Buddhism
Hinduism Darshanas Gods & Goddesses Buddhism Jainism
Buddha: One Who is Awake
563 BCE
Buddhism is a spiritual movement founded by Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha. The word Buddha means “one who is awake” and in a sense Buddha “woke up to reality.” Buddha was born into a royal family in Northern India. At the age of 29, he rejected his luxurious upbringing to become a wandering ascetic. He thought this would help him better understand the nature of the suffering he was witnessing around him. After practicing austerities so severe that he was on the brink of death, he realized he was no closer to understanding the Truth. At the age of 35, sitting under a pipal tree for forty days, he looked deep into his own heart and mind to finally realize “enlightenment.”
Buddha rejected the extreme path of asceticism and chose what he called, the “Middle Path,” a balance between extreme austerity and overindulgence. During the remaining 45 years of his life, Buddha traveled all over the East to share his Path to Enlightenment. His teachings are referred to as Buddha-dharma, “the teaching of the Enlightened One.” Buddha taught a path that combined stillness and effort, action and thought, social and individual, as well as, human morality and transcendence. He was opposed to all violence of any kind and sought to let go of any attachments to people, things or illusions.
A collection of verses uttered by the Buddha are assembled in the Dhammapada, a spiritual treasure which reveals the beauty of the Middle Path. The word Dhammapada means “Way of Perfection” and the Buddha’s words indicate an insistence on moderation and spiritual effort.
“Not nakedness, nor tangled hair, nor uncleanness,
Nor prolonged fasting, nor resting on this earth,
Nor dust or dirt, nor sitting on one’s heels,
Can sanctify a person disturbed by doubt.
Whoever lives a quiet peaceful life,
Even if brightly clothed
So long as he live a disciplined ordered life,
Following the way of truth
Avoiding injury to any living being,
He is the true mendicant, the true ascetic, the true Brahman.”
Dhammapada, 141-142.
The most famous verse of the Dhammapada is simple, yet profound.
“Keep yourself from every evil deed, do that which is good, purify your thoughts within. This is the teaching of the saints.”
Dhammapada 183
The Majjhima Nikaya, a discourse of the Buddha’s teachings, describes the basics of Buddhist wisdom. These are written in the Four Noble Truths.
The Four Noble Truths
- Life is suffering;
- Suffering is due to attachment;
- Attachment can be overcome;
- The Eightfold Path is a means to overcoming attachment.
Practice of the Eightfold Path is arranged into three divisions to develop virtue, wisdom and concentration.
The Eightfold Path
- Virtue
- Right Speech
- Right Action
- Right Livelihood
- Wisdom
- Right View
- Right Purpose
- Concentration
- Right Effort
- Right Mindfulness
- Right Concentration
Buddhism is non-theistic and does not include the idea of worshiping a creator God. Rather than looking toward an external force, it emphasizes that liberation can be reached through the internal process of mental purity and correct understanding. It believes that nothing is permanent, that suffering exists and that change is possible through non-attachment. It teaches non-dogmatic, practical methods for transforming one’s life experience and emphasizes being fully responsible for one’s actions to develop tolerance, wisdom and compassion.
Study Guide Questions and Personal Reflections
- The Buddha experienced three distinctly different paths in his life; a life of luxury, a life of an ascetic, and what he referred to as “the Middle Path.” How can you relate your life experience to the Buddha’s? What paths have you experienced? What type of life were you born into? What type of life have you pursued? Where is your path headed now?