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PAGE 5-July 5,1973
The Buddha Religion
BY WILLIAM J. WHALEN
In the 6th century before Christ the founder of a new sect
within Hinduism proposed a method of liberation which even
the lower castes could follow. Eventually this sect was branded
as heretical and became a religion separate from Hinduism. It is
known as Buddhism.
The founder of Buddhism was born into the warrior caste in
India about 560 B.C. As a young man Siddhartha Gautama was
apparently shielded from the harsher realities of life such as
death, disease, and poverty.
Gautama married and had one son. But when he faced the
fact of pain and suffering he found no satisfaction in the
answers given by Hinduism. He left his family to begin a search
for a better solution to the problem of suffering.
Gautama continued his spiritual search for five or six years.
Yoga, fasting, meditation, mortification failed to show the way.
Finally while sitting under a Bo-tree he experienced the
illumination which revealed the truth path to emancipation.
From then on he was known as the Buddha or the Enlightened
One.
Buddha proclaimed the Four Noble Truths. First, that
existence involves suffering. Second, that suffering is caused by
desire. Third, that the way to escape suffering is to eliminate
desire. And fourth, that to quench desire a man should follow
the Eightfold Path.
This Eightfold Path prescribed by Buddha asks that a man
pursue right thoughts, right intentions, right speech, right
action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right
concentration.
Buddha and his followers adopted an agnostic position
regarding the existence of God and other metaphysical
questions. Buddhism concentrates on how a man can extinguish
the three main desires which lead to suffering: the desires for
pleasure, prosperity, and continued existence. The effort to
extinguish these desires may take more than one lifetime but
Buddhism holds out the hope that a man can in time achieve the
desired liberation or Nirvana.
At first Buddha imparted his teaching to a group of monks
Buddhist
but as time passed Buddhism spread to the masses in India and
other Asian countries. Buddha spent nearly 45 years preaching
and counseling but he never wrote down his teachings. About
150 years passed before this oral teaching was committed to
writing.
Buddhism has had a major influence on every Oriental
culture although it no longer has many adherents in its
homeland in India. The estimated 300 million Buddhists belong
to various sects.
The form known as Mahayana or the Greater Vehicle
predominates in China, Japan, Korea and Viet Nam. One of the
distinctive features of this school is the belief in Bodhisattvas.
Something like “saints,” the Bodhisattvas are beings which have
qualified for Nirvana but out of compassion for mankind have
postponed their reward in order to help men achieve the same
goal. They visit the earth in incarnations to help people follow
the true way.
Hinayana or the Lesser Vehicle is the form of Buddhism
found in Thailand, Ceylon, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and
Indonesia. Its adherents prefer the term Theravada and claim to
be closer to the original ideas of Buddha. In Tibet, Buddhism
combined with magic and demon worship in what we know as
Lamaism. Perhaps 100,000 Americans, mostly of Japanese
ancestry, practice Buddhism.
The Fathers of Vatican II observed: “Buddhism in its
multiple forms acknowledges the radical insufficiency of this
shifting world. It teaches a path by which men, in a devout and
confident spirit, can either reach a state of absolute freedom or
attain supreme enlightenment by their own efforts or by higher
assistance.”
Monasticism has always played an important role in
Buddhism. A novice shaves his head, dons a yellow or orange
robe, takes a new name, and begins to live by the 220 rules of
the order.
Strictly speaking the monks are supposed to beg for their
living. Older men often enter a monastery after they have
married and raised a family. Buddhist nuns follow a similar way
of life. The total number of Buddhist monks and nuns is
estimated at 800,000.
A form of Japanese Buddhism called Zen Buddhism has won
a following among Western intellectuals and hippies. Students
study the 1700 traditional questions or koans such as the
famous koan “Tell me the sound of one hand clapping.” Zen
monks may meditate as long as six hours a day in their search
for liberation. For some Westerners Zen is more of a philosophy
or intellectual technique than a religion.
“MONASTICISM has always played an important
role in Buddhism. A novice shaves his head, dons a
yellow or orange robe, takes a new name, and begins to
live by the 220 rules of the order.” A monk prays
before an image of Buddha at a temple. (NC Photo
courtesy Claretian Publications.)
Religions of the World Series--
Compassion
BY FATHER CARL J. PFEIFER, S.J.
Slowly I paged through a book of remarkably sensitive
photographs by the late LIFE photographer, Larry Burrows.
There was a pensive little girl waiting to be fitted with an
artificial leg, a widow weeping over the body of her husband
and tear-filled faces of young and old. There was a beggar dying
in a Calcutta train station, a person undergoing surgery in a
remote region of Burma, and a tough GI weeping after a
buddy’s death.
The book called up all the suffering of mankind. It’s title
revealed the heart of the photographer: LARRY BURROWS —
COMPASSIONATE PHOTOGRAPHER.
As I studied his photos of suffering persons, my mind
wandered back some 25 centuries to the fascinating story of
Siddhartha Gautama, known to the world as Buddha. Brought
up in luxury by an overprotective father, Siddhartha knew only
young, beautiful, healthy people during his entire youth.
Then one day as he rode happily along in his chariot, he
came upon an old man hobbling along the road with a crutch.
Shortly after, he met a sickly man, his face wracked with pain.
Then he encountered a funeral procession.
Never before had he known suffering. His sensitive heart was
deeply troubled. The sight of a peaceful monk walking along the
road intensified his anguish. How could one find peace in a
world marred by such pain?
In his struggle to make sense out of life’s sorrows he left his
luxurious home. After six years of searching, he experienced a
memorable night of enlightenment. The next morning he
formulated what was to become the basis of faith for billions of
men and women down to the present day.
“Life,” he said, “is suffering!” “Suffering,” he went on,
“arises out of selfish craving for pleasure, power and continued
life.” He continued: “Suffering ceases with the cessation of
these selfish desires.” To these three insights he added a
practical eightfold path for stifling selfish craving. Known as the
Four Noble Truths these insights into life’s meaning provide the
foundation of Buddhist faith.
Enlightened by this knowledge Buddha was moved by
compassion for suffering mankind. Instead of continuing to
enjoy the happy state of NIRVANA he achieved during the
night of his enlightenment, he travelled up and down India
teaching his Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path of
Righteousness. He devoted the remaining 45 years of his life to
sharing his saving knowledge with those caught up in the
mystery of life’s sorrows. Countless millions of men and women
for 2500 years have therefore revered him as the
“compassionate Buddha.”
While the several branches of Buddhism reveal a wide variety
of theological interpretations, religious practices, and lifestyles,
all embrace as an ideal the compassion of Buddha. Entitled to
the enjoyment of NIRVANA, he freely postponed that
enjoyment to spend himself on behalf of suffering mankind.
Buddhists recall the saying of Buddha about the primacy of
love: “None of the means employed to acquire religious merit,
by monks, has a sixteenth part of the value of loving-kindness.
Loving-kindness, which is freedom of heart, absorbs them all.”
The way to overcome the selfishness that is the cause of
human suffering is that of compassionate love. Unselfish love
brings freedom from selfish desire.
His faithful followers, never forgetting Buddha’s example and
teaching of compassion, seriously struggle to overcome
selfishness by growing in compassion. Whether they revere
Buddha as a great teacher or worship him as divine, he remains
the compassionate Buddha. His way is one of compassionate
and universal love.
Larry Burrow’s photos remind one of the pervasiveness of
suffering in man’s life. Buddha has provided insight into human
suffering and a way of coping with it for literally billions of
people during twenty five centuries. As we grow in
understanding and admiration of Buddhist ideals, we do well to
reflect on the richness of our Christian insights into suffering
and ask ourselves how well we live up to the challenge of Jesus:
“Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate”
(Lk 6:36).
/ \
m (All Articles On This Page Copyrighted 1973 by N.C. News Service) m
[Know Y our F aith J
Communion More Than Once a Day
BY FATHER JOSEPH M. CHAMPLIN
“When terribly busy, I try to make up through the intensity
of my prayer what may be lacking in its length.” St. Teresa of
Avila, the active Spanish mystic, made that comment.
It serves as a good starter in this consideration of receiving
Communion more than once a day. For throughout the
Church’s history there has been a rather constant tendency on
the part of some to measure spiritual realities in material terms.
The more prayers we say, the better our prayers; the more
indulgences obtained, the swifter we enter heaven; the more
Communions we receive, the holier our lives.
There is a certain truth to these assertions. But behind them
lurks the error of “quantifying grace,” of viewing God’s grace
like an element similar to ice cream which can be dished out in
large or small amounts. From this standpoint, the more you can
get, the better.
In its January “Instruction on Facilitating Sacramental
Communion in Particular Circumstances,” the Holy See made
specific note of such an attitude. It retained the traditional
regulations about Communion only once a day and in fact
rejected the procedure of receiving our Lord several times daily
from purely devotional motives.
The decree even offers an explanation for that decision. “To
a simple desire for repeated reception of Holy Communion it
should be answered that the power of the Sacrament by which
faith, charity and the other virtues are nourished, strengthened
and expressed is all the greater to the extent that one more
devoutly approaches the sacred table.”
IN A WORD, one intensely devout Mass and
Eucharist surpasses in value a mere multiplicity of
Holy Communions.” (NC Photo by Thomas N.
Lorsung)
This response, taken from St. Thomas Aquinas, sounds very
much like St. Teresa and her comment about prayer. In a word,
one intensely devout Mass and Eucharist surpasses in value a
mere multiplicity of Holy Communions.
The decree, however, then turns the coin over and examines
a different, but related issue. It recognizes the change in today’s
situation (e.g., different eucharistic fast regulations, evening
Masses) and admits that on occasions it could prove spiritually
beneficial for persons to receive the Eucharist twice the same
day. The document then lists several circumstances in which this
may now be permitted.
That wise decision flows from the nature of the Eucharist as
a sacred banquet and of Holy Communion as the people’s most
perfect participation in a Mass.
An earlier, 1967, “Instruction on Eucharistic Worship,”
stated that the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, “is at the same time
and inseparably” a sacrifice, a memorial, and a sacred banquet.
“A sacred banquet in which, through the communion of the
Body and Blood of the Lord, the People of God share the
benefits of the Paschal Sacrifice ...” Everyone at a banquet,
naturally, eats and drinks the food and beverages prepared. The
conclusion here should be obvious.
Article 56 in the General Instruction for the Revised Order
of Mass actually spells out that logical deduction. “Since the
eucharistic celebration is a paschal meal, the body and blood of
the Lord should be received as spiritual food in accord with his
command.”
Our Holy Father has extended the opportunities for
reception of Holy Communion twice on the same day to cover
practically all occasions when it would be wise to do so. The
norm conceivably could be simplified into these terms: “Don’t
stay for a second Mass in order to receive Communion. But if
you participate in a second Mass for some special reason (e.g., a
wedding, a funeral, a Confirmation, or on any of the occasions
outlined in the new instructions, then by all means approach the
altar, if you wish, and receive the Lord.”
The Dead Sea
BY STEVE LANDREGAN
The contrasts to be found in the Holy Land are nowhere
more apparent than between the two seas of the Jordan Valley.
In the north lies the Sea of Galilee and in the south the Dead
Sea.
Near the headwaters of the Jordan, the Sea of Galilee is filled
with fresh, sweet water from the heights of Mount Hermon and
the Antilebanons. In the past it has supported a large fishing
industry and even today, one sees fishermen on the shore and in
their boats following the trade of Peter.
On the other hand, the Dead Sea lives up to its name and is
biologically dead. The high chemical content of the lake
prevents all forms of vegetation and sea life from existing there.
Most students learn in geography that the Dead Sea is the
lowest spot on the earth’s surface at 1,286 feet below sea level.
Because it has no outlet, its chemical content increases
constantly. The seven million tons of water that flow into it
each day evaporate, leaving behind residual chemical and
mineral deposits.
Both seas of Palestine have several names. The Sea of Galilee
is the name given to the northern sea in the New Testament by
Mark and Matthew and is the name most Christians use for the
lake.
John calls it the Lake of Tiberias, a first century name given
the lake after Herod Antipas built the town of that name on the
southwestern shore and named it after the Roman emperor.
Luke calls it the Lake of Gennesaret, after the Plain of
Gennesaret on the lake’s northwest comer. Flavius Josephus,
the Jewish historian of the first century, refers to it as the Lake
of Gennesar.
In the Old Testament it is called Chinnereth. Chinnereth is
the Hebrew word for harp, a term which describes the shape of
the lake and from which Gennesaret and Gennesar are derived.
The word lake more accurately describes the body of water
because of its small size. Its length is 12-13 miles and its width is
only 7-8 miles. Its blue waters, the cliffs that surround it on
three sides and the green plain to the north combine to make
the lake a true beauty spot.
Its tranquil atmosphere contrasts sharply with the hustle and
bustle of Jerusalem and most visitors find their visit to the lake
and its many historic and sacred sites a high point of their stay
in the Holy Land.
The Dead Sea also has been known by many names. It has
been called the Sea of the Arabah, after the depression that
continues south to the Gulf of Aqaba. Flavius Josephus calls it
Lake Asphatitus and obvious reference to its mineral content,
and the Israelites called it the Salt Sea. In modem Arabic it is
Bahr Lut, or Lot’s Sea, after the nephew of Abraham who
escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
These two cities are believed to lie beneath the surace at the
Dead Sea’s southern extremity. Biblical tradition describes this
shallow bay as the location of the Plain of Five Cities, among
which were the sinful pair,. . . Sodom and Gomorrah.
The sea or lake is 48 miles long and 8 miles wide, with a
tongue of land extending from the eastern shore to within two
miles of the western shore near the southern end. This tongue
marks the beginning of the shallow bay area.
In the north, the sea reaches a depth of 1,300 feet. On the
northwest shore stand the ruins of the Qumran settlement and
the nearby caves wherein the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
Two-thirds of the way down the western side are found the
mins of Masada, the mountain fortress that was the last
stronghold of the Jewish zealots in their struggle against the
Romans in 73 A.D. The Dead Sea and the surrounding
wilderness are among the most desolate areas on earth.
Both seas figure prominently in the history of the Holy Land
and many of their historic and sacred sites will be examined in
the future columns on this land of many contrasts.