The Philosophy Of Buddhism

[snowleopard]

An introduction to the philosophy of Buddhism.

Please do bear in mind while reading this post that it is only my own humble attempt to interpret this great philosophy

First,let's try to understand the meaning of the word "Dukkha"(ทุกขะ)!

Dukkha is an old Pali word which means at least three things in English simultaneously!

Namely unsatisfactoriness,imperfection and impermanence.

Dukkha is sometimes translated into English as simply "suffering".

Buddhism is not pessimistic;eventhough,it might appear to be so at first glance.

This image might be because Buddhism begins with trying to help us understand the cause of our own suffering;so that we can then understand the suffering of the whole World.

Buddhism says that on an individual's personal level,all his problems come from Dukkha.

Dukkha is the conflict arising from the struggle between man's desires and the environmental constraints that prohibit their fulfillment.

If the desire in his mind can be temporarily slaked by a successful action,then this success will soon give rise to new and even stronger desires that will in turn prompt for more action.This cycle continues until the desire becomes so strong that it cannot be fulfilled successfully!

For example,if man desires to do somthing that is allowed within but isn't allowed outside of the parameters of natural laws;then,the energy left lingering in his mind from the frustration of this unfulfilled desire creates Dukkha,or suffering.

Man's limited power over nature is,of course,due to his not being an omnipotent superman and because there's no supernatural deity who can help him with the miracles he needs when he really needs them!

Suffering is the absence of the things one loves;and,suffering is the presence of the things one hates!

On a greater level,all problems among humans in the whole World stem from Dukkha(unsatisfactoriness).

According to Buddhism,the truth of Dukkha being the cause of all human problems holds true,whether be they political problems,social problems,economic problems,

greed,quest for power and dominance,strife,conflicts and wars... or what else have you!!

Buddhism doesn't deny that there exist a lot of happiness in human life but it says that even at the very time we are feeling completely happy,we are also worried about this blissful feeling deep inside of our beings...

That anxiety can be:

Will my happiness last?How can I hold on to my happiness?Do I really deserve to be this happy?

Suffering(Dukkha) begins with confusion as to who or what we really are!

We perceive our "selves" with the idea of an "ego";but this ego is only an abstract entity and nothing solid or concrete.

The insecurity and bewilderment begins right here with the attachment to our impermanent ego.

The more we cling to our ego and believe in its permanence,the more alienated we become and the more we will suffer.

We aren't even consciously aware of some of the natural suffering which all of us have already encountered in our lives,and we live in denial of many other types of suffering we are experiencing.

For example,we don't remember the suffering and pain of our being born into the World and then trying to adapt to a hostile environment outside of the safe womb;we treat illness in our bodies as if the body is our enemy who's now fighting a war against us;and we behave as if old age and death might just be a rumour that doesn't really concern us because it happens only to others.

Buddhism strive for enlightenment and awareness.

It is when the self-important ego doesn't interfere with the mind that we can experience moments of total immediacy and insight.

All people have occasionally experienced some short fleeting moments of enlightenment.These moments can happen at any time without warning.It's when the mind is not preoccupied with memories of the past or with fantasies of the future that these here-and-now glimpses of insight happen!

The Buddha says,"The end of suffering (Dukkha) is enlightenment,Nirvana";and that,"Enlightenment cannot be described,only experienced"!

It's a little like if you were to describe the workings of computers theoretically to stoneage people!

All of us human beings can deal with our personal Dukkha in four different ways,

1.Denial of its existence

2.Resignation and passive acceptance that Dukkha can't be removed

3.Camouflage of Dukkha by using pompous sophistries

4.Go to war against Dukkha with the possibility of exterminating it

The Buddha chose to take a stand against Dukkha!

First by understanding it thoroughly,and then by finding a way to deal with it successfully!

He tried various methods,including some really bizarre stuff ,and after six years' of experimentation,he finally sat down under a "Bodhi" tree at the bank of the Neranjara River,in what's now called Bodha Gaya,India.

He was dead-set determined not to move his own suffering butt away from that very spot until he'd got it completely right!

The real truth!

During his meditation,the Buddha,or Bodhisatta as he was called before enlightenment,was sitting crosslegged and entered upon and dwelt in the four meditative absorptions.

These four meditative absorbtions is a step by step process in reaching the enlightenment which is called "dhyana" in Sanskrit.

While doing this,Bodhisatta Gautama was applying himself to "Mindfulness on in-and-out Breathing".

This breathing technique is called "anapanasati=อานาปานสติ."

When he had wholly understood the Four Noble Truths,he spoke these words of victory,

"Knowledge and vision arose in me;unshakeable is my deliverance of mind.This is the last birth,now there is no more becoming,no more rebirth"!

This is what the Buddha found out...

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism=ความจริงอย่างสูงสีประการ

1.First Noble Truth Is:"Life is suffering"

(i.e.unsatisfactoriness,imperfection,impermanence;=Dukkha)

( ทุกข์หรือความไม่น่าพึงประสงค์ นี้คือทุกขะ=Dukkha)

2.Second Noble Truth Is:"Desire for life gives rise to suffering in endless

successions" !

(i.e. cause and birth of Dukkha)

(นี้คือเหตุเกิดแห่งทุกข์=Cause of Dukkha)

EITHER you cannot be what you want to be,cannot be togehter with the people

and things you like and love,or cannot get everything you desire in life;

OR you are forced to be something you don't like to be,or you must be with

people and things you dislike and hate.

These desires are really taints and defiling impulses called "asavas"(อาสวะ)!

3.Third Noble Truth Is:"The ending of desire will end suffering" (Dukkha)

(นี้คือความดับทุกข์=Extinguishing Dukkha)

4.Fourth Noble Truth Is:"How to end suffering by following "The Noble Eightfold

Path" in life."(i.e. The middle way)

(นี้คือทางดำเนินถึงความด้บทุกข์=The path to extinguishing Dukkha)

The Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism

=ทางสายกลาง (มัชฌิมาปฏิปทา) มรรคมีองค์ 8 ที้ประกอบด้วย...

A.The Wisdom Group (กลุ่มปัญญา=Panna Group)

1.Right Understanding (ปัญญาเห็นชอบ)

2.Right Thoughts (ความดำริชอบ)

B.Virtue Group (กลุ่มศิล=Sila Group)

3.Right Speech (วาจาชอบ)

4.Right Action (กระทำชอบ)

5.Right Livelihood (เลี้ยงชีวิตชอบ)

C.Concentration Group (กลุ่มสมาธิ=Samadhi Group)

6.Right Effort (ความเพียงชอบ)

7.Right Mindfulness (ระลึกชอบ)

8.Right Concentration (ตั้งใจชอบ)

These three groups with their 8 methods are not isolated from one another but are in fact integral parts of the same path.This path has eight lanes which are travelled simultaneously through life!

Crystallized into its true essence,the above would mean something like this,

a.The giving up of all evil

b.The cultivation of all good.

c.The cleansing of one's mind.

d.The Buddha teaches us to abstain from evil and do good which is the function of "Sila",the code of conduct taught in Buddhism.

That "Sila"code of conduct is the above mentioned "right speech","right action",and"right livelihood"!

This "Sila" code of conduct in life is not merely a negatively passive prohibition in order to abstain from doing bad things;but it's also a positively active affirmation to do good deeds(tham bhun=ทำบุญ)

It's like making a life-long career by building a road paved with good intentions and good deeds for the wellfare of all mankind.

These moral and ethical principles aim at making life safe,promoting unity,making society secure,and building harmony and good relations among people.

The three goups-Virtue,Concentration,and Wisdom with their 8 paths-function together for one common goal.

That goal is "Deliverance of the Mind"(เจโตวิมุติ=ceto vimutti)!

Through the genuine cultivation of one's mind and through the control of both physical and verbal actions,purity is attained!

It's through self-exertion and self-development,and never by praying to and petitioning a god,that the "rookie wannabe" disciple will attain and secure freedom.

The 4 truths discovered and 8 ways taught by the Buddha is his "Damma"(ธรรม)

The "Damma" Doctrine and Discipline (พระธรรมกับพระวินัย)

The Buddha never claimed that he was a god,lord or master.He made clear to his disciples before he died that he did not want to control the order of monks (i.e.the Sanga=คณะสงฆ์).

He told them that there is no external savior and they should only follow the Noble Eightfold Path and find their own way!

Buddhism's doctrine is the teaching to free people who choose to follow it by their own free will.

(Very different it is from the hierarchical structure with submission to an almighty god who must be prayed to and pleased in order to gain salvation.This is found in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions,where things are usually taken by faith alone because the followers are told so by dogma!)

The following are some quotes from Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) that show he didn't claim to have any supernatural powers or devine connections!

a.The Buddha says,

"Man must himself by his own resolute efforts rise and make his way to the portals that give upon liberty,and it is always,at every moment,in his power to do so.Neither are these portals locked and the key in the possession of someone else from whom it must be obtained by prayer and entreaty.That door is free of all bolts and bars save those that man himself has made"!

b.Buddha says,

"The doctrine and the disciplines which I have set forth and laid down for you,let them after I am gone be the teacher to you"!

The Buddha repeatedly warns his disciples against shifting the burden from themselves to an external agency (savior,god or Brahman) and instead directs them to the ways of discrimination and research,and urges them to get busy with the real task of developing their inner forces and qualities.

Another aspect of the Buddha was that there was nothing esoteric and secret about his teaching and he was never secretive about anything he knew.He shared his knowledge freely and democratically with everyone and viwed other humans as equals who could become Buddhas one day,as he himself had become through enlightenment!

The Doctrine of Karma (กฏแห่งกรรม)

The karma in Buddhism is totally different from the one in Hinduism!

In Hinduism,both karma and rebirth are permeated with the notion of a self or soul which the Hindus call the "Atman"!

Buddhists categorically deny the existence and rebirth of a self like the "Atman"!

Karma is the law of moral causation!Basically,it is volition!

The Buddha himself says,"Volition,O monks,I declare is kamma""!(kamma=karma)

Volition is will.This "will" is a force,or factor,of the mind and karma is the action or seed!

The effect or fruit is called "kamma vipaka" (กรรมวิบาก).

Volitions may be good or evil,so actions may be wholesome or unwholesome according to the resuls they produce.

It's an endless play of action/reaction,cause/effect,seed/fruit that is in perpetual motion;and. it becomes a continually changing process of the psycho-physical phenomena of existence.It is called "bhava" (ภวะ).

Having willed,man acts through using body,speech and mind,and his actions produce reactions.

Man's cravings and desires give rise to deeds.The deeds produce results.The results bring about new desires and more craving.

This process of cause and effect,action and reaction is natural law.It's law in itself,without the need for a law-maker,or god!

Here we can see that Buddhists do not need an external agency or omnipotent god; like the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions do need so badly.

The Judeo-Christian-Islamic believers have themselves created their omnipotent,omniscient and omnipresent gods who can punish everyone who has committed a sin by breaking some of the arbitrary laws of their particular god!

Buddhism says that man is always changing either for good or bad.This changing is unavoidable but man can control it by his will and actions.

"This is actually the universal natural law of the conservation of energy extended to the moral domain"!

The Doctrine of Rebirth (หลักคืดเกี่ยวกับการเกิดใหม่)

According to Buddhism,there is no life after death,or life before birth,independent of karma or volitional actions.

Karma is the corollary of rebirth;and,rebirth is the corollary of karma.

Birth precedes death,death on the other hand,precedes birth too;so,this pair accompany each other in unbroken succession!

Eventhough man comprises of a psycho-physical unit of mind and the matter that is the body,the mind or "psyche" is not a soul or self!

The "thing" that is reborn is not a a ready-made,permanent,enduring entity like a self but more like a force-or energy.

This "reborn force" is a dynamic continuum which is capable of storing up memories,not only of this life,but also of past lives!

My own personal thoughts on rebirth which is NOT really Buddhist in nature!

Frankly,I personally feel skeptical about the whole notion of rebirth and memories of past lives.I think that the only thing that survives after death of an individual specimen is his/her genes.After having been recombined and inherited,fifty percent each of the genes from both the deceased father and mother live on in the newly created body of their offspring.

In a sense,our bodies are only the vehicles used by our selfish genes so they can be reborn into the next generation!

When the body is used up and has gotten enough milage under the hood,the genes just throw it away on the junk yard and keep driving on in their new body-vehicle!

It's a little like a candle which has burnt down to the stump and then you transfer the flame onto a new candle so it can keep on burning while the old one gets extinguished!

My Personal Observations and Experiences of Buddhism as a Non-Buddhist Among Buddhists

Mainly due to insubordination and total lack of respect for the hypocrisy and superstition they call religion,I've been a misfit in most hierarchical communities around the World where I've tried to live!

But once I reached Buddhist Thailand,I felt like I fitted right into this tolerant and wonderful land!

Theravada Buddhists just smile and shrug their shoulders at my philosophical antics and Atheistic ideas.

If that's the way I wanna do it in life then it's okay by them.They also listen to me politely without being judgmental because they understand deep down that they too don't know the whole truth about life.

I tell them that I think life itself is much bigger than religion,and at least twice as ugly!

I don't believe in religion because I don't want to take anything on faith alone,and continue being an investigative free-thinker.

Be it the good,the bad and the ugly,I want the whole honest truth of life without lies!

What I love about Theravada Buddhists in Thailand is that they are so open-minded,compassionate,tolerant and that they don't take their religion too seriously!

During all my years in Thailand,nobody has ever tried to proselytize me into Buddhism!

That may be the main reason why I don't mind participating in their cute little rituals and beautiful ceremonies;eventhough,I'm an Atheist and free-thinker!

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[snowleopard]

(snowleopard @ Mon 2004-05-24, 00:57:35)

These are the Buddha's last words when he lay down to die at Kuchinagara some 2500 years ago!

The Buddha said to his followers:

"I remind you that all things are impermanent-I advise you to take refuge in yourselves and the Dharma,the teachings...Do you have any questions?"

Nobody had any questions.Everybody was silent!

So the Buddha continued. . .

"Everything that is born is subject to decay.Since there is no external savior,

it's up to each of you to work out your own liberation...These are my last words."

Then he passed away.

A lot of Buddhists and others see Buddhism as a religion;but the Buddha probably didn't intend so himself!

In my interpretation,I think the tolerant Theravada Buddhism is the closest a religion can come to Atheism!

First,let's try to understand the meaning of the word "Dukkha"(ทุกขะ)!

Dukkha is an old Pali word which means at least three things in English simultaneously!

Namely unsatisfactoriness,imperfection and impermanence.Dukkha is sometimes translated into English as simply "suffering".

Buddhism is not pessimistic;eventhough,it might appear to be so at first.This image might be because Buddhism begins with trying to help us understand the cause of our own suffering;so that we can then understand the suffering of the whole World.

On a greater level,all problems among humans in the whole World stem from Dukkha(unsatisfactoriness).

According to Buddhism,the truth of Dukkha being the cause of all human problems holds true,whether be they political problems, social problems,economic problems,greed,quest for power and dominance,strife,conflicts and wars... or what else have you!!

How about religious problems?

Christianity,Judaism,Islam and all of Theism is Dukkha now,isn't it!

We were all natural born Atheists before some of us got brainwashed with religion!

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[sabaijai]

Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy?

The Buddha referred to his teachings simply as Dhamma-vinaya -- "the doctrine and discipline" -- but for centuries people have tried to categorize the teachings in various ways, trying to fit them into the prevailing molds of cultural, philosophical, and religious thought. Buddhism is an ethical system -- a way of life -- that leads to a very specific goal and that possesses some aspects of both religion and philosophy:

It is a philosophy.

Like most philosophies, Buddhism attempts to frame the complexities of human existence in a way that reassures us that there is, in fact, some underlying order to the Universe. In the Four Noble Truths the Buddha crisply summarizes our predicament: there is suffering, it has a cause, it has an end, and there is a way to reach the end. The teachings on kamma provide a thorough and logically self-consistent description of the nature of cause-and-effect. And even the Buddhist view of cosmology, which some may at first find farfetched, is a logical extension of the law of kamma. According to the Dhamma, a deep and unshakable logic pervades the world.

It is not a philosophy.

Unlike most philosophical systems, which rely on speculation and the power of reason to arrive at certain kinds of logical truths, Buddhism relies on the direct observation of one's personal experience and on honing certain skills in order to gain true understanding and wisdom. Idle speculation has no place in Buddhist practice. Although studying in the classroom, reading books, and engaging in spirited debate can play a vital part in developing a cognitive understanding of basic Buddhist concepts, the heart of Buddhism can never be realized this way. The Dhamma is not an abstract system of thought designed to delight the intellect; it is a roadmap to be used, one whose essential purpose is to lead the practitioner to the ultimate goal, nibbana.

It is a religion.

At the heart of each of the world's great religions lies a transcendent ideal around which its doctrinal principles orbit. In Buddhism this truth is nibbana, the hallmark of the cessation of suffering and stress, a truth of utter transcendence that stands in singular distinction from anything we might encounter in our ordinary sensory experience. Nibbana is the sine qua non of Buddhism, the guiding star and ultimate goal towards which all the Buddha's teachings point. Because it aims at such a lofty transcendent ideal, we might fairly call Buddhism a religion.

It is not a religion.

In stark contrast to the world's other major religions, however, Buddhism invokes no divinity, no supreme Creator or supreme Self, no Holy Spirit or omniscient loving God to whom we might appeal for salvation.[1] Instead, Buddhism calls for us to hoist ourselves up by our own bootstraps: to develop the discernment we need to distinguish between those qualities within us that are unwholesome and those that are truly noble and good, and to learn how to nourish the good ones and expunge the bad. This is the path to Buddhism's highest perfection, nibbana. Not even the Buddha can take you to that goal; you alone must do the work necessary to complete the journey:

"Therefore, Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge." [DN 16]

Despite its non-theistic nature, however, Buddhist practice does call for a certain kind of faith. It is not blind faith, an uncritical acceptance of the Buddha's word as transmitted through scripture. Instead it is saddha, a confidence born of taking refuge in the Triple Gem; it is a willingness to trust that the Dhamma, when practiced diligently, will lead to the rewards promised by the Buddha. Saddha is a provisional acceptance of the teachings, that is ever subject to critical evaluation during the course of one's practice, and which must be balanced by one's growing powers of discernment. For many Buddhists, this faith is expressed and reinforced through traditional devotional practices, such as bowing before a Buddha statue and reciting passages from the early Pali texts. Despite a superficial resemblance to the rites of many theistic religions, however, these activities are neither prayers nor pleas for salvation directed towards a transcendent Other. They are instead useful and inspiring gestures of humility and respect for the profound nobility and worth of the Triple Gem.

from http://www.accesstoinsight.org/bfaq.html#neither-and-both

[snowleopard]

Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy? 

The Buddha referred to his teachings simply as Dhamma-vinaya -- "the doctrine and discipline" --

The Whole Quote of the Buddha

This is what Thai books claim the Buddha said to his disciples when he asked them to spread his "Dhamma teaching" after he had understood the Four Noble Truths of "Dukkha" and the Noble Eightfold Path leading to enlightenment!

(Of course,Buddha did not speak Thai )

"จงไป ณ บัดนี้ จงเที่ยวไป เพื่อประโยชน์และความสุขแก่ชนเป็นอันมาก ด้วยเมตตาธรรมแก่โลก อย่าไปรวมกันสองรูปโดยทางเดียวกัน

จงแสดงธรรมมีคุณอันประเสิรฐทั้งในเบื้องต้น ในท่ามกลาง และในที่สุด จงประกาศพร้อมทั้งอรรถ (ความหมาย)

และพยัญชนะ (ตัวอักษร) อันบริสุทธ์บริบุรณ์สิ้นเชิง...."

The Step by Step Translation into English

1.จงไป ณ บัดนี้ จงเที่ยวไป เพื่อประโยชน์และความสุขแก่ชนเป็นอันมาก=

Go now and wander for the welfare and happiness of many,out of compassion

for the world.

2.อย่าไปรวมกันสองรูปโดยทางเดียวกัน=

Let not two of you go together or proceed in the same direction.

3.จงแสดงธรรมมีคุณอันประเสิรฐทั้งในเบื้องต้น ในท่ามกลาง และในที่สุด=

Proclaim the "Dhamma teaching" that is excellent in its beginning,excellent in its

progress and excellent in the end.

4.จงประกาศพร้อมทั้งอรรถ (ความหมาย) และพยัญชนะ (ตัวอักษร) อันบริสุทธ์บริบุรณ์สิ้นเชิง...."=

The Dhamma is possessed of mening to the letter and utterly perfect...

Cheers!

Snowleopard.

[snowleopard]

"To study the way of Buddha is to study oneself.

To study oneself is to forget oneself.

To forget oneself is to be enlightened by everything in the world.

To be enlightened by everything is to surrender one's own body and mind."

[Gohonzon]

As this is such a vast area, and requires a great deal of applied study (apart from the basic teaching adherd to by all Buddhist schools,the Four Noble Truths for example.) I'd recommend this website for definitions and discussion on Buddhist philososophy-and much,much more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_phil...s_philosophy.3F

Having read your conclusion once more-but less tired-I notice a couple of things.Fistly,on the question of faith.This is a question that I have wrestled with ocassionally,i.e. are faith and Buddhism compatable? If we are talking of the kind of blind faith that puts its trust in the unknown-then the answer has to be that there is no place forthat kind of faith in Buddhism.However, if we define faith in the context of faith,study and practice then we have realisable and seen benefits of faith.As Nichiren Daishonin writes:

"Faith gives rise to practice and study, and practice and study serve to deepen one's faith. In the "Shoho Jisso Sho" (The True Entity of Life)... Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism Both practice and study arise from faith."

So according to Nichiren Daishonin ,faith is the most important part of the tripartite essentials of Buddhist adherence as it serves as a motor for the other two parts,practice and study.

I think that I have read in earlier writings of Buddha Shakyamuni that faith is no longer applicable after reaching realization.Although the Buddha himself used what is called 'expedient means' in delivering his discourses (this just means that he geared what he said to meet the needs and level of understanding of the audience that he was addressing) I think that it's probably right?

That is,that when a practicioner realizes the benefits of his/her practice then perhaps faith-in ones practice- is no longer a necessary factor.

This is however,semantics.For myself faith in both the Lotus Sutra and practice lead me to deeper study,study-practice,practice-faith,etc.As are most-if not-all things in Buddhism they are interconnected and interrelated.

My last,and more trivial observation ,concerns your observations about the laid backness of Buddhist monks that you've encountered in Thailand.As you seem to equate this with Theravada Budhism then I feel that I should comment.

It seems to me that you may be confusing 'mai phen rai' here with the Theravada tradition.I have met Thravaian monks-including Thai- here in Britain that are less layed back and smiling than those in Thailand.This has nothing to do with their own Dhammic developement,but more to do with the norms ,culture and climate of the country in which they practice.I'm not suggesting that when a certain amount of realization-or enlightenment- about the nature of life has been aquired that one could not easily wear a liberated broad grin indeed

But in the main what you have encountered in Thailand-as pleasing as it is- is more of a cultural norm than any indication of another aspect of the supra-mundane.

In Dharma.

[camerata]

If anyone wants to get into this again, here's one of the topics about Buddhism as philosophy or religion. There's another here.