Buddha, M.D.
The ultimate self-help system
Buddhism is the original, the ultimate self-help system
I don’t think this is an exaggeration.
Gotama Buddha never held himself out to be a prophet, or a holy man, or a dispatch from some transcending God. All he claimed to be was a man, and all he said was that there is suffering in this world and that we all fall prey to it.
There is, though, he also taught, a way out of this hamster wheel we call Samsara (birth and death and rebirth and death and rebirth and death ad infinitum) and he termed this way out the Noble Eightfold Path.
This path did not explain the mysteries of the universe; it did not muse about gods or speculate on the ultimate. Rather, it simply mapped the path out of our more or less eternal (or so close to eternal as to not really matter — though it is not quite eternal, and does indeed matter) sentence to suffer.
He pointed us in the right direction, then urged us not to take his word for things, but to find out for ourselves; and this, he said — as recorded and reported in many Sutras — is how you find out.
How much more practical can you get?
Many of his contemporary sages liked to discuss things, to speculate about things, to refute things, to voice and re-voice their holy opinions to anyone who would stand still and listen.
Gotama Buddha refused to be drawn into these debates, knowing that unless we find out and experience the ultimate for ourselves, no amount of words or logic is ever going to truly convince us. The ultimate (which has gone and still goes by many names, such as Emptiness, Tao, Nirvana, Brahman, et al.) cannot be embraced or fathomed or described by reason — but it can, it really can be experienced. So why discuss it, why argue? Just set out on your own path towards it, follow his directions, explore.
Some called Gotama Buddha a doctor; a healer of man’s afflictions. One story tells of the wounded warrior who had been struck with a poisoned arrow, not long for this life.
Doctor Buddha arrived on the scene and offered to extract the arrowhead and administer an antidote. Wait, wait, said the warrior; before you do, please tell me:
Who shot the arrow?
Man or woman?
Light-haired or dark-haired?
Of what caste?
Is the arrowhead stone or metal?
Is the poison from a snake or a flower?
What wood was used for the arrow?
What bird feathers were used for the fletching?
What wood was the bow made of?
(Here: add your questions of choice).
“I could,” said the Buddha. “If you truly want me to, I could find out and so answer all of your questions. However, be aware that you will be dead long before I return, even with the first answer.”
Chasing answers unknowable through reason is a firm guarantee that you will, again, die stupid.
In other words, don’t waste time speculating, figuring, estimating, judging, opining, guessing, (insert verbs of choice here). Instead, roll up your spiritual sleeves and set out on the real journey, one step at a time.
Starting now.
Gotama Buddha was/is as good a guide as you could ever hope for.
And yes, as far as I can tell, he told the truth.
© Wolfstuff