Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs
The Oxford English Dictionary defines Buddhism as, “a religious and philosophical system based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, which is underpinned by the four Noble Truths and maintains that human suffering can be eradicated by achieving enlightenment.” The common Western belief that Buddhism is a religion is exactly what Stephen Batchelor aims to disprove in his book Buddhism Without Beliefs. However, Buddhism does not have a higher power that its followers believe in nor does it outline specific rules or the proper ways to achieve enlightenment. Instead Buddhism is more agnostic in its worldview, since there is a definite belief in an answer, but Buddhists are not told the meaning of life nor how they can achieve their purposes.
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A Buddhist can not follow some form of doctrine, because the truth they need to find must come from self-realization and self-reflection, “If one merely "sees" the Truth…one is still bound to suffering; but if one truly sees it, one is freed from suffering. Consequently, if one does not truly see it, one cannot be liberated and so remains bound, whereas if one manages to resist the temptation to merely "see" it, one is freed,” (The Heart Sutra). The basic ideology in Buddhism is not a black or white answer, instead Buddhism is full of paradoxes and complex ideas that can only seek to guide Buddhists towards the answers not fully lead them towards it. Unlike other forms of organized religion there are no documents or rules that provide the specific outlines towards the answers of the universe and a human’s final destination. Buddhism is agnostic in this way since the true solutions are not clear-cut and requires a person’s own searching and dharma to identify and move towards achieving enlightenment. Furthermore, the Buddha was referred to as the “Silent Sage”, because he would not answer questions asked of him regarding the correct path to enlightenment or the purpose of life. Buddhism aims for each individual Buddhist to identify and follow their own
A Buddhist can not follow some form of doctrine, because the truth they need to find must come from self-realization and self-reflection, “If one merely "sees" the Truth…one is still bound to suffering; but if one truly sees it, one is freed from suffering. Consequently, if one does not truly see it, one cannot be liberated and so remains bound, whereas if one manages to resist the temptation to merely "see" it, one is freed,” (The Heart Sutra). The basic ideology in Buddhism is not a black or white answer, instead Buddhism is full of paradoxes and complex ideas that can only seek to guide Buddhists towards the answers not fully lead them towards it. Unlike other forms of organized religion there are no documents or rules that provide the specific outlines towards the answers of the universe and a human’s final destination. Buddhism is agnostic in this way since the true solutions are not clear-cut and requires a person’s own searching and dharma to identify and move towards achieving enlightenment. Furthermore, the Buddha was referred to as the “Silent Sage”, because he would not answer questions asked of him regarding the correct path to enlightenment or the purpose of life. Buddhism aims for each individual Buddhist to identify and follow their own