The Noble Eightfold Path Is:

Right views, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation. As the Enlightened One the Buddha statue represents other values as well. The individual is not recognized in Buddhism. All that happens to individuals is based on an impersonal moral “karma.” Once an individual follows all of the steps on the Noble Eightfold path they reach an enlightened pure non-existent state called “nirvana.”

The First Statue

It is believed that the first Buddha statue was not created until four or five hundred years after the death of Buddha out of respect. Therefore, the statues are not an exact replication of the person and there is no “right way” to represent him. The artist had artistic freedom of expression in that area. But, there are certain characteristics and symbolic elements that you will find at least one of in every Buddha statue.

o If the hands are resting in the lap this represents meditation.

o The hands crossing over the chest are a symbol of Dharma-or a state of “being.”

o In the earliest Buddha statue, the figure has both hands raised with the ring finger on the left hand touching the thumb and the index finger on the right hand is touching the thumb to make a circle with the three other fingers held aright. It is not certain what this symbolizes.

Buddhism Exists In Three Forms Today

The first is Mahayana, which reveres Buddha as a God like figure and still uses the Buddha statue to represent him. It is called “the Greater Vehicle” and is the most practiced form of Buddhism in the world today. The second is practiced by just over a third of the Buddhists in the world and is called Theravada, or the “Doctrine of the Elders.” It is atheistic in nature and philosophy but still reveres the Buddha statue. Vajrayana is the least common type of Buddhism and uses the occult and shamanism. It is practiced by just 6 percent of the Buddhists.

Many people looking on the Buddha statue find it a source of happiness and serenity. It is a symbol of the end of suffering and true peace. The Buddhist philosophy that we must strive for perfection and control over our personal cravings to work for the good of all is not a bad philosophy. If society as a whole would adopt at least some of these concepts there would be much more peace and tolerance in the world-we could begin to come to a state of nirvana.

The Buddha lived twenty five centuries ago in North India. He was born a prince of the Sakyan kingdom which was located at the foot of the Himalaya. His father, who was the king ruling over the Sakyas, was called Suddhodana. The Queen who was the Prince’s mother was called Maya. As a prince, he grew up in the midst of luxury, led the happy life of a privileged youth and married Princess Yasodhara. His beautiful cousin, who bore him a son, Rahula.

This happened for the first time when he took chariot rides in the streets of his father’s capital, Kapilavastu. Then he saw four sights which altered his whole life. The first three of them – a man feeble with old age, another with a grievous disease, and a corpse – filled him with a longing to find some way to help his fellow men and to discover the true meaning of life. The fourth sight, a monk, gave him a hope of the possibility of learning about Truth and finding a way out of suffering. Then, at the age of 29, Prince Siddhattha left his father’s palace, left his dearly loved wife and newborn son, and led the life of a wandering ascetic, devoting himself to finding some way of overcoming suffering.

At the full moon of May, forty five years before the Buddhist Era, while sitting under the Bodhi tree at Gaya, he found his answer and at tained the Enlightenment. The Great Man, now known as the Buddha, went first from Gaya to Sarnath mear Benares where he gave his first sermon in the Deer Park. From then through the remaining 45 years of his life, he wandered from place to place teaching his discoveries to all who would listen to him and organizing his followers who renounced the world to form the Sangha.

Though it is now more than 2500 years since the passing away of the Buddha, the Dharma he taught remains our Teacher as he himself named it. The Sangha which consists of the followers who study, prac tise and disseminate the Dharma, has received this torch of light from the torchbearer himself and carried it on and on to us throughout lands and centuries. The three of them – the Buddha, the founder; the Dharma, the teaching; and the Sangha, the Order of disciples – form the Triple Gem which all Buddhists value the best of all precious things, and the Threefold Refuge which guides them on the Path of the true good life. Each year on the Visakha Full Moon, throughout the world, millions of men and women gather together to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and passing away of this Great Man.

The Birth reminds them of the fact that a man, by training himself through his own effort and intelligence, can achieve supreme attainments even to be a Buddha; the Enlightenment, that only through the discovery of the Buddha did the timeless Dharma become known to the world; and the Passing Away, that though the Buddha as a person was gone, the light of the timeless Dharma will still be kept shining so long as there is a Sangha, a community of righteous followers, to carry on the torch by treading the path of self enlightenment themselves and helping others towards the same goal.

To determine whether Buddhism is a religion or not, we must also note that we, as Westerners will have different views and concepts of religion to those practicing in the East. We must ask the question, is it even possible for Westerners to understand the religious life of Asia? What we view as Asian religion and religious activity is for most of the people practicing it a natural part of daily life; our ideas and concepts vary so greatly that perhaps someone observing Buddhism from a Western perspective may never truly grasp the religiosity of the group.

For one attempting to provide a definition of religion these practices would need to be described in a manner which did not exclude one religion from the definition. There needs to be one thing that is attributed to all religions, a common factor. For many, the common factor is God. However, if we conclude that God is the focus of all religion then much of the material found in Asia must be excluded because there is no God here, and occasionally not even Gods. From the perspective that religion entails belief in a God, Buddhism is excluded from having the title of religion. Many outsiders to the Buddhist tradition may claim that the Buddha held some divinity and is elevated to a Godly position, but the Buddha himself refused to be regarded as divine. For the Buddha, humanity is here to improve ourselves and achieve liberation rather than worrying about ultimate questions. Buddhists would argue that knowledge of a God or the afterlife does not matter as neither help in the quest for nirvana.
If Buddhism is not counted as a religion then what is it? Buddhism can be thought of as a way of life, a philosophy, a psychology, a way of thinking through which we can take responsibility for our present life and lives.

Like all major religions Buddhism contains a morality, rituals and behaviours, certain ethical values and an origin of existence, yet because Buddhists do not believe in an all knowing creator God some claim that Buddhism fails to be a religion. The large variety of definitions of religion shows that we can never give a solid, one answer description of what it is that religion is and does.

One thing must remember that previously Buddhism has many names such as the Buddha’s teaching or message, or the Buddha’s way or the path of attainment. Although the religious status of Buddhism has come under constant attack, we could argue that the questioning is in fact, not necessary. To the Buddhist, their beliefs are essentially a philosophy by which individuals can attain release from the world of karma and rebirth. Knowing whether or not Buddhism is a religion or not cannot lead to salvation, only through practice and understanding can one be led to a happiness which is not transient.

India, during the lifetime of Gautama Buddha was “in a state of religious ferment,” it was a period during which the authority of The Vedas was in doubt; this was significant as The Vedas were central to Hinduism. Therefore, scepticism regarding their authority was seen as scepticism regarding the Hindu religion itself. The Buddha addressed what he perceived to be the shortcomings of Hinduism; he rejected the inequitable nature of the caste system and preached instead that all beings were equal; by doing this he challenged the supremacy of the Brahmins. It is also interesting to note that Buddhism was the first

“Religion” to indoctrinate women into its religious order or sangha. The Buddha also held the superstitious nature of Hinduism in disdain, as Spears says, “He (Buddha) was an opponent of the priesthood, magic and sacrifice.” Buddha advocated rightful conduct over spells and charms. This line of thought held particular resonance with members of the middle class, who were growing increasingly critical of the aristocratic privilege bestowed upon Brahmin priests. The priests, in turn maintained their stronghold over Hinduism by way of performing rituals, which were often in the form of spells and sacrifice. Buddha’s open rejection of Hinduism was highly inflammatory, especially to the Brahmins. However, Buddha’s message of equality for all strongly appealed to the lower castes within Hindu society. Thus, the egalitarian nature of Buddhism, as well as its renunciation of Hindu ritualism and Brahmanism contributed to its success.

The Buddha rejected the idea of man’s salvation being reliant upon an external force or being such as God. In this sense, Buddhism is not a religion, but rather a philosophy. The early Buddhist sects were either atheistic or agnostic. The atheists believed it was “man, who created God in his own image,” whilst the agnostics believed that the search for and contemplation of God was “an exercise in futility.” Both of these beliefs were in stark contrast to Hinduism’s worship of a pantheon of Gods. Buddha championed the benefits of meditation and reflective practises over prayer, ritual fasting and sacrifices. Buddha’s philosophy taught that salvation lay in one’s own hands. This belief was certainly a revelation to low caste Hindus, who had been brought up to believe that their only hope was to observe the laws of dharma (duty to one’s caste) in order to be reborn into a higher position in the next life. The importance stressed on dharma effectively immobilised lower caste Hindus into a lifetime of servitude and oppression, it also served to perpetuate the hegemonic nature of Indian society. Buddha’s teachings liberated lower caste Hindus. For the first time they were given a feeling of control over their own lives, in the sense that salvation was attainable through a course of right conduct and action rather than adherence to rules made by those in power. Thus Buddhism gained support by espousing the virtues of freedom for all beings, and by preaching that salvation was attainable inside oneself.

As well as placing emphasis on the attainability of salvation, Buddhism also stressed a great deal of importance on the accessibility of its teachings. It was for this reason alone that The Buddha preached in Pali, the then common language of the Gangetic Plain. Spears- “Buddha was an opponent of hiding the truth in the mystery of a strange language and unintelligible books…his message was for all equally…” Therefore, a factor crucial to determining the success of Buddhism in India was the level of its accessibility, particularly to the common man who had long been deprived of religious or philosophical education, accessibility also fostered a sense of inclusiveness.

Buddhism’s success in India lay in its attempts to be tolerant of, yet distinct from Hinduism. Therefore, the early success of Buddhism in India can be attributed to its egalitarian, accessible and peaceful nature, it’s addressing of the social tensions of the day and the support and promulgation it received under several rulers. The social atmosphere of the time was calling for reform, and for many this reform was to be found in Buddhism.