What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera
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Religion
of Freedom
This is a religion of
freedom and reason for man to lead a noble life.
Buddhism
does not prevent anyone from learning the teachings of other religions. In
fact, the Buddha encouraged His followers to learn about other religions
and to compare His Teachings with other teachings. The Buddha says that if
there are reasonable and rational teachings. The Buddha says that if there
are reasonable and rational teachings in other religions, His followers
are free to respect such teachings. It seems that certain religionists try
to keep their followers in the dark, some of them are not even allowed to
touch other religious objects or books. They are instructed not to listen
to the preachings of other religions. They are enjoined not to doubt the
teachings of their own religion, however unconvincing their teachings may
appear to be. The more they keep their followers on a one-track mind, the
more easily they can keep them under control. If anyone of them exercises
freedom of thought and realizes that he had been in the dark all the time,
then it is alleged that the devil has possessed his mind. The poor man is
given no opportunity to use his common sense, education, of his
intelligence. Those who wish to change their views on religion are taught
to believe that they are not perfect enough to be allowed to use free will
in judging anything for themselves.
According to the Buddha,
religion should be left to one's own free choice. Religion is not a law,
but a disciplinary code which should be followed with understanding. To
Buddhists true religious principles are neither a divine law nor a human
law, but a natural law.
In actual fact, there is
no real religious freedom in any part of the world today. Man has not the
freedom even to think freely. Whenever he realizes that he cannot find
satisfaction through his own religion to which he belongs, which cannot
provide him with satisfactory answers to certain questions, he has no
liberty to give it up and to accept another which appeals to him. The
reason is that religious authorities, leaders, and family members have
taken that freedom away from him. Man should be allowed to choose his
religion which is in accordance with his own conviction. One has no right
to force another to accept a particular religion. Some people surrender
their religion for the sake of love, without a proper understanding of
their partner's religion. Religion should not be changed to suit man's
emotions and human weaknesses. One must think very carefully before
changing one's religion. Religion is not a subject for bargaining; one
should not change one's religion for personal, material gains. Religion is
to be sued for spiritual development and for self-salvation.
Buddhists never try to
influence other religionists to come and embrace their religion for
material gain. Nor do they try to exploit poverty, sickness, illiteracy
and ignorance in order to increase the number of Buddhist population. The
Buddha advised those who indicated their wish to follow Him, not to be
hasty in accepting His Teachings. He advised them to consider carefully
His Teaching and to determine for themselves whether it was practical or
not for them to follow.
Buddhism teaches that mere
belief or outward rituals are insufficient for attaining wisdom and
perfection. In this sense, outward conversion becomes meaningless. To
promote Buddhism by force would mean pretending to propagate justice and
love by means of oppression and injustice. It is of no importance to a
follower of the Buddha whether a person calls himself a Buddhist or not.
Buddhists know that only through man's understanding and exertion will
they come nearer to the goal preached by the Buddha.
Amongst the followers of
every religion are some fanatics. Religious fanaticism is dangerous. A
fanatic is incapable of guiding himself by reason or even by the
scientific principles of observation and analysis. According to the
Buddha, a Buddhist must be a free man with an open mind and must not be
subservient to anyone for his spiritual development. He seeks refuge in
the Buddha by accepting Him as a source of supreme guidance and
inspiration. He seeks refuge in the Buddha, not blindly, but with
understanding. To Buddhists, the Buddha is not a savior nor is He an
anthropomorphic being who claims to possess the power of washing away
other's sins. Buddhists regard the Buddha as a Teacher who shows the Path
to salvation.
Buddhism has always
supported the freedom and progress of mankind. Buddhism has always stood
for the advancement of knowledge and freedom for humanity in every sphere
of life. There is nothing in the Buddha's Teaching that
has to be withdrawn in the face of modern, scientific inventions and
knowledge. The more new things that scientists discover, the closer they
come to the Buddha.
The Buddha emancipated man
from the thralldom of religion. He also released man from the monopoly and
the tyranny of the priestcraft. It was the Buddha who first advised man to
exercise his reason and not to allow himself to be driven meekly like dumb
cattle, following the dogma of religion. The Buddha stood for rationalism,
democracy and practical, ethical conduct in religion. He introduced this
religion for people to practise with human dignity.
The followers of the
Buddha were advised not to believe anything without considering it
properly. In the Kalama Sutta,the Buddha gave the following
guidelines to a group of young people:
'Do not
accept anything based upon mere reports,
traditions or hearsay,
Nor upon the authority of religious texts,
Nor upon mere reasons and arguments,
Nor upon one's own inference,
Nor upon anything which appears to be true,
Nor upon one's own speculative opinion,
Nor upon another's seeming ability,
Nor upon the consideration: 'This is our Teacher.'
'But, when you know for yourselves the certain things
are unwholesome and bad: tending to harm yourself of others, reject
them.
'And when you know for yourselves that certain things
are wholesome and good: conducive to the spiritual welfare of yourself
as well as others, accept and follow them.'
Buddhists are advised to
accept religious practices only after careful observation and analysis,
and only after being certain that the method agrees with reason and is
conducive to the good of one and all.
A true
Buddhist does not depend on external powers for his salvation. Nor does he
expect to get rid of miseries through the intervention of some unknown
power. He must try to eradicate all his mental impurities to find eternal
Happiness. The Buddha says, 'If anyone were to speak ill of me, my
teaching and my disciples, do not be upset or perturbed, for this kind of
reaction will only cause you harm. On the other hand, if anyone were to
speak well of me, my teaching and my disciples, do not be over-joyed,
thrilled or elated, for this kind of reaction will only be an obstacle in
forming a correct judgment. If you are elated, you cannot judge whether
the qualities praised are real and actually found in us.' -- (Brahma
Jala Sutta). Such is the unbiased attitude of a genuine Buddhist.
The Buddha had upheld the
highest degree of freedom not only in its human essence but also in its
divine qualities. It is a freedom that does not deprive man of his
dignity. It is a freedom that releases one from slavery to dogmas and
dictatorial religious laws or religious punishments.
-ooOoo-
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Source: Buddhist
Study and Practice Group, http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/
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Layout: Chan Duc - Nguyen Thao
Update : 01-11-2002
