Comparison-Contrast Essay
Greeneyednurse
LessonWeek3.docxLesson Week 3:
The Intuitive Path of Buddhism
Introduction
Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince, heir to the Shakya clan in northern India (present day Nepal). After seeing the realities of suffering, old age, sickness, and death, he renounced his wealth and became a great seeker. After a long period of rigorous self-discipline, he awakened to the nature of suffering, and the release from suffering, becoming one of the greatest spiritual masters of all time. After a long spiritual journey, Siddhartha sat under a tree and meditated. When he awoke (Buddha literally means "awakened one"), he had seen through the cycle of suffering and rebirth, he had found the way to nirvana (or cessation). Having awoken, he was now called Shakyamuni Buddha (the sage of the Shakya clan, the awakened one). The way to nirvana is the Noble Eightfold Path that unfolds through meditation. He did not preach new gods or new rituals, but a religion of self-awareness. When he died, his message spread to many lands and cultures beyond India. The southern branch remained focused on his early teachings, while the northern branch, claiming to have revealed hidden teachings of the Buddha, met new gods and new cultures, transforming the Buddhist teachings.
Evolution of the Buddhist Teachings
The Buddha's early teachings centered on the Four Noble Truths, and on the reality of impermanence. This second teaching, that nothing in the world has any permanent, abiding existence, was informed by an awareness that all things are conditioned, and that they arise in relation to one another. This includes the sense of a separate and permanent self. While the Buddha did not reject the experience of a self, he did reject the idea that such a self was permanent and unchanging (thus, Buddhism rejects the idea of a soul).
Over time, the teachings of the Buddha, collectively known as the tripitaka (three baskets), were collected and codified. The tripitaka consists of the sutras (the discourses of the Buddha), the vinaya (rules for monastic conduct), and the abhidharma (a collection of meditation instructions). These teachings formed the basis for what is today known as the Pali Canon. This collection provided the basis by which early Buddhists practiced and passed on the teachings of the Buddha. Individuals who achieved liberation through these practices and teachings were called arhats (worthy ones).
Scholars of religion have struggled to find a term that clearly identifies this period of Buddhist history, as well as its content. The term nikaya (volume) has been used to refer to this stage in Buddhist thinking, referring to its reliance on the tripitaka. Theravada Buddhism is the closest example that remains of this form of early Buddhism.
Eventually, new teachings, centered on the concepts of karuna (compassion) and sunyata (emptiness) emerged (roughly 100 BCE - 100 CE). Proponents of these teachings held that these were not new ideas, but that they had been taught by Shakyamuni Buddha and had been concealed until such a time as people were advanced enough in their realization to hear them. These new teachings, and the new approach they engendered, were collectively known as the Mahayana (Great Vehicle). This approach to Buddhism rejected the personal quest for enlightenment, instead embracing the idea that enlightenment must be universally shared by all sentient beings. As the arhat was the exemplar of Nikaya Buddhist values, the bodhisattva (enlightenment being), a being who eschews entry into personal liberation in order to stay in the world and assist others, became the model for the Mahayana.
The Footprint of the Buddha
Buddhism entered Sri Lanka in the second century BCE and is the oldest continually-Buddhist country in the world. Sri Lanka exemplifies Theravada Buddhism, or "The Way of the Elders." Monks (and nuns) have always had an important role in Theravada Buddhism. It was in Sri Lanka in the first century CE that monks assembled and wrote down the Tripitaka, the three baskets of Buddhist Teachings known as the Pali scriptures. As relics were brought from India, the most famous being the tooth of the Buddha, stupas, or temples, were built to house them.
The essence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka can be summarized in this simple prayer, which is directed to the Three Jewels of Buddhism: "I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha." (I look to the Buddha for wisdom; I look to the Dharma, or teaching of the Buddha, for the way that leads to nirvana. Finally, I look to the Sangha, or community of monks, for encouragement and support). Buddhism in Sri Lanka remains primarily monastic and individualistic, and is, perhaps closest to the original teachings of the Buddha.
While the differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism have softened through the centuries, there remain key differences between the two branches.
· For the Theravada practitioner, salvation is up to the individual.
· For the Mahayana practitioner, it is linked to joint-salvation with others.
· For the individual monk, the primary goal is wisdom (bodhi); from wisdom flows the Four Noble Virtues: loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity, and joy.
For the Mahayanist, the goal is compassion (karuna), which is exemplified in the ideal of the bodhisattva (enlightenment-being).
Japan: Zen
Buddhism entered Japan through China in the sixth century CE and soon gained many converts. However, the Buddhism we meet in Japan is quite different from the Buddhism we met in Sri Lanka. The missionaries who came to Japan had to travel over rugged mountains and through China to get to Japan. There, they met up with other gods and civilizations that profoundly changed Buddhism. When Buddhism entered Japan (via China, which itself had received Buddhism from the Silk Road), it had already undergone radical transformations. The Buddhism of China was no longer the Buddhism of the Theravadins, but the "Great Vehicle" of the Mahayana.
One example of a Buddhist school that developed in Japan is Zen. Zen is a Japanese word meaning meditation. The heart of Zen is zazen, or "seated meditation." The purpose of meditation is to "awaken us" to our inner self, but Zen seems to be a perpetual assault on what we westerners call religion. First, it has a unique attitude towards scripture in that it recognizes that there is a truth beyond scripture, beyond words themselves. Western religion relies on the word of God as revealed in the Torah, Bible, or Koran. However, Zen argues that true realization goes beyond these "words."
Zen also refuses to lock itself into a creed, and seeks to force the initiate to go deeper and deeper into him or herself until he or she achieves that spark of insight that is awakening (satori). Finally, Zen wants nothing to do with "reasoned argument." This amusing story about a Japanese master illustrates this point:
"Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era, received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured tea into his visitor's cup, allowing the cup to overflow. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. 'It is overfull. No more will go in!' "Like this cup," Nan-in said, 'you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?'"
Huston Smith, the author of The World's Religions, argues, "Zen is not interested in theories about enlightenment; it wants the real thing. So it shouts, and buffets, and reprimands, without ill-will entering the slightest."
To achieve its goals, Zen relies on three methods. First, zazen , or "seated meditation." Second, sanzen , or "consulting the master," for Zen believes that the unique truth of Buddhism can only be passed on from master to pupil outside all scriptures and creeds. Finally, some schools of Zen rely on koans , or "problems," which are meant to push the initiate beyond human reasoning. Here are a few samples:
· What was the appearance of your face before your ancestors were born?
· Does a dog have Buddha nature?
· What is the sound of one hand?
· (Many of you might have heard that the text of this koan is "what is the sound of one hand clapping?" However, the actual translation does not include the word "clapping." The word was added into English translations in an effort to clarify this Koan, an act that demonstrates the desire of the reasoning mind to make sense of this riddle.)
These koans are meant to push the disciple to that mystical insight called satori. However, under the strong influence of Daoism, satori took on the meaning of a mystical moment that reaches back to the transitory world. The ideal is not the Arhat, or perfected disciple, but the Bodhisattva, the being of infinite compassion who gives up his own nirvana to help others achieve it. After satori, all of reality takes on more meaning. As Smith notes, "Zen wears the air of divine ordinariness: 'Have you eaten? Then wash your bowls.' If you cannot find the meaning of life in an act as simple as that of doing the dishes, you will not find it anywhere."
Additionally, Zen Buddhism gave rise to many of the traditional Japanese arts, such as the Tea Ceremony (Chado), the Way of Flower Arranging (Ikebana), the Art of Calligraphy (Shodo), and many martial arts, such as Budo and Kyudo (Zen Archery).
