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T.S. Eliot mentions the third teaching of Buddha in ‘The Waste Land’. This discourse is known as ‘Aditta Pariyaya Sutta’ in Pali language and ‘The Fire Sermon’ in English. Buddha talks about the burning of the earth in this verse. He says: “Bhikkhus, everything is burning. The eyes are burning, the consciousness is burning, what the consciousness is touching is also burning…and how is it burning? All this is burning in the fire of lust, in the fire of hatred, in the fire of illusion, burning from birth, death, disease and sorrow, from frustration”. Today, if one looks around, the conditions do not seem to be any different. Rather, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the fire has now become fiercer and more voracious.
The journey that Prince Siddhartha Gautama embarked on to find the meaning of life some 2600 years ago, the experiences he went through, the truths he encountered and the insights he shared, echo even today. The Buddha did not communicate with any particular society or individual, but addressed the whole of mankind. When the Buddha presented his Four Noble Truths to the people, he was preoccupied with the suffering of all humanity, its causes, the anxiety to end that suffering, and the search for its remedy. Even while talking about the end of violence and the advent of compassion in human consciousness, he has the whole of humanity in mind.
Therefore, the question itself seems weak and illogical whether the teachings of Gautam Buddha have any relevance in today’s time or not. In my opinion, the question should be: What kind of obstacles do we face in understanding the Buddha’s teachings? And what is the price that we are paying for forgetting the Buddha?
The Monk’s Regret:
After the birth of the Buddha, an old monk named Asita arrived at the court of Shuddhodana, and upon seeing the infant Siddhartha Gautama, he first laughed and then wept. When the king asked the reason for this, he said very emotionally: “I laughed because this child will grow up to be fully enlightened; and cried because when he spread his message, I will not be alive!” Our tragedy is that Buddha was born here, taught in this part of the world, and we are not even able to listen to him. If possible, we do try our best to exploit him politically.
It is quite obvious that our present social structure, our undue emphasis on economic, material prosperity, blind worship of success and our utilitarian attitude towards life prevent us from coming in touch with the compassion and vastness of Buddha’s teachings. Knowingly or unknowingly, our education system and values stand opposite to those teachings.
In such a situation, the Buddha remains the most revered and pure for us, but we are not ready to live his teachings. Another reason is that as a society and as a human species, we have become more interested in superficial things and generally shy away from asking serious questions about life.
Teachings of awareness and Vipassana:
If the Buddha’s teachings are seen in their highest sense, they are the teachings of awareness. When a Brahmin youth, amazed by the Buddha’s personality and his clarity, asked him: “Are you a man or a god?”: the Buddha simply replied: “I am just aware”. When the young man tried to find out the meaning of awareness, the Buddha said: “When I walk, I just walk; when I sit, I just sit; But I don’t wobble”. Further, he added: “When I look to my right, it is conscious that I am looking to my right; when I look to my left, it is with full awareness that I am looking to my left”.
Vipassana has had great popularity as a practical side of Buddhism. Vipassana, or Vipassana, is said to have originated in this statement of the Buddha. Its basic meaning is to look deeply, carefully, with full attention. Vipassana teaches us to observe our physical and mental movements carefully and choicelessly.
Meaning of Nirvana:
As soon as we have a general acquaintance with Buddhism, we come across words like ‘Buddha’ and ‘Nirvana’ (Pali: Nibbān). Buddha means a person who has attained enlightenment or bodhi. The word nirvana is also sometimes used in the sense of salvation. Buddha gave a very simple definition of the word Nirvana and said: Nirvana means annihilation of ‘suffering’. That is, a person who has destroyed sorrow can be called a liberated person. The destruction of sorrow is a great challenge in itself, and to face this challenge Buddha came out of his palace, leaving behind a bourgeois and ordinary life. In that life there was wealth but no prosperity, there was power but no peace. There was attachment, but there was no love.
Buddhist texts tell that Buddha went into silence after Nirvana. He refused to speak saying that he would not be able to express his experiences. After the stubborn insistence of people, he agreed and his opening statement was amazing. He said: “My most wonderful discovery has been that every human being can attain Nirvana”. It is understood that the Buddha did not try to establish himself as a unique and great teacher different from the common man, but said that what he understood is within the reach of every human being.
‘Don’t accept what I say’ said the Buddha.
He is neither the first nor the last person to find the cause of suffering and end it, he made it clear again and again. In this way Buddhism is a religion which never established the authority of a person, nor did it talk about his worship and various rituals. Buddha said again and again: “Don’t accept what I say just because I say so”.
“Just as a goldsmith tests the purity of gold, grinds it, tests it, smells it, in the same way my teachings should be examined and only then they should be adopted”. The Buddha emphasized on developing reason and the wisdom that is already within the individual. He harshly questioned the interpretations and dogmas of established religions, and in this way he promoted a unique thinking, under which each person has to find his own path.
‘Be a light unto yourself’.
His last words “atta deepo bhava” (be your own light) point to this truth. He sincerely tried to free his followers from his influence. It can be said that although Buddha was a teacher, people did gather in his monastery for his teachings, but he never encouraged blind devotion. The biggest example of this is his statement: “My words are like a finger pointing towards the moon. Don’t mistake this finger for the moon”. This is the mistake devotees have been making in the matter of religion; Blind devotion, hero worship, foolish submission to the Guru and the eventual exploitation of the disciples by the Guru are the result.
Epitome of Compassion
Buddha has been synonymous with compassion. As a child, Gautam reached the court of
Shuddhodhan with an injured swan and described compassion as the most essential quality of life. By converting a ruthless criminal like Angulimal, he again established the importance of compassion and love over violence. What can be more relevant in our times than this?
Compassion was the special ingredient of The ‘Dhamma’ that he preached after becoming Buddha. Buddha was also the first communist of the world. His vision was not limited to the anomalies of human society. He was also deeply concerned about the protection of the entire creation, animals and birds and the environment. Without dictatorship, with full democratic methods, free from ‘ any ‘holier than thou’ sentiment, Buddha’s non-violent, compassionate communism is truly the ultimate panacea for the malaise that plagues human society.
Rational to the core
One reason for the Buddha’s popularity in the West is his rationality. Buddha did not talk about any imaginary heaven and life after death. The Buddha remained silent in answer to sixteen questions related to the possibility of life after death, the immortality of the soul, the existence of God, and so on. In answer to these questions, he said that he is only concerned with suffering, finding out its cause and finding how to end it. He used logic, not faith, to share his insights. His rational, non-dogmatic, non-traditional approach to life and its existential questions is what makes the Buddha very relevant for our age.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.
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