Hello, in this programme we’ll briefly talk about the types of Buddhism that we see on this planet. Sakyamuni Buddha 釋迦牟尼佛 founded Buddhism 3,000 years ago. But what exactly is Buddhism? Some of us might immediately reply, ‘Aha, Buddhism is a religion.’ Well, is it really a religion? Let’s look at the definition of the English word ‘religion’. In the definition given in the Oxford Dictionary, religion involves a superhuman controlling power.
However, Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that Buddhas and bodhisattvas 菩薩 do not and cannot control our destinies, and we are the makers and masters of our own destinies. He also taught us that every being, including human beings, has Buddha-nature 一切眾生皆有佛性, and each one of us can become a Buddha. That’s why there are an infinite number of Buddhas in the universe. So Buddhism is not a religion, but it’s now turned into a religion and we can’t deny it. It’s important that we can identify different types of Buddhism and wisely decide which one to follow.
The first type is Sakyamuni Buddha’s Buddhism which is education. It’s Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, but we can hardly see it now. Sakyamuni Buddha taught throughout his life, and this is something we must understand. It’s clearly recorded in Buddhist sutras. Before becoming a Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha was a crown prince 太子.
At the age of 19, he left his splendid palace and a life of luxury, and became a monk in the hope of finding out why people have to go through the cycle of birth, old age, illness and death, and how to stop old age, illness and death, and how to get out of the cycle of birth and death, and ultimately obtain happiness and peace. At the age of 30, he attained the Enlightenment and became a Buddha, the Enlightened One 覺者.
He started teaching, immediately after attaining the Enlightenment. He delivered his first lecture to the five bhikkhus 比丘 at a grove called the ‘Deer Park’ 鹿野苑. The five bhikkhus understood what he taught and requested to study further under his tutelage. At the age of 80 he passed into Nibbana 入涅槃(圓寂). In total, he taught 49 years. So in every respect, he was an educator. He was neither a god nor an immortal but a human being, a fully enlightened human being
Some of us might have heard the three Buddhist terms, that is, Buddha 佛陀, bodhisattva 菩薩 and arhat (in Sanskrit) or arahant (in Pali) 阿羅漢. All of these are the names of levels of attainment in Buddhism, similar to the academic degrees we receive. For the convenience of understanding, Buddha is equivalent to a doctorate degree . Bodhisattva is equivalent to a Master’s degree . And arhat is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree .
In ancient times the Chinese also had academic degrees. The first one was jinshi 進士 or ‘presented scholar’ which was equivalent to a doctorate degree. The second one was juren 舉人 or ‘recommended man’ which was equivalent to a Master’s degree. The third one was xiucai 秀才 or ‘flowering talent’ which was equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. Be it jinshi進士 ‘presented scholar’, juren舉人 ‘recommended man’, or xiucai秀才 ‘flowering talent’, all of them are the names of academic degrees. We study hard and take exams. The degrees are the results of our own efforts and indicate the level of our academic attainments. They are recognised by the public.
So in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas 眾生皆可成佛. This is different from religion. In a religion no beings can become God. God is unique and one. But in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas. This is something we should be clear about. Once we clearly understand what Buddhism is, we’ll no longer be deluded.
What is Buddhism? Is it a religion or education? What are the roots of Buddhism? Identify different types of Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY4m-1cz5es
Hello, in this programme we’ll briefly talk about the types of Buddhism that we see on this planet. Sakyamuni Buddha 釋迦牟尼佛 founded Buddhism 3,000 years ago. But what exactly is Buddhism? Some of us might immediately reply, ‘Aha, Buddhism is a religion.’ Well, is it really a religion? Let’s look at the definition of the English word ‘religion’. In the definition given in the Oxford Dictionary, religion involves a superhuman controlling power.
However, Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that Buddhas and bodhisattvas 菩薩 do not and cannot control our destinies, and we are the makers and masters of our own destinies. He also taught us that every being, including human beings, has Buddha-nature 一切眾生皆有佛性, and each one of us can become a Buddha 人人可成佛. That’s why there are an infinite number of Buddhas in the universe. So Buddhism is not a religion, but it’s now turned into a religion and we can’t deny it. It’s important that we can identify different types of Buddhism and wisely decide which one to follow.
The first type is Sakyamuni Buddha’s Buddhism which is education. It’s Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, but we can hardly see it now. Sakyamuni Buddha taught throughout his life, and this is something we must understand. It’s clearly recorded in Buddhist sutras. Before becoming a Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha was a crown prince 太子.
At the age of 19, he left his splendid palace and a life of luxury, and became a monk in the hope of finding out why people have to go through the cycle of birth, old age, illness and death, and how to stop old age, illness and death, and how to get out of the cycle of birth and death, and ultimately obtain happiness and peace. At the age of 30, he attained the Enlightenment and became a Buddha, the Enlightened One 覺者.
He started teaching, immediately after attaining the Enlightenment. He delivered his first lecture to the five bhikkhus 比丘 at a grove called the ‘Deer Park’ 鹿野苑. The five bhikkhus understood what he taught and requested to study further under his tutelage. At the age of 80 he passed into Nibbana 入涅槃(圓寂). In total, he taught 49 years. So in every respect, he was an educator 佛是教育家. He was neither a god nor an immortal but a human being, a fully enlightened human being 他不是神，也不是仙，他是人，一個徹底覺悟的人.
Some of us might have heard the three Buddhist terms, that is, Buddha 佛陀, bodhisattva 菩薩 and arhat (in Sanskrit) or arahant (in Pali) 阿羅漢. All of these are the names of levels of attainment in Buddhism, similar to the academic degrees we receive. For the convenience of understanding, Buddha is equivalent to a doctorate degree 博士學位. Bodhisattva is equivalent to a Master’s degree 碩士學位. And arhat is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree 本科學位.
In ancient times the Chinese also had academic degrees. The first one was jinshi 進士 or ‘presented scholar’ which was equivalent to a doctorate degree. The second one was juren 舉人 or ‘recommended man’ which was equivalent to a Master’s degree. The third one was xiucai 秀才 or ‘flowering talent’ which was equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. Be it jinshi進士 ‘presented scholar’, juren舉人 ‘recommended man’, or xiucai秀才 ‘flowering talent’, all of them are the names of academic degrees. We study hard and take exams. The degrees are the results of our own efforts and indicate the level of our academic attainments. They are recognised by the public.
So in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas 眾生皆可成佛. This is different from religion. In a religion no beings can become God. God is unique and one. But in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas. This is something we should be clear about. Once we clearly understand what Buddhism is, we’ll no longer be deluded.
But nowadays, Buddhism has turned into a religion, and this is the second type of Buddhism. It no longer involves teaching and learning. All it does is prayer rituals. Buddhist prayers are similar to religious prayers. People would say, ‘What you do is superstitious.’ So, do prayers work? In fact, it does work. Why is it? It’s because of the power of thoughts意念的力量. Scientists have discovered that the power of thoughts is incredible.
But there is a problem. We can’t provide evidence showing that prayers work. If we say, ‘There is a disaster. Let’s pray.’ And then the disaster is resolved. People would say, ‘That’s non-sense. There’s no disaster at all. You spread rumours and delude the public.’ Well, we don’t know how to respond to that. This is how it is because most people today only believe in science, and the first thing that science asks is ‘Show me the evidence’. That’s why Buddhism must return to teaching and learning 佛教必須回歸教育.
So what did Sakyamuni Buddha teach throughout his life? There are five aspects. The first aspect is ethics 倫理, the second one morality 道德, and the third one the karmic law of cause and effect 因果法則. These three aspects are the roots of Buddhism, and they are universal education 普世教育 which everyone should receive. When these three aspects of education are widely given and received properly, people on this planet will enjoy social stability, peace, harmony and happiness.
The other two aspects of what Sakyamuni Buddha taught are advanced stuff. What are they? One is science, the other philosophy. As a matter of fact, they are the summits of modern science and philosophy. We can find them in Buddhist sutras.
As for the philosophical aspect of the Buddha’s teachings, Professor Fang Dongmei, an eminent Chinese philosopher of the 20th century, said, ‘Sakyamuni was the greatest philosopher in the world. Buddhist philosophy is the summit of all philosophies in the world.’ So Buddhism is the summit of philosophy and science. These two aspects are the essence of Buddhism.
We now know that Buddhism is scientific education, philosophical education and universal education. And it’s an essential and primary education that everyone should receive in order to lead a peaceful, harmonious and happy life. Buddhas are known as ‘the teachers of those live in human and celestial worlds 天人師’ . They play the role of a teacher not only in the human world but also in the celestial world or Heaven.
Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that there is not just one level of Heaven, but 28 levels 二十八層天. People in Heaven or the celestial world have much higher moral standards than us human beings. So normally, human beings who have attained that level of moral standards will go to heaven at some point, if they do not get out of the cycle of birth and death. And the higher one’s moral standards are, the higher level of heaven they will go to. In a word, Buddhism has now changed its nature and turned into a religion.
After the Second World War, three more types of Buddhism emerged. One of them is enterprise Buddhism. People use entrepreneurial approach to run Buddhism. They have headquarters and chain stores across the world. Another type of Buddhism is tourism. The worst one is the one that has turned into a cult.
So when we learn Buddhism, we must be really clear about which type of Buddhism we are learning. If any one of us starts from philosophical Buddhism, then we are, at least, not interfered much and should, more or less, remain a relatively clear mind. And we should be able to see clearly.
To wrap up, there are different types of Buddhism in the world of today and we must learn the real stuff. The type which will genuinely benefit us is the Buddhism that involves teaching and learning, in which Sakyamuni Buddha is the teacher and we are the students.
Learning Buddhism is not about how many Buddhist sutras we read, but about how much we can really put the Buddha’s teachings into practice 學佛不在於看讀了多少佛經，而在於能夠踐行多少. In other words, how much we can put into practice what the Buddha taught shows how much we really understand Buddhism 能夠做到，纔是真懂. As soon as we’ve learned a little bit, we try hard to put it into practice 學了一點就踐行一點, and this is the best way of learning Buddhism.
The real benefit that we get from learning Buddhism is being able to solve all sorts of practical problems in our daily lives 學佛的真實利益是能夠解決生活中的實際問題 such as showing more respect to our parents, teachers and elders, no longer getting angry easily, becoming more composed and objective, being able to concentrate better, becoming less controlled by our desires, becoming less selfish, becoming less stubborn, becoming more open-minded and emotionally stable, becoming more level-headed, being able to see things from more perspectives, being able to make more sensible judgement, being able to sleep better, and becoming physically stronger. Basically, following the Buddha’s teachings correctly will bring us infinite benefits.
Wishing whoever listens to this programme good mental and physical health, peace, harmony, auspiciousness, happiness, long life and infinite wisdom. Thank you.