Buddhism is not a religion
May 27, 2015 Thangjam Sanjoo Singh E-PAO
Buddhism is not a religion, (even though it is considered as a minority religion in India) because it does not worship to Gautama or any other Awakened One (Buddha). Buddhism is an Ethical Way that seeks the purification of mind, ideas and society. The Buddha-Dharma-Sangha is an Integrative and Reconciler Spirituality, being a revolutionary movement made up of an articulation of Metapsychology, Metaphi-losophy and Metapolitics.
To completely understand Buddhist Spirituality one must study all of its main
Schools, by understanding the Perennial Way that underlies all of them.
The Monk and the Layman are spiritually equal. There are only differences
between the three spiritual degrees: Apprentices, Teachers and Masters.
The Free Being (Arhat) and the Enlightened Being (Bodhisattva) are synonymous,
being merely different terms for the same mental state. Freedom is not only
personal enlightenment but also the pursuit of the Liberation of the fellow
beings. The synthesis of the Arhat and the Bodhisattva is the basis of the
unity between the Hinayana and the Mahayana.
Thousands of Awakened Ones (Buddhas) have been existed and they will continue
to exist. But the main Holy Trinity of Buddha is made by the meeting of the
Analytic-Existential-Libertarian Discourse, which is the Spirituality of Maitriyana
where one may distinguish three types of Self-Awakening (Samyaksambuddhahood):
more wisely (prajñadhika-buddha), with more effort (viryadhika-buddha) and with
more faith (sraddhadhika-buddha).
There are two types of mystic initiation by which every human being can become
an Awakened One (Buddha): the vehicle of the Awakened Apprentice
(Sravakabuddha-yana) and the vehicle of the Self-Awakened One
(Samyaksambuddhayana). The first possibility is the traditional Way of Lineage,
which is the study and transmission with a spiritual master (Arhat or
Bodhisattvas); the second possibility is the Self-Enlighten (Sammasambodhi),
which was the Way of Gautama and other great spiritual masters founders of
Schools.
To completely understand Buddhist Spirituality one must study all Spiritualties
of the World, and how Buddhism has influenced them. Buddhism has historically
maintained a dialogue with movements like Vedanta, Yoga, Shamanism, Taoism,
Confucianism, Greek Philosophy, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The result of
this dialogue has been the creation of various other Schools such as
Madhyamika, Yogacara, Vajrayana, Chan (Zen), Pure Land, Nichiren, Pyrrhonism,
Therapeutae (Essene) and Sufism.
The highest expression of Spirituality in the West happened with the appearance
of three main developments: Psychoanalysis, Existentialism and Socialism. The
reunion of Buddhism with these disciplines is the revolutionary basis of
Maitriyana as the vehicle (yana) of Universal Spirituality.
Buddhism must maintain a profound relationship with Western science, especially
with Relativism and the quantum theory. This will not only enrich the pursuit
of Truth, but also it will help to flourish and strengthen the meditative
science.
Technological development is not Real Evolution. The True Evolution of Humanity
can only proceed through the Spiritual Evolution of consciousness, transforming
the mind and society through pacifism, social justice, wisdom and ecology.
These are the four pillars of the cure for the ills of the world which are war,
poverty, ignorance and pollution. Only Spirituality can save the World, guiding
the peoples towards the Awakening and Liberation.
In Buddhism, there is no savior. There's no one who's going to do it for us, no
place can we hide out for safety. We have to face reality squarely, and we have
to do it alone. Even when Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, what they're
really taking refuge in is the truth that there's no refuge. Not seeking
protection is the only real protection.
So that's the bad news — we have to do it alone. The good news is, we can do
it. As human beings, we have the resources we need: intelligence, strength,
loving hearts, and proven, effective methods. Because of that, we can rouse our
confidence and renounce our depression and resentment.
But while no one can do that for us, help and guidance is available. There are
teachers — women and men who are further along the path — who offer us
instruction and inspiration. They prove to us it can be done. Our fellow
practitioners support our path, while never allowing us to use them as
crutches. The Buddhist teachings offer us wisdom that goes back 2,600 years to
the Buddha himself. We can go right to the source, because the lineage that
started with Gautama Buddha is unbroken to this day.
Buddhism exists to address one problem: suffering. The Buddha called the truth
of suffering "noble," because recognizing our suffering is the
starting place and inspiration of the spiritual path.
His second noble truth was the cause of suffering. In the West, Buddhists call
this "ego." It's a small word that encompasses pretty much everything
that's wrong with the world. Because according to the Buddha, all suffering,
large and small, starts with our false belief in a solid, separate, and continuous
"I," whose survival we devote our lives to.
It feels like we're hopelessly caught in this bad dream of "me and
them" we've created, but we can wake up from it. This is the third noble
truth, the cessation of suffering. We do this by recognizing our ignorance, the
falseness of our belief in this "I." Finally, the Buddha told us that
there is a concrete way we can get there, which basically consists of
discipline, effort, meditation, and wisdom. This is the fourth noble truth, the
truth of the path.
4. The way to do that is by working with your mind.
So, according to the Buddha, the problem is suffering, the cause is ignorance,
the remedy is waking up, and the path is living mindfully, meditating, and
cultivating our wisdom. There's really only one place all that happens: in our
minds. The mind is the source of both our suffering and our joy. Meditation —
taming the mind — is what gets us from one to the other. Meditation is
Buddhism's basic remedy for the human condition, and its special genius.
The Buddhist path of meditation begins with practices to calm our wild mind.
Once the mind is focused enough to look undistractedly into reality, we develop
insight into the nature of our experience, which is marked by impermanence,
suffering, nonego, and emptiness. We naturally develop compassion for ourselves
and all beings who suffer, and our insight allows us to help them skillfully.
Finally, we experience ourselves and our world for what they have been since
beginning less time, are right now, and always will be — nothing but
enlightenment itself, great perfection in every way.
Originally posted by Aik TC:Buddhism is not a religion, (even though it is considered as a minority religion in India) because it does not worship to Gautama or any other Awakened One (Buddha).
That is too narrow a definition of religion.
This is just another school of thought calling themselves the Maitriyana with a Holy Trinity composing of the Historical Buddha, Nagajuna and Jesus. Not sure whether they have branch here, but I believe they have branches in Malaysia. Anyone here practicing this form of teaching?
Ok. Not then not. Like if it is i will get money lols...
Yogacara = Yoga + buddhism? Are you sure?