The Buddha and his teaching

Recently time, the rapid development of science and technology has caused social crisis and led to unbalance of ecology, culture, psychology, morality, etc. Albert Einstein, a physicist, supposed that: “The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the supernatural phenomena, which should be based on a sense arising from the experience of such all natural and spiritual things as a meaningful unity. If there"s any religion that would cope the scientific needs it will be Buddhism”

The famous scientist and physicist praised suchBuddhismby his real understanding and here are some personalviewsfor this comment from the life of the Buddha and his teaching.

We all see that the Buddhist doctrinal system is not in rites, philosophyor myths but in way of life, in personal behavior, human behavior and human to cosmic. Without these characteristics Buddhism may have no chance to be over other Indian religions at that time and having existed stably during 25 centuries. Among those behaviors the outstanding point is the spirit of middle behavior. The forty-nine years of turning Dharma of Buddha had abolished the gap between “acceptance and repudiation”, “remembering and forgetting”, “speaking and non-speaking”, “moving and standing”.

1. Buddha repudiated all but accepted all

What were repudiated by him?

- It started with the prince’s luxurious life with all satisfaction desired which should be done at first for the leaving home life because “attachment causes suffering”. The practitioner must be satisfied with few desires, holding only necessary things for upholding life and practice.

- When arriving the other side of Anomā River he shaved hair (for ending afflictions), sent back the treasures and clothes (for detaching family ties and standing).

What did he accept?

- A bowl of milk from Sujata for marking the meaningless renunciation of self-mortification, a bunch of Kusa grass for sitting meditation, cassock and alms-bowl for spreading Dharma, receiving Veluvana-vihāra, Jetavana-vihāra… for residing of the sanghā. It means the Buddha received whatisneedyand can support for personal practice of the monks and maintain the community. And Buddha in some cases had accepted things from donors as compassion and gave them chance to get merit.

Receiving or repudiating, Buddha just depends on circumstance as long as it benefits for oneself, for others and for promulgating Dharma. Therefore,there is no contradiction for accepting or abandoning.

2. Buddha remembers all but forgets all.

For remembering all:

- At the time of morning star rose, he attained the Buddhahood then spent seven days for contemplating the Bodhi tree whichhadcovered him up within the forty-nine days meditation to get the full wisdom.

- He next thought of the first two teachers Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta for preaching dharma to them but they are passed away. He then moved to the group of five friends who practices self-mortification with him before. He remembered the promise to king Bimbisara, the milk-bowl of country girl Sujata, the tender oxen Svastika with Kusa grass for meditation, king Suddhodana and the Sākya clan. Generally, Heremembered all sentient beings.

For forgetting all:

-He forgotthe enemies whohad doneharmathim before, forgot what caused him suffering (hatred, abused, slander of other religions and forgot the heavy sin of Devadatta). In a word, the Buddhaforgot all the beings’ faults.

Here, remembranceandunreminiscenceare not opposite but dharma selecting vision: not omitting any little wholesome acts and dispelling any little unwholesome acts. All Buddhas,in this world,manifest great compassion and great aspiration for all beings;therefore,Buddhas keep them all in every moment.

3. Buddha preached all then refused all

For forty-nine years preaching Dharma there were 82.000 sutras remembered and recited by Venerable Ananda and this is a large number of Buddha’s work but he finally claimed “I have never said even a word”…?... However,Buddha didn’t wrongly talk. He depended on beings’ ability to express the suitable dharma and what he said just a handful of leaves among the jungleofknowledge and they are the core Buddhist tenets. All doctrine were taught by the Buddha just a means which can help all living beings cross to the other side, the wisdom land and after reaching the enlightenment and seeing the truth we should leave these means behind, just like people leave the boat after arriving other side of river. Understanding like this we can perceive what is called “I have never said even a word”.

4.Buddha moved everywhere buthalting.

Sometime he was alone, sometime he was with the sangha andinbare feet, the Buddha had travelled almost the whole India from the north to the south to make benefit for both devas and human beings. Finally he came back to Vesali for eternal sleeping, nirvana:

“A bowl for taking almsgiving

Freely, everywhere I travelalone

For all living beings’ life and death

Saving them I preach the doctrine”.

The Buddha always suggested disciples spreading dharma and he himself also did the same. Travelling forpreaching all living beings back to the true existence, to the teaching of compassion, equality and liberation;however,Buddha told Angulimāla that: “I had stopped so long already!” and this word made the murderer awake after being stunned. This one became Arahat later. We must know that for the noble one there is nothing different between moving and standing. Stopping all unwholesome acts and moving in the restraint of the three cumulative commandments: moral restraint, wholesome deeds restraint and whatever works for saving sentient beings.

The features of Buddha’s tenet are humanity, equality, non-ego and compassion

Humanity:‘All sentient beings have ability to be a Buddha’

There is no any religion or philosophical system hasabelief in human as Buddhism. According to Buddhism,man istheowner of oneself behavior, the only almightywhocan give reward or punish themselves. Therefore,Buddhaadvises people to avoid bad things and improve good things, clear the mind by cultivating to become a moral and wisdom man entirely.

Equality:The Great Repayment sutra had praised the Buddha: “Likethe whirlwind blows the leaves to one place, Gautama Buddha educated all sorts of people including intellectual and foolish, rich and poor, old and young, male and female, wicked and virtuous people. He brought all of them into the ocean of just samedharma. The teaching of Gautama Buddha is equal tenet system, without any discrimination”.

The sweet fruit heattained, which iscaused by the equality of cognition: “There is no class system in the same red bloodstream and there is no hatred in the salt tear-drop”. By all the heart in every effort the Buddha had taught, love and save them all until the samsara is stopped.

Nonselfness:all phenomena in the world have no certain object, always moving and changing in the four stages of existence: come to being, existing, changing and vanishing.

Since staying in the joyful palace, prince Siddhatthahadconfidedto his wife Yosadara: “I heard within myself, in yourself and all people the destruction and collapse day by day. Time has destroyed what we love at most… We attach in disappointed what we love just like attach a shadow or fragrance smog”. The object has no existence so we need to destroy the concept of “I”, “mine”,and it isonly that we can liberate ourselves and help others in compassion. The suffering that human being bears does not come from any god or certain destiny but human themselves created because of ignorant holding of self.

Loving-kindness

“Compassion has ability to make living beings happy; loving-kindness has ability to save all of them from suffering”.

Saving suffering and spreading happiness are the important duty of Buddhism and by this duty Buddhism has stable position in a long history of humanity. Loving kindness and compassion are the great love that over any limit, any relation and covering on all beings without any discrimination of here and there; close and far; friends and enemies; high and low; human being and animal. On this spirit Buddhism surely exists forever. In Dhamapada the Buddha taught hatred is overcome only by non-hatred: “Never enmity is allayed by enmity, they are only allayed by amity. This is the timeless Truth”.

Having existed in 2545 years in a world with various religions, this showed the transcendence of Buddhism, a religion with no dogma but teaching according to condition and situation in which doctrine is merely a temporary means. The Buddha’s behavior and act has surpassed the concept of being and non-being therefore it not only breaks down any attachment but brings about the freedom on human mental pressures. By this way Buddhism will continues in the mission of saving living beings everlasting.

Our Buddha with great success and brilliant achievement in educating human being is never self-proud of or let people revere him as a philosophical foundation or a god or an almighty with full power. Come to Buddhism for seeing not for believing. This is how the Buddha tries to make one realize the Buddha-nature within then one can discover and improve it by himself.

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