What is Buddhism? A new scientific interpretation of Buddhism for all mankind in the 21st century.

    In light of what has been discussed in this series, what exactly constitutes the ideal way of life?      Here is a summary of the main points:   1. As a follower of the Buddha's teachings, contribute to the well-being of all living beings and take action to spread awareness that it is the duty of all humankind to ensure that all living beings are free from suffering and able to live in peace.   2. As an advocate of the Buddhist Bodhisattva way of life, personally practice the principle of valuing others as much as oneself, and strive to expand the circle of empathy so that it becomes a common principle for all mankind.   3. Recognize that all the events we experience in our daily lives reflect the accumulation of our own actions from the past. Strive to improve the totality of our accumulated actions by realizing their meaning for the present conditions and improving our actions and way of thinking, especially toward others. 4. Under...

     In the previous chapter of Applications 8, I briefly touched upon why I believe Kenji Miyazawa deeply understood the true essence of Buddha's teachings. Furthermore, in Applications Part 3, I mentioned briefly why one needs to practice the path of a bodhisattva to become a Buddha and why it requires an incredibly long period. Now, I'd like to explore these topics further. Firstly, let's examine the nature of "suffering." This time, I'd like to offer a more in-depth analysis than a general explanation. Humans undeniably possess a sense of compassion towards other beings. However, in contradiction to this sentiment, to sustain the existence of "self," one inevitably sacrifices others constantly. Even if one feels sorry for chickens, pigs, or cows, to sustain "self," one must sacrifice them. Even in the case of vegetarianism, crops like rice and beans are originally meant for their descendants, yet humans usurp them, essentially s...

     I previously introduced an analogy about waves. This analogy was meant to simplify the narrative but contained elements that could lead to significant misunderstandings from a Buddhist perspective. Suppose a wave in the ocean becomes aware that it is a wave. By becoming aware that it is a wave, it comes to regard many other waves as its rivals, and it spends all its time competing with them for survival. In other words, a delusion arises that it and others are in competition with each other. This delusion is the cause of all suffering. However, when it realizes that it is not just a wave, but the entire ocean, the delusion of self/other conflict disappears, and it experiences a sense of oneness with the entire ocean. However, what could be misleading was that the real self that finally arrived was the ocean itself, the “great ocean. The reason is that, although a metaphor, the actual ocean is a real thing, an object of perception. As explained in the doctrine of ...

     The Six Perfections can be said to be the practice themes that Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism should master. The term "Perfection" in the Six Perfections comes from the Pāramitā in Sanskrit (ancient Indian language), meaning completion, perfection, and reaching the other shore. So what are the "six pāramitā " that refer to the perfection of six deeds or mental states? 1. Dāna pāramitā = Perfection of Giving, sharing, not being attached to possessions. 2. Śīla pāramitā = Perfection of Self-discipline. 3. Kṣānti pāramitā = Perfection of Not minding, being transcendent. 4. Vīrya pāramitā = Perfection of Making effort. 5. Dhyāna pāramitā = Perfection of Focusing. 6. Prajñā pāramitā = Perfection of Wisdom (Seeing things as they are from the Middle way.) However, it may be difficult to understand what is actually meant by the words "perfection" or "reaching the other shore," but since Mahayana Buddhism is based on the teachings ...

     In our previous discussion of "emptiness," we explored how, as the disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha organized and classified his teachings, they came to consider several fundamental constituents of the universe as existing entities. However, such theories of existence were seen as contradicting the Middle Way and the teaching of no-self by Shakyamuni. Therefore, scholars such as Nagarjuna, and Nagarjuna's followers systematically rejected these theories of existence and asserted that everything is ultimately "empty," as explained in the previous chapter. However, despite everything being ultimately empty and non-existent, the cycle of delusion of individual entities as elucidated by Shakyamuni Buddha through the Twelve Dependent Originations continues to manifest. As explained earlier, this cycle of delusion persists until one fully comprehends the Middle Way. Nagarjuna and his followers, who expounded on "emptiness," later formed the philosop...

     So, let's take a closer look at what exactly "emptiness" means. The earlier example involved various elements like a chair or a human being, complexly intertwined. While it's understandable that these combinations form concepts, some might still think that the fundamental elements themselves exist. Let's consider the example of "water." Those with a substantialist viewpoint believe that there's something with the nature or essence of water that exists. However, it's now common knowledge that "water" is composed of molecules made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, known as H2O. In other words, there isn't an unchanging entity called "water"; rather, it's just a manifestation based on the relationship between two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, dependent on environmental conditions such as temperature ranging from 1°C to 99°C. We humans label this manifestation as "water." Essentially, ...