Expert: Joe McSorley - 5/26/2006

Question
What would you say are the basic beliefs of Buddhism?   Would you say Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy?  What is the quest of dharma?

Answer
Dear Christina,
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 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.  Therevada is not unlike western religions as they revere the historical buddha as godlike and pray to him.  They have many rituals and prayers, gods, saints and icons.  Zen Buddhism does not ascribe to these practices and strives for a direct awakening.
I don’t know what you mean by the ‘quest of dharma’.  Dharma is translated in many ways such as: the truth, that which sustains, law and righteous living.  There is a Zen expression that says “Outside of mind, no dharma, outside of dharma, no mind” and another that says “All dharmas are empty”.  So to try to pin down what the quest of dharma is seems impossible.   You might say that the object of truth or being is to be just that; the truth and true being.  I hope this helps you.
    Take care,
              Joe