There is no god in Buddhism. Buddha is a person who gets enlightened through his self-disciplined practice and meditation. The enlightenment results from the practice and meditation. Buddhists classify the enlightenment into three levels, namely Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats. The Buddhas are completely enlightened. They can also enlighten others who are still suffering from their cravings. The Bodhisattvas are partly enlightened and they can also help others to be enlightened. The Arhats refer to the ones who have ceased their own desires, but they are not able to teach others the truth of human’s life and rescue them from their sufferings.
The basic doctrines of Buddhism include the Buddha’s Three Holy Words, the Four Fundamental Truths and the Twelve Links of Causation.
The Three Holy Words:
1. The World is impermanent and will be eventually destroyed.
2. Everything in the world is unreal.
3. The ultimate aim of human’s life is eternal tranquility.
The Four Fundamental Truths:
The Fundamental Truths on which Buddhism is founded are not metaphysical or theological, but rather psychological. It is also known as the Four Noble Truths.
1. Life is inevitably full of sorrows. The sorrows are the labour(birth), the ageing, the illness, the death, the separation between the ones love each other, the meeting between the ones dislike each other, the failure of obtaining one’s wants and the physical and psychological sufferings.
2. The sorrows result from craving.
3. The sorrows can be only stopped by the cessation of craving.
4. The way how humans can stop the sorrows is to live a disciplined and moral life, a life of concentration and meditation led by the Buddhist monks.
The Twelve Links of Causation
Buddhists believe that the relationship between the cause and the effect is a cyclic and endless process. The Twelve Links of Causation depict how the Darma(the Law of Causality) functions in the extinction and rebirth cycle. Due to the existence of A, B arises. The existence of phenomena results from the presence of certain causes and the convergence of conditions. The existence of both the conditions and the related phenomena are impermanent. The Twelve Links are namely the Ignorance(or Avidya), the Volitional Action, the Consciousness, the Form of Existence, the Six Types of Sensory Stimulation, the Six Senses, the Emotion or Feeling, the Worldly Attachment, the Ambition and Efforts, the Achievement and Failure, the Birth and Being, the Aging and Doom.
The Major Buddhist Sects in the World
Buddhism can be divided into three major sects, namely Mahayana, Hinayana and Lamaism. Both Mahayana and Hinayana are Sanskrit words. Mahayana means big vehicle and Hinayana means small vehicle.
Known as the Northern-spread Buddhism, the Mahayana is widely spread among Chinese-Han people and some other ethnic groups, as well as Japanese and Koreans. The Mahayana Buddhists hold that there are many Buddhas in the universe and everyone can become a Buddha through his self-disciplined practice and meditation. It focuses on rescuing others.
The Hinayana is also known as the Southern-spread Buddhism. The followers of the Hinayana are mainly from the countries in the Southeastern Asia, such as Vietnam, Burma and Thailand. The Hinayana Buddhists believe that there is only one Buddha in the universe and the highest level humans can achieve is Arhat. They concentrate all their efforts on self-enlightenment.
Lamaism is also known as Tibetan Buddhism or Vajrayana Buddhism. It is generally practiced by Tibetans, Mongols, the Monba people and the Yugu people. Lamaism was founded by Master Padmasambhava in the 10th century. Its fundamental doctrine is based on Mahayana Buddhist Sutra and assimilated with some concepts or beliefs of Hinayana, Tantrism and Bon Religion. Read more about Lamaism......
The Six Senses of Humans
The elephant is the most holy animal of Buddhism. The Buddha’s mother once dreamed that the white elephant entered her belly, and then she got pregnant. The white elephant has six tusks. According to the Mahayana Buddhist Sutra, the six tusks are the symbols of human being’s six senses, namely the hearing, the sight, the smell, the taste, the touch and the emotion. Buddhists believe that they should try to make themselves be free from human weakness, limit their unnecessary desires for living, simplify and purify their senses. When they realize that everything they observe in the world is unreal and impermanent, they can achieve Nirvana or get enlightenment.
The Six Co-Existent Realms of All Sentient Beings
The universe is divided into three by Buddhists, namely the Kingdom of Heaven, the Earth and the Hell. The kingdom of heaven is inhabited by Devas(immortals), the Earth is the home of human beings and other creatures, the Hell is the land of ghosts and devils. There are also six realms in the universe. The six realms are also known as the Six Realms of Existence or the Six Habitat/Habitations of all Sentient Beings, including the Immortal’s Realm, the Asura’s Realm, Human Being’s World, Animal’s Realm, Ghoul’s Realm and the Hell.
Among them, the Asuras are said to be semi-immortals in Hinduism. According to the ancient Brahman, they are known as demons. The females are extremely pretty, but they can not get delicious food, on the contrary, the male Asuras are very ugly, but they can have a lot of tasty food. The female and male are always jealous of each other. The Asuras are fierce, aggressive and warlike. They often wage wars against the immortals in heaven. According to the Hinayana Buddhist Sutra, the Asuras are evil or wicked ones, while the Mahayana Buddhists hold that the Asuras are virtuous.
Buddhists believe that all sentient beings are traveling along the way of transmigration within the above six realms. Where does one will reborn? It depends on whether they behave in the virtuous way or in the evil way. What they have done is called Karma. Karma means the sum of someone’s good and bad actions in one of their lives, believed to decide what will happen to them in the next life.
The Three Refuges and Five Commandments of Buddhism
The Three Refuges refer to the acceptance of the Triple-Jewel Theory as one’s guidance for his self-cultivation. The Triple Jewels include Buddha’s enlightenment, the Darma and the Sangha. Buddha is an enlightened person. Everyone has the nature of Buddha, and can be enlightened if they concentrate themselves on obtaining merit(Punya) and wisdom(Prajna). Darma is a Sanskrit word which means law in English. Its core idea is the right and proper understanding of human’s life. Sangha means monastic order in English. The monastic order emphasizes the importance of ceasing desires. It is the only way of stopping sorrows. It represents one’s original state of mind, which is simple and pure.
The Five Commandments are no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying and no alcohol.
The Religious Ceremonies of Buddhism
The Bathing Buddha-Statue Festival and the Ghost Festival are the grandest celebrations of Buddhism. The former is a festival through which Buddhists celebrate the birthday of Sakyamuni. The latter is held on the 15th day of the 7th month according to the lunar calender. It is also known as the Buddha’s Happy Day. In the festival, the monks usually perform a religious ceremony to release souls of the deceased who are suffering in purgatory.
Author: Tina Luo
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