Religions

INSTRUCTIONS

B Respond to any of my notes, the textbook or the videos in the “Chapter 3–Buddhism” section under Assignments. Or you can address one or more of the following questions:

What is your view of the key Buddhist principles that life entails suffering.  And that we create our own suffering through our desires and by allowing our emotions to override our logical thoughts?

Are there any steps in the 8-fold path that are particularly important, in your view?

Is a religion with no god still a religion?  Why do you think some Buddhists later began to worship gods, even though Buddha himself was a non-believer.

Minimum 125 word response is required.

Professor’s notes:

Before looking specifically at Buddhism, a note on miracle conception and birth stories (with the Buddha, we will have our first of these that we encounter this semester).  A number of religious traditions include miraculous stories of how their founders were born.  These might  include some sort of special way a child was conceived, an announcement of their birth and things that an infant did shortly after birth (such as speaking).                                                                                                                                              When looking at these stories (which are all quite intriguing and entertaining!), we must ask 1) were babies born in ancient times in ways that were so vastly different from the way they are born today, meaning all these stories were true?  2) were our ancestors very creative storytellers, and none of these stories reflect actual occurrences. 3) was one story true and the others false?                                       The academic response would tend to be closest to # 2 above…..we don’t see these sorts of births today (which is unfortunate—a talking baby would be quite something to see and hear!), so it is likely none of these miraculous births ever occurred.  The stories would have originated from followers of the respective religious founders, who felt so passionately about their leader and his teaching that they developed these stories about his birth.  It was a way of getting a listener’s attention…”Hey, if you had been paying attention even before Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, etc….was born, then you would have known something amazing was about to happen for the world.”…… Obviously, a pure faith view might still consider that one or more of these miraculous events did happen long ago (I point out again that most of our religions started as oral traditions, and the miracle birth stories–true or not— are not discussed by the person themselves, but developed and written down long after they were dead.)

* As for Buddha himself, his actual name was Siddhartha and he was born in northern India (likely Nepal) around 550 BCE.  The miraculous story of his birth is that a white elephant entered his mother’s side, conceiving a child.  Then when Siddhartha was born, he immediately took 7 steps and announced “This is my final rebirth.”

* His father was a regional ruler and was determined that Siddhartha live a comfortable life, with the hope that he would one day follow in his footsteps as ruler.  This seemed to work well until Siddartha was 29 years old, when he encountered what are known as the “4 Passing Sights.”  During his travels outside the royal palace, he saw a very old man, a very ill man, a dead body and finally, a wandering sage who had given up his worldly possessions to focus on his spiritual journey.  He was so shocked by these things he decided to give up his own power and wealth and search for the meaning of life.

* Scholars question whether Siddartha could have been this old and never really contemplated the reality of aging and death, or that there was something more to life than personal accomplishments.  However, this may have been a personal awakening for him–he might have known he would die, but it became more real when he saw a dead body for the first time.  Some scholars also suggest a mid-life crisis for Siddartha and other spiritual leaders who experienced a similar change.  It is interesting to see that approximately age 30 is when many religious leaders have experienced some sort of life changing episode that forever sends them in a different direction (people such as Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus, Zoroaster, Ezekiel….).

* Siddhartha gave away his possessions and left his family at age 29, and went on a spiritual journey that lasted 6 years before he became enlightened.  At age 35, he went through 2 1/2 days straight of meditation.  When he finished this meditation, he announced “I am awake,” signifying that he was enlightened.  It was then he came to be known as the Buddha, which means the enlightened one.  The goal of all Buddhists is to become a Buddha themselves (to be enlightened).

* Buddha was born into a Hindu world, and his teachings include the Hindu concepts of karma, reincarnation and enlightenment.  However, Buddha did not believe that there was a god.  In his mind, there was no evidence of god, and so relying on god could be detrimental to one’s spiritual growth.  This is just one way that Buddha was a non-traditional teacher.  He was passionate about people thinking for themselves, and cautioned his listeners not to accept any teaching without deciding for themselves if it made sense.  This included any scripture as well as his own teaching.

* We could ask how a religion can exist that has no god.  Personally, the concepts of reincarnation and enlightenment contain a mystery that is not easily explained, and so Buddhism is a religion in that it argues our soul continues on after death.  Also, long after Buddha’s death, some Buddhists did begin to pray to gods (this may say something about the human need for gods as well as the possibility that some Buddhists figured out a deeper meaning to their faith).

* After he became enlightended, Buddha lived 45 more years, dying at age 80.  During this time he wandered northern India with his disciples, teaching and living a life of compassion and kindness.

* The teaching of the Buddha is centered on the human condition.  In class, I speak of Buddha as a spiritual doctor…..if you have ever not felt well physically, but weren’t sure if you were actually sick or not, then this sort of feeling is what we as humans can experience spiritually. Even if things in our life are good, we have an underlying sense that all is not well.

* Buddhism is based on the 4 Noble Truths 1) Dhukka–life entails suffering.  This can be actual physical pain but also mental pain, from losing someone or something that is close to us, not getting what we want, being envious of others 2) Tanha–our suffering is caused by our own desires.  If you suffer because you envy someone, rid yourself of envy and the suffering will go away.  What about actual physical pain or dying?  Buddha would point out that we may all suffer actual pain, but it is up to us whether we suffer or not.  Basically, he taught people to think rationally and not let our emotions control us  (I am reminded of a Buddhist monk who once lived in Ocala–when I would ask how he was, he would usually say to me-“I only have good days.”  This response was based on his Buddhist faith, and he would say this even if he didn’t feel well or had some other issues he was dealing with.  3) the 3rd Noble Truth is that there is a cure for our suffering and 4) the cure is tied to following the 8-fold path.

* The 8-fold path are the steps one would follow if they chose to pursue Buddhism.  The word “right” is part of each one, in the sense of the correct way to do things.  You can review the 8 steps in the textbook, along with the way Buddhism developed after the death of the Buddha himself.