Buddhism: A Case Study in Religion

The three characteristics of existence define the Buddhist perspective of what is inevitably going to happen in every being’s existence. The first characteristic is impermanence. Buddhists are very aware of the mortality of every being, even gods and goddesses. Any sort of existence will end, no matter what. Nothing in life, including death, is ever permanent, unless the eightfold path is followed to nirvana. The knowledge of one’s impermanence leads to the second characteristic of existence, suffering. Buddhists recognize all suffering as grouped into three categories. The first, physical suffering, refers to the unavoidable downfall of one’s physical form due to age. As one ages, he may become severely ill, experience the physical pain of failing body parts, and eventually his sentience will leave his body and it will turn to dust. The second type of suffering is psychological suffering. This refers to the pain one will feel throughout his entire life due to disappointment, not getting the things he wants and losing the things and/or people he loves. The final type of suffering is the inherent suffering of existence. This is similar to impermanence and physical suffering, because it is the realization of one’s own mortality and the consequences of age that inevitably come to all living beings. The third and final characteristic of existence is the no-self, or the anatman. In Buddhist ideology, the real truth of existence is that there is no self. Unlike many traditions who believe the soul of the individual is eternal, Buddhists believe that the soul, belief in the soul, or belief in the self is only another form of suffering. It is only when a Buddhist fully realizes that the self is not real that he may attain enlightenment (Relig).

In Buddhist philosophy, nirvana is the goal to which all living beings must strive to end suffering. The word nirvana means “blowing out the fires of life” (Ludwig, 288). As pessimistic as that may sound, Buddhists strive for this goal as the attainment of Ultimate Reality. Buddhists believe that life is suffering, and death is the culmination of many lifetimes worth of suffering and consequences for wrong actions. Re-birth will happen in either a higher or lower form of life dependent upon one’s accumulated karma, which could take many lifetimes to absolve. The goal of Buddhism is release from the cyclical nature of existence, called samsara. Even if one is fortunate enough to be re-born in the realm of the gods, it is not permanent, for even the gods will fall once their good karma has run out. This means that every single form of re-birth will lead to suffering. Therefore, the goal of the Buddhist is not higher re-birth, but release. The only way for a Buddhist to find the release he seeks is to realize the ultimate truth of existence, that there is no self. Realizing this whole heartedly and completely means the attainment of enlightenment, or nirvana. Nirvana can be realized while one is still alive. It is not a place a good person will reside in after he dies, but a frame of mind with the realizations of the truth of existence.

The Eightfold Path is the way to attain nirvana as taught by the Buddha. It is broken down into three categories, or “trainings”, based on what each step of the path aims to accomplish. The first training is wisdom, and it includes the first two steps: Right understanding and right intention. Right understanding includes knowing the four noble truths, the doctrines of impermanence and no-self, and the teaching of the conditionedness of all existence (Ludwig, 111). This leads to right intention, which is freeing oneself from the conditions of craving by cultivating the virtues of selflessness, goodwill and compassion for all beings. Once the training of wisdom is understood, next comes the training of moral conduct which includes right speech, right action and right livelihood. Right speech means telling the truth, speaking in kind ways and saying only what is helpful. Right action is not hurting or killing living things, not stealing and not participating in wrong sexual activity. Right livelihood means avoiding occupations that may bring harm to others and accepting only occupations that promote well being and peace (Ludwig, 111). When the trainings of wisdom and moral conduct are understood and in place, the final training can begin, that of contemplation. This training includes right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Right effort means ridding oneself of wrong states of mind by creating and developing strong, wholesome states of mind. Right mindfulness refers to being very aware of what goes on in one’s body and mind, paying close attention to one’s sensations, feelings and thoughts. The final step of the eightfold path, right concentration, is the attainment of higher states of awareness, via meditation, by direct insight and enlightenment (Ludwig, 111). It is only through this path set forth by the Buddha tat nirvana can be attained.

Emptiness, or shunyata, a Mahayana teaching from the MadhyamikaSchool. It says all things are devoid of any substantial or independent reality (Ludwig, 292). Emptiness is the one characteristic the entire samsara cycle is based on, because all living things come into existence based on causes and conditions, not due to personal reality. Mahayanists also believe that nirvana is empty, since it can neither be defined nor discerned. Since nirvana, like samsara, is empty, they can be easily equated with each other. In this school, nirvana is not the goal of ultimate reality, since it too is empty. The true goal is to realize that all things are truly empty and so there can exist no dualism in either samsara nor nirvana. In this school, it is only when the Buddhist fully understands this that he becomes enlightened and can finally realize the Buddha nature inside himself (Ludwig, 95). The MadhyamikaSchool of thought’s most famous thinker, Nagarjuna, says it is important to understand the nature of the emptiness and its causes so that Buddhists may be enabled to realize the complete, indescribable, unconditioned truth of existence.

A bodhisattva is generically defined as a being to become fully enlightened (Ludwig, 282). In Mahayana Buddhism, however, it has a different meaning. To the Mahayanists, a bodhisattva is a being who has fully reached enlightenment, but chooses to return to the cycle of samsara in order to help others reach nirvana. Bodhisattva literally translates as “Buddha in the making” (Ludwig, 94). Mahayanists believe that the path of the bodhisattva is the “higher course” to attaining Buddhahood, as opposed to Therevadins who reserve the title of bodhisattva for a very special few, such as the Buddha himself. Mahayanists teach that the path of the bodhisattvas is a path laid forth for all to follow, even the laity. Bodhisattvas can appear in all forms of birth. Some reside in the realms of the gods, and the Mahayanist can worship him and pray for his help for the quest of nirvana. Others take on multiple forms during the course of their re-births in order to facilitate the needs of many followers. One of the most widely recognized Bodhisattvas is Avalokiteshvara. According to the Lotus Sutra, those who choose to worship this bodhisattva can merely say his name and they will be saved from any danger that is threatening them.

Causality and conditionality underscore Buddhist accounts of action/intention and its consequence in many ways. Buddhists are very aware that action or inaction bears certain consequences, some favorable, and some less favorable. A Buddhist’s goal is to always execute the actions or inaction that will lead to the favorable result. A perfect example of this are the rules most central to the Buddhist ethical ideals, the Five Precepts. The first of these is to refrain from taking life. One of the goals of a Buddhist is to practice non-violence, or ahimsa, toward all life. Should one choose to follow this guideline, he can be assured he is not accumulating bad karma, and his path toward nirvana may continue as planned. However, should one chose to break this rule and purposefully harm another creature, he will accumulate that bad karma. Bad karma is issued to the person for causing another being to suffer, and because the person has the bad karma, his suffering will grow as well. He will not be able to escape the samsara cycle, and will most likely be re-born a lower birth filled with more suffering than his last life. The consequences of choosing to disregard the Precepts will hurt the person more than he is capable of realizing, since karma is not a tangible object. The other four Precepts (to refrain from taking what is not given, to refrain from wrong sexual relations, to refrain from wrongful speech, and to refrain from drugs and liquor) all have similar consequences when broken. To a Buddhist, the concept of cause and effect has a very poignant meaning, as his future births (or lack thereof) depends solely on the consequences of his actions.

According to Buddhism, the nature and characteristics of existence are dependent upon causality and conditionality. The first characteristic of existence is impermanence. Impermanence is related to causality because impermanence is only applicable to life in the samsara cycle. A person stuck in the samsara cycle will have accumulated karma to work off over many life times, thus causing the suffering of impermanence. However, when that person chooses to follow the eightfold path as taught by the Buddha, he will be able to cease that chain reaction of causality related karma, and reach nirvana. The second characteristic of existence is suffering. Suffering is also caused by the cause and effect cycle of re-birth, and can be overcome completely by following the eightfold path. The final characteristic of existence is the no-self, or the anatman. The no-self if the truth as the Buddhist Ultimate Reality, which can also only be reached by following the eightfold path. Once the no-self is realized, the chain effect of karma related to samsara will cease, and enlightenment will be obtained.

In Buddhism, the source of knowledge about the world and the way to enlightenment came directly from Siddhartha Gautauma, the Buddha. It is said that the Buddha spent many lifetimes refining his techniques to achieve the liberation from suffering that plagues all beings. The Buddha was the first to receive enlightenment, cultivating good karma for his positive actions and right mindedness. The method the Buddha used to attain enlightenment included meditation and following the eightfold path. The steps set out in the eightfold path were designed to encourage behavior that would lead only to positive consequences, thus making enlightenment, or the Buddhist idea of salvation, far more attainable.

Causality and conditionality play a large role in the realization of “freedom from suffering”, or nirvana. Buddhists believe suffering is based on causality and conditionality, so their ultimate goal is to stop the chain of cause and effect. Instead, they strive to realize the ultimate truth of the no-self. In order to do that, they must cultivate detachment to the world, because nothing is permanent, then everything will eventually lead to more suffering. They must learn not to cling to material and worldly things or people. They must also learn not to cling to their own identity, for even that is impermanent. By doing this, the consequence is an end to suffering, what every Buddhist strives for.