Attributes of Buddhism for modern society

Thinking on the future of Buddhism it may be helpful for us to consider Buddhism as

1. A religion that is not culturally bound,
2. A Pragmatic religion, and
3. A religion emphasizes on self-experiment and realization.

(1) One of the first things that people appreciate in Buddhism is that it is not culture bound, that is, not bound to any particular society, race of ethnic group. There are certain religions that are culture-bound, Judaism is oneexample and Hinduism is another. Buddhism is not. That is why historically we have Indian Buddhists, Malaysian Buddhists, Thai Buddhists, Sri Lankan Buddhists, and so forth, and we also already have English Buddhists, French Buddhists and even African Buddhists, and so fort. This is because Buddhism is not culture-bound. It moves easily from one culture to another because the emphasis in Buddhism is on internal development, rather than external environment. Its emphasis is on the way you develop your mind rather than the way you wear your hair and so forth. Time, place and people do not bound the sadhamma or the true Dhamma of the Buddha. What the Buddha taught was universal principles, which can be applied in any circumstance.

(2) The second point that I would like to make is regarding the pragmatism or the practicality of Buddhism. Instead of taking an interest in metaphysics and academic theories, the Buddha deals with problem per se and approaches them in a concrete way. This is something which is very in agreement with modern ideas about utilitarianism. That is, if something works, and is a good deed, which gives positive results, then use it. Unlike the modern political, economic and scientific philosophy of utilitarianism, which may have negative consequences, the Buddhist perspective is tempered by the condition that is should produce wholesome deeds and results.

This attitude of pragmatism is clearly expressed in the Culamalunkya Sutta where the Buddha made use of the example of the wounded man. The man wounded by an arrow wishes to know who shot the arrow, from which directon it came, whether the arrow head is make of bone or iron, whether the shaft is of this kind of wood or another, before he will have the arrow removed. This man is likened to those who would like to know about the origin of the Universe, whether the world is eternal or not, finite or not before they will undertake to practice a religion. Just as the man in the parable will die before he has all the answers he wants regarding the origin and nature of the arrow, such people will die before they will ever have the answers to all their questions. This exemplifies what we call the Buddha’s practical attitude. It has a lot to say about the whole question of priorities and problem solving. This also exemplifies the notion of ‘here and now’ in Buddhism which is callesd the ‘Dhamma of present’ (paceupannadhamma)

(3) The third point that I would like to refer to is the Buddha’s teaching on the importance of verification through experience. This point is made clearly in his advice to the Kalama’s contained in the Kesaputtiya Sutta. The Kalamas were a people very much like us in that they were exposed to many different teachings. They went to the Buddha and enquired, “As there are so many different teachers and as all of them claim that their doctrine is true. How were we know who is telling the truth ?” The Buddha told them not to accept anything out of authority, not to accept anything because it happens to be written down; not to accept anything out of reverence for their teacher; or out of hearsy; or because it sounds reasonable. He advise them to verify and test what they have heard in light of their own experience. When they know for themselves that certain things are harmful then they should abandon them. When they know for themselves that certain things are beneficial, that they lead to happiness and calm, then they should follow them.

In the context of the Buddha’s advice to the Kalamas, I thing what the Buddha is saying is to use your own mind as a test tube. You can see for yourself that when greed and anger are present, they lead to suffering, pain and disturbance. And you can see for yourself that when greed and anger are absent from your mind, it leads to calm, to happiness. It is a very simple experiment, which we all can do for ourselves. This is a very important point because what the Buddha taught will only be effective if we can carry out this kind of experiment in our life, if we can realize and verify the truth of the Buddha’s teachings through our own experience. Only then can we really say that we are making progress on the path towards enlightment.