Revision as of 02:27, 7 June 2015

How Buddhism believes in freedom

By Phuntsok Wangchuk,

November 4, 2013

Reach Ladakh

Phuntsok Wangchuk

Leh: Buddhism begins with suffering for the sake of providing solution for suffering. Accomplishment of eliminating suffering is the freedom which can be attained by human effort in the life time.

All religions believe in “liberation”, or commonly called “freedom” or “happiness” as well. Having hope to a higher level of happiness, all religions set out the journey to pursuit happiness by emphasizing on their respective religious believes. They introduce what is called happiness and provide instructions to achieve liberation. The term “hope” gives a sight of happiness to people, it signifies the main feature of religion. So it is appropriate to say that “hope” is the key word for defining religion.

We can hear the term “liberation” in many occasions, especially it is used frequently by many religions. But the cognition and understanding of liberation that based on their believes, is very different from each other. The term “liberation” may contain less meaning for some religions but a broader meaning for other religions. For instance, ascetics who believe soul is bounded by own body, human body is an obstacle to liberate the soul. In order to attain liberation it is necessary to go beyond the human existence “death”. They would punish their own body which is believed to be their practice. They also denied worldly pleasure as a pleasure. According to them, liberation is considered as individual soul merged into cosmic soul, thus it has an eternal quality and is only attainable after death. Some religions do not exclude the mundane pleasure like ascetics do, instead they accept worldly pleasure such as joyfulness and virtue. On top of that they also believe in self liberation. Their notion of liberation is the merging of individual soul into cosmic soul, which is similar to ascetics. The importance to be noted here is that, all religions except Buddhism, believe liberation is only attainable after death, i.e. there is no possibility to arise liberation during living human life time. As Buddhists believe the absence of suffering is called liberation. That is the reason why description regarding to suffering makes different from cognition of liberation.

On the basis of Buddhism, the three poisons aggression, passion and delusion are known as the cause of suffering, they bind all sentient beings in cyclic existence. To escape from cyclic existence the three poisons must be destroyed. This capability of getting rid of cyclic existence is only possessed in human beings. The accomplishment of overcoming from cyclic existence accurately defines the liberation “Nibbana” in Buddhism. Thus Buddhist approach to be free from suffering that human experience in life, can only be accomplished during the life time. Strictly speaking, Buddhism asserted that “Nibbana” can only be attained by human intellectually during their life time. The assertion of liberation occurred after death is denied by Buddhism.

The suffering mentioned in the first noble truth “dukkha”, has a broader meaning than usual understanding. There is not any English term which contains neatly the same range of meaning as dukkha. Generally the term dukkha covers all conditioning force, basically every changeable phenomena is recognized as suffering. Buddhism categorized all sufferings into three kinds of suffering, which are suffering of suffering, suffering of change and suffering of pervasive. Suffering of suffering refers to negative emotions such as pain, sickness and anxiety in both physical and psychological way. It is accepted as suffering in the ordinary sense.

Suffering of change refers to conditional happiness which is gradually changeable and may not remain in next moment, due to the fact that conditioning experience will eventually disappear. It becomes suffering gradually. In this aspect, the second level of suffering is described as suffering. It may seem contradictory that the second level of suffering is described as pleasure and suffering at the same time. Buddhism does not exclude sensual pleasure in terms of relative happiness, as there are many relative happiness discoursed by Buddha, for example joyfulness, friendliness etc. Buddhism asserted it as happiness since it is free from the first level of suffering. According to Buddhism, there is not such a phenomena which can be described without depending on the information of other matters. It is because there is not such a static and eternal phenomena. Therefore all descriptions must relate to other descriptions. Likewise the second level of suffering is suffering because it is conditioning experience. It is also happiness because it is free from physical and psychological sickness. As a result, it is dependent arising.

The third level of suffering is the deepest level of suffering. In the emotional consideration, it refers to neutral feeling. This suffering is described as a feeling which is completely absent of physical or psychological sickness, and conditioning happiness such as joyfulness or harmony, that are the first and second level of suffering respectively.

In conclusion, the above classification has indicated clearly that conditioning experience including unhappiness, happiness and neutral feeling are described as suffering. All conditioning feelings belong to one of these three sufferings. Elimination of these sufferings means cause of suffering is also eliminated. In other words, the elimination of passion, aggression and delusion is the achievement of final freedom or attainment of higher level of happiness. In Buddhist perspective, there is no any place or external approach for liberation. The freeing from clinging to self and self-centered desire is known as Nibbana, the freedom in Buddhism.

Buddhism, Nyingma

The Three Nobilities

The Three Nobilities

Girish Deshpande

When you chant and recite any mantra, bear in mind the importance of the Three Nobilities: Bodhichitta, Non-objectifying Wisdom and Dedication. This brings benefit to the one reciting and for those it is meant to bring benefit.

The two aspects to remember are: Firstly, keep secret your mantra recitation and its result. Secondly, be mindful not to speak to others who are not Dharma practitioners about your practice and accrued benefit. If we are not mindful of this, the result will not be perfect due to many forces that may be counterproductive.

The three nobilities are as important as your yearning to achieve the result by reciting the specific mantra. The first nobility is called Bodhichitta, which is ‘Awakened Mind’. It means generation of a special motivation to benefit all sentient beings with the virtues being accumulated. This motivation should be generated prior to any kind of virtuous practice. You can read this line to motivate yourself for the benefit of all: ‘‘I will benefit all sentient beings bestowing them with eternal bliss and qualities.’’

The second nobility is called Non-objectifying Wisdom. It means whatever virtue is accumulated or practised, it’s done without any sense of desires clinging to the mind. This, in other words, is called primordial awareness and is maintained during the main practice itself. One should be fully aware without any clinging or self-centric desires such as, ‘I am the one who practises this virtue’ or ‘this is the virtue I'm practising and for them I practise’. In fact, one should cut out such thoughts from the mind stream. When the mind is devoid of such discriminative thoughts, all emotions naturally calm down.

The third nobility is called Dedication. It means whatever virtue has been accumulated, for example, by chanting and reciting the mantra, it is dedicated to bringing to sentient beings whatever benefit is possible to rid them of their suffering and bringing them happiness. Usually, the dedication prayer is chanted only after the virtuous practice. Chant this line as a dedication prayer: “May all motherly sentient beings attain enlightenment through the power of all the virtues I might have accumulated by chanting and reciting the mantra.’’

Feel what other beings need. Feel what you need. We will discover that the need and requirement are one and the same, that is, happiness. Each and every being needs nothing more than happiness.

Therefore, all sentient beings are similar and even the same. However, just like us, other sentient beings too get trapped in the net of suffering. Now feel and chant this: “May all sentient beings be free from sufferings and its causes.” This is the real definition of compassion. Extend this practice further from one being to two and four – for instance, from your family and then to the neighbourhood, to your town and other towns, cities and to country – and further towards all sentient beings.

Practise this daily and see the result. Don’t forget that Dharma belongs to nobody. It comes to those who endeavour the most. So begin, now.

The writer is a practitioner of Nyingma Buddhism .

Multicultural religious pluralism

The Times of India, May 19 2015

Ashok Vohra

Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism is a missionary religion. But unlike many other missionary religions it is a tolerant religion. Buddha himself had a tolerant personality as is clear from the following episodes. Once someone spat on the Buddha. The Buddha asked him if someone gave one a present which one did not accept, whom would it belong to? When the man who spat at him replied, “to the giver“, Buddha responded that he did not accept his gift either.Similarly, when one of his disciples took to praising him as the greatest Buddha that ever existed, he asked his disciple if he was acquainted with all the past and the future Buddhas. When the disciple answered in the negative, Buddha gently chastised him: “Why, therefore, are your words so grand and sweeping?“ Buddha realised that a claim to exclusivism by followers of different faiths would not be acceptable. He adopted inclusivism and argued for multiculturalism and religious pluralism in society. The doctrine of religious pluralism is the all-embracing perspective that upholds that one's own religion's perception of reality and the path of liberation advocated by it are as valid as those of other religions even if they may be opposed to one another. There is no hostility but hospitality towards all. Buddhism critically evaluated almost all the doctrines presented by Hinduism and also several tribal religions it came across. However, the evaluation was done not with arrogance or authority and sense of superiority but was based on humility and reason. Buddha's sense of humility was based on the principle that no human being can know and understand everything. Only a bigot can claim that his knowledge is superior and ultimate and hold that the claims made by the others and other religions are totally false and untenable. According to the Buddha, “These sectarians, brethren, are blind and unseeing. They know not the real, they know not the unreal; they know not the truth, they know not the untruth. In such a state of ignorance do they dispute and quarrel.“ He illustrated these bigoted preachers with the parable of the blind men and the elephant. This principle underlies the source of tolerance in Buddhism.

The Buddha denounced only phoney expositions by some Brahmins and fake tradi tions and practices. In different Nikayas ­ texts that held `virtu ous' Brahmins in esteem ­ he condemned the tendency of religious disputants to display their own doctrine and rubbish those of others ­ and encouraged gifts by Buddhists to non-Buddhists, and admitted the right of non-Buddhists to heaven.

Wherever it is difficult to reconcile two opposite views and there is genuine disagreement between two religions, the Buddha argued that aggression is of no help. A continuous attempt at reconciliation in the light of one's experience alone and not hatred, would be of help.

The Buddha advocated a tolerant attitude by removing the ego-attachment to one's own religious doctrines and practices. The ego-attachment makes us wrongly believe that our religion, its principles and practices are absolute.He says: “To be attached to a certain view and to look down upon other views as inferior ­ this, the wise men call a fetter.“ One has to consciously make all efforts to remove these false notions.

The Buddha advised Buddhist monks to hold opinions but not cling to them. He says, “A man has a faith. If he says, `This is my faith,' so far he maintains truth. But by that he cannot proceed to the absolute conclusion: `This alone is Truth, and everything else is false'.”