Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others. (Buddha)
Thinking about the musings from DAY 23: The Basics Of Buddhism…
I would submit to you that for the almost half billion believers of Buddhism, it works for them. I would also suggest that once you dig a little deeper into Buddhism, there are some basic logical conclusions that don’t seem…logical.
What Buddhism does prove logically is the fact that…
Someone Upstairs Runs The Show.
Is Buddhism a logical belief system?
I would submit to you that in many ways, Buddhism is comparable to Hinduism. There are (at least) 6 reasons for this conclusion and they are listed below, in no particular order:
1) Geographically, they originated in the South Asian region;
2) The concept of Karma – Good deeds vs. bad deeds; destiny or fate; or “What goes around…comes around…”;
3) The concept of Dharma – Nature of reality; cosmic law and order; use the gifts that you have been given;
4) The concept of Reincarnation – a rebirth; soul that has been reborn; a do over;
5) The concept of enlightenment – To know what is known; to abandon what needs to be abandoned; to develop what needs to be developed and;
6) The concept of Moksha/Nirvana – Release from rebirth; release from pain and suffering, ‘heaven’;
So, applying syllogism to Buddhism, the logic would flow like this:
PART A – If I follow Karma and Dharma, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eight-Fold path, correctly, I will no longer be reincarnated;
PART B – If I am no longer reincarnated, I am enlightened and reach Nirvana;
PART C – If I follow Karma and Dharma, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eight-Fold path, correctly, I am enlightened, and thus I have been released from all selfishness and pain, as I have reached Nirvana….
The logic seems reasonable, follow the Four Noble Truths…follow the Eight-Fold path… and you will then stop being reincarnated. Once you have stopped being reincarnated, then you can get to Nirvana or ‘heaven’.
There are however some facts that must be considered when thinking about the validity of Buddhism:
Little is known about the life of the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, particularly in these three areas:
1) The Early Buddhist Texts contain no consistent facts relating to the life and death of Siddhartha Gautama;
2) Biographies written about Siddhartha Gautama start appearing in the region sometime in the 1st or 2nd century CE, or at least 300 years after he was born;
3) The authenticity of these biographies is suspect as they contain embellishing items with mythological component(s) in addition to lacking consistency;
In other words, there is much debate as to the validity of the life, and death, of Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha.
A second item to consider is the issue dealing with Karma and how it relates to reincarnation.
Remember what Karma is, good deeds vs. bad deeds, or in the West, what is knows as the golden rule:
“Do unto others as you would wish they do unto you.”
For example, let’s say for sake of argument, I am a Buddhist monk and I teach in a Buddhist school, teaching Buddhist students. A student comes to me for help with poor test grades which is hurting his/her semester grade and thus is concerned about his/her GPA ranking among their peers.
To me as a Buddhist, the explanation as to my students’ poor test grades in this lifetime is due to actions in a prior lifetime. Perhaps in his/her prior life, they were a gang-banging thug who dropped out of high-school at about the same time chronologically that my student is experiencing these issues. From a Buddhist perspective, when applying syllogism, this makes perfect sense:
PART A – In their last life, my student was a gang-banging thug who dropped out of high school;
PART B – This negative Karma from their prior life, is affecting my student and their test grades in their current life;
PART C – The student’s current learning issues to succeed on tests in high school this lifetime is due to their prior life as a gang-banging thug.
Now as a practicing Buddhist, I suppose explaining this rational for poor test grades my high-school, (or say college/university), student may make some sense, assuming of course that they are Buddhist.
Consider trying to apply this Buddhist logic if the student is having academic issues in the 3rd grade.
Regardless of age, how would you feel personally, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, if someone told you that it would be futile to improve your current study habits to improve test grades, because your actions in a prior life have already pre-determined your academic achievements in this lifetime?
There is definitely a self-esteem issue that I would imagine would need to be dealt with regarding my Buddhist student college/university, high schooler, or 3rd grader, knowing that whatever he/she tried to accomplish to improve test scores, it wouldn’t matter, due to his/her performance, (or lack thereof), in a prior life.
A third item to consider deals with enlightenment, the goal that must be attained in order to be released from the cycle of birth and death, to be at true peace with oneself, also known as achieving Nirvana.
Consider the following quote by Buddha:
“There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with desires.”
Now consider these 16 basic, human desires that I have placed in alphabetical order:
Acceptance. Curiosity. Eating. Family. Honor. Idealism. Independence. Order. Physical Activity. Power. Romance. Saving. Social Contact. Status. Tranquility. Vengeance.
Take the first basic, human desire on the list, acceptance. Now, let’s apply syllogism and Buddhism with acceptance:
PART A – Buddha says that there is no fear when a mind has no desire;
PART B – Acceptance is a desire;
PART C – To not fear being accepted is one step closer to achieving Nirvana.
Now, take out the word acceptance, and then plug in the next desire on the list, curiosity. Then, re-read parts A, B, and C to yourself.
Go ahead and plug and play the rest of the 14 basic, human desires after completing the first two on the list…
When you are finished, ask yourself three questions:
1) Is it humanly possible to deny in a single lifetime, all of these 16 basic, human desires, (let alone half or even one), knowing that: “There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with desires?”;
2) Knowing this, and knowing how reincarnation works, what happens when that Buddhist cannot overcome and gives into, one or more of these desires, whether in their first year, middle year, or final year of their current lifetime?
3) Buddhist or no Buddhist, how can a human ever possibly break this cycle on their own, let alone with the help of others, in order to reach Nirvana?
I would suggest to you that at the end of the day, Buddhism is just too vague of a belief system. Knowing that there are at least 16 basic, human desires to overcome, I cannot see any possible outcome to where my soul could ever possibly reach Nirvana…
In this, or in any lifetime.
The idea of following Buddhism as the best avenue for getting my soul to where I want it to be for eternity, is a shaky proposition indeed.
Do not feel discouraged if you have not figured out the Buddhist belief system. Do not feel discouraged if you are still trying to process the Buddhist belief system. Instead, embrace the idea that you are gaining background knowledge to come to your own, logical conclusions.
3 For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but they will gather to themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, having itching ears, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV)
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 24: The Validity Of Buddhism.
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began: