Buddhism's global appeal

A.G.S. KARIYAWASAM

GLOBAL APPEAL: Gautama Buddha was born and bred as an Indian and achieved the extremely rare distinction of becoming a Buddha also as an Indian.

Yet, with the attainment of Buddhahood, He emerged as a citizen of the world in the sense that the teaching He promulgated as his discovery by touring on foot the length and breadth of India became prominent as quite a novel body of tenets cutting through the entirety of religious and philosophical systems prevalent at the time.

In promulgating this teaching, He exemplified Himself as a person of indefatigable strength of character with incisive wisdom and extensive compassion.
With a highly fruitful career spanning four-and-a-half decades of public ministry, He ended Himself as one of the most successful founders of religions in the world.

His teaching with its unique non-theistic approach, became the common property of all humanity as it possessed a universal appeal as it dealt comprehensively with the problem of man in the universe and His fate therein.

His service to humanity has two main aspects, firstly as his clear understanding of the causes as well as the cures for the innumerable forms of human suffering.

Secondly, He also knew quite well how to put it across to the people with great success and also to motivate them to practise it in the routine of their lives.
These rare and valuable qualities He achieved through His realisation of some deep-lying truths highlighting a transformation in His attitude towards the world at large.

This realisation became a unique tool in this hands as a means to achieve freedom from all personalised relationships that lead man to endless social engagements.
This represented an ideal state of living in the world without being of the world which, as a philosophical commanded a tremendous appeal to man when it was first introduced into the sixth century BC Indian society.

About three centuries later, Emperor Asoka made it truly and correctly a world religion with great success through his missionary activities, which made the travels of Buddhism in the Asian regions quite a success story.

In all the Asian countries it founds its way into such as Mynamar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia etc., are still great bastions of Therawada Buddhism with Sri Lanka claiming to be its 'real home'. Of the erstwhile Buddhist countries which have currently gone Islamic, Indonesia has a great claim to Buddhism with its celebrated Borobudur, Chandi Mendut and such other great centres of Buddhist activity.

To the west of India, Afghanistan and Pakistan stand as vociferously silent monuments to their early glories in the past annals of Buddhism.

It has been a special characteristic of Buddhism that through these historical journeys it has successfully adjusted itself to the indigenous culture of the region it visited, without prejudice to its basic norms or essential insights.

This particular trait of Buddhism in its adaptability without injury to its essential part in the great strength that enabled it to survive the challenges and onslaughts it had and has to face in its survival, specially in new times and times. There lies its universal appeal as well.

It is an undeniable fact that when man's inner needs become prominent He would find Himself in a position where he not only 'does not but cannot live by bread alone.'
In today's highly competitive world where people have been helplessly forced to become 'workaholics,' like incessantly working parts of mighty machines they inevitably begin to feel the need of some spiritual calling issuing from their inner souls.

When the prevalent theistic teachings fail to respond, Buddhism steps in with its rich resources for filling such vacuums. It is armed with the required missing link to the thirsty call. Here lines, the strength of the Dhamma.

It is its spiritual might and appeal that enable it to survive beyond with success all manner of technological innovations that keep on mercilessly flooding the life of man in the modern world.

When human suffering in its myriads of manifestations remains a universal phenomenon, it naturally becomes the biggest challenge to man in his inevitable fight with his own fate he had inherited.

After accepting this status quo as an unavoidable trait characterising life in this world, the Buddha takes the appropriate step by investigating the nature of this unsatisfactoriness, which all of us are forced to experience, very much against our will.

Here, he sees that birth as a living being on this earth itself is involved with much suffering and amidst the so-called ephemeral sensual pleasures our lives are basically characterised by much suffering or painfulness.

Numerous problems involving poverty, ignorance, sickness, death, wars, crimes and underworld, natural calamities etc. are threatening us at every turn.

Yet, how many of us ever look at these unpleasant aspects realistically? The majority continue marching along blindly and nonchalantly, insensitive to all these calamities and as a result becoming passive victims to them on the way.

The Buddha once cited a graphic illustration to convince His hearers as per the human conditioning relation to their intellectual capacities.

Here, He categorises human beings into several classes by the allegory of the lotus pond where certain lotuses are just emerging from the mud at the bottom of the pond while some are in various stages of growth under the water.

While some have come upto the water level still others have risen above the water and come into contact with the sun's ray at the end of a long journey from the muddy bottom.

This categorisation of the Buddha refers to the world of humans in its entirety in relation to their intellectual levels.

It also highlights the fact that only a comparatively small number who can achieve human freedom by following the path shown by the Buddha with the lotuses above the water representing that handful.

It is only the Buddha's enlightenment that has revealed this great truth, if not for which we would be groping in the dark as per the ultimate meaning of human existence.
The spra-mundane dimension represented by the Four Paths of Sotapatti etc. has been discovered for us by the Buddha so that at least those who like the lotuses above the water, can tread the path shown by Him and realise the ultimate freedom in the State of Nirvana.

This is the global message Buddhism has to offer to the vast humanity bewildered and enthraled in the jungle of Samsaric existence and continue to suffer for want of destroying their cankers (Aasava) that keep them bonded to the phenomenal world.

The extinction of these defining tendencies inherent in mundane life has to be achieved through insight, sensual discipline of every high order, the wise use of the necessities of life and such other disciplinary and wisdom - growing measures.

For this, the best discourse the readers should master is the Sabbasava Sutta, the second discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya, which is essentially a practical application of the Noble Eightfold Path that would enable the practise to outgrow their defilements.
This is the global message Buddhism can offer to the bewildered human race.