Introduction
Buddhism is one of the major religions of our world, and has been so for centuries. Its number of adherents is estimated to be at least 300 million - often more - and the tradition extends back in time 2,500 years. It has spread to all nations of the earth and to all kinds of people. Its place in history and the present day as a central force cannot be denied.
What is the attraction of Buddhism?
It is often presented to us in the West as a mystical, atheistic religion. Though there are elements of truth in these stereotypes, Buddhism is truly a varied and diverse tradition. For the everyday lay practitioners there may be little of what we would call mysticism and atheism involved – and their Buddhism is certainly more widespread than that of institutional Buddhism. Both of these positions – the lay and the clerical – must be considered in any discussion of religion.
The Buddhist religion is full of surprises for the Westerner. We have idealized concepts of bald, smiling monks who do no harm to any living creature and impart their wisdom in the form of riddles. While these ideas are certainly grounded in some degree of fact, there are stories and concepts that appear in Buddhism that will suggest we re-examine our preconceptions.
For instance, one could recite the story of Belgyi Dorje in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the mid ninth century Buddhism was taking hold in Tibet, but the king – Lang Darma – was opposed to this foreign religion, and persecuted it viciously. However, the monk Belgyi Dorje felt obliged to act and remedy the situation. During the course of a play he was able to assassinate the king.
The idea of a Buddhist monk, committed to compassion for all life, participating in a murder seems counter-intuitive to our ideas of Buddhists. Yet there is a logical Buddhist explanation for these actions – though it seems the monk was acting in the best interests of his fellow Buddhists, tradition holds that he was motivated by compassion for the king. According to the laws of karma, the king was sure to be punished for his violent acts against the Buddhist community – so he was killed to prevent him from accumulating any further negative merit.
This is not the only surprising twist we find in the Buddhist tradition. Let us also consider the idea of upaya, or “skillful means”. Plainly put, this is the idea that it is a practical and moral decision to deceive people in the hopes that they will realize a deeper truth and thus continue further on their path to enlightenment. Take for example the story of the Burning House in the Lotus Sutra. A house is burning, but the father who has escaped is unable to convince his children to follow him outside. Attempts to explain the situation fail, so he tells them he has chariots outside to give them. They rush out, and though they do not receive the promised chariots, they are saved from the burning of the house. To reveal the metaphor, the burning house is the cycle of suffering and the promise of chariots the skillful mean to bring the children – those trapped in the cycle – out.
Of course, though these stories are of the Buddhist tradition, we must not assume they are representative of the Buddhist tradition. It is certainly not a common undertaking for monks to assassinate political leaders, nor is it popular (or proper, according to the tenets of Buddhist monks) to speak falsely. These examples serve only to illustrate the diversity and surprises within the Buddhist religion.
Buddhism impacts millions of lives daily. It is tightly woven into the culture and history of the nations of Asia. An exploration of Buddhism leads to a greater understanding of Asian cultures and a greater appreciation of the philosophies and folklore of one of the oldest and most diverse religions of our world.
In this course we will investigate both the deeper philosophical problems and ideas of Buddhism, as well as practical information which makes up Buddhist culture and tradition.
Lessons
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