 Perhaps one word that captures the three most important elements of Buddhism – Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana – is Tathagata. It has been used again and again to address and describe Shakyamuni Buddha (624 – 544 BCE) – as an embodiment of the nine attributes (see Some Difficult Things). The word – simply characterizes the one who has gone beyond and above the level of human comprehension – to attain Buddhahood by conquering what are essentially empty of substance – to something that is complete and meaningful – to the bliss of Nirvana. This began in his search for understanding the causes of unhappiness in life (see Happiness). From the beginning he realized the fundamental aspiration of human beings: happiness is something everyone cherishes and holds dearest of all. Therefore, to his curious mind the causes of the fleeting nature of something so precious must be explored.
It led him to arrive at the conclusion that ignorance is the root cause initiating the cobweb of unhappiness – and that humans have all the strengths and capabilities to find liberation from that vicious cobweb (the 3rd and the 4th Noble Truths; see Happiness). The Buddha humbly (Ehipassiko – come and see for yourself) invited all to realize that Bodhicitta is within each of us – with the potential for it to bloom like a Lotus – by following the Dharma he discovered and taught – that identified the causes of unhappiness and the Way to win over it. His teaching (soothing in the beginning, soothing in the middle and soothing in the end) is like a friend that remains with one no matter what – teaching all to lead a moral balanced life, be happy and let others become happy. To train and to make sure that his disciples have understood the Dharma – he let them deliver some of the Sutras – and when satisfied blessed by saying Tathastu. The Buddha’s journey to that process of perfection to Enlightenment – took him traveling through the corners of northern Indian Subcontinent living with and learning from people of all walks of life including those in similar pursuits – to his ultimate realization of the Truth. He was not satisfied with the prevailing definition of truth – taught to him within the palace doors – and by what was taught by gurus and ascetics with whom he learned things together. His fundamental age-old question was: if gods and goddesses exist and people worship and pray to them for help – then why suffering of all sorts. Where is harmony? Why animosity and fighting in every strata of the society? Where are these spiritual beings to help? Such queries led him to go beyond what were commonly believed. By going beyond, he abandoned the path of dependence on gods and goddesses for one’s and societal well-being and salvation. Instead, he focused on human mind – the breeder and forerunner of everything – saying that the solution must be approached by calming the mind to see things as they are. Thus by kindling the light of wisdom and compassion, darkness is dispelled and Enlightenment is attained on true nature of things. What is achieved, was described as Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi – the perfect awakening that has never been heard of – and excelled before. A 2024 article - The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom - celebrating the 2024 Vesak Day - sheds further light on various aspects of Buddhahood. . . . The Buddha accomplished it by mastering the Ten Perfections of Wisdom (according to the Theravada Tradition: 1 – Dana-Parami [Generosity, Altruism]; 2 – Sila-Parami [Morality, Integrity]; 3 – Nekkhamma-Parami [Let-go, Non-attachment]; 4 – Prajna-Parami [Wisdom, Awakening]; 5 – Virya-Parami [Energy, Power]; 6 – Khanti-Parami [Patience, Tolerance]; 7 – Dyana-Parami [Meditation, Truthfulness]; 8 – Adhittahana-Parami [Determination, Skillful means]; 9 – Metta-Parami [Loving kindness, Non-violence]; and 10 – Upekkha-Parami [Equanimity, Calmness]. In Jataka Tales {see Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 2}, the perfections are outlined somewhat differently, but all such different elucidations convey the same meaning essentially). Thus he is often addressed as Samyak Sambuddha. . . . In the Heart Sutra, the Tathagata attribute of the Buddha is used as a six-word inspirational mantra for monks vowing to be a Bodhisattva: Gate – Gate – Paragate – Parasamgate – Bodhi – Svaha. It translates to: Go – Go – Go Beyond (expectations) – Go Utterly Beyond – Perfection is Blessed. This vow is indeed something helpful for anyone endeavoring to be successful. The Buddha’s query – to the precision of a scientific mind – is what was penned down later by Buddhist scholars at Nalanda University (world’s 2nd earliest university; 5th – 12th century CE) as a system of three elements in perfecting knowledge. It starts with curiosity and concept (anumana) – to analytical and intellectual reasoning to understand it (pratyaksa) – and ends with valid proofs (pramana) or verifications of the concept. In his Buddhahood process, anumana started with first seeing the miseries of life outside the palace courtyard – to pratyaksa while living with all walks of life in many corners of rural India – to perfecting his thoughts of liberation through pramana. The Buddha touched Earth as the witness of perfection to Buddhahood. Note that he did not ask any god or goddess to be the witness – but chose mother Earth in humility of gratitude – for it sustains and nourishes all living beings and the environment – the interdependent Systems of Fluid, Solid and Life (see Warming Climate and Entropy). . . . This piece is a tribute to the 2021 Vesak Full-moon Buddha Day on May 26th – and an attempt to consolidate some of my thoughts penned down earlier in different pieces of WIDECANVAS: The Power of Mind; Let there be Light - and there was Light; Heaven and Hell; Symmetry, Stability and Harmony; The All-embracing Power of Sublimities; Happiness – the Likeness of a Water Drop on Lotus Pad; Meditation for True Happiness; Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 1; Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 2; and Some Difficult Things. To commemorate the Vesak, I have selected a beautiful artistic portrayal (image credit: anon) of an open eight-petal lotus flower. The other articles of the annual series celebrating the Full-Moon Vesak – remembering and honoring Shakyamuni Gautama Buddha – his auspicious Birth, Enlightenment, and MahapariNirvana – are: The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom post on 22 May 2024 Vesak; the 5 May 2023 Vesak post, Something Different; the 16 May 2022 Vesak post, The Tathagata; and the 7 May 2020 Vesak post, Revisiting the Jataka Morals. Buddhism is simple and straightforward (more in The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom) – but at the same time it is steeped in deep philosophical and intellectual sophistication, insights and rationality. Simple does not mean Buddha's Way is easy - rather it teaches and asks followers to practice the guidelines of discipline and mind training wholeheartedly - to achieve the sublime Purities of Morals, Views and Mind. It kept its door open for interested individuals to question, elaborate and do research on the Dharma. This is one of the reasons why Buddhist scripture (Pabitra or Pure TRIPITAKA, the three Baskets: the SUTRA PITAKA; the BINOY PITAKA; and the ABHIDHARMA PITAKA – the Volume of Philosophical and Intellectual Texts. Also includes the DHARMAPADA and other Self-standing SUTRAS and Compilations) is so voluminous – where the Dharma is applied to explore and examine all aspects of life and livelihood in freedom without any dogmatic barriers. That is how the Buddha wanted it – he wanted people to think about the rationality of the Dharma to open their own wisdom eye. Monastic culture and some of the world’s earliest universities prevalent in different corners of the Indian Subcontinent are a testimony to that. The high literacy rate during the colonial times in countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand (higher than the colonial master, Great Britain) – have been made possible by monks engaging with the communities – with the monasteries acting as a place of learning. . . . In my attempt to understand the Dharma beyond my early-age learning, I ventured into looking at it through the logical and scientific view of things – and as I went through it; Buddhism opened up with very interesting and thought-provoking principles and ideas – that are complementary to and in sync with modern science - The Fundamental Laws of Nature.
. . . Enlightenment We use this term often in our conversations – we commonly say: please enlighten or let me enlighten. In such cases, we refer to things we do not understand or when we ask for help to clarify or explain them. The same meaning applies in Buddhism – but in a deeper sense. It is like kindling the light of wisdom to dispel darkness – to final awakening or attaining the Buddhahood. This awakening is final liberation from the cobweb of Samsara to the bliss of Nirvana. Therefore Enlightenment conveys only a portion of the Buddhahood meaning while Tathagata captures it all. One feels darkness or lost at a certain time – when queries cannot be answered by conventional knowledge or wisdom. European historians assign a medieval period (~ 5th to 15th centuries) of their history to dark ages when questioning things beyond scripture was like a taboo. Societal enlightenment began in Europe only after lifting of that veil of darkness during the Renaissance. The savagery of slavery deliberately forbade slaves to become literate – and they were told to obey without asking questions. Thus darkness was used as a tool to exploit – to take advantage of – to deprive enlightenment. Buddhism identifies Seven Factors of Buddhahood (this is one of the reasons why number 7 is considered sacred in Buddhism). They can be grouped into Four. Here are some brief elaborations:
Emptiness or Sunyata The sound of Emptiness immediately brings a notion of hopelessness and despair in human mind. People say: they feel empty with the loss of loved ones or with unbearable break-ups. Or some may have a pessimist view of it: if things are empty, then why do this or do that? While these feelings and sayings are real, in Buddhism, the contrary is true – where Emptiness is described as a supermundane Truth – as something that requires deep understanding for hope and happiness in life. I will rely on Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 2 for this part of the piece. Emptiness has two perspectives – the first is related to the laws of Transience and Dependent-origination – the second is applied as a Method of Meditation. This second method is superbly worded in Zen Buddhism: empty the mind to see things as they are. This saying sees Emptiness as part of meditation practice – as emptying the mind of what are hindering it (see Meditation for True Happiness) from concentrating and becoming calm. . . . Let me attempt to elaborate the first perspective – because it is very interesting. Time is Empty – Space is Empty – and all entities by themselves are Empty of Essence, or are Sunya. Emptiness is not defined here as something meaningless – rather as something asymmetric with a residual (see Characterizing Wave Asymmetry), or is incomplete (delivered in the Perfection of Wisdom Discourse or The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra). It is a logical conclusion of the two Universal Laws the Buddha proclaimed – the Law of Transience, and the Law of Dependent-origination. Buddha’s teaching stands on these Natural Laws to direct human efforts in the Right direction to fill-in the void of Emptiness – to True Happiness. Let us attempt to see more of it briefly – why the Buddha emphasized on this Supermundane Truth? One very important reason is to remain non-attached to things that are of no essence – to make sure that one does not fall into the trap of unhappiness in life. In other words, the Buddha was saying that to be happy – one must maintain the balance of attachments without the damaging effects of attachment. Time is Empty. In the TIME piece we have seen four perceptions of Time: the Arrow of Time (see its scientific basis in Entropy and Everything Else); in the realization of recurrence as in days and years; in the making of mind (. . . Short to the fast and restless – Long to the slow and steady . . .); and in the spacetime entanglement of realities (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair). By the time one attempts to hold on to time, it is gone – recurrence is not exactly the same – mind perception is not the same – spacetime is not the same – therefore any definition and perception of time at any moment is Empty of Essence. In time, everything is fluid in different scales – Nature is fluid (see The Fluidity of Nature), Society is in fluid motion (see Social Fluidity). The attachment to such an empty entity defining fluidity of things is bound to cause disappointments at some time – and ultimately to unhappiness. For example, if one constantly hangs on to his or her past failures or successes – things will not progress well. Or, if one has lofty dreams of the future – the reality of the present may get totally obscured misleading things. Space is Empty. The definition of Space is meaningful only in the presence of Form – and further, because of its entanglement with Time – Space by itself is Empty of Essence. When we try to define Space, we need to refer the Form it belongs to – and in the high-speed domain of EM, one also needs to refer it to Time and Mass. Interestingly Emptiness is found to be the fundamental truth – both in the minutest existence of matter and in the vastness of universe. Electrons move as a wave-particle Duality (see The Quantum World) of uncertain motions in the space around the concentrated mass of nucleus in an atom. In the vastness of space in the universe – stars, planets, satellites and other objects orbit around massive objects such as the Black Holes – in the gravitational spacetime lattice (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair). In both of them – the space or spacetime is real only in the context of heavy or concentrated masses – therefore by itself each is empty of essence. Together, the system of mass and space defines the interdependent fluxes of energy in search for equilibrium. Both space and time – the spacetime has the dynamics and scales different than humans – therefore any attachment to them is tantamount of unhappiness. All Entities by Themselves are Empty of Essence. All Natural and Social entities and their dynamics in space and time are defined by their interdependence. I have tried to explain it in the Revisting the Jataka Morals – 2 piece from my own work experience – from the physics of wave motion, or wave dynamics (see Ocean Waves; Linear Waves; Nonlinear Waves; Spectral Waves; and Transformation of Waves). We have seen there, that ocean waves are mostly visible in the dynamics of wave crest and trough, and all the irregularities associated with the processes of four inherent characteristics: (1) the wavy distortion of water mass is in response to transporting some gained energy; (2) the energy is imparted into the water mass through its interfaces with air, ground, or other masses of different densities; (3) as soon as the wave is born it is subjected to interactions giving birth to new frequencies, and becomes asymmetric and spectromatic; and (4) that a visible wave is in fact built by a multitude of waves of different frequencies, phases and amplitudes. Each of these 4 characteristics is a reality or the conventional truth – yet by itself none of them defines the wave form. This implies that a conventional truth is incomplete – and therefore, by itself is empty or empty of essence. Now, let us attempt to understand the episodes of emptiness feeling that engulf people at one time or another. How does Buddhism explain this sort of sad feeling? The answer lies in what are described in the previous paragraphs – that Spacetime is Empty and All Entities by Themselves are Empty of Essence. These two attributes describing The Fundamental Laws of Nature – say that all conditioned things are impermanent in spacetime – all conditioned things are interconnected and interactive (more in The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom). The laws imply that a net of knots - the Eternal Knot in the Fluidity dynamics of spacetime – define the whole universe affecting all – all that we experience everyday. Once the deep meaning of the laws are understood – the dynamics of causes ↔ conditions, the answer to the question becomes clear. The arising of an empty feeling – for example, from the loss of a loved one – means that a knot is lost – jeopardizing the balance in the net. That until a new reconfiguration of the net takes place – the sad feeling will continue to persist. The Buddha taught with the allegory of Kisa Gautami story – that one should try to understand the underlying natural laws to overcome the sad feeling – and try to reinforce that effort by meditation pursuits. . . . Further, the meaning of the absence of substance can be explained from two different viewpoints. The first one is rather obvious – that if everything is in flux of interdependence – the idea of the constancy of soul (Upanishadic Atma) cannot exist, and is thereby empty of essence. The second is the known fact of human experience – of the absence of desirable degrees of Happiness in human mind – such that it always eludes an individual’s aspiration – like a drop of water in the slippery lotus pad. The five most important and practical usefulness of the presence of Emptiness are:
Nirvana Nirvana, Nibbana or Nibbuti – literally means extinguishing the flame – of the engine of incessant craving – that rolls the wheel of Samsara. In death of the physical body or Rupakaya of a person who has attained Nirvana – the extinguishing is synonymous with Mahaparinirvana – when Mahabodhi or Dharmakaya (it is the highest Arupakaya realm of Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhist Cosmology) gets separated. The Shakyamuni Buddha was that person. The liberated Mahabodhi gets new light – radiating the message of symmetry, tranquility, wisdom and compassion in all Six Directions (or in Ten Directions: the first eight representing the Noble Eightfold Path – the next representing the Path toward Zenith or heavenly beings – and the other representing the Path toward Nadir or hellish beings - all transcending the spacetime of any conceivable domain. So, the Buddha’s Light is universal for emancipation of all – and active at present, as was in the past, so will be in the future – only one has to be aware of it – and work for to find it for himself or herself). In popular beliefs, the Dharmakaya lives in Sukhavati or Pure Land as the Buddha Amitabh. . . . Enlightenment paves the way to go beyond all temptations – to a stage where perfect equilibrium is reached at an extraordinary level that does not yield any residual. There is no cause, no arising, no birth, no decaying, no demise, and no rebirth – everything is in complete balance without residuals – in the eternal tranquility of universal unity. In Buddhism this eternal sublime stage is Nirvana. Any disturbance to offset that equilibrium has no effect – because the grinding wheel of Samsara was stopped. What was Sunya, incomplete or Empty of essence in Samsara – has now come to fruition, completion in Nirvana – endowed with the essence of a different kind – of the eternal peace, happiness and harmony. This radiant strength of Nirvana after Enlightenment led the Buddha to declare: I am Awake. The door to achieving Nirvana opens up when all temptations arising through the processes of Five Aggregates (see The Power of Mind) are controlled to an elimination level at which they flower into a sublime abode of Maitrey or Metta – encompassing all living beings and the environment in loving sprinkle. The 6 senses with their many qualifications and attributes – the 3 arising (painful/unpleasant, pleasant, neutral) from 2 sources (external, internal) in the 3 states of processes (past, present, future) – give rise to a total of 108 (108 = 6 x 3 x 2 x 3) different temptations. The first three sets of numbers yield the 36-streams of craving. In one of the meditation practices – in the process of flipping the 108 prayer beads – the 9 Attributes of the Buddha (see Some Difficult Things) are repeated 12 times (108 = 9 x 12). This practice of repeating represents the 12 links of Dependent-origination – the Eternal Knot. By doing this – the practitioner meditates on Buddha’s triumph over temptations in untying the knots – in attaining the Eternal Bliss. These descriptions of the processes of achieving Nirvana – the eternal bliss have given rise to 108 as the sacred number in Buddhism. Therefore meditation and prayer loops are usually adorned with 108 beads. The karmic wheel without divine intervention – loaded with wholesome deeds in Pursuits to Perfection – diligently conducted in times (deeds that are accomplished in one’s lifetime, and others accomplished in reincarnated lives after lives) has come to a stop – yielding the joy of completion. What is achieved is irreversible – from the tiring equilibrium pursuits of reversibility. . . . In Nirvana, the asymmetry of processes has yielded to the Symmetry, Stability and Harmony. The Duality of the Opposites is Entangled – not to create disturbance – but to complement each other to sublime Unity. All visible and invisible beings and the environment complement one another – to the Sublimities of Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity. Famous British poet and journalist Edwin Arnold (1832 – 1904) wrote – in lines of poetic beauty in The Light of Asia: . . . Thus “finishing the Path”, free from Earth’s cheats: Released from all the Skandhas of the flesh; Broken from ties – from Upadanas – saved From whirling on the wheel; aroused and sane . . . Lifeless – to nameless quiet, nameless joy, Blessed NIRVANA – sinless, stirless rest – That change which never changes! Lo, the Dawn Sprang with Buddha’s Victory! lo, in the East Flamed the first fires of beauteous day, poured forth Through the fleeting folds of Night's black drapery. . . . A sentence in summary. The Tathagata attributes - Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana are all part of the Noble Eightfold Path – the Wheel to Happiness – to triumph over the Samara wheel (often shown briefly as the three poisons – ignorance, greedy attachment and hatred - driving the wheel). . . . Let me stop at this with some notes on some popular practices of Buddhism. A Note on Chanting, Mantra and Prayers. All religions have this practice – presented often in soothing sounds of musical melodies and rhythms. A mantra is a gist of Truths concisely put together in a single line or in few syllables. The saying or singing of the mantra again and again in melodies and rhythms – lets the energy of the Truth permeate into one’s being. Apart from calming the practitioner’s mind in the spirit of devotion through the energy of sound – chanting, mantra and prayers also have the social benefits of bringing all devotees together. The congregations act as a way of infusing cohesion within the community – creating the beneficial environment of friendship and fellow-feeling. In addition to different Sutra chanting – some Buddhist mantras are very popular. In Tibetan Buddhism (now practiced widely by all Buddhists), the essence of the Noble Eightfold Path is chanted as a 6-syllable mantra: Om – MaNi – PadMe – Hum. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1935 - ) interpreted it as: the practice of the Path – as an invisible union of method and wisdom – helps one to purify the body, speech and mind into an exalted state – like a jewel (MaNi) in the lotus (PadMe). Om is a sacred sound in Buddhism representing the birth of the universe and Samsara; and Hum represents the resolve of the praying person to follow the Path. The Shakyamuni Mantra is chanted 108 times as a devotional remembrance of the Shakyamuni Buddha’s triumph over 108 temptations. In Sanskrit, this auspicious mantra is chanted for blessing as: Om - Muni – Muni – Mahamuni – Shakyamuni – Svaha. The Lotus Sutra chanting has a similar 6-syllable mantra (the Nichiren {1222 – 1282} sect of Buddhism, the Soka Gakkai International): Nam – MyoHo – RenGe – Kyo. Nam or Namo – homage to the Buddha, his teaching; MyoHo – the jewel or Mani, the Way to liberation; RenGe – the Lotus representing the Law of Dependent-origination or Sunyata; Kyo – resolve of the chanting to follow the timeless teaching of the Buddha. Despite such popularity, mantra and chanting – must not come in the way of causing disturbance to Sati or mindfulness. Because mindfulness requires Ekaggata or steadfast quiet attention and concentration of the mind on the object of meditation. . . . Further, I like to delve into a question – a Buddhist is often asked (including myself) – mostly by people of religions originated in West Asia (see further in Something Different). The question that naturally comes to their mind is what the Buddhists do in times of despair, hopelessness, grief or in cases of high emotional distress. For them – these are the situations when they turn more to God and pray for solace, comfort and rescue – by looking up to the sky with two open hands asking for God’s blessing. What the Buddhists do? The Buddha did not pray to gods or goddesses (although there were many such Deva and Devi beliefs during the Buddha’s time in Sanatana Dharma – and still are in Hinduism) – neither does his teaching of the Middle Way have any reference to – or advice to pray to them. Instead, in each of his Sutra, the Buddha invites all visible and invisible beings (gods/goddesses, demons, etc) to assemble and listen to his Saccha Bachana – the Words of Truth. And he ends each Sutra by saying: Etena Saccha Bachana Aotute Joya Mangalam – let all be blessed with wholesomeness by listening to these Words of Truth. The Buddha even did not ask devotees to pray to him – although after Buddhahood all addressed him with respect and honor as the Bhagavan – like a grateful student does. After the Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana, different prayer services were developed at the First Buddhist Council to pay homage to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The Buddha taught his followers to stay calm and reflect on the Transience and Dependent-origination of things – and to follow the light of the Way he taught – to win over episodes of high emotional distress – to True Happiness. Therefore being a Buddhist means cultivating the lotus of wisdom to seek for the jewels of personal and societal peace and happiness - by striving to find one's own inner strength. Joyously every little find in that pursuit is rewarding. . . . The Sutra-saying has been used by monks venturing out into foreign lands – to adopt local gods and goddesses (belonging mostly to ancient Shamanic beliefs) – as protectors and promoters of Buddha Dharma – thus giving them respectful status. Buddhism also inspired syncretization of aspects of rather poorly organized ancient beliefs like Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism and Hinduism – to its ideals and customs. Even Christianity has elements developed in line with the Buddhist ideals (among many, the Bodhi tree; the Kalpa-taru or Kapruka – the tree of gifts and abundance erected during the Buddhist Dana Ceremony celebrations – transformed into Christmas tree in Christmas celebrations). This led Mongol Emperor, Mongke Khan (1209 – 1259) to say that: Buddhism is like the palm of the hand, the other religions being the fingers. In Arthur Schopenhauer's (1788 - 1860) words: . . . Buddhism is the best of all possible religions . . . To Friedrich Neitzsche (1844 - 1900): . . . Buddhism is the only genuinely positive religion to be encountered in history . . . In Anagarika Dharmapala’s (1864 – 1933) Lecture at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1893: The World’s Debt to the Buddha. In the 1939 words of Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948): . . . an eternal debt of gratitude to that great teacher . . . English historian and writer HG Wells (1866 – 1946) wrote: Buddhism has done more for the advance of world civilization and true culture than any other influence in the chronicles of mankind. In Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986) tribute: . . . And how much He gave – How joyously He soared – Escaping from birth and death – From its tyranny and entangling wheel. Enlightenment attained – He gave to the world, as the flower gives – Its scent – The Truth. . . In Osho’s (1931 – 1990) words, in The Most Excellent Way: Gautama Buddha is like . . . the highest peak of the Himalayas . . . a rare phenomenon on this earth. The rarity is that Buddha is a scientist of the inner world . . . To be religious is simple, to be a scientist is simple – but to combine, to synthesize these two polarities is incredible. It is unbelievable, but it has happened . . . The approach of adaptation to and respect for other cultures – largely avoided clashes with local beliefs – and paved the diffusive way for Buddhism to make inroad into many cultures. Finally, in Dr BR Ambedkar (1891—1956) writings. . . If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion . . . I firmly believe the Dhamma of the Buddha is the only true religion . . . I regard the Buddha’s Dhamma to be the best. No religion can be compared to it. If a modern man who knows science must have a religion, the only religion he can have is the Religion of the Buddha. This conviction has grown in me after thirty-five years of close study of all religions. And in Ven Anoma Mahinda’s words: . . . scientists, philosophers, and men of literature have proclaimed Him the ‘Greatest Man Ever Born’ . . . As an answer to the question, Buddhist monks often cite the story of Kisa Gautami. The story goes like this – once a grieving mother – Gautami came to Buddha to revive her dead infant. The compassionate Buddha moved by her grief, told her to stay calm and assured that he would be able to revive her child if she could bring a fistful of rice from families where no one ever died. The grieving mother thought that was easy. She went from door to door, but could not find the required rice. The experience opened her eyes about the reality of things and she understood what the Buddha wanted to teach her. After overcoming the grief – she came back to Buddha asking for his blessing and to accept her as a disciple. In welcoming her, the Buddha touched upon the necessity of earning punya or merit by doing kushala karma or wholesome deeds – to overcome the effects of lapses or wrongdoings in one’s life – and to be compassionate to oneself and others for harmonious living. Note the method of the Buddha – unlike other priests and gurus during his time – he did not ask Gautami for animal sacrifice and austerity – nor did he conduct puja rituals asking for the grace of gods/goddesses. Buddha’s message is clear – that an individual – only the individual himself or herself – has the power to ride over difficult times – helped and supported by friends and teachers (like the Buddha Dharma). Popular Buddhism sees the Buddha to the likeness of God – although not as a creator and ultimate arbiter – but more as an honorable friend and teacher. He is addressed as the Bhagavan Buddha – a supremely compassionate Tathagata who brought-in the light of wisdom for the benefits of all. Statues of the Shakyamuni Buddha adorn all temples, also in devotees’ home shrine – sometimes along with some of his disciples. Devotees pay homage to the Buddha by chanting prayers – similar to the likeness of devotees in other religions. . . . There are also other systems of visualizations. One such popular system is visualization of the Dharmakaya or Mahabodhi of historic Shakyamuni Buddha – believed to be living in Sukhavati or Pure Land (the highest realm in Buddhist Cosmology) as Buddha Amitabha or Buddha Vairocana. It is believed that Dharmakaya is there to show the brightness of light to all sentient beings. The Flower Garland Sutra described Dharmakaya as the Four Faces of the Unity (Sculptural depiction of the Four Faces - are portrayed in the shape of Buddha face). These Four are: the Duality (1 & 2) of the Opposites – its qualification: the Entanglement (3) of the Dualities, and the Complementarity (4) of the Dualities. This ancient Buddhist metaphysics is apparent in the findings of modern physics (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair and The Quantum World). The Buddha’s Godly characterization in a sense amounts to immortalization of the Buddha-Dharma – as a timeless teaching – as a guide for liberation after Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana. Buddhists pay tribute to Mahabodhi, especially during the Buddha Day celebration through festivals like Saga Dawa, sky-lantern, water-lantern joyful congregations and feeding the poor. Some other Buddha’s famous disciples (the likeness of Saints in Christianity) are also immortalized – differing in importance on grounds of cultural differences – among them, the two notables are: Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri who represent embodiments of Compassion and Wisdom, respectively. . . . The happy dust of the Indian Subcontinent that was once criss-crossed by the Buddha – marking some of the milestones of his life (e.g. Lumbini; Bodhgaya; Rajgir, Nalanda and Sarnath and Vaishali, Shravasti and Kushinagar) – are now very popular pilgrimage sites for devotees and all. While paying homage to these sacred sites, a reflection on Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s (1861 - 1941) many writings – in articles, poems and dance-drama on Buddhism – opens one’s wisdom eye. In one poem, The Delirium of Hatred he saw the vision for the Buddha’s brilliant radiance – to shine one more time for the sake of saving humanity drifting into the delirium of hatred and conflict: . . . All creatures are crying for a new birth of thine Oh, thou of boundless life Save them, rouse thine eternal voice of hope Let Love’s lotus with its inexhaustible treasure of honey Open its petals in thy light O Serene, O Free In thine immeasurable mercy and goodness Wipe away all dark stains from the heart of this earth . . . Happy Vesak the Buddha Day!!! On this Auspicious Full-moon Day – let Metta touch Everyone’s Heart to bring Peace and Harmony across the Globe . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 26 May 2021
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