Buddhism is nothing but the NOBLE TRUTH.
What is Buddhism? This question has puzzled many people who often
inquire if Buddhism is a philosophy, a religion, or a way of life.
The simple answer is that Buddhism is too vast and too profound to
be neatly placed in any single category. Of course, Buddhism
includes philosophy and religion and a way of life. But Buddhism
goes beyond these categories.
The categories or labels given to Buddhism are like signboards to
let the people know what is being presented. If we compare Buddhism
to a medicine shop, it will be clear that the signboard on the
medicine shop will not cure a person of his sickness. If the
medicine is effective, then you can use it to heal yourself without
being concerned as to the signboard that merely gives a label for
the medicine. Likewise, if the Teaching of the Buddha is effective,
then use it and do not be concerned about the label or signboard.
Do not try to slip Buddhism into any single category or limit it
under any signboard.
Different people live at different times and in different places
have given different labels and interpretations to Buddhism. To
some people, Buddhism might appear to be only a mass of
superstitious practices. To another group of people, Buddhism might
be a convenient label to be used for temporal gains. To another
group, it is old fashioned. To yet another group, Buddhism will
have significance as a system of thought for intellectuals only. To
some others, it is a scientific discovery. To the pious and devout
Buddhist, Buddhism means his entire life, the fulfillment of all he
holds near and dear to him.
Some intellectuals see Buddhism as a product of its Indian
environment or as an outgrowth of another kind of Indian religious
teaching. Buddhism is nothing but the Noble Truth. It is an
intellectual approach to reality. The Buddha's realization of
universal problems did not come through a purely intellectual or
rational process but through mental development and purification.
The intellectual stance reminiscent of the scientific attitude,
surely makes the Buddha absolutely unique among religious teachers
of all time. Of course, the high standard of intellectual inquiry
and ethical endeavor prevailing at the time in India were prime
conditions for the re-emergence of the light of the Dhamma from the
darkness of oblivion. Thousands of years of religious and
philosophical development had left on the intellectual soil of
India a rich and fertile deposit of ideas and ideals which formed
the best possible environment into which the seed of the Dhamma
could fall. Greece, China, Egypt and Babylonia, for all their
loftiness of thought, had not attained the same quality of vision
as the forest and mountain-dwelling sages of India. The germ of
Enlightenment which had been borne, like a winged seed from distant
fields, from worlds in space and time infinitely remote from ours _
this very germ of Enlightenment found growth and development in the
north-eastern corner of India. This very germ of Enlightenment
found its full expression in the experience of the man, Gautama
Buddha. The fountainhead of all Buddhism is this experience which
is called 'Enlightenment'. With this experience of Enlightenment,
the Buddha began His Teaching not with any dogmatic beliefs or
mysteries, but with a valid, universal experience, which He gave to
the world as universal truth. Therefore, the real definition of
Buddhism is NOBLE TRUTH. Remember that the Buddha did not teach
from theories. He always taught from a practical standpoint based
on His understanding, His Enlightenment, and His realization of the
Truth.
Buddhism began with the Truth embodied over 2500 years ago in the
person of Gautama, the Buddha. When the Buddha introduced His
teachings, His intention was not to develop the concept of self in
man's mind and create more ambition for eternal life and sense
pleasure. Rather, His intention was to point out the futility of
the worldly life and to show the correct, practical Path to
salvation that He discovered.
The original Teachings of the Buddha disclosed the true nature of
life and the world. However, a distinction must be made between the
Buddha's original Teaching (often called the Dhamma or the Buddha
Word) and the religion that developed based on His Teachings.
The Teachings of the Buddha not only started a religion, but
inspired the blossoming of a whole civilization. These Teachings
became a great civilizing force that moved through the history of
many a culture and nation. Indeed, Buddhism has become one of the
greatest civilizations that the world has ever known. It has a
wonderful history of achievement in the fields of literature, art,
philosophy, psychology, ethics, architecture and culture. In the
course of centuries, countless social educational institutions were
established in the various nations that were dedicated to the
Buddha's Teaching. The history of Buddhism was written in golden
letters of brotherhood and goodwill. The religious beliefs and
practices turned into a rational, scientific and practical
religious way of life for spiritual development from the day the
Buddha preached His Teaching and realized the real purpose and
meaning of a life and a religion.