4^th Sabbath after Pentecost

June 22/24, 2007

Victor H. Nixon

BUDDHISM

Ephesians 4:1-3

I must confess that I was somewhat surprised when the topic of world religions was suggested by a number of members for this summer sermon series. My past experience has been that most Christians were not particularly interested in the study of other religions. "Why waste time studying another religion when I already have the true religion?" some would say.

My present experience is that interest in world religions has grown, probably due to the diversification of our society. According to one source, the United States has become "the most religiously diverse nation on earth."(1) Increasingly, our neighbors and colleagues have different faiths which may explain current interest in world religions as we attempt to understand and relate to those around us who may worship and believe differently. I certainly hope so. The world has had enough of religious wars.

Although Jesus is my personal Savior and the decisive revelation of God for me, I believe that we must not close the door to other means and ways of perceiving God that can add to our theological understanding. My hope for this series on Buddhism,

Judaism, Islam and Christianity is that you and I may discover new insights that will enrich and strengthen our own personal pilgrimage of faith as Christians. So, let us look at Buddhism.

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My first introduction to Buddhism came in seminary where students were required to take one course in a world religion. I chose Buddhism because I knew very little about it. Dr. H. Neill McFarland, Professor of World Religions, was my teacher. He is a kind, intellectual man and author of The Rush Hour of the Gods: A Study of New Religious Movements in Japan (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1967), which appeared the year I graduated. One thing for sure: Buddhism cannot be explained in one sermon.

Like Christianity, Buddhism begins with a story.(2) This story is about Siddhartha Gautama who was born about 563 B.C. into a ruling class Hindu family in northernmost India in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal. According to tradition, Siddhartha, protected by his parents from the harsh realities of the world, had a life of ease and luxury. He married and had a son.

Although expected to succeed his father as tribal chief, Siddhartha became increasingly dissatisfied with his life and questioned its meaning. According to the story, he rode into the countryside on four separate occasions and saw four things that changed the course of his life. One was the sight of an elderly person, whereby he learned of old age. Then he saw a sick person, whereby he learned of disease. Next he saw a dead person, and he learned of life’s impermanence. Finally, he saw a Hindu monk who had given up all possessions.

After seeing these things, Siddhartha dedicated himself to finding a way to end human suffering. At the age of 29, he abandoned his way of life, including his wife and family, and dedicated himself to a life of harsh asceticism and self-denial, dressing simply, never bathing, constant meditation. In this state of prolonged wretchedness, he overheard a teacher speaking of music. If the strings on the instrument are set too tight, then the instrument will not play harmoniously. If the strings are set too loose, the instrument will not produce music. Only the middle way, not too tight and not too loose, will produce harmonious music. This insight changed his perspective. He learned that the proper goal was not a completely worldly life, nor a life in complete denial of the physical body, but to live in a Middle Way.

While meditating beneath a tree in Benares, Siddartha experienced a vision in which he understood the reason for suffering in life, as well as the path to happiness. He became Buddha, which means one who is enlightened or awakened, and began to teach the Four Noble Truths that are the basis of Buddhist doctrine to a group of five followers at a place called Deer Park.

The Four Noble Truths are: (1) Life is sorrow or suffering, including illness, death, dissatisfaction and disappointment; (2) Suffering is caused by desire, e.g. unfulfilled expectations; (3) One can end suffering by ending desire; although not free from all disappointment, pain, death, etc., one will have a very high degree of inner freedom in spite of circumstances. (4) To end desire, follow the Eightfold Path, a disciplined set of practices aimed at achieving inner freedom, or nirvana, the state wherein one is above suffering, attachments are eliminated, and happiness and compassion rule one’s mind and life.

The Eightfold Path consists of:

Right understanding, that is, understanding reality as it is, not as we wish it to be, e.g. the Four Noble Truths.

Right thought, dealing with one’s emotional baggage and bringing one’s inner self into peace and harmony.

Right speech, meaning to speak the truth positively in a non-hurtful way, refraining from foolish conversation, gossip, lying, or swearing.

Right action, or doing good and avoiding evil.

Right livelihood, meaning to avoid those occupations that hurt and exploit others and oneself.

Right effort deals with working toward the goal of inner harmony, understanding that the way may not be easy.

Right mindfulness is developing the mind to reach liberation or Nirvana.

Right meditation is being aware of one’s inner reality and developing practices that calm the mind and body.(3)

Some Buddhists believe that if a person does not follow the

Eightfold Path, one lives like a preoccupied child playing with toys in a house that is burning to the ground. Those who uphold the Four Noble Truths and follow the Eightfold Path may experience enlightenment or Nirvana and become buddhas themselves who teach others the way of enlightenment.

For some 45 years Guatama Buddha taught these basic insights (or Dharma) until his death in 483 B.C. Buddhism spread through India and eventually to China, Tibet, Nepal, Southeast Asia, Japan and around the world. As in other religions, different forms or branches of Buddhism developed, including Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, Nichiren Shoshu, and Tibetan Buddhism, each with its own particular emphases and sacred writings. There are some 350 million adherents of Buddhism in the world today.

Although Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life" for Christians, there is much that Buddhism can teach us that is compatible with Christianity. I will stress only four:

1. Compassion. Love, kindness, gentleness, patience, tolerance and sensitivity to all beings are examples of Buddhist compassion. Buddhists generally are much less aggressive, much less competitive because they are taught compassion toward others and that all life is interrelated. Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates compassion for an unfortunate person. I have seen examples of compassionate Buddhists in prison ministry.

2. Reverence for life. I understand that when Tibetan monks build a new temple they dig down into the soil carefully so as not to hurt worms and replant them elsewhere. I wonder how many worms were killed in the construction of our Disciple Center? I confess that I wasn’t sensitive to that. A major Buddhist goal is not to cause pain in other living beings and, if possible, to improve their happiness. Human insensitivity to all forms of life has resulted in endangerment or even extinction for many species.

3. Non-attachment. We live in a society that reinforces the notion that personal worth depends upon productivity, possessions, and prestige. We are greatly attached to our stuff. Such attachments change who and what we are, frequently isolate us from others, and can cause mental and physical anguish. We can learn much from Buddhists in this regard.

4. Meditation and Prayer. In Buddhism a number of forms of meditation are practiced to relax and calm one’s body and open one’s mind to new insight into oneself as well as the truth. Such meditation and prayer is beneficial physically (reducing heart rate and blood pressure), mentally (relieving stress) and spiritually (opening us to the Holy Spirit). Rather than prayer as a presentation of wants and needs, meditative prayer can teach us to prepare our minds and bodies to receive God’s message.

A final observation: Although there are exceptions, Buddhists generally do not worship God, as Christians understand God. Buddhism is more a path or way of life than a theology. However, Buddhism usually is not religiously exclusive but respectful and cooperative with people of other faiths. Also, there are Jews, Christians and Muslims—believers in God—who follow Buddhist values and spiritual practices.

I conclude with these words from the The Dhammapada, teachings of Gautama Buddha: "To do no evil. To cultivate good. To purify one’s mind. This is the teaching of all the awakened."(4)

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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1. Diana L. Eck, Encourtering God: From Bozeman to Banares (Boston: Beason Press, 1993,), page 16.

2. This material is based on Paul Stroble, What Do Other Faiths Believe: A Study of World Religions (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), p. 59. Rev. Stroble is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church.

3. Ibid., 61.

4. E.A. Burtt, The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha (New York: Mentor Books, 1961), p. 61.