Every man must have a religion especially one which appeals to
the intellectual mind. A man failing to observe religious
principles becomes a danger to society. While there is no doubt
that scientists and psychologists have widened our intellectual
horizon, they have not been able to tell us our purpose in life,
something a proper religion can do.
Man must choose a rational and meaningful religion according to
his conviction without depending on mere beliefs, traditions,
customs and theories. No one has the right to force him to accept
any religion. No one should exploit poverty, illiteracy or arouse
human emotional feelings to induce him to accept a religion.
Religion should be a free choice.
Man should be free to choose his own religion according to his
liking and intellectual capacity. To follow a religion blindly
without any understanding would deprive the religion of its
spiritual value and the follower his human dignity. Human beings
have intelligence and common sense to differentiate between what is
right and wrong. They can adapt themselves according to
circumstances. They should therefore choose a religion that is
suitable to them and one that meets with their human intelligence.
They must be properly guided and then given a chance to decide
freely without any coercion.
The religion that is being introduced here is a practical
educational system for mental culture which was revealed to the
world some twenty five centuries ago by a Fully
Enlightened and Compassionate Teacher. This religion is
also known as the "Middle-Way, a righteous way of
life, an ethico-philosophical system and a religion of freedom and
reason." It teaches us to do three main things; namely,
"Keep away from bad deeds, do good and purify the
mind."
This message is very simple, meaningful and practical, yet
people experience difficulties when they put them into practice due
to inherent human weakness. The moral conduct of man plays a most
important part in this religion. Its great Teacher once said,
"My teaching is not to come and believe, but to come, see
and practise." It encourages people to study the teachings
fully and so allow them to use their own judgement to decide as to
whether they should accept the teachings or otherwise. No one is
asked to come and embrace this religion without first having an
understanding of its teachings.
Superfluous rites and rituals have no real religious value or
significance. There are no superstitious beliefs and practices or
secret doctrines in this religion. Everything is open to the choice
of followers who are at liberty to investigate the teachings and
ask questions whenever they wish to clear their doubts. According
to the founder of this religion, one should not believe anything
merely because a great sage has introduced it or because it is
traditionally accepted by many but one should use one's common
sense and intelligence and accept it only if it is worth while to
do so.
This religion teaches the Noble Eight Fold Path which consists
of Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action,
Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right
Concentration.. This unique middle way allows others to lead a
noble and peaceful life.
The middle way is neither a metaphysical path nor a ritualistic
path; neither dogmatism nor scepticism; neither self-indulgence nor
self-mortification; neither eternalism nor nihilism; neither
pessimism nor optimism; it is a Path of Enlightenment, a means of
deliverance from suffering. This religion does not agree that human
beings are suffering today because of the sins committed by their
ancestors; on the contrary every person carries his or her merits
or demerits individually. Man himself is solely responsible for his
own pain or pleasure.
One who follows the middle path of moderation should find real
peace and happiness and should be able to lead a respectable life
without being a slave to one's senses, thus contributing to the
peace and harmony of the world.
This religion satisfies man's most profound and lofty
aspirations and yet is able to bear the stress and strain of man's
everyday life, helping him in his contact with his fellow men,
besides giving a purpose in life. It does not instill fear in
people. "Good begets good and bad begets bad." "Every
action has its reaction." These are universal laws. This
religion fully agrees with these laws, hence people have to
"reap what they sow." Evil deeds are perpetrated
by people due to their greed, anger and ignorance. Such weaknesses
can only be overcome through self realisation. Pleasure and pain
which people experience in this world are not due to some external
influences but due to the good and bad actions, words and deeds
which they themselves have committed. For this very reason, this
religion says: 'We are the results of what we were, and we
will be the results of what we are."
According to this teaching, cause and effect play a very
important part in our fives. In a circle of cause and effect a
first cause is inconceivable for the cause ever becomes the effect
and the effect in turn becomes the cause.
The founder of this unique religion is not a myth but a Great
Teacher who actually lived in this world. He never tried to present
himself as a supernatural being but as a human being who had
realised the absolute truth namely, the secret of life and the real
cause of suffering and happiness. Today this Teacher is not only
honoured by hundreds of millions of his followers but also by every
cultured and intellectual man throughout the world. This Noble Man,
this Liberator, this Social Reformer, this Democrat and Inspirer
into higher living, passed away at the age of eighty leaving behind
a noble code for humanity to utilise as a means for the elimination
of human suffering, misery, tension, fear and worry. This code
enables them to gain happiness in this life and the life hereafter
and leads to the ultimate liberation of all human
suffering.
This Great Teacher comforted the bereaved by His consoling
words. He helped the poor that were neglected. He ennobled the
lives of the deluded and purified the corrupted lives of criminals.
He encouraged the feeble, united the divided, enlightened the
ignorant, clarified the mystic, elevated the base and dignified the
noble. Both rich and poor, saints and criminals loved Him alike.
Despotic and righteous Kings, famous and obscure princes and
nobles, generous and stingy millionaires, haughty and humble
scholars, destitutes, paupers, down-trodden scavengers, wicked
murderers, despised courtesans - all benefited from His words of
wisdom and compassion and led peaceful, noble lives.
His noble example was a source of inspiration to all. His serene
and peaceful countenance was indeed a soothing sight to the
troubled eyes of men. His message of peace and tolerance was
welcomed by all with indescribable joy and was of eternal benefit
to everyone who had the fortune to hear and practise it. His iron
will, profound wisdom, universal love, boundless compassion,
selfless service, historic renunciation, perfect purity, magnetic
personality, exemplary methods employed to introduce His Teachings
and His final success - all these factors have inspired about one
fifth of the population of the world today to hail this teacher and
to honour him as their supreme religious master.
This noble Teacher sacrificed his worldly pleasures for the sake
of suffering humanity to seek the Truth in order to show the path
of deliverance from suffering. He visited the poor people whilst
kings and ministers visited him. For forty five years after his
enlightenment he had dedicated his life for enlightening misguided
human beings.
This great Teacher feared none nor did He instill fear in
anyone. This is one of the principles that should be cultivated in
this war-torn world of ours where the most precious thing - life -
is sacrificed at the altar of brute force and where armaments are
creating fear, tension and hatred.
He was the perfect scientist in the field of life. He was the
perfect psychologist who was able to analyse the real nature of the
mind - so much so that His teaching was acclaimed as the only
scientific religion.
To great philosophers and unbiased thinkers, He is a teacher who
understood worldly conditions in its proper perspective. To
moralists He has the highest code of discipline and He symbolizes
perfection. 'He was the perfect model of all the virtues he
preached.' To rationalists, He is the most liberal - minded
religious teacher who appreciated the vexed human problems. To
free-thinkers, He is a religious teacher who encouraged people to
think freely without depending on religious dogmas. To agnostics,
He is a very kind, understanding and wise man.
He was no doubt the most persuasive of all the religious
Teachers. He never used compulsion or fear as a means of gaining
converts. He has introduced a religious way of life for people to
be religious even without the attachment of a religious label. He
was the humble servant of humanity, unperturbed by either praise or
blame, and undeterred even by the most acute illness.
This Great Teacher has shown the path to peace, happiness and
salvation. His way of teaching is liberal, rational, scientific and
understandable, leading towards enlightenment.
Today the message of peace of this Great Universal Teacher is
more important than ever before especially at a time when human
beings are intoxicated with anger, greed, jealousy, pride and
desire for world domination.
This Teacher was born to this world to dispel the darkness of
ignorance and to save the world from its ills. Throughout the world
many people live on without believing or practising any form of
religion. However if they would only take a little bit of trouble
to study and understand what this Great Teacher had taught, they
could easily clarify their doubts, if any, and be convinced as to
the religion that could best contribute to man's
happiness.
Whether one believes in Him or not, His Teaching nevertheless
has its profound effect on all people. His message was given to the
world without any violence nor was a single drop of blood ever shed
in its name. This is a remarkable record in world history which
could be imprinted in letters of gold. This teaching illuminates
the way by which mankind could cross from a world of
unsatisfactoriness to a new world of light, love, peace, happiness
and satisfaction.
The twenty five century old teaching of this great Teacher is
strong enough to face any challenge without reversing or having to
give new interpretations to its original doctrines. This teaching
can be accepted without fear of being contradicted by modern
scientific discoveries and achievements.
The teaching considers virtue as being one of the necessary
prerequisites for the attainment of salvation. The other
prerequisite is wisdom. Virtue and wisdom could also be compared to
the eyes and feet of a man. Virtue is like a vehicle that brings
man up to the gate of .salvation, but the actual key that opens the
gate is wisdom.
The followers of this religion do not regard themselves as being
the only chosen people who could get the chance to attain heavenly
bliss. They believe that man creates his own hell or heaven
according to his way of life and that sufferings in hell or
realization of heavenly bliss can be experienced in this earthly
life instead of in the life hereafter, as commonly believed. This
religious teacher never tried to introduce his teaching by
frightening people through hell fire or by tempting them with
everlasting heavenly life but by revealing the truth. In accordance
with these teachings, anyone can enjoy heavenly bliss so long as
one leads a righteous way of life. Heaven is not reserved for or to
be monopolized by any one particular sect or religious community.
It should be open to all - anyone who leads a noble fife.
Tolerance, patience and understanding are worthy virtues upheld
by the followers of this religion. Loving kindness, compassion and
sympathy towards others are not linfited to human beings only but
extended to all living beings -since destruction of life, be it
human or animal, is cruel and unjust, and is against the teaching
of this religion. This religion also advises its followers to
respect other people's views in order to lead a harmonious
life.
This religion is clear, reasonable and gives complete answers to
all important aspects and questions about our life. It provides a
solid foundation to help mankind towards a positive and better way
of life.
This religion does not divide mankind into groups, the
"saved" and the lost but as a
civilized and understanding religion it teaches us how to tame the
wild and refine the tamed.
Followers of this religion do not indulge in petitional or
intercessory prayer. They believe in the importance of
self-exertion and in the efficacy of meditation that leads one to
self conquest, self-control, self purification, relief and
enlightenment because meditation serves as a tonic both of the
heart and the mind.
This religion contends that mind is the all powerful force -the
creator and destroyer of man and the architect of man's fate.
Therefore, man should be capable of moulding anything if only he
knows how to develop and make use of his mind properly.
In fact this religion has been an admirable lighthouse for
guiding mankind towards peace, happiness and eternal bliss. It is
true that the world today is riddled with racial, political,
religious, communal and ideological misunderstandings. To solve
these complex problems, people must exercise the spirit of
benevolence and tolerance towards each other, and this can be
cultivated under the guidance of this religion which inculcates
ethical-moral co-operation for universal good. Man must come to
realize -that spiritual development is more important than the
attainment of material development for the real happiness and
welfare of mankind. He must also practise truth, service, charity
and love if this world is to be turned into a better place to live
in.
This religious teacher through his enlightenment, declared
that:
Instead of placing man and his destiny under the arbitrary
control of an unknown external agency and making him subservient to
such a supreme power, this religion raised the status of mankind
and accorded man the credit due to him for his intelligence. It
taught him how to cultivate his submerged human
potential.
This religion teaches us how to render selfless service to
others. Followers of this religion abstain from evil not because of
fear of retribution from some unseen being but because of
realisation that evil would bring about suffering to living
beings.
Their motive of doing good to help others is not to please any
supreme being in expectation of a reward, but due to feelings of
compassion and to release them from sufferings.
Here in this religion you can find a way to perfect goodness and
wisdom without any aid from any external power. You can achieve the
highest wisdom through realization but not necessarily through
'revelation'. You can attain redemption without the assistance of a
vicarious redeemer. You can gain salvation within this lifetime by
the judicious exercise of your own faculties without waiting for it
to happen only in the life hereafter. Ibis religion teaches that
man is not for religion but that religion is for man. That means:
without becoming a slave to any religion, man must try to make use
of a religion for his betterment and liberation.
"Yes," said the founder of this religion; these ends could be
attained by service, by purity, discipline and wisdom.
The realization of the law of cause and effect as explained in
this religion clarifies and helps to solve the problems of human
sufferings, the mystery of fate and predestination, and above all
the inequality of mankind. Understanding of this law gives them
consolation, hope, self-reliance and moral courage.
This is not a theory or a religion, just to believe in but a
practical and noble way of life. This is one of the oldest
religions in history that brought culture and betterment to
mankind, yet most modern in every aspect, when compared with modem
achievements. It advises one not to become a slave to any external
power but to cultivate one's own hidden potential and use one's own
effort and intelligence to resolve one's problems.
It has every quality required of a rational religion that will
fit into the present and future world. It is rational, progressive
and reasonable. It will be beneficial for anyone to study and
realize the value of this religion in the modern world. It is
acknowledged to be more scientific than science and more
progressive than all the progressive elements in the spiritual
field. It is one of the most effective means to be utilised for.the
maintenance of world peace, harmony and understanding.
It was this religion which, for the first time in world history,
revolted against the degrading caste system and taught equality of
mankind, according equal opportunities for all to distinguish
themselves in every walk of life. It was also this religion that
first gave freedom to women by encouraging them to study and
practise a religion that bestowed social equalities.
The Great Teacher declared that the gates to success and
prosperity were open to all in every condition of life whether high
or low, saint or criminal, who would care, seek and aspire for
perfection. He did not force his followers to be slaves either to
Himself or His teachings but granted them complete freedom of
thought and investigation so that they could gain
self-confidence.
This religion classifies the living being into mind and matter
which are in a state of constant change, not remaining the same for
two consecutive moments. Mind and matter arise and perish and the
cycles go on. Therefore nothing will remain permanently either in
this world or elsewhere in the universe. Because everything which
exists in any part of the universe is nothing but a combination of
elements and energies, it is quite natural that these things will
one day disintegrate and the formations disappear totally. This
religion also teaches us that every existing component thing is
subject to changes and conflicts owing to worldly conditions or
universal laws.
The principles observed by this religion are not commandments.
By observing the precepts such as abstaining from Killing,
Stealing, Sexual Misconduct, Telling Lies and Taking Intoxicating
Drinks, the followers can purify themselves and enable others to
live peacefully.
Our aim in publishing this article is not to convert others into
our faith but to enlighten them on how to seek peace and happiness
and to practise their own religious convictions without resorting
to blind faith. We encourage every person to practise his own
religion properly if he can truly find truth, peace, happiness,
wisdom and salvation in it. What we want is for man to lead a
respectable religious life without abusing his human
dignity.
However, this religion may be the answer to many of your
religious, spiritual and human problems or it may give fresh
direction to your thinking on religious and philosophical matters.
It may also help you to understand the way of life and cultural
heritage of Asia. You may find in this religion the spiritual
guidance the modern world needs.
This religion brought into the world a new spirit, a new hope, a
new path, the truth of which and the necessity of which is seen and
felt today as of old. The great religion referred to is "Buddhism"
and its founder is none other than "Gautama The Buddha."
Whatever may be your purpose, we invite you to take a closer
look at this religion and the ideals of the founder. We are ready
to help you in your search for truth. Therefore, Be Unbiased, Avoid
Religious Prejudices, Try to Find the Truth.