Revival: The Message of Buddhism (1926)

Subhadra Bhikkhu

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351338318
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

The Message of Buddhism is an adaptation of the Buddhist Catechism of the late Subhadra Bhikkhu which was first published in 1888. The eighth and last edition of the Catechism was translated into English by C. T. Strauss, and was published by the Maha-Bodhi Society in 1908.

THE DOCTRINE

(Dhamma)

The Doctrine consists of the Truth as intuitively seen and proclaimed by the Buddha, which has been preserved for us by tradition through the Arahans, and recorded in the Scriptures.

The Scriptures of the Buddhists are called the Three Pitakas, or Collections (Tripitaka) : Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidhamma Pitaka.

The Sutta Pitaka contains the discourses, sermons, and sayings of the Buddha, which are destined for the Brethren as well as for the lay-followers (upāsaka); also a number of parables and aphorisms for the better elucidation of the Doctrine. The Vinaya Pitaka contains the regulations and rules of conduct for the Brotherhood of the Elect, the Bhikkhus, and the Samanera (novices). The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains religio-philosophical and psychological treatises.

These three collections do not contain divine revelations. There are no divine revelations. Buddhism totally rejects the supposition that the truth should be disclosed or revealed to a favoured or elected one by a god or angel. Mankind has never received any revelations except from the mouth of their sages, those sublime teachers of humanity who by their own strength have raised themselves to mental and moral perfection, the greatest of whom are called world-enlightening Buddhas. The last of these Lights of the World was the Buddha Gotama; what He has perceived and proclaimed is contained in the Pitakas.

We need such world-enlightening Buddhas on account of our sufferings and our ignorance.

Because we do not understand the true nature of the universe, because we are ignorant of the working of the moral world-order, we cling blindly to life, and get continually entangled anew in guilt, sorrow, and re-birth. Because we are deluded by earthly glamour, we strive for objects that are of value only in our imagination, and produce more pain than pleasure : we prize highly what is vain and transitory, grieve over events that do not deserve our interest, and rejoice over what harms us and may even cause our undoing. Because we do not possess the right insight, we attach ourselves to perishable things, involve ourselves in strife and hardship in the struggle for existence, and completely lose sight of our true welfare. Thus our entire life is an endless chain of unfulfilled wishes, painful deceptions, and cruel disappointments; of passions and desires which miss their object, or if gratified for a short time, continually burst open again like badly-healed wounds, undermine our bodily and mental forces, and keep us in an incessant state of suffering, from which there is no escape for the ignorant and deluded.

To be sure, suffering and the vanity of life awaken in noble natures the longing for deliverance; but ignorance prevents our finding by our own powers the way out of this Samsara. Therefore we need the Master to show it to us.

Samsāra (literally, “wandering”) is the world in which we live, the world of error, guilt, birth, suffering, and death; the world of becoming and decay, of continual change, of disappointment and sorrow, of the perpetual, never-ending succession of re-births.

The cause of birth, suffering, death, and re-birth, is the all-pervading wrong desire (tanhā—thirst), the craving for sensate existence in this or another world (heaven or paradise), or the desire for annihilation after this life (materialism).

The expression “will-to-live” (tanhā) signifies, in the Buddhist sense, not only what is generally understood as the conscious will, but that innate desire for sensate life, partly conscious and partly unconscious, which is inherent in all beings; it is the totality of all selfish endeavours, emotions, desires, inclinations, and aversions, directed to the preservation of material existence and the attainment of pleasure and enjoyment, as well as the desire for annihilation. The reader should always bear in mind this meaning of the word.

One can terminate this otherwise never-ending succession of births and deaths only by the relinquishment of this desire, by the suppression of the craving for individual existence in this or another world, or for annihilation. This is deliverance, emancipation, the way to eternal peace.

That which prevents our relinquishing this desire and attaining deliverance is our ignorance, our infatuation, our want of insight into the real nature of things.

Ignorance (avijjā) is that innate, erroneous way of looking at things, in consequence of which we consider the fleeting, vain, ever-becoming and dissolving world of phenomena to be the true reality, and therefore cling to it eagerly; whilst we regard the eternal, imperishable, never-becoming nor dissolving, as a mere chimera. But he in whom true insight has arisen knows : this life is no real being, but an incessant becoming and dying, and fresh becoming, a perpetual change of all material, moral, and mental conditions amidst constant struggle and suffering.

The knowledge of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism leads us to the suppression of this desire.

In the words of the Buddha Himself: “It is through not understanding and grasping the Four Noble Truths, oh Brethren, that we have had to wander so long in this weary path of re-birth, both you and I. And what are these Four ? The Noble Truth about Suffering, The Noble Truth about the Cause of Suffering, the Noble Truth about the Cessation of Suffering, and the Noble Truth about the Path which leads to the Cessation of Suffering. But when these four Noble Truths are fully grasped and known, then desire (tanhā) is destroyed, and the succession of re-births ceases.

“Now this, oh Brethren, is the Noble Truth about Suffering: Birth is suffering, old age is suffering, disease is suffering, death is suffering, separation from beloved objects is suffering, union with the unpleasant is suffering, unsatisfied desire is suffering; in short, sensate existence by its very nature is suffering.

“This, oh Brethren, is the Noble Truth about the Cause of Suffering : Verily, it is this thirst (tanhā), the craving for sensate existence and enjoyment which leads from re-birth to re-bifth, seeking satis faction now in this form, now in another. It is the craving for the gratification of the passions, the craving for individual happiness and enjoyment in the present life or hereafter, or the craving for annihilation after this life.

“This, oh Brethren, is the Noble Truth about the Cessation of Suffering; Verily, it is the complete destruction of this thirst (tanhā), of the craving for sensate existence and enjoyment, or for annihilation. This desire must be conquered, got rid of, relinquished, harboured no longer.

“This, oh Brethren, is the Noble Truth about the Path which leads to the Cessation of Suffering: Verily, it is the Noble Eightfold Path, discovered by me, whose parts are called : Right Views, Right Aspirations, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Meditation.”

“There are two extremes, oh Brethren, which he who strives for deliverance ought not to follow; on the one hand, the craving for the gratification of tlje passions and sensual pleasures is low, mean, degrading, and ruinous; it is the way of the worldly-minded; on the other hand, the practice of self-mortification and asceticism is gloomy, painful, and useless. The Middle Path only, discovered by the Tathāgata, avoids these two extremes, opens the eyes, bestows insight, and leads to freedom, to wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvāna.”

The Non-Buddhist will not easily perceive the amount of profound knowledge and religio-philosophical truths contained in these few sentences from the sermon of Benares. Repeated and earnest meditation thereon is therefore to be recommended. Nobody can expect thoroughly and correctly to understand the true nature of existence, and the sublime Doctrine of the Buddha, before he has completely penetrated the meaning and significance of the Four Noble Truths, and comprehended their full import.

Nirvāna is a state of mind and heart in which all desire for sensate life, or for annihilation, all egotistic craving, has become extinct, and with it every passion, every grasping desire, every fear, all ill-will, and every sorrow. It is a state of perfect inward peace, accompanied by the imperturbable certainty of having attained deliverance; a state words cannot describe, and which the imagination of the worldling tries in vain to picture to himself. Only one who has himself experienced it knows what Nirvāna is.

Nirvāna is synonymous with salvation or deliverance. It is the deliverance attainable already in this life, the total annihilation of lust, hatred, and delusion. But only very few can attain Nirvāna in the present birth. Most men have so defective a mental and moral nature, as the result of their deeds in former lives, that they require many re-births before they have perfected themselves sufficiently to gain release, But every one who earnestly strives can gain a rebirth under more favourable conditions.

In spite of the correct explanation of Nirvāna given by eminent scholars long ago, there still exist among most Europeans and Americans strange ideas concerning it. Nirvāna, literally translated, means : to be extinguished, to be blown out as a flame is blown out by the wind, or extinguished for lack of fuel. From this the inference has been drawn by some that Nirvāna signifies nothingness. This is an erroneous opinion. On the contrary, Nirvāna is a state of the highest spiritualisation, of which, indeed, no one who is still fettered by earthly ties can have an adequate conception. What is it, then, that is extinguished or blown out in Nirvāna ? Extinguished is the “will-to-live,” the craving for sensate existence and enjoyment in this or another world; extinguished is the delusion that material possessions have any intrinsic or lasting value. Blown out is the flame of sensuality and desire, forever blown out the flickering will-o’-the-wisp of the “ego,” or “I.” It is true that the perfect saint, the Arahan (for only such a one can attain Nirvāna already in this life), continues to live in the body, for the results of error and guilt in former births, which have already begun to operate, and are presenting themselves just now as a living organism in temporality, cannot be suppressed; but the body is perishable, soon the hour arrives when it passes away. Then nothing remains which could give rise to a new birth, and the Arahan, the righteous man perfected, passes on to the Eternal Peace, the ulterior Nirvāna—Parinirvāna.

It is not possible to form any idea of Parinirvāna. It is beyond all knowledge, beyond all conception. It cannot be said that it is, or that it is not, because no forms of existence are applicable to Parinirvāna. One can only say that it is final emancipation, eternal rest and peace.

“There is, oh Disciples, a state where there is neither earth nor water, neither air nor light, neither infinity of space nor infinity of time, neither any form of existence nor nothingness, neither perception nor non-perception, neither this world nor that world, neither death nor birth, neither cause nor effect, neither change nor stability. There is, oh Disciples, an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed. Were there not, there would be no escape from the world of the born, originated, created, formed.” Thus spake the Master.

Parinirvāna, in the sense of other religions, and of scientific materialism, is indeed complete annihilation, complete dissolution of the individuality, for nothing remains in Parinirvāna which in any way corresponds to the human conception of existence. But from the point of view of one who has attained to the state of the Arahan, it is rather this world with all its phenomena which is “nothingness,” a reflected image, an iridescent bubble, a terrifying dream; and Parinirvāna is the entrance into the real existence, into the eternal, unchangeable, imperishable, where there is no diversity, no strife, and no suffering. It is the Peace which passeth all understanding .

Our re-birth depends solely upon ourselves; entirely upon our inner nature, our will. This craving desire (tanhā) based on ignorance (avijjā), which pervades us all and forms the essence of our being, is the real creative power; it is what other religions personify as god; it is the cause of our existence and our re-birth, and in truth is the creator, preserver and destroyer of all things—the real trinity.

The student of Buddhism must again be expressly reminded not to confound the “will-to-live,” that is to say, our innate love and desire for sensate life or attachment to existence, with the conscious will. The conscious will constitutes only a small part of our entire will, namely, that which rises into our brain-consciousness; the larger part of this will is perceived only very indistinctly by most men, and by plants and animals not at all. It manifests itself as a blind, instinctive desire, as a stubborn love for existence, as a tendency to go in quest of everything that renders existence painless and agreeable, and to flee from everything that menaces or hurts it. Many so-called pessimists, for example, who pretend to scorn life, and whose conscious will actually rejects their present state, are often under the erroneous impression that they have conquered the will-to-live. But this is not the case, for their selfishness, their attachment to pleasures and enjoyments, their want of self-denial and kindliness, their cynicism and bitterness, prove that the unconscious desire for sensate life is still active within them, and will certainly lead them to a new re-birth. The same observation applies partly to the followers of all religions. They contemn this terrestial life because their faith requires it, but yearn the more fervently for individual, continued existence in heaven or paradise. The real extinction of the will-to-live shows itself in complete unselfishness and self-denial, patience in suffering, the absence of all passions (anger, hatred, envy, animosity, covetousness, sensuality, haughtiness, avarice, vanity), perfect equanimity, sincere benevolence towards all living beings, and the renunciation of any reward for good deeds in this world or one beyond (heaven or paradise).

The nature and quality of our re-birth are dependent upon ourselves—upon our karma.

Karma is our action, our merit and guilt in a moral sense. If our merit preponderates, we are reborn in a higher scale of being, or as man in favourable circumstances. But if we are heavily laden with guilt, the necessary consequence is a re-birth in a lower state and full of suffering.

Our actions are certainly the natural result of our inborn individual character. But this inborn character is nothing else than the product of our karma, i.e., of all our thoughts, words, and deeds in former lives.

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him as the wheel follows the foot of the beast of draught. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him.”

“My action is my possession, my action is my inheritance, my action is the womb which bore me. My action is the race to which I am kin, my action is my refuge.”

We are in every moment of our existence exactly what we have made ourselves to be, and we enjoy and suffer only what we deserve.

This is Karma—the law of causality, the fundamental law of all that happens. Just as in the physical and material world, so also in the moral and spiritual sphere, every cause of necessi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• The Buddha
• The Doctrine
• The Order