Characteristics of Buddhism

Lin Shimin

If we compare Buddhism with other existing religions in the world, it is obvious that there are differences between Buddhism and them. There are many differences. For the convenience of explanation, I summarize them into ten points to explain. That is to say, Buddhism has at least the following ten characteristics.

First, Buddha is a human being, not a god.

Looking at all the religions in the world, except for Buddhism, there is no religion whose leader does not regard himself as a superhuman ‘god’. This god can control the wind and rain, and turn stones into gold; he controls the good and bad luck of mankind, and controls the life, death, honor and disgrace of all things. Only by kneeling before Him, praising and singing, and glorifying all achievements to Almighty God, can humans go to heaven if they believe in Him. Those who oppose Him can only fall into hell, with no room for defense or appeal.

As for the leader of Buddhism, Sakyamuni, the first words he said when he came to the world were: "I am the only one in heaven and on earth." ’ What readers should note here is that the word ‘I’ in ‘I am the only one’ does not refer to Sakyamuni himself alone, but to everyone in the entire human race.

The correct interpretation of this sentence should be: Man is indomitable in the universe. Everyone is his own master and determines his own destiny. He does not have to take orders from anyone or anything beyond human beings. God.

Sakyamuni attributed his enlightenment, achievements, and attainments entirely to people's own efforts and talents.

Sakyamuni believed that a person's good or bad luck, success or failure, honor or disgrace, is determined by his good or bad behavior and whether he works hard or not. No one can lift me to heaven, and no one can push me to hell. Praising and singing cannot lead to happiness away from suffering. Only by down-to-earth cultivation of mind and nature can one's personality be purified and sublimated, and one can enjoy the happiness of peace of mind.

Sakyamuni cannot turn stone into gold like a reform method. He advocated that "people must first plant how they want to harvest." ’ He cannot make a lotus tree grow apples. If you want to harvest apples, you must first sow apple seeds. Sakyamuni only tells you how to cultivate so that you can have a fruitful harvest in the future, but you still have to do the cultivation work yourself.

Didn’t Mr. Liang Qichao also make such a metaphor in his article "The Interest of Learning"? He said that the feeling of sunbathing in winter is very comfortable, but "although the sun is good, you still have to bask in it yourself, and others cannot bask in it for you." '

Sakyamuni has been teaching the Dharma for forty-nine years and has talked about the Sutra for more than three hundred meetings (times). He is nothing more than pointing out a 'way to become a Buddha' for us - to create the most complete and perfect wisdom and wisdom for ourselves. Personality. But this road requires one to complete it with perseverance, wisdom, and perseverance. So the Buddha said: "You have to do the work yourself, because I only teach you the way to go." ’

There is no shortcut to becoming a Buddha. Practice is a matter of effort. ‘How can you get the fragrance of plum blossoms without going through a lot of coldness to the bones? '

The second Buddha is a true equal

I said that the Buddha is a true equal, and I am not just talking nonsense. Let us first observe the social background of India at that time:

Everyone knows that in India during the time of Sakyamuni, society was divided into four major classes: Brahmins, nobles, commoners, and slaves. However, Sakyamuni, who was the prince, saw the unreasonable social classes and resolutely established the concept of equality. The flag advocates the abolition of class antagonisms and the equality of all living beings.

Please think about it carefully. All revolutions in history are the pursuit of "improvement" by the humble and lowly classes and the equality of the noble and superior classes. There is absolutely no such thing as Sakyamuni. One who is willing to 'lower' his status as a prince to be equal to commoners and slaves. Because of his selfless and do-nothing style, I say he is a true equalizer.

At the same time, Buddhism also advocates "unconditional compassion" and "common compassion", pushing the meaning of equality to a further level.

I think there must be some students who are not clear about the meaning of "Unconditional Great Compassion" and "Unconditional Great Compassion". I should briefly describe it here:

(1) Unconditional Great Compassion : Buddhism advocates not only being kind to people who are related to you, such as your parents, relatives, friends, etc., but also being kind to people who are not relatives or friends with you, such as those who have never interacted with me or are strangers to me. People also care and love in the same way.

'Unpredestined Great Kindness', in Confucian terms, means: 'Old people are as old as others; young people are as young as others.

’ This is what is said in the Datong chapter on Liyun, ‘not only to kiss one’s own relatives, but also to give birth to one’s own children. ’ meaning.

(2) The Great Compassion of the Same Body: The great compassion of the same body is a spirit in which people are hungry and others are drowning, and all living beings in the universe are regarded as one and we are one, and we are connected with flesh and blood, flesh and blood.

Confucianism said: ‘There are close friends in the sea, and there are neighbors in the world. ’ He also said: ‘We are all brothers within the four seas. ’ It can express the mind of ‘the great compassion of the same body’. And Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, ‘If I don’t go to hell, who will? ’ The compassionate wish is deep in the heart, and it is the ultimate form of great compassion for one body.

Finally, what I want to explain is that the person who best embodies the spirit of "true equality" in Buddhism is that Buddhism does not limit the concept of equality to the spirits of all things. Buddhism opposes everything except human beings. The argument that animals are created to satisfy humans. The cries and cries of all animals dying are so miserable that they cannot bear to be heard. Even Mencius said with emotion: "Hearing their sounds, they cannot bear to eat their flesh." '

Buddhism further affirms that these animals, which are hunted and killed indiscriminately by humans who claim to be the spirits of all things, all have Buddha nature - a potential that can become a Buddha in the future. Even if humans They are different from other animals in body and intelligence, but they are equal in the right to survive and in Buddha nature. (Just like a vicious or stupid and ignorant person, he also has "human nature". We should treat him with "humanity", educate him and influence him with "humanity".)

The ancients Said: "Heaven has the virtue of good life." ’ He also said: ‘All things exist with me. ’ is an idea of ??equality that regards all things as one. It’s just that Buddhism doesn’t explain it so thoroughly.

The third Buddha is not a person who is born with knowledge

Sakyamuni is an ordinary person. His surname is Gautama and his name is Siddhartha. He was born in the sixth century BC. In North India, that is, today adjacent to the southern border of Nepal, Kadman is a beautiful place about 200 kilometers away.

At the age of twenty-nine, he gave up the throne he was about to inherit and became a monk to learn Taoism in order to find a way to relieve the troubles in life. Six years later, at the age of thirty-five, Sakyamuni attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree beside the Niranjan River, and correctly and thoroughly understood the fundamental principles of the universe and life.

From then on, people called Sakyamuni Buddha, or simply Buddha. It means: the awakening of truth; or simply: the awakened one.

The main purpose of my introduction to the Buddha’s practice is to tell you that Sakyamuni is an ordinary person like us. He can achieve enlightenment through practice, and all millions of human beings can They can also all join together to imitate him, practice according to the teachings he has revealed, and achieve results.

Sakyamuni - He is only one of the countless prophets and foreknowledge of mankind, and we are the belated observers. The difference between Buddha and us is not in personality or status, but in the word "enlightenment". That is what Han Yu said: 'There is a sequence of hearing the Tao. '

Fourth Buddhism does not admit that there are stubborn and unteachable people

According to other religions, their leader or the almighty Lord, after all kinds of coercion and inducement, or earnestly and sincerely Despite the teachings, if you still don’t know how to wake up, take refuge under the banner of God, repent and admit that you are a lost sinner and a poor lamb, then once the final judgment comes, you will all be thrown into the eighteen levels of hell and never be reincarnated.

The ancients said: ‘The prodigal son will never be able to exchange for gold. ’ Parents in this world always keep their doors open, hoping that their prodigal son will come back, even though their son is a criminal robber. No parent has ever wanted or tolerated their children to suffer forever in the darkness and abyss of hell.

Buddhism recognizes that human nature is kind. As long as you put down the butcher's knife, you can become a Buddha immediately. The Buddha even believed that the real "culprit" is not sin, but ignorance. All sins are caused by ignorance (called "ignorance" in Buddhism). Therefore, it has become the responsibility of the Buddha to educate and inspire all sentient beings with earnest words and heart, day and night. The Buddha cares for all living beings, "like a mother remembering her child." He not only cannot bear the suffering of all sentient beings in hell, but also declares, "Until hell is empty, I vow not to become a Buddha; only by saving all living beings can I achieve Bodhi." ’ vow. (Bodhi means ‘enlightenment’ or ‘the right path’, and realizing Bodhi means attaining the path or becoming a Buddha.)

What kind of compassion is this! What a sad wish! This is true fraternity! This is true pity!

Fifth: Buddha is not unique. Everyone can become a Buddha

In the third point above, it has been mentioned that Buddha and sentient beings only depend on the time of enlightenment.

Han Yu said: "There is a sequence of hearing." ’ can be used as an auxiliary explanation.

‘Buddha’ is just a general term for an enlightened person. Just like we call people who can "preach, teach, and resolve doubts" a "teacher". There is more than one teacher. Everyone can be a teacher, and there can be teachers everywhere. In the same way, Buddha does not only refer to Sakyamuni. Everyone can become a Buddha, and there can be Buddhas everywhere. Not only are there Buddhas in this world, but there can be Buddhas on countless planets in the universe. (Of course there are sentient beings.)

This is also the fundamental difference between Buddhism and other religions. Other religions can only recognize their "unique" gods, and try their best to criticize and deny the gods of other religions. False gods'.

At the same time, under their teachings, no matter how hard humans strive, they can never keep pace with God and be on an equal footing (always a master-servant relationship). Because God is the Creator, and man is just one of the "things" created by God.

Sixth Buddhism does not admit that there is a God who created all things

According to some religions, all things in the universe were created by the Almighty Lord, and their evidence is in the Old Testament 'Genesis'.

In fact, people who know a little bit about thinking will immediately understand that "god" is also the product of human thought. Human beings create gods based on their own concepts and images. Human beings created "gods", one of the purposes is to explain the "origin of the universe and life", Buddhists call it the "first cause". But where does ‘god’ itself come from? Not only did the pagans refuse to investigate, but they also said with certainty: "God is omnipotent and exists naturally." ’

Dear friend! If God can "exist by himself", in other words, he can exist by himself without being created by others, then what is the meaning of the concept of "God created the universe and life"? (Because in the same way, life in the universe can also exist naturally.)

Here we list a mathematical formula to illustrate this problem. Although it is not very appropriate, it can help students understand to some extent:

Suppose the origin of life in the universe is X.

Find X=?

The answer of the pagans is this. They do not need to cite theorems or known assumptions, but directly write the answer:

X=God

However, God Where did it come from? Please look at the following formula:

X=God=Y

Anyone with a little mathematical knowledge knows that Y is also an unknown number. In other words, this question has not been answered yet.

Buddhism fundamentally denies the hypothesis that "God created all things" and does not admit that the universe had a first "beginning". The so-called 'beginning' of one thing is only the 'end' of the previous thing. In a series of causal relationships, the disappearance of one thing constitutes the condition for the emergence of another thing.

Dr. Zhang Chengji in his book ‘What is Buddhism? 'In the book, this issue has been explained as follows:

'The concept of "beginning" is due to human beings' "limited" psychology and cannot cover thousands of causal relationships. . '

For example, if we go to see the third show of the movie "Gone with the Wind", it starts at seven o'clock and ends at ten o'clock. But if we think about it again, the third show of the movie The 'beginning' is actually the 'end' of the second scene, and the 'end' of the third scene is the 'beginning' of the fourth scene, isn't it?

So the concept of 'beginning' is only meaningful to a specific thing; it has no meaning to the entire intricate and causal universe. Time is constantly flowing. Who can find the point where it stops and is called ‘now’? And then say that this is the ‘beginning’?

In fact, Buddhism is not interested in discussing this kind of issues that are not beneficial to life (philosophical metaphysics), because the universe has no beginning and no end, and people are trying their best to pursue the "universe". The first cause' will be in vain and futile. When you work hard to find the "first cause", you will inevitably find that there is another "cause" before it. This cycle continues over and over again, and you will never be able to find a fixed 'first cause'.

At the same time, life is short and impermanent. If you still want to get into trouble, you may be dead before you can pursue the answer to the 'first cause of the universe'.

In the Buddhist scriptures, there is a wonderful metaphor:

‘A man was injured by a poisonous arrow, and his relatives and friends took him to see a surgeon.

If that person said at that time: "I don't want to pull out this arrow, I want to know who shot me. Is he a Kshatriya? A Brahmin? A Vaishya? Or a Sudra? His name and clan What is it? Is he tall, short, or of medium height? Is he dark, brown, or blond? What city or town is he from? What kind of arrows are they? What kind of hair are the flute feathers made of? ..." This person must die without knowing these answers. ’

So Buddhism does not waste space and time to pursue the question of ‘the first cause of the universe’. Because the pursuit is useless, and it is also unhelpful to life. These have nothing to do with people's escape from the pain of birth, old age, illness, and death, and cannot enable people to obtain the happiness of tranquility and liberation.

The topic has gone a little further. Now let’s talk about Buddhism’s opposition to the fact that all things in the universe were created by God, and believe that all things are formed by ‘the aggregation of causes and conditions’.

For example, the mountain in front of us is made of earth and rocks; the lake is made of accumulated water in a depression; and the tables and chairs in the classroom are made of wood by carpenters.

If the earth and rocks are spread out, they will no longer become a "mountain"; if the water in the lake is drained, it will become a depression, then what will be the shadow of the "lake"? Then take apart the wooden boards piece by piece. Where are the ‘tables and chairs’?

We can call these tangible things 'color' for short, because they are just 'temporary aggregation of causes and conditions' and are not real and unchanging, so we say they are 'empty' - There is no permanent entity.

This is the simple truth of "form is emptiness" in the Buddhist scriptures.

However, Buddhism says that "form is emptiness". The word "empty" is not "empty", nor is it "empty", but it is a kind of "wonderful existence".

How do you say this? Let me give you an example:

There is a glass of water in front of you. When the water is heated, it turns into water vapor. , the shadow of water can no longer be seen. But this does not mean that the water really disappears into "empty". When the water vapor is cooled, it will return to "water".

Furthermore. Anyone who knows chemistry knows that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. In other words, water is just a temporary combination of hydrogen and oxygen. After water is electrolyzed, it will become hydrogen and oxygen. By analogy, there is nothing in the universe that is not caused by the temporary convergence of causes and conditions, and nothing is eternal. When causes and conditions come together, they will come into existence, and when causes and conditions separate, they will perish. Where is the "God" who created all things? Really?

The seventh Buddhist teaching is to teach according to the aptitude and local conditions.

The Buddha's teachings to all living beings are based on different circumstances and time and space.

< p>The Buddha has different explanations because of the different objects of his teachings: For example, for people with high wisdom, the Buddha tells them that they can directly point to the human heart, clearly see the nature of the heart, and realize it immediately; for people with lower wisdom, The Buddha told him to practice step by step and step by step.

Another example: For those who are eager for fame and fortune, the Buddha told them that "fame and wealth are empty"; for those who are negative and pessimistic, they think life is meaningless. , life is empty and illusory, the Buddha told him that "life is rare, life is precious, people can achieve happiness and joy through hard work" to inspire their courage and confidence.

In the same way, due to differences in time and space, the Buddha had different metaphors and explanations:

For example: People in Taipei asked the Buddha: 'How to get to Taichung?' The Buddha's answer was: 'Go south.' As for the person who answered Kaohsiung, he said: "Go north." By analogy, the Buddha's answer will be different only depending on where the sentient beings are.

There are twelve parts of Buddhism, eighty-four. Thousands of Dharma doors (Dharma doors are methods of practice). These methods of practice are all created to adapt to the abilities of sentient beings and to deal with the troubles of sentient beings.

If there are no sentient beings, there is no need for Buddha Dharma. The Buddha's Dharma is like medicine. If all sentient beings don't have "diseases", there is no need for medicine.

The Dharma has been handed down for more than 2,500 years and can adapt to different times and different sentient beings. It is due to its ability to teach students according to their aptitude and local conditions, and this education method is one of the characteristics of Buddhism.

The eighth Buddhist method is worldly. The purpose is to 'go out of the world', but it does not conflict with the spirit of 'joining the world'.

(The so-called 'transcendence' does not mean to escape from the world, but to transform and rebuild the world.)

The Buddhist scriptures say: 'Buddhism is in the world and does not leave the world to achieve enlightenment. It is just like leaving the world to seek Bodhi. Look for rabbit horns. ’ This means that practice must be in the human world, and enlightenment must also be in the human world. Anyone who is determined to follow the Tao cannot despise this world, escape from the human beings in this world, and achieve positive results by “taking care of himself”. Because if a person wants to become a Buddha, in addition to being smart and wise, he must also have a vast vow of compassion to save all sentient beings. It is necessary to use these two kinds of "compassion" and "wisdom" interactively and complement each other to achieve a thorough and perfect state to become a Buddha. Therefore, Buddhism uses a transcendent spirit to engage in worldly affairs. From practice to becoming a Buddha, there is neither "entering into the world" nor "transcendental", because it has always been done in this world!

Although there are so-called pure lands in the Buddhist scriptures such as the 'Western Paradise' and the 'Eastern Glazed World', which advise people to recite the Buddha's name and be reborn in those lands, people who have a little understanding of the true meaning of Buddhism know that this is the purpose of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It is an expedient method to save all sentient beings. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to transform the human world into a majestic pure land and hell into a paradise. ’ This is the true purpose of Buddhism, which is not to ask everyone to escape from this world and hide in the Western Pure Land to enjoy happiness.

Ninth Buddhism is not exclusive

Most religions in the world only admit that the religious teachings they believe in are the only 'truth', and reject other teachings as 'heresy'.

Buddhism believes that all religions only have deep and shallow doctrines, and rarely good or bad. Any religion that can exist in the world for more than a thousand years must be more or less beneficial to the world's people and people. Otherwise, this religion would have been cast aside by human wisdom and washed away by the waves of time.

The problem is that some religions can only give people short-term, minority happiness; while some religions can give people eternal, majority happiness. Buddhism is one of the few latter.

During the nearly 2,500 years that Buddhism has been handed down from generation to generation, Buddhism has always coexisted peacefully with other religions. In history, Buddhism has never had bloody conflicts with other religions for the sake of preaching. .

Here I would like to invite my friends to look at the Indian King Asoka (3rd century BC), who followed the generous and compassionate and inclusive teachings of Sakyamuni. There is a passage that still exists in its original text and was carved on a rock. Edict: 'You must not only respect your own religion and belittle the religions of others. Other teachings should be properly respected. Doing so will not only help the growth of your own religion, but also fulfill your obligations to other religions. If you do the opposite, you will not only dig a grave for your own religion, but also harm other religions. ’

‘Therefore, harmony is good. Everyone should listen and listen willingly to the teachings of other religions. ’ (To listen means to listen attentively.)

From this passage, it seems that this kind of tolerance and sincerity is one of the most precious heritages in Buddhist culture.

‘Truth’ has no national boundaries from the perspective of Buddhism, and it does not need any religious ‘trademark’. It does not belong to any one religion or to any one person in any era. Therefore, the truth spoken by Buddha is not unique to him, because Buddha is just a "discoverer of truth", just like the "geocentric attraction" discovered by Newton is not unique to Newton.

Therefore, Buddhism believes that all reasonable and eternal truths are ‘Buddhist Dharma’.

‘Love your enemies. ’ Although it comes from the Bible, Buddhism undoubtedly recognizes it as a virtuous truth. (Same as Buddhism’s ‘Unconditional Great Compassion’ and ‘Unibody Great Compassion’.)

Buddha Dharma is like a vast river and sea, which can accommodate all large and small rivers on the earth. That’s why the Buddhist scriptures say: ‘All dharma is Buddhist dharma’!

Tenth: Buddhism is democratic and free

In other religions, what the leader says is an irresistible ‘command’ and a ‘truth’ that cannot be doubted. Anyone who disobeys or expresses the slightest doubt will be punished by the gods.

It is clearly recorded in the pagan classics that the ancestors of mankind were driven out of the Garden of Eden forever because they disobeyed God's command; and their descendants - that is, millions of human beings , including those in the past, present and future, have also suffered inexplicably because of this.

According to the explanation of foreign teachers, this is called the inheritance of ‘original sin’.

However, I have only heard that certain diseases can be hereditary, but I have never heard that sins can also be hereditary. Except for the ancient barbaric era, when one person committed a crime, the entire family would be punished and even be exterminated. Now in any progressive civilized country, if the father commits a crime and the father is in jail, it has nothing to do with his wife and children.

This is what Buddhism advocates: Buddhism believes that if one person does something, one person is responsible. If the father kills someone, the son will not go to hell. (A son cannot suffer for his father.)

I have a good confidant who was originally a devout Christian. We used to argue about the story of Adam and Eve who stole the forbidden fruit and were expelled. Got red in the face.

The following is our conversation at that time:

‘Why were Adam and others kicked out of paradise? 'I asked.

‘Because Eve disobeyed God and was tempted by the poisonous snake to eat the forbidden fruit. She disobeyed God’s command. ’

‘Is God omniscient and omnipotent? ’

‘Yes, it is omniscient and omnipotent. ’

‘Did the omniscient and omnipotent God know in advance that Eve would not be able to withstand the temptation of the poisonous snake? ’

‘I don’t know, because God wanted to test Adam and Eve to see if they listened to Him. ’

‘Since God does not know in advance, can he still be called omniscient and omnipotent? ’

‘Huh? Oh, wrong, of course God knew in advance that Xia Wa would not be able to stand the temptation. Because He is the omniscient and omnipotent Lord! Damn it, I just blasphemed God by saying He didn't know beforehand. ’ My friend saw the wind and changed the direction, but he didn’t expect that there was also a dead end on the other side!

‘Okay, since the omniscient and omnipotent Lord knew in advance that Eve could not stand the temptation of poisonous snakes, he still let the poisonous snakes tempt her without stopping them, and punished them afterwards. Isn’t this a bad intention, deliberately bringing people into sin? ’

‘Huh? ’ My friend was finally speechless.

This is how Adam and Eve were kicked out in a mess. We are also suffering in this way.

No matter what, God’s words are always right. Disobeying God’s words will have such tragic consequences. But God Himself does not reflect on himself. Are His own ‘words’ reasonable? Is it contradictory? Is it too arbitrary? Too specialized?

In addition, various religious classics often record stories of God being angry because of people's disobedience. The methods of punishment include flooding humans with tragic floods and killing humans with plagues.

In Buddhist scriptures, there is absolutely no record of Buddha being angry, let alone such cruel and merciless punishment. During the Buddha's forty-nine years of teaching, the disciples saw that their teacher was always kind, compassionate, and peaceful. He was like this to both good people and bad people.

The Buddha never forced his disciples to accept the truth he said. He encouraged them to doubt and ask questions. Until he was about to die among the Sal trees at the age of eighty, he still taught earnestly and repeatedly asked his disciples if they had any questions.

Buddha said: 'Only with great doubt can there be great enlightenment; with small doubt can there be only small enlightenment; without doubt, there can never be enlightenment. '

The Buddha also said in his last teaching: 'I never thought that you disciples are mine, and all living beings are mine... I am just one of you, and I am always with you all. …I never oppress others, nor do I ask others to obey me. ’ This is such a kind and touching legacy!

I think Buddhism’s spirit of allowing and encouraging believers to freely doubt and question the truths spoken by the leader, and then explore in depth, is unique in the world, right?

Friends, it is not allowed to force others to accept the truth. Forcing people to accept what they don’t understand or what they don’t like is politics, not religion. Only when truth is repeatedly speculated on the premise of democracy and freedom can its spirit and value be more clearly demonstrated.

Among the world's religions, only the leaders and classics of Buddhism are allowed to be doubted, discussed and investigated.

We welcome students with research spirit, independent personality, and wisdom to study Buddhism. The door of Buddhism will always be open to you.