A Defence of the Bible Ch. 1b – Buddhism

Chapter 1b: Buddhism, for bibletruthforyou.org

(This article isn’t an endorsement of the religion described, but is a description of those beliefs.)

Buddhism

Buddhism is virtually atheistic; the concept of a god is ignored. All reality is regarded as an illusion. Truth is based on experience and personal enlightenment.[1]

This religion is thought to have been started by an Indian prince who was raised on Hinduism. His name was Siddhartha Gautama and he belonged to the ‘warrior king’ caste of Indian society. Historical records about his life are not plentiful. He may have lived during the period 500–400 BC. He is reported to have lived to 80 years of age. His teachings were passed down verbally and finally written about 300–400 years after his death.

Gautama’s father was a Raja and tradition has it that at 29 years of age, Gautama went outside his palace and was overcome by grief when he saw the suffering around him. He decided to abandon his life of privilege, along with his wife and young son, and set out alone to discover for himself the secret of serenity in a world of pain. He wandered the Ganges River area studying Hinduism and speaking to Gurus. But the presence of suffering and evil still troubled him. One day, while sitting under a fig tree, he discovered why people were suffering and found a way to overcome suffering. From then on, he was known as Buddha, ‘the enlightened one’.[2]

He rejected the idea of an eternal soul; in fact, he believed that there was no individual identity for that matter. A key to Buddhist thinking is that ultimately, we do not exist.

The reasoning behind such a belief goes something like this:

The thing that I call ‘me’ is really a combination of ever-changing physical and mental activities going on in the same space (that is, my body and brain). These activities are the result of physical and mental activities that occurred a moment earlier. These, in turn, are the result of the ones that occurred the moment before that, and so on. There is no ‘me’ arising from this chain of cause and effect. There is just the chain itself—merely physical and mental activities causing further physical and mental activities. Thinking of me as an individual is just a fantasy—a mere illusion.

The goal of Buddhism is to help people to realize that they ultimately do not exist, because the notion of self is the root of all suffering. It is your desire for self-satisfaction, self-existence, and self-advancement that creates the experience of pain. Remove the ‘self’, by realizing there never was such a thing, and suffering will evaporate.[3]

In order to achieve the removal of desire and the mental pain of suffering, the Buddha gave his followers four beliefs and eight habits to memorize and practice.

The Buddhist ‘Four Noble Truths’

1. The recognition that suffering exists in many forms.
2. The origin of suffering—suffering arises because of desires or cravings.
3. The end of suffering—suffering is overcome by the elimination of human cravings; Buddha called this state Nirvana.
4. The path to end suffering—this leads to the eight habits:

1. Right Understanding—the need to study Buddhist texts.
2. Right Aim—the need to aspire to Buddhist ideals.
3. Right Speech—the need to speak in such a way as to remove any desires and eradicate the idea of self.
4. Right Action—the need to negate all desires, to refrain from killing or injuring any living creature, and to abstain from alcohol.
5. Right Livelihood—the need to find employment that does no harm to other creatures.
6. Right Effort—the need to engage daily in an energetic decision to put an end to false thoughts and unwholesome states of mind.
7. Right Mindfulness—Buddhists must strive to be aware of everything around them.
8. Right Concentration—Meditation is an essential aspect of a Buddhist’s life.

The eight-fold path has nothing to do with prayer, worship of a god or religious ceremonies.[4]
There are many statues of Buddha and they are used for different purposes. For example, the veneration of Medicine Buddha, the Supreme Healer (Sangye Menla in Tibetan) is considered a powerful method not only for healing and increasing healing powers both for oneself and others, but also for overcoming the inner sickness of attachment, hatred and ignorance. It is believed that meditating on the Medicine Buddha can help decrease physical and mental illness and suffering.[5]

Karma

The Buddha adopted the Hindu idea of karma and Buddhists believe that we do not choose our rebirth but are born solely in accordance with our karma. If good karma ripens, we are reborn in a fortunate state; either as a human being or a god, but if negative karma ripens we are reborn in a lower state, as an animal, a hungry ghost, or a hell being. It is as if we are blown by the winds of karma to our future lives, sometimes ending up in higher rebirths, sometimes in lower rebirths.[6]

The ultimate aim of the Buddhist is to attain the state of Nirvana. Here, the person has escaped the world of cause and effect, all suffering has ceased, and they are free from the cycle of birth and rebirth. This is achieved by following the eight-fold path.

Buddhism essentially teaches works-based salvation—that you must strive unceasingly and overcome all desire in order to have any hope of reaching Nirvana. It is a man-made religion and can only offer a man-made solution.

The final words attributed to Buddha before his death says it all:

Work hard to gain your own salvation.[7]

The hardcover book, A Defence of the Bible by Gary Baxter, BSc (Hon). PhD may be purchased at http://adefenceofthebible.com/ or http://www.word.com.au/details.aspx?productid=584934

Published by Bible Truth For You. (http://bibletruthforyou.org)

About Gary Baxter

Doctor Gary Baxter completed his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, in 2 years and seven months, written and submitted, at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia from where he entered the workforce and after a few years started his own business which offered an analytical chemistry service. This grew to include environmental analysis and thirty qualified chemists. The business was sold and another business was commenced, this time manufacturing topical creams and ointments in compliance with and under the control of the Therapeutics Goods Administration. He has now retired with his sons running the business. The topic of apologetics and creation has always inspired Gary. As well, he spent 17 years being involved with Bible Study Fellowship and many years as a Sunday school teacher.

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