Universality -- Truth is universal and unchanging, and thus depends upon no
one revelation or institution. The facts discovered by the Buddha are available
for all to discover, and in this sense a man can be a Buddhist and never hear
about the religion of Buddhism nor the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha is
quoted as saying:
"It is certainly hard to change one’s set opinions, but a man should let him self
feely test all philosophical systems, adopting and rejecting them as he sees fit.
But the man who is wise no longer concerns himself with this or that system (of
philosophy), he neither prides nor deceives himself. He goes along his
independent way." (Sutta-Nipata 785-786)
2. Un-supernatural -- To one who accepts the teachings of the Buddha, rituals,
offerings, prayer wheels and similar attempts to bring forth super natural help
are of virtually no value. The only value of rituals, chanting and homage to
Buddha images is the humble and earnest state of mind which may be produced,
for such a state of mind has great karmic value.
In the final stages of the path to Nirvana one must rely solely on one's own
efforts and not seek the aid of gods or men.
The Buddha’s dying words were: "Decay is inherent in all compounded things.
Strive on with mindfulness." (Digha- Nikáya II, 156)
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