Student – Lam la, I have a good job and nice family, but I feel that something is missing in my life. Friends have advised me to practice religion, and I’m interested in Buddhism. However, I feel it is too complicated and expensive. As I believe that all religions are ultimately the same, I’m considering adopting another religion. Lam’s advice on this would be appreciated.
Master – While most religions have similarities, such as embodying compassion and kindness, their goals are not the same. Many religions, for example, believe in a creator god, a soul, and hold rebirth in a heaven as their ultimate goal. This is totally different from Buddhism.
Furthermore, in Abrahamic religions there is a gap between the believed creations of a god, such as humans and animals, and the god himself. Again, this is not the same as in Buddhism.
First of all, Buddhism does not promote rebirth in heavenly realms, but instead aims at awakening us to reality. Why is this? Well, the Dharma teaches that the heavenly or god realms are the result of components joining together, in this case karma, and so are impermanent.
What does ‘components joining together’ mean? Well, take a table as an example. It wasn’t always a table, and nor will it remain so forever. Rather, when four legs and a top join together in a certain way, it becomes a table, but after some years, a leg or two may fall off, and the table disappears.
Now, this reality is not only true for a piece of furniture, but for every item, including our own bodies that are the result of the joining together of blood, flesh, bones, etc, and a heavenly realm, which is created by karma.
Once the parts of the body break down, it disintegrates and disappears. Similarly, when the karmic results that produced the heaven and caused our rebirth there fade away, so the realm and our experience as a heavenly-being comes to an end.
So, instead of aiming for rebirth in a temporary realm, no matter how pleasant, Buddhism aims at awakening to reality, which brings a permanent end to the continuous cycle of rebirths, known as samsara, and with it the cessation of suffering and dissatisfaction that naturally comes with birth, old age, sickness, death, and change.
Why is this realization permanent while birth in the heavenly realms is not? It is because the awakened state is discovered, not created.
As a simple comparison, we can consider the state of realization as the blue sky, while the clouds that obstruct it as representing ignorance. Now, no matter how thick or dark the clouds are, they do not tarnish or diminish the sky in any way, and it retains its perfect and pristine state. Then, when the right causes and conditions combine, the clouds dissipate, revealing the original blueness.
Now, it is the role of practice to generate the causes and conditions that clear away the clouds, the ignorance, not to construct the sky, which is already there and perfect.
Furthermore, the Buddha is not a god, but an awakened being, and when we fully awaken to reality, we achieve the state of buddhahood as he himself did under the bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya 2,500 years ago. As this is such a common misunderstanding these days, I’ll repeat it: The Buddha is not a god, but an awakened being, and the term ‘buddha’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘budh’, which means ‘to awaken’.
How can we deluded samsaric beings attain a state of awakening that is equivalent to that of the Buddha’s? It is because our buddha nature, which all sentient beings possess and is the basis of awakening, and that of the Buddha, Guru Rinpoche, and other realized beings is exactly the same. Even the worst criminal or vicious animal has the same nature, and it is only the level of ignorance, the thickness of the clouds, that give the appearance of a difference.
In contrast, those who follow Abrahamic religions never become a god, but instead pray to a believed supreme being to grant them salvation and rebirth in a heaven.
Although Buddhism may appear complicated because there is a wealth of ritual, it is actually not so. To eradicate this confusion, perhaps it is helpful to think of the number of rituals and practices as medicines in a pharmacy.
We may initially feel confused by the different kinds of tablets and syrups, but we don’t need to take them all. Instead, a doctor will advise us which is best for our condition, and then we just need to take that specific medicine.
Similarly, an authentic teacher instructs us on which practice is suitable for us. Then, we just undertake that particular practice.
Buddhist philosophy may appear complex due to the amount of texts that we find in monasteries and libraries, but that is not the actual case. Basically, the teachings all point to the same fundamental view, and the various philosophical debates that are contained in the texts are merely analyzing it from various angles.
So, while a view is required to engage in practice, practitioners don’t need to be familiar with the intricate details of the teachings. In fact, many of the past awakened masters did not study Buddhist philosophy at all, but instead earnestly followed an enlightened teacher.
As for being expensive, that is also a mistaken concept. There may be cultural etiquettes and habits that promote the purchase of expensive offering-containers and encourage costly rituals, but these are unnecessary. Of course, generosity is encouraged as a means to counter ego-clinging, but intention is the core of practice, not financial outlay.
There is a well-known story that illustrates this point: “At the time of the Buddha, a beggarwoman went four days without food so she could buy a tiny amount of oil, which she used to light a lamp in the courtyard of the Buddha’s vihara.
Along with the lamp, she offered an aspirational prayer, ‘Blessed One, with this root of virtue, may I too become a teacher in the future. May I teach the Dharma and gather a community, just as the Buddha does now. If I am to become a buddha in the future, may this oil lamp continue to burn until I return.’
Later, the Buddha’s disciple, Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana, tried to extinguish the lamp with both wind and water, but he could not. The Buddha explained that this was due to the sincerity of the aspirations to benefit others.”
This example is one of many that provides evidence that a motivation to be instrumental in benefiting others and liberating them from samsara is the essence of practice, not the cost of offerings.
Returning to your question, I suggest that you choose a religion based on its goals, not on its perceived simplicity. As I stated, religions are not the same, and Buddhism and Abrahamic religions have a totally different goal and belief system.
In conclusion, Buddhism may appear complicated due to its profound philosophy, but it is unnecessary to study this in detail.
Moreover, the abundance of rituals may give the impression that practice is complex and expensive. However, this assumption is also incorrect, and many practices are extremely simple, and their effectiveness is not in any way influenced by the amount of money spent on rituals and offerings, but on the motivation behind practice.
In short, you just need an authentic teacher to guide you. As for rest, you do not need to worry about it.
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