Buddhism- the Non-Theistic Religion

 

Buddhism Museum under the Temple of Dambulla

Buddhism is a non -theistic religion, meaning there is no belief in a creator God. It is one of the world's major religions, originating in India in 563-483 B.C.E. It developed through the series of three realizations as Buddha experienced them along his journey and each of the three have a momentous impact on one's self as one reflects on their life on this earth. "We may put it in the following way: in his first great realization, Buddha concluded that there is no self-fulfillment through self-indulgence. In the second great realization, he concluded that there is no self-fulfillment through self-denial.  His third great realization was the sudden awareness that there is no fulfillment at all- no self-fulfillment, period. There can be no self-fulfillment because there is no self to be fulfilled!" (Bresnan 212)

Siddharta Gautama, an Indian Prince, who would later go on to become the Buddha, had his 'Awakening' at the age of 9 as he stepped outside of the comfort of his fathers kingdom and onto the lands of the regular people to attend the Plowing festival with his father- the King. It is here that had his first bouts of mindfulness as he sat watching the plows working their way, dirt being unraveled, worms squirming through to the top layer, only to be eaten by birds. "He realized that everything was connected and that all  actions had consequences. This simple observation would become one of the cornerstones of his teachings known as Karma." ( Life, 13:24-13:33)

The Beliefs of Buddhism
The Four Noble Truths

Buddha wanted to be known more as a teacher than a leader." At the time of his dying, Buddha chose not to name any one particular person to stand in his place but left his disciples with the following words "be islands unto yourselves. Be lamps unto yourselves. Be a refuge to yourselves." (Bresnan 206) 

Buddhism is based on the Four Noble Truths. "The First Noble Truth deals with the reality of suffering. It is universal, and it is the essence of the human problem. In the Second Noble Truth, Buddha identifies the cause of the suffering. He then goes on in the Third Noble Truth to assure us that release from suffering is possible, that every man and woman is capable of Awakening to the truth that brings freedom from suffering. In the Fourth Noble Truth, Buddha lays out the way of life that can lead one to Awakening. That way of life is referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path." (Bresnan 223) 

After Buddha's death, many sects of Buddhist teachings emerged; however the Two Main Schools that exist and are prominent are Theravada and Mahayana.

Theravada Buddhism is the oldest surviving form of the Buddhist teaching and is more traditional and rationale based.

The Pali Canon constitutes the definitive core of the Theravada Buddhism. It was the Pali Canon that defined the character of Theravada. "In addition to nourishing their own practice, the Buddhist monks and scholars of the time were there for the purpose of formally establishing an authentic body of Buddhist scripture. It was their hope that they could reach an agreement on a fundamental corpus of documents that faithfully preserved Buddha's teaching, including his teaching regarding the proper organization and discipline of the Orders within the Sangha. After many months of work, the members of this Great Council put their seal of approval on a collection of writings that has come to be known as the Pali Canon. (Bresnan 243)

What is the meaning of the word Theravada? "Theravada literally means "teachings (doctrine) of the elders," but in more everyday language, we could translate it simply as "the orthodox tradition." Through his teaching, Buddha had shown humanity how to liberate itself from its own characteristic form of suffering. Theravada's reason for being was to preserve and promote that teaching. The goal of Theravada, therefore, was to provide a nourishing context within which any person who wished to make the effort could strive to become an arahant, that is, a fully awakened man or woman." (Bresnan 252)

Mahayana Buddhism believe that it is selfish to solely focus on ending one's own suffering on ending one’s own suffering. As a result, they define Bodhisatva's as future Buddha's who have compassionately and selflessly delayed their own attainment of Buddhahood until they have helped others towards liberation. "Diversity is the most  immediately apparent feature of the Mahayana. Mahayana opened its arms to embrace a huge variety of Upaya (ways of practicing the Dharma). In Mahayana, there is something for everyone. Included within this new openness was the appearance of decidedly religious practices. It is in the development of the Mahayana that Buddhism begins to take on a distinctly religious character.(Bresnan 268) 

What was it about the character of the Theravadin tradition that opened the way for the rise of the Mahayana? Why did Mahayanists refer to the Theravada tradition as "Hinayana"?  "The Theravada tradition was viewed by some as too rule-bound, too conservative, too elitist and too narrow in scope. What initially fueled the rise of Mahayana was a deep dissatisfaction on the part of some with the traditional interpretation of Buddha's teaching by the dominant majority, the Theravadins. It seemed that the only genuine Buddhists were the members of the monastic orders; the laity played hardly any part at all. Theravada had become far too self-centered.

The Mahayanists referred to the Theravada tradition as Hinayana as the hina-yana is known to be a small vehicle; in this case, a small ferryboat , to transport the teachings of Buddha. Now with the rift between the two schools, the label was created  because the Hinayana only has room for the elite few and is simply lesser and therefore, inferior to the larger vehicle; the Mahayana. (Bresnan 264)

Citations 

Bresnan, Patrick. Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. Routledge, 2022.

National Geographic Society. “Buddhism.” National Geographic Society, 7 July 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/buddhism/.

Offenberg, Christian. “The Buddhist Museum at the Golden Temple in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Editorial Photo - Image of Gold, Religious: 170574591.” Dreamstime, https://www.dreamstime.com/buddhist-museum-golden-temple-dambulla-sri-lanka-largest-best-preserved-cave-complex-image170574591.

“Pali+Canon+Buddhism.” Yahoo!, Yahoo!, https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=Awr9Im14njpipycAKVBXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNncTEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZANMT0NVSTAzOF8xBHNlYwNwaXZz?p=pali%2Bcanon%2Bbuddhism&fr2=piv-web&fr=crmas_sfp#id=1&vid=45f433aedeee6eb9c9ab56c4acec6fdd&action=view.

“The Two Main Schools of Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana.” Buddhism Info, https://buddhism.info/the-two-main-schools-of-buddhism-theravada-and-mahayana/.