Subject:  Sitting Under the Bodhi Tree |
Author:
Oscar
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Date Posted: 15:46:14 05/23/01 Wed
In reply to:
Byron
's message, "Ah, okay, Answering here Oscar" on 06:26:09 05/23/01 Wed
“Are you a god?” [the disciples of Buddha asked.] “No.” “An angel?” “No.” “A saint?” “No.”
“Then what are you?”
Buddha answered, “I am awake.”
Excerpt from The Religions of Man
As storm has already mentioned, the name of Buddha is Siddhartha Gautama. Born a prince in India, about 560 BCE he left his family at the age of 29 because he was discontented, he wished to find a way to fulfillment in his life. He spent six years doing so, and finally reached a state of enlightment while sitting under a bodhi tree. After this he spent 45 years teaching until his death.
Our question is reincarnation and can we use Buddhism as a model. I say if we take the original teachings of Buddha, then no. After his death there was a schism in Buddhism and two main paths arose, Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayanists have created heavens and hells, post hoc descriptions of Nirvana, and give supplication to Buddha as if he were a god. I believe that a lot of Buddhist mysticism comes from this sect.
Going back to the original statements made by Buddha (which admittedly were written down a century after his death), Buddha was not much concerned with the metaphysical. He did not discuss whether or not there was a personal creator. What he did say was “There is, O monks, an Unborn, neither become nor created nor formed…Were there not there would be no deliverance from the born, the made, the compounded”. He seems to be speaking of a Godhead, but this might be putting words into his mouth.
Buddha did not believe in a separate soul that is maintained throughout eternity and travels from body to body. His image of reincarnation is that of a flame being passed from candle to candle, and when it gets to the last candle, can you then say it is the same flame? But yet, there is some continuity, and there is influence. What we do impacts on what comes after. (To me this is an odd type of reincarnation, but without reading the actual text this is the best interpretation of his ideas I can find.) Buddha acknowledged that all things perish; his life was motivated towards enabling his followers to seek enlightment in this life, not the next.
Our search for “God” will need to look elsewhere.
I leave you with the words of Buddha:
“Do not accept what you hear by report, do not accept tradition, do not accept a statement because it is found in our books, nor because it is in accord with your belief, nor because it is the saying of your teacher…Be ye lamps unto yourselves…Those who, either now or after I am dead, shall rely upon themselves, it is they who shall reach the very topmost height.”
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