Even Buddhism...

I make no secret of the fact that I am quite fond of Buddhism. When I started researching world religions, it became apparent to me that this was the religion that was the most honest, inquisitive, and compassionate. It also possesses the faith to doubt itself, and welcomes scientific inquiry as a way to further understand the world around, and in, us. Unfortunately, it is also susceptible to human alteration.

I heard a story on the radio recently about one family's life in China since losing a son and parents in a 2008 earthquake. The husband was still too distraught to talk about the incident and life since, but his sister was willing to talk about it. She said that her brother had lost his faith, that he had prayed to the Buddha faithfully and apparently thought that such worship would magically exempt him from suffering. This is about as anathema to the truth of Buddhism as is possible.

One of the prime statements in Buddhism is the First Noble Truth, which simply states that "Life Is Suffering." Buddhism begins with the acceptance of this fact. According to Buddhist mythology, the young prince snuck out of his sheltered existence, was stunned when he saw sickness, old age and death, and was deeply affected by this, so much so that he took on a long quest to discover how to escape this suffering. In short, the result was that one needs to accept the suffering of life as a fact, then follow "the Eightfold Path," a way of thinking and acting that allowed one to be more in touch with the world and its suffering and eventually find a release from that suffering (a state of enlightenment called Nirvana).

One of the key mental attitudes involved in Buddhism is non-attachment. It is people's grasping at things that creates much suffering. Another key attitude is living in the present moment, as the past and future are only mental formations and do not exist at any given time. Another important step is the understanding of impermanence. These, and other practical tips, are part of the early Buddhist teachings. Yet this poor man in China was not benefiting from these key teachings of his own tradition. That is a shame.

What is NOT part of the central part of Buddhism is the idea of any Buddha as being a supernatural entity. The original Buddha, a man named Siddhartha Gautama Sakyamuni, was simply the guy who figured this stuff out. His intent, at that point, was to share this knowledge with others, so that they might one day also become Buddhas and be free from the suffering that is inherent in the world. When you see one Buddhist bow to another, they are honoring the "Buddha-to-be" in front of them. It is a gesture of great reverence. It is not, in any way, a worship of some supernatural entity.

Unfortunately, time takes its toll on everything. In the great game of Telephone that we call history, things get distorted. Even great ideas can get trivialized and turned into useless or even counterproductive doctrines.