Man
gave up the illusion of a fatherly God as a parental helper - but he gave up also
the true aims of all great humanistic religions: overcoming the limitations of
an egotistical self, achieving love, objectivity, and humility and respecting
life so that the aim of life is living itself, and man becomes what he potentially
is. These were the aims of the great Western religions, as they were the aims
of the great Eastern religions. The East, however, was not burdened with the concept
of a transcendent father - saviour in which the monotheistic religions expressed
their longings. Taoism and Buddhism had a rationality and realism superior to
that of Western religions. They could see man realistically and objectively, having
nobody but the 'awakened' ones to guide him, and being able to he guided because
each man has within himself the capacity to awake and be enlightened. This is
precisely the reason why Eastern religious thought, Taoism and Buddhism - and
their blending in Zen Buddhism* assume such importance for the West today. Buddhism
helps man to find an answer to the question of his existence, an answer which
is essentially the same as that given in the Judaeo-Christian tradition, and yet
which does not contradict the rationality, realism, and independence which are
modern man's precious achievements. Paradoxically, Eastern religious thought turns
out to be more congenial to Western rational thought than does Western religious
thought itself.
Erich Fromm (1900-1980) German American Psychoanalyst and Social
Philosopher
I left India and returned to Colombo, where I was the guest of
a Singhalese student I knew in Perth. They were Buddhists, their house was in
the grounds of a temple, and the atmosphere of the household was very peaceful
and unbelievably gentle. I talked a lot about Buddhism with them, and they took
me up to a temple in the hills, in Kandy, where I met the monks and talked to
a very old abbot, who explained more about Buddhism to me. I found Buddhism fascinating.
Their concept that you progress towards the Ineffable through a number of existences
seemed to me much more intellectually satisfying than the Christian belief that
you come just once and are cast into circumstances maybe of great wealth or of
great moment, but that you come to God or don't come to God on the basis of that
one life. The logical attraction of Buddhism after the devastating experience
of India was a further part of my breaking down. I was never on the point of embracing
Buddhism but I found, and still find, it infinitely more satisfying than the Judeo-Christian
philosophy.
Robert J. Hawke, Rhodes Scholar, Trade Union Leader, and former
Prime Minister of Australia ( 1983 -1992
The way of Buddhism is Middle Way
between all extremes. This is no weak compromise, but a sweet reasonableness which
avoids fanaticism and laziness with equal care, and marches onward without that
haste which brings its own reaction, but without ceasing. The Buddha called it
the Noble Eightfold Path to Nirvana, and it may be regarded as the noblest course
of spiritual training yet presented, in such a simple form, to man. Buddhism is
neither pessimistic nor 'escapist'. It is a system of thought, a religion, a spiritual
science and a way of life which is reasonable, practical and all-embracing. For
2,500 years it has satisfied the spiritual needs of nearly one third of mankind.
It appeals to those in search of truth because it has no dogmas, satisfies the
reason and the heart alike, insists on self-reliance coupled with tolerance for
other points of view, embraces science, religion, philosophy, psychology, mysticism,
ethics and art, and points to man alone as the creator of his present life and
sole designer of his destiny
Justice Christmas Humphreys (1901-1983) Eminent
British Judge
As a student of comparative religions, I believe that Buddhism
is the most perfect one the world has even seen. The philosophy of the theory
of evolution and the law of karma were far superior to any other creed. It was
neither the history of religion nor the study of philosophy that first drew me
to the world of Buddhist thought but my professional interest as a doctor. My
task was to treat psychic suffering and it was this that impelled me to become
acquainted with the views and methods of that great teacher of humanity, whose
principal theme was the chain of suffering, old age, sickness and death.
Dr
C.C. Jung (1875-1961) Swiss psychologist Founder of the Jungian school of psychology
Why
I like Buddhism?
I prefer Buddhism because it gives three principles in combination,
which no other religion does. Buddhism teaches prajna (understanding as against
superstition and supernaturalism), karuna (love), and samata (equality). This
is what man wants for a good and happy life. Neither god nor soul can save society.
Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar
Today science is challenging the finite quality of the human
brain, a brain consisting of some 10,000 million electrically stimulated cells
programmed with the instincts of our long history and receptive to new notions
whether true or false. The aggregate of these cells provides our ever-changing
personality and their partial removal by surgery or altered rhythm by shock treatment
changes our character. By such crude methods, aggression can be turned into fear,
hatred to affection - how much better that they should be changed by appreciation
of the realities that the philosophy of Buddha has placed in our hands.
William
Mac Quilty British Award winning film maker, Traveller and Fellow of The Royal
Geographical Society
Wisdom is the sword and ignorance is the enemy Not a single
page of Buddhist history has ever been lurid with the light of inquisitorial fires,
or darkened with the smoke of heretic or heathen cities ablaze, or red with blood
of the guiltless victims of religious hatred. Buddhism wields only one sword,
the sword of wisdom, and recognises only one enemy - ignorance. This is the testimony
of history, and is not to be gain-said. Prof. Bapat, "2500 years of Buddhism"
If
I knew the Buddha would be speaking here tomorrow, nothing in the world could
stop me from going to listen to him. And I would follow him to the very end. J.Krishnamurti
( 1895 - 1986 ) Indian philosopher 'Since you don't follow any of the established
religions,' I asked, 'which of the great religious leaders came closest to teaching
and realizing the ultimate truth?' 'Oh, the Buddha,' replied Krishnamurti without
hesitation and somewhat to my astonishment. I had expected him to mention one
of the Indian gods or even Christ. 'The Buddha comes closer to the basic truths
and facts of life than any other. From the book, "The Quiet Mind," by
John E. Coleman (1971) "Ignorance exists only when you don't know yourself.
Self-knowing is wisdom. You may be ignorant of all the books in the world (and
I hope you are), of all the latest theories, but that is not ignorance. Not knowing
oneself deeply, profoundly, is ignorance; and you cannot know yourself if you
cannot look at yourself, see yourself actually as you are, without any distortion,
without any wish to change. Then what you see is transformed because the distance
between the observer and the observed is removed and hence there is no conflict."
--J. Krishnamurti
Wisdom is the sword and ignorance is the enemy Not a single
page of Buddhist history has ever been lurid with the light of inquisitorial fires,
or darkened with the smoke of heretic or heathen cities ablaze, or red with blood
of the guiltless victims of religious hatred. Buddhism wields only one sword,
the sword of wisdom, and recognises only one enemy - ignorance. This is the testimony
of history, and is not to be gain-said.
Prof. Bapat, "2500 years of Buddhism"
Parliamentary system borrowed from Buddhism It is probable that the tendency towards
self government evidenced by these various forms of corporate activity received
fresh impetus from the Buddhist rejection of the authority of the priesthood and
further by its doctrine of equality as exemplified by its repudiation of caste.
It is indeed to the Buddhist books that we have to turn for an account of the
manner in which the affairs of the early examples of representative self-governing
institutions were conducted. It may come as a surprise to many to learn that in
assemblies of Buddhists in India 2500 years and more ago are to be found the rudiments
of our own parliamentary practice of the present day. The dignity of the assembly
was preserved by the appointment of a special officer - the embryo of "Mr.
Speaker" in our House of Commons. A second officer was appointed to see that
when necessary a quorum was secured - the prototype of the Parliamentary Chief
Whip, in our own system. A member initiating business did so in the form of a
motion which was then open to discussion. In some cases, this was done once only,
in others three times, thus anticipating the practise of Parliament in requiring
that a bill be read a third time before it becomes law. If discussion disclosed
a difference of opinion the matter was decided by the vote of the majority, the
voting being by ballot. Marquess of Zetland, a former Viceroy of British India,
in "Legacy of India"
The Buddha is a being who is totally free of
all delusions and faults, who is endowed with all good qualities and has attained
the wisdom eliminating the darkness of ignorance. The Dharma is the result of
his enlightenment. After having achieved enlightenment, a Buddha teaches, and
what he or she teaches is called the Dharma. The Sangha is made up of those who
engage in the practice of the teachings given by the Buddha. . . . One of the
benefits of refuge is that all of the misdeeds you have committed in the past
can be purified, because taking refuge entails accepting the Buddha's guidance
and following a path of virtuous action.
Dalai Lama, "The Way to Freedom".
I ever believe that the mark of a truly educated and imaginative person facing
the twenty-first century is that he feels himself to be a planetary being. Perhaps
my own Buddhist upbringing has helped me more than anything else to realize and
to express in my speeches and writings this concept of world citizenship. As a
Buddhist, I was trained to be tolerant of everything except intolerance. I was
brought up not only to develop the spirit of tolerance, but also to cherish moral
and spiritual qualities, especially modesty, humanity, compassion, and, most important,
to attain a certain degree of emotional equilibrium.
U Thant (1910- 1974)
Burmese Educator, Diplomat and Secretary - General of the United Nations
The
fundamental teachings of Gautama, as it is now being made plain to us by study
of original sources, is clear and simple and in the closest harmony with modern
ideas. It is beyond all disputes the achievement of one of the most penetrating
intelligence the world has ever known. Buddhism is the advance of world civilization
and true culture than any other influence in the chronicles of mankind. HG Wells
( 1866-1946) British historian, socialist and science fiction writer.
In divining
that, the experience of pain was an inseparable concomitant of consciousness and
will, the Buddha has shown a penetrating psychological insight. Hinduism regards
man's universe as being an illusion; the Buddha anticipating some of the schools
of the modern Western psychologists by about twenty-four centuries, held that
the soul is an illusion too. Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) British historian
Buddhism
has conquered China as a philosophy and as a religion, as a philosophy for the
scholars and a religion for the common people. Whereas Confucianism has only a
philosophy of moral conduct, Buddhism possesses a logical method, a metaphysics
and a theory of knowledge. Besides, it is fortunate in having a high tradition
of scholarship in the translation of Buddhist classics, and the language of these
translations, so succinct and often so distinguished by a beautiful lucidity of
language and reasoning, cannot but attract the scholar with a philosophical bias.
Hence, Buddhism has always enjoyed a prestige among Chinese scholars, which so
far Christianity has failed to achieve.
Lin Yutang (1895-1976) Chinese writer,thinker,
journalist and playwright
If we ask, for instance, whether the position of
the electron remains the same, we must say 'no'; if we ask whether the electron's
position changes with time, we must say 'no'; if we ask whether the electron is
at rest, we must say 'no'; if we ask whether it is in motion, we must say 'no'.
The Buddha has given such answers when interrogated as to the conditions of a
man's self after his death; but they are not familiar answers for the tradition
of seventeenth and eighteenth century science. J Robert Oppenheimer ( 1904-1967)
American Physicist
First Hospital Service Very great improvement in medicine
and surgery took place in the Buddhist period in India. Because the religion of
the Buddha insists on the alleviation of suffering as an important item of Buddhistic
faith hence hospitals for treatment of men and beasts alike were built in almost
all the monasteries of Buddhistic India. Inscriptions engraved on rocks, pillars,
etc.. record prescriptions for the treatment of diseases. (The Cultural Heritage
of India)
A Model of a Worthy Human Being Buddhist Civilisation held up before
all who came within its influence, a model of what a worthy human being should
be, an ideal of character equally worthy of emulation by king or beggar. While
this deal found full statement in the charity, courage and wisdom of the Sangha,
it was adopted by laymen and emulated by them as far as lay within their capacity.
The production of wealth for social use instead of individual profit, the measuring
of an individual in terms of his moral stature and true wisdom and not of his
economic power, and of the nation's greatness in terms of the peace and prosperity
of its inhabitants and not solely in terms of its balance of trade, these were
some of the values embodied in the Buddhist ideal of character. Dr. Richard A.
Card, "Buddhism"
The Buddhist Community is the oldest institution
of mankind The Buddhist community is the oldest institution of mankind. It has
survived longer than any other institution, except the kindred sect of the Jains.
Here you have the big bullying empires of history, guarded by hosts of soldiers,
ships and magistrates. Scarcely none of them lasted longer than perhaps three
centuries. Where these mighty empires, built on greed, hatred and delusion. lasted
just a few centuries, the impulse of the self-denial carried the Buddhist community
through 2,500 years. (Dr. Edward Conze, "Buddhism")
Buddhism Is Not
an Enemy of Other Religions Buddhism is not an enemy of other religions, as atheism
is believed to be. Buddhism indeed is the enemy of none. A Buddhist will recognize
and appreciate whatever ethical, spiritual values have been created by God-belief
in its long and checkered history. We cannot, however, close our eyes to the fact
that the God-concept has served too often as a cloak for man's will to power and
the reckless and cruel use of that power, thus adding considerably to the ample
measure of misery in this world supposed to be an all-loving God's creation. For
centuries, free thought and free research. and the statement of any dissident
views have been obstructed and stifled in the alleged service of God. And alas,
these and other negative features are not yet entirely things of the past. (Ven.
Nyanaponika, A German Buddhist Scholar)
A Civilization Itself Buddhism introduced
education and culture; it encouraged literature and art; it promoted physical
peace, goodwill and brotherhood among men; it deprecated war between nation and
nation; it avowed sympathy with social liberty and freedom; it gave back much
independence to women; it preached purity in thought, word and deed; it taught
self denial without self-torture; it inculcated generosity, tolerance, love, self-sacrifice
and benevolence even towards the inferior animals, it forbade avarice; and from
it the declaration that a man's future depended on his present act and condition,
stimulating exertion, promoting good works of all kinds; and elevating the character
of humanity. (Harisingh Gour, M.A., D.Litt., "Spirit of Buddhism")
A
religion which Influenced Everybody "How a religion which taught the annihilation
of all existence. of all individuality and personality as the highest object of
all human beings, and how, at the same time, by enforcing the duties of morality,
justice, kindness, and self-sacrifice, it could have exercised a decidedly beneficial
influence not only on the natives of India, but on the lowest barbarians, is a
riddle which no one has been able to solve." (Prof. Max Muller)
Dominant
Creed A system which knows no God in the Western sense, which denies a soul to
man, which counts the belief in immortality a blunder, which refuses any efficacy
to prayer and sacrifice, which bides men to look to nothing but their own efforts
for salvation, which in its original purity knew nothing of vows of obedience
and never sought the aid of the secular arm, yet spread over a considerable moiety
of the old world with marvellous rapidity and is still, with whatever base admixture
of forcing superstitions, the dominant creed of a large fraction of mankind. T.H.
Huxley
The Buddhistic Way of Propagation The Buddhists propagated their religion
by the persuasive voice of the missionary, many others by the merciless edge of
the sword. The sanguinary career of others was lighted by lurid flames of burning
cities; the peaceful progress of the Buddhist monk was illuminated by the cheerful
faces of the sick in monastic hospitals, by the happy smiles of travellers reposing
in rest houses by the road-side". (Dr. Cunningham, "Archaeologist")
Buddhist
Contribution to Human Culture It should be remembered that the two most ancient
living civilisations, the Indian and the Chinese, and almost all the great religions
of today, have been altered and improved by the infiltration of Buddhist ideas.
In the light of these facts one can well imagine how colossal must be the Buddhist
contribution to the fund of human culture. (Ven. Soma Thera
Self Salvation
The distinguishing characteristic of Buddhism was that it started a new line,
that it looked upon the deepest questions men have to solve from an entirely different
stand point. It swept away, from the field of its vision, the whole of the great
soul-theory which had hitherto completely filled and dominated the minds of the
superstitious and the thoughtful alike. For the first time in the history of the
world it proclaimed a salvation which each man could gain for himself and by himself,
in this world, during this life, without even the least reference to God, or to
Gods, either great or small. Like the Upanishads, it placed the first importance
on knowledge; but it was no longer a knowledge of God, it was a clear perception
of the real nature, as they supposed it to be, of men and things. And it added
to the necessity of knowledge, the necessity of purity. of courtesy, of uprightness,
of peace, and of a universal love far-reaching, grown great and beyond measure.
(Prof. Rhys Davids, Hibbert lectures)
Exponent of New Social System The Buddha
was not only the earliest exponent of the new social system but he was equally
the first in the field to elaborate it. It was he who first proclaimed the equality
of men, their fraternity and universal brotherhood. It was he who first proclaimed
the worthlessness of sacrifice to the gods. and taught men the value of social
service. (Harisingh Gour, M.A., D.Litt., "Spirit of Buddhism")
The
Buddha Is Nearer to Us You see clearly a man, simple, devout, lonely, battling
for light, a vivid human personality, not a myth. Beneath a mass of miraculous
fable I feel that there also was a man. He too, gave a message to mankind universal
in its character. Many of our best modern ideas are in closest harmony with it.
All the miseries and discontents of life are due, he taught, to selfishness. Selfishness
takes three forms --one, the desire to satisfy the senses; second, the craving
for immortality; and the third the desire for prosperity and worldliness. Before
a man can become serene he must cease to live for his senses or himself. Then
he merges into a greater being. Buddha in a different language called men to self-forgetfulness
five hundred years before Christ. In some ways he was near to us and our needs.
Buddha was more lucid upon our individual importance in service than Christ, and
less ambiguous upon the question of personal immortality. (H. G. Wells)
The
period between the seventh and fifth century BC, was a time of spiritual searching
throughout the ancient world. It saw the beginning of Greek philosophy, the rise
of the prophets of Israel, Confucius in China and (according to Parsi tradition)
the time of Zoroaster in Persia. This period saw the birth of the Jain and Ajivika
teachings, with the greatest of all, 'the Light of Asia' Gautama the Buddha .
. . A doctrine of annihilation* ( of greed, hatred and delusion) in which an omnipotent
God has no place, might seem one of profound pessimism, yet Buddhism was saved
from being negative by the emphasis placed on free-will and humility. The importance
of compassion, of charity and alms giving, all combined to generate a religion
of warmth and love. Together with Jainism, Buddhism helped to create a revolutionary
concept, that of 'ahimsa' or harmlessness; the idea of respect for others which
evolves from a self-respect.
Prof. Hugh Tinker Professor of government and
politics at the school of Orient and African Studies, London University