Karen Maezen Miller breaks down the three most common lies in Buddhist discourse.
When you’re as easily teased by Buddhist discourse as I am, you can see the same arguments over and over.
Among the refrains I keep hearing are the ones I call The Biggest Lies in Buddhism:
I’m not a Buddha
You most certainly are; you may not yet realize it. “Buddha” does not equate to an imaginary celestial being but to an awakened one. When human beings live in their natural awakened state, undisturbed by delusive thoughts and emotions, they live as buddhas. Buddhahood is your birthright. You claim it every time you wake up to the present moment.
My ideas are as good as yours
That’s true, however, neither are any good at all. The practice of Buddhism is not intended to democratize personal views; it does not aim to equalize the worth of everyone’s self-reinforcing preferences; it simply transcends them. We practice Buddhism so we will no longer be blinded by what we think, and wake up instead to how things are.
No one is perfect
Everyone is perfect as they are, we just don’t view them – or ourselves – to be so. Imperfection lies solely in our judging mind, the mind that picks what we like and calls it best or right, and labels what we don’t like as worse or wrong. This mind between your ears is the source of all conflict, and even then, it is functioning perfectly. Seeing it clearly, we must unleash ourselves from its mastery over our lives. Only then can we hope to repair the mess we have made of the world we inhabit.
Very interesting.
This is pretty New Agey, not really Buddhist, in my opinion. You are not in fact a Buddha, nor are you perfect (and by "you," I mean me and everyone reading this). Nowhere in any sutta accepted as authentically recording the words of the Buddha does he anywhere say that sentient beings are Buddhas or perfect–in fact, he says the opposite over and over and over again. I will agree with number two, though: the Buddha spent an awful lot of time disparaging other views and asserting the supremacy of his own.
Historically, the doctrine of inherent enlightenment/buddhahood has been used to justify the status quo, as an oppressive technique manipulated by the powers that be. That is one reason it has been rejected by the Critical Buddhism movement of Japan, which seeks to return to authentic views in line with what the Buddha taught. It is lies like those promoted by the "we're all Buddhas, we're all perfect" crowd that take the teeth out of Buddhism and transform it into pop therapy. I can understand why they are attractive, but they aren't Buddhist and they aren't ultimately spiritually useful or true.
I find it rather funny that you would refers to the "doctrines and the written historical doctrines"
For one Buddhism isn't a religion BASED OFF of just its doctrines, Nor does it ever state that THIS IS the way for you to be Buddha, the ONLY WAY. Your sense of judgmental narcissism
is exactly what you are trying to leave behind when you practice Buddhism. BUDDHA said himself, that these teachings are only ways and techniques TO BECOME enlightened LIKE HE DID. No where does he state this is the ONLY WAY. Any Buddhist monk, or lama will tell you it is only practices to help enforce what you are trying to accomplish. Buddhist teachings last without the use of your historical doctrines, threw all of the Buddhist monk, and lamas.
We are all Buddhas, with Buddha NATURE…but to say we are BUDDHA ALREADY is indeed false. But we all have the potential to BECOME like Buddha, the only thing that is holding us back IS OURSELVES.
THAT is what karen is speaking about. Its not just a select few who can become a Buddha… we all have the potential, so long as you try.
As well, who comes to a post promoting positive and peace, and throws in there negativity and depressing point of view on the world?..
really?…
As well dont write something that is not helpful, and put your name as "someguyyoudontknow" at least have the courage to put a face, to your harsh and irrational words. =]
BAM!
wake up to the present moment? another enlightenment myth. neurologically impossible. whatever moment you notice, at the moment of noticing it's not present anymore.
You seem to basically say exactly what Buddhism speaks about. YOU WILL NEVER GET this moment back again…that moment you just read what i wrote…you will NEVER GET that back. But it is best to try to appreciate and understand the present moment as it always leaves us. THE ONLY THING that is permanent is the present moment. For it is is always occurring,we just allow our mind to let it slip by and pass on, thinking of the past and the future.
Love is neurologically impossible as well. Yet, im sure if i asked you if you loved your family, your answer would be YES..
prove it though..
or can u not?
Thought the column was great!…"you are perfect as you are, but you could use some improvement"…i read that somewhere, always liked it…
Karen
Thanks as always for your fresh perspective and insight. Reminds me of why I began on this path in the first place!
See what I mean? One man's myth is another man's moment. But don't take my word for it, it's worthless: The Woman Selling Rice Cakes
I think Buddhism is certainly one of the most wise religions in the world
I'm new to your blog and must admit I don't know a lot about Buddhism. And I also haven't read you long enough to have any sense as to whether you meant this line the way I read it. But when I read "“Buddha” does not equate to an imaginary celestial being but to an awakened one."…I read "Buddha does not equate to God" (meaning you can't compare Buddha to God, its apples and orange). And I would totally agree with that – I understand Buddhism enough that I realize that. But if you are equating the two here, you are also calling God an "imaginary celestial being"…which while may be the view of people who don't believe in "God" or "a God" and that's fine…saying it like that seems rather dismissive of an entire faith system.
Again..I might be totally ignorant as to what you meant by this, and if so I apologize for wasting the "moment" of anyone reading this! (Don't mean that glibly…just mean to say that if I'm completely off the mark and it would be obvious were I more informed, I'm sorry for an uninformed post that doesn't offer anything to the conversation.)
Must also say that the idea that "you are Buddha" , if we were to make any kind of connection between Buddhism and theist religions completely jives with my belief that God is in us and we are in God.
Thanks for asking Amy. You've made that leap in my language on your own. Buddha is not God. Period end of sentence. It is a common misconception that Buddha is worshipped as a god, or a representation of a god, as people are inclined to look for equivalencies in religious practices.
in a nutshell, the God you have in mind is all yours, and I did not include God in any way.
As for the uninformed not offering anything to the conversation, the reverse is typically true! Thank you.
Amy, thanks for your post. One thing I'd like to think Buddhism is about is inquiry. In fact the Buddha is purported to have said something like: don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. So, asking questions is ok and there's no need to apologize for asking. In fact, I'd add that the unwillingness to challenge beliefs, or in Buddhist terms an unwavering attachment to a set of ideas or principles, is a big problem. (Like believing that any "religion" is the "truth" to the exclusion of others.) That, said Buddhists traditionally consider Buddhism as non-theistic faith. I think there are many Buddhists that would say that "God" is an imaginary celestial being. I'd be more inclined to say that I think "God" is PROBABLY an imaginary celestial being. I certainly don't pretend to know whether "God" exists. However, the fact that I think that "God" probably doesn't exist doesn't mean that I'm dismissive of other faith systems.
I saw the move Borat when it was released a few years ago. There is a scene in the movie where Borat is brought into a conservative church. People are laying on hands–etc. I really had an issue with the scene because Borat seemed to be making fun of the church and their faith. (They "found" him sleeping outside the church and welcomed him in, etc.) One of my friends was like, "yeah show how stupid the Christian church is." I said, "these people took in this person that they didn't know and were trying to share something very important and special with him– their faith. You want to make fun of them for that.")
My point is that I don't have to believe in "God" to respect another person's faith. I don't need to dismiss it. I simply acknowledge it.
I also think, more controversially, that while Buddhists say that the Buddha isn't worshiped as a deity, in many cases it looks A LOT like "worship." I've read and heard people say that what they are doing is paying homage to the energy– or something like that. For example, according to one source, "Tibetan gods, one religious scholar wrote, represent 'mental states evoked in meditation and ritual, a means of training the mind toward a more accurate appreciation of the human condition.' "
Western style Buddhism is, in my opinion, more "godless" than many traditional eastern styles.
Where does that leave things? (Sorry if you're head is spinning right now. lol. Mine certainly does with this stuff.)
Well, I think the key is that there isn't some being that rescues you. You cannot be absolved for your sins (or escape responsibility for your actions) just by praying to the Supreme Being. The law of Karma (cause and effect) governs what happens. Because of that, YOU need to engage and take responsibility for what happens.
I am sure that there are people that would disagree, but that's how I reconcile things.
Last, but not least, good to see you on here. Whether you decide to become a Buddhist or not, I think the principles and philosophies of Buddhism are very useful and can lead you to see things differently.
I think of it this way. I do not meditate or pray TO Buddha. I meditate and pray WITH Buddha.
How about meditation with a thoughtless state as the goal? Not sure if that's a lie, but it's a common misconception.The Theravada school, by the way, in which vipassana and the Insight Meditation school is rooted, does not believe in Buddha nature. Thanissaro Bhikkhu has a dharma talk on this subject. As for being perfect, there is the ultimate reality and relative reality. Relatively, we are far from perfect. Ultimately we are perfect, but we have yet to realize it, being enslaved by our cravings and aversions, by an empty self which we mistake to be permanent and unchanging.
As someone fairly new to Buddhism, the main thing I've gotten from it so far is that it is a constantly changing idea. There is nothing, no belief to hold on to because it evolves with us, moves with us. Acceptance replaces faith. We are perfect, this moment is perfect because it cannot be any other way. That's where I'm at anyway.
Hi Karen
Everyone is perfect? Nope,no-one is perfect! Perfect is a concept just like any other, so is non-perfection making my previous sentence bulls**t too. Now some folks might say, “Yeah right, its not perfection its just ‘natural being’ (or some such comment)”. Nope! Thats a concept too. Even the present moment is a concept. Timelessness too. Of course whatever we say is wrong (oops concepts again) but as the old guy said, “we have to say something”. Fingers and moons as always- my finger is still up my nose (just so you knwo who I am). Of course, Karen, I’m not disagreeing with your post at all as you’ll know but just thought some of the newer Buddhists or non- Buddhists might be helped with some different words being said.