GOD as per Buddhist thought

The term God is basic foundation of almost all religions but Buddhism has denied the existence of any outer gods.. According to Buddhism God is a myth created by humans. In this blog we will look at the reasons that forced human to create the myth of Gods.

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong.

To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter.

They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.

The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite.

One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the logical concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding. If Buddhism is correct then it means that God is nothing more than a myth? What you think?

Source: Speaking Tree(Times of India)

Vipassana - Meditation

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was taught in India more than 2500 years ago as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art of Living. The Meditation technique, that was taught by the Buddha is called Vipassana  Meditation. The word Meditation really is no equivalent of the Buddhist term ‘Bhavana” which literally means ‘development’ or ‘culture’, i.e., development of mind or culture of mind. Bhavana , in Buddhism, means cultivation in the true sense of the word. It is the removal of all evil and unwholesome mental factors and developing or cultivating all good and wholesome mental factors in order to produce  calm, concentrated mind that sees the true nature of all phenomenal things and realizes Nirvana , the supreme security from bondage.

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

Vipassana means “insight” in the ancient Pali language of India. It is the essence of the teaching of the Buddha, the actual experience of the truths of which he spoke. The Buddha himself attained that experience by the practice of meditation, and therefore meditation is what he primarily taught. It is completely experiential in nature.

All our lives , we have been accustomed to look outward. We have always interested in what is happening outside of our being. We have rarely, if ever, examined ourselves, our own mental and physical nature/structure, our own actions, our own reality. Therefore , we remain unknown to ourselves. The path that the Buddha showed is a path of introspection, of self observation. By observing ourselves we become aware for the first time of the conditioned reactions, the prejudices that cloud our mental vision, that hide reality from us and produce suffering. We recognise the accumulated inner tensions that keep us agitated, miserable and we realise they can be removed. Gradually we learn how to allow them to dissolve and our minds become pure, peaceful and happy.

Vipassana Meditation is a teaching to be practised. Simply having faith in the Buddha or his teachings will not help to free us from suffering ; neither will a merely intellectual understanding of the path. Only the actual practice of what Buddha has taught will give concrete results and change our lives for the better.

It is not necessary to call oneself a Buddhist , in order to practice this teaching. Labels are irrelevant. It can be practiced by any one , with an intention of knowing the truth of suffering and coming out of it and live a happy life. It is not sectarian or religious , and can be practiced by all .

Late. Sri S.N.Goenkaji has done a tremendous and selfless service in imparting this jewel –Vipassana Meditation- to millions of people in India and abroad and helped them to gain happiness and peace in their lives. For more info visit www.dhamma.org

What is Buddhism or what Buddha taught to this world

Buddhism in the strictest sense of the word, cannot be called a religion, for if by religion is meant ’action or conduct indicating belief in, reverence for, and desire to please, a divine ruling power ; the exercise or practice of rites or observances implying this….; recognition on the part of man of some higher unseen power as having control of his destiny, and as being entitled to obedience, reverence and worship.

Then , Buddhism  is not certainly such a religion. Then what is Buddhism?

Buddhism is a ‘way of life’. It is a way of moral, spiritual and intellectual training leading to complete freedom of mind.

One of the noteworthy characteristics that distinguishes the Buddha from all other religious teachers is that , he was a human being with no connection whatsoever with a God or any other “Supernatural “ Being.

He was neither a God nor an Incarnation of God, nor any mythological figure. But he was an extraordinary man.

It was Buddha, who for the first time in the world’s history taught that deliverance could be attained independently of an external agency, that deliverance from suffering must be wrought and fashioned by each one for himself upon the anvil of his own actions.

Through personal experience, he understood the supremacy of man, and the found the concept of a ‘Supernatural’ being who rules over the destinies of beings below, is a mere illusion.

The Buddha never claimed to be a savior who tried to save ‘souls’ by means of a revealed religion.Through his own experience and understanding, he proved that infinite possibilities are latent in man and that it must be man’s endeavour to develop and unfold these possibilities.He proved by his own experience that enlightenment and deliverance lie absolutely and entirely in man’s hand.

Being an exponent of the strenuous life by percept and example, the Buddha encouraged his disciples to cultivate self-reliance, thus: ”You are your own refuge, who else could refuge be?” None can grant deliverance to another who merely begs for it. Others may lend us a helping hand indirectly; but nevertheless the highest freedom is attained only through self-realization  self-awakening to Truth. Self-realization can come only to one who is free to think out his /her own problems without let or hindrance.

Each individual should make the appropriate effort and break the shackles that have kept him in bondage, winning freedom from the shackles of existence by perseverance , self-exertion and insight and not through prayers and petitions to a Supreme Being.

The Buddha warns his disciples against shifting the burden to an external agency, a savior, a God or Brahma. The Truth is to be self-realized.

Another distinguishing characteristic is that the Buddha never preserved his supreme knowledge for himself alone. Perfect enlightenment , the discovery and realization of the Four Noble Truths is not the prerogative of a single being chosen by Divine Providence.

Buddha disaaproved the secrecy in teaching the Dhamma. He said ‘Secrecy is the Hall mark of a false doctrine’. He declared the Dhamma freely and equally to all. He kept nothing back, and never wished to extract from his disciples blind faith in him and his teaching. He insisted and encouraged on discriminative examination and intelligent enquiry of the Dhamma.

He said “ As the wise test gold by burning, by cutting it and rubbing it, so are you to accept my words after examining them and not merely out of regard for me”

Buddhism is free from compulsion and coercion and does not demand of the follower blind faith. Buddhism , from beginning to end, is open to all those who have eyes to see and mind to understand. Buddha’s sole intention was to make clear to others that seeing things as they are is not the result of mere belief in, and fear of, some external power, either human, super-human or even infr-human. In the understanding of things, belief and fear do not play any role in Buddhist thought.

The truth of the Dhamma can be grasped only through insight, never through blind faith, or through fear of some unknown or known being.

The history of religions reveals that , it is fear in man, enmeshed in ignorance, which creates the idea of an omnipotent external agency; and once that idea is created, men move in awe of the child of their own fear and work untold harm to themselves, and , at times , to others, too.

Buddha discouraged blind belief, and fear of the omnipotent as unsuitable approaches for understanding the truth, and also denounced adherence to rites and rituals, which do not tend to purify a man, and do not make a man holy and noble.

The Buddha has proclaimed a path, free from all superstition and cruelty i.e., he made it impossible for his followers to behave in any way detrimental to the welfare of living beings, by outlawing all oppression, spoliation and plunder.

In Buddhist thought, there is no awareness or conviction of the existence of a creator of any form who rewards and punishes the good and ill deeds of the creatures of his creation.

For the Buddha, the entire teaching is just the understanding of the unsatisfactory nature of all phenomenal existence and the cultivation of the path leading away from this unsatisfactoriness.

The Buddha was a practical teacher, His sole aim was to explain in all its detail the problem of Dukkha, suffering, the universal fact of life, to make people feel its full force, and to convince them to come out of it.