Chinese Incense Burners :: Yin Yang Buddha Burner

All things have a story...

Before Buddhism existed 2,500 years ago, almost every religion relied on a higher being or beings with many superstitious attributes. The Hindus had hundreds or thousands of gods and other religions were based on primitive beliefs based out of fear. But the Buddha brought something to the world in Buddhism that was uniquely different. The point of this article is to point out the differences, which were very significant for their time and even remain so today.

The first essential difference is that Buddha preached that his followers not rely on a higher authority, and that meant even himself. Hinduism, which was the dominant religion of India at the time asked the people to rely on the Brahmins (the upper caste of Hindu society) for communication with the gods. The lower castes could never hope to move up in society or know the secret knowledge of the Brahmins. The Buddha wanted to do away with this power play by making everyone individually responsible for their own spiritual development. In Buddhism, as Buddha saw it, there were no middle men to communicate with higher powers. The Buddha took a scientific point of view and asked his followers to experiment with what works for them. "Be a lamp unto yourselves," is one of the most quoted sayings of the Buddha.

The second important difference between Buddhism and other religions of its time was the lack of ritual. The Buddha talked disparagingly about the strict religious rites that Brahmins carried out, stating that it was ineffectual and superstitious. The Buddha thought rituals to be nothing more than trappings and one of the Ten Fetters that clamp down the human spirit. Buddha also preached a religion devoid of tradition. He did this most effectively by not teaching in Sanskrit, the language of the religious and the scholars, and instead taught in the people's native vernacular.

Contrary to other religions of his time, where one could passively lay back and put his hopes in monks and middlemen to God, the Buddha promulgated a religion of intense self effort. The Buddha believed that every individual must tread the spiritual path and work to release their souls from the Wheel of Dharma, which traps us all in the material plane and earthly cycles of birth after birth. Nobody else could bring about our enlightenment; we are responsible for it alone.

Finally, the Buddha abnegated any belief in the supernatural. He condemned soothsaying, divination and the use of any type of paranormal powers, claiming that they were "low arts" and "shortcuts" that were steeped in illusion. These things only diverted attention from the real work at hand. Unfortunately, after Buddha's death, he was canonized by his followers and rituals and tradition began to sprout up around his new religion. They now play a significant role in Buddhist religion and culture. While the Buddha would probably reject these rituals and traditions if he were alive today, they categorically remain an important part of following and passing along the faith to future generations.