1_What is Buddhism? Is Buddhism a religion or education? What are the roots of Buddhism?

A Buddhist Practitioner's Podcast

Hello, in this programme we’ll briefly talk about the types of Buddhism that we see on this planet. Sakyamuni Buddha 釋迦牟尼佛 founded Buddhism 3,000 years ago. But what exactly is Buddhism? Some of us might immediately reply, ‘Aha, Buddhism is a religion.’ Well, is it really a religion? Let’s look at the definition of the English word ‘religion’. In the definition given in the Oxford Dictionary, religion involves a superhuman controlling power.

However, Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that Buddhas and bodhisattvas 菩薩 do not and cannot control our destinies, and we are the makers and masters of our own destinies. He also taught us that every being, including human beings, has Buddha-nature 一切眾生皆有佛性, and each one of us can become a Buddha. That’s why there are an infinite number of Buddhas in the universe. So Buddhism is not a religion, but it’s now turned into a religion and we can’t deny it. It’s important that we can identify different types of Buddhism and wisely decide which one to follow.

The first type is Sakyamuni Buddha’s Buddhism which is education. It’s Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, but we can hardly see it now. Sakyamuni Buddha taught throughout his life, and this is something we must understand. It’s clearly recorded in Buddhist sutras. Before becoming a Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha was a crown prince 太子.

At the age of 19, he left his splendid palace and a life of luxury, and became a monk in the hope of finding out why people have to go through the cycle of birth, old age, illness and death, and how to stop old age, illness and death, and how to get out of the cycle of birth and death, and ultimately obtain happiness and peace. At the age of 30, he attained the Enlightenment and became a Buddha, the Enlightened One 覺者.

He started teaching, immediately after attaining the Enlightenment. He delivered his first lecture to the five bhikkhus 比丘 at a grove called the ‘Deer Park’ 鹿野苑. The five bhikkhus understood what he taught and requested to study further under his tutelage. At the age of 80 he passed into Nibbana 入涅槃(圓寂). In total, he taught 49 years. So in every respect, he was an educator. He was neither a god nor an immortal but a human being, a fully enlightened human being

Some of us might have heard the three Buddhist terms, that is, Buddha 佛陀, bodhisattva 菩薩 and arhat (in Sanskrit) or arahant (in Pali) 阿羅漢. All of these are the names of levels of attainment in Buddhism, similar to the academic degrees we receive. For the convenience of understanding, Buddha is equivalent to a doctorate degree . Bodhisattva is equivalent to a Master’s degree . And arhat is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree .
In ancient times the Chinese also had academic degrees. The first one was jinshi 進士 or ‘presented scholar’ which was equivalent to a doctorate degree. The second one was juren 舉人 or ‘recommended man’ which was equivalent to a Master’s degree. The third one was xiucai 秀才 or ‘flowering talent’ which was equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. Be it jinshi進士 ‘presented scholar’, juren舉人 ‘recommended man’, or xiucai秀才 ‘flowering talent’, all of them are the names of academic degrees. We study hard and take exams. The degrees are the results of our own efforts and indicate the level of our academic attainments. They are recognised by the public.

So in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas 眾生皆可成佛. This is different from religion. In a religion no beings can become God. God is unique and one. But in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas. This is something we should be clear about. Once we clearly understand what Buddhism is, we’ll no longer be deluded.