To Be Buddhism
Commentary by Roshi Hogen Berman

In this world there seems to be many sects and schools of Buddhism and each has its special way of practicing the Dharma. There really isn't anything wrong with this as long as their practice includes: The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path; the idea of Rebirth that was realized by The Buddha on the night of his enlightenment; and the nonexistence of a personal, permanent, eternal entity called the spirit, soul or ego.

In Buddhism, it is believed we human beings, and indeed all sentient beings, exist as an impersonal stream of consciousness - thought - held together by a set of five aggregates that are in a constant state of flux. These aggregates are: Form or Matter (which contains the four primary elements of Solidity, Fluidity, Heat or Temperature, and Motion or Wind), Feelings and Sensations, Perception, Mental Formations, and Consciousness (sometimes called the empirical mind). Just as we may look at a stream of water and think of it as a whole body of water flowing, in reality it is just a mass of minute droplets, individually going their way. In certain respects they are one and interdependent and yet they are two, not one, as they do have their individuality. Our life is much the same. Essentially our lives are made up of a series of individual thought-moments physically carried around by this mass we call form. We carry these individual thought-moments around in our consciousness. In many respects we have oneness with all beings in the universe, and yet there is also duality, i.e. individuality. These are Buddhist thoughts, all the rest is icing on the cake - for your benefit.

WHAT IS THIS BUDDHISM?

Buddhism in its purest sense means: awake to the wisdom of the universe. Thus we could say all that occurs in the universe automatically becomes included in those parameters. We, human beings, tend to codify all things and concepts and because we do - we discriminate. Yet, in the purest sense all these things or concepts that we discriminate against are part of, or one with, Buddhism - or the wisdom of the universe.

Generally Westerners and others who come to Buddhism late in life (i.e. at a time other than when they are children) are able to enjoy the rewards of Buddhist philosophy and practice more than those who are born into Buddhism. The latter tend to take Buddhist beliefs for granted, as an effect of culture, while those born into other religions (but later converted - or awakened), compare the Buddhist doctrine and receive an extra reward of understanding, and in their daily life they accentuate the positive aspects of Buddhist doctrine. The convert finds one Buddhism's doctrines proven on a daily basis while living their mundane life style - while the other teaches one must live by faith and be satisfied that man is not expected to understand the answers to the hundreds of unanswered questions he may have.

On these basis we often find the converted becoming idealistic in his/her Buddhist' beliefs and practices, much to the chagrin of those born into Buddhism - whose practice often becomes mostly passive.

THE BUDDHA SPIRIT

In Buddhism we often hear a Teacher speaking of a Buddha Spirit. This Buddha Spirit is not some incorporeal ethereal or ghost-like manifestation that exists in all living beings. When a teacher proclaims all living beings possess the Buddha Spirit, he means they have the "potential" to awaken to their Buddha Nature, i.e. awaken to the wisdom of the Universe.

Believe me; that is the truth. But also believe me when I tell you that one does not awaken to his true nature simply by stumbling over a stone in the court yard or when he hears some secret word mumbled by some esoterically minded priest or Monk. No indeed!

To become a Buddha is much like the process of earning a Doctorate degree from a University. In both cases the process starts in Kindergarten (or perhaps before in the case of a PHD) - figuratively speaking - of course. One awakens to his Buddhahood as a result of lessons learned during many life cycles and from many experiences in this life cycle that in some way contributed to the evolution of the species; i.e. they were wholesome experiences. Thus we can understand the Buddha Spirit is the culmination of all the wisdom accrued during eons and eons of this migrating consciousnesses' evolution. The business of stumbling over a stone in the courtyard or awakening when a sudden word is spoken happens - but is just the golden spike driven into the railroad track bed. It is a result of years of preparation, the exertion of volitional effort and desire to achieve moral excellence. The driving of the spike is indicative that the long process of maturation and development has been completed.

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