Buddhism: A Religion or Way of Life?

When you take something and try to determine whether it's an actual religion or not, the best way to go about it is to define it. But as I was going through encyclopedias and looking online for a mutual definition, there wasn't one. Dictionary.com defines it as

"a belief and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe"; while Paley defines it as
" The outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of a god or gods having power over their destiny, to whom obedience, service, and honor are due;
and Encyclopedia Britannica says religions

"are meant the modes of divine worship proper to different tribes, nations, or communities, and based on the belief held in common by the members of them severally...There is no living religion without something like doctrine" [The words, symbols, and concepts in religions and how these are used to explain what the beliefs, values, rituals, myths and symbols in religion mean- Dr. Dennis Lishka Buddhism.] ?"

While Lishka says to use the six dimensions of Religion in order to define an actual happening amongst a group of people as a religion.
Finally, Huston Smith tries not necessarily give a direct definition on religion, but tries to allow the reader to understand each individual religion and fully respect it.

He states, "...Does one faith carry on the lead, or do the parts share in counterpoint and antiphony where not in full-throated chorus? We cannot know. All we can do is try to listen carefully and with full attention to each voice in turn as it addresses the divine."

In saying this, Huston Smith is basically saying that we are not one to say whether a religion is a religion. All we can do is "try to listen" and learn about each individual religion to perhaps even better our own faith.

As we can see, however, there are several different definitions for one word, so how are we able to determine whether something that people believe and follow is a religion? Lishka says in order to try and define something as a religion we should use his six dimensions of religion- Ritual, Myth, Doctrine, Morals/Ethics, Community, and Personal Experience.

The Ritual aspect of a religion is the "fixed action of spiritual value to a group of believers." In this aspect, prayer and meditation are included. This is what the people in this formed togetherness follow together as one. These rituals that are practiced are usually based from myths that the tribe or community live by. Myth is the next dimension of a religion.

The Myth aspect is defined as the "story of a divine being or beings." The professor explaines this myth as "stories" or "spiritual truths". Myths are what keeps the spirituality real and answers the questions of where the religion came from.

The next dimension is the Doctrine aspect. This is, "The word, symbols, and concepts in religion and how these are used to explain what the beliefs, values, rituals, myths and symbols in religion mean."

The Doctrines include things like "the mysteries of life after death" (speaker) and the ideas, concepts, or beliefs involved in the ritual observed." Next is the Moral Aspect which is "how a religious individual or group develops moral values about living and how it explains such values." This is where the ethics of ones beliefs fall in and the moral values the group is developing. Professor Smart, from the University of Lancaster from 1967 to 1982, is a professor of Comparative World Religions. He states from the essay Is Scientology a Religion by Alan W. Black, ""throughout history we find that religions usually incorporate a code of ethics."

The Community Aspect is the next Dimension of Religion that Lishka talks about. It is "how individuals within a religious group interact with and affect each other; how the religious group interacts with, affects, and is affected by the other groups, by greater society, and by the entire world." This aspect helps to show how the group shows the outside world and how the action by the group actually affects the outside world. This is what you as an "outsider" or bystander sees the group of people doing and how they're doing it.

The final aspect is the Personal Experience Aspect. The Personal Experience Aspect is described as the individual religious experience. This is used to figure out what the individual says about his or her own attitude, feelings, changes in personality, etc. that occur; it's the individuals viewpoint of the whole experience. I feel that once an individual is able to reach the point where they can say their personal experience has been a pleasant one because of a religion, then you've hit the high part of this dimension. Once you hit this, generally you'll feel good about life and where it's going and will be happy overall.

In order to call Buddhism a religion or a way of life we must first understand the where it originated and the background of the Buddha. According to The Vision of Buddhism by Roger J. Corless, it tells that "...on Jambudvipa, Queen Mayadevi dreamt that a white, six-tusked elephant had entered her womb." She knew this meant that she was going to have a child. The queen felt something special for this baby, when she found out that she was actually pregnant. In Lumbini, which is now Nepal in 563 B.C. the prince and his wife gave birth to a boy, who they named Siddhartha. The father expected the son to take his thrown, so he took great care to insulate Siddhartha from discomfort, disease, decay and death- those that could represent evil. Siddhartha eventually had an arranged marriage and a child. At the age of 29, he decided he wanted to go out and explore the rest of the world and see the sights. The father, not wanting to upset his son, accepted this, but made sure that he had it set up for everything to be acted out to be perfect. When Siddhartha went out the first time he saw a senile man, then a sick man, a corpse and finally the last time he went out he saw a monk. The monk, he felt was an answer to first three sufferings that he saw.

He decided to go and try to "find freedom from aging, sickness, and death. So he woke up late one night, left his family and went deep into the forest. He dismissed his horse, Kanthaka, who then became a god, cut his hair off, removed his robe with the ornaments, and searched for a spiritual teacher. He found two teachers: Arada- Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra. They taught him some meditations and some ways to start off. He went back and then lived six years with the man. He became one with nature saying on pg. 11, The Visions of Buddhism, "The Earth" said Siddhartha "is my witness." During one night, Siddhartha began to observe seven of his former lives of being Buddha, because he was able to achieve this and see his past lives, he was known as Buddha or "The Enlightened One" from that time forward. One day Buddha lay down in the place where all Buddhas of the past had come to die in Kushinagar which is now India, in the year 483 B.C. He said, "Now you're on your own chaps; do your very best for the honor of the school!" Then he continued, "We go for refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Samgha."

After this was said, the Buddha went into "the deepest of trances, came out of it, went in it again, and then attained final disappearance (pari-nirvana.) He was not dead, but was sent to be born again. It was as though he "went out" just as a candle "goes out"; where does the candle flame go when it disappears? (Corless, pg 13) Buddha had reached Nirvana.

Buddha during his life taught many people and spread many people all over to spread the word, not necessarily try to convert people, but to inform them of his new found information. These new concepts and ideas of Buddha can be told in the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths( according to Ch'onsa Kim on Indianet.com.)

The Four Noble Truths are:
1.) Life is suffering. There is suffering in birth, aging, and dying.
2.) By having dreams and desires it causes us to have suffering because of when our desire is not fulfilled.
3.) Suffering can be ended, but only when we have broken the mirrors of illusion.
4.) Follow the 8-Fold Path.

The Eight Fold Path includes:
1.) Right View/Understanding. This is basically being able to accept and live by the four noble truths. When we are able to see the suffering in our lives we can learn to correct it.

2.) Right resolve/ Right Thought is being able to recognize those ideas and thoughts that are born of desire and carry the seeds of suffering. Those emotions covered by the seeds are: greed, ill-will, hostility, denigration, dominance, envy, jealousy, hypocrisy, fraud, obstinacy, presumption, conceit, arrogance, vanity and negligence. To free yourself of this suffering the Buddha uses these 6 methods Restraining, Using, Tolerating, Avoiding, Destroying and Developing.

3.) Right Action is the next Path. This includes the 5 actions to be avoided. Everything that we do will eventually come back in one way or another. Live in the moment and don't concentrate too much on the past or what the future may hold. The five actions (according to Huston Smith) that should be avoided are: Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not lie, Do not unchaste, and Do not drink intoxicants.

4.) Right Speech. After we leave this world our words will still be here. The impressions we leave on people through our words are sometimes greater than those we leave with our words. Always use words that are honest, kind, nurturing, and worthy.

5.) The next path is Right Livelihood. When you make money, make sure you do it in a good way and not because of self-indulgence. There are seven jobs that you should not engage in. These jobs are: slave buyer, prostitute (m/f), butcher of meat, weapons maker or seller, maker of alcohol, tax collector, caravan dealer (salesman). All of these occupations when looked at in the broader sense could eventually hurt someone else or cause them suffering.

6.) Right Effort is to always live by what you're saying. "Discipline and diligence" are the definite keys to obtaining no suffering in this path. What you believe is shown through your actions, so always behave in a way that shows this.

7.) Right Mindfulness is the next path. Make sure you are always living your life in the present and not paying too much attention to the future or past. The past is done and over; no need to allow that to cause us any suffering. Make sure you take each day as it comes.

8.) The final path is that of Right Concentration. This is performing your exercising of yoga and meditation. Pay attention to even the smallest things in your life. Be aware of your body, your feelings, your mind and your mental qualities. (Indianet.com)

The Eightfold path is a way of reducing the world's suffering. According to the Buddhists if everyone would follow this, the world would be a much calmer world with much less suffering. However, "...it is not an external treatment, to be accepted passively by the patient as coming from without. It is not a treatment by pills, or rituals, or grace. Instead, it is treatment by training" (Huston Smith pg. 104).

Now that we have a background on the concept of Buddhism as a whole we can begin to determine to be a religion or just a "way of life"- a philosophy. As I take a personal step back from and look at my religion, I can see how other places with other cultures may ask the same question about Christianity. Although this may seem like a pretty straight-forward comparison it's no different than the Buddhists sitting in the spot that they're in right now. Who are we honestly to say what we consider a religion or not? I honestly don't see how we can all stand here and judge a religion on such little terms even with the Six Dimensions of a Religion. Unless you have never felt the presence of faith in your life, or been part of an actual religion, you may not realize what I'm talking about; it's definitely something that has to just be experienced.

If we were to get technical and use the dimensions to answer this I'd have to say there is proof to answer both sides of the coin: being a religion and being a philosophy. When looking at Buddhism as being a religion, it does follow all the six dimensions of religion.

Doctrine, one of the dimensions of religion, is a big part of Buddhism. In Lishka's book of Buddhism there is a whole part dedicated just to this taking up 10 pages (Lishka, pg 116-126). The Four Noble truths and the Eight fold path are part of the doctrine of Buddhism because it's something that that they follow that is written down.

Buddhists also follow many rituals. "When performing a Buddhist ceremony, a variety of ritual instruments and sacrificial offerings are used. Of central importance are mandalas, musical instruments, food sacrifices, figures of dough and thread cross" all which are a form of ritual- preformed time after time.

Personal Experience is definitely a big factor in Buddhism. This is basically what Buddhism is based upon- becoming one with yourself and understand yourself. All of the different self-meditations are to better yourself as a person. At first you may do these for yourself, but in the long run it will make you an overall better person. It will make you more calm and able to think clearer say the Buddhists.

Although Community may not be very distinct to the Buddhists it doesn't mean that it's not there. They have meditation leaders/teachers that help new comers or people that are not as experienced to help reach the level of self-fullness.

When Siddhartha at the time Buddha hit enlightenment he went back to seven previous lives in which he was Buddha-that alone shows faith right there. It can't be actually proven that he was able to go back into his lives, but yet people believe it to be true and try to reach the point where they two can reach that.

The Buddhists never actually rejected God or any form of god they just said to concentrate on yourself first. "You must first learn to love yourself, before you can love anyone else," the movie Footprints of Buddha states at one part. Although I believe this to be true, I also think that God should be recognized more than they do. This fact alone could also be an argument for those who say Buddhism is just a philosophy. God is not talked about very often in Buddhism, so people could turn around and say they don't believe in any form- right there knocking them out of one part of being a religion.

Another aspect that people could argue is their symbol of the Lotus flower. The Lotus flower is one that grows in the darkest of places, but blooms to be this beautiful flower. They say that the flower represents a person after meditation in a dark dull world filled with suffering. "Once one enters Zen, they become the flower that blooms" (Huston Smith) and eventually will spread it's pollen for other animals. Just as Buddhist hopes that their religion may hit other people in a good way to help them to understand.

There are facts to prove Buddhism to be a Religion or a Philosophy so from here it's up to the individual to say what they'd personally define it as.

Resources:
The Vision of Buddhism, Roger J. Corless; American National Standard for Information Sciences, New York, NY, 1989.

The World's Religions, Huston Smith; HarperCollins Publishers, Stockbridge, MA, 1991.

Introduction to a Major Religious Tradition: Buddhism, Dr. Dennis Lishka, Religious Studies, Fall 2004.

www.Indianet.com