May 2006 Retreat

Some Thoughts on the Buddha
A Talk by Swami Medhasananda

According to the Indian lunar calendar, Buddha's birthday falls on 13 May this year, the full moon of the first month of the Indian calendar year. It is also a remarkable coincidence that Buddha both experienced nirvana and passed away on the first full moon days of those respective years as well. Not only is Gautama Buddha loved and respected by Buddhists, but Hindus, too, regard Buddha as an incarnation of God, as is Rama and Krishna, and his birthday is a national holiday in India.

Some people throughout history become famous by conquering kingdoms or in leading armies in the slaying of many people. Such figures in the pages of history, however, rarely command any love or respect, nor are they sources of inspiration for future generations. Another, much rarer, kind of person becomes famous not by conquering kingdoms, but by conquering the hearts of people, by becoming sources of inspiration for mankind. This rare type of individual is not only loved and respected during his lifetime, but continues to be honored by posterity. They are the saviors of humanity. Lord Buddha was one such person.

Although he was born more than 2,500 years ago, we see how much Lord Buddha is loved, respected and worshipped even today, and the appeal of Buddha and Buddhism is still growing. This is because the lives and teachings of such great souls are universal. Therefore, not only Buddhists, but non-Buddhists as well, get inspiration from his life and teachings.

Since we more or less know the life story of Buddha and we don't have much time at our disposal, I won't go into any great detail. But it is recorded that Buddha's mother had a dream of a white elephant and a lotus  entering her womb, and when she conceived Prince Siddhartha was born. He was an exceptional child of great intelligence and proficient in many subjects. What was very remarkable is that he was very meditative, thoughtful, analytical and rational even as a child as well. At the same time he had tremendous love and sympathy for others, not only for humanity, but for animal beings as well.

Later, Siddhartha was given in marriage to the beautiful Princess Gopa (also known as Princess Yasodhara). His father, King Suddhodan, arranged to make his life comfortable, luxurious and sheltered from the world outside. But when the prince witnessed death and persons of old age and others suffering from disease; when he became familiar with the sufferings of humanity, he sought ways to overcome this suffering. He was not only thinking in terms of himself, his wife or their new-born child, but how humanity as a whole could overcome the inevitable sufferings of old age, disease and death. He understood that to find these answers he would have to renounce family, hearth and home and become a monk.

After long, hard and deep spiritual practices he finally experienced spiritual truth and realized how one could overcome these inevitable sufferings of life. Upon attaining this realization he became known as Buddha, the Awakened. Only one who has realized spiritual truth is awakened. Others, though apparently awake, are sleeping. Lord Buddha began teaching this truth, and to accomplish this he travelled a lot and made many his disciples. He founded the first monastic organization in the world. Then after a long, eventful, missionary life he passed away at eighty years of age.

Now what are the character traits of Lord Buddha? First of all, love for others, sacrifice for others, and not only for human beings, but for animal beings as well. There is the story of when Buddha offered himself to a king in exchange for the life a goat that was about to be sacrificed in a ritual. The king was so impressed that he stopped the practice of animal sacrifices.

In India I have seen veterinary surgeons who treat animals, especially cows, but I don't believe I have come across any animal hospitals. After coming to Japan I find many animal clinics here and there, and I don't see many cows, so these are obviously for dogs and cats and other pets. I was so surprised at this arrangement for animals, which is very admirable, but of course, such services are expensive. But, back to our story, in India Buddha was so influential with kings like Ashoka in his time, that free clinics were started for the treatment of animals.

Buddha had this idea that he didn't want the final nirvana, so that he may be born again and again on this earth to remove the sufferings of humanity, this is the concept of Bodhisattwa. Though he knew very well that by taking a birth one embraces the eventual sufferings of old age and disease and death, still he chose this. Although he showed others how to escape the sufferings of rebirths, he, himself, chose to be reborn with an altruistic mission. In this we can feel the great heart of Buddha. In this connection we can remember the words of Swami Vivekananda who said, "I would like to be reborn again and again, so that I can remove the sufferings of the people."

Another important feature of Buddha's teachings is that although he was influenced by the Hindu scriptures he had to study in his youth, he had his own originality. His teachings were not a carbon copy of Vedic teachings. His teachings were very rational, analytical and reflective. One has to be rational, analytical and reflective. There is not place for ritualistic devotion in his teachings. He would say, "Do not depend on me. Do not depend on others. Be your own light."

As Swami Vivekananda would also tell others to never imitate him, to be an original. Without depending on others one should be a light unto himself. Swami Vivekananda takes the position in his teachings on Jnana Yoga that one should know that whatever replies you receive to your prayers actually come from within. If we understand the unity of the soul then what is the difference between the devotee and God, because we are all united in spirit.

As we know, Buddha was silent about the existence of God. He asked why should we bother about whether or not there is a God when we are suffering from the problems of life, and we can solve those problems irrespective of God. His approach was very pragmatic, saying that we should, instead, put our effort into resolving these problems. Find out the reasons for your sufferings and solve them.

As we see in later days the followers of Buddha began worshipping Buddha himself as God. For most people, without such an idea of divinity, without ideas of God or an incarnation of God or a teacher whom they consider as God, it is very difficult for ordinary people to face the crises of life. So for practical purposes, Buddha became God for people. How do we reconcile Buddha's teaching to be one's own light with the later followers of Buddha? Well, there is no contradiction. One can believe in God and incarnations of God, but at the same time there is a tremendous scope for self-initiative, to create one's role in spiritual life. There is a saying in English; God helps him who helps himself. As Sri Ramakrishna said, "The wind is blowing, you must unfurl your sail." So self effort is very important in spiritual life.
 
Another great contribution of Buddha is that he started the first monastic organization in the world, "For the good of many people, for the happiness of many people." When Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission, some would claim that Swamiji got this idea of monastic organization from the West, but this is not true. It was Buddha who first established a monastic organization. One may even say that Buddhist monasteries were the inspiration for the Catholic monastic orders that were to come later. One may say that Buddha was a great pioneer in the establishment of monastic organizations as well. ･