Testimony
This piece is an effort to summarize what I find to be true, the things I find that meet the tests of what I know about the world and how I experience it, as well as matching my values. At this point in my life, I want to avoid assumptions, labels, and doctrines as much as possible.Almost twenty years ago, I decided to stop applying labels to myself: e.g, "I am _______"--"I am a Buddhist," "I am a Christian," "I am an Atheist," and so on. Such labels always mislead because they are so abstract and mean such different things to different people. That being said, I'm sure that what follows implies a label such as "buddhist." (Lower case "b" is deliberate.) That's unavoidable and acceptable, so long as you don't read too much into the label.
This piece is a kind of outline, so it will sound more dogmatic than I would like. I will not provide examples, explanations, and supporting arguments; the purpose is just to give you an idea of where I stand (or sit or walk or lie down). I'm not concerned to persuade others.
What Doesn't Meet the Test of Experience
To clear the ground, here's a simple list of what I do not believe, that is, things I find unproven and unlikely, things that go against my experience and knowledge of the world.
- a "supernatural" realm somehow outside the natural universe
- a personal god--a divine being who controls everything
- an eternal soul or, indeed, in any "soul" or "spirit" separable from embodiment
- any sort of "psychic" or "subtle" substance
Please note that I did not say that "Everything is matter" or anything like that. Nor did I say that science and logic have the last word on every topic. And I did not say, "There is no G-d." (I do like the Jewish piety of omitting the vowel.) Most theists--Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu--appear to believe in a deity who is a personality apart from the world, a figure seen against the background of the world. That figure is the personal god in whom I can not believe.
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there are no angels from "Daylight," by Eugene Warren |
Perspectives
Since I'm summarizing basic Buddhist insights here, I want to stress that I don't accept the unempirical aspects of Buddhism. Rebirth (reincarnation) can be seen as "true" as long as one doesn't get hung up on past lives or believe that there is any substantial person reborn time after time. I can't take the teachings and myths about Bodhisattvas and various Buddha-lands literally either.
Karma, on the other hand, is simply the recognition that actions have effects. Period. It is easily observed in daily life; Jesus expressed this truth when he said, "As you sow, so shall you reap."
Buddhism is empirical. Buddha himself urged his followers to test what he said for themselves and to believe nothing on faith or authority. The Kalama Sutra presents this teaching. And BuddhaNet is an excellent source for books in PDF format.What Meets the Test of Experience
I first read about Buddhism when I was in high school. Jack Kerouac's novel, Dharma Bums, got me started, I think. I read further things--D. T. Suzuki's Zen Buddhism and some material in an anthology of world philosophy, as well as one or more of Lin Yutang's books. I found some of the essentials convincing, but, frankly, I found the ethical precepts hard to accept. I wanted to drink beer and chase girls, not be sober and chaste.What follows is a summary of some essential Buddhist insights as I understand them. I make no claim to authority or any special insight.
Life Is Frustrating
The First Noble Truth taught by the Buddha is that "life is frustrating (unsatisfiying)." That seems true on the face of it. The First Noble Truth is not a denial that there is pleasure, joy, satisfaction in life, only that none of these last.Part of the First Noble Truth is recognizing three basic aspects of everything that exists. These three are
- Everything is impermanent; nothing stays the same
- Nothing has an essence (a "self")
- Everything is unsatisfactory
In the Buddhist perspective, everything that exists exists in relationship with each and every other thing that exists. And each thing that is exists is a composite of other "things," with no "essence" or "self" left over. Buddhism is the opposite of Platonism. This interdependent and composite structure means that nothing stays the same, for better or worse.
There's a Reason that Life Frustrates
We suffer--experience emotional pain--because we grasp pleasurable experiences even though they inevitably go away; we try avoid unpleasant experiences, even though ultimately they are unavoidable; we are igmorant to the extent that we deny the painful aspects of our lives.Traditional Buddhism talks about the "three poisons": greed, hatred, and ignorance.
There's a Way To Cease Experiencing Life as Unsatisfactory
Buddhism is often thought of as negative or pessimistic. Just the opposite: the Buddha taught a way of stepping outside the experience of misery. The way to do that is to cease being greedy (grasping), hate-filled, and ignorant.The Way To Cease Suffering is The Eightfold Path
These eight pieces of advice about how to live wisely are not a ladder, not an incremental process; instead, they interact with each other, each reinforcing the other seven.The first three deal with rightly understanding the world and thinking about it wisely, having a wholesome intention in one's life, using language honestly and lovingly.
The next three deal with living wisely through what one does, how one makes a living, and the effort one exerts in seeking the cessation of life's frustration.
The last two recommend both meditating and concentrating well.
I'm a beginner on the Eightfold Path, so I really can't say more about it.
I will list the eight steps, though. "Right" means something like "effective" or "wise." I've used the translation from The Eightfold Path for the Householder, by Jack Kornfeld. You can find it on BuddhaNet.
- Right Understanding
- Right Attitude
- Right Speech
- Right Action
- Right Livelihood
- Right Effort
- Right Concentration
- Right Awareness
What About Jesus?
I grew up in the Methodist Church; through Sunday School, hymns, and bible stories, I learned to love Jesus. He is one of the most startling and appealing figures in history. Later, I lived as a committed evangelical Christian of the Sojourners and The Other Side variety. Under my previous name, Eugene Warren, I wrote and published a good deal of poetry from that evangelical perspective. I've had reason to reread some of these poems recently and find them still "mine."Later, I found it very difficult to reconcile that theology with my experience and knowledge of the world. Jesus remains an important figure in my life and imagination, although I don't know how to explain that any further.
The Jewish, Christian, and Moslem scriptures contain a lot of poetry and wisdom and are worth reading free from doctrinal pre-occupations. On the other hand, believers in these scriptures have found in them justification for terrible crimes: genocide, slavery, and sexual, racial, and political oppression. Further than that I won't go right now, except to say I do read Tanak, the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, and other scriptures with much emotional and imaginative reward.
Ultimates
In I Corinthians 13, Paul tells use that "faith, hope, and love" are the things that endure. In later Christianity, these are the three theological virtures. Each sura (chapter) of the Koran begins with the phrase, "In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful." In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna assures Arjuna that he loves him.In Buddhism, the ultimate values are compassion and wisdom. Compassion is universal love and care; wisdom is a deep understanding of things as they are, not as we would wish them to be.
I do not believe that "all religions teach the same thing"; on the other hand, these values seems to have a lot in common. Any or all of them are worth our seeking.