Expert: Joe McSorley - 1/7/2009

Question
Hi I'm a high school student and I'm doing a research project on Buddhism. I have a few questions, it is said that Buddhism is not exactly a religion. The only reason that it is a religion is because Buddha had a theory of existence. My first question is what was his theory of existence?

I have heard a little bit about Buddhism but don't know much about it, would you mind telling me little about the beliefs?

Answer
Dear Jesse,
  Technically speaking Buddhism is not a religion; it is not theistic and does not have an external means of salvation.  In Buddhism one’s awakening and redemption is all through self-effort alone.  Historically speaking Buddhism came about because of the life of the Prince Siddhartha, who when coming upon suffering, sickness and death, wanted to find an answer to the cause of suffering for humans.  He tried to lose himself in the pleasures of the world but found no solace.  He then became an ascetic, meaning someone who denies himself physical pleasure, and this too yielded no answers.  After many years of searching and frustration he finally sat under a tree and declared that he would not move until he understood the solution.  According to legend, several days later as he glanced up at the morning star his mind became clear and he was enlightened.  From this he postulated the Four Noble truths of Buddhism:
Life (human) is dukkha . (Suffering, with no apparent cause), There is a cause for the suffering. ( avidya or ignorance.), the cause can be abated, and there is a path ( Margo yoga).  What the crux of this is that our minds do not see reality clearly, we do not know who we are, both to ourselves and in relation to the universe.  The cause for this is ignorance of ourselves as egos that blinds us to seeing beyond ourselves.  This can be remedied.  And there are many ways to do this, such as yoga, contemplation, self-examination, etc.  When one realizes the true nature of reality, often called ‘seeing things as they are’, one has an identical experience to the historical Buddha so there is no hierarchy.  The word ‘buddha’ means ‘awakened one’ so anyone can become a buddha.  As Buddhism evolved through the centuries there have been many different sects arising that have developed each with their own view of Buddhism and their own practices.
    Take care,
              Joe