BUDDHISM:

From Tears to
Enlightenment
 Regard this fleeting world like this:
Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn,
Like bubbles on fast moving stream,
Like morning dewdrops evaporating on
Blades of grass,
Like candle flickering in a stormy wind,
Echoes, mirages, and phantoms
Hallucinations and like a dream.
-the Buddha
 Buddhism
Another major Eastern
tradition is Buddhism, contained
in the teachings of its founder,
Siddharta Gautama of the
Buddha. Out of the life
experience and teaching of
highborn Prince Gautama of the
Sakya clan in the kingdom of
Magadha, who live from 560 to
477 B.C., sprang the religious
philosophy we know as
Buddhism.
Gautama began searching for answers to
the riddle of life’s sufferings, disease, old
age, and death. He explored Bhraminic
philosophies, then tries the rigors of
asceticism, but all to no avail. Finally,
while resting and meditating in a grove of
trees, he came to a from here on,
Gautama’s life was devoted to sharing his
“Dharma” or Law of salvation- a simple
presentation of the gospel of inner
cultivation of right spiritual attitudes,
coupled with a self-imposed discipline
whereby bodily desires would be
channeled in the right directions.
Reduced to its simplest form, the teaching of
buddha has been set forth traditionally in the
“Four Noble Truths” leading to the “Eightfold
Path” to perfect character or artharship, which
in turn gave assurance of entrance into Nirvana
at death. In the Four Noble Truths, Gautama
taught: (1) life is full of suffering; (2) suffering is
caused by passionate desires, lust, cravings; (3)
only as these are obliterated, will suffering
cease; (4) such eradication of desire may be
accomplished only by following the Eightfold
Path of earnest endeavor.
Briefly, these eight steps are: 1. right to
believe in and acceptance of the “Fourfold
Truth”; 2. right aspirations for one’s self and
for others; 3. right speech that harms no
one; 4. right conduct, motivated by goodwill
toward all human beings; 5. right means of
livelihood, or earning one’s living by
honorable means; 6. right endeavor, or
effort to direct one’s energies toward wise
ends; 7. right mindfulness in choosing topics
for thought; and 8. right meditation, or
concentration to the point of complete
absorption in mystic ecstasy
For Velasquez (1999),
“Items 1 and 2 enjoin us
to develop wisdom, item
3-5 urge us to practice
virtue and avoid vice, and
item 6-8 tell us to practice
meditation. We do this
essentially following three
short axioms: cease to do
evil, learn to do good, and
purify your own mind.”
The way to salvation, in other words, lies
through self-abnegation, rigid discipline of
mind and body, a consuming love for all
living creatures, and the final achievement
of that state of consciousness which marks
an individual’s full preparation for entering
the Nirvana (enlighten wisdom) of
complete selflessness, in this state, the
effects of the law of Cause and Effect
(karma) are overcome; the Cycle of
Rebirth is broken; and one may rest is the
calm assurance of having attained a
heavenly bliss that will stretch into all
eternity.
Before long, the Buddha found himself
surrounded by an increasing number of
adherents- men like himself, willing to leave
the comforts of home, don the robe of a
monk and, with staff in one hand and
begging bowl in the other, follow their
leaders as wandering mendicants. These
were later organized into the Sangha, or
Order of Monks and later of nuns also.
With single-hearted purpose, this
brotherhood of believers dedicated itself to
a life of self-purification, in total loyalty to
the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
At first, the Order lived under the following 10
simple rules. As time went on, many more rules
were embodied in the Buddhist book of
monastic discipline. The following precepts
represents the first steps that one can take after
reading, hearing, and pondering Buddhist
teaching and establishing some confidence in it.
However, it is important not to view these
precepts as a set of rules, for Buddhism stresses
the cultivation of wisdom and discernment
(Velasquez 1999). In other words, blind
obedience to the precepts is not encouraged.
1. Refrain form destroying life;
2. Refrain from taking what is not given;
3. Refrain from a misuse of the senses;
4. Refrain from the wrong speech (do not lie
or deceive); and
5. Refrain from taking drugs that tend to cloud
the mind (abstain form intoxicants; eat
moderately and not after noon; do not look
on at dancing, singing, or dramatic
spectacles; do not affect the use of garlands,
scents, or ornaments; do not use high or
broad beds; and do not accept gold or silver.
The Buddhist practice
the four states of
sublime condition:
love, sorrow of
others, joy in the joy
of others and
equanimity as regards
one’s own joy and
sorrow. Buddhism,
similar to Hinduism
and other religions, is
a matter of practice
A century later, in the Second Council at
Vesali, in ca. 383 or 377 B.C, it was found
desirable to make changes to ease the
burden of the Buddhist discipline. During
King Ashoka’s time about 273 B.C.
Buddhism flourished despite sectarian
differences. In the third Council in 245 B.C.
a series effort was made to reform and
recognize the order, after which the more
ardent Buddhist embarked upon a program
of expansion. Under Ashoka’s royal
patronage, missionaries were sent to
Ceylon and eastward to Burma, Siam
(Thailand), bearing the orthodox message
of original Buddhism (Ramos 2010)
Thank you for listening
The Buddha insisted that
no one accepts his
teaching merely out or
reverence for him, but
that each human being
subjects the teaching to
rigorous reflection and
analysis and accept it
only after all doubts and
perplexities are
overcome.