KEY BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
The Buddha was
not concerned with satisfying human curiosity related to metaphysical
speculations. Topics like the existence of god, the afterlife, or creation
stories were ignored by him. During the centuries, Buddhism has evolved into
different branches, and many of them have incorporated a number of diverse
metaphysical systems, deities, astrology and other elements that the Buddha did
not consider. In spite of this diversity, Buddhism has a relative unity and
stability in its moral code.
The most
important teaching of the Buddha is known as “The Four Noble Truths”, which is
shared with varying adjustments by all Buddhist schools. In general, the Four
Noble Truths are explained as follows:
- The First Noble Truth is
generally translated as “all life is suffering”, which can be easily
understood when it comes to painful situations like death, illness, abuse,
poverty, and so forth. But suffering also may arise from good things
because nothing is permanent, everything is changing, and whatever gives
us happiness will sooner or later come to an end. It seems that all
pleasures are temporary and the more we enjoy them, the more we will miss
them when they end. “Nothing lasts forever”, is one of the insights of the
Buddha.
- The cause of suffering is
desire. Suffering comes from desire, also referred as “thirst” or greed.
Our desires will always exceed our resources and leave us unhappy and
unsatisfied. All suffering originates in desire, but not all desire
generates suffering. Only selfish desire generates suffering: desire
directed to the advantage of the part rather than to the good of the
whole.
- By stopping desire,
suffering also stops. The idea is not to get too attached to material
goods, places, ideas, or even people. Non-attachment to anything is the
main idea behind the third noble truth. It means that since all changes if
our attachment is too strong, we will inevitably suffer at some point.
After all, we will all get old, decay, and die; this is a natural cycle,
and there is nothing wrong with it. The problem comes when, by attaching
too much, we do not accept the changes.
- By following “The Eightfold
Path”, desire stops. The Eightfold Path is composed of: right views, right
intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness and right concentration.
In some
religions, sin is the origin of human suffering. In Buddhism there is no sin;
the root cause of human suffering is avidyā “ignorance”. In
the entrance area of some Buddhist monasteries, sometimes the images of four
scary-looking deities are displayed, the four protectors whose purpose is to
scare away the ignorance of those who enter.
Buddhism does not
require faith or belief. If faith can be understood as believing something
which is unsupported by evidence, and ignorance is overcome by understanding,
then faith is not enough to overcome ignorance and therefore suffering. And
belief, as understood by other religions, is not necessary in Buddhism:
“The question of belief arises
when there is no seeing - seeing in every sense of the word. The moment you
see, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that I have a gem
hidden in the folded palm of my hand, the question of
belief arises because you do not see it yourself. But if I unclench my
fist and show you the gem, then you see it for yourself, and the question of belief
does not arise. So the phrase in ancient Buddhist texts reads 'Realizing, as
one sees a gem in the palm'”
(Rahula W., p.9)
In its most basic
form, Buddhism does not include the concept of a god. The existence of god is
neither confirmed, nor denied; it is a non-theistic system. The Buddha is seen
as an extraordinary man, not a deity. Some Buddhist schools have incorporated
supernatural entities into their traditions, but even in these cases, the role
of human choice and responsibility remains supreme, far above the deeds of the supernatural.
In some Chinese
and Japanese Buddhist monasteries, they go even further by performing a curious
exercise: The monks are requested to think that the Buddha did not even
existed. There is a good reason for this: the core of Buddhism is not the Buddha,
but his teachings or dharma. It is said that those who wish to understand
Buddhism and are interested in the Buddha are as mistaken as a person who
wishes to study mathematics by studying the life of Pythagoras or
Newton. By imagining the Buddha never existed, they avoid focusing on the idol
so that they can embrace the ideal.
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