Buddhism And The Reductionist Approach - Essay Example

Buddhism and the Reductionist Approach Buddhism as it is practiced in Sri Lanka comprises two primary forms– Thervada and Mahayana Buddhism, with Thervada being the stand-alone, original form of Buddhism. This form of Buddhism is notable for its two ceremonial music rituals – the Perahera and pirith chanting. The former is a beautiful parade that is done to honor the Lord Buddha, while the latter consists of Buddhist sermons being sung to worship the Lord Buddha. Music is an expression of spirituality in the Buddhist religion, This essay will apply Eliade’s theory of religion in the context of Buddhism in order to analyze the Buddhist experience in connection with its expression of music. In the context of religion, Eliade saw religion as an entity that is autonomous and special, that it cannot be reduced mainly to the spheres of the social, economic and psychological spheres. Based upon his approach to everything that is sacred, Eliade has stated that there’s something special and unique about the religious experience. The religious ritual of Perahera is a ceremonial religious experience. It is one of the biggest Buddhist celebrations of the year and it is a ritual where devotees get together and pray for the rains to fall bountifully so that they will be able to cultivate their crops. It is a ceremony that is no more than a grand parade, wherein the sacred tooth, which is one of the most precious and sacred relics of Buddhism, is removed from the Temple of the Tooth and is paraded through the streets of the various cities of Sri Lanka, along with the Kandy Perahera. Following the Kandy perahera are several other festive events and included among the crowds who are following the Kandy perahera will also be jugglers, dancers and fire breathers. It is an experience that is profoundly moving for most of the devotees who follow in the parade and they express their devotion and religious solidarity by following the kandy Perahera. Pirith chanting is also an essential part of the Buddhist religious dharma. Music is believed to be closely related to physical health, so that the chanting of pirith is believed to have a very soothing effect. Chanting of the pirith is also believed to invoke the blessings of the gods. Thus, it may be noted that there are very strong spiritual and religious connotations associated with both of these religious ceremonies, which are an essential part of Buddhism. The views of Eliade would be quite relevant in the context of both the kandy Perahera and pirith chanting, because Eliade believes that the experience is something very special that cannot necessarily be condensed into the social, economic or psychological spheres. For Eliade, the religious experience is unique because it is scared and special. According to Eliade, “to try to grasp the essence of such a phenomenon by means of physiology, psychology, sociology, economics, linguistics, art, or any other is false” (Pals 2006: 197). Eliade firmly believes that trying to understand the experience of religion by condensing them into one or more of these spheres mentioned above would be quite impossible, because it would tend to ignore the sacred element inherent in them. The significance of these religious rituals is the spiritual feelings that it produces in the people, and the music in particular has a special significance for Buddhists, because the pirith chanting is supposed to be associated with feelings of peace and closeness to the spiritual supreme being. Eliade’s views would apply quite well in this context. For him “sacred” is the feeling that people get when they are being gripped by “gripped by a reality that is wholly other than themselves – something mysterious, awesome, powerful, and beautiful” (Pals 2006, 199). Such a feeling, according to Eliade, cannot be explained through the frame of the rational; rather it is a unique feeling and phenomenon that is associated with the religious experience. According to Eliade, the sacred is “an intuitive burst of discovery” and during this process, “the religious imagination sees things otherwise ordinary and profane as more than themselves and turns them into the sacred” (Pals 2006, 205). This can be applied in the context of the parade of the Kandy Perahera, the dancers and jugglers could be deemed to be heathen elements that are not necessarily religious or sacred, yet they are a part of the religious rituals associated with Buddhism. Rather, when the chanting is being done and the music is played in relation to the ceremonial rituals, the devotees feel that they are a part of something special, scared, mysterious and beautiful. Buddhists do not believe in a God as such, rather the reason for holding religious beliefs is attributed to fear - ; “Gripped by fear, men go to the sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines” (Dhammika). It may be clearly noted from the above that man’s instinct to search for God is conditioned first and foremost by the feeling of fear which grips them and sends them to sacred places in search of God. According to the Buddhist pattern of thought, man’s belief in God is irrational, because it is purely based upon man’s fear, rather than arising out of any actual realities. Despite this lack of belief in a specific person or figure as the supreme deity, Buddhists nevertheless do experience religious feelings. During the religious rituals and ceremonies which have been described above, they are essentially seeking an experience that brings them in contact with what is sacred, awesome and beautiful and stirs feelings of awe and wonder in them. Applying Eliade’s views, it may be noted that the religious feeling that the Buddhist devotees seek is something that cannot be explained through rational means; neither can it be explained away by applying physiology, psychology, economics or any of the other perspectives which are applied in the context of other streams of thought, because most of them are founded upon rational principles. Applying Eliade’s perspective however, there is no need for the approach to necessarily be rational; rather it can be classed as that which is “sacred”, i.e, that which falls out of the sphere of the rational and constitutes an experience that goes beyond the rational. In a harsh and difficult world, man yearns for someone to love him and be kind to him; in a word that seems needlessly cruel and harsh, he longs to believe that there is a Supreme Being who cares for him and watches over him. The second tenet of Buddhism is based upon the Four Noble Truths. These truths can be laid out at follows: First, Dukkha or: suffering exists. Second, Samudaya or there is a cause for suffering Third, Nirodha or there is an end to suffering and Fourth, Magga, or in order to end suffering, it is necessary to follow the Eight Fold Path. When considering these Four Noble Truths, the first and most obvious aspect that may be noted is that the subject of discussion, i.e., suffering, is subjective and based upon human feelings and perceptions. The premise of fear is itself subjective and it becomes difficult to explain either the existence of suffering or the causes of suffering by applying a scientific, rational approach. Eliade’s theory suggest that man seeks religion precisely because he wants to discover an alternative reality – a reality that leaves him feeling overcome with a grandeur and beauty that is other-worldly; a unique acknowledgement of what constitutes religious experience. It must be noted that Buddhism is like other religions, in that it is shaped and fashioned by the belief systems and values of people, rather than on the basis of science, facts or logic. Lastly, it may also be noted that the actual practice of Buddhism is a series of right actions, which are laid out under the Eight Fold Path. These include: Right understanding of the Four Noble Truths Right thinking, Right speech, Right conduct, Right livelihood, Right effort Right Mindfulness, Right concentration. Man’s religious beliefs from this perspective would be no more than the external fulfillment of internal longings, wishes and dreams. This is substantiated in Buddhism, in that it is man’s way to try and deal with his inner fears. But applying Eliade’s theory, it may be inferred that the principles and tenets of Buddhism, which are also manifested externally through the religious rituals of the Kandy Perahera and pirith chanting are also the fulfillment of internal longings and dreams. In essence, people who engage in religious behavior are those who are trying to reach out to something larger than themselves in the hope of grasping whatever little of it that they can by using their relatively limited human means. This mysterious “other” reality can only be explained by applying the phenomenon of the scared, because it is based upon intuition that is over and above the “other” reality that cannot be understood or rationalized. Eliade also appears to be suggesting that what man is reaching out for through his religious experience is that experience of what is scared. Eliade does not presume to try and explain the source or nature of that which is scared, but he does however insist that the sacred element is mysterious and powerful and the human experience associated with it is also unique, mysterious and powerful. As a result, when man embarks upon these religious experiences, he is in search of something that is also real in its own way, even if it is not necessarily construed as real by applying this world’s standards. That which is scared could also be real; hence for Buddhism in particular, it provides scope for individuals to seek a reality of happiness and peace that does not appear to be true and applicable in the context of the Buddhist views. Thus in conclusion, it appears that Eliade’s views may have a special significance in the context of Buddhism, because his definition of that which is scared as something wonderful and beautiful does tend to place the experiences associated with religious ceremonies on the plane of something that is over and beyond what is real. The ritual of Kandy perahera is thus a symbol of the search for the sacred, i.e, the beautiful, awesome and other worldly feeling, while the chanting brings with it feelings of peace, which would alleviate the fear that drives the Buddhist. Works Cited Dhammika, Ven. S. Do Buddhists believe in God? Web. 20 Oct.2010. < http://www.buddhanet.net/ans73.htm>. Pals, Daniel L. Seven Theories of Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Print. Robinson, B. A. Core beliefs of Buddhism. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. . Read More