Expert: Alex Wilding - 2/1/2008

Question
Hello Alex. I am a college student from New York that is working on my final paper comparing and contrasting a religion not my own to Christianity. I decided to look at Buddhism more in-depth after learning about Buddhism in class. I found that I have sme similiar beliefs such as karma, yoga, and meditation and decided to I wanted to learn more of the Buddhist tradition and principles. With that said, I was wondering if you could answer any 5 of the following questions so I can get a more rounded viewpoint of Buddhism from different people's experiences? Any input you can provide is greatly appreciated.

1.   Is Buddhism considered a religion, faith, philosophy, or more of a state of mind? Please explain your answer.
2.   Could you please explain what Buddhism is, in your own words?
3.   Can you please explain the difference between good karma and bad karma as it relates to the Wheel of Life and samsara?
4.   Is there a difference between yoga and meditation?
5.   What is your opinion on Modern Buddhism and the rejection of rituals, rebirth, realms of existence, etc? Do you believe that an ideal not supported by modern science should be rejected on the basis of “superstition”?
6.   It appears that many Westerns are embracing Buddhism for perhaps the wrong intentions. How do you feel about the commercialization of Buddha in American society today?
7.   Would you agree with the statement “Buddhism as a process of change initiated by the Buddha and continuing down to our modern day society, including both the traditional and modernistic schools of thought, each according to the needs of their practitioners”? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts.
8.   What are the challenges, if any, to practicing Buddhism today?
9.   How has Buddhism shaped your life?

Answer
Hi Toni,
I'm sorry it took a little time to get back to you on this, but you had several questions and it was a busy weekend. I hope that what follows might be of some help to you.

1. Is Buddhism considered a religion, faith, philosophy, or more of a state of mind? Please explain your answer.
You are right to ask this question, because the answer is not simple. Needless to say, the answer to whether it is a "religion" depends very much on what you understand by that word. Some people, in effect, define religion as having something to do with relationship with "God", considered as a supreme, personal creator of the universe. In that sense, Buddhism is not a religion. It is well known that Buddhism sees neither sense nor value in the idea of that sort of God.

That being said, many types of Buddhist practice do involve other types of what, for want of a better word, we might call "celestial" beings - gods, if you like - and there are very many aspects of Buddhist practice that have very much the flavor of a religion. Personally I have no problem calling it a religion, as long as it is understood that this does not imply a belief in an all-powerful personal creator.

"Faith" also plays a part in Buddhism, but the word has rather different connotations. Belief without sound reasons, along the lines of "blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (I quote from memory, but you probably know what I mean) is not considered a virtue in Buddhism, but trust and confidence and the willingness to keep on even when the going gets tough and confusing is definitely seen as a virtue.

There are also important aspects of Buddhism that are, I think, only sensibly described as "philosophy", although the kind of thinking embodied in Buddhist philosophy has not gone down the same roads as Western philosophy, particularly modern "philosophy".

The words you suggest to convey certain aspects of Buddhism, but do not encapsulate it. Can I suggest another word to you: Buddhism is a culture.

2. Could you please explain what Buddhism is, in your own words?
Buddhism means practicing the path to spiritual liberation for ourselves and for all other beings.

3. Can you please explain the difference between good karma and bad karma as it relates to the Wheel of Life and samsara?
If you do good or bad things you so good or bad seeds in the stream of your mind. Sooner or later these will attract you to corresponding experiences. Eventually the causes that brought you to those experiences are worn out, and the wheel turns on.

4. Is there a difference between yoga and meditation?
Yes. I am not qualified to comment on "yoga" as it is commonly referred to and taught in the modern world, but generally speaking yoga refers to something much wider than meditation alone. In terms of Tibetan Buddhism, yoga (rnal 'byor, pronounced something like "naljor") has two main meanings. You may know that the root of the word "yoga" has to do with "joining", and there are practices known as "Lamanaljor" which are primarily devotional, where the practitioner strives to join their mind with the mind of the lineage of their teachers. In another sense naljor refers to a wide range of spiritual practices that, at an advanced stage, involve manipulation of our bodily energies.

It is also perhaps worth mentioning that there are a number of words that can be translated as "meditation". Perhaps the commonest is "sgom" (pronounced approximately "gom"). This can indeed refer to something that would recognize as meditation, but its meaning is really more like "familiarization", and it means putting spiritual teachings into practice in a number of ways, meditation being just one.

5. What is your opinion on Modern Buddhism and the rejection of rituals, rebirth, realms of existence, etc? Do you believe that an ideal not supported by modern science should be rejected on the basis of “superstition”?
People will try it, and it may help some of them. Whether it makes sense to call it "Buddhism", and how long their new tradition will last are open questions to which I have no answer.

6. It appears that many Westerns are embracing Buddhism for perhaps the wrong intentions. How do you feel about the commercialization of Buddha in American society today?
Well I am not American, and have never been to America. It is very hard to judge the intentions of other people - mostly we don't know what's going on in their minds. Commercialization may not be particularly attractive, but it is a fact of life. As long as there are people who are also seriously studying and practicing the teachings, so that anybody who becomes really interested can grow beyond the commercialization, then worrying about it seems unlikely to be useful.

7. Would you agree with the statement “Buddhism as a process of change initiated by the Buddha and continuing down to our modern day society, including both the traditional and modernistic schools of thought, each according to the needs of their practitioners”? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts.
Sounds reasonable to me.

8. What are the challenges, if any, to practicing Buddhism today?
Not really so very different as the challenges have always been. The main challenges are the ignorance, greed and aversion in our own minds. Societies come and go, and some encourage better attitudes than others, but Buddhism addresses the fundamental problems of human nature. I am not sure that they are either much worse or much better than they ever have been.

9. How has Buddhism shaped your life?
It has been a wonderful journey so far.