Lesson Three What Buddhism Is
Don't you feel bewildered sometimes, not
knowing just what to believe? One day, you
read from an advertisement about a self-
proclaimed 'divine messenger' who urges you to
embrace his creed. Next week, a friend tells you
about a faith healer who cures diseases
'miraculously' and claims that his way is the
only way to sal-vation.
Then comes a sect of a religious group who
warns you against the Devil who is fooling
people through false teachers. Accept the
authority of his scriptures you are told. His way
is the only way.
Along comes another sect of the same religion
who tells you that they are the true followers
because they understand the word as well as
the spirit of the scriptures.
Your common sense tells you that if every-one
claims that his is the 'only way', all of them
cannot be completely correct at the same time.
Who is right then? How can we tell who and to
what extent each is right?
1.Free Inquiry
The Kalamas, inhabitants of a small town called
Kesaputta, approached the Buddha with a
similar problem. They were confused with the
teachings of the many religious teachers who
passed their town. All these teachers spoke well
of themselves and ill of others.
Did the Buddha give them another set of
dogmas and dismiss the doctrines of others as
false? No. Instead he gave them this unique
advice the Kalama Sutta, which is often
regarded as the 'Charter of Free Inquiry'. It
reflects the Buddhist spirit of thought and
investigation.
"Yes, Kalamas, it is proper that you have doubt,
that you have perplexity, for a doubt has arisen
in a matter which is doubtful. Now, do not be
led by reports, or tradition, or hearsay. Be not
led by the authority of religious texts, nor by
mere logic or inference, nor by considering
appearances, nor by the delight in specula-tive
opinions, nor by seeming possibilities, nor by
the idea: 'this is our teacher'."What can we learn from this advice?There are good reasons why we should heed his
advice. Some religious groups coin slogans to be
repeated over and over again like what is done
in an advertisement until a person simply
succumbs to those suggestions.Take heed. Dictators and political indoctrinators
know that if a lie is repeated many times over
authoritatively, people will begin to believe it to
be true.Do not blindly believe a tradition or the sacred
scriptures. A tradition may lose its meaning
through the ages. Sacred scriptures are not free
from interpolations, additions and deletions
made by pious theologians and scholars.The Buddha warned us against logic and
opinions. The highest truth is beyond the ability
of an untrained human mind to reason out
logically and understand. Supramundane
experiences cannot be understood by mundane
logic. It is only after a person has attained
insight through mental purification that he can
understand the supramundane.Man is a hive of opinions. If an idea agrees with
the opinion he is holding, he accepts it.
Otherwise, he rejects it. It is very difficult for
him to learn new things or broaden his outlook.
He is a prisoner of his opinions.2