In this teaching and meditation, we will discuss this shocking reclassification of the Buddhist tradition for the new generations.
Modern scholars try to assign Buddha the role of a prophet since they think that religions are supposed to be started by prophets like Jesus and Mohammed and others. But Buddha doesn’t fit conventional definition of a prophet because he wasn’t commissioned by any god to go out and save the people if they believed. In fact, he considered belief an obstacle to freedom from suffering, and rather taught that developing wisdom is the way to nirvana. He therefore is credited as someone who discovered, experimented and experienced the actual nature of reality like a master scientist. The meaning of the word science is knowledge in quest of reality. It is not the dogma of materialism. In fact the methodology of science, ancient and modern, is to privilege experience over dogma. Therefore, Buddha really was a scientist and his gift was a system of education for how people could develop an understanding equal to his own. His purpose in obtaining buddhahood was not to lord over people but rather help them bring out their full potential of wisdom and understanding.
In closing, let me say that I am deeply proud of the examples set by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in that the legacy institution he has founded in Bodhgaya, the Holy Place of Buddhism is a University and not just a temple. – ROBERT A.F. THURMAN
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About Robert A. F. Thurman
