Introducing Buddhism course,

tutor: Mike Horne

Buddhism.

A simple introduction.

Buddhism was founded over two and a half thousand years ago, by Shakyamuni Buddha, a man who gained enlightenment and went on to teach his way to find true happiness to others. The religion has continued to evolve ever since as each teacher passes on the tradition to his or her students. Over that time many different styles of Buddhist practice have developed along with an enormous literature of scriptures and commentaries. Some styles are very simple, some are complex and colourful.

The basic principles of Buddhism are accepted by all the schools of Buddhism and are best illustrated by the story of the life of the historical Buddha:

Siddartha Gautama was born in northern India into the Shakya clan, a high status family. It was predicted that he would become either a great ruler or a religious leader. Because of this his father brought him up to become a statesman and ensured that he was shielded from the more disturbing aspects of life. The young Siddartha was well educated and lived a life of luxury; he married and had a son.

Siddartha persuaded his charioteer to take him outside the palace to see how others lived. On these four journeys he saw for the first time in his life an old person, a sick person, a corpse and a holy man. He asked his charioteer who these people were and was told that all people eventually get sick, grow old and die. The holy man had renounced the world and was searching for a way to escape from the unhappiness of human existence.

Siddartha saw that his sheltered existence in the palace was a sham and was determined that he should seek eternal happiness. After a party at the palace, when everyone else had fallen asleep, he left with the help of his charioteer. He gave away his designer clothes and cut off his long hair. He set off to follow the life of an ascetic holy man. Over the next few years he became the disciple of several teachers, learnt all they could teach him, but was still was dissatisfied.

He resolved to practice by himself to find the true answer. He tried several ascetic practices and almost starved himself to death. This gained the admiration of a small group of followers. But again he was not satisfied that he had found the real answer. He broke his fast and sat alone in meditation under a tree.

It was through meditation that Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha Shakyamuni - 'the enlightened one' and 'great sage of the Shakya clan'.

He passed on the fruits of his enlightenment to others over the remaining 45 years of his life. But the essence if best illustrated in his first ever teaching in a deer park near Benares to his former followers. This is known as the Four Noble Truths:

1 - a characteristic of all life is Dukkha. That is that it is "suffering", or unsatisfactory, or that there is no permanent happiness. We are unhappy when we do not get what we want and we are never truly happy when we get what we want; because we either want more, or are worried about losing what we have got, or get bored with what we have got and start to desire something new instead.

2 - The cause of Dukkha is our own desire for happiness. We created our own unhappiness by our desires, hopes, greed, etc. which can never be truly satisfied.

3 - There is an alternative (spiritual) happiness which we can achieve called "Nirvana". We are satisfied with what we have and no longer driven by the constant desires of our ego.

4 - The path to Nirvana is called the Noble Eightfold Path : consisting of positive understanding, thoughts, speech, actions, lifestyle, effort, awareness and meditation. Buddhists seek to understand the true nature of the ego, behave compassionately towards others and be aware at all times.

A series of precepts developed to guide Buddhists to behave in a less selfish way. These always include trying to refrain from killing, committing adultery, lying, stealing and drinking alcohol.

From the above we can see certain distinctive features of Buddhism from the example of the life of Shakyamuni Buddha:

It is not a "revealed religion" - the Buddha found enlightenment by his own effort - the religion was not revealed by a superhuman power. If he could do it then the pathway is open to everyone else.

The Buddhist path is the "Middle Way" between a luxurious lifestyle and extreme asceticism.

The decision to lead an unselfish life is the responsibility of the individual. No one can force people to become Buddhists.

The benefits of a Buddhist lifestyle come from one's own efforts - no-one can live your life for you!