What is Buddha? What is the Buddhist scripture?
“Buddha” actually refers to the title given to a specific “enlightened being,” usually referring to Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha. An “enlightened being” refers to a practitioner who has attained the level of Arhat.
“Buddhist scripture” refers to the teachings and instructions given by the Buddha to his disciples, mainly on how to help practitioners attain the level of Arhat through meditation and theoretical guidance. The original Buddhist scriptures were recorded by the Buddha’s disciple Ananda, and the Tripitaka (or Pali Canon) is a collection of the earliest Buddhist scriptures. However, after being translated and preserved for many years by different individuals, some of the original texts were modified or interpreted differently. It is also difficult for modern people to understand the original Buddhist scriptures without actual meditation experience, and many later famous Buddhist texts were created by later generations, which led to some confusion and deviation from the original teachings.
Therefore, to understand the original Buddhist practice, one can only refer to the Pali Canon or the Agamas, and must combine it with meditation practice to truly understand the analysis and research of consciousness in the scriptures.
Controversies of Mahayana Buddhism.
One hundred years after the passing of the Buddha, during the reign of Emperor Ashoka in India, there were disagreements between the monastic communities in eastern and western India regarding the doctrines and ideas of original Buddhism. Eventually, the Mahasanghika school (Mahayana Buddhism) and Theravada Buddhism split from each other. During the following three hundred years, various theories and schools emerged within each branch of Buddhism.
In different regions of India, due to the influence and oppression of Brahmanism, Bon religion, shamanism, and Mahayana Buddhism on Theravada Buddhism, various types of deities and rituals emerged, including different types of heavenly kings, guardians, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya Bodhisattva, Vaisravana Heavenly King, Tara, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Amitabha Buddha, and Manjushri Bodhisattva. There were also different types of rituals and instruments influenced by Indian religions and local shamanism, including mantras, mudras, bone flutes, spirit banners, wooden fish, prayer wheels, beads, and even yoga. With the improvement of Indian society and culture around the beginning of the Common Era, a large number of written scriptures appeared, creating a system of merit, reward, punishment, and the Western Pure Land view, which objectively laid the social and cultural foundation for the promotion and popularity of Mahayana Buddhism.
There are many controversies surrounding Mahayana Buddhism. During the period of Buddhist schools, some traditional Buddhist schools did not recognize the majority of Mahayana Buddhism’s source transmission. For example, the Mahayana sutra “Lotus Sutra” introduced the concept of Theravada Buddhism as “Hinayana,” which disregards individual practice and instead emphasizes doing good deeds, such as giving, donations, and releasing animals, to accumulate merits, or regarding doing good deeds as practice, as the condition for eventually entering the Western Pure Land. In addition, Mahayana Buddhism divided the levels of practice above the original Buddhism, such as establishing the ten stages of Bodhisattva enlightenment above the four stages of enlightenment in original Buddhism, lowering the four stages of enlightenment in Theravada Buddhism, and later establishing the Vehicle of Diamond and the Vehicle of Utmost Bliss above Mahayana and Theravada. There are also other controversies that believe that the supernatural beliefs in most Mahayana sutras are overly influenced by Brahmanism, emphasizing the worship of gurus, statues and images of deities and Buddhas, and sexual worship, and involving women in sexual practices, and the later establishment of esoteric Buddhism, all of which deviate from the original direction and concept of Buddhism.
The correct direction of original Buddhist practice.
The definition of original Buddhism is different from modern religion. It was simply a group of practitioners who gathered together to practice. Original Buddhism strongly advocated a stance against individual worship and against religion, which contradicted ancient Indian Hinduism. According to archaeological records, the earliest Buddhist statue was created 500 years after the death of Buddha, and Buddhism began to evolve into a “religion” around that time.
The practice of liberation in original Buddhism involves what is called the “three vehicles”: the “Hearer Vehicle,” the “Solitary Realizer Vehicle,” and the “Bodhisattva Vehicle.” The “Hearer Vehicle” refers to the collection and analysis of all theories and information related to the attributes of the human mind, emotional control, the changes in conscious and subconscious thoughts, impermanence, meditation methods, and problems that arise during practice.For example, one must have a clear understanding of the true meaning behind the twelve links of dependent origination, such as “Dharma,” “ignorance,” “attachment,” and “craving,” as well as concepts like “Nirvana” and “karma and actions,” and how they operate on the human mind and affect our lives. and how they affect our lives. Due to the credibility of Buddhist scriptures during the transmission period becoming blurred, those in power or later generations intentionally or unintentionally misinterpreted the path of liberation, deviating from the original intention of Buddha, so practicing the “Hearer Vehicle” becomes increasingly difficult as the Dharma-ending age approaches. After obtaining a certain amount of knowledge about the human mind, the next step in original Buddhist practice is to enter into actual practice, which is called the “Solitary Realizer Vehicle.” In the practice of the “Solitary Realizer Vehicle,” one needs to apply the knowledge obtained from the practice of the “Hearer Vehicle” to solve all psychological problems encountered during meditation, such as childhood traumas, fears and anxieties, laziness, cravings, and other psychological issues. The “Bodhisattva Vehicle” means that after achieving certain results in the “Hearer Vehicle” and the “Solitary Realizer Vehicle,” experienced practitioners are encouraged to spread and teach the relevant knowledge of taming the human mind and share their meditation experiences to help more people practice the “Solitary Realizer Vehicle.” The term “Bodhisattva” in original Buddhism does not refer to a stage of enlightenment, but rather a title for a worker who has the duty of helping sentient beings achieve enlightenment. It means “an awakened being who helps sentient beings,” and anyone who correctly propagates the correct Dharma can become a “Bodhisattva.”
Supreme perfect enlightenment and equality
The “Solitary Realizer Vehicle,” which refers to meditation practice, is the essence of original Buddhism. Meditation practice is inseparable from “samadhi and prajna,” and “morality” is used as a behavioral code and standard to help with the practice of “samadhi and prajna.” “Samadhi” refers to the practitioner focusing their consciousness on one object, regardless of the influence of any emotions, just like a candle’s light can prevent the candle from being extinguished (not being swallowed by the subconscious), but the brightness of the light does not increase. To increase the brightness of the candle’s light, we must regain control of our subconscious, just as light drives away darkness. Focusing one’s consciousness on one object will make the mind “empty,” but there will still be many thoughts and emotions that arise during “samadhi.” At this point, we need to be vigilant, and when encountering these situations, we need to “observe” them, using a third-person perspective to be fully aware of and feel these situations, while understanding that these thoughts and emotions are all false and just a kind of feeling (neural signal), not being influenced by them. This is the practice of “prajna.”
When practicing the “Solitary Realizer Vehicle” to the final stage, we will become extremely sensitive to the fluctuations of our consciousness and emotions, but we can view ourselves from a detached and equal perspective and observe various illusions and hallucinations that our mind creates. This is what is meant by “Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi,” the state of supreme and equal enlightenment.
Being able to be aware of the changes in our emotions, consciousness, and subconsciousness at any time is “right mindfulness.” After being aware, no matter how painful or terrifying the feeling that arises, how hateful the memory is, how real the hallucination appears, or how pleasant the mood is, we can detach ourselves and observe from a third-person perspective, without being influenced by external information or our own subconsciousness. This is called “right equanimity.” “Anuttara” refers to the state of practicing right mindfulness and right equanimity to the ultimate level.
Nirvana is the experience of transcending all senses and consciousness.
When one reaches the state of Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi, the mind is no longer obstructed. Because there are no more obstructions in the mind, there is no fear, and one is free from all illusions and delusions. The process of “Nirvana” begins with the removal of all “karma” from the subconscious while the conscious mind is active, and it is a state of absolute tranquility and realization of the true self, including the complete manifestation of the self and absolute silence, while the body remains in a normal state. It is a kind of “near-death experience.” One can return to the world after entering into the state of Nirvana, but if one is close to death, they will enter into “Parinirvana.” Original Buddhism has four stages of enlightenment, corresponding to four levels of Nirvana, which are Stream-entry, Once-returner, Non-returner, and Arhat. It is also possible to attain the Arhat stage in one Nirvana experience. Nirvana is divided into “with remainder” and “without remainder.” “Without remainder” Nirvana, also known as “ultimate Nirvana,” refers to complete liberation.
After attaining complete Nirvana, one is liberated from all suffering caused by desires, emotions, instincts, and all other forms of suffering. There is no longer any need to undergo the cycle of rebirth. This is the correct direction and purpose of practicing original Buddhism.
