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Path to Enlightenment/Buddism
Book by Davis, John R.
- GenresNonfiction
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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March 6, 2024
This book was recommended to me just over 10 years ago in my World Religions class in seminary. It was a great read, and although it is a bit aged now (1997), it was well researched but very readable.
That being said, religions are timeless in their basic doctrines, although they all continue to evolve in their adaptions and connections to various cultures.
There are eight chapters.
Ch. 1. ("Where and How It All Started"):
This covers a lot of the basic things generally discussed by authors of the Buddha's life. But there were snippets of new information that I gleaned that added to my prior understanding. I knew that it is taught that Siddhartha Gautama died of food poisoning, but it was surprising that I never asked whether this could be viewed as bad karma (as it is among others from karmic backgrounds).
Ch. 2. ("Founders of the Faith and Early Expansion"):
I actually became aware of many new details in this chapter, such as three attempts to kill him. Lots of other people influenced and were influenced by his life as the Jataka Tales taught. I need to read these in their entirety. Dozens of sources were included in this book, but unfortunately, several key details were left unreferenced (i.e. 3,500 miracles that he performed).
I was left unsure of what to do with uncited comments such as "The Buddha is reported to have stated that if and when women were allowed (to join the Sangha), the demise of the Dharma would arrive 500 years early!" (30)
The chapter also covered turning points of the first three councils, along with the spread of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. It went on about Zen and Japanese influence and eventually Nichiren Shosu/Soka Gakkai and their missionary zeal to bring the whole world under it's influence.
Ch. 3. ("Sacred Texts and Serious Teachings"):
This brings up various aspects of the history of the oral tradition of scriptures passed along, until they were written down roughly 500 years after the founder's death. Then, additions to the canon were added and brief commentaries were provided by Davis regarding dates written, length, and brief summaries of various books--even from various countries that have their own texts.
Ch. 4. ("Chalk and Cheese--or Just Two Cheeses? A Comparison of Doctrines"):
This chapter compares how Christianity addresses a different question (the problem of sin) from Buddhism (the problem of suffering).
It goes on to discuss how each religion approaches the question of why the righteous suffer and innocent flourish?
The 4 Noble Truths are then covered, as well as how different Buddhist schools of thought lead to liberation through different means.
This chapter is VERY insightful for those motivated to understand how both Christianity and Buddhism address similar questions and topics.
A FASCINATING story of the substitutionary death of Queen Srisuriyothai of Thailand when facing the confrontation with the Burmese/Myanmar army (85-86).
Another eye-opening topic was karma and how "all the merit gained could be wiped out in a flash, like the Wall Street Crash, leaving the victim spiritually bankrupt" (88).
Reincarnation, a process of intro-version and nirvana are addressed as well in a back and forth manner with Christian views of the afterlife. Annihilationism is refuted (John 14:1), while Buddhism emphasizes being a single drop of dew dissolving into an ocean of nothingness; a complete evaporation of whoever I was and whoever I would like to have been (97).
Ch. 5. ("Spirituality and Worship--Public and Private Devotion"):
The chapter starts off discussing how eliminating desire leads to the goal of enlightenment (salvation). However, this is a paradox due to one needing to desire it to achieve it. Some view our actions as fate, while others side with doing nothing as it could help achieve it that way.
Different schools of thought address this in different ways:
"Dependent origination," stems from the view of how our existence is the cause of our suffering (the problem the Buddha strives to fix). To use an analogy, as a fishing net is constructed by tying together a series of knots, so everything in the world is made up of a series of connected meshes and we are inexorably caught in this net of "causes and conditions" by the fact that we exist (100).
It goes on to discuss different types of meditation:
Theravada:
-Wipassana: "breathing in/out"
-Samantha/Samati: focuses on a particular object(s)
Mahayana & Vajrayana:
-Mantras: chants
-Mudras: physical gestures
-Shaktiism: joining the "universal feminine" to realize the ultimate unity of all things
Within Mahayana is Tibetan, which uses prayer beads (often 108), aka malas, which help one to remember the number of times to bow down.
Mandalas are involved too--BEAUTIFUL pictorial representations of cosmic truths--often the wheel of life.
Also, within Mahayana, there is puja (worship), which includes 7 things.
Pilgrimages are also involved:
-The Lumbini Park Grove
-Bodhi Gaya
-The Deer Park
-Kushinara
Ch. 6. ("Ethics and Morality--Virtues and Vices"):
This chapter emphasizes how their are gradations in terms of how practitioners follow the religion. For example, there are 227 rules for monks (300+ for nuns), but for laypeople, things are much more lax (i.e. instead of no alcohol like the 5 Precepts say, moderation would be allowed for non-monks).
The corpus of Buddhism is covered with the 4 Noble Truths, along with the Noble Eightfold Path (The 4th Noble Truths leads to these 8). What I like about this book is that it expands rather succinctly what each of these 8 refer to.
The Buddhist scriptures have relatively little to say about the environment, even though lots of things are written in various social circles in terms of what Buddhism says about the topic. One example of something from a Buddhist perspective is from the Dhammapada Athatakha (a commentary), of Ananda receiving 500 garments, and how they will be recycled seemingly infinitum (from wearing them to making bed covers to pillowcases to floor covers to foot towels to mops to tearing them to pieces, mixing them with mud and using it to plaster the house walls) (122).
Some advocacy groups include the Direct Action Movement, 'Engaged Buddhists,' etc.
Some Noble Peace Prize winners have included:
-Au Sang Su Ching (Myanmar)
-Thich Nhat Hahn (Vietnam)
-Dalai Lama (Tibet)
Regarding ethical dilemmas, karma is generally viewed as we get what we deserve (i.e. fate). However, how far do we take it? For example, killing is wrong to Buddhists. However, if a dog gets rabies and poses a threat to a temple--where kid monks are living--would it ever be right to "put down" the dog(s)?
Other great questions emerged:
-If a healthy-looking person comes into a store with a begging bowl, should we give them food? What of they are just being lazy? If we give it, would that give us good karma--even if the person didn't?
-If karma has enough intelligence not to grant merit because of wrong motivation, then it can not be just an "impersonal force" because impersonal force, while it may have power (like electricity), is not intelligent. Where does karma get its 'prescience' (foreknowledge) from? If on the other hand karma did grant merit although the motivation was wrong, then the whole principle of karma falls apart, for we discover that it is neither just nor reliable. (133)
Ch. 7: ("Leadership Structures and Religious Offices"):
Whoever becomes a monk must repeat the "Three Gems" three times:
1) To the Buddha I go for refuge
2) To the Dharma (teaching) I go for refuge
3) To the Sangha (order of monks) I go for refuge (137)
In the Dhammapada, verse 165, it says,
"Surely by oneself is evil done,
and oneself defiled.
Surely by oneself is evil left undone,
and oneself purified.
Purity and impurity depend on oneself;
no one can purify another."
#2 above is not intended to redeem, but to point to the way to liberation (the Four Noble Truths).
Davis suggests that "I go for refuge" could be better translated into English as "I go as my guide."
Monks need to follow 10 Precepts (Laypeople only do 5--In Thai, it's pronounced "sin ha."
The head of the Sangha is called the Supreme Patriarch.
There will almost always be a sacred bodhi tree on the grounds of the temple.
Then it goes into temple life and the life of a monk--even discussing some differences from country to country.
A prayer for rain goes as follows: "The Lord Buddha is omniscient..." (surprising, to me)
It is possible to study for 25 years and get a "Doctor of Buddhology" degree.
See the book "Living Buddhist Masters" by Jack Kornfield.
The meditative life:
-there are no shortcuts
-similar to gardening--one must establish appropriate conditions to get the most benefit
There are 5 hindrances to achieve total detachment.
EX: To avoid sexual temptations, one should focus on the 32 parts of the body, which includes the unattractive parts (mucus and excrete).
Some might focus on a role model for extensive periods of time in order to stop favoring a few and favor all.
Regarding women, it mentions how the Buddha started an order of Bhikkunis, or nuns, after his aunt shaved her head to join the order.
Lastly, I found it interesting that the Buddha had reservations about women joining the Sangha when he said in the Digha Nikaya that "nuns will set back the Buddhist order 500 years if they join." (Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16), "The Discourse on the Great Passing"). This is where the Buddha agrees to establish the Bhikkhuni Sangha, the order of nuns, after being talked into it by Ananda.
That being said, since I teach Buddhism in my World Religions class (AND Philosophy & Worldview class), I plan on using this book as a reference book to revise and edit things I have already written on.
That being said, religions are timeless in their basic doctrines, although they all continue to evolve in their adaptions and connections to various cultures.
There are eight chapters.
Ch. 1. ("Where and How It All Started"):
This covers a lot of the basic things generally discussed by authors of the Buddha's life. But there were snippets of new information that I gleaned that added to my prior understanding. I knew that it is taught that Siddhartha Gautama died of food poisoning, but it was surprising that I never asked whether this could be viewed as bad karma (as it is among others from karmic backgrounds).
Ch. 2. ("Founders of the Faith and Early Expansion"):
I actually became aware of many new details in this chapter, such as three attempts to kill him. Lots of other people influenced and were influenced by his life as the Jataka Tales taught. I need to read these in their entirety. Dozens of sources were included in this book, but unfortunately, several key details were left unreferenced (i.e. 3,500 miracles that he performed).
I was left unsure of what to do with uncited comments such as "The Buddha is reported to have stated that if and when women were allowed (to join the Sangha), the demise of the Dharma would arrive 500 years early!" (30)
The chapter also covered turning points of the first three councils, along with the spread of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. It went on about Zen and Japanese influence and eventually Nichiren Shosu/Soka Gakkai and their missionary zeal to bring the whole world under it's influence.
Ch. 3. ("Sacred Texts and Serious Teachings"):
This brings up various aspects of the history of the oral tradition of scriptures passed along, until they were written down roughly 500 years after the founder's death. Then, additions to the canon were added and brief commentaries were provided by Davis regarding dates written, length, and brief summaries of various books--even from various countries that have their own texts.
Ch. 4. ("Chalk and Cheese--or Just Two Cheeses? A Comparison of Doctrines"):
This chapter compares how Christianity addresses a different question (the problem of sin) from Buddhism (the problem of suffering).
It goes on to discuss how each religion approaches the question of why the righteous suffer and innocent flourish?
The 4 Noble Truths are then covered, as well as how different Buddhist schools of thought lead to liberation through different means.
This chapter is VERY insightful for those motivated to understand how both Christianity and Buddhism address similar questions and topics.
A FASCINATING story of the substitutionary death of Queen Srisuriyothai of Thailand when facing the confrontation with the Burmese/Myanmar army (85-86).
Another eye-opening topic was karma and how "all the merit gained could be wiped out in a flash, like the Wall Street Crash, leaving the victim spiritually bankrupt" (88).
Reincarnation, a process of intro-version and nirvana are addressed as well in a back and forth manner with Christian views of the afterlife. Annihilationism is refuted (John 14:1), while Buddhism emphasizes being a single drop of dew dissolving into an ocean of nothingness; a complete evaporation of whoever I was and whoever I would like to have been (97).
Ch. 5. ("Spirituality and Worship--Public and Private Devotion"):
The chapter starts off discussing how eliminating desire leads to the goal of enlightenment (salvation). However, this is a paradox due to one needing to desire it to achieve it. Some view our actions as fate, while others side with doing nothing as it could help achieve it that way.
Different schools of thought address this in different ways:
"Dependent origination," stems from the view of how our existence is the cause of our suffering (the problem the Buddha strives to fix). To use an analogy, as a fishing net is constructed by tying together a series of knots, so everything in the world is made up of a series of connected meshes and we are inexorably caught in this net of "causes and conditions" by the fact that we exist (100).
It goes on to discuss different types of meditation:
Theravada:
-Wipassana: "breathing in/out"
-Samantha/Samati: focuses on a particular object(s)
Mahayana & Vajrayana:
-Mantras: chants
-Mudras: physical gestures
-Shaktiism: joining the "universal feminine" to realize the ultimate unity of all things
Within Mahayana is Tibetan, which uses prayer beads (often 108), aka malas, which help one to remember the number of times to bow down.
Mandalas are involved too--BEAUTIFUL pictorial representations of cosmic truths--often the wheel of life.
Also, within Mahayana, there is puja (worship), which includes 7 things.
Pilgrimages are also involved:
-The Lumbini Park Grove
-Bodhi Gaya
-The Deer Park
-Kushinara
Ch. 6. ("Ethics and Morality--Virtues and Vices"):
This chapter emphasizes how their are gradations in terms of how practitioners follow the religion. For example, there are 227 rules for monks (300+ for nuns), but for laypeople, things are much more lax (i.e. instead of no alcohol like the 5 Precepts say, moderation would be allowed for non-monks).
The corpus of Buddhism is covered with the 4 Noble Truths, along with the Noble Eightfold Path (The 4th Noble Truths leads to these 8). What I like about this book is that it expands rather succinctly what each of these 8 refer to.
The Buddhist scriptures have relatively little to say about the environment, even though lots of things are written in various social circles in terms of what Buddhism says about the topic. One example of something from a Buddhist perspective is from the Dhammapada Athatakha (a commentary), of Ananda receiving 500 garments, and how they will be recycled seemingly infinitum (from wearing them to making bed covers to pillowcases to floor covers to foot towels to mops to tearing them to pieces, mixing them with mud and using it to plaster the house walls) (122).
Some advocacy groups include the Direct Action Movement, 'Engaged Buddhists,' etc.
Some Noble Peace Prize winners have included:
-Au Sang Su Ching (Myanmar)
-Thich Nhat Hahn (Vietnam)
-Dalai Lama (Tibet)
Regarding ethical dilemmas, karma is generally viewed as we get what we deserve (i.e. fate). However, how far do we take it? For example, killing is wrong to Buddhists. However, if a dog gets rabies and poses a threat to a temple--where kid monks are living--would it ever be right to "put down" the dog(s)?
Other great questions emerged:
-If a healthy-looking person comes into a store with a begging bowl, should we give them food? What of they are just being lazy? If we give it, would that give us good karma--even if the person didn't?
-If karma has enough intelligence not to grant merit because of wrong motivation, then it can not be just an "impersonal force" because impersonal force, while it may have power (like electricity), is not intelligent. Where does karma get its 'prescience' (foreknowledge) from? If on the other hand karma did grant merit although the motivation was wrong, then the whole principle of karma falls apart, for we discover that it is neither just nor reliable. (133)
Ch. 7: ("Leadership Structures and Religious Offices"):
Whoever becomes a monk must repeat the "Three Gems" three times:
1) To the Buddha I go for refuge
2) To the Dharma (teaching) I go for refuge
3) To the Sangha (order of monks) I go for refuge (137)
In the Dhammapada, verse 165, it says,
"Surely by oneself is evil done,
and oneself defiled.
Surely by oneself is evil left undone,
and oneself purified.
Purity and impurity depend on oneself;
no one can purify another."
#2 above is not intended to redeem, but to point to the way to liberation (the Four Noble Truths).
Davis suggests that "I go for refuge" could be better translated into English as "I go as my guide."
Monks need to follow 10 Precepts (Laypeople only do 5--In Thai, it's pronounced "sin ha."
The head of the Sangha is called the Supreme Patriarch.
There will almost always be a sacred bodhi tree on the grounds of the temple.
Then it goes into temple life and the life of a monk--even discussing some differences from country to country.
A prayer for rain goes as follows: "The Lord Buddha is omniscient..." (surprising, to me)
It is possible to study for 25 years and get a "Doctor of Buddhology" degree.
See the book "Living Buddhist Masters" by Jack Kornfield.
The meditative life:
-there are no shortcuts
-similar to gardening--one must establish appropriate conditions to get the most benefit
There are 5 hindrances to achieve total detachment.
EX: To avoid sexual temptations, one should focus on the 32 parts of the body, which includes the unattractive parts (mucus and excrete).
Some might focus on a role model for extensive periods of time in order to stop favoring a few and favor all.
Regarding women, it mentions how the Buddha started an order of Bhikkunis, or nuns, after his aunt shaved her head to join the order.
Lastly, I found it interesting that the Buddha had reservations about women joining the Sangha when he said in the Digha Nikaya that "nuns will set back the Buddhist order 500 years if they join." (Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16), "The Discourse on the Great Passing"). This is where the Buddha agrees to establish the Bhikkhuni Sangha, the order of nuns, after being talked into it by Ananda.
That being said, since I teach Buddhism in my World Religions class (AND Philosophy & Worldview class), I plan on using this book as a reference book to revise and edit things I have already written on.
February 18, 2019
I think this is a really good book for Christians who are serving in a Buddhist nation. However, it is starting to get slightly outdated, and I would love to see an updated version.
Read
July 27, 2011Davis presents a fair and basic picture of what Buddhism is. He has good knowledge and is able to show the different varieties of Buddhism in a rather short space. In this space he is also able to compare it to Christianity. the books is written from a christian perspective and one should have that in mind. But, nonetheless, Davis manages to both challange Buddhism, yet also present the positives.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews