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By John T. Crestwell, Jr.
February 29, 2004
I wanted to try something
different today. As an eclectic religious bunch I think it’s good if
we, from time to time, explore other religions and have ongoing
discussions of their history, impact and practicality in the
culture. And so this morning I would like to begin with a question:
Is Buddhism practical or useful for us in our postmodern culture?
I would like to share with you briefly the little I know, basic
stuff about this interesting faith, then I will be depending on our
friend Lynn Fox who has studied and practiced Buddhism for many
years, to pick up the pieces during our sermon discussion to see if
we can draw some conclusions…
Okay… Buddhism. The story of Buddhism and its beginnings is like any
other story about a sage full of great moments of great insight
along with moments of despair and sadness. There are many accounts
but it is said that Siddhartha Gautama lived in the fifth century
BCE in India. He was a prince, wealthy, the son of a King in what is
now known as Nepal. His mother died during labor and many stories
say she dreamt that a white elephant entered her side and at that
moment she conceived Siddhartha, miraculously from her side.
Days later, as was the tradition of the culture a sage inspected the
infant and said he would be a great leader. And later during his
naming ceremony, a priest told his father, the king, that indeed his
son would be great and would either be a powerful king or a great
spiritual teacher or a world teacher. The telling factor was that
the boy must not see suffering, for if he did, he would surely
follow the latter call and not his natural succession into kingship.
Well, succession meant everything to the king and so he took
measures to make sure his son followed in his footsteps. He built
large walls around the palace grounds and made sure his son had
everything he could imagine. The king’s plan worked for nearly 30
years but Siddhartha was a seeker and often wondered, “Why did my
mother suffer and die so young?” And his questions, curiosity, and
the fact that you can’t live your whole life in a palace no matter
how nice it is… push him to go beyond the palace grounds. It’s not
long before he sees the suffering of ordinary life… He sees a man
crippled and toothless, he sees sickness, and he sees, people wasted
by disease, he sees a corpse being taken for cremation, but he also
sees a holy man with no possessions who appears to be at total
peace. This profoundly affects Siddhartha and he thinks, “My life up
to now has been a luxurious prison.” He became depressed and began
asking himself questions: “Why am I here?” “Why do people grow old
and die?” “Is there a God or divine reality at the heart of things?”
“Can we avoid suffering?” “What is my purpose for living?” He
determines that he must move on, away from the comfort of home,
toward the wilderness, the world of uncertainty to have his
questions answered. And so, very late at night, Siddhartha sneaks
away. During his wilderness experience he has several encounters
with holy men who teach him many things but no answer come. I’m sure
he learned the best of Hindu mysticism but that wasn’t enough.
He took to practicing the ascetic lifestyle of monks, living on little
food and water hoping this would help him find answers. This nearly
kills him and when he recovers he realizes still no answers to his
questions. He decides to give up the extreme approach and accept a
more moderate way, which included some asceticism and some
self-indulgence. As he sat under the Bodhi Tree, Siddhartha, now a
moderate monk, continues his meditation and has the usual
temptations of the great sages—lust, power, hunger, thirst, doubt.
But the epiphanies he had been searching for were discovered at
dawn, the Buddha or the “Awakened One” or the “Enlightened One” was
born.
So, what were some of these discoveries? First, as mentioned
Buddhism teaches moderation or a middle path, not too much of this
and not too much of that… That sounds like Unitarian Universalism!
Amen.
Second, that there are three marks to reality: 1. Change will occur,
be ready. 2. There is no permanent identity. That is, you are a
micro of a macro world that is ever-changing and if there is change
in the world then there is constant change in you (until you are
released from it). 3. Suffering or sorrow is a part of reality.
Pleasure is fleeting; pain will come because of change that leads to
suffering. This sounds pessimistic (Lynn will clean this up later J
). This leads to Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths and the Noble
Eightfold Path…
Four Noble Truths
1. To live is to suffer
2. Suffering comes from desire
3. To end suffering, end desire
4. Release from suffering possible if you follow the Noble Eightfold
Path
How do we end desire to end suffering and maintain inner peace?
This is the eightfold path:
1. Right understanding – I recognize and accept my grief and I
recognize my suffering comes from my desire
2. Right intention- My thoughts cannot be tainted by my emotions and
selfish desires but must be guided by the intention of finding inner
peace
3. Right speech - I must speak kindly and honestly, avoid lies and
be positive
4. Right action – I treat people like I want to be treated
5. Right work – What I do for a living does not harm others
6. Right effort – I am moderately trying to improve and not extreme
7. Right meditation – I use the disciplines of meditation to keep me
focused
8. Right contemplation – I think on things that build blissful inner
peace
One of the more popular Buddhist sayings is that “it is the illusion
of permanence that is the source of all suffering.” Buddhism would
say that if you want peace, you must let go of those things that
bind your mind. When you finally let go, you can ease your spirit
and reach Nirvana, which I would term a psychological state of
never-ending joy and bliss.
I need to add the concept of rebirth. Buddhism, taking from Hinduism
says that we are born over and over again, its called rebirth, but
the cycle stops once we reach Nirvana. It is commonly believed that
Buddha reached Nirvana under the Bodhi tree.
There are other things to discuss like does Buddhism believe in a
ultimate Deity (the answer from my readings is I don’t think so) and
do Buddhists worship the Buddha (the answer is no) but that’s enough
for now…
I have some questions as we lead into our sermon discussion.:
1. Is Buddhism practical in a post-modern culture that is grossly
materialistic? Can its tenets be followed and lived?
2. Is it really possible to release oneself from suffering and
desire with all of the “stuff” American life brings—school, work,
taxes, family?
3. Religions are born in specific times and places and grow out of a
societal need. Can our society follow a religion that was born in
the East, in India, many years ago, a sharp contrast to our
post-modern culture?
4. What can we learn from the life of the Buddha and his teachings?
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