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What is Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy of Indian origin and is non-theistic. It is fundamental in traditional Indian teachings and, especially, in the methods of seeking enlightenment proposed by the ascetic and mendicant preacher Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-483 BC), the Buddha, founder of Buddhism. The word “buddha” means one who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance. The one who became enlightened.
With more than five hundred million adherents worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asia, Buddhism is understood as a method to aspire to transcendence, because it is considered more of a philosophical doctrine than an organized religion.
Transcendence is a term that, in philosophy, can lead to three different (although related) meanings, all of which originate from the Latin root meaning to ascend or go beyond. A meaning originating from ancient philosophy; another, from medieval philosophy and the last, linked to modern philosophy.
Origin of Buddhism
Buddhism emerged in northeastern India between the 6th and 4th centuries BC during a period of great social change and intense religious activity. The prevailing Brahmanical religion (belonging to the upper castes) emerged at a time of crisis.
With a climate conducive to cultural transformations, many scholars were inclined to reinterpret Vedic texts, while others experimented with new forms of mysticism.
Master Buddha's teachings expanded rapidly until the third century BC. c. when they became the majority religion. The Hindu emperor Aśoka proclaimed Buddhism as the official religion of his government.
Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, or Shakyamuni
Buddha is not a god. He is an ordinary man who has achieved maximum wisdom and, consequently, enlightenment. Therefore, his intention has always been to transmit teachings for spiritual elevation to his disciples according to each one's reality.
Buddha was born with the name Siddhartha Gautama, in India, and lived at the foot of the Himalayas, in a region that today belongs to Nepal. Shakyamuni means the sage of the Sakya clan. Legend states that he was born from his mother's hip as she stood in a grove of trees. Mayadevi, his father, raised him to be a great warrior, surrounded by luxury and pleasures. Until he was twenty-nine, Siddhartha lived in the palace, isolated from the world, knowing neither old age, illness nor death.
Siddhartha married a beautiful princess, but he was not happy. He longed to see what lay beyond the palace gates, thinking that a clue to his search for the meaning of life lay beyond palace security and luxury. On his first trip, he saw an old man who was hunched over and having difficulty walking. The old man looked at him, his eyes narrowed in his severely wrinkled face.
On his second walk, he saw a sick man, crying in pain. On the third excursion, he found the still, lifeless body of another man. He was shocked and saddened by the sight of old age, illness, and death.
During his fourth outing, he saw a wandering monk, a seeker of religious truth. These four withdrawals and what he saw (old age, illness, death, and a search for religious truth) are called the Four Views. Meeting the monk inspired him to leave the palace, his wife, and his newborn son. He wanted to understand life more, the reason for suffering. He wondered how to help alleviate suffering in the world.
Sometimes they would not eat or drink for prolonged periods. After six years of enduring many hardships, he realized that he had not come to a deeper understanding of life. He considered that neither luxury nor hunger would lead to enlightenment. Instead, he decided to follow a moderate path or the Middle Way.
It was then that he decided to isolate himself to find a method that would put an end to human suffering. He went to a village called Bodh Gaya, where he awakened to a true understanding of life. Under a tree, during meditation, he found the explanation for all the doubts that tormented him, reaching total understanding of the essence of life.
This process is known as the Act of Enlightenment. According to Buddhist belief, enlightenment is the experience of true reality, an “awakening” through which one can understand the real nature of things.
In his enlightenment, he gained the power to see his previous lives, to see all types of death and rebirth, and finally the understanding that he had eliminated all desires and ignorance within himself. At the age of thirty-five, he realized his own Buddha nature and understood suffering, its cause, and the means to extinguish it. He had become Buddha.
The First Speech
Buddha delivered his first sermon, known as the First Discourse, to a group of ascetics with whom he often practiced. They became his first disciples. An ascetic is one who dedicates himself to spiritual exercises of self-discipline. Buddha spread his knowledge throughout the cities of India for 45 years, gaining an increasing number of followers until his death at the age of eighty.
The basic principles of Buddhism
There are three main traditions within Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. They vary according to the interpretation of the path to liberation proposed by the Buddhist method. These traditions or schools are the basis of modern Buddhism in distinct parts of the world:
Dharma is the teachings of Buddha. Buddhists believe that human beings have the potential to free themselves from suffering by practicing meditation and cultivating a lifestyle prescribed by the Buddha.
Buddhism seeks Nirvana, a spiritual state of peace and liberation through which it is possible to overcome Dukkha (suffering) and Samsara (the individual's cyclical existence consisting of birth, death, and rebirth). Its followers must use spiritual techniques, such as meditation, through which they persevere in calm, contemplation, and the search for liberation within themselves, not in the external environment.
The wheel is an important symbol in Buddhism because it represents the cycle of life and death. Buddhists believe that after beings die, they are reborn or reincarnated in a new form. This new form could be a deity, a human, an animal, some lesser creature like a hungry ghost or an inhabitant of hell.
What is Karma?
The concept of karma has its origins in the Vedic religion (between the 11th and 8th centuries BC). Then he moved on to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Although the concept has the same meaning in the three religions, it differs in some aspects from each of them.
Karma designates the influence of actions conducted by an individual in the past on their future lives or reincarnations. The term karma comes from Sanskrit and means action. In its origins, it referred to ritual actions and sacrifices. Later, it acquired an ethical meaning, when a link was established between actions and their causes and consequences.
In Hinduism, karma is understood in terms of a law of action and reaction: each action corresponds to another like it. In each incarnation, Iamarash, the god of death, judges the individual, according to the intentions and actions taken by him. Depending on them, the individual receives coherent reactions in response. Both the punishment for evil and the reward for honorable deeds can be received in the current life or in future lives.
In Buddhism, karma is not linked to a system of rewards and punishments as in Hinduism; karma is understood as the law of gravity or the law of inertia. This means that karma is a natural consequence, derived from the decisions made. In Jainism, it is conceived as a subtle matter full of particles, which permeates the universe. This matter is introduced into the soul and affects its original and pure qualities.
It is believed that all positive thoughts and actions cause good karma and can direct a person to be reborn in a higher form. The consequences of negative actions, bad karma, can result in rebirth in a lower form. This endless cycle of reincarnations, called rebirth, reflects the impermanent nature of human existence.
Buddha said that certain things are unthinkable and impossible to solve, even if people try to think about them a lot. One of them is trying to understand the law of karma (in Sanskrit) or kamma (in Pali), another is to speculate about the origin of the universe — whether it was created or not.
The concept is part of Buddha's discovery of "ultimate reality", an "inexpressible" reality, different from conventional reality. Karma and reincarnation are complex concepts that vary according to different traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism.
According to Buddhism, every intentional action creates one or more effects that will be noticed later, when the circumstances are right. Karma can be “good” or “bad,” depending on the nature of the action, and can manifest itself according to four types:
1. Dark karma with dark result;
2. Brilliant karma with brilliant result;
3. Dark and bright karma with a dark and bright result;
4. Neither dark nor bright karma with a neither dark nor bright result.
Thus, karma occurs in a variety of complex motivations and determines people's predictable fate based on four types:
1. Whoever does evil and goes to hell enters a state of degeneration or inferior
rebirth;
2. Whoever does evil and goes to heaven, a happy state or higher rebirth;
3. Whoever does good and goes to heaven, a happy state or higher rebirth;
4. Whoever does good and goes to hell enters a state of degeneration or inferior
rebirth.
It should be noted that heaven and hell are not about destinations after death, but rather about states of the spirit.
The doors of action: the body, language, and mind
According to Buddha, there are three doors of action: the body, language, and mind.
The Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Nandisena, in an interview with BBC Brazil states: through language and the body, we interact with others and can do virtuous deeds or cause harm and suffering to other sentient beings. That of the mind is a private door that leads to the body and language. That is why part of ethics in Buddhism has to do with the doors of the body and language, which are the, let us say, public doors. Every time we perform an action through the door of the body, language, or mind, we generate what is called kamma (karma).
As the Buddha said, billions of moments of consciousness arise and cease in the blink of an eye. Imagine that in a verbal or bodily action, which can last a certain period, billions of moments of consciousness are involved, which are what, in our mental state, drives us to carry it out. Each of these moments is what we might call kamma unity or kammic unity, and technically speaking, that is kamma.
We call these volitions (desire, will), according to the Buddha's discovery, each of these volitional states that accompany actions generates a potentiality. In other words, every time we say, do or think something, there is an intention — and we generate potential. When we take an action, for example generosity, compassion, or something harmful to other beings, a potentiality is produced.
This potentiality remains as such until the circumstances or conditions are met for a result to be produced. This is why the texts speak of "asynchronous" kamma because the effect of the action — which can be mental or material — can be delayed.
Law of karma (kamma)
But many people talk colloquially about karma when referring to a consequence in their lives. In fact, karma is action; the relationship between this action and its result is what is called the law of karma or kamma. We can understand the law of karma from the point of view of responsibility in our actions, the active part: that is, when someone does something wrong, they are responsible for causing harm to another being. This part of the law of karma in relation to the cause is not so difficult to understand; what is difficult to understand is the relationship between cause and effect.
When something happens to someone, how can we establish a link between the effect and the cause? This is impossible. Yet Buddha says that since we own our actions, we also own what happens to us. This is the hardest part of the law of karma to accept. According to Buddha's teachings, this is called the Right View.
Karma and rebirth or reincarnation
For Buddhists, there is no existence of an individual soul that can reincarnate. It is an individual's actions and intentions (his or her karma) that lead to the emergence of a new existence after death. For this reason, in Buddhism we speak of rebirth rather than reincarnation.
According to the doctrine of karma, everyone goes through a series of cycles of birth, death, and rebirth, called Samsara. Throughout each cycle, the individual can improve himself through good actions and good desires and thoughts, since intentions are part of the individual karma. The goal is to achieve liberation from samsara and, with it, the end of karma and its effects. This is known as moksha or nirvana. Karma also constitutes a motivation to do good and a guide for existence.
Karma and the existence of evil
From a philosophical point of view, the concept of karma offers an explanation about the existence of evil in the world, not only moral evil (evil actions and human desires), but also physical evil (pain and illness).
According to the law of karma, there is no danger: everything happens for a reason; If sad things happen to someone, this is due to the bad karma that that person brings from their past lives and that must be purified. This idea is summarized in Buddha's apothegm: Everyone reaps what they sow. Apothegm is a brief sentence, of an aphoristic nature. Its objective is to enunciate content of a moral nature in an extremely synthetic and effective way.
Furthermore, and because karma is accumulated from incarnation to incarnation, it is necessary to pay it in many “quotas.” Good and bad will be recognized in different lives, because it would be impossible to see all the results, good and bad, in a single life.
Anantarika-karma
According to Buddhism, among the actions that form an individual's karma, there are some particularly serious things. Each of these actions is an anantarika-karma (action that leads to immediate retribution) or five cardinal sins, and are the maximum Buddhist offenses, which directly lead to whoever commits it being reborn in hell (naraka):
1. Parricide (murder of the father);
2. Matricide (murder of the mother);
3. The murder of an enlightened being (an Arhat);
4. Spilling the blood of a Buddhist priest;
5. Cause a division among the community of Buddhist monks.
Whoever, after having committed anantarika-karma, is reborn in hell, remains there until his negative karma has been exhausted. Soon, you will be able to be reborn in a higher world.
The Four Noble Truths
1. Life is suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by desire.
3. Suffering can end.
4. There is a path that leads to the end of suffering.
The basis of Buddhist doctrine is the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-Step Path. The main objective is to escape suffering, the observation of which is pointed out in the First Noble Truth. In the Fourth, the Buddha states that there is a path to overcoming suffering, which is explained in the Noble Eightfold Path. The basic teachings are to avoid non-virtuous actions, do good and master your own mind.
Nirvana
Nirvana (in Pali: Nibbana), the state of the Buddha, the perfectly enlightened one. Beyond death – neither caused, nor born, nor produced – nirvana transcends all becoming and is devoid of everything that constitutes a human being.
It is the state of spiritual enlightenment to which every Buddhist aspires. It is explained in mystical terms as elevation above the eternal wheel of birth, suffering, death, and reincarnation. The goal of Buddhism is to become enlightened and achieve nirvana.
It is believed that nirvana will only be achievable by eliminating all greed, hatred, and ignorance within a person. Nirvana means the end of the cycle of death and rebirth. According to the Four Noble Truths, “life is suffering,” therefore, ending the cycle of rebirths is something to be desired.
Some Buddhists think of nirvana as a type of paradise where there is no suffering; others see it as a state of mind free from suffering. According to Buddhist belief, final nirvana is achieved now of an enlightened being's death and is no longer part of the cycle of rebirth and death.
Buddhahood
Three types of nirvana are particularly associated with Buddhahood. The first, the Nibbana of kilesas (in Pali: defilements), is achieved by the Buddha when he attains enlightenment and frees himself from all defilements.
The second type, the Nibbana of the khandas (in Pali: aggregate), is achieved when the Buddha “dies” and moves away from the aggregates that constituted his identity as a person. When the religion of the Buddha becomes extinct, his relics return to Bodh Gaya (the place of his enlightenment) or, in some texts, to Anarudhapura (the ancient capital of Sri Lanka), where they are reassembled into the body of the Buddha, who then preaches one last sermon before disappearing completely. At this point, the Buddha reaches his final Nibbana (nirvana), the Dhatu (Pali) or relic nibbana.
How to Reach Nirvana
Buddhists believe that the path toward nirvana, called the Middle Path or Eightfold Path, describes how people should live to reach nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of three categories: moral conduct, concentration, and wisdom.
Moral conduct consists of:
1. Correct speech (refrain from falsehood, malicious talk, and abusive language).
2. Right action (refrain from stealing, killing and prostitution).
3. Right livelihood (earning a living by proper means, not killing
living beings, make astrological predictions or practice divination).
The concentration consists of:
4. Right effort (energetic will to prevent or get rid of evil and promote
the good).
5. Right mindfulness (being diligently aware and attentive).
6. Right concentration (to get rid of unwholesome thoughts and achieve
pure equanimity and awareness).
Wisdom consists of:
7. Right thinking (selflessness and detachment, universal thoughts of love and
no violence).
8. Right understanding (understanding things as they are, a full understanding of the
Four Noble Truths).
Bodhisattvas
Some schools of Buddhism, including those of Chinese Buddhism, believe that becoming a bodhisattva is a more important goal for individuals than achieving nirvana. A bodhisattva is a being who has attained enlightenment but vows not to enter final nirvana until all living things are freed from suffering.
Bodhisattvas choose to be reborn so that they can continue to work to alleviate the suffering of others and try to make them aware of the Buddha's teachings. In China, bodhisattvas are sometimes worshiped as much as the Buddha. The bodhisattva Guanyin became widely worshiped in Buddhist temples throughout China. In Buddhism, Guanyin is the Chinese bodhisattva of compassion.
It is accepted among Chinese Buddhists and scholars of Buddhist studies that the Chinese figure Guanyin is the same figure known in India as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Buddhism spread across China through trade routes known as the Silk Roads.
Avalokitesvara is the bodhisattva who represents compassion. The Lotus Sutra, one of the most important Sutra texts, describes Avalokitesvara extensively in Chapter 25. Avalokitesvara is also an interlocutor in the Heart Sutra, the short but influential sutra on the perfection of wisdom.
The Bodhisattva Padmapani Lokesvara, 11th century, copper alloy with gilding and
semi-precious stones, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, 54.8 cm high (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Beliefs, doctrines, and practices
Cosmology – like other Buddhists, Theravadins believe that the number of the cosmos is infinite. Furthermore, they share the almost universal Buddhist view that the cosmos inhabited by humanity, like the entire cosmos, has three planes of existence: the realm of desire (Pali and Sanskrit: kama-loka), the lowest of the planes; the realm of material form (Pali and Sanskrit: rupa-loka), which is associated with meditative states in which sensual desire is reduced to a minimum; and the realm of immateriality or formlessness (Pali and Sanskrit: arupa-loka), which is associated with even more exalted meditative states.
The three plans are divided into several levels. The realm of desire is divided into heavens, hells, and earth. It is inhabited by those who suffer in the various hells - a species of wandering and hungry ghosts (Sanskrit: pretas), animals, hell beings, humans, gods and a sixth group that is not universally recognized, the Asuras (Sanskrit: demigods)
The entire cosmos is surrounded by a great wall of Chakkavala, a ring of iron mountains that serves as a kind of container for the realm of desire. Mount Meru, the great cosmic mountain topped by the sky of the thirty-three gods presided over by Indra (Sakka), is surrounded by a great ocean where people live on four island continents, each inhabited by a different type of human being.
The southern continent, loosely correlated with southern – and sometimes southeastern – Asia, is called Jambudvipa. The material aspect of the desire realm is made up of four elements: earth, water, fire, and air, held together in various combinations.
In this cosmos, as in all others, time moves in cycles of great duration involving a period of involution (destruction of the cosmos by fire, water, air), a period of reform of the cosmic structure, a series of cycles of decline and renewal and, finally, another period of involution from which the process is restarted.
Five Buddhas are destined to appear in the cosmos in which humans live, including Gotama (Sanskrit: Gautama), who will be the fourth, and Metteyya (Sanskrit: Maitreya), who will be the fifth.
Human existence is a privileged state, because only as a human being can a bodhisattva become a buddha. Furthermore, according to Theravada, human beings can choose to do good works (which will result in a good rebirth) or bad works (which will result in a bad rebirth); They could become perfected saints.
All these capacities are explained in terms of a carefully enumerated series of Dhammas (Sanskrit: dharmas), the impermanent existence of the elements. In continuous movement, these changing states appear, age, and disappear.
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