Becoming a Buddhist - Spirituality Versus Tradition

The purpose of my 8 articles on Buzzle is to encourage regular meditation practice that is liberating and healing. Becoming involved in a suitable meditation group will help a lot. What's involved in "becoming a Buddhist?"

Buddhist tradition has a very simple definition of a Buddhist : one who adopts the three Buddhist refuges, also called the triple gem, and adopts the five Buddhist precepts, preferably before a Buddhist monk. In point form they are -

1. Buddha
2. Dhamma (Dharma in Sanskrit)
3. Sangha

1. No killing
2. No stealing
3. No sexual misconduct
4. No lies
5. No intoxicants
In verse form, they are -

"I go to the Buddha for refuge, I go to the Dhamma for refuge, I go to ...

"I take the precept to refrain from killing, I take the precept to refrain from taking what is not given, I take the precept .."

They are often recited at Buddhist meetings, usually in Pali, thus -

"Buddham saranam gacchami, dhammam saranam gacchami, sangham ... "
"Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
Adinadan veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
Kamesu michcacara veramani ... musavada veramani ... surameraya majja pamadatthana veramani ..."

The Three Refuges
What do these Pali words Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha mean?

Traditionally, 'sangha' means the Buddhist clergy, usually a senior monk. 'Dhamma' means Buddhist doctrine and scriptures, especially those attributed to the historical Buddha. A 'dhamma talk' is usually based on some Buddhist doctrine or scripture.

But the historical Buddha died 2500 years ago, and nothing can be proved of what he actually taught. We only have the records that were preserved by Buddhist clergy of the past, copied and recopied times beyond count, and buffeted by the politics of a powerful institution. These forgotten clergy of history had to decide, many many times, what was the officially correct version of the scriptural records, which spans many thousands of pages in the original Pali.

A simplistic interpretation of the clergy, its ideas and the authority they claim certainly boosts the status and influence of the monks, and assists their job of directing the religion.

But we need an interpretation of "Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha" that is useful for the spiritual path. Spiritual aspirants seek liberation from suffering, not control from others.

Just suppose that "sangha" means a community of those dedicated to Buddha's enlightenment and liberation. To break out of destructive habits, attitudes and opinions, to heal the wounds of the past so they no longer infect the present (and future), individuals need support, and supportive relationships.

Relationships, providing service and support, respect, communication and co-operation are the hallmarks of good community. When you cultivate useful friendships, what do you do to establish and strengthen these qualities? What works for you? Could more attention be given to this matter? Can this help create a safe environment where people can grow and heal, a gem to be treasured?

Suitable theory for spiritual development is essential to give direction, provide foundation for practice, and clarify understanding. A good "dhamma" talk by a Buddhist speaker usually has such qualities.

Just suppose that "dhamma" means theory that either talks about liberation, or takes you directly to it.

But theory that remains confined to a book or website is not enough for liberation. Wisdom means :
"(possession of) experience and knowledge together with the power of applying them critically or practically" (the Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1982).

Through practice, and giving and receiving help and healing, we can grow and develop as mature and responsible people, with more happiness and contentment in our lives.

Just suppose that "buddha" means the one who knows spiritual liberation, the one who is free from troubles.

For the three refuges to be of any use to the spiritual path, they need to be internalized, they need development, they need to be related to your life.

The Five Precepts
No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lies, and no intoxication are the basic rules for a civilized community. We have criminal laws to ban two of them, and many civil regulations and standards to regulate the others.

The Ten Commandments of Christianity are better known, and comprise five civil commandments : honor your parents, no killing, no adultery, no stealing, no lying, and three ecclesiastical commandments to govern their religion. They also have two more; no coveting your neighbors spouse or possessions, which bolsters the Commandment on no stealing and no adultery (Exod 20).

According to tradition, Moses laid down these ten commandments for his tribe when they were in exodus from slavery in Egypt. Ex slaves need authoritative discipline, they need emphasis on the basic laws of a civil society.
Evangelizing Christians recruit many people with real problems; severe drug or alcohol abuse, often with domestic violence, and perhaps theft to pay for their drugs.

When the Precepts or Commandments are enlarged to include no violence, no taking liberties that are not given to you, and no intoxicants, then they become very important to such people who have fallen a long way behind. Repeating them often at meetings could be a helpful tactic.

But in my experience, people turn to Buddhism because they need help with a major life crisis. The atmosphere of a good Buddhist meeting seems to have such beautiful peace, maturity and wisdom. It is very attractive.

It is unnecessary to tell such people to avoid killing, stealing, lying, adultery and intoxication. Certainly they have never murdered anyone, nor do they rely on burglary for income. They are unlikely to seduce someone else's wife or husband with intent to take them for their own. Many will have no history of real drug or alcohol abuse. Many have never lied to exploit or ensnare their companions.

More importantly, it is both disrespectful and disempowering to repeatedly tell such people to observe the basic rules of civilization. Their problem is a major life crisis, which most likely has little or nothing to do with breaching society's basic laws.

The common Buddhist ceremony of "giving the five precepts" actually goes like this. The monk says (in Pali) to the lay people "I refrain from killing" and pauses for them to say this too. Then he repeats the process for the next precept, and the next.

The monk does not actually tell the lay people to observe the basic laws, but this procedure comes very close to it.

How are the five Buddhist precepts made more relevant to every day discipline?

The first Buddhist precept is usually enlarged to refrain from killing living beings, including pests. The last precept simply bans drugs and alcohol.

Thus we can identify the devout Buddhist. They do not swat mosquito's, nor use guillotine mousetraps, nor enjoy a glass of wine with the evening meal.

They also have a particular attitude to the Buddhist monk and scriptures.

Defining a Buddhist
A liberal definition of a Buddhist is a spiritual aspirant who always observes the fundamental laws of a civilized society (i.e., precepts), learns theory useful to the spiritual practice (i.e., "dhamma"), supports fellow travelers on the Path (i.e., "sangha"), and goes through the training and transformation needed to realize liberation in daily life (i.e., "buddha").

Such a definition does not distinguish the Buddhist from any other spiritual aspirant. The liberal Buddhist is free to move between many differing spiritual, religious and personal growth groups, accessing many different aspects of healing and spiritual development and Liberation.

What kinds of Buddhists are separated from non Buddhists?

The traditional Buddhist supports the position of the Buddhist speaker - Buddha's enlightenment requires detaching from worldly interests in daily life, as evidenced by many years of observing all the minor monk's rules all the time, and not going out for work or recreation.

The devout Buddhist is trained to venerate the Buddhist monk. This veneration is an essential foundation in building the status and influence of the Buddhist clergy.

The zealous Buddhist dislikes other religions, especially Christianity. Their enthusiasm for Buddhism is matched by their distrust for other religions.

The meditating Buddhist is very still in Buddhist meetings, and practices meditation diligently at home, by themselves. They are usually introverts, and quiet in speech and habits. The inner peace of meditation is important to them. They attend as many retreats as they can.

The traditional Buddhist, raised in a Buddhist country, gives large donations of time or money to the Buddhist monks. This earns them "merit" in the currency of Buddhism, which can then "buy" them a better rebirth, with better health and wealth, or as a monk, or even in a heavenly realm.

A multicultural Buddhist group has many different types of Buddhists and potential Buddhists in its ranks. They all contribute in their own way to the group and movement, and coexist with varying degrees of harmony.

The Buddhist Ambience
A good Buddhist meeting has a beautiful peacefulness, silence and dignity. What causes this?

• The Venerable Buddhist monk leads the group in a detachment and withdrawal from the outside world. He is much experienced in this process.
• Many people present are trained meditators, who can still their minds and do so in the meeting. This emanates peacefulness to those sitting near.
• People need inner peace, and the clarity it affords. This need is stronger in some people, and so they seek peaceful places like good Buddhist meetings. As soon as they encounter the energy of the director up front and practiced meditators around them, they naturally incline to contentment and stillness.
• The devout Buddhist might not be a practiced meditator, but their veneration of the monk contributes to the respect and silence of the meeting

Making Friends in the Sectarian Environment
Having received some benefit from attending meetings, one might feel the need to deepen one's involvement in the group and movement. This usually involves adapting to and adopting some of the belief system of the movement. Such a "conversion process" can be difficult, and may involve a lot of sacrifice of previous views of other cultures, institutions and movements. Once some progress is made on this front, it can be difficult to turn back.

When one really adopts and adapts to the belief system, such as enlightenment needs years of detachment from worldly pursuits in daily life, or that salvation comes from the crucifixion, one actually believes it. It has become part of one's own belief system. One feels that one belongs here. Such belief is an important component of faith and devotion.

Having converted at least partly to the system, seeking the friendship of like-minded people is to be expected. One feels the need to get some support for one's belief system. It can become very difficult to have objectivity to the teachings of the religious director, one really believes this is true spiritual teachings, to be followed and supported.

But this is how religion and politics causes divisions in society, thus defeating the purpose of the founder : to unite the people in a common goal.

So the friendship that is based on clinging to the same divisive beliefs is far inferior to the friendship that cultivates respect, support, wisdom, creativity, healing, laughter, dedication and unity. Never mind sectarian beliefs, the Qualities of Freedom are what count.

Shall we base our commitment to a religious group on the needs of the ego, and thus compound the problems of isolation and fear? Or shall we base our commitment on the need to cultivate, respect and protect the Qualities of Liberation and spiritual enlightenment? What shall be our choice?

Pressure to "Become A Convert"
It seems that the need to get others to conform to the belief system is less urgent in Buddhism compared to Christianity.

This takes a lot of pressure off people who might think independently of the religious director.

In addition, Buddhism caters for those interested in meditation but not tradition, doctrine and scripture. In my experience, people never took copies of the Buddhist scripture into talks by the monk; many did not even own a copy.

Moreover, attendees are classed as "lay people", who are not expected to detach from worldly interests in daily life like a monk, nor observe any of the monk's rules. They just observe the five precepts.

However, it is a highly conformist environment. The committed Buddhist does not indicate dissent to the teachings of the religious director.

It may be that the devout Buddhist is so used to not indicating dissent to the "venerable" that they might have great difficulty in handling the criticisms that I raise. If you raised them in the Buddhist environment, they might just exclude you.
It might be better to respect the privacy of other people's opinions, and not discuss contentious issues in such a conformist environment until people are ready to take each other into their confidence.

Public Talks by Buddhist Monks
The Four Noble Truths and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness are prominent in Buddhism. The definitive scripture, DN 22, gives many pages of details on these core Buddhist doctrines. I examine these in detail in my other 6 articles on Buzzle.

I found that Buddhist monks rarely discussed these doctrines in such detail, in talks to the public. They involve too much detachment and withdrawal from "lay" pursuits in daily life.

As one monk once said to me, the Four Noble Truths are like strong cayenne pepper, too much will spoil the taste.

On Residential Retreat
A silent, residential Buddhist meditation retreat lasting for a week or longer can be very beneficial to your spiritual practice. Opportunities to participate in them can be quite limited.

They are also challenging, partly because religious doctrine is given prominence. The core doctrines that support enlightenment due to detachment in daily life will get more air play, compared to public talks. I hope this will not be a problem for you.

If the indoctrination is disturbing, let me suggest the following -

• There is no need to indicate assent to the director's views. Your views are your own private affair.
• Allow others to have a differing opinion, instead of fighting them.
• Try practicing Being the Observer of the thoughts and emotions that disturb your peace, instead of being the person who is irritated or intimidated.
• Find some other pastime during the talks - they cannot be made compulsory. Take a "call of Nature."
• The director offers particular meditation techniques and subjects. But in the privacy of your meditation, you do as you wish, provided it helps you be still and quiet for long periods
• If the director interviews you, and you are meditating differently to his instructions, you do not need to discuss this with him.
• I found on the 10 day Insight Meditation retreat, all he asked me was "can you feel the breath?" The simple answer is "Yes."

The Buddhist Charter of Free Enquiry
Wat Buddha Dhamma, in the vast forests west of Sydney, was one of the first residential Buddhist communities/meditation centers in Australia. For many years, in the 1980s, a beautifully presented extract of the Kalama Sutta, AN 3. 65 hung in the entrance of its meditation hall, by Khantipalo. In it the historical Buddha advises -

• Do not believe just because of tradition or legend.
• Do not believe just because of scripture.
• Do not believe just because of logic or inference.
• Do not believe just because you wish to agree.
• Do not believe just because it seems likely to be true.
• Do not believe just because you respect the writer or speaker.

In his first sermon after his enlightenment experience, the historical Buddha said -
"True knowledge of suffering and liberation does not come from what we have read or heard. Rather understanding and vision of it arises within the core of our being. The light of its finding arises within." (SN 56. 11)

Conclusion-
This concludes my series of 8 articles on Buzzle.

Reading them all in this fine print will just cause eyestrain. Why not copy them into word documents so you can enlarge the font size? Just click onto it, select all (ctrl + A), copy (ctrl + C), paste into a new Word Document (ctrl + V), select all (ctrl + A) and choose a larger font. Then save and/or print.

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For Liberation and Enlightenment, Mike B.