Reply to 'The Buddha'

In Psychology class, we watched the documentary called The Buddha. It follows the life of Buddha, showing how he formed his own philosophy.

In modern times, Buddhism is often considered to be a religion although this documentary presented it to be more of a philosophy. I think it should be looked at more as a philosophy in order to avoid biases and predigest that surrounds religion. Despite this, religion and philosophy are very closely connected and can often coexist, interact, and the lines between the two topics are easily smudged.

To summerize the life of Buddha; he was born into royalty and it was prophesied he would be a great ruler or a great religious figure. His father wanted him to be a ruler, so he kept him in his castle with a constant sense of euphoria. He was surrounded with everything he could ever want. Though, after he ventured out of the castle and saw how the world really was (full of suffering, pain, illness, and death) his was not satisfied with his life and he left his royal situation and ran away from home. He became a beggar, and developed a philosophy that was aimed towards finding enlightenment. One aspect of his philosophy was to never turn down what was offered to him. This brought about his death when he ate food that he likely knew was spoiled, but because it was offered to him he consumed it.

Through his life he gained followers, preached what he thought to be right, and spread his philosophy. All of this sounds to be very believable, however what is harder to swallow is the more supernatural aspect of this story. It is said that he performed various miracles, such as floating during meditation and causing all the trees in the grove he was lying ill in, to burst into bloom when he passed away. Many of these events were explained by the simple fact that he has reached enlightenment.

For a good explanation of what enlightenment is, I would advise you to click on my last link. I have no troubles believing that various religious figures have existed in the past, although the aspect of performing miracles is often what brings doubt to me. A miracle is an event that is unexplainable at the time. If you were to go into the past and show someone a modern piece of technology they may consider it to be a miracle. To them it is unexplainable, so perhaps it will be found that levitation is something that can be achieved by anyone through some sort of meditation. I think I would have to observe something like this to believe it, and even more so I would like to observe it multiple times. Untill then I have written off the miricles performed by this individual.

Though if I agree with the story of Buddha is not what is of concern. I believe that Buddhist teachings may have a good base philosophy. Personally I do not follow them, nor have I been exposed to them much. A large aspect of enlightenment revolves around having peace of mind. Having a self understanding is also a large factor of enlightenment. I'm sure that everyone can agree having peace of mind, and having self understanding is a good thing.

I think that Buddhism may not be for everyone, however it should not be disregarded by all. This documentary shows the life of Buddha, perhaps in a slightly biased manner, but it is definitely worth watching. It must of not caught my attention all that much, for I feel as if I have not had much to say.

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