Buddhism puts salvation or Nibbana completely within the reach of man. It
does not, however, come to him as a gift from outside himself; it has to be
won. There is no one who seeks him out and cures his alienation from ultimate
values. In other words, Buddhism has no place for a Saviour who takes upon himself
the sins of others and obtains for them redemption therefrom.
1. Devas
Buddhism admits the existence of many categories of gods, who are called devas
or radiant ones. None of these devas, however, is permanent and eternal. 'Mey
are to be found in various planes of existence; some of them have longer life-spans
than others. Though none of them is almighty, some of them are credited with
superhuman powers and their favours could be won, though not by prayers or sacrifices.
According to Buddhism, devotees can share merits and radiate thoughts of loving-kindness
to them to invoke their protection.
Their existence in the deva world and the lengths of their lives there depend
on the good deeds they had done in previous lives and when their 'store of merit'
is exhausted, they disappear from their celestial abodes and are born elsewhere.
Many, if not most of them, are followers of the Buddha whose goodness they know.
They are not as fortunate as human beings because in the human world there are
more opportunities for good deeds than in the realm of the devas. Humans can
'share' the merit which they attain by their good acts to the devas.
2. Sharing of Merit
The doctrine on 'sharing of merit' is part of the Buddha's teaching. Such sharing
is made by the doer of the good deed resolving that 'so and so' may partake
of the 'merit' of his good deed. The sharing becomes really effective when the
intended recipient becomes aware of the good deed and rejoices therein. This
is called anumodana (rejoicing therein). The anumodana can be done even without
the knowledge of the doer of the deed. The rationalisation behind it is that
when one finds joy in another's good deed, with or without the knowledge of
the latter, one's own mind is cleaned and purified and this produces its own
meritorious effects. The anumodana can be done by anyone as a conscious, deliberate
act. The 6sharing of merit' is itself a good deed and, therefore, adds to the
'merit' of the good deed already done. The 'person who shares' loses nothing
thereby but adds to his store of merit.
There are special devas or deities of great power, who are considered protectors
of Buddhism. Each Buddhist country has its own pantheon whose sphere of influence
is largely local, though there are a few who could be invoked anywhere. Many
of the local deities have been borrowed or adopted from the followers of other
faiths, chiefly from Hinduism in the case of Theravada lands. In Myanmar, for
instance, the Buddhists seek the favour of the Nats, who preside over the destinies
of Myanmars. In Japan, on the other hand, various Bodhisattvas (Buddha Aspirants)
are invoked.
There are various shrines dedicated to these deities, where devotees make offerings
of fruits and flowers as a token of homage, their praises sung or chanted and
requests made for their favours. No animal is ever sacrificed. This form of
worship has been greatly influenced by the practices of the theistic religion.
This corresponds to what the Buddha said when He declared that in times of distress
or anxiety, people are prepared to go anywhere to seek protection. But the favours
asked for are concerned with mundane affairs. No Buddhist believes that the
worship of devas, however powerful they are, would lead to spiritual development.
3. Faith
The question is often asked as to what place Faith (Pali, Saddha) occupies in
Buddhism. It may be useful in this connection to recall that in the original
Pali canonical texts, there is no word equivalent to the term 'Buddhist'. People
are divided into various categories according to the degree of their spiritual
development. We thus have that ordinary man, one of the 'many folk' (puthujjana),
the good man (kalyana-puthujjana), the noble man (aiiya), and the perfect man
(arahant). The texts do speak of people who go to the Buddha, his Teaching (the
Dhamma), and his Noble Disciples (the Sangha) for 'refuge' (sarana). In Buddhism,
there is no formal act of 'baptism' though there is a stereotyped formula used
by Buddhists in Buddhist lands to express his act of 'taking refuge'which merely
means that the devotee accepts the Buddha as his Teacher and Guide, the Doctrine
as his philosophy and his Way of Life and the Sangha (the Community of Monks)
as the exemplars of this Way of Life.
The Buddhist quality of Saddha means this acceptance in the belief and knowledge
that these Refuges are worthy of such acceptance. There is no 'blind faith'
involved, no case at all of 'believe or be damned'. The Buddha agreed that there
were many teachers and many Ways of Life preached by them and many followers
of such teachers and their Ways of Life. Everyone is left completely free to
make his choice; there is no restriction at all on the individual's autonomy
in this respect. In fact, there were instances when followers of other teachers
repudiated them and wished to transfer their allegiance to the Buddha, He discouraged
them and asked them to give the matter further thought. When they further persisted,
He advised them to continue their benefactions to their earlier teachers.
The well-known passage in the Kalama Sutta, which is so often quoted in this
context, is undisputed evidence of this freedom of choice. It states quite categorically
that nothing should be accepted merely on the grounds of tradition or the authority
of the teacher, or because it is the view of a large number of people, distinguished
or otherwise. Everything should be weighed, examined and judged according to
whether it is true or false in the light of one's convictions. If considered
wrong, they should not be rejected outright but left for further consideration.
Not only is doubt not considered a heinous sin; it is positively encouraged.
4. Right Views and Wrong Views
Buddhist has no specific definition for the terms sammaditthi (right views)
and micchaditthi (wrong views). They refer to views which are intrinsically
right or wrong whether held by Buddhists or others. No view is to be considered
sacrosanct and beyond question. Freedom of thought is a matter of human dignity.
Even the validity of the Buddha's own statements could be questioned. The Buddha
claims no authority for his doctrine except his own personal experience. Real
authority is the authority which truth itself possesses, the truth which authenticates
itself. Such truth has great power, the power even of performing miracles (saccakiriya),
as shown in so many Jataka stories, which are part of the Buddhist cultural
heritage. Saddha should, therefore, be better translated as confidence, trust
or conviction, rather than faith, because faith has connotations not found in
the concept of Saddha.
5. Happiness of All Beings
The Way of Life taught by the Buddha is not, as sometimes suggested, meant specifically
for those who live the monastic life. It is true that the spirituality of non-attachment
which should be developed to attain Nibbana could be achieved more quickly by
the monk rather than by the layman. But, it is quite wrong to say that full
liberation can be achieved only by the monk and not by the layman living a family
life. The Buddha's discourses, as collected and edited by the Council of Elders
which met after the Buddha's passing away, consist largely of sermons addressed
to monks because it was they who mainly formed his immediate audiences. But,
there are numerous discourses addressed to laymen as well. Sometimes they are
addressed to a single individual.
In his very first sermon, called Establishment of the Rule of Righteousness,
he developed the concept of the welfare and happiness of all beings, without
any discrimination whatsoever, 'out of compassion for the but world'. It was
the first time in human history, as we know, that the idea of a general good
or a common good is envisaged, affecting not only the common man but also the
peoples of the world and even more the inhabitants of the universe. It was also
described as a teaching which gives results in this life, without delay, meant
for all time, verifiable and inviting investigation.
6. Unity of Mankind
The Buddha taught not only the necessity of an inner revolution of the individual
for human happiness but also the need for an outer revolution in the life of
Society. Thus, for instance, he preached the fundamental oneness and unity of
mankind, irrespective of colour or race or other physiological characteristics
- as in the case of animals - and created a revolution for the abolition of
the caste system which was prevalent in India in his day. In order to demonstrate
his concept of the oneness of mankind, he moved not only with kings and capitalists
and aristocratic ladies, but also with the poorest of the poor, with beggars
and scavengers, robbers and courtesans.
He admitted into the Order (the Sangha) which he founded, men and women from
all grades of society, regardless of their birth or origin. He ministered to
the sick and the destitute, consoled the stricken and brought happiness to the
miserable. It is said that the first hospitals in history were organised under
his direction. He did not retire from the world after his Enlightenment lived
for forty-five years in the community, constantly seeking out those whom he
could help.
7. Democracy
He valued greatly the liberty of the individual, freedom of thought and. expression
and the ideals of democracy. A commitment to Buddhism is not contradictory to
openness. The Order of the Sangha is considered the oldest democratic institution
in the world and it was set up as a model for lay organisations, including political
institutions. The ideal state envisaged in Buddhism is a democracy, working
for the material and spiritual welfare of the people, guaranteeing political,
religious and personal freedom as well as economic security with full employment.
8. Economic Welfare
Planning for economic welfare is clearly emphasized as part of the functions
of the king or the state. 'When that is properly done,' says the Buddha, 'the
inhabitants, following each his own mission, will no longer harass the realm,
the state revenue will increase, the country-will be quiet and at peace and
the populace, pleased with one another and happy, dancing with their children
in their arms, will dwell with open doors.' A Buddhist text, the Mahavastu,
says, 'The world rests on two foundations: the acquisition of wealth and the
conservation of what is gained. Thherefore, to acquire wealth and conserve what
you have gained, make firm efforts, within the bounds of righteousness.'
9. Ownership of Property
Public ownership of property is favoured in many parts of the world, especially
where socialist principles hold sway. As far as it is known, the first consistent
and thorough going application of the principle of common ownership in a specific
community or society is to be found in the Vinaya rules which govern the Order
of the Buddhist Sangha, where all property, movable and immovable, of any significant
economic value, is held in common trust, without any sort of compulsion. Life
in the Sangha is a corporate life based on the principles of voluntary co-operation.
10. Buddhism and Mankind
From what has been already said, it will be seen that Buddhism is very much
concerned with this world and the life of mankind therein. It is by no means
a world-denying religion. The Buddha described his teaching as being Sanditthika,
primarily concerned with this world, with this life. Even the highest happiness,
that of Nibbana, is to be striven for in this very life. It lays the greatest
stress on the absolute need for making the best of the ever-fleeting present,
so as to ensure that the future is controlled for our well-being. The past is
gone beyond recall. Only the present is available to us for the good life. The
future is yet to come and what we make of it depends entirely on us.
The Buddhist does not regard the world as a prison from which man must escape
to enter heaven. Rather, he seeks to build heaven here. He is not a materialist,
nor does he scorn the advantages of a material civilization. His problem is
not that of a choice between the senses and the spirit but the domination of
the spirit. The Buddhist ideal is to establish an equilibrium between the outside
and the inside, between the externalities of nature and the world around us
and the spiritual progress through the conquest of selfishness. To him, Life
is a great adventure, often a dangerous adventure. The main problem is how this
greatest of all adventures could be directed to a happy ending.
11. Perfection
The Buddhist ideal is that of arahantship, i.e. perfection. To achieve this
ideal, all those factors that militate against such well-being must be removed,
not only for oneself but also for all things that have life. The Buddhist cannot
seek his personal welfare, regardless of others; his welfare is inextricably
bound up with the welfare of the whole world. Hence the Buddha's injunction
that the good man must be sabba panabhutahitanukampi, deeply concerned with
and actively working for the happiness and welfare not only of human beings
but of all living creatures.
Wherever Buddhism found its way, it encouraged the growth of a civilization
and a culture marked by tolerance, humanity, sympathy and understanding, the
twin virtues of karuna (compassion) and panna (wisdom) which form the two main
planks of the Buddhist doctrine.
12. The Modem World
The distinctive feature of the modern world is the acceleration and magnitude
of the process of change. We witness today almost unbelievable change in the
drastic and revolutionary transformation of all human institutions in every
field of human activity. It is true that the breathtaking advantages of science
and technology have destroyed the solid moorings of a more stable way of life,
which had its own ethical character, and cast large masses of men adrift in
a strange and difficult world. The world is fast changing out of recognition.
But these advances have also brought emancipation to humanity in many directions.
They have given us great social and intellectual gains and the means whereby
to destroy hunger and poverty. Societies have been knitted together closer than
ever before, and made more responsive to men's needs and demands. 'Me fault
will not be in the products of scientific and technical advancement but in our
failure to make wise and proper use of them.
In any case, we cannot stop the world; it will go on changing, for change, says
the Buddha, is the fundamental fact of life. No revolution can put an end to
change itself. That is the beauty of change. Without constant change, yesterday's
revolution becomes today's convention and today's convention is tomorrows tyranny.
Our very survival is tied up with change. This is where modern man must find
Buddhism to be particularly relevant to his age. Buddhism accepts change; in
fact, it is built on the truth of constant change and flux. We must learn to
take the rivers as they flow.
We must cultivate the quality of resilience, the ability to adopt, adapt and
be flexible. The moment we come to rigid conclusions and refuse to consider
different points of view, we cease to be intelligent. Our views tend to harden
into dogmas and dogmas make us mulish in our obstinacy. New challenges call
for new responses. If each individual takes care to avoid dogmas, the entire
community becomes an open society which makes the good life possible.
13. Problems Facing Mankind
The problems facing mankind are many. We have problems of food, industry, labour,
wages, unemployment, inequality of opportunity, the gap between the haves and
the have-nots, to mention but a few. They appear very complicated, as indeed
they are, but the aspiration of the common man is a simple one. He merely wishes.
to be able to live in peace and happiness, with freedom to build his own little
world, in human dignity.
He also needs fellowship and understanding and love, and something that will
provide hope for himself and his children, both for this life and in the next.
In many parts of the world even these basic needs are not available. Neither
security nor justice is to be found universally. Uncertainty and insecurity
have become a deadly almost universal curse, both among the rich and the poor,
producing sometimes apathy and indifference, sometimes unrest, tension and revolution.
Science has failed to find the secret of happiness. 7he 'Conquest of nature'
has not succeeded in achieving either plenty or peace. This is not surprising
to us, because the Buddha taught us that happiness is to be found in living
in harmony with the Dhamma, i.e. with Nature, with its beauty and grandeur.
The truth is that mankind, as a whole, is unhappy, desperately miserable.
The situation, therefore, would appear to be extremely complicated and probably
incapable of solution. Yet, if we were to examine the matter carefully, with
knowledge and understanding, we should realize that our modern problems are
not fundamentally different from the perennial problems that have afflicted
people at all times and in all climes. If our modem problems differ from those
of our forbears, it is largely in the matter of their greater number and wider
variety.
Now, the fundamental teaching of the Buddha, as we have seen already, is that
nothing happens except as a result of causes. Once the causes are investigated
and understood, the solutions could be found. It is aft too frequently assumed
that the teachings of ancient sages, such as the Buddha, are too simple to be
efficacious enough to help us in the solution of the exceedingly complex problems
which affect the individual and society in contemporary life. The message of
the Buddha is addressed to the basic human predicament and this makes it both
timeless and timely. It is a guide to action in terms of thought, word and deed.
Each succeeding generation can and must rediscover the relevance of that message
to the solution of its own problems.
14. Highest Happiness
It is the Buddha's teaching that the highest happiness is peace and that there
can be no real happiness without peace. The world is distraught with fears and
threats of wars. Countries involved in war have become awesome arsenals of military
hardware, ensuring continued business and profit to merchants of death and destruction:
Following conflicting ideologies, not only military personnel but thousands
of innocent men, women and children are being mercilessly massacred and incalculable
damage is inflicted on land and property. Nothing escapes the fury and the frenzy
of battle, and to what end? 'Hatred never ceases by hatred,' declared the Buddha,
'but only by love', and again, 'Victory breeds ill-will, for the conquered are
unhappy.' In many other parts of the world, war-clouds hang menacingly near.
The air is full of violence in thought, word and deed.
This, then, is the task of religion - all religions. It is religion alone that
can affect the necessary change of heart -religion which consists not in the
performance of rites and ceremonies and the preaching of sermons, but in a life
of holiness and inner tranquility, resulting in the disarmament of the mind,
which is the only real disarmament.
15. Root-causes of War
The Buddha also teaches us that the only way to achieve peace is by eliminating
the root-causes of war - greed, hatred and ignorance. Today the world is divided
into people of various ideologies, with their power-blocs, who devote most of
their minds and energies to the sterile, negative, cruel business of wars. The
world cannot have peace till men and nations renounce selfish desires, give
up racial arrogance and cleanse themselves of the egoistical lust for possession
and power. Ideology divides, it brings about conflict. Ideology takes multifarious
forms - political, religious, economic, social and educational. Ideology is
an escape from reality. It brutalises man and holds him in bondage to fanaticism
and violence.
It is in men's minds that conflicting ideologies are born, resulting in tension
and war and it is from the minds of men that these conflicts should be eradicated
so that humanity could be filled with thoughts of harmony and peace. The Buddha
declared that the mind is foremost, the forerunner of all things, good or bad,
that, when the mind is cleansed of evil, peace and happiness will reign.
Religion, if it is true religion, must take the whole of man as its province
and not merely certain aspects of his life. The good man, i.e., the man who
follows his religion, knows that there can be no happiness or peace on earth
as long as there is poverty and starvation, injustice and oppression, discriminative
legislation, racial segregation, social disabilities and inequalities, corroding
fear, mutual distrust and suspicion. Self-respect is as necessary to happiness
as food, and there can be no self-respect among those who do not have the opportunity
to achieve the full stature of their manhood.
16. World Problems
The problems that face mankind today and threaten the very structure of humanity
are world-problems and not isolated in this or that geographical area. Their
solution, therefore, has to be sought in world-terms. This involves new conceptions,
on our part, of human relations, not only in the family and the home, our city,
village and our country, but in the context of the world. There is the need
to educate men and women with regard to the evils of narrow nationalism, racism,
colour and creed. Intolerance, arrogance and bigotry which seek to deprecate
and denigrate other peoples, other cultures, other religions, other ways of
life different from our own - these must be eradicated, if we are to find peace.
17. Sinister Past
It has been admitted that religion has, in many respects, a sinister past to
redeem. Too frequently, its mission to mankind has been submitted to exigencies
of provincial or national politics and nefarious schemes for aggrandizement
and conquest. In earlier ages, most national wars were also religious wars.
Too often, also, religion has buried itself with details of ritual and dogmas,
questions of ministerial organisation and the infallibility of books and persons.
It thus narrowed itself down to priestcraft and sacredotalism, looking after
its endowments and establishments.
18. Secularisation
Modern man has, therefore, the right to ask, what use religion has for us of
this age. They would argue that religion has served its purpose; let it, therefore,
die. This is the main cause of secularization which religion everywhere has
to face. Since the problems arising from secularization are more or less common
to all the World Religions, there is no need to examine them specifically here.
The gravest of them, however, are the problems connected with the youth of the
world about whom there exist many misgivings among the older generation and
chiefly among the leaders of the various religions. These misgivings centre
mainly round the violence prevalent among many youth movements and the use of
narcotics and drugs by large numbers of young men and women. Both these factors
seem to be symptoms of a deeplyrooted disease, which, like all other diseases,
must be the result of certain causes. It is the causes that we must discover
before we can think of remedies.
19. Strata of Culture
In almost every country in the modern world, there seem to be three, fairly
distinguishable strata of culture. First there is the traditional culture of
simple virtues, conservative in outlook, which might be called the culture of
normalcy striving to maintain ancient values which have been tested in the crucible
of experience. The second is the modern technologically organised society, liberal
in outlook, trying to adapt itself to changes taking place around it, with almost
breathtaking rapidity. The third is what has been called counter - culture,
represented in the popular mind by so-called hippies, with their long hair,
unkempt appearance, questioning the beliefs and values, with their penchant
for rock-music, uninhibited sex, indulgence in narcotics and drugs with noisy
demonstrations, turning to a communal or tribal life-style, going back to Nature
in what they call 'sheer aestheticism'.
This counter-culture group is generally looked upon with fear and disgust by
the other two cultures. However, there are those, who, having made a close study
of counter-culture, maintain that the popular image is wrong, shallow and superficial,
and that their unorthodox behaviour is only a means of protest against established
society which they regard as completely motivated by prejudice and self-interest.
In the fight of what has thus been stated, what should be the attitude of religion
to those of the modern age, who are to be found everywhere, in numbers large
or small? Surely, it should be an attitude of tolerance and sympathy and, above
all, of understanding, flexibility and adaptation.
Let us not forget that some of the leaders of religion have themselves been
revolutionaries. The Buddha, for instance, was one of the greatest rebels in
human history. He denied the assumptions on which religion in his day was based
and gave the religious quest an entirely new orientation. He refused to accept
the sincerity of the Vedas or the power of the priesthood. He refuted the illusion
that human problems could be solved with sacred rituals and incantations. He
was a sworn enemy of the caste-system on which the whole structure of Indian
Society rested. He was ridiculed and persecuted and several attempts were made
on his life.
20. Salient Characteristics
During the 2500 years of its history, Buddhism has successfully faced the challenges
that confronted it. Resilience and tolerance have been among its salient characteristics.
It has no hierarchical institutions and no rigid dogmas. Its benign influence
on humanity is proven by the cultures and civilizations which have grown in
countries into which it has spread. It has a message for modern man as potent
as in the days of the Buddha. Buddhism does not promise that the ills from which
humanity suffers can be alleviated in any fundamental way by some grand, overall
organization of society. While denying any innate sinfulness in man, it declares
that salvation is an individual affair and can be achieved only by virtuous
conduct and mental culture. Its whole teaching has been summarised by the Buddha
himself as:
"The avoidance of all evil; the accumulation of the good; the purification
of one's mind - this is the message of the Buddhas."
21. Colonialism
During the last four or five centuries, Buddhism has suffered from colonialism
in many Asian countries, by external and internal wars and the deliberate efforts
of the followers of other religions to weaken and destroy it. The Sangha which
has kept the teaching alive and which enjoyed the patronage of those in power
has been disorganised and weakened as a result of forces beyond its control.
But, the outlook is once more bright. Buddhist unity has been forged by such
organizations as the World Fellowship of Buddhists and the World Sangha Council
which have brought together Mahayana and Theravada in order to follow a joint
programme of action. There is a great deal of illiteracy and poverty among Buddhist
peoples to be overcome. The Sangha must be educated to meet modern needs. Buddhism
has never been a passive, docile religion. It has been one of the greatest civilizing
forces of the world.