 Dearest Frens @ CAS,
We have had the great happiness
to engage in much dialogue with many young people, some Buddhists,
many not, on Buddhism throughout the years.
This, of course, thanks to the
huge portrait of the beautifully smiling Dalai Lama hanging
in Camden Education Center, CAS's edu centre ( www.camden.edu.sg
) in Singapore.
Over the years, too, we have
had the supreme fortune to have Garchen Rinpoche, Drikung Ontrul,
Loseling Khensur and so many of the holiest Masters visit and
bless our education centre.
Understandably, students gawk,
then they ask.
As the exchanges are deeply engaging
and very interesting, we thought it a terrible waste not to
share it with you.
So, we present, "What Buddhist
Believe".
ENJOY .... with BODHICITTA
!!
bb & other teachers @ Camden
Education Center ( CAS )
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 The Dalai Lama, "My
religion is kindness."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is Buddhism
??
Buddhism is founded by the Buddha.
The word Buddha literally means "The Enlighten One". His teachings
are known as "The Dharma" which literally means "things-as-they-are".
The genuine followers of the Dharma are collectively known
as "The Sangha". These 3 constitute the "Three Precious Jewels".
The "Three Precious Jewels" can be said to be, essentially, Buddhism.
How are the "Three Precious
Jewels" essentially Buddhism ??
The Buddha is our Teacher, example
and model. His teachings are what bring us to Enlightenment.
The Sangha are our companions on the path to Enlightenment.
I still don't understand
very well what Buddhists really believe in ??
Buddhists believe that there
is suffering in the world but we can overcome it. The cause
of suffering is our false belief in a "real" I and the world.
This causes Self-Cherishing Attitude which in turns give rise
to Anger, Greed-Attachment and Ignorance. The way to end this
is through internalising the 3 main Buddhist principles of (1)
Ethics, (2) Calm Abiding and (3) Wisdom. The 3 main principles,
traditionally, termed as the "Three 3 Higher Trainings",
are excellently applied through the Noble Eightfold Path.
The above constitutes what Buddhists
call the Four Noble Truths.
What is this Four Noble
Truths ??
(1) There is Suffering
(2) The Cause of Suffering is
known
(3) There is end to Suffering
(4) The way to the end of Suffering
is through the Noble Eightfold Path
What is Enlightenment
and why do Buddhists want it ??
Enlightenment is a state free
from all defilements.
It is state where sufferings
have totally ended.
An Enlighten Being has total
and complete LOVE and WISDOM. An Enlighten Being no longer takes
rebirth again and again in the world uncontrollably, to live
then die, reborn and the cycles continue eternally.
Could you tell me more
about who the Buddha is ??
The Buddha was an Indian
prince who lived about 2,500 years ago. He saw that there is
much suffering in the world. At least, there are unending undercurrents
of suffering in the world even with frilly joys dancing above.
To be even more stark about it, there will be the inevitable
old age, sicknesses and death for humans, or even for most if
not all creatures on earth. The Buddha wants to find a way out
of all these sufferings.
So has He found a
way out ??
Yes. He feels that the way out
is to cultivate "The Dharma". The Dharma is essentially (1)
Ethics; (2) Calm Abiding and (3) Wisdom.
How do we know that He
has succeeded or that these methods work ??
The Buddhist way is actually
extremely rational or logical.
Well, the Buddha first identified
that there IS suffering. This constitutes the First Noble Truth.
Next, He explores the Cause
of this Suffering. It is slightly complicated to go into details
through what Buddhists call the "Twelve Links", to trace the
cause of all our problems. But, in short, the Cause of this
Suffering is due to our gasping at a false impression of
a "real" I and a "real" world. From grasping tightly at
this supposed "real" I, arises Self-Cherishing Attitude.
From this Self-Cherishing Attitude, the so-called 3 Poisons
of Greed-Attachment, Anger and Ignorance amongst many other
defilements arise. From these 3 Poisons, wars happen, family
conflicts come, people clobber each other and cats fight. (1)
Ethics essentially fight against Self-Cherishing.
(2) Calm Abiding do more than
just giving us a good night's sleep. It allows for the murky
sediments to settle and the clear mind to see that I and the
world are "false". Seeing that I and the world are "false" is
(3) Wisdom.
When 1, 2, 3 are achieved, one
is Enlighten and one no longer takes rebirth helplessly in the
world forever and ever. One now has only Total LOVE and WISDOM
and only wants to help others gain the same state as oneself.
What are these Buddhist
Ethics ??
The bottomline for the lay Buddhists
is to honour the 5 Precepts. NO to killing, stealing, sexual
misconduct, unskilful speech and intoxicants. For the monks
and nuns, they have more "Ethics" or Precepts to honour.
So Buddhist Ethics
are essentially to tame the Self-Cherishing Attitude ??
Yes, my friend. Then, Buddhists
also do the "Opposites" to these "NO" "NOs" too !!
Instead of killing, we protect
lives although some Buddhists seem not to have the perfect
sense to consider keeping the eco-balance healthy. The bad press
for this includes news of Buddhists, full of loving hearts,
releasing African pigeons in Singapore, hence, killing off our
local birds, releasing monster Asian catfishes into Florida
which then ate up most of the local endangered species !!
Sorry to side-track, the other
"Opposites" are to be generous, to practise ethical sex, to
speak kindly and wisely and for the benefit of others and to
take good care of oneself.
Thank you for the elaboration.
However, is it a Commandment for Buddhists to do all the above
?? Is it compulsory ??
No and yes ... Yes and no. My
Teacher always says to do one's best but it is not a MUST if
one cannot do it.
There is never a teaching on
divine punishment or eternal damnation in Buddhism....
if you do or do not do something !!
The 5 Precepts are not a divine
commandment from the Buddha, declaring that ALL Buddhists who
wish to call themselves Buddhists MUST honour the 5 Precepts
!!
The Buddha teaches that these
5 Precepts keep one out of trouble and is the REAL and ACTUAL
Protector for this and all future lives.
Whatever one does, the corresponding
effect simply, naturally, spontaneously arises when all conditions
fall in place. This is "Karma".
So, the discerning Buddhists
will consider very carefully. If he or she keeps the precepts,
he or she keeps himself or herself out of trouble. But if he
or she cannot keep the precepts, then he or she must be ready
to face the undesirable consequences himself or herself.
Then, if one cannot keep all
the 5 Precepts, then one simply keeps whatever one can, fully
knowing though that one could be vulnerable.
You mentioned about "Karma".
I am always fascinated with "Karma" and how logical or
sometimes illogical the principle of "Karma" appears to me !!
Could you tell me more about "Karma" ??
Yes. A general explanation of
"Karma" is, "For every action, there is an equal and corresponding
reaction". In simple terms, if one is nice, people will know
or may get to know and they will very possibly then love
you for it. If a student is diligent, he will tend to do better.
Just now, you mentioned
something about "real" I and "real" world. Could you tell us
more about these ?? Do you mean that there is a "false" I or
world ??
Yes ... at least for Buddhists
!!
We call phenomena "false" because
they lack innate, permanent, independent nature.
The distance between Singapore
and Johor Bahru is considered far if compared and related to
the distance between my room and the Indian grocery shop downstairs.
The distance between Singapore and Johor Bahru becomes dreadfully
near if compared and related to the distance between my room
and the moon !! Distance or space becomes simply, another mere,
relative concept.
Time, too, is relative and lacks
"real", absolute nature. Baking a cake takes longer than
the 3 minute cup noodle but baking a cake is miserably short
when compared to watching a kitten grow.
An object is not a "full" object
when broken up into its component parts. Is a car its tyres,
dashboard, steering wheels or seats ?? One is tempted to say
it is not any of its parts when broken up. But it is a sum of all its
parts when they are put together. If it is the total sum
of all its parts, why then could we not see it as a car even
though all these parts are laid neatly in a line on the floor
on the car assembly plant ?? Afterall, all the parts ARE
there !! Is a car one, some or all of its parts ??
A Tang Dynasty beauty will need
to be quite heavy besides being luxuriantly painted in
ways only the Chinese opera does it nowadays. As far as I
can recall, not exactly have we had a Miss World of this
description for perhaps the last 20 years ?? Doubtless,
the concept of beauty depends on one's assumed position and
context.
What then does it leave us ??
The concept of beauty is DEPENDENT
upon externally applied conditions, the concept of distance
is DEPENDENT upon externally applied conditions. Even time is
relative.
If all are relative and arise
only IN DEPENDENCE upon other assumed contexts and standards, all
are "empty" and "false" if we grasp on them as "real".
Then upon these "real" world,
we project all our fantasies, hopes, fears and desires
and give rise to Self-Cherishing, the 3 Poisons then endless
pain and rebirth.
What about the "false"
I ?? How is it "false" ??
For Buddhists, we see "I" as
simply a creation of the famous 5 Aggregates.
Like how we analysed a car
earlier, is "I" one part of, some parts of or all of the 5 Aggregates
?? If we cannot say that "I" is either one separated part
of or some separated parts of the 5 Aggregates, it is surely
fallacious to call it a REAL "I" when we assemble these separated
parts of the 5 Aggregates together.
What are these 5 Aggregates
??
The 5 Aggregates or simply explained,
the component parts making up a conventionally existent "I"
are:
1) Physical Form
2) Feelings
3) Discriminative perceptions
4) Creative Actions
5) Consciousness
This is amazing. We never
knew that Buddhism teaches so deeply into things !! We usually
see Buddhists pray to statues and burn paper money, especially
during the 7th Lunar Month.
Well, one needs to make a distinction
between folk belief and what is the core, actual teachings of
the Buddha.
Then, again, could high
philosophy console the grieving heart ??
Why do Buddhists pray
to statues which are carved from human hands and made of wood
and stones ??
For the same reason that we keep
family albums and when the world sings and salues in
front of flags made of cloth with colourful designs at
the Olympics !!
Ideally, a Buddhist don't pray
to statues of Enlighten Beings like the Buddha Himself or other
Bodhisatvas like the Holy Mother Tara. Ideally, a Buddhist keeps
these representations to remind themselves of the qualities
of these Enlighten Beings and to work hard, fast and furious,
to slot in a nice phrase, to become like them !!
However, it will be a very difficult
job to try to disprove to the sick Buddhist who claimed
to have received a miraculous healing through the powerful intervention
of the Medicine Buddha or the bankrupt-Buddhist-turned-millionaire
who swears by the saving divine grace of Holy Tara.
In fact, these cases appear still
without respite and rampant amidst the gleaming towers
and flying machines however "joss stick" and superstitious they
may make Buddhism look. Actually, I, myself, am the fortunate
recipient of quite a few of these "miracles". Probably, I
am one of the much despised, misunderstood and unloved
"joss stick" Buddhist !!
If there is nothing,
and all are "false" or "empty", then there is also
no suffering or even the Buddha. What then do we make of this
world, or even of Dharma cultivation ??
A man who awakens does not dream, but
a man who sleeps, dreams still forever until the day he awakens.
The dreams are like images, mirage,
reflections and illusions and the dreamers are imprisoned
ever so tightly by them. He is seduced, punished and manipulated
by the actually "false" though apparently "real" drama
in his dreams.
Conventionally, the Buddha is,
for Buddhists, THE perfect and total paragon of LOVE and
WISDOM. Inconceivable merit and good could be begotten
from merely thinking of the Buddha, not discounting offerings,
prostrations or praises offered with pure faith.
Ultimately speaking, however, the
Buddha is indeed but a pretty though "false" picture in
our long, long dreams.
The world is "false" but the
suffering is conventionally "real". The starving millions in
Africa, upon analysis, are indeed relative concepts, but take
a plane there and we would see mothers weep and babies
die.
Our job, therefore, is to wake
up, then wake others up !!
So, Enlightenment means
to know that I and the world are "false" ??
Yes. To realise or merely
knowing makes a big difference though.
Once we realise that the I or
the world are "false", we no longer grasp at them. With no grasping
at these, there will be no Self-Cherishing Attitude. No Self-Cherishing
Attitude translates to NO 3 Poisons and other defilements.
What we are left with is total compassion and empathy for all
others who have not realised what we have.
So, a Buddha, or an Enlighten
Being only has total and complete LOVE for the world since the
world still dreams and so suffers. Simultaneously,
at the same time, a Buddha or an Enlighten Being only acts
in the best possible way through His total and complete
OMNISCIENCE as He no longer dreams and so sees the world
in a totally clear and transparent, bird's eye perspective,
if you like the expression.
We do not pretend that the Buddha
is omnipotent though. He is not.
To summarise, if we understand
correctly what you said, a Buddhist wants to become enlighten
through realising that the world is "false". How do we do it
??
We need the Dharma. The gist
of the Dharma is the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold
Path covers 3 main principles. (1) Ethics, we have talked about
this. (2) Calm Abiding. (3) Wisdom.
We need Ethics to possess the
Strength or Moral Courage or Spiritual Merit as our spiritual
resources.
Then, we need a focused and calm
mind to have the necessary concentration to contemplate
on how the world and I are "false".
A simile, (1) Ethics is the strength
to hold and shoot. (2) Calm Abiding allows us to aim. (3) Wisdom
arises when the arrow hits the target of Ignorance. Ignorance
is the "false" belief in I and the world.
What are these Eightfold
Paths ??
The Noble Eightfold Path are:
(1) Right View, (2) Right Intentions, (3) Right Speech, (4)
Right Actions, (5) Right Occupation, (6) Right Effort, (7) Right
Concentration and (8) Right Mindfulness or Wisdom.
The Noble Eightfold Path covers
the Three Higher Trainings of Ethics, Calm Abiding and Wisdom.
Do Buddhists believe in
re-birth ??
Buddhists believe that so long
as one does not realise that one's grasping of a "real" I and
a "real" world is actually inter-dependently arisen phenomena
( what is generally translated as "Emptiness" ), one is quite
doomed to endless, terrible rebirth again and again in any realms
of the world.
So, Buddhists believe
that we can be reborn as pigs or cockroaches ??
Yes, indeed.
Any pet owner will tell you how
"human" their Bobby or their Lucky is !!
The mother tigress fights to
the death to protect her cubs, the patriarch elephant gores
other bull elephants to death to protect his family. How "human" !!
They look for food, many times
in the most ingenious way, just like how humans make money in
every possible way, they look for mate, have sex, give
birth, feed their young, train them to hunt or search for food,
then they die. How "human" !!
Animals get depressed, have moods.
How "human" !!
For Buddhists or what I
think, anyone, with bright, discerning eyes can see, we
are not that much different from our fellow creatures.
How do rebirth take place
??
In simple terms again, when we
die, our consciousness move on, driven by habitual grasping
at a "false" I to look for a supposedly "real" physical form
to take birth.
Most ancient civilisations of
the world believed in rebirth. The ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians,
Chinese, Indians all believe or used to believe in rebirth.
The early bible in fact teaches too about rebirth until some
church fathers decide to remove all traces of this during some
monumental conferences as they were worried that Christians
may become lazy and think that they have more than one birth's
chance to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour !!
At least, this is what i read
somewhere !!
I heard there are the
Hungry Ghost realm, the Hell realm and even the Heavenly realm
!!
Yes, indeed, again !! The Hungry
Ghost realm is traditionally believed to be somewhere truly
existent. The Hell and Heavenly realm too is described in spectacular
detail in the Buddhist classics.
For myself, I also see the final
stage stomach cancer patients passing through these realms,
the sesame oil Hainanese chopped chickens and the juicy, succulent
fried meat in burgers as tactile, undeniable demonstrations
of these texts !!
Do Buddhists believe
in God ??
Buddhists don't believe in a
Creator God like as in Christianity or Islam. But Buddhists
believe there are heavenly beings who achieved their divine
states through cultivation mainly of (1) Ethics and / or (2)
Calm Abiding.
If they have had continued with
(3) Wisdom, liberation from even their divine state will have
been possible !!
What do you mean ??
For Buddhists, we do not look
to rebirth in a heavenly paradise as our aim. The bottomline,
for Buddhists, is to be free from all states of existence, to
attain Enlightenment, where one is no longer deceived by "false"
I or "false" world and where one has total LOVE and WISDOM.
For Buddhists, rebirth into any
states of existence, be it in the heavens as a frolicking god,
a cockroach dodging the flinging slippers, an executive in a
MNC or a factory girl sweating it out in a Nike sweat shop in
Vietnam, are all undesirable and to be transcended.
The common thread running through
is that all are subject to Birth, Old Age, Sickness and
Death. All are under "false" impressions of an "I" through thinking!
that the 5 Aggregates made up a "real" I, all have defilements
( in varying degrees ), all are born then die then are born
again and so on !!
So, Buddhists do not
believe in a God and do not want to go to heaven after death
??
No.
If there is no God, what
are those statues we see Buddhists pray to in the temples ??
They are representations of the
Buddha or other Enlighten Beings.
Most Buddhists, I think, pray
to them much like they are gods, seeking helping, protection
and a hundred other favours !!
However, doctrinally speaking,
they are not gods, but Enlighten Beings. They are supposed to
have transcended all states in existence. These wordly existence,
Buddhists call "samsara".
Now, though, we have brands of Parisian
perfumes also called "Samsara" !!
All Gods or beings, so long as
they are still not Enlightened and so still circling around
in Samsara, will be under the sway of Ignorance, which is a "false"
understanding of I and the world. Because of this,
they will have Self-Cherishing Attitudes and from here, the
3 Poisons. Gods in Samsara
will reward their devotees but punish non-believers.
Enlighten Beings, because they
are no longer under the sway of Ignorance of "false" I or the
world, have no Self-Cherishing Attitudes and so no 3 Poisons.
They will instead love all beings and do whatever possible to
bring samsaric beings to their own Enlighten state.
If Buddhists don't believe
in God, how do Buddhists explain the beginning of the world
??
What is the largest or smallest
number ?? Chickens first
or eggs first ?? Tree first or their seeds first ??
Buddhists, like the mainstream
scientific community, do not think there is A or THE beginning
to the world. We believe that all arise due to complex inter-dependently
arising causes and conditions. Furthermore, we believe that
it is futile to search for a beginning which does not exist
as doing so feeds no hungry children and lessens no Self-Cherishing
Attitudes !!
Why don't Buddhists believe
in God ?? With all due respect, I find it awfully arrogant for
us to be sitting here disowning God !!
Well, Buddhists have our own
business to take care of, Christians, Muslim and Hindus have
theirs.
"God" in theistic religions is
generally considered to be Omniscient, All-Benevolent
and Omniptent. Buddhists
claim the first 2 qualities too for the Buddha, but not the
third.
Why ??
Well, as the Father of Modern
Philosophy and a Nobel Prize winner, Betrand Russell brilliantly
pointed out, "Could God create an object so heavy He Himself
could not lift up ??"
If He could create that thing,
He is not omnipotent; if He could not, he is also not omnipotent.
Hence, the logical conclusion is that no being can be rationally
omnipotent, not the Buddha, not God, if there is one.
But God sent His son
to die for our sins so we could live and have eternal life !!
Mm .... that's what Christians
believe in and what Christians believe in is nobody else's business
except for Christians !!
Similarly, what Buddhists believe
in is nobody else's business except for Buddhists !!
And Buddhists do not believe
in God or that He has arranged for His son,
Jesus Christ, to die for our sins.
For Buddhists, we could not accept
that Jesus's crucifixion and supposed subsequent resurrection
from death could atone us for our misdeeds and wickedness.
We also could not accept
that His claimed resurrection from death means
that He has transcended death and will bestow on His followers,
eternal life.
Buddhists have their respective
reasons for not accepting the above. For myself, it seems
to be logically inconsistent: why don't God simply forgive
the sins of the world and just grant them eternal life instead
of arranging for His son's very painful death through crucifixion
before He decides to forgive ??
Also, is it just or even possible
to be saved simply through believing that someone, in this case,
Jesus Christ, is our saviour ?? On the other hand, how logical
or fair is it that anyone is condemned to eternal damnation
in hell where there are unending fire and "gnashings of teeth"
simply because one does not or could not, for whatever reasons,
accpet Jesus Christ as one's saviour and lord ??
Of course, as I said earlier
on, what Christians believe in is their business alone
and is not for Buddhists or other non-Christians to judge.
Actually, the Dalai Lama is a
good friend to probably millions to Christians worldwide and His
Holiness acknowledges that Christians are extremely committed
and did great good in social services for the betterment of
mankind. He chides and exhorts Buddhists to walk-the-talk more
than simply to talk-the-talk !!
So, however strange Christians'
belief appear to be for Buddhists, we have been scolded to be
more like you, at least for commitment and social work and you
have been placed on the pedestal, at least here, to be our model
!!
Didn't the Buddha die
?? Why do you Buddhists believe in someone who died ??
The Buddha is simply showing
what He has taught: all phenomena arises and falls apart due
to complex causes and conditions. He is but one part of that
phenomena !!
Buddhists accepts death as it
is - an inevitable fact of worldly existence.
The main point for Buddhists
is not to work for supposed eternal happiness in lovely
heavens, spending time there glorifying one's supposed creator
!! Buddhists see the world as having issues, knows there
is an end to it, then work to end it through the Noble Eightfold
Path.
We don't believe that just by
believing in the Buddha or any other divine beings could bring
us to heaven. In fact, Buddhists see heaven as a samsaric state
and renounce it.
Well, again, the stuff of
waking up from death then flying off into the heavens
is not exactly the most convincing of tales for the modern
sceptic to digest !!
Could you tell me what
a Buddhist believe in, in the shortest way possible ??
We believe that the Buddha is
our Teacher. He is an Enlighten Being who arises solely out
of compassion for the world to teach us to be like Him.
He has taught the Dharma or Teachings
which is to train in the 3 Higher Trainings of Ethics,
Calm Abiding and Wisdom. Through this, as clearly demonstrated
in the Noble Eightfold Path, we can gain Enlightenment.
Meanwhile and especially after
Enlightenment, we shall work hard to help beings walk the
path and be free !!
Thank you dear mr bb
@ CAS .... we are very happy and glad to have a frank and direct
exchange with you on Buddhism. It has opened much to us
the very rich world of Buddhism ..... we
look forward to discussing Buddhism over coffee or other
nice snacks with you again in the near future !!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
tELL
A fRIEND
"KNOW
DHARMA; SHARE DHARMA !!"
Be
part of our thousand++
"Friends
@ CAS"
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belongs to Chenrezig & other holy beings ) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "I
wanna number my days in samsara. sUBSCRIBE mE NOW
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