What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha
Thera
This is a
religion of freedom and reason for man to lead a noble
life.
Buddhism does not
prevent anyone from learning the teachings of other religions. In
fact, the Buddha encouraged His followers to learn about other
religions and to compare His Teachings with other teachings. The
Buddha says that if there are reasonable and rational teachings.
The Buddha says that if there are reasonable and rational teachings
in other religions, His followers are free to respect such
teachings. It seems that certain religionists try to keep their
followers in the dark, some of them are not even allowed to touch
other religious objects or books. They are instructed not to listen
to the preachings of other religions. They are enjoined not to
doubt the teachings of their own religion, however unconvincing
their teachings may appear to be. The more they keep their
followers on a one-track mind, the more easily they can keep them
under control. If anyone of them exercises freedom of thought and
realizes that he had been in the dark all the time, then it is
alleged that the devil has possessed his mind. The poor man is
given no opportunity to use his common sense, education, of his
intelligence. Those who wish to change their views on religion are
taught to believe that they are not perfect enough to be allowed to
use free will in judging anything for themselves.
According to the
Buddha, religion should be left to one's own free choice. Religion
is not a law, but a disciplinary code which should be followed with
understanding. To Buddhists true religious principles are neither a
divine law nor a human law, but a natural law.
In actual fact,
there is no real religious freedom in any part of the world today.
Man has not the freedom even to think freely. Whenever he realizes
that he cannot find satisfaction through his own religion to which
he belongs, which cannot provide him with satisfactory answers to
certain questions, he has no liberty to give it up and to accept
another which appeals to him. The reason is that religious
authorities, leaders, and family members have taken that freedom
away from him. Man should be allowed to choose his religion which
is in accordance with his own conviction. One has no right to force
another to accept a particular religion. Some people surrender
their religion for the sake of love, without a proper understanding
of their partner's religion. Religion should not be changed to suit
man's emotions and human weaknesses. One must think very carefully
before changing one's religion. Religion is not a subject for
bargaining; one should not change one's religion for personal,
material gains. Religion is to be sued for spiritual development
and for self-salvation.
Buddhists never try
to influence other religionists to come and embrace their religion
for material gain. Nor do they try to exploit poverty, sickness,
illiteracy and ignorance in order to increase the number of
Buddhist population. The Buddha advised those who indicated their
wish to follow Him, not to be hasty in accepting His Teachings. He
advised them to consider carefully His Teaching and to determine
for themselves whether it was practical or not for them to
follow.
Buddhism teaches
that mere belief or outward rituals are insufficient for attaining
wisdom and perfection. In this sense, outward conversion becomes
meaningless. To promote Buddhism by force would mean pretending to
propagate justice and love by means of oppression and injustice. It
is of no importance to a follower of the Buddha whether a person
calls himself a Buddhist or not. Buddhists know that only through
man's understanding and exertion will they come nearer to the goal
preached by the Buddha.
Amongst the
followers of every religion are some fanatics. Religious fanaticism
is dangerous. A fanatic is incapable of guiding himself by reason
or even by the scientific principles of observation and analysis.
According to the Buddha, a Buddhist must be a free man with an open
mind and must not be subservient to anyone for his spiritual
development. He seeks refuge in the Buddha by accepting Him as a
source of supreme guidance and inspiration. He seeks refuge in the
Buddha, not blindly, but with understanding. To Buddhists, the
Buddha is not a savior nor is He an anthropomorphic being who
claims to possess the power of washing away other's sins. Buddhists
regard the Buddha as a Teacher who shows the Path to
salvation.
Buddhism has always
supported the freedom and progress of mankind. Buddhism has always
stood for the advancement of knowledge and freedom for humanity in
every sphere of life. There is nothing in the Buddha's Teaching
that has to be withdrawn in the face of modern, scientific
inventions and knowledge. The more new things that scientists
discover, the closer they come to the Buddha.
The Buddha
emancipated man from the thralldom of religion. He also released
man from the monopoly and the tyranny of the priestcraft. It was
the Buddha who first advised man to exercise his reason and not to
allow himself to be driven meekly like dumb cattle, following the
dogma of religion. The Buddha stood for rationalism, democracy and
practical, ethical conduct in religion. He introduced this religion
for people to practise with human dignity.
The followers of the
Buddha were advised not to believe anything without considering it
properly. In the Kalama Sutta,the Buddha gave the
following guidelines to a group of young people:
'Do not accept
anything based upon mere reports,
traditions or hearsay,
Nor upon the authority of religious texts,
Nor upon mere reasons and arguments,
Nor upon one's own inference,
Nor upon anything which appears to be true,
Nor upon one's own speculative opinion,
Nor upon another's seeming ability,
Nor upon the consideration: 'This is our Teacher.'
'But, when you know for yourselves the certain things are
unwholesome and bad: tending to harm yourself of others, reject
them.
'And when you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome
and good: conducive to the spiritual welfare of yourself as well as
others, accept and follow them.'
Buddhists are
advised to accept religious practices only after careful
observation and analysis, and only after being certain that the
method agrees with reason and is conducive to the good of one and
all.
A true Buddhist does
not depend on external powers for his salvation. Nor does he expect
to get rid of miseries through the intervention of some unknown
power. He must try to eradicate all his mental impurities to find
eternal Happiness. The Buddha says, 'If anyone were to speak ill of
me, my teaching and my disciples, do not be upset or perturbed, for
this kind of reaction will only cause you harm. On the other hand,
if anyone were to speak well of me, my teaching and my disciples,
do not be over-joyed, thrilled or elated, for this kind of reaction
will only be an obstacle in forming a correct judgment. If you are
elated, you cannot judge whether the qualities praised are real and
actually found in us.' -- (Brahma Jala Sutta). Such is the
unbiased attitude of a genuine Buddhist.
The Buddha had
upheld the highest degree of freedom not only in its human essence
but also in its divine qualities. It is a freedom that does not
deprive man of his dignity. It is a freedom that releases one from
slavery to dogmas and dictatorial religious laws or religious
punishments.
-ooOoo-
