Buddhism: the Religion of the Individual - Essay Example

Buddhism: the Religion of the Individual The roots of modern Buddhism start about 2,500 years ago with a man d Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as the Enlightened One or Buddha. After a long period of meditation, Siddhartha Gautama realized that suffering was a basic part of human life and that suffering could be ended through mediation and right ways of living. Meditation and mindful living are the main ways of practicing Buddhism, both in ancient times and continuing to the modern day (religioustolerance.org, 2009; pbs.org, u.d.). Buddhist Scriptures and Teachings The core concepts of Buddhism that were originally taught by Siddhartha Gautama can be summed up as follows: There are four Noble Truths concerning suffering. Most suffering is brought on because people desire things or because people ignore the real world. Suffering can be lessened through meditation practice and detaching from desire. The Fourth Noble Truth outlines an Eightfold Path of right living, which includes right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration (PBS.org, u.d.). Basically, Buddhism encourages mindfulness and meditation in order to end suffering. Of course much has been written about these basic ideas in the 2,500 years since they were first recorded, and they are open to certain interpretations depending on where and when the writers are living. The Buddhist scholar Jack Kornfield (1993) states that fundamental mindfulness is “awareness of the body and senses, awareness of the heart and feelings, awareness of the mind and thoughts, and awareness of the principles that govern life…. The development of awareness in these four areas is the basis for all of the Buddhist practices of insight and awakening” (42-43). Kornfield writes extensively on these principles in order to help people practicing meditation. His is but one volume among thousands which have explored these simple concepts in great depth. Buddhist teaching seems to be full of opposites and contradictions. On the one hand, a Buddhist strives through meditation and mindfulness to completely detach from the material world. On the other hand, he or she knows that we live in a material world with problems and difficulties and emotions and accidents happening all the time. Buddhism tries to balance the idea of “nothingness” with the undeniable “real world” by choosing a middle path between the two. How Buddhists think and feel about both the real world and the ultimate goal of detachment from the real world is called the Middle Way. Buddhism, the Individual and the Community Individuals gather in Buddhist communities and at temples and practice group meditation at certain times in their lives. Buddhism is about developing an individual’s inner life and then extending that enlightenment and understanding to the community, so community gatherings are viewed as just one more tool a Buddhist can use in order to come closer to enlightenment. Kornfield (1993) states, “No one can enlighten us; no one can mature for us; no one can let go for us; no one can ever do it for us” (241). Boorstein (2002) adds, “We have the same minds and hearts in retreat centers, meditation classes, churches and synagogues as we have in supermarkets…. [Mindfulness] is a completely portable practice” (54). Temples, teachers and leaders can help, but it is up to the individual to develop himself or herself. This places the responsibility for spirituality and right living on the individual, though there is a shared belief system, and spirituality is just as applicable to everyday interactions as it is to Sunday morning worship—perhaps more so. Practicing the concepts of right living naturally lead to kindness, compassion, and generosity on the part of the individual Buddhist. Thus, each individual in the Buddhist community is supposed to contribute positive energy and behavior both to others and to himself or herself. There is no specific “mission” of the Buddhist religion, as you might say Christians have various missions (feed the hungry, nurse the ill, and so on). The Buddhist community works toward humanitarian goals or expresses generosity as a way of developing insight, but they do these things as a way of detaching from the real world and suffering. This concept can be very hard to understand, even for practicing Buddhists. The Role of Buddhism for the Individual and the Society The concepts of right living, mindfulness, and the Middle Way are common concepts in most religions. Each religion phrases these ideas in a different way, but the idea of making spirituality part of each and every interaction is common. Buddhists are not motivated to do these things because of fear of hell or desire for heaven, although there is the concept of karma and being released from reincarnation after an individual has learned enough. Buddhism does not have a single God or deity at its center; though the Buddha is recognized as a great teacher, he is not worshipped like a person would worship a god. Buddha statues and other art are supposed to just be objects of meditation (religioustolerance.org, 2009). The meditation angle of Buddhism is what most people outside the religion know about, and meditation is often practiced as a form of relaxation or as a way to develop concentration, without practicing all the precepts of Buddhism (religioustolerance.org, 2009). Meditation is usually practiced when a person is alone, but group or guided mediation has a place in Buddhism, too (Kornfield, 1993). Meditation retreats develop a sense of community and allow each individual to carry away the special spirituality that comes from connecting with others. In the end, though, mindful living by each individual creates a society with less conflict and suffering. Buddhism in its highest form is a very gentle and loving religion. Each individual is working toward reducing suffering, both in themselves and for other people and for every creature on the planet. It acknowledges the connectedness of everything and tries to teach how to disconnect in a loving way in order to end suffering. Buddhism teaches that humans are basically all alone in the world and that suffering is everywhere. By following the Four Noble Truths and by practicing mindfulness and right ways of living, we can relieve our suffering and gain great insight into ourselves. References Boorstein, S. (2002). Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake. New York: Ballantine Books. Kornfield, J. (1993). A Path with Heart. New York: Bantam Books. PBS.org. Date unknown. Basics of Buddhism. Retrieved 15 July 2009 from http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm ReligiousTolerance.org (2009). Religions of the world: Buddhism, based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Retrieved 15 July 2009 from http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm Read More