Buddhism

Unlike the hypothesized source of Christianity, there is ample historical proof that Siddhārtha Gautama did indeed exist. And that some of his actual words have been accurately recorded (via the Pali cannon, in part) and remain relatively unaltered to this day.

Whilst so many world religions postulate an angry vengeful deity whose supposed wishes are used to justify the rapine and destruction so often perpetrated by its followers, Buddhism in the main has a history of peace. Although there have of course as wth all religions, been times of utter stupidity.  One small example - Buddhist priests during WWII saying the Japanese Emperor was enlightened. And claiming that Buddhism was superior to all other ways. Little different from the enthusiastic support for Hitler of Christian priests in the United States and support of the Nazi war effort by the Catholic Church. But in the main, Buddhism has enjoyed a more peaceful history than most other large religions.

Possibly because the the Buddha (Gautama's honorific, meaning 'awakened one') eschewed the very idea of a god.   He spoke instead of awakening, of transcendence... Well, there are lots of things you can read about him and his life if you want, as well as the religion his followers founded. On this little page however, I would just like to mention two small points about him and his teaching:

The first, is the essence of the Dharmmapada - a collection of some of his sayings. This essence is as follows:

Thought manifests as words:
Words manifest as deeds;
Deeds develop into habit;
Habit hardens into character;
So watch thought and its ways carefully
Let thoughts spring from a love
Born of concern for all beings...
As the shadow follows the body,
So what we think is what we become.

This verse is well known, and underlies much in the religion and practice of Buddhism. But the second thing which I would like to mention, is not so well known. And is not often noticed in the religion that Buddhism has become. Yet it is I feel, the true essence of what the Buddha taught. For it speaks of the source of thought, from which the rest quoted above, arises:

The Buddha was asked once to state the heart of his teaching. He answered that the purpose of his talks was to break the ridgepole of their homes.

In India at that time lots of folks lived in a sort of thatched hut. In the center of the hut was a long pole - the ridgepole - to which all other support beams were attached. Breaking the ridgepole, the hut would fall down all at once.

The heart of the Buddha's teaching therefore was that every hope, dream, problem, or calamity - every form of dissatisfaction - was due to a central concept from which all others arose.  And that if that concept should vanish, so would restlessness, that constant feeling that we need more, that there is something missing. This central concept - the ridgepole so to speak -  was the idea that there is a 'self', a 'me' to which pain and suffering occur.  This central concept, said Buddha, led to all other thoughts. Almost all of which were about how to gain pleasure and avoid pain for this central imagined 'self'.  To permanently abandon this central concept he said, was awakening.

Sadly some variants of Buddhism such as that uniquely Japanese religion, Zen talk about this awakening as a sort of nihilistic 'emptiness'. No - for Buddha said that when the ridgepole shatters and the house at last falls, then the view of the sky is unobstructed. That is to say, the fullness of life rushes in to fill the gap. Not empty, but full to overflowing.