He was now 35 years old, and had not found an answer to the question of suffering. Siddhartha decided to sit under a tree and meditate until he had an answer. The tree he sat under was a papal tree.
The first thing that happened as he sat under the tree was that a devil figure called Mara tried to frighten him away from his meditation. The story then goes that the Hindu earth goddess Vasundhara appeared and helped him. The devil then left and Siddhartha carried on meditating until he became enlightened, and experienced the peace of Nirvana. He had found a whole new way of seeing and relating to life.
Siddhartha now became called the Buddha, or enlightened one. He decided he had to tell other people how to overcome suffering and find peace. The first people he told were the Sadhus he had lived with in the forest. He taught them the Dharma or teaching. They all became enlightened.
The Buddha then started to travel and spread his ideas. During his lifetime there were two kinds of followers. There were those who joined him in the wandering life, but who gathered together from time to time. They became monks and nuns. There were also those who stayed at home and supported the travelling preachers in various ways. They are known as lay Buddhists.
The Buddha spent about 45 years travelling and teaching. He had a great effect on many people’s lives. He died aged about eighty at Kushinara. By the time he died, the Buddha had become the leader of a very large religious movement, which is still very important today.
Explain how a moral life could be said to be at the heart of Buddhism for lay people.
It has already been noticed that during the time of Buddha the people who stayed at home and were able to support the travelling preachers, monks and nuns became known as lay Buddhists. These people who followed the Dharma or teaching of Buddha were known as upasakas. In the third century ACE, an Emperor, Asoka, practiced a practical morality based on Buddhism.
This meant he followed tolerance, non-violence, justice and respect. He set a noble example in the care he showed his subjects. He built hospitals, wells and reservoirs. He also set up religious places such as stones and pillars, and places to house the relics of Buddha. He gave lay Buddhists the authority to maintain these religious places, and so stopped the bhikkus, or monks from having a monopoly on faith.
Following the teaching of Buddha means that lay Buddhists should live in the right way, with the right values, treating people in a morally responsible way. This is essential so that the Buddhist can develop along the Buddhist path. The way of morality is one of the three ways a Buddhist must follow the path. The other two ways are the way of wisdom and the way of meditation.
Each Buddhist needs to follow the path of morality in line with their own responsibilities. Buddhists do have Five Precepts or guidelines to help them live in a moral way. They have to accept the Precepts, and often recite them together to help each other in their ways. The Five Precepts are: I undertake to abstain from taking life; I undertake to abstain from taking what is not freely given; I undertake to abstain from the misuse of the senses; I undertake to abstain from wrong speech: I undertake to abstain from taking drugs and alcohol which cloud the mind.
Many Buddhists are Mahayana Buddhists. They are less traditional than the Theravada Buddhists. They have the Six Paramitas to help them live in a moral way. The first is giving, which is being generous with time and skills as well as money. The second is morality, acting rightly towards other people as well as yourself – this is essential to the Buddhist way of life.
The third Paramitas is energy; this needs to be for doing good. The fourth is patience, being thoughtful to other people. The fifth is meditation, which helps Buddhists keep calm. The sixth Paramitas is wisdom, the way of finding the truth. Buddhists have upaya kausala or skilful means. This means they try to see what is the right thing to do in a situation.
In the Mahamangala Sutta, the Buddha lists things that lead to happiness and blessing. These include: associating with the wise; living in a good environment; a good education; good speech; supporting parents; loving the family; having a peaceful job; being generous; helping relatives; not being evil and listening to the teachings of Buddha. These give an idea of the ideal moral life for a lay Buddhist.
The main thing in a moral Buddhist life is being able to go to the Buddha, his teachings, and the Sangha or followers of Buddha for guidance on the way to live.
‘If a person became a Buddhist, would that person be a member of a religion?’ Give reasons for your answer and show that you have considered more than one point of view.
According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, there is more than one meaning for the term religion. A first definition is that religion is ’the belief in a superhuman controlling power, especially in a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship.’
Buddha himself is not seen as a God, nor is he himself worshipped as a God. Buddhist thinking does not centre around a venerated person, either a God or gods. Buddha is not a God and neither is he someone sent by a God or gods to help people. He cannot act as a saviour for people as say Jesus does for people in Christianity.
In Buddhism, anyone who has reached enlightenment can become a Buddha. In fact, the first people Buddha himself taught reached the state of enlightenment, and so became Bhuddas themselves. At Wat Po in Bangkok, there are three hundred and ninety four golden images of Buddhas.
As Buddhism does not have a God, gods or a belief in a superhuman controlling power, a person who became a Buddhist would not, according to the first definition of religion, be a member of a religion.
A second definition of religion is that it is ‘a particular system of faith and worship.’ Although Buddhists do not have a god to worship, they do have a word, Puja for worship. Some Buddhists would say that Puja is a way of involving the emotions in following the Buddhist path. It is also a natural expression of gratitude for someone who enjoys his or her type of religion. Other Buddhists say that their worship involves offerings to the buddha-nature. This is the enlightenment they believe exists in all living things.
There are no rules in Buddhism about how or how often one should worship. Some Buddhists have a shrine at home and make some sort of worship every day. Others may go to a Buddhist temple to worship. So, although they do not have a god, the fact that Buddhists perform worship could make them members of a religion.
A third definition of religion is ‘a thing that one is devoted to.’ Buddhists have been following the teachings of Buddha for thousands of years. Over these years, his followers have shown they are devoted to him and his ways. They have followed his teachings and kept his ideas going. They have been monks and lay Buddhists. They have written down his teachings and stories about him. They have built temples to him, statues of him and shrines to him. His followers have been devoted. In this way, they could be members of a religion.
Although Buddhism is called a religion, it is very different from all the other main religions in the world. It does not have a God or gods, but just asks you to follow Buddha and his teachings. Every Buddhist needs to follow Buddha in his or her own particular way.
