Buddhism As Education

The Buddha is a major historical figure who promoted the rise of national faith against the superstitious of religions. He emancipated man from the corrupted authority of priest and was the first to show the way to freedom from religious hypocrisy and dictatorship. Buddhism is a religion that uses reason and no element of fear to coerce anyone in any way to believe it. As the Buddha’s compassion is universal, he sees all creatures great and small from insects to beast as equal ultimately, each with the same rights for happiness like us. There’s no such thing as a just war in Buddhism. The Buddha taught that “the victor breads hatred and the defeated lives in misery”. He who announces both victory and defeat is happy and peaceful. Not only did the Buddha teaches non-violence and peace, he was probably the first and only religious teacher who went to the battlefield to prevent the outbreak of a war between two warring states.

Buddhism never found the need to give new interpretations to its teachings. Newly verified scientific discoveries never contradict the teachings of the Buddha as the method and teachings of Buddhism are scientifically valid. Buddhism's principles can be maintained under any circumstances without changing its basic ideas. The understanding capacity of the value of these religious ideas may diminish and disappear from human's mind. And humans may experience the difficultiy of practicing these principles in a corrupted society. However, the value of the Buddha's teaching will be appreciated by every cultured and understanding personat any time. As complimented by Albert Einstein, a physicist and mathematician and winner of the Noble Prize, who is popularly regarded as the most outstanding scientist of the twentieth century. "The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and...

Buddhism is the only religion, which was explained to mankind through experience, realisation, wisdom and enlightenment of its founder i.e. the Buddha without introducing it as a message by a god. It starts from the root of known experience and not blind faith. Human problems must be understood by one through human experience and solved by developing great humane qualities. One should find the solution through the purification and development of human mind and not through outsiders. That is why the Buddha never introduce himself as a supernatural saviour. He did not acknowledge that there is such a saviour. According to him, we can be our own saviours.

The Buddha was an unequalled teacher. He freely and actively invited both his followers and those of other beliefs to challenge his teachings from every possible angle till there was no room for any kind of doubt. True to his injunctions, his followers have debated about his doctrine and even founded various schools of Buddhism according to their understanding without violence or bloodshed. The Buddha knew that if one really believed that one knows the truth, one should not be afraid to have it challenged, as the truth always win. His replies to numerous questions enriched the Buddhist doctrine into a vast religious field. We are today able to answer any questions about Buddhism, simply by referring to the Buddha's explanations.

As the Buddha’s concern is the true happiness of all beings, his teachings can be practiced in society or seclusion by all of every race and belief. It is totally unbiased and truly universal. Purification of the Mind Buddhism is the only religion that encourages not just the ceasing of all evil and the doing of all good – it also teaches the purification of one’s mind, which is the root of all good and evil, the cause of both suffering and true happiness. Self Reliance When the Buddha was meditating to gain enlightenment, no gods came to reveal any hidden secrets of spiritual power. No one gave him any religious laws to teach. He said, “I never had any teacher or divinity to teach me or tell me how to gain enlightenment. I achieved supreme wisdom by my own effort, energy, knowledge and purity.” Likewise, we can attain this highest goal through perseverance in perfecting ourselves. Freedom of thought From the intellectual and philosophical content of Buddhism rose the freedom of though...

The historical Buddha is an embodiment of all the virtues that he preached. He preached and translated all his words into action. He was tireless in his spreading of the truth and was a perfect model example. At no time did he ever show any human weakness or base passion. His qualities of morality, wisdom and compassion are almost perfect the world has ever known. You can become perfect too The Buddha represents the highest peak of spiritual cultivation possible. He taught that all can attain true perfection. No other founder of a religion has ever said that its followers too have the same chance to gain the same experience of peace, happiness and salvation as oneself. But the Buddha taught that anyone could attain the same bliss of supreme enlightenment if one was to practice as the Buddha did. Beyond religion If the definition of “religion” is the unquestionable belief and worship in a supreme entity with the obligation to carry out rites and rituals then Buddhism is definitely not a...

The Buddha’s freedom of thoughts and religious tolerance are astonishing to the student of history of religions. Once in Nalanda, a famous householder named Upali was expressly sent by his teacher Mahavira to meet the Buddha and defeat him in argument on certain points in the theory of Karma, because the Buddha’s views on the subject were different from those of Mahavira’s. Quite contrary to expectations, Upali, at the end of the discussion, was convinced that the views of the Buddha were right and those of his master were incorrect. So he requested the Buddha to accept him as one of his disciples, but the Buddha asked him to reconsider it and not to be in a hurry, “for considering carefully is good for well known men like you.” When Upali expressed his desire again, the Buddha requested him to continue respecting and supporting his old religious teachers as he used to. In the third century B.C. the great Buddhist King Asoka of India following this noble example of tolerance and unders...

Some people used to say that “we are free thinkers and do not have a religion”. But if anyone is a free thinker, then certainly he must be a Buddhist because the Buddha encouraged freedom of thoughts. The freedom of thoughts allowed by the Buddha is unheard of elsewhere in the history of religions. This freedom is necessary because according to the Buddha, man’s emancipation depends on his own realization of truth and not on the benevolent grace of a god or any external power as a reward for his obedient good behavior. The Buddha never said to his disciples “pray and believe”. The Buddha used to say “come and see, investigate, do not believe anything blindly.” In Buddhism, blind faith is condemned and is substituted by Saddha – confidence, based on knowledge and understanding. Although a Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha as his moral teacher, he makes neither self surrender nor sacrificing his freedom of thoughts. Without sacrificing his freedom of thoughts, a Buddhist can exercise h...

Currently, there are at least five forms of Buddhism. The first form is the traditional Buddhism I have just discussed. It is the education of the Buddha's teachings. This original form is rarely seen today. The other four forms are deviations of this one. The second form is religious Buddhism. Although originally not a religion, it has become one in the past few hundred years. Today, it is difficult to deny this. Why? The external form of Buddhism today is indeed that of a religion. It is no longer the education found in a traditional way place where cultivators had up to sixteen hours a day for both lessons and cultivation. The lessons included listening to lectures and discussions. The cultivation session included either Buddha name chanting or sitting meditation. Study and cultivation were used hand in hand to strive for the right and proper understanding and practice, to purify practitioner's minds and to eventually attain the state of enlightenment. Since the monks and nu...

This question arises in all those who wish to better understand it. Buddhism is a most virtuous and perfect education directed by the Buddha towards all sentient beings in the universe. This education covers a boundless range of phenomena and principles that is much broader than what is currently studied in modern universities. In regards to time, it encompasses the past, present and future. In regards to space, it encompasses everything from our daily lives to the infinite universe. Buddhism is an education of the wisdom and understanding of life and the universe. It is not a religion. The teachings of Confucius concerns one lifetime. The teachings of the Buddha cover infinite lifetimes. How can we tell that Buddhism is an education? Today, the terms teacher and student are only used in school. However, we call Buddha Shakyamuni, our Original Teacher. We call ourselves students, as did our predecessors in ancient China. This is unlike religions in which the god and his or her disciple...