Expert: Justin Choo - 5/13/2007

Question
I am writing a college research paper and I need to interview a buddhist person.  I am hoping that you can answer these ten questions for me.
1.  What are the important holidays and traditions of this religion?
2.  How has religion shaped your life?
3.  What are the challenges, if any, to practicing this particular religion?
4.  What is it that initially broughy you into contact with the Buddhist religion?
5.  How has Western society impacted Buddhism and what is it like to live in the United States as a Buddhist?
6.  How does one attain enlightenment, and how would someone know that they are enlightened?
7.  Is it possible for someone who knows little of Buddhist philosophy to become a Buddhist?  If so what would that entail?
8.  How do meditations and the cleaning of one's mind enable a person to experience spirituality on a higher level?
9.  If there is no belief in God within the Buddhist religion is there a belief as to where life as we know it comes from?
10.  How does Buddhism tolerate and respect other religions?  Can someone from another faith reach enlightenment?

Answer
Hi Melissa,  

1. The most important holiday is the Wesak Day which falls on the first full moon day of May.   This day was the day the Buddha was born, gained enlightenment, and passed away.
I am not sure what you mean by "tradition".  Buddhism is about the practice to reduce one's greed, hatred and delusion.  "Tradition" will be purely associated with societies' social practices and rituals.

2. I was familiar with the teachings of the Buddha since a teenager.  I try my best to follow the teachings.

3. There is no challenge.  Practise to the best of my ability.

4. I was born a Buddhist in name, but made effort to study and know the teachings; and found that they were reasonable, practical and were conducive to live by.

5. How could a society which is ignorant of Buddhism can have any impact on Buddhism?  I am not from the United States.

6. Enlightenment in the Buddhist context means realizing the true nature of existence and the complete eradication of greed, hatred and delusion (of this world and this existence).  The second part of the question is obvious.

7. "Buddhist" is just a label.  If one is harmless, patient, and wise, one has the qualities of a true Buddhist.  If one does not have these attributes, even one is called a "Buddhist", one is definitely not.  Of course on the more mundane approach, a Buddhist should know the teachings of the Buddha and put them into practice.

8. Buddhist meditation is about taming and training the mind so that the person is in control of himself. An untrained mind is an untamed mind.  And an untamed mind is an unrestraint mind dictating its desires and aversions on its owner, leading him to react to situations more often harming him in the process.  Without this ability to control the mind, the person will succumb to the dictates of the mind and become a slave of the mind; reacting to every situation at the whims and fancies of the mind.  With proper control of the mind, a person becomes wiser and can better respond to life's activities with real understanding and equanimity.  Without this, a person is prone to react foolishly most of the time.

9. Is there a possibility to know the BEGINNING?  If one is intelligent enough, one would know it is impossible to have a beginning, because one would have to ask, "what was before this beginning?"  Existence is "cyclical"; it is just like the seasons.  Can we identify which was the "beginning" season?  There is no beginning; no ending.  In the whole vast universe the scenario is the same.  This is the universal truth which transcends space and time, let alone belief and religion.  At any point in time, there is "creation", "growth", "degeneration" and "destruction".  This is what we call the eternal cycle of existence.

10. The main tenet of the Buddha's teachings is not to harm others (and also oneself).  Isn't this enough advice for tolerance, peace and harmony?

 <<Can someone from another faith reach enlightenment?>>
Please refer to answer 6.

Smile from justinchoo :-)