Blog Entry #3 - "The World's Religions" - Buddhism

question 3

Buddhism's first noble truth is somewhat of an accurate description of the human condition. Child birth and marriage are largely considered the happiest moments in life. But they undoubtedly hold "subtle residue of unhappiness." Ask anyone if their child, or their marriage has been flawless. The answers will overwhelmingly be, "it is far from flawless." Though, I would not plainly say that life is parallel to suffering, like Buddhism's first noble truth. I would say that life is like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs.

Question #3:

I do not think that the Buddhist first noble truth is an accurate description of the human condition. During my most blissful moments, there is only joy. For example, just recently our varsity boy’s soccer team won the section 4A championship game against Como Park. After game ended, I was in a complete state of ecstasy. I was so happy my mind was only fixated on the victory. I brain blocked out everything that bothered me. This was one of the most blissful moments in my life and I felt no residue of unhappiness.

Question One:

It seems to me that the most interesting thing about Buddhism is that they do not specifically belive in a god and they belive that people can reach enlightenment in the lifetime they have. The issue of having an actual god is not one that Buddhism seems to be concerened with. Enlightenment is just sitting, waiting for humans to discover it. It is not brought upon oneself by worshipping a god, only following the Eightfold path, which does not specify a god. This is whre I have an objection to the religion being called Buddhism. That is similar to the way the West described Islam until fairly recently: Mohammadism. They are similar in that they are named not for the prescence being worshipped, but for the messanger or prphet who related the wonders of the particular religion to the world. I do not know what a better name for Buddhism would be, but as Buddha is not actually worshipped as a god, the religion should not be know as Buddhism.
I am also attracted to the idea that enlightenment can be achieved in your lifetime, a view propogated especially by Tibetan Buddhism. This reduces much of the caste society when everyone is on the same level sprirtually, though it lends itself to other abuses. This compares favorably with the Hindu view that moksha will take thousands of years and hundreds of life cycles to complete.
However, one thing that I disagree with is the idea that one cannot experience unadulterated joy. As John Birch said above, the win against Como Park was a moment of bliss without thought of unhappiness or anything else. Perhaps a more trained mind can detect the unhappiness in that situation, but I would like to have no part in it.

I think a personal crisis helps to gain a perspective in spiritual exploration, meaning that the crisis itself helps to create a path that one can follow in order to fulfill his or her own spiritual enlightenment. During our lifetime, if all goes according to plan, there isn’t really a reason to turn to God except for fulfilling one’s own conquest of a connection with a God or Gods. Basically, if someone has everything they need, why would they search for help? Like Siddhartha, however, one may have a reason to look for more in life because they have everything they had ever wanted out of life. They would look for some sort of spiritual exploration or a connection with their spiritual self in order to achieve a higher sense of self and purpose in life. Therefore, I do not necessarily believe that one needs to acquire or posses a personal crisis as a necessary prelude to a spiritual exploration. It does help, however, to jumpstart a spiritual journey through a personal crisis, because one may be looking for help, sometimes because the only possible help could come from the divine. So, in conclusion, a personal crisis may help to jumpstart a spiritual journey, but it may not be necessary to have a personal crisis in order to have a solid reason, other than one’s own personal growth, for the commencement of one’s own spiritual journey.

1. Based on your reading, what is the most appealing or intriguing feature of Buddhism? What seems most difficult to accept or understand?

The idea of the eightfold path and four noble truths make Buddhism extremely easy for one to understand. This idea of having a distinct way to achieve cessation of suffering and true happiness would definitely appeal to people, but it does not oversimplify problems. These steps are difficult to achieve and take a lot of introspection. I also think that Buddhism is appealing to people because of the idea that you can achieve nirvana during this lifetime. Hinduism is based around the idea of reincarnation and the Judeo-Christian tradition is full of references to an afterlife, but being able to find an end to suffering in the near future is very intriguing. I find the idea of the monks very difficult to understand. I cannot imagine being that committed to religion and that kind of a repetitive life would be difficult to sustain. I am also somewhat bothered by the lack of women in these positions. We haven't seen any Buddhist nuns and the way that the monks are held in such high esteem in society and women not having an equivalent role is unusual.

From learning about Buddhism, the most intriguing thing I found was that unlike the majority of religions, Buddhist believe in reaching enlightenment. Growing up in a christian home worshiping God, its a lot different when I hear that the main focus of a religion is to find enlightenment. Buddhists believe in following guidelines to live their life by, which is similar to pretty much all religions. However, without a God to follow, it's a bit confusing to me as to how they believe everything came to be. In religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there is at least one God who is the creator of all things and is worshiped by his followers. Buddhism seems to have a major diversion from the rest of religions because of this. Although it's a lot different from what I'm used to, it's very appealing in that they come up with their own set of guidelines for their way of life than by going by the teachings of a supreme being.

3. The first noble truth of Buddhism holds that life is suffering and that even our most blissful moments hold a subtle residue of unhappiness. Is this an accurate description of the human condition?

I disagree with this statement. I think people can experience moments of pure happiness. Although most moments do have a mixture of happiness and unhappiness, I believe people can experience moments solely of one or the other. In Buddhism life is suffering and Nirvana is the end of suffering. I think if Buddhism did not hold the idea suffering ended at Nirvana, then there would be a space for pure happiness during ones lifetime.

2. Siddhartha Gautama's search for enlightenment begins with his confrontations with the realities of sickness, old age, and death. Is personal crisis a necessary prelude to spiritual exploration?

I do not think that personal crisis is a necessary prelude to spiritual exploration. Because Siddhartha's dad shielded him from all negative things... his first confrontation with sickness, old age, and death all came within a short period of time. I think in his case, this overwhelming shock triggered him to question what he believed in. I think that our society focuses more on negative things, and therefore people have grown accustomed to the sort of "shock" that Siddhartha experienced. Therefore, people are less likely to question everything they believe. In fact, I think in times like these, most people would cling to their current faith. I do think that if something catastrophic were to happen to an individual, they would take a step back and evaluate their life... but I do not think that this has to happen in order to explore a new faith.

2. Siddhartha Gautama's search for enlightenment begins with his confrontations with the realities of sickness, old age, and death. Is personal crisis a necessary prelude to spiritual exploration?

I do not think that personal crisis is a necessary prelude to spiritual exploration. Because Siddhartha's dad shielded him from all negative things... his first confrontation with sickness, old age, and death all came within a short period of time. I think in his case, this overwhelming shock triggered him to question what he believed in. I think that our society focuses more on negative things, and therefore people have grown accustomed to the sort of "shock" that Siddhartha experienced. Therefore, people are less likely to question everything they believe. In fact, I think in times like these, most people would cling to their current faith. I do think that if something catastrophic were to happen to an individual, they would take a step back and evaluate their life... but I do not think that this has to happen in order to explore a new faith.

3. The first noble truth of Buddhism holds that life is suffering and that even our most blissful moments hold a subtle residue of unhappiness. Is this an accurate description of the human condition?

I defiantly think that this is relevant to human's lives. Most people try to stay positive because life is less stressful and more fun that way, however, one does have to TRY to live in that light. This shows that people do always have a hint of unhappiness in them even in their happiest times. while it may not be on the surface. In reality, people feel purely happy, however because of want, no one will ever be actually purely happy. This is why I think the Buddhist thought of once that want is gone, you may reach nirvana is a great thought. so, yes, i do think that this is a relatable statement to human life. one will not be fully happy until they reach Nirvana.

5. According to Einstein, the most important question that can be asked is, "Is the universe a friendly place or not?" How do Buddhists answer that question? How would you answer it?

I think Buddhists would answer that question by saying that it depends on the individual and each individual's experience. Buddhism envisions a reality beyond the duality of human life, and allows each person to experience the world they create for themselves. Despite this, if you asked a Buddhist if they consider the universe a friendly place or not, I think they would say that it doesn't matter, because they don't spend their time thinking about things like that, and instead let things happen naturally and do not dwell on such questions. Personally, I would say the universe is not really a friendly place, because being interested in space and the universe, I know there are a lot of things out there that pose significant dangers. However, I think in general, the universe is neither "friendly" or "unfriendly," but just is. It exists nonetheless.

I believe that the human experience is in fact full of unhappiness and sufferings interspersed with occasional happy or blissful experiences. However, happiness is always relative to ones general experience. For example, if you are born into a poor family where you must work your whole life in manual labor many hours a day just to scrape by. Then the thought of just a nice place to live with your family sounds like an exceedingly happy experience. However, someone born into a rich family who never works a day in his or her life may find a easy existence unsatisfactory or become disillusioned with life. Thus although I have never had a spiritual experience like we have discussed in this class I can understand or relate to the idea of a higher existence.

Question 3
Dukkha, the first noble truth that is translated into Suffering plays a very important role in human life. Suffering is a learning experience, without suffering we would not truly know what happiness is. the ups are only pleasurable because we remember how terrible the downs were. my point is that joy is more appreciated when you have had some downs. Without a little suffering life would be boring, you would always be happy.

4.Buddhists include "right livelihood" among the Eightfold Path. Are certain professions incompatible with spiritual growth? Are some jobs more conducive to enlightenment that others? Why or why not?

In Buddhists views (Four Noble Truths) all life is suffering and the cause of suffering is craving. The only way to end suffering is through the cease of craving. I believe that according to the Four Noble Truths, there are professions that are incompatible with spiritual growth. For many people, their profession may be their "craving" and "excessive " do. Therefore, having them continuously work their job can decrease their chances of reaching enlightenment and nirvana. Nonetheless, I do think that people may take part in professions and jobs that may seem inappropriate to others. Thus will ruin the chances of nirvana. I think that there really is no way of reaching enlightenment through a certain occupation because they all have flaws, especially depending on someone's perception of the job. Overall, I think that all jobs and professions throughout have some flaw that will decrease their spiritual growth due to different opinions and ideas of a certain job.

3. The first noble truth of Buddhism holds that life is suffering and that even our most blissful moments hold a subtle residue of unhappiness. Is this an accurate description of the human condition?

I would disagree with this assessment. I would like to consider myself an optimist, and therefore, I personally believe that true happiness can be achieved in our lifetime. An example of this is when after a mother gives birth to a child and is in a state of complete bliss.

2. Siddhartha Gautama's search for enlightenment begins with his confrontations with the realities of sickness, old age, and death. Is personal crisis a necessary prelude to spiritual exploration?

I would also disagree with this assessment. I think that spiritual exploration can happen at any stage of life. I believe that humans have a want to understand the unexplainable and therefore, spiritual exploration can come out of a search for knowledge, and it doesn't require an experience of a personal crisis.

4.Buddhists include "right livelihood" among the Eightfold Path. Are certain professions incompatible with spiritual growth? Are some jobs more conducive to enlightenment that others? Why or why not?

I think there are no fulfilling jobs that are not compatible with spiritual growth - the catch is the job must be one a person loves. I also think fulfilling is a key word here: there are certainly jobs that do not lead to a sense of accomplishment, joy and growth (like stocking shelves). So, certainly there are jobs that do not lead to a path of spiritual growth - and most jobs do not lead directly to spiritual growth, but I believe it is the person IN the job who either opens him/herself to the work and allowing it to let them feel a sense of enlightenment. Jobs that would lead more directly to a path of enlightenment would probably be service oriented - however if the person in the job is there for selfish reasons.

2. Siddhartha Gautama's search for enlightenment begins with his confrontations with the realities of sickness, old age, and death. Is personal crisis a necessary prelude to spiritual exploration?

I feel that this personal crisis was a necessary prelude to Gautama's exploration. Being born into a prestigious environment, Gautama was quite sheltered from reality. He was surrounded by wealth, and isolated from suffering that took place beyond the palace walls. After coming across the four noble sites, Gautama came to realize his true destiny, as well as the pain and suffering of life. Perhaps encountering personal crisis serves as a wake up call for those who are isolated or choose to ignore defects of reality. Although it is quite a radical outlook, it is sometimes necessary in order for people to understand and appreciate a spiritual exploration.

3. The first noble truth of Buddhism holds that life is suffering and that even our most blissful moments hold a subtle residue of unhappiness. Is this an accurate description of the human condition?

I believe this statement to be generally and philosophically untrue. While I have had moments where I am happy, but my brain is thinking about another unhappy thing I have also had moments where I have been so happy I forget everything else and rejoice in the moment. Although I have had these moments it is very easy for a Buddhist or anyone to claim that there was a residue of unhappiness so subtle in that moment I couldn't even feel it. On a pragmatic level I find this to be a very unsubstantial argument that neither side will win and it should be left at a short discussion. As philosophical debate the floodgates are open. Personally I believe, based on my moments of complete happiness, that this statement is untrue, however I can certainly see how this argument is made by Buddhists and would have a long debate on the topic.

The first noble truth is that life is suffering, seems to be true. All of the happiest moments in your life have some grain of unhappiness. This may only be that the feeling cannot be sustained if nothing else. But, the outlook that all life is suffering seems a bit pessimistic to me. While it is true life is not perfect it is not all suffering. Buddha himself said and Aristotle too, "moderation in all things". That ideal conflicts with the statement that all life is suffering true, life has suffering but there is much more depth to life than just suffering and happiness.

The first noble truth is correct. Even the most blissful moments do contain sadness. This is not to say that happiness does not exist. All it says is that nothing is ever completely one thing. In the happiest of happy moments there is still a twinge of sadness. Likewise in the saddest of sad moments there is still happiness. So yes I think that it is correct to say that all life is suffering but I do not think that it is true that suffering is the only aspect of life.

Question #2

People look for an answer in desperate times, and this is the case with Siddhartha Buddha. In his journey when he discovered disease, old age, and death he made realizations about not only his religious self, but himself as a whole. I believe this to be true for many people when they can learn from their hardships. You're true colors and attitude come out in bad times and this is a display of that. But I also believe that religion is used as a crutch for some people in time of need. They do not know how to handle their own situations, so they seek some form of consoling. Religion is a place where some can find a sort of comfort from their hardships. Whereas I see self-discovery through hard times as a positive thing, I view the use of religion as a crutch through hard times as negative.

question three

I feel that people cannot go through life with out suffering and feeling happy. However if ones life is always filled with happiness, one would never learn anything from their misery and thus they would be an individual who had never experienced any feeling other than happiness. All in all this would be a bad thing because other emotions would not develop and this person would not be a very entertaining person to be around. So to say that the Buddhist idea that life is suffering and that even our most blissful moments hold a subtle residue of unhappiness is quite true. From these times of un happiness we learn and develop and grow to be a deeper and stronger intellectual human being.

“…he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing.” ~Frank (Little Miss Sunshine)