Buddhism

Buddhism is a faith whose presence in the West is relatively new. However, its place in the British consciousness has been growing ever since, along with other ‘Eastern’ religions, it was introduced to the popular mainstream in the last 40 years. As a belief without God or creator it can be reconciled easily with modern western secular liberalism. Without dogma and ritual it appeals to many put off by the perceived constrictions of other faiths.

Nirvana

Life is hard. It is full of unfulfilled desires, unnecessary pain and continual suffering. Because Buddhists believe in reincarnation, this suffering doesn’t even end with death. Nirvana is the state of being free of all earthly desires, worries, and suffering. To achieve it is to release the soul from the eternal sufferings of life. Having been first attained by The Buddha, it is now the goal of all Buddhists.

Buddha, meaning ‘awakened one’, is the title given to a man who lived sometime around 500-400 BCE (or BC). Having lived the life of an aristocratic prince he left his family at the age of 30 to fulfil the prophesy of his birth – to become a great spiritual leader. He finally achieved nirvana after spending years experimenting with different teachers and techniques of meditation. Buddhism is belief in, and adherence to, his system.

The aspiration of a Buddhist is to achieve the state of nirvana. Exactly how this can be achieved depends on which school of Buddhism is followed, but there are some general themes held in common. The key to attaining nirvana is through meditation. Meditation is the act of attempting to empty the mind of all its attachments. It is normally also important to follow a path or series of guidelines

Birth and Reincarnation

When nirvana is achieved, the soul is released from the cycle of birth and rebirth. This cycle is ruled by karma, which determines the manner of the rebirth. There is a ‘wheel’ of six groups of possible reincarnations, of which Animals and Humans consist of two parts. The others are in hell, as ghosts, as Titans and as Gods. After death the soul will be reincarnated as someone or something in one of these categories, depending on the laws of karma. The Buddhist’s aim is to release the soul from the bonds of karma and free it from this endless cycle of suffering.

While human life is difficult, to return as a human is a good start, for they have free will to choose and are constantly reminded of the suffering they should be seeking to escape from. A God on the other hand, while living in an idyllic paradise, is likely to become complacent and forget to seek nirvana, and will inevitably be reborn down the scale, returning to the endless cycle of suffering.

But how to deposit karma and how to achieve nirvana?

The Eight-Fold Path and the Six Perfections

When Buddha died, aged 80, he did not appoint a successor, nor claim that he was ever a leader of a faith. Rather he preached that everyone should follow Dharma, seeking Ultimate Truth, and should become monks (or nuns), following the rules he had set down. Dharma may be thought of as the Natural Law. If we follow this law, our actions will be in accordance with the laws of the universe, and we shall be in union with nature, easing our path to nirvana.

Furthermore he stated that individuals should think for themselves on matters of doctrine. This freedom put the followers of Buddhism, who would like to be sure that their actions would take them to nirvana, under strain, and many different schools emerged. Broadly speaking there are two remaining, Mahayana and Theravada. Nothing was written down in Buddha’s time and the scriptures adhered to by these sects vary depending on the way Buddhism adapted to the existing beliefs and traditions of places it had spread to, which its lack of dogma allowed it to do.

However, the different schools have a lot in common. Buddha’s own Eight-Fold Path can be summarised in a sentence as “do the right thing”. It states not so much what to do, but in which areas are most important to do good – morality, meditation and wisdom. The Six Perfections are a list of virtues. They are:

Generosity
Morality
Patience
Courage
Meditation
Wisdom

Practising these virtues, going through advancing and detailed stages of virtue and meditation, will synchronise a Buddhist’s behaviour with Dharma. This in turn will lead a Buddhist to nirvana and becoming free from the cycle of suffering. The details of this path are legion, and since Buddha’s day have been written and rewritten many times as Buddhism spread and evolved.

Life

Life is inviolable. It is sacrosanct cannot be taken. This is the cornerstone of Buddhist ethics. Some Buddhist monks, and many Jain, may wear a mask to prevent sucking in tiny insects. Accordingly, all Buddhists are vegetarian. Although Buddhism is a missionary religion – Buddha sent his early followers out across India, the idea of a war of conversion, in which ideology and faith is to be held above life, is alien and repellent to a Buddhist.