(6) Common Buddhist Misunderstandings
It has been more than one thousand and nine hundred years since Buddhism spread to China. Thus, the relationship between Buddhism and China is very close. The development of Buddhism influenced, and was influenced by Chinese culture. In fact Buddhism became a religion of the Chinese.
Buddhism originated from India, and the special characteristics of the Indian culture were sometimes not easy for the Chinese to understand. The Chinese traditions influenced and modified some of the practices, and these deviated from the teaching of the Buddha. As a result, there are unfortunately many misunderstandings about Buddhism in China among the Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
It is very easy to misunderstand Buddhism if one knows nothing about its origins. Some followers may practice the cultural rituals without ever knowing Buddha”s teachings. As a consequence, those who believe in "Buddhism" may not really be following the Buddha”s teachings, and those who criticise Buddhism may not actually be criticising what the Buddha taught. So I hope this talk may help everyone gain a better understanding!
1. Misunderstanding that arises from the teachings.
The theory of the Buddha”s teaching is very profound. Some people do not understand its meanings and may only know it superficially. After listening to a few phrases, they may start to explain to the others in their own way. As a result, some explanations people tell, may not be accurate teachings of the Buddha. The most common misunderstandings are about the teachings: "life is suffering", "out-worldly" and "emptiness". So now lets discuss these terminologies separately:
a) Life is suffering
The Buddha told us that "Life is Suffering". One who does not understand the Truth of this may think that life is meaningless and become negative and pessimistic. Actually, this theory is commonly misunderstood. People in society and even some Buddhists are trapped in this wrong and gloomy view.
When we encounter phenomena, and have a feeling of dislike, worry or pain, we say that there is "suffering". This should not be generalised to "all life is suffering", because there is also a lot of happiness in life! Noises are disturbing but nice melodies bring happiness. When one is sick, poor, separated from loved ones, one has suffering. But when one is healthy, wealthy, together with one”s family, one is very happy. Suffering and happiness exist in all phenomena. Actually where there is happiness, there will be suffering. They are in contrast with each other. If” we only say that life is suffering when things do not go according to our wish we are rather foolish.
The Buddha says, "Life is suffering". What does "suffering" mean
The sutras say: "Impermanence therefore suffering". Everything is impermanent and changeable. The Buddha says that life is suffering because it is impermanent and ever-changing. For example, a healthy body cannot last forever. It will gradually become weak, old. sick and die. One who is wealthy cannot maintain one”s wealth forever. Sometimes one may become poor. Power and status do not last as well, one will lose them finally. From this condition of changing and instability, although there is happiness and joy, they are not ever lasting and ultimate. When changes come, suffering arises.
Thus, the Buddha says life is suffering. Suffering means dissatisfaction, impermanence and imperfection. If a practising Buddhist does not understand the real meaning of "suffering" and think that life is not perfect and ultimate, they become negative and pessimistic in their view of life. Those who really understand the teaching of the Buddha will have a totally different view. We should know that the theory of "Life is suffering" taught by the Buddha is to…
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