Some Common Misconceptions

As Westerners we have been brought up to view the world in a certain way, so we tend to think of novel things such as Buddhism as being a bit weird. But generally this is due to misunderstandings because we look at it through our eyes, rather than the way it is intended.

So here are three basic facts about Buddhism which will hopefully dispel some of the misperceptions.

Buddha is not a God

Buddhists believe that a man called Prince Siddartha Guatama achieved something called ‘enlightenment’ in 600 BC, after which he was called ‘The Buddha’, which is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘the one who is awake’. What he ‘awoke’ from was the traditional way of viewing the world. He realised that this traditional view only caused us problems so he showed a different way that was more helpful.

He was not a God, he was a person like you and I who became a role model and teacher. In this respect Buddhism is perhaps closer to atheism than anything else as there is no external creator god to worship.

Everything is internal

We tend to view the world and everything associated with it as ‘out there’, external to us. Fate, destiny, luck, God’s judgement, ‘our cross to bear’ are all ways of viewing the world, but they are seen as something imposed on us from outside. When we have a disagreement or problem with someone, we think it’s they who are the problem, not us. So we tend to spend our time trying to control external events and things. We try to bend them to what we want or make them into something they aren’t.

This was a key aspect of the traditional view of the world that Buddha said was not only unhelpful, but was actually wrong. Instead, Buddha said that everything was within us. If we have a problem with someone, the problem is with us, not them. They might be causing us problems, but it’s not a problem for them as they are just being themselves.

They might not have a problem, but we do. Our problem is that we cannot cope with them being themselves. We expect them to be something other than they actually are, or think they ‘should’ do something, just because we want or expect it. And that is the problem we have.

It’s not what they do that causes the problem, it’s that it’s different from what we expect or want them to do – and that expectation is within us.

A traditional Buddhist way of looking at this is to imagine trying to walk across a patch of ground full of thorns and thistles. You could try and pull out all the thorns or even pave it over. Alternatively, you could put on a pair of thick, sturdy boots and simply walk across. The traditional way of viewing the world is the former approach – trying to change the ground. But the easiest way to cross is to put boots on. In Buddhist terms this involves training the mind to cope with whatever comes up – hence the approach of changing our attitudes and ways of thinking to something more helpful.

What makes you happy? Is it objects and things? Or is it a feeling inside? Happiness comes from a feeling inside, it’s not imposed or granted by anyone else, we have to feel it within ourselves. We can do that by training our mind to think in more helpful, useful ways.

You can’t ‘convert’ to Buddhism

Many religions want you to convert to their belief system. ‘Only true believers will be saved’ is a common saying from many of them. Not so with Buddhism. The Buddhist view is that happiness or suffering will be achieved by what you do, not what you believe. It’s the equivalent of going to heaven because you deserve it, rather than because you were a ‘good’ Christian, Muslim or Jew. So you have nothing to convert to. Instead, you take what helps and if it works for you and makes you feel happier, then that’s a result.

The Buddha presented a way of achieving liberation from suffering and achieving happiness. But he didn’t say “this is the way”. He said “this is a way, perhaps it might help you too.” He invites you to find your own way. He has outlined the broad approach, but you need to adapt and tailor it to yourself. After all, you have your own set of positive and negative karma to deal with and a unique set of circumstances.

This is represented in a classic Buddhist picture where Buddha is pointing at the moon. Buddha said that we shouldn’t worship the finger, as it merely points the way. Instead, look at what the finger is pointing towards, and aim for that.

Buddhism is the sixth biggest religion in the world with an estimated following of 600 million people worldwide. Plus it’s been around for 600 years longer than Christianity and 1000 years longer than Islam, so it’s not exactly a novelty idea.