Buddhism Explained

(First published in Small World Ezine on 7 July 2003)

 

(Genesis Stock Photo)

I am writing today is because of these two news articles at BBC...

Buddhists 'Really Are Happier'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3047291.stm

This article says that Tests carried out in the United 
States reveal that areas of their brain associated with 
good mood and positive feelings in Buddhists are more 
active, and suggests that -- "Buddhist meditation can help 
calm people." 


UN Helps Rebuild Afgan Culture
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2992760.stm
The rebuilding this article mentions is the rebuilding of 
the world's largest Buddha statues carved on a mountain, 
which was destroyed by the Taliban years earlier.


I think there are a lot of issues in Buddhism that are 
misunderstood or confused and would like to explain them 
from my Buddhist point of view.

 

Do you believe?

No! One of Lord Buddha's popular teachings is, "Do not 
believe." Do not believe even though the person who told 
it to you is your teacher, your parents, a good person, or
even Lord Buddha himself. Do not believe even though it's
believed by people for a long time. And do not believe in 
any circumstances, until... You have considered, 
experimented, and proved by yourself that it is true. And 
you will believe so until you can prove otherwise.

This is like a scientist's theory-proving -- think, observe, 
experiment, and theorize.

Don't get me wrong. When we do not believe, we do not 
disbelieve either. We leave the matter in a compromising 
area. Remember? Before the invention of a microscope, people
thought bad spirits or wrong-doings caused diseases. Long 
time ago no-one have heard about Oxygen, virus, atoms, or 
the planet of Pluto. Nowadays we still cannot see them with 
our bare eyes, but we know for sure they exist. How about 
spirits, ghosts, angles, or heaven and hell?

Lord Buddha says, "Why do you want to know?" , "What do you
gain if you know?" and "What if you don't know?" Sometimes,
it is not necessary to know everything, is it? If you know 
there is another planet after Pluto in our galaxy, is it 
going to change your life somehow?



Buddha images/statues

No, we do not worship the images/statues. We do not feel
anything when the Taliban destroyed the statues except 
sorry for the Afghans who lost the remarkable artifacts.

A Buddhist knows better than getting attached to anything
in the world. For us (actually not me... I mean for the
enlightened ones), things in this world are not real. They 
change status. Where there is a birth -- there will be a 
death. Nothing lasts forever. Things change. People die. 
Even the Earth itself will be gone one day. Uncertainty
is the most certain thing.

No, they did not destroy Buddhism when they destroyed the
statues. Buddhism can only be destroyed by Buddhists who 
misbehave.

We pay respect to a Buddha image because it reminds us of
Buddha's teaching (Dharma), but we don't worship it or ask
for blessing (at least that's the theory... LOL). There is
a rule of Karma to take care of what we'll get in the 
future. No matter how many blessings we've got, if we kill
and lie and etc., blessings won't help!



What exactly is "Karma"?

No, "Karma" is not your past life. "Karma" is a Sanskrit 
term for "action". The rule of Karma simply states that,
"our volitional actions inevitably have consequences for 
us." (Kulananda, 1996). Scientific speaking -- You can 
apply Sir Isaac Newton's third law, "Action equals to 
Reaction," here.



Meditation and Buddhism

Mediation (not Yoga) is one of Buddhist way to stay
peacefully calm, know oneself, focus, and learn from the 
inside. To hear yourself and to consider about things you 
have heard. In Buddhism, study yourself and stay conscious 
are two of the most important things that bring you to the
great enlightening.



Martial Arts and Buddhism

Martial Arts and Yoga are misunderstood to be Buddhist
practices. Actually Yoga was practiced in India long before
Buddhist time. Its original purposes were for meditation and
physical therapy. Monks in China's Shaolin temple developed 
their martial arts from an Indian monks who brought Yoga to
China long time ago. There were times China and the temple 
were threatened by The Mongolian and Manchurian armies. And 
Shaolin monks had used their martial skills to protect the
country and their temple efficiently. They had become 
heroes. But these are nothing to do with Buddhism. How about 
Tai-Chi Chuan? The legend said Master Chang Sun Fong -- the 
inventor of the art is a Taoist master, who left Shaolin 
because of some disagreement.



Vegetarianism and Buddhism

Killing or torturing or harming any life forms (men, 
animals and plants) is completely forbidden in Buddhism. 
However, letting yourself starved is also considered
torturing yourself. So, occasional killing for moderate food 
is accepted. Even Lord Buddha himself is not a vegetarian.
On the other hand, there was a tale of Buddha cutting off 
his own flesh to feed some hungry crows (for exchange of 
the life of a prey the crows were about to kill) as well.

However, most Buddhists believe that vegetarianism is a good 
thing because, doing so, you help reduce killing. There is a 
Chinese saying, "Rescuing lives is a better 'good deed' than 
building a seven-storeyed pagoda."



Nirvana -- The Buddhist Heaven

Yes, "Nirvana" is the most-desired destination of life,
according to Buddhism. But NO... it is not a heaven. 
Actually Nirvana is nothing at all. It is the end of 
the circle. When you are enlightened, you are able to get
rid of all temptation. Thus, you don't have any worries
(or "unfinished business" as regarded in the West). Then, 
you feel free to go and never come back to any life form 
(re-incarnation or re-birth) again. In the other word, you
are done! 

If life is suffering because it gets sick, becomes old and 
dies... then Nirvana is a complete happiness because there 
is no life to suffer!

I tried to explain this to my husband and he could not 
understand. He asked if Nirvana is nothing, why we wanted 
to be there. And I could not explain to him either. This... 
Lord Buddha said, "You have to practice it to feel it 
yourself." It must be like a headache or the joy of eating 
icecream. you cannot explain it to people who haven't had 
it. It is also impossible to explain colours to those who 
cannot see, or tastes of food to those who cannot smell. In 
this case, I've never been to Nirvana myself either LOL...



To Be a Good Buddhist

It is easy (but also difficult -- keep reading) to be a good 
Buddhist. You do not have to believe in everything Lord 
Buddha or the monks said. You do not have to go to temples 
and attend any preaching or ceremony. There are only three 
rules here, which cover all... Commit Good Deeds, Refrain 
From Villainy and Purify Your Mind. The third rule is the 
most difficult, isn't it? You can gather at the presence of 
the Dalai Lama, keep looking down to the ground, walk in 
circle, sit down in a meditating position -- but if you go 
picking up a girl (or guy) in a bachelor club after the 
meeting session... if you just do so to gain respects... 
if you behave yourself only because you are afraid of the 
rule of Karma (or afraid of the punishment), you are not a 
good Buddhist. You have to be good because you'd like to.

More:


I am a Theravada Buddhist (kind of more orthodox) from 
Thailand. My perception and understanding might be different 
from those in Tibet, China, or Japan. And I am just 
explaining this from my point of view. 

I'd like to express my standing here again that I am not a 
religious person at all. My husband and daughter are 
Catholic and we have never tried to convert each other. I 
never have thought that my religion (or any religion) is 
better than others. 

And I am not teaching Buddhism here either. Only if there is 
a misunderstanding, I need to explain. You might have 
remembered that our ezine used to talk about Sikhism and
other religions/beliefs too.