BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
Buddhism: Purpose and Principles
Despite being widely regarded as a religion, Buddhism is an ancient philosophy of “how to live life fruitfully” dating back to the birth of the founder, Prince Siddharta in India, 3145 years ago (as of 2009). Upon attaining the Enlightenment, the Prince had thus been revered as the Buddha, meaning the Enlightened and Perfected One. Although the Buddha had expounded on the Vajrayana teachings a year before his Parinirvana (the passing away of Enlightened Beings), it was thirteen years thereafter that Vajrayana Buddhism began to fully take shape under the patronage of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of tantric Buddhism. Depending on individual dispositions, Buddhism is based on two different approaches: self-focused and others-focused. The former is known as Hinayana (or Theravada) Buddhism whereas the latter is Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism is further differentiated into (Chinese) Mahayana and Vajrayana (or Tantric Mahayana). To reach the same goal of Buddhahood, Theravada adherents employ a personal approach by perfecting one’s own conduct, while Mahayana employ a social approach, or more known as the wisdom-and-compassion approach, by rendering altruistic service to others’ well-being. Either of the approaches entails the core practice of meditation.
Some key words often encountered in Buddhism are:
Buddha = the Enlightened or Perfected One.
Dharma = the teachings of the Buddhas based on their empirical experiences.
Sangha = the practitioners of the Buddhadharma.
Sentient beings = beings in the six realms (gods, asuras, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings).
The ultimate goal of practicing the Buddhist philosophy is to attain Enlightenment (or Buddhahood). Roughly speaking, Buddhahood or Enlightenment means you completely realize your genuine self (body, speech, and mind) or Tathagatagarbha (Buddha nature), so to speak. Consequently, the purpose of meditation is to learn the nature of your mind, if not to learn about the nature of yourself. Mindfulness is only one of the qualities (of a Buddha) that has been widely cultivated by people in general either Buddhists and non-Buddhists through meditation practice for its various benefits.
Buddhist practitioners constantly ask the following questions as they progress along their spiritual endeavors. One can say that the quest of attaining Buddhahood is to find answers to the following questions.
- Who was I?
- Where do I come from?
- Who am I?
- Why am I here?
- Where do I go after death?
- What will I be?
Some fundamental principles of Buddhist philosophy is worth noting. The first is Tathagatagarbha or the intrinsic purity of the mind. The Buddha asserts that all sentient beings possess Tathagatagarbha. Because of various mind obscurations, sentient beings--humans and otherwise--cannot experience Enlightenment.
The second principle concerns what differentiates individual beings. Since the Tathagatagarbha or Buddha nature is pervasive in all life forms, what differentiates human beings from those of other realms is the opportunity to practice the Buddha Dharma. In animal realms for instance, it is unlikely for them to learn, much less practice the Dharma. In gods realm, the pleasure in which they indulge may distract them from realizing their true nature of mind. In human realms, the dual existence of both pleasure and sufferings poses an opportunity to investigate into the mind and realize the true nature of Buddhahood. That said, the manifestations of the conditions experienced by different beings in different realms are nothing but the results of their own karma.
Given the opportunity, the difference among human beings is the motivation to attain Enlightenment. Greater or lesser persons are not judged in terms of wealth or achievements. Rather, the latter are those who practice virtue to improve their own well-being. The middling are those who understand the impermanence of life and practice virtue to achieve better livelihood in the subsequent lifetimes. These people understand the law of cause and effect--how their current conduct will affect their future states of being. The greater are those who not only understand the law of karma but also realize the importance of attaining Enlightenment to benefit all sentient beings who have been our parents in the previous innumerable lifetimes.
The third principle is the concept of upaya-kaushalya or skillful means. Following the differences in each individual being, the Buddhist philosophy rests on the customization of methods--be they actions, speech, etc.--to bring out the inherent Buddha nature of different beings by considering their capacity and needs.
The fourth principle is its empirical nature of inquiry. The Buddha invites His adherents to examine His teachings rather than blindly follow them. Indeed the Buddha likens His teachings to gold--either you melt it, pound it, or cut it--it is always excellent. Faith will naturally arise from examination. With regard to the goal of ultimate liberation, it is unlikely for one to become a Buddha even though one merely follows what the Buddha says without proper examination and understanding of "self."
Eighty-four Thousand Teachings of the Buddha
To cure the emotional afflictions of the many sentient beings, the Buddha gives eighty-four thousand Dharma teachings.
- Vinaya collection to address 21,000 emotional afflictions arising from the root poison of desire.
- Sutra collection to address 21,000 emotional afflictions arising from hatred.
- Abhidharma collection to address 21,000 emotional afflictions arising from ignorance.
- Vajrayana collection to address the remaining 21,000 emotional afflictions arising from the complex interplay of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
Because the number of emotional afflictions from which all sentient beings suffer are much more diverse than the basic emotions of which we are aware, unless we come to understand about ourselves better, it is unlikely that we can be free from our emotional afflictions, let alone free others. The practice of Vajrayana meditation promises the possibility of fulfilling this purpose, given our commitment.
Therefore, Buddhist practitioners embrace the empirical notion that the Buddha's teachings are verifiable only through personal experience whereby the object of scrutiny is own mind.