Republic of the Union of Myanmar

What is Buddhism?

Buddhism is well known as one of the leading world religions in terms of adherents, geographical distribution, and socio-cultural influence. Of course, it is not a religion but the teaching of Buddha. But Buddhism is regarded as one type of religion by the world people. While largely an “Eastern” religion, it is becoming increasingly popular and influential in the Western world. It is a unique world religion in its own right, though it has much in common with Hinduism in that both teach Karma ကမၼ (cause-and-effect ethics), Maya (မာယာ) (the illusory nature of the world), and Samsara (သံသရာ) (the cycle of reincarnation). Buddhism is a moral philosophy, an ethical way to live for the here and now of this world. But this ethical way is not the goal of Buddhism, it is just the basis of Buddhism. The goal of Buddhism is to gain the ultimate state, Nirvana.

What is Nirvana?

Nirvana is neither a place nor a matter but the Nothingness. It can be assumed as the philosophical concept -- Liberation from The Endless Cycle of Sufferings. It also refers to leaving off' or being away from the path of rebirth or freedom from the knot of the distressful thread of karma. To liberate as in this concept, one must be achieve “enlightenment”.

Who is Buddhism's Founder?

Buddhism’s founder, Siddhartha Guatama, named as Lord Buddha The Unrivaled was born into royalty in India around 600 B.C. As the story goes, he lived luxuriously, with little exposure to the outside world. His parents intended for him to be spared from the influence of religion and protected from pain and suffering. However, it was not long before his shelter was penetrated, and he had visions of an aged man, a sick man, and a corpse. His fourth vision was of a peaceful ascetic monk (one who denies luxury and comfort). Seeing the monk’s peacefulness, he decided to become an ascetic himself. He abandoned his life of wealth and affluence to pursue enlightenment through austerity. He was skilled at this sort of self-mortification and intense meditation. He was a leader among his peers. Eventually, his efforts culminated in one final gesture. He “indulged” himself with one bowl of rice and then sat beneath a fig tree (also called the Bodhi tree) to meditate till he either reached “enlightenment” or died trying. Despite his travails and temptations, by the next morning, he had achieved enlightenment. Thus, he became known as the 'enlightened one' or the 'Buddha.' He took his new realization and began to teach his fellow monks, with whom he had already gained great influence. Five of his peers became the first of his disciples.

What had Gautama discovered?

Enlightenment lay in the "Middle Way" or in "Via Media" မဇၥိ်မပဋိပဒါ ေခၚ အလယ္အလတ္ လမ္းစဥ္ ,i.e not in luxurious indulgence or self-mortification. Moreover, he discovered what would become known as the “Four Noble Truths”. (သစၥာေလးပါး)

The core of the Buddhist teaching is the Four Noble Truths: There is suffering. There is a cause to suffering. There is an end to suffering. There is a path out of suffering (Noble Eightfold Path-မဂၢင္ရွစ္ပါးအက်င့္ျမတ္တရား).

Four Nobel Truths

1. The Reality of Suffering--Dukkha
2. The Cause of Suffering--Samudaya
3. The Cessation of Suffering--Nirodha
4. The Path to the Cessation of Suffering--Magga

1 - The Reality of Suffering--dukkha (ဒုကၡသစၥာ)

The Pali word dukkha, in ordinary usage means 'suffering', 'pain', 'sorrow' or 'misery'. But in the context of the First Noble Truth, dukkha also means 'imperfection', 'impermanence', 'emptiness', 'insubstantiality'. There are three kinds of suffering:

* Ordinary Suffering--dukkha-dukkha
* Suffering produced by Change--virapinama-dukkha
* Suffering as Conditioned States--samkara-dukkha

Ordinary Suffering--dukkha-dukkha

There are all kinds of suffering in life: birth, old age, sickness, death, association with unpleasant persons and conditions, separation from beloved ones and pleasant conditions, not getting what one desires, grief, lamentation, distress--all forms of physical and mental suffering.
Suffering produced by Change--virapinama-dukkha

Pleasant and happy feelings or conditions in life are not permanent. Sooner or later they change. When they change they may produce pain, suffering, unhappiness or dissappointment. This vicissitude is considered viparimana-dukkha.
Suffering as Conditioned States--samkara-dukkha

An 'individual', an 'I' or a 'self' is a combination of ever-changing mental and physical forces which can be divided into five groups or 'aggregates' pancakkhandha. Suffering as conditioned states is produced by attachment to these five aggregates:

* Matter--rupakkhandha
* Sensations--vedanakkhandha
* Perceptions--sannakkhandha
* Mental Formations--sankharakkhandha
* Consciousness--vinnanakkhandha

2 - The Cause of Suffering--samudaya (သမုဒယသစၥာ)

The principle cause of suffering is the attachment to "desire" or "craving", tanha. Both desire to have (wanting) and desire not to have (aversion).

1. desire for sense-pleasures--kama-tanha,
2. desire to become--bhava-tanha,
3. desire to get rid of--vibhava-tanha.

The desire for sense pleasures manifests itself as wanting to have pleasant experiences: the taste of good food, pleasant sexual experiences, delightful music.

The desire to become is the ambition that comes with wanting attaiments or recognition or fame. It is the craving to "be a somebody".

The desire to get rid of the unpleasant experiences in life: unpleasant sensations, anger, fear, jealousy.

The clinging to desire comes from our experience that short-term satisfaction comes from following desire. We ignore the fact that satisfying our desires doesn't bring an end to them.

3 - The Cessation of Suffering--nirodha (နိေယာဓသစၥာ)

The end of suffering is non-attachment, or letting go of desire or craving. This is the state of Nibbana, where greed, hatred and delusion are extinct.

Freedom from attachments to the five aggregates of attachment is the end of suffering. This freedom is not conditioned by causes, as are the conditioned states: Nibbana is the non-attachment to conditioned experience.

To understand the unconditioned, we need to see for ourselves that everything that has a nature to be born has a nature to die: that every phenomenon that has a cause is impermanent. By letting go of attachment to desire for conditioned phenomena, desire can come to an end and we can be liberated from suffering.

4 - The Noble Eightfold Path--magga(မဂၢသစၥာ)

The end to suffering (see the Third Noble Truth) will result by following the Noble Eightfold Path (မဂၢင္ရွစ္ပါး) --Ariya-Atthangika-Magga. There are three qualities that must be developed to attain Nirvana: Morality--Sila, Concentration--Samadhi, and Wisdom--Panna.

1. Widsom--Panna (ပညာ)
* Right Understanding--samma ditthi
* Right Thought--samma sankappa

2. Morality--Sila (သီလ)
* Right Speech--samma vaca
* Right Action--samma kammanta
* Right Livelihood--samma ajiva

3. Concentration--Samadhi (သမာဓိ)

* Right Effort--samma vayama
* Right Mindfulness--samma sati
* Right Concentration--samma samadhi

Widsom--Panna

Wisdom comes from understanding the three characteristics of existence

* all conditioned phenomena are impermanent
* all conditioned phenomena are not personal, not self
* attachment to desire for impermanent phenomena leads to suffering

"Right Understanding" of the impermanent, non-self nature of phenonmena and that attachment to them leads to suffering brings about "Right Thought", i.e. the aspiration or intention to be liberated from suffering and to understand the truth.

The deepening of wisdom is enhanced when the lifestyle and mind are calmed through the practices of Morality--Sila and Concentration--Samadhi.

Morality--Sila

Adherence to moral guidelines--precepts--is an essential protection from causing suffering to oneself and to others. While these guidelines define a code of discipline, the virtues that bring about moral behaviour can also be cultivated with the practice of a culture of the heart.

There are 5 basic precepts (ငါးပါးသီလ) that Buddhist practitioners undertake (Monks and Nuns undertake many more). They are:

1. Reverence for Life (refrain from killing)
2. Generosity (refrain from stealing)
3. Sexual Responsibility (refrain from sexual misconduct)
4. Deep Listening and Loving Speech (refrain from lying)
5. Mindful Consumption (refrain from ingesting intoxicants)

What is the essence of Buddhism?

The first component is to live a moral life. Buddhism teaches that one should live according to the Dharma or universal law that governs both the physical and moral order of the universe. Good deeds result in a person gaining positive Karma and bad deeds lead to negative Karma. Buddhism shares the ideas of both Dharma and Karma in common with the Hindu moral tradition. Buddhism, however, did not embrace the Hindu caste system.

Second, to become enlightened via the the Buddha taught that one must practice meditation. This will give the calmness to gain understanding of the true nature of existence.

Third, using insight meditation, one gains the wisdom. This wisdom reveals that even those things that seem most intimate, one's thoughts and emotions, are transient states that come and go. Meditators describe this wisdom as a great burden being lifted. The clamoring ego with its desires and disappointments is silenced. When a person gains this wisdom, a deep and lasting sense of peace and contentment replaces selfish craving and gratification.

Unlike the other major world religions, Buddhism does not teach about an anthropomorphic God. Buddhism teaches that an order exists in the universe. It does not claim that God created the order. Also, Buddhism does not teach that humans have a soul. In this, Buddha set himself apart from the Hindu religious tradition which claims that each person possesses an eternal soul.

However, the Buddha did believe in reincarnation, which causes me to wonder, if no soul exists, what gets reborn? The Buddha would say that I have asked the question incorrectly. It should be "How and why does rebirth take place?" The answer is that the unexhausted force of Karma at a person's death produces rebirth. Death, for the Buddha, is merely an incident between one life and another. The legend about the life of the Buddha reports that when he achieved enlightenment he gained the ability to recall many of his previous lives.

The essence of Buddhism is a story about a man who was born in India twenty-four hundred years ago. This man struggled to come to grips with the problems of human suffering as he saw them. He came to the conclusion that one can break free of suffering first by practicing moral behavior, second by practicing calming meditation, and third by using insight meditation to gain wisdom.

I want to end today with another part of the legend of the Buddha. When the Buddha taught about what he had learned, he always cautioned his students not to accept his teachings uncritically. He encouraged them to evaluate his teachings in the light of their own experience. Buddhism does not require the acceptance of creedal formulas. The fact that Buddhism imposes few requirements on its followers and encourages them to think for themselves has contributed to its popularity among Unitarian Universalists.

When the Buddha spoke to a congregation of disciples, he could have taken advantage of their devotion, acting as the expert, decreeing a foundational doctrine. Instead, according to legend, he said something like this:

Believe nothing, O monks, merely because you have been told it . . . or because it is traditional, or because you yourselves have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings -- that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.


What are the main differneces between Buddhism and other world religion? OR What do they not believe?
Generally Buddhism does not believe in a personal God or a divine being, it does not have worship, praying to, or praising of a divine being (although some sects do.) It offers no form of redemption, forgiveness, no heavenly hope, or a final judgment to those practicing its system. Buddhism is a moral philosophy, an ethical way to live for the here and now of this world to gain the ultimate state. It has more in common with humanism and atheism than its original religion Hinduism it separated from. But Buddhism is not atheism just because they don’t believe in a personal God. It is more like pantheism, there is a impersonal force the void which is the ultimate.

The Buddha never considered himself to be a god or any type of divine being. Rather, he considered himself to be a ‘way-shower' for others. Only after his death was he exalted to god status by some of his followers, though not all of his followers viewed him that way. With Christianity however, it is stated quite clearly in the Bible that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 3:17: “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’”) and that He and God are one (John 10:30). One cannot rightfully consider himself or herself a Christian without professing faith in Jesus as God.

Jesus taught that He is the way and not simply one who showed the way as John 14:6 confirms: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” By the time Guatama died, Buddhism had become a major influence in India; three hundred years later, Buddhism had encompassed most of Asia. The scriptures and sayings attributed to the Buddha were written about four hundred years after his death.

In Buddhism, sin is largely understood to be ignorance. And, while sin is understood as “moral error,” the context in which “evil” and “good” are understood is amoral. Karma is understood as nature's balance and is not personally enforced. Nature is not moral; therefore, karma is not a moral code, and sin is not ultimately immoral. Thus, we can say, by Buddhist thought, that our error is not a moral issue since it is ultimately an impersonal mistake, not an interpersonal violation. The consequence of this understanding is devastating. For the Buddhist, sin is more akin to a misstep than a transgression against the nature of holy God. This understanding of sin does not accord with the innate moral consciousness that men stand condemned because of their sin before a holy God (Romans 1-2).

Since it holds that sin is an impersonal and fixable error, Buddhism does not agree with the doctrine of depravity, a basic doctrine of Christianity. The Bible tells us man's sin is a problem of eternal and infinite consequence. In Buddhism, there is no need for a Savior to rescue people from their damning sins. For the Christian, Jesus is the only means of rescue from eternal damnation. For the Buddhist there is only ethical living and meditative appeals to exalted beings for the hope of perhaps achieving enlightenment and ultimate Nirvana. More than likely, one will have to go through a number of reincarnations to pay off his or her vast accumulation of karmic debt. For the true followers of Buddhism, the religion is a philosophy of morality and ethics, encapsulated within a life of renunciation of the ego-self. In Buddhism, reality is impersonal and non-relational; therefore, it is not loving. Not only is God seen as illusory, but, in dissolving sin into non-moral error and by rejecting all material reality as maya (“illusion”), even we ourselves lose our “selves.” Personality itself becomes an illusion.

When asked how the world started, who/what created the universe, the Buddha is said to have kept silent because in Buddhism there is no beginning and no end. Instead, there is an endless circle of birth and death. One would have to ask what kind of Being created us to live, endure so much pain and suffering, and then die over and over again? It may cause one to contemplate, what is the point, why bother? Christians know that God sent His Son to die for us, one time, so that we do not have to suffer for an eternity. He sent His Son to give us the knowledge that we are not alone and that we are loved. Christians know there is more to life than suffering, and dying, “… but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).

Buddhism teaches that Nirvana is the highest state of being, a state of pure being, and it is achieved by means relative to the individual. Nirvana defies rational explanation and logical ordering and therefore cannot be taught, only realized. Jesus’ teaching on heaven, in contrast, was quite specific. He taught us that our physical bodies die but our souls ascend to be with Him in heaven (Mark 12:25). The Buddha taught that people do not have individual souls, for the individual self or ego is an illusion. For Buddhists there is no merciful Father in heaven who sent His Son to die for our souls, for our salvation, to provide the way for us to reach His glory. Ultimately, that is why Buddhism is to be rejected.

Comparing Buddha with Jesus
It is said Siddhartha became the Awakened one, so Jesus became the Anointed one is a common misconception. Christ was the anointed one from eternity while the Siddhartha became the Buddha by searching and self discovery became illuminated. Anointing and enlightenment are two very different concepts.

Buddha came at a time when the people were tired of Hindu sects, castes and teachings. Buddha discovers a new way and he discards some teachings and upholds others. Christ came when the people were oppressed by religious leaders also but they did not know the truth nor were they asking for deliverance spiritually. Jesus only explained what they already had in the Scriptures giving the correct interpretations and fulfilling the prophecies.

Buddha died at the old age of 80 years old by eating rotten food, his life was lived without exaggerations of either luxury or asceticism. Jesus ate fish, meat and did not have people give up their possessions unless it interfered with their relationship with God. He died at 33 years old, sentenced to death like a criminal, tortured and executed for something he did not do. Not much similarity here.

Claims are there are similarities to relics (statues, icons ) in both Buddhism and Christianity. But this is only found in the Catholic Church side. The Bible specifically addresses this as wrong and calls the usage of these as idolatrous. Throughout the Scripture this is specifically addressed as an affront to God.
Isa. 45:20-22: "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, who carry the wood of their carved image, and pray to a god that cannot save. Tell and bring forth your case; yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me. "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."

Buddha was passive in his outlook of humanity. He was engaged in self discovery to change himself. Which can be good if one comes to the conclusion that the answers are not found within us, and looks toward the creator of all mankind.

Christ did not have to search for wisdom since he was the wisdom and power of God before and during his coming to earth. He came from heaven as a servant to mankind. He grew in understanding in his humanity only, but even at an early age he was aware of his purpose and who he actually was.

Buddha needed to make sense of the world and its suffering for himself. He was in turmoil in his soul seeing the condition of life being unfavorable for so many. So he searched for enlightenment to have answers for the dilemma he saw in the world.

Christ exhibited love which is active, it participates in others lives. He did not tolerate falsehood or have the same reaction for one being sad or happy. He taught objective truth, the true reality of life is that it is real and there are consequences here and now as well as afterward.

Thereavada says Buddha did not claim to have a special relationship with God. The fact that Buddha did not consider the existence of God to be important shows that he is not in any way related to biblical prophets or Jesus. Buddha said it doesn’t matter whether you believe in him or not. Buddha claimed to point to the right way to escape suffering and attain enlightenment. Contrary to this, Jesus claimed to be the way. Christianity teaches there was only one incarnation of God and he came to relieve the source of all suffering sin.

Although the Buddha did not deny the existence of gods, he taught that the worship of gods obstructed one's quest for nirvana. To him the gods inhabit the cosmos and are impermanent like all other living beings. There is no God as an eternal deity. Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, did not claim to be divine. He claimed to be the one to point the way to Nirvana. an ultimate state in the afterlife, but it was up to each individual to find his own way there. Each has their own path to walk on to discovery.

Dr. John Noss states, "... there is only the ultimate impersonal unity of being itself, whose peace enfolds the individual self when it ceases to call itself " I " and dissolves in the featureless purity of Nirvana, as a drop of spray is merged in its mother sea."( Noss, p.183.)

They look to this ultimate elimination of self as their identity merges into the great unity. But the goal on earth is to eliminate whatever is possible now." Regard the world as void" (Suttanipata, 119). "So one who is convinced of the emptiness of everything has no likes or dislikes. For he knows that that which he might like is just empty, and sees it just empty" (Sik-shasamuccaya, 264).

The concept of a personal God does not fit into the Buddhist system of religion. Today there are many sects of Buddhism. Many differ in their concept of the divine and of Buddha. In general, if a Buddhist believes in God he holds to a pantheistic view. Many view God as an impersonal force which is made up of all living things and holds the universe together. This is the same as the Hindu concept of Pantheism that the force is united with all living and non living thing in creation.

The late Dr. Suzuki is considered one of the greatest teachers of Zen Buddhism, said about his concept of God: "If God after making the world puts Himself outside it, He is no longer God. If He separates Himself from the world or wants to separate Himself, He is not God. The world is not the world when it is separated from God. God must be in the world and the world in God." ( D. T. Suzuki, The Field of Zen p. 16.)

Dr. John Noss explains, "there is no sovereign Person in the heavens holding all together in unity."( Noss, p. 183.)

Since Buddhism generally does not believe in a personal God or a divine being, it does not have worship, praying, or praising of a divine being. Although these are practiced without any reference to God. It offers no form of redemption, forgiveness, heavenly hope, or final judgment. Buddhism is, more of a moral philosophy, an ethical way of life that can have improvement on ones state.

Professor Kraemer describes the Buddhist system as "a non-theistic ethical discipline, a system of self training, anthropocentric, stressing ethics and mind-culture to the exclusion of theology."( Taylor & Offner, p. 177.)

Christianity teaches Buddhism teaches

Heaven is a reality Nirvana is the ultimate state = nothingness
personal eternal life Extinction of the self
Savior is the person of Christ Savior is ones self and ones works
There is a literal hell of suffering There is no hell in the biblical sense of permanency
the one God is tri-une Father
Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit
the triple gem 1)the Buddha = teacher
2) the Dharma = truth 3) the Sangaya = light
God is a personal being Impersonal force, no God
Moral absolutes No moral absolutes
World is real for us World is an illusion
Sin is the problem Ignorance is the problem
Desires needs redirection Desire needs to be eliminated
Jesus = God is salvation Emmanuel = God with us Christ = the anointed one
Siddhartha means" he who has accomplished his objectives." Buddha = the Enlightened One

Buddha did not claim to have a special relationship with God in fact Buddha did not consider the existence of God to be important. Buddha claimed to point to the right way to escape suffering and attain enlightenment. Contrary Jesus claimed to be the way. Christianity teaches there was only one incarnation of God. While anyone can make a belief system, it is another thing to prove it. In this Buddha and those who followed after failed and Jesus succeeded.

Christ is not a spiritual master as they claim Buddha is, Christ is his creator. If one only looks at Jesus as a human being he exemplifies the highest ideal in man, he has all the qualities Buddha taught about and sought after, but Christ is more than just a man he is our and the Buddhists creator.

Most Buddhists believe their are many ways to God. The emphasis is based on the path that we must work on by our own effort. That's not good news. The difference between Buddhism and Christianity is that its been done, while in Buddhism they are still trying to accomplish it. One is by our own efforts the other was obtained by the perfect man.

Christ clearly offers salvation to His followers. Buddhism does not. It is said that Gautama's last words before his death were: "Buddha's do but point the way, work out your salvation with diligence."

Theravada teaches that each man is responsible for their own this is reached by ones self-effort; "Be lamps unto yourselves. Be a refuge unto yourselves. Do not turn to any external refuge.... Work out your own salvation with diligence" (Mahaparinibbana-sutta 2.33; 6:10; from the Pali Canon)

The exclusiveness of Christ's claims through the concept of reconciliation. Restoring a relationship that is broken. Lets say you broke your relationship someone you care about, how many ways are there to restore it, only one. By confessing our fault and asking forgiveness.