is buddhism the answer to suffering or is it the buddha?
Vic Shayne
author
The Enduring Myth of the Buddha: a hero’s journey to enlightenment
I need to start off with a disclaimer of sorts: This is not a criticism of Buddhism; it is an observation of how a good teaching can be supplanted by the sense of self and its persistent avoidance of enquiry into its own nature, even when the teaching has the means to guide one to this goal.
the problem with religion
Religion is an errant institution, because it is a concretized system and a dull reflection of the teachings of a sage who is no longer alive to pass along his guidance. While the sage, such as the Buddha or Jesus, may have had some special realization or insight, the essence of his teaching is usually obscured or railroaded by misinterpretations, distractions, fear of facing one’s self, and extraneous and irrelevant information.
Religion changes the emphasis from the core message of the sage to worship of the sage. This is obvious in every religion if for no other reason than the fact that religions are manmade institutions created and led by people who lack the realization of the iconic figure who initially inspired the religion. We see the terrible results of religious fervor in every age: Muslims murdering Jews and beheading fellow human beings, Muslims mistreating and murdering women, Christians murdering in the name of Jesus, Buddhists murdering Muslims, Muslims murdering Buddhists, Christians murdering Muslims, Hindus and Muslims murdering one another, and so on down the line. No single religion has a corner on the violence market.
Adherents of Buddhism are no exception to the insanity borne of religious fervor. So how do we separate the essence of the teaching of the Buddha from the personality that has become the object of worship, as well as from the rituals and beliefs that have blossomed over the last two-and-a-half millennia?
what did the buddha teach?
The teachings of the Buddha are those of a sage who had plumbed the depths of his own sense of self to find something beyond it. Buddhists call this “something” enlightenment. The word “buddha” means “the awakened one.” Although this term is most associated with a man named Siddhartha Gautama who became known as the Buddha, he was not the first nor the last buddha. In every generation there are those who have woken up to the reality of who they are at the deepest level; placing reality into a sense of harmony borne out of a perception of the whole.
the lofty goal: find the root of suffering
Since his childhood years, Siddhartha’s most pressing call was to find the root of suffering. When he became the Buddha he taught that there are four Noble Truths, with the first one being that life is suffering. While it is obvious that there is a tremendous amount of perpetual suffering in the world, and there has been throughout our short history as a human species, the First Noble Truth is too easy to dismiss as a simple statement with obvious implications. If we look much closer we find something beyond the suffering: We find the sense of self and consciousness and their role in behavior, thought, and action. And maybe a very few uncover what the Buddhists have termed to be Nirvana. It’s significant to believe that one could move from suffering to the ultimate, Nirvana, in a lifetime, or that it is even possible to do so.
be like the buddha or find what siddhartha found?
There are millions of Buddhists who say that they want to be like the Buddha and “reach enlightenment.” They are intrigued by the idea that the Buddha found Nirvana (a state of being that is not well-understood) and they too want this lofty experience. However, does the path to enlightenment really come through studying the words and actions of the Buddha, or from practicing the religion of Buddhism, including rituals, memorization of information, and forcing the mind to be quiet? Or is enlightenment beyond the Buddha and the ingestion of his teachings. Is it about knowledge or about seeing?
Many followers of Buddhism are more inclined to become experts of the Buddhist religious body of work than to enquire into their own sense of self. Of course this is true of all religions, but Buddhism has an especially high standard to uphold.
observing the self needs no ritual or worship
Observation of the self does not need a religion, practice, rituals, prayers, music, special clothing, drumming, Tibetan bowls, initiations, chanting, mantras, beads, or study — especially because such things are associated with the needs and ideas of the self — the same self that is the source of suffering. While the aforementioned may feel good and are uplifting or calming, they have nothing to do with the awakening people seek — or the awakening that Siddhartha found. Since the supposed goal of Buddhism is to end suffering, it is ironic if the means of doing so keeps people mired in the actions and practices of the self, especially because it is the self that is the cause of suffering.
the self cannot see beyond itself
Another of the Buddha’s Noble Truths mentions the role of desire as a causative factor in suffering. To maintain a strong desire to end suffering by attempting to eradicate it, force the mind to be quiet, or engage in acts of compassion with the goal of enlightenment in mind are also acts of the self. What we see as a theme in all of this is that the self is trying to go beyond — and conquer — itself, which is not possible. While the self can see many of its problems, shortcomings, and errant ways, all of this seeing is through the tainted mind of the self.
the buddha myth is a guide to your own insight
The story of the Buddha is a myth that acts as a guide for one to find the self as the source of suffering, but instead of following the Buddha’s example, many people are more apt to worship his personality and get lost in rhetoric and concepts.
The Chen Buddhists have an expression: “If you see Buddha on the road, kill him!” This is not a prescription for murder, but a note-to-self — Don’t worship the man. In a kinder metaphor there is the saying that when someone is pointing at the moon don’t stare at his pointing finger. If the goal is really enlightenment then the attention must be kept upon the source of awareness and not the teacher or the teachings.
Michael Jerryson, associate professor of Religious Studies, Youngstown State University, explains, “One should seek the inner Buddha nature that resides within, not an external Buddha for liberation. In this way, the thought of killing the Buddha dislodges a person from the illusionary perspective that enlightenment lies outside her/himself.”
buddhism can be a wonderful path
If, by the way, you are getting the idea that I do not approve of Buddhism, this is not my feeling. Buddhism has studied the mind like no other path, for more than two-and-a half centuries. Buddhism’s ideals are high and its teachings can be beneficial not only for the individual, but for everyone and everything else. But people are people, led by the egoic mind of the self. So if a person wants to find something to awaken her to the source of suffering she would have to find something in the vastness of the Buddhist teachings that directly addresses the prescription. A shaved head, a beautiful robe, filling one’s day with acts of compassion, and carrying around a begging bowl are all honorable commitments, but they are no replacement for the self-enquiry needed to find one’s source beyond the self.
