Buddhism - Our Long Journey with Mystery Part 2

We continue the Series on 6 of the Major Faith Traditions. Each reflection is a 'short look' at a particular Tradition.

         Our Long Journey with Mystery

Part 2 :-    Buddhism – the Compassionate Way

'What we are today 

comes from our thoughts of yesterday

 and present thoughts build our life tomorrow:

our life is the creation of our mind'   

                                              ( Gautama the Buddha)

Buddhism, the Compassionate Way, is the second of the great Faith Traditions to come out of the rich fertile spiritual soil of India. Actually, it is not technically a religion but it is a great spiritual storehouse and tradition. The Buddha, whose name means 'enlightened one', resolutely refused to discuss the existence or otherwise of God. The Buddhist Scriptures record his response when questioned on God  as; ' The Buddha kept Noble silence'.  For Buddhism, this is not the right question, it is more about living a life in a compassionate and right way and thus finding enlightenment.

Buddhism, like Christianity, is founded both on the teachings of a Guru or Master and trying to follow the example of the Master's life. In addition, both discouraged any attention directed towards them and pointed their disciples towards the real Source and purpose of life. In short, both led by example, were not dominated by the ego and its attachments but rose above or transcended it. Therefore, some background on the Buddha and his  search for enlightenment will help place the essence of his teaching in a context.

Gautama, the Buddha, was born in the 6^th century b.c.e in Northern India. He was the son of a nobleman and was reputed to have been pampered and isolated from the rigours of real life such as illness, poverty and death. What was it that led him towards his 3 great acts of renunciation, enlightenment and teaching?

Renunciation    Legend suggests that his renunciation began with what is termed ‘ Four passing sights’ . The first was the sight of  an old woman which led him to question; ‘ will I too become old’?. The 2^nd was an ill elderly man and he wondered, ‘will I too get ill’? The 3^rd was seeing a funeral pyre and he wondered’ ‘ will I too die’ ? and the 4^th was when he saw a sannyasi (holy one) who had renounced the world. This led him to reflect on these questions and at 29 he renounced his family, riches and the world to seek the inner truth.

Enlightenment   He wandered for 6 years studying with holy men, meditating and absorbing the wisdom of the sages. He was weak, emaciated and restless and arrived at Bodh Gaya in Northern India, sat under a Boddhi Tree (wisdom tree) and entered a deep meditation that lasted 7 days. He awoke and realised that there was a ‘Middle Way’ between pleasure and asceticism. He sat  in  meditation for a further 7 days and awoke to his true self and reached enlightenment.

Teaching  Like all truly enlightened people, the Buddha then spend the rest of his life teaching about ‘The Middle  Way’  with its  two essential teachings : The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Right  Path to enlightenment.

Four Truths  the first truth is that all life is Dukkha ( suffering). Secondly, the origins of suffering lie in the root evils of greed, ignorance and hatred. Thirdly, the end of suffering comes when the fire and desire of these roots are extinguished, when there is an absence of  ‘attachment’. Finally, there is a Eight Fold  Marga ( path) that leads to liberation.

Eightfold Path.   The eight  right elements on the path to liberation are; Right :- Vision, Purpose/Resolve, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort, Awareness/Mindfulness, Concentration.  Practicing each of these will slowly burn the 3 roots of greed, ignorance and hatred and  dissolve the Ego-Self to reveal the Real Self . Many have heard of the current trend for Right Mindfulness, film stars and Presidents are said to practice it. However, Buddhism advises that the eight elements come as a complete package and cherry picking one or two is merely a starting point. The ego is deep rooted and particularly attached to the deep roots of greed, ignorance and hatred. The journey inward and its tasks are to rid the ego of all attachments. To quote the Buddha ' Who makes unbounded love to become mindful, sees the attachments all destroyed' . It is important to recognise that the Buddha did not die to desire but to the attachment to desire.

Like other great Faith Traditions, Buddhism has many 'schools', two major ones are Theravada 'the way of the elders'  and Mahayana ' the great vehicle' (with many schools or types of Buddhist teachings).  Both agree on the central teachings of  the Buddha and their differences are not important in this short article.  However, the latter, particularly the Zen and Tibetan schools have, arguably, had more influence in the West . Two major examples are the Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama. Both have made major contributions in the areas of non-violence and the quest for World Peace. I would like to end this short article with some words from the Buddhist Scriptures. It is a parable told by the Buddha, as he noticed some insects being attracted to the flame of a lamp on a dark night .

'Those insects see the flame and misunderstand it. They think it offers them happiness but in truth it brings them misery and death.  In the same way human beings see bright flames; the flames of wealth. power, honour and fame. They rush towards these flames, thinking that they offer life and happiness - only to find that they bring misery and death. So it is wise  turn away from what you see and hear outside yourselves; and turn inwards towards your own mind and soul'.   

Powerful and wise words, that have stood the test of 2500 years, with which to end these short reflections on Buddhism