The Buddha's Dharma is Alive
I hear some people say now that the Buddha is not living, how can the Buddha help us? What is the purpose in taking refuge in the Buddha if the Buddha is not living now? Our answer to this: It is true that the Buddha is not living now, but the Dhamma he has taught is very much with us. We can make use of the Dhamma although the Buddha is not living now. To give an example: Some of the scientists who had discovered many kinds potent medicine are not living now. However this does not mean that we cannot make use of these curative medicines even though those who had discovered them are not living now. When we use the term Buddha, we sometimes use it in the plural to mean many Buddhas. According to Buddhism, besides the historical Buddha who was known as Siddhattha Gotama, there had been an innumerable number of Buddhas in the remote past, and there will be an innumerable number of Buddhas in the distant future. This idea of a number of Buddhas has many important implications. One is that truth is not the monopoly of one individual being, of one particular Buddha. Buddhahood or Enlightenment is accessible to all. This idea of plurality
of Buddhas assures us that there is unbroken continuity in the discovery of Truth. It also provides with a rational explanation that living beings in the remote past as well the living beings in the distant future have the opportunities of realizing emancipation. This idea of a number of Buddhas contrasts well with some other religions which speak of a one single Incarnation or one single Prophet for all time, for all eternity. When we consider the vastness of space and the immensity of time and when we consider the almost infinite universe with its millions of world systems to speak of one saviour or one prophet for all time appears rather parochial The Buddhist idea of a number of Buddhas provides a cosmic dimension to the idea of the Buddha.
On this Vesak Day when we reflect on the spiritual qualities of the Buddha it is also important for us to reflect on the nature of the Dhamma. The Dhamma, as you know, is the body of teachings taught by the Buddha. This is what we call Buddhism today. Although Buddhism is called a religion in many ways it is different from many other religions. In point of fact, most of the ingredients that go to make the definition of religion are conspicuously missing in Buddhism. As you are perhaps aware, all other religions believe in a Higher Reality in the form of a God. In the case of theistic religions this Higher metaphysical reality is God. In the case of Hinduism it is the Cosmic Soul or Brahman. This idea is completely foreign to early Buddhism. So is the belief in a soul and immortality of the soul as final salvation. The soul is supposed to be the thing that connects man with that Higher Reality. When Buddhism denies the existence of the soul it also denies the existence of Higher Reality. This fact has many implications for Buddhism as a religion. That is why we have in Buddhism anthropology instead of theology, psychology instead of metaphysics.
No Ethical Injunctions On Humanity
Let us take the Buddhist teachings relating to ethics, what is called the theory and practice of moral life. Buddhism does not recognize a moral authority in the form of a God who imposes moral injunctions on us However. Buddhism recognizes a moral order which operates according to the principles of causality. This is what is called Kammaniyama The Buddhist morality is therefore not based on a theory of reward and punishment. If we do good things we will not be rewarded. If we do bad things we will not be punished. What Buddhism says is that unwholesome acts bring about evil consequences, wholesome acts bring about good consequences. Therefore it is up to us to do what
ought to be done, and refrain from doing what ought to be not done.
As we all know Buddhism is the Religion of Enlightenment. Therefore it is through wisdom and insight and not through blind faith and devotion that the final goal can be realized. In Buddhism the accent is more on self-understanding, self-verification, and self-realization. This should explain why Buddhism gives its followers full freedom to inquire, to investigate, to examine. The Dhamma itself is described as ehi-passika.This means come and investigate, come and examine. This attitude of free inquiry is very well brought into focus in the well known Kalama Sutta. It's a discourse addressed to people who are confused when they are exposed to a number of contradictory views. In this discourse the Buddha says one must not accept anything just because it is laid down in religious texts, just because it is handed down from generation to generation, just because it is based on logic and reasoning, just because it conforms to our likings and inclinations, or simply out of respect to the teacher. What the Buddha says is that it is only when one is convinced that certain things are wholesome and that certain are unwholesome that one must decide to accept what is wholesome and reject what is unwholesome. There is a general belief among some that a critical attitude and a spirit of inquiry are not consistent with spiritual life. What is necessary is faith, and devotion. But the Buddhist position is otherwise. From the Buddhist perspective a critical attitude and a spirit of inquiry, rather than being detrimental, is very much salutary to the practice of spiritual life.
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