Expert: Joe McSorley - 6/1/2006

Question
Mr McSorley,

I am a born Buddhist following the Theravada tradition. I am now in my 50s. I chance to come across your comment under "Buddhism in general" which I quote:

"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."

I would like to take the liberty to make a clarification as a knowledgeable and practising Theravada Buddhist. We do not treat the historical Buddha as godlike and we do not pray to him or to any god for that matter.  We have the least rituals.  We revere the Buddha as a mark of respect for our compassionate teacher.  We take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, no one else. By taking refuge we mean we revere the Buddha, we practise his teachings, and we support the community of his monks of the highest order.

Thank you for letting me express my clarification.

Regards from "pearl".  

Answer
Dear Pearl,
  Thank you for your clarification.  I will pay attention to it and amend my description in the future.  After receiving your letter I thought long and hard about my view and would like to explain why I have taken this view over the years.  Let me first say that after some research I found my view is fundamentally wrong and I thank you for the clarification.  I do, however,  see a difference between what you and others state and what I have experienced and read elsewhere.  The  ’ we’ you use to describe Theravada Buddhist belief does not seem to apply to all those who practice the tradition while it may describe your belief.  The difference comes in the everyday practice of the followers of Theravada that I have experienced many times over the years. I’ve spent decades with both the Chinese community and with many people from Southeast Asia.  I had the fortune to spend a year in Buddhist seminars with a Theravada priest from Ceylon and discussed these topics with him many times.  He was quite clear about his belief in an incarnate Buddha and in the belief of Maitreya Buddha returning from the heavens. Right or wrong,  I find these beliefs to be quite common among Southeastern Asian Buddhists and not unlike some beliefs in Western religion. I have been careful in my research over the last days not to incorporate the beliefs of other Buddhist traditions such as Pureland in this writing and have only read what is on Theravada sites.
At its core you are correct about the teachings of Theravada for it does not have a deity and is reliant upon self-awakening. In my experience the daily practice of the people of the areas I mentioned has been quite different from this core.  I have witnessed the praying of people to the “Buddha” on many occasions and I have been involved in such activities in the kwoons of several Chinese masters.  I have had many lay Chinese and Vietnamese, incorrectly, describe Buddha as god.  In the everyday practice of Theravada I do see the prayers, gods, arhants/saints and icons.  I have also seen the treatment of the historical Buddha as godlike but I did not say he was seen as god.  Here is a prayer from a Theravada site:
“The Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened and Blessed One -
I render homage to the Buddha, the Blessed One.
He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;
He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;
He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy.”

I have also heard this many times over the years:
“ May Buddha bless you.”

Although it may not mean to imply the Buddha as god it is very similar to prayers of the Western traditions and at least implies, perhaps erroneously,  a divinity or godlike quality.  These types of sayings are not apparent in Zen and Mahayana.   Along with these experiences I have read articles like this description I just took off the web for Theravada in Southeast Asia:


Spirituality in Thailand, Laos, and Burma
“While the Buddha himself was simply a man, Theravada Buddhism recognizes a variety of supernatural spirits living in six heavens incorporated from Hindu beliefs.  Some of these spirits are Hindu Gods such as Indra, others are celestial beings (devas) who cannot intervene in human affairs but whose presence is a good omen and therefore they are often depicted in temple art.  Most Buddhists aspire to be reincarnated in one of these heavens and fear reincarnation in one of the eight hells.”

And here is a description of the historical Buddha’s death:

“Buddha said to Ananda, "Go Ananda, prepare for me, between twin Sal trees, a couch with the head northward. I am exhausted and would like to lie down". A wonderful scene followed. The twin Sal trees burst into full bloom although it was not the blossoming season. Those flowers fell on the body of Buddha out of reverence. Divine coral tree flowers and divine sandalwood powders fell from above on Buddha's body out of reverence.”

  There is also the mythology in Southeast Asian traditions and displayed on some websites of the divine conception of the historical Buddha.  I do not find this type of literature on Zen or Mahayana websites or in their writings.

Throughout these writings there is an idea, correct or not, of a separate heaven and of separate beings, of a transcendent birth and a supernatural death.  This is very similar to Western traditions and mythologies. Paying homage to the "revered one" or "blessed one" is similar to the teachings of Christianity where there is a separation from the teacher and his followers. In the Zen tradition you do not, or at least should not, have these ideas.  To take refuge in the Buddha, from the Zen standpoint, is to see Buddha as apart from self and therefore as false, hence the expression , “if you see the Buddha on the road, kill him”.  I am not aware of this type of language in Theravada though it may well exist.  
The idea of the monk being higher in status from the layman is similar to other religions, particularly Catholicism, but rejected by Zen.  I have read that Theravada sees the monk as, in a sense, ‘holier’ than the layman and much more likely to attain awakening.
   For all of these reasons I have described Theravada as I have for years and I still see strong evidence of these beliefs.  I hope you can understand my reasons for describing it in this manner.  I think the average person investigating Buddhism could easily be confused from such varied writings and practices.  It may be that in your own personal practice you have not come across these differences.
 Now I must restate that after having read the texts on many Theravada websites over the last two days that you are correct in your description of Theravada.  It appears that the everyday practice of  some adherents of Theravada tends to differ from the core of its teaching.  I will amend my description to respect these differences.  I apologize for any offence I may have committed in my description.  
  Thank you for bringing my ignorance to my attention.
Respectfully,
                 Joe