A Few Important Things to Know About Buddhism

This is an edited version of an article I wrote by the same title on my personal blog.

#1. There is no required ritual of initiation into Buddhism.  

No baptism, creed, or anything.  Traditionally all you do is to say,

“I take refuge in the Buddha,
 I take refuge in the dharma (his teachings),
I take refuge in the sangha (the community of people that follow the Buddha and his teachings)”.

That’s it!  There’s nothing more to it.  I did it about 3 years ago when I was lying on the floor looking up at the ceiling.  Nothing special.  That’s because all of life should be special.  There’s no magic bath, no sword placed on your shoulder, nothing like that.  All of life is ‘magic’.

You’re also not required to attend a temple every Sunday.

This is because, unlike religious traditions in the West, Buddhism isn’t an institutional religion.  In other words, in Buddhism your attendance to a temple isn’t relevant to your salvation.  However, that is not to undermine the practice of Western religions in any way, nor that there is no value in attending a Buddhist temple.  

On the contrary!  Attending a Buddhist temple will reinforce and encourage your practice, and you will find people that share similar interests and problems.

In fact, I highly recommend that you do.  However, in Buddhism it is only optional.

#2 Buddhism does not worship an ultimate God.  

Buddhism doesn’t place an emphasis on whether or not there’s a Creator responsible for the Universe.  According to Huston Smith, Buddhism is more pragmatic and psychological than it is metaphysical [1].  The focus is being liberated from suffering, which is called Nirvana—the ultimate goal in Buddhism.

However, there certainly is nothing wrong if a Buddhist believes there is a God.

The term “Buddha”, by the way, does not mean “god” or “God”.  It literally means “the awakened one”.  A person who has overcome suffering and is entirely at peace.

#3 There is no creation story.  

Again, this is because Buddhism is a religion that isn’t concerned so much with metaphysical speculation—that is, it does not guess what the afterlife may be like, where we come from, and so on.

The Buddha didn’t create the Universe, nor did he didn’t rest on the 7th day or anything like that.  In fact, in the Hinduism of his time, it was always assumed that the Universe had always existed since beginning-less time.

The Buddha once said this, “My job is to show you suffering, and the way out of suffering.  Nothing more”.  

#4 There is no “sin” per say in Buddhism.  

“Sin” here meant in the sense of committing an action that might offend a higher being.  This isn’t the case in Buddhism.  Instead, in Hinduism and Buddhism, it is well-understood that all actions have a consequence.  This is called karma.  Thus:

• If we make negative choices, negative results are bound to occur.  
• If we make neutral choices, neutral results will occur.
• If we make positive choices, positive results are bound to occur. 

People have a choice every second of their lives, and they can always turn around.  They must learn to forgive themselves before they can forgive others.  Instead of self-blame, Buddhism encourages us to gain self-understanding and from there, forgive ourselves.

However, karma is a very complex subject, so I will go more into detail about it later.  Right now that we are at a beginner stage, let’s not worry too much about it.

#5 On Reincarnation

In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, our actions determine our destiny.  Therefore, our actions in our earthly life determine our next life.  This concept of cyclical life is called reincarnation. 

Life can be filled with pleasure, but eventually all thrills get old.  Sometimes, people—despite their pleasures, money, wealth, or fame—get the feeling that they’ve had that before.  They no longer feel satisfied with those things.  That is because when things repeat too much, they become undesirable.  

Imagine that somebody offers you a pancake.  Is it yummy?  Most likely yes.  How about a second one?  Is it yummy?  Sure, why not.  How about a third one?  Is it yummy still?  Maybe, maybe not…  How about a hundred pancakes after that?  Pretty soon, we start to feel disgusted with the same taste of pancake over and over again.

That is the case with the Hindu worldview from which the Buddha drew influence.  This constant cycle of life, and death, and rebirth becomes tiresome, even nauseating.

And because every time we come to love things and people, we end up hurting ourselves because all things are impermanent.

Therefore, the point in Buddhism is to escape rebirth and suffering by attaining Nirvana.

And while there is reincarnation in Buddhism, a Buddhist is not required to believe in reincarnation.  As a matter of fact, there is little required to “believe in” in Buddhism.

#6 On Belief

One time the Buddha said to the Kalama peoples to not believe everything they hear, even from a teacher with a good reputation.  Instead, the Buddha advised us to find for ourselves whether the practices are “skillful, blameless, praised by the wise, [and whether they] lead to welfare and happiness” [1].

Then he said before dying,

“If I ever taught you something that is harmful, then immediately throw it away.  If I ever taught you something that was helpful, then keep it”.

Therefore, we can agree that Buddhism is a religion not concerned with doctrine as much as it is concerned with practice.  Practice compassion and develop wisdom and self-insight.  That’s the idea.

#7 The Buddha Does Not Discriminate  

The Buddha was a very loving person, and sees all of us as his children.  Also, in Buddhism everybody already is a Buddha.  You just gotta realize your true naturally-good nature.  Once you realize that, then you realize that the Noble Eightfold Path is not a set of rules; they are merely a set of ‘recommendations’ that naturally start occuring as you go through life listening to your true self.

Buddhism doesn’t clash with most other religions on the basis of doctrine.  You could practice Christianity and practice Buddhism at the same time, if you so chose.  The historical Buddha said that there has been many before him, and will be many more Buddhas after him.  A person who understands the nature of reality and practices compassion to the fullest is considered a Buddha.  In Buddhism, Jesus and Gandhi are some examples of what could be considered enlightened.

Buddhism does not exclude the value of other religions.  It acknowledges that we are all on a path, and that as long as that path leads to be compassionate and selfless beings, it is a good thing.

Buddhism, therefore embraces all religions as useful for achieving peace.

Finally Buddhism, as you can see, is not a religion that is based on belief.  What you believe is up to you, and it’s fine with Buddhism as long as it leads you to truth, compassion, and the end of suffering.  It is about putting those teachings into practice.

The Buddha said, “However many holy words you read, what good are they if you don’t put them into action?”

The ultimate goal in Buddhism is not to reach some heaven out there, but to be happy in this life, and—while at least not being a pain in the butt for others—make others happy.

Therefore! If you ever find a temple, zendo, dharma center, etc. that tells you otherwise (pressuring payments, being intolerant, discriminative, dogmatic, etc.), I encourage you to think twice about attending such a place.  Be careful for people pretending to teach the dharma, but be on the lookout for compassion, too.

FAQs

According to my birth certificate my full name is Raynald Ison Javaluyas, derived from my father’s name “Reynaldo”, but I prefer to be called Rj or Abarai (whichever you prefer) I’m currently living in Dubai UAE, a Licensed Nurse both here and the Philippines.

I’m 5’ 9” in height, 67 Kilograms in weight and older than you (that’s for sure).

Whatever you read here is strictly confidential. don’t share it on your facebook page or your twitter account, its just between you and me ok? so here goes.

The Nurse:

This is my profession now whether I like or Not, I worked in one of the Private hospitals in the Philippines and now here in Dubai. even though nursing is not really my dream job, I’m enjoying it now in some point, especially when people acknowledge your effort. its the best feeling you can have aside from good compensation. 

The Wannabe Photographer:

I finally had a chance to buy a new set of Cam, I sold my Old Nikon D40 way back and had it replaced by a Nikon D90 +50mm Prime lense and a Basic Di466 Speedlight. I’m still learning the kicks of doing more advance shots since I haven’t had a chance to do it with my Basic Kit lens before. I started this PROJECT 365 where in I will (try to) post a day to day picture of whatever captures my heart. so expect some floods of photos in the near future.  

Some of my shots here

The Epic-Fail Part Time Model:

I don’t really made it big here. the picture above is not even a real photoshoot. it just to give you an idea on how I look like when i’m still on that era. well anyway, its one of my “What if?” in life, the time where I almost had a chance to change my life, too bad my confidence way back then is not that tough. I was offered indie movies, commercial and even ramp shows but I declined and chicken out. I even had a Talent manager and signed a contract in one of the Talent Agencies in Makati. the only thing i had are some amateur photo shoot from some fine arts student and one RRJ jeans ramp show. and that’s it.

Gpoy here

The Born Artist:

Art is my way of expressing my thoughts. doodles, paintings, digital vectors and such. I’m an artist at heart, I’m your guy when it comes to creating stuff made of pen & paper,  photoshop, canvas & brush, name it. I founded an Art organization in my college days. art is my passion. art is my life.

more artwork goodness here

The Ambitious Architect:

In Lieu to my artistic craft, I’m also fond of architectural design, this is really my first choice when i’m still looking for a course to take in my early college days. but due to the trend of nursing, I was forced to follow my parents decision. but even though, I managed to design my own room with my own ideas.(see picture above) after that, some condominium from a friend and lastly the layout for my sister’s house.  I like modern  design and minimalist concepts. If the chance is still there, in future, I will be an Architect. 

more photos here

The Crazy Writer:

I’m not really vocal when it comes to what I want to express, so I put it in letters. Writing is one of my means to channel my inner thoughts. I did a couple of stories even before tumblr exist. I have draft of stories in every corner of my gadgets. when inspiration strikes, I jot it right down on whatever device i’m holding.

I created this Tumblrserye not to gain fame or something. its just one of my crazy ideas to inject my wild imagination to the site where I publish them.

link to my stories here

The Tech Savy Guy:

I should at least include this here, since its a big part of me.this picture is outdated. some of the stuff above is either stolen, replaced or sold. like a normal human being ,collecting stuff is also my passion. aside from my Baseball cap and FHM magazine collection I have/had when I’m still a teenager, Collecting Gadgets are one of them. game consoles, Desktop, Smartphones, Music player and such. name it. I’m not rich so most of them are just refurbished or pre-owned. I really have a thing for technology since I’m a computer junky and I spent almost (maybe) half of my life in-front of the computer.

The Music Enthusiast:

I’m not a singer but I love to sing, I’m not a guitarist but I know how to play, It’s one of the things that I cant live without. Music is my passion, music is what makes my mood. it gives me this connection to what music I play, sing or hear. this is also a big part of me. because without music, my life would me boring. 

Things that are not that relevant but worth mentioning:

• I’m a CANCER survivor
• I used to be FAT and UGLY, now im just UGLY
• I’m Left handed
• I love anything Japanese
• I ‘m a good Cook
• I have a Huge TOOL *lol*

So that’s it, thank you for reading this whole thing. that’s very kind of you! you may not know me personally, but at least this FAQ’s will give you an idea of what kind of person I am. don’t  hesitate to leave a message if you want to discuss something. I don’t bite. seriously.