Additional Commentary
On Writings
When contemplating what has been written about Buddha, and Jesus, and the ideas of "what would Buddha do?" and "what would Jesus do?,” we must acknowledge that we cannot know with certainty what they actually said or might do if they were physically present today. We can perhaps get some ideas based on writings and teachings about them, but we may ultimately defer to what we might want to believe, or what others might want us to believe, as long as we identify with or are attached to such beliefs. The words and ideas related to them can be seen as signs to deeper understandings and experiences- after all, neither Buddha nor Jesus wrote anything themselves, the writings about them came about years after they died (some many years later), and such writings have been subject to years of verbal transmission/ oral tradition, faulty memories, selective preservation and destruction, modifications, embellishments, misinterpretations (including inadequate translations) and the incorporation of preexisting and coexisting ideas and mythologies. And, the Buddha was not a "Buddhist" and did not have or need "Buddhist scriptures," and Jesus was not a "Christian" and did not have or need "Christian scriptures."
With this understanding, we can learn about, contemplate, and practice what is available with respect to their teachings and perhaps avoid getting stuck on or attached to culture specific words, writings, or ideas, and simply experience what the teachings are perhaps trying to convey. And comparing writings related to them with writings from other cultures may be a good way to understand what might be considered "universal wisdom."
"One's own preferences are not to be followed simply because they seem logical or resonate with one's feelings. Instead, any view or belief must be tested by the results it yields when put into practice”
“Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. All systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.”
"It is not words or concepts that are important. What is important is our insight into the nature of reality and our way of responding to reality."
"This pure Mind, which is the source of all things, shines forever with the radiance of its own perfection. But most people are not aware of it, and think that Mind is just the faculty that sees, hears, feels, and knows. Blinded by their own sight, hearing, feeling, and knowing, they don't perceive the radiance of the source. If they could eliminate all conceptual thinking, this source would appear, like the sun rising through the empty sky and illuminating the whole universe."
"As unnecessary as a well is to a village on the banks of a river, so unnecessary are all the scriptures to someone who has seen the truth; when your understanding has passed beyond the thicket of delusions, there is nothing you need to learn from even the most sacred scripture; indifferent to scriptures, your mind stands by itself, unmoving, absorbed in deep meditation. This is the essence of the path."
If you cannot set down your holy book and walk away, you are not truly free."
Ideas, Thoughts, Conditioned Beliefs
So, why study these teachings or practice mindfulness and meditation? Ideas and beliefs can offer guidance, meaning, and tools for making sense of existence, suffering, and death. People seek connection, inner peace, clarity, and ways to live well—through religion, spirituality, science, philosophy, personal practice, etc.. Buddhism is one path among many that addresses these concerns; mindfulness and meditation (both secular and religious forms) are practical methods that many find helpful. They are associated with benefits for attention, emotional regulation, and well‑being, but they are not a cure‑all—people with histories of anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, etc. should consult a qualified health professional before beginning these practices.
The mind habitually grasps at ideas, and we are conditioned from an early age in the realm of thoughts- by family, surroundings, society, schools, peers, media, religion, etc. Left unexamined, the mind produces, feeds on, and reinforces conditioned patterns of thought, sometimes to the point of an uncontrollable “addiction to thinking.” If we never recognize this conditioning, the mind uses us instead of us using the mind. Mindfulness and meditation can bring awareness to such conditioning and enslavement of the mind. Without such awareness, we get caught in, and reinforce, cycles of mind created ideas and thoughts that lead to dukkha, for ourselves and others. Recognizing and looking within to see how we become trapped in these cycles lies at the heart of Buddhist insight, though the basic practice of introspective awareness is not limited to Buddhism.
Like a finger pointing to the moon, Buddhism (or Christianity, or any other religion) can point a way- a way to peace, enlightenment, nirvana, heaven, the kingdom of god, etc. They can also potentially create mental prisons by imposing strict beliefs and expectations that limit personal freedom and critical thinking. This can lead to feeling trapped by dogma and feelings of guilt, fear, or anxiety struggling to conform to such beliefs. Mindfulness and meditation offer practical tools to loosen attachment, clarify perception, and alleviate those burdens.
Buddhism, like any teaching, is a map—not the destination. The destination lies beyond the conditioned mind and the maps we may cling to (“you are already everything you seek”; parable of the raft). A good map should guide us toward peace, mental freedom, and compassionate treatment of others. But if we fixate on the finger pointing to the moon—or on the moon itself—we risk becoming trapped by dogma and losing access to that freedom. Mindfulness and meditation are practices on the map that can help loosen attachment and can lead us back to peace and freedom that is already present within us.
Buddha Nature, Christ Consciousness
It is said there is a "Buddha nature" (or "Christ consciousness," etc.) within each of us. From the Buddhist perspective, this implies we are all inherently enlightened beings. In Buddhist teachings, we can clear a path to realize our enlightened state by understanding the Four Noble Truths and practicing the Eightfold Path. Among these is understanding impermanence, understanding there is no permanent, independent "self" ("nothing is to be clung to as I, me, or mine”), and understanding the causes of dukkha.
If we look carefully for a permanent, unchanging “self,” we find there actually is no such thing. We are a dynamic composite of causes and conditions and are, quite literally, different beings in every new moment, impermanent, yet interconnected and interdependent. From a scientific perspective, we can perhaps conceptualize and experience our “essence” as vast, interconnected, dynamic particles and waves, energy and matter. With deep awareness of this, we observe and experience things differently.
While not necessarily Buddhist ideas, we can potentially appreciate an apparent "self" within a larger, universal "Self," an inherent "oneness" with all things, the "you" before "you" developed a sense of self and became attached to self, words, ideas, material objects, time, or even "nothingness;" “unless you change and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom.”
Look Within
Introspection and meditation are embraced by many for a variety of reasons. If we turn inwards, we can perhaps discover the “pure mind,” the "luminous mind," the “divine being in human form,” "the kingdom of god within you”- we can also appreciate this in others and in all things. It is the same as that which is at the heart of a seed growing into a tree and all things that we perceive.
Spiritual teachers, mystics, sages, etc. throughout history have reiterated these ideas and the instruction to "look within." Looking within, we can have transformative experiences and understand how thoughts and ideas condition the mind and lead to dukkha; as long we are attached to ideas and thoughts, including the idea of a separate, independent “self," we will be stuck outside the "kingdom of god" that is accessible to each of us in the “Now," the only moment that truly exists.
“What is Guru or who is Guru? The conscience within you is the Guru. The one that guides you. The one that enlightens you. As such, there is a Guru in everybody.”
“If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you; rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you.”
“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
“Enter through the narrow gate (the Now, consciousness); for the gate is wide and the way is broad (past, future, mind identification, unconsciousness) that leads to destruction (suffering/dukkha), and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted (the Now, consciousness) that leads to life (lack of suffering/dukkha), and there are few who find it.”
Buddhism Compared With Other Religions
Buddhism, as a path, can be seen to emphasize reflection, introspection, and interoception rather than devotion to a creator deity, meditation rather than prayer, enlightenment rather than salvation, and universal life/manifestations rather than individuality (no separate, independent "self"). With this in mind, it is not necessarily “religious,” although it can be when combined with rites and rituals, supernatural beliefs, etc. There are religious paths within Buddhism and there are secular paths. Beyond the religious realm, and compared with other religions:
- “sin” can be thought of as “missing the mark,” not awakening to your innate “enlightened” nature, getting caught in illusions of perceptions that lead to suffering (dukkha) rooted in identification with and attachment to an illusory "self," ideas, desires, ill will, and lack of awareness
- “karma” can be thought of as cause and effect in the Now as well as the lingering effects of mind and body as we experience them in the Now
- “heaven” and “hell” can be thought of as states of mind in the Now
- "rebirth," "reincarnation," and “resurrection” can be thought of as the changing nature and continuous recreation of all things in each new moment; every moment of our past was a "past life," and each new moment is a rebirth- it is how we perceive and experience our new "births" that determine the quality and nature of each new "birth"
- “holy spirit” is, literally translated, “sacred breath,” a common focal object for mindfulness and meditation
- "salvation" can be thought of as freedom from suffering/ dukkha, the extinction of all that leads to suffering/dukkha.
Like all religions, Buddhism has evolved over time and there are different branches of Buddhism with varied emphases on doctrines and scriptures, experiential practices (including meditation), and ethics. But at the heart of Buddhism for many lie the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and at the heart of mindfulness/ meditation for many is the Satipatthana Sutta (often translated as The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (but may perhaps be better translated as "the discourse on the presence of mindfulness" or "the discourse on attending with mindfulness").