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Introduction to Buddhism

Introduction

Buddhism is a “Wisdom-Teaching” from the East

A “wisdom-teaching” is different from a ‘religion’ in the sense that it does not deal with the service and worship of God or the supernatural. Besides this, Buddhism originated in the East. What then is so different between the wisdom of the East and that of the West? And to what extend is this important for an understanding of Buddhism?

A lot of fairytales are told concerning the ‘mystique’ of the East. Yet, there exist a number of elements in the thought patterns of the ‘East’ which play an important role in the Teaching of the Buddha.

In the 3 great Western religious traditions – which are all monotheistic – there is mention of one Creator, one Creation that happened at a certain historical moment in time. This will strongly influence the conception of ‘time’ in those traditions: ‘time’ is conceived as linear, it has a beginning and points – as a vector – towards a final destination. The soteriological thought based on this linear conception follows the same historical route: once there was a beginning (creation), a golden time followed by the expulsion from paradise. The soteriological process – characterized by a series of historical events - strives towards the ‘end of times’ in which everything will come to a Fulfillment in a climactic event in which good will conquer evil. The “end of times” is than the beginning of a New Paradise.

The conception of time in the East is non-linear; i.e. time is perceived as cyclic (e.g. in Buddhism and Hinduism), or as a wave (e.g. in Jainism) and is thought of in terms of ‘eternal return’. The ‘beginning’ is situated in the mythological ‘beginningless beginning of times’ (i.e. before any classification or conception of time). There is not one creation, but an infinite number of creations, just as there are numberless universes. Soteriological thought is not situated within ‘historical time’ but in ‘timeless time’ which can also be called the ‘Sacred Time’ (Temps Sacré), i.e. the time in which time is not measured. Salvation therefore can be realized at every given moment, it is potentially present in any given time, it only needs to be realized, here and now.

In this cyclic thought karma or the karmic law plays a crucial role. This natural law sees to it that man finds himself in a situation that is on the one hand determining for him, yet on the other hand, a situation in which he participates through his actions (mentally, verbally and physically) in the creation of the world. There are however various interpretations of the karmic law within the different Eastern traditions.

The monotheist religions have one God and one Truth. This one truth is worded in ‘dogma’s’ that one has to ‘believe’. Salvation than is realized by surrendering oneself to God’s Truth.

In the traditions of the East, with its innumerable gods and mythical beings, with its numerous sages and masters grouped under various religious and philosophical schools, we do not find this uniformity. Every ‘truth’ can be seen as relative, can be interpreted in several ways. The criterion for religious doctrines is therefore not so much their truth but their truthfulness, i.e. their efficaciousness in realizing the goal. Is the teaching relevant for everyday life? Is there a possibility of improving life in this world through the teachings? If so, than a teaching will be accepted as being truthful. The participation in more than one religious tradition, school or practice is therefore not perceived as an impossibility: reality is pluriform, more than one answer can be truthful.

Western man seeks answers for his life or his problems outside of himself. He turns to God or the saints, and when he can – or even imagines he can – he will intervene in the world around him - he will try to change nature, convert those who think differently, better the world, etc.

Eastern man ‘knows’ he cannot change the world, he cannot affect the laws of heaven and earth. The only thing he ‘can’ change is his own attitude towards this world or laws. Because of this the eastern man is often regarded as ‘passive’, yet this passiveness - in most cases - is the acceptance of inevitable and unalterable laws, laws that cannot be transgressed unpunished.

The focal point of eastern traditions lies on knowledge and wisdom, more than on faith or morality. Man is not evil or corrupt, but foolish: he is led by illusions. The purpose of religious life than is to come to know the true nature of the world and man, and from there to adopt an attitude to life. This ‘knowledge’ is not a privilege for supernatural beings, on the contrary, it is the duty of all to acquire it.

Western thought for the greater part is analytical: things are dissected in order to know them. For this reason western man often gets lost in the unraveling of details, thereby losing sight of the coherence and unity of things.

In the eastern world of thought analysis is merely a stage in the thought process. Emphasis on coherence and unity - which forms the interconnectedness through which all beings are regarded as equal - is constantly maintained. Man therefore does not occupy a higher position, or does not rule over other beings, but is interconnected with them through the karmic law.

A religion does not fall from the sky, as a complete whole with everything on it.

Religions that are based on ‘revelation’ – such as Judaism and Islam – are revealed to man by a higher power, e.g. God. Their teaching and practice form a complete whole to which man can add nothing except maybe his commentaries.

It will be different with religions in which continuously altering human experience plays a role. These religions originate, grow and evolve incessantly; they are constantly confronted with a changing reality; with other human experiences and the critical consciousness of other worlds of thought. They are confronted with and influenced by other currents through which they take on different colors, weakening some points, emphasizing others, etc.

Yet, the origination of a religion can never be looked upon as being a separate event or fact. A religion originates at a certain place in the world, at a certain time, within a certain cultural and historical context.