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E-mail: bdea@buddhanet.net
Web site: www.buddhanet.net
Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.
Ven. Dr K. Sri Dhammanada
Buddhism as a Religion
Buddhism as a Religion
1
Publication of the
Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society
Buddhist Maha Vihara,
123 Jalan Berhala,
50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1994 by the author
All rights reserved
Malaysian First Edition 1994
Published for Free Distribution
Cover design by
Chong Hong Choo
Typeset by
Infortrans Sdn. Bhd. P. J., Malaysia.
Printed by
Syarikat Percetakan & Perniagaan Acme,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
ISBN 983-99523-2-3
An Appreciation
In conjunction with the Centenary Celebration of the Sasana Abhiwurdhi
Wardhana Society the Management Committee feels honoured to be able to
publish this book which is based on a Dhamma talk entitled “What is
Buddhism?”, delivered at the Buddhist Maha Vihara by the Most
Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayake Thera as part of a ten week
course on World Religions.
In brief the contents of this publication are a simple exposition of
Buddhism as a modern way of life by this highly qualified scholar who has
a special gift to interpret the Dhamma to people from every walk of life.
The Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society most humbly expresses its
gratitude and pays tribute to the most Venerable for his indefatigable
services in his exposition of the Dhamma and for rendering invaluable
services to the cause of Buddhism for more than 42 years in this country as
well as worldwide.
We are indeed proud to have been associated with someone of his calibre.
In conclusion, the Society wishes to express its sincere thanks to the Chief
Venerable, Mr Vijaya Samarawickrama for the editor) al work and to Mr
Ooi Chooi Seng for transcribing the talk from tape. Grateful thanks are also
due to Ms Chong Hong Choo, Messrs. Jimmy C. S Lim, Alex Perera, Quah
Swee Kheng, Eddy Yu Chen Lim and Bobby Sai for the invaluable services
rendered in the publication of this book.
May they be well and happy!
Manoris H. Albert
President
Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society
Buddhist Maha Vihara Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
25th August 1994
1
Since there are already so many religions in
this world, why is it necessary for us to have
another religion called Buddhism? Is there any
extraordinary characteristic or contribution or
significant feature that Buddhism has which other
religions do not have? There is a school of thought
which says that all religions are essentially the
same. There are no significant differences. The only
difference is in the interpretation and practice. After
all, in the final analysis, all of us end in one place,
either heaven or hell. That is the common belief of
most religions. Does Buddhism share this
viewpoint? To answer this question we have to
examine what is meant by religion.
Definition
In the academic study of religion as a
phenomenon in history the term religion’ can be
considered in its different aspects: as an inner
experience, as theology, or intellectual formulation
of doctrine, as a basis or source of ethics and as an
element in culture.
Different scholars have given different views
and opinions of its nature and meaning. According
to Aldous Huxley, religion is, among other things, a
system of education, by means of which human
beings may train themselves, first to make desirable
changes in their own personalities and in society,
and second, to heighten consciousness and so estab-
lish more adequate relations between themselves
and the universe of which they are parts. Modern
Indian philosophers like Dr. Radhakrishnan, have
expounded the theme that religion is not a set of
doctrines but that it is experience. And religious
experience is based on the realisation of the
presence of the divine in man .H.G. Wells says
religion is the central part of our education that
determines our moral conduct. The German
philosopher, Kant, stated thatreligion is the
recognition of our moral principles as laws that
must not be transgressed.
The Buddha’s message as a religious way of
life: “Keeping away from all evil deeds, cultivation
of life by doing good deeds and purification of mind
from mental impurities.” For our purposes, religion
may be defined in a very broad sense as a body of
moral and philosophical teachings and the
acceptance with confidence of such teachings. In
this sense, Buddhism is a religion.
2
Buddhism however does not neatly fit into
the general categories outlined earlier because it
does not share common features with other existing
religions in many ways. To consider this matter
further let us first of all briefly examine how
religion could have come into being.
Beginnings
Why did religion originate? You might have
heard that the origins of religion lie in mans fear,
suspicion and insecurity. In the days before
organised religions began, people did not have
adequate knowledge and they could not understand
the real nature of this life and what would happen to
them after their deaths. They could not understand
even the causes of natural phenomena or natural
occurrences. According to their ‘limited
understanding, they suspected there must be certain
unknown forces which created all these pleasant or
unpleasant things. Eventually, they began to notice
that there is an energy behind the forces of nature
which they calledshakti. They experienced an
inexplicable sense of awe and dread towards these
powers which they felt could harm them in some
way. They therefore felt that these powers must be
placated and used to protect or at least to leave them
alone. Not trusting their ability totalk to these
forces in ordinary language, they thought it would
be more effective to mime their messages. Finally
the actions to enlist the favour of these forces
became ritualized into forms of worship. Some
people were identified as having special powers to
communicate with these forces and they enjoyed
great power in the group.
After worshipping and praying, early men
thought they could control the undesirable
occurrences and at the same time ensure a degree of
protection as reward from these unseen forces or
energies. To help them better visualize what they
were trying to communicate with, they gave each
force a name and a form — either conceiving it in
human or in grotesque non-human form, but always
evoking a sense of awe and fear. As time went by,
they forgot the original significance of these
representations and took them for real and
eventually accepted them as deities.
Different cultures translated ideas and
concepts into physical form and developed
particular rituals to honour and worship these
images as gods. Later as early urban settlements
began and social control became necessary certain
3
practices were used as the bases to develop moral
behaviour and to guide citizens in the correct path
to ensure the well being of the community. Thus
developed concepts such as humanism, human
responsibilities and human values such as honesty,
kindness, compassion, patience, tolerance, devotion,
unity and harmony. To ensure that these qualities
would be further enhanced, the leaders instilled fear
in the believers, threatening them with punishment
by the gods in the life hereafter if they did not
behave in an accepted manner. Religion was the
result of the fusion of moral behaviour and belief in
the supernatural. We will discuss Morality in
greater detail later.
Concept of God
This is how imagination and humanism
eventually fused together to become religion. Some
people say that it is difficult to believe that any god
created religion. Perhaps we could say that man
created religion and later introduced the concept of
a god into religion. An American philosopher, Prof.
Whitehead, once stated that originally man created
god and later god created man. What he meant was
that the concept of god was created by man and
later this concept was transformed into divinity. On
the other hand, a French philosopher, Anatole
France said that if the concept of god did not exist,
some how or other, man would have created one
because it is very important for his psyche. A divine
power is necessary to allay our innate fear,
suspicion, worries, disturbances, anxiety, craving.
To avoid problems we depend on an external force
to give us solace. Knowing the nature of the human
mind, therefore, Anatole France said that if a god
did not exist we would have to create one.
In this sense we are just like children. When
a small baby is crying and the mother is too busy to
carry it, what she does is to put a teat in its mouth to
comfort it. That will stop the baby from crying. The
concept of god helps many people in this manner,
To stop their worries and dry their tears they
develop various pacifiers in the form of religious
beliefs and practices.
The Buddha
It was in a religious climate such as this that
the Buddha appeared. As a prince living in the lap
of luxury he started to think very deeply on why
living beings suffer in this world. What is the cause
4
of this suffering? he asked. One day while he was
sitting under a tree as a young boy, he saw a snake
suddenly appear and catch a frog. As the snake and
the frog were struggling, an eagle swooped down
from the sky and took away the snake with the frog
still in its mouth. That incident was the turning
point for the young prince to renounce the worldly
life. He began to think about how living beings on
the earth and in the water survive by preying on
each other. One life form tries to grab and the other
tries to escape and this eternal battle will continue
as long as the world exists. This never-ending
process of hunting, and self preservation is the basis
of our unhappiness. It is the source of all suffering.
The Prince decided that he would discover the
means to end this suffering.
Renunciation
He studied under various religious teachers
and learnt everything they had to teach but was
unable to discover how to end suffering. He spent
many years pondering this question. Finally at the
age of 29 he seriously contemplated on old age,
sickness, death and freedom through renunciation,
and decided that without giving up his worldly
preoccupations and his responsibilities and
pleasures it would be impossible for him to find the
answer. That is why he had to leave the palace in
what is known as “The Great Renunciation”.
After struggling for six years, which represented the
culmination of endless life cycles of cultivation and
struggle for spiritual development, he finally gained
enlightenment and understood the secret of our
suffering. This was the beginning of another
religious system’. But it was a religion like nothing
anyone had known in the past. In fact many people
today do not even like to call Buddhism a religion,
because the word ‘religion’ evokes a great many
negative emotions in their minds.
Beliefs and Practices in Ancient India
There was no reason at all for the Buddha to
introduce another religion because at that time 2600
years ago there were already 62 religious cults in India
alone. Since the existing religions during his time
could not provide the answers to his questions he
decided not to use the ingredients or concepts of these
religions to introduce what he himself had realised.
摘要:

eBUDDHANET'SBOOKLIBRARYE-mail:bdea@buddhanet.netWebsite:www.buddhanet.netBuddhaDharmaEducationAssociationInc.Ven.DrK.SriDhammanadaBuddhismasaReligionBuddhismasaReligion1PublicationoftheSasanaAbhiwurdhiWardhanaSocietyBuddhistMahaVihara,123JalanBerhala,50470KualaLumpur,Malaysia.1994bytheauthorAllright...

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