by Stratton Carr
Buddhism is the 4th most practiced religion in the world. Its spiritual foundation is predicated on the teachings of a wealthy prince who abandoned his lavish lifestyle in pursuit of spiritual truth. This figure, named Siddhartha, existed in India over 2,500 years ago and has come to be known as the Buddha. The Buddha’s teachings emphasize a set of core principles by which to live in order to grapple with, and ultimately end suffering. When compared to other major religions, Buddhist principles seem to place higher emphasis on the subjectivity of the experience of reality.
For starters the Buddha himself wasn’t originally intended to have any image at all. It wasn’t until Greek sculptures came along that the anthropomorphic image of the Buddha came into fruition. Contrast this with Christianity, where the images of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are fairly well defined. In Buddhism, it was originally left up to the follower to develop their conception of the spiritual figure. This is just one of many examples of how Buddhism emphasizes subjectivity.
No one centralized leader or authority figure tells you whether or not your doing your job as a Buddhist. That responsibility falls on yourself.
Buddhism could be seen as lacking in dogma to the degree that other major religions are. In Judeo-Christian religions, a centralized structure like the church wields a lot of power and influence. They explicitly dictate the rules by which to live by, which can change depending on which church you ascribe to. In some denominations of Christianity, like Catholicism, your relationship to God is established in-part via proxy; that is, an intermediary exists that one goes through to confess their sins. Though one is able to have a relationship with God on a personal level, the authorities within the church play a role in mediating this relationship. This relationship with the spiritual is much more personal in Buddhism; No one centralized leader or authority figure tells you whether or not you’re doing your job as a Buddhist. That responsibility falls on yourself.
Buddhism emphasizes personal skepticism more so than other major religions. In some Judeo-Christian religions, those who question the church or centralized structure’s authority are deemed dissenters, and are at risk for being castigated. Certain denominations of Protestantism allow for more wiggle room with interpretation than others, but Buddhism really hammers in on the idea of personal construal. The Kalama Sutta, a key Buddhist text, details the Buddha’s lessons on free inquiry. In this text, he advocates for individuals to think critically and question everything. He is a proponent of following one’s intuition, and emphasizes the importance of questioning everything- authority, laws, and reality as a whole. In this text, the Buddha instructs his followers to heed the following criteria for acceptance of beliefs; “Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another’s seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, ‘The monk is our teacher.’”. These guidelines are juxtaposed against those asserted by Christianity, which claim that the gospel is the ultimate truth by-and-by, and that one should devoutly follow these rules. The Buddha then follows up his statement with this- “Kalamas, when you yourselves know: ‘These things are good; these things are not blamable; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,’ enter on and abide in them.” This conviction underlies the importance placed on personal integrity and thought, as well as direct personal experience, and exists in almost opposition to the structured, omnipresent rules set forth by Christianity and other similar religions.
The uncontrolled mind is likened to a fish out of water, agitated and thrashing about. A wise man learns to control their mind, like a fletcher crafting a straight arrow.
Another key text in the realm of Buddhism is TheDhammapada. Much like The Kalama Sutta, this text is a collection of sayings and lessons from the Buddha himself. This collection of text provides a marked emphasis on the cultivation of one’s mind. The text opens with these lines- “All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind. Speak or act with a corrupted mind, and suffering follows as the wagon wheel follows the hoof of the ox… Speak or act with a peaceful mind, and happiness follows like a never-departing shadow”. These statements draw a dichotomy between the fruits of having a peaceful mind, and the consequences of living with a corrupted mind. In one passage, appropriately titled “The Mind”, the power of one’s consciousness is again covered. This passage focuses on ways in which one can wrestle with the beast that is one’s mind, and what can happen if this process goes awry. The uncontrolled mind is likened to a fish out of water, agitated and thrashing about. A wise man learns to control their mind, like a fletcher crafting a straight arrow. This state of consciousness is achieved via discipline, presumably through tactics like meditation. The power that comes with this discipline is enormous; no physical entity can bring upon such peace as a trained mind. Likewise, no enemy can inflict the damage that an untrained mind can bring upon itself. No amount of wisdom can save a man of an unsound mind.
Though there are still principles articulated in Buddhism which a good follower abides by, as I have outlined here, these rules are less prescriptive than those used in Judeo-Christian religions. There exists more room for personal interpretation and expression in these sets of guidelines, and a heavier emphasis on subjectivity. As we see with many religions across the world, religions can easily be weaponized and used to justify acts of violence. Could the allotted subjective space in Buddhism make it easier for people to use it to promote their own, potentially harmful personal narratives? Maybe, however this does not appear to be common amongst followers of this religion; other major teachings advocate for non-violence. Buddhism continues to prove itself to be one of the most peace-promoting, tolerant modern religions that continues to establish itself as an option for those looking to seek truth and end suffering.
Works Cited
Fronsdal, Gil. “The Dhammapada” Shambhala, 2006
David Grubin. “The Buddha” PBS, 2010
Thera, Soma. “Kalama Sutta” 1994
created for HUM124 with Jeremy Phillips
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