In the series 10 Misconceptions about Buddhism, scholars Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr. expand and debunk these popular misconceptions:
Meditation is often identified as the central practice of Buddhism. However, the majority of Buddhists throughout history have not meditated. Meditation has traditionally been considered a monastic practice, and even then as a specialty only of certain monks. It is only since the 20th century that the practice of meditation has begun to be widely practiced by laypeople.
2. The primary form of Buddhist meditation is mindfulness.
In fact, there are hundreds of forms of Buddhist meditation, some for developing deep states of concentration and mental bliss, some for analyzing the constituents of mind and body to find that there is no self, some for meeting the Buddha face-to-face. The practice of mindfulness as it is taught in America today began in Burma in the early 20th century.
3. All Buddhists are vegetarians.
Bhikshu, the Sanskrit term translated as “monk,” literally means “beggar.” Buddhist monks and nuns originally begged for their daily meal (some still do) and therefore were supposed to eat whatever was offered to them, including meat. According to some sources, the bout of dysentery that the Buddha suffered before he entered nirvana occurred after he ate pork. In the centuries after the Buddha’s death, vegetarianism began to be promoted in some Buddhist texts. However, even today not all Buddhist monks and nuns are vegetarians. For example, in China they are; in Tibet they are not.
4. All Buddhists are pacifists.
It is often said that a war has never been fought in the name of Buddhism. It is unclear what “in the name of” might mean, but there have been many battles between Buddhists (with some Buddhist monasteries having their own armies). There have also been wars of Buddhists against non-Buddhists. Tibetan Buddhists fought bravely against British forces that invaded Tibet. During World War II, many Japanese priests supported the military expansion of the Japanese empire.
5. Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion.
Buddhism has many philosophical schools, with a sophistication equal to that of any philosophical school that developed in Europe. However, Buddhism is a religion by any definition of that indefinable term, unless one defines religion as belief in a creator God. The great majority of Buddhist practice over history, for both monks and laypeople, has been focused on a good rebirth in the next lifetime, whether for oneself, for one’s family, or for all beings in the universe.
6. The Buddha was a human being, not a god, and the religion he founded has no place for the worship of gods.
Buddhism has an elaborate pantheon of celestial beings (devas; the name is etymologically related to the English word divinity) and advanced spiritual beings (bodhisattvas and buddhas), who occupy various heavens and pure lands and who respond to the prayers of the devout.
7. Zen rejects conventional Buddhism.
Zen masters burn statues of the Buddha, scorn the sutras, and regularly frequent bars and brothels. Zen monks follow a strict set of regulations, called “pure rules,” which are based on the monastic discipline imported from India. Most Zen monks have engaged in extensive study of Buddhist scriptures before beginning their training in the meditation hall. And although a celebrated verse in Zen speaks of “not relying on words and letters,” Zen has the largest body of written literature of any tradition of East Asian Buddhism.
8. The four noble truths are noble
The famous phrase “four noble truths” is a mistranslation. The term “noble” in Sanskrit is aryan, a perfectly good word meaning “noble “ or “superior” that was ruined by the Nazis. Aryan is a technical term in Buddhism, referring to someone who has had direct experience of the truth and will never again be reborn as an animal, ghost, or hell being. The four truths of suffering, origin, cessation, and path are true for such enlightened beings. They are not true for us; we don’t understand that life is suffering. So the term means the “four truths for the [spiritually] noble.”
9. Zen is dedicated to the experience of “sudden enlightenment”
The notion that “sudden enlightenment” frees its followers from the extended regimens of training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom found in conventional forms of Buddhism. Zen monks routinely expect to spend decades in full-time practice before they will be able to make real progress in their meditation.
10. All spiritual traditions, Buddhism included, are different paths to the same mountaintop.
Many great Buddhist figures state unequivocally that enlightenment is accessible only to those who follow the Buddhist path. One can get only so far (generally, rebirth in heaven) by following other religions; only Buddhism has the path to liberation from suffering. All roads may lead to the base camp, but only Buddhism leads to the summit.
[This story was first published in 2014]
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Please read the Suttas for yourself. A good start is the Pali Canon many translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Many of these answers need to be tempered with direct knowledge. A good example is Enlightenment and the authors’ understanding of Enlightenment. Enlightenment is the use of the seven factors of Awareness that maintains either a layperson or “bhikkhu” on the 8 fold path. A Buddhist lives a life of Awareness Or Enlightenment by applying Mindfulness, Investigation of States, Energy, Rapture, Tranquility, Concentration and Equanimity. One enters the stream of knowledge once one is aware and learns how to use these factors or tools. It is a process not a destination. The destination is Nibbana. Unfortunately this is one of the problems of Buddhism as seen by Westerners meaning the destination has dominated the view not the path.
As to meditation, I urge all to read Sutta 10 in the Majjhima Nikaya for all to see the role of meditation for Buddhist. Buddhists meditate. The type of meditation may change from lay to bhikkhu. Yes, in some Theravada countries there is a belief that Buddhists do not meditate but that may because there is a training process prior to mediation. Again please read the Suttas directly and not the mountains of third hand information that has dominated English Language Buddhism.
I think the first issue must be that Buddhism per se is not an evangelical religion as are Christianity and Islam. The next is that these “beings” exist only in your mind and have no physical reality. That does not mean that some Buddhists do not believe they do but the Buddha did not. Buddhas are anthropomorphic representations of some moral truth. The story of Dharmakara and Amida Buddha is a myth but again some Buddhists believe in a literal interpretation of the story. Much depends upon the formal education of the individual. People who have been educated in some science likely will take a more realistic view of Buddhism. You might equate it with Unitarianism.
The sutras and the Pali canon regularly refer to the Devas in a way that indicates their objective reality, though Mr McNicholas is right that they are not physical beings (then again, neither is the God of Christianity and Islam). The Buddha most certainly did not hold that they were merely anthropomorphic representations.
The myths of any faith community are more than mere literal history to be sure, but the claim that they are not at all historical is unsupported.
The assertion that Buddhism is not evangelical as are Christianity and Islam misunderstands all three and displays a staggering lack of knowledge of history.
Mr McNicholas contradicts himself when he asserts both that the Buddhas are anthropomorphic representations but also attributes beliefs to the Buddha as an historical figure.
In short, I would encourage Mr McNicholas to reconsider some of these claims which seem much more reflective of western appropriations of Buddhist ideas than of Buddhism as it is practised traditionally.
No you are very wrong. The historical Buddha and the other Buddhas are quite different. The former was an actual living being. The Buddhas are anthropomorphic. They represent a moral truth. Devas are a creation of our mind and have no physical existence. Buddhism is not Evangelical. In every case Monks were invited by a ruler to come to the country to give lectures on Buddhism. Sorry nobody knocking on doors. When Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka, the king of Sri Lanka asked they be sent there. As to the Pali canon some of it is likely words of the Buddha, while other parts are words of his followers and other parts were inserted by monks in Sri Lanka. You are like so many literalists and do not realize that the Sutras and other scriptures of Buddhism contain myths, metaphors, and allegory. You also make the assumption that everything taught in Asia about Buddhism or its history must be accurate. Most of the accurate study of Buddhism has taken place in the West and not Asia. Currently the University of Washington is studying a group of Buddhist scriptures written in Gandhari from Afghanistan written in the first Century BCE. Get a better education on Buddhism and stop taking the word of someone without first checking it out.
I am far from a literalist, and your accusation that I am demonstrates that you couldn’t be bothered to actually read what I wrote.
Simply reasserting your claims doesn’t make them true. This nonsense about the Devas being products of the mind is just psychologism and has absolutely nothing to do with Buddhism as a traditional practise. Please seek out some education in Buddhism. I would hope it would do you good, but I suspect not. I wish you the best the next time around.
Neither do yours. I read your comments. You say you are not a literalist than say Devas are not a product of the mind. I have never heard a Buddhist teacher claim they were not a product of our minds. I have been studying Buddhism for 50 years and attended classes at the temple for years. Also, just finished a class from Harvard. I noticed that not one of the the writers was from Asia but all were Americans. Believing in woo woo is still woo woo.
I personally think the biggest misconception is above all these is that Buddhism is Atheistic philosophy and this is far from truth