Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
From: yewhan@tartarus.uwa.edu.au (Yew Han Hee)
Subject: Some Q&As for Buddhism
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1992 05:53:59 GMT


Dear reader,
     I would like to present some questions and answers for your 
interest.  Thanks.

Questions And Answers On Buddhism ( Part 1 )
--------------------------------------------

The following questions and answers have been especially formulated with 
the newcomer to Buddhism in mind.

Q: Who was the Buddha?
A: The Buddha was a man who lived some 2,600 years ago and who
   revolutionised religious thought in India. This way of thought spread
   throughout the Eastern world and has now found its way to the west.

Q: What does the word 'Buddha' mean?
A: The word 'Buddha' stands for the Awakened State (literally it means
   awakened), so it is used in relation to waking up to truth, to
   becoming enlightened.

Q: What did the Buddha teach?
A: His teaching was extensive. However, it is commonly agreed among all
   traditions throughout the Buddhist world, that fundamentally the
   teaching of the Buddha is contained in just four truths - the Four
   Noble Truths.

Q: What are these truths?
A: They are: the truth of suffering; the truth of regarding the cause of
   suffering; the truth regarding the cessation of suffering; and the
   path, the way we suffer when life does not go our way, when our hopes
   are dashed, and when disappointment or tragedy strikes. We also
   suffered when life does go our way. Why? Because we fear loss - loss
   of pleasure, wealth, family or friends. This is the truth of
   suffering.

   Wishing, wanting, and desiring are the cause of suffering. We produce
   our own suffering by the way we think and act.

   Because we produce our own suffering, it is within our power not to
   produce it, and not to suffer. This is the truth regarding the
   cessation of suffering.

   The way of life which does not cause suffering is the path; it is the
   way of harmlessness, wishlessness, selflessness.

Q: Is there a God in Buddhism as in Christianity?
A: It is very difficult to compare Buddhism with Christianity. One would
   have to say, however, there is no God in Buddhism in the way that God
   in Christianity is commonly understood.

Q: What do Buddhists believe?
A: Different Buddhists believe different things, but the nature of
   belief is itself an important issue in Buddhism. Belief is to be seen
   as belief, not as fact. When we see our beliefs as facts, then we are
   deluding ourselves. When we see our beliefs as beliefs, then we are
   not. Seeing things in their true light is the most important thing in
   Buddhism. Deluding ourselves is the cause of much suffering. So
   Buddhists try to see beliefs as beliefs. They may still believe in
   certain things - that is their prerogative - but they do not cling to
   those beliefs; they do not mind or worry about whether their beliefs
   are true or not, nor do they try to prove that which they know cannot
   be proved. Ideally though, a Buddhist does not indulge in any kind of
   belief.

Q: Does Buddhism teach reincarnation?
A: Reincarnation is not a teaching of the Buddha. In Buddhism the
   teaching is of rebirth, not of reincarnation.

Q: What is the difference between reincarnation and rebirth?
A: The reincarnation idea is to believe in a soul or a being, separate
   from the body. At the death of the physical body, this soul is said
   to move into another state and then enter a womb to be born again.

   Rebirth is different and can be explained in this way. Take away the
   notion of a soul or a being living inside the body; take away all
   ideas of self existing either inside or outside the body. Also take
   away notions of past, present and future; in fact take away all
   notions of time. Now, without reference to time and self, there can
   be no before or after, no beginning and ending, no birth or death, no
   coming or going. Yet there is life! Rebirth is the experience of life
   in the moment, without birth, without death; it is the experience of
   life which is neither eternal nor subject to annihilation.

Q: Does that mean there is no such thing as birth and death?
A: That which is born, dies. Forms come and go. All that comes into
   existence is impermanent; it is born and it dies. But the very
   essence of what 'I' am -- Buddha-nature -- is unborn and undying.

Q: Is this just a Buddhist belief?
A: Buddhists are people and people do believe things, but Buddhism is
   concerned with truth, not with belief, and the teaching is to see
   things as they are. If we believe anything which has not been
   experience, we should know what we are doing. When we do not
   understand something, then to maintain an open mind is the healthiest
   and wisest practice.

Q: But what happens when we die?
A: If we understand what the word 'I' really represents, we can realise
   the answer to this question. Buddhism does not offer intellectual
   answers; it only gives directions for the experiencing of truth.

Q: How is it possible to experience truth?
A: By understanding that 'I' and birth and death are notions, concepts,
   ideas, beliefs. It is the idea of a self living life through time,
   which produces the idea of birth and death. We have been conditioned
   into believing that we have come into existence and in due course
   will cease to exist. If we see through these ideas and realise that
   this moment neither begins nor ends, we shall realise deathlessness.


Questions And Answers On Buddhism ( Part 2 )
-------------------------------------------

Q: But how can getting rid of ideas enables us to see deathlessness?
A: The deathless is here all the while, but ideas block it out. It is
   like the sun because of the clouds. But as soon as the clouds are
   cleared away, there is the sun. Likewise, as soon as ideas are
   cleared away from the mind, there is the true state: birthless,
   deathless.

Q: How does one clear away ideas?
A: By seeing ideas as ideas and not as truths; by being aware of mental
   and meditation.

Q: Are there various kinds of Buddhist meditation?
A: There are  different exercises taught by teachers of different
   Buddhist traditions and Schools. The main differences, however, are
   superficial ones, related to psychological or emotional problems.
   Many of these exercises can only be administered by experienced
   meditation teachers. For the average person, however, whose sole aim
   is to realise the deep clear teachings of the Buddha, meditation is a
   simple process of awareness and investigation.

Q: How does one practise this kind of meditation?
A: By being fully aware, as one thinks, speaks and acts.

Q: But what about sitting meditation?
A: Sitting meditation is the same. It is just a question of being aware.
   Sitting meditation is an excellent thing to do, but some people are
   not able to find a quiet spot to sit in every day. If this is the
   case, one is not automatically debarred from the insights of
   meditation. To meditate properly is to do one's duty and to live
   without wishing life were different, or somehow better.

   The opportunity for seeing truth is ever present, because truth is
   ever present. Just because the sun is covered by clouds does not mean
   the sun is not there. Conditions are always just right for being
   aware of the true situation. All one has to do is be conscious of
   what is taking place within one and around one, without making any
   judgements. If we 'see' by being aware, then we shall see very deeply
   into everything.

Q: How does one practise sitting meditation?
A: Sitting meditation is the shutting down of all sense stimuli in order
   to realise that awareness is not a function of the senses or of the
   thinking process. It is practised by sitting quite still with the
   eyes closed (or not focusing on anything), by letting life be, by
   breathing in and out (not changing the breath, not trying to breath
   deeply), by just breathing the way one always breathes, and by
   noticing the subtle changes in the mind and in the body. It is not
   difficult or complicated.

Q: Does one need to have a meditation teacher?
A: The Buddha's teaching can be the teacher and awareness can be the
   practice which will lead straight to liberation.

Q: What is karma?
A: It is cause and effect. When someone commits a crime, he suffers the
   consequences. That is karma. When someone does good, he enjoys the
   consequences. That is karma. But karma runs deep; its affects our
   hearts and minds. From the beginning mind is absolutely pure. If we
   are unkind, deceitful, greedy or cruel, we defile that purity.
   Imagine a plain white cloth, beautiful, bright and clean. And then
   imagine someone splattering it with black ink. The cloth is then
   spoilt. The mind is like the white cloth. Like and dislike, greed and
   hatred, are like the ink splattered across it.  When the mind is
   unmarked and unspoilt, suffering and enjoyment do not exist.  This is
   happiness beyond pleasure, beyond karma. All karma is impermanent and
   runs out in due course. A Buddhist will learn how to get off the
   karmic see-saw of pleasure and pain.

Q: Can anyone see the Truth?
A: The Buddha was compassionate. He did not teach an impossible teaching
   that ordinary people could not understand. On the contrary, his
   teaching was clear and simple. Anyone who makes the effort to be
   aware will realise his or her Buddha-nature and be freed from
   suffering.



                           Before you go off
                      in search of enlightenment,
                             See the Buddha
                            of your own mind.


Sincerely,
YH Hee
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                Yew Han Hee (yewhan@tartarus.uwa.edu.au)
University Of Western Australia           Computer Science 2nd year
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                     AVOID ALL EVILS, DO ALL GOODS
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