Buddhism by Choje Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche

When searching for spiritual values, many people look for something very fresh and new, and think that Buddhism, which has been around for about 2,500 years, is too old. But that is not true! Buddhism is the freshest thing you’ll ever come across, because our mind is constantly fresh, and the Buddha is talking about nothing other than our state of mind. He teaches that everything, whatever we experience, good or bad, happy or sad, all happens through states of mind. He’s talking about our own mind, so how could we ever get anything fresher than that?

Buddhism teaches about equality: that differences in race, culture, tradition and belief do not really matter. The fundamental teaching in Buddhism is that everybody has the opportunity and possibility to become a Buddha. Every human being has this potential. The only difference between a Buddha and ordinary beings is that a Buddha has fulfilled it, whereas we are still searching. The Buddha did not keep his discovery to himself but, out of his love and compassion, he wished that all sentient beings might discover this inherent potential within themselves. This realisation, this recognition of our Buddha nature, is very important for all of us. To recognise it is to fully free ourselves, and to achieve this we need to concentrate on what will really free us instead of running after mirages that will never bring us complete and lasting happiness.

As far as I am concerned, Buddhism is the simplest and most practical religion in the world, because our body is ours, our speech is ours, our mind is ours – and our time is ours. All we need to do is learn how to use these properly in order to change our habits and improve ourselves.

When people come to realise that this modern materialistic way of life is meaningless, I think that they will gradually accept the Buddhist teachings, but I am definitely not trying to make a Buddhist out of anyone. Buddhism is very open and teaches respect for all other beliefs. People who have other beliefs might think that Buddhism has nothing to do with them, nothing to offer them, but Buddhism could actually mean everything to them. It could be the missing piece they have been looking for all their lives.

Buddhism tells us about our potential. This potential does not belong only to Buddhists, or only to Christians: it belongs to each and every human being with no distinction of faith, race or culture. We have to learn how to search for it, not out there but right within ourselves. We don’t need to go to any other person or believe in any other thing, the only important step is to believe in ourselves, in the potential we have within ourselves. When we talk about Buddhism, we are actually talking about the mind. If you do not want to hear about Buddhism, the Buddha or enlightenment, we can leave out such words and talk only about the mind.

The most important thing is to learn to appreciate what we have. We really seem to forget how fortunate, how lucky we are. To be able to appreciate our lives, who and what we are, allows us to trust other people and also to have faith and devotion. It makes us wholesome human beings. If we don’t appreciate what we have, then even if we have everything, we are still unhappy. We don’t have peace of mind and it is impossible for us to trust anybody, not to mention having faith and devotion. Some people get so paranoid and lose self-confidence to the point that they cannot even trust themselves. This is why all the religions in the world first teach us to be humble, decent and honest. When we have those qualities, then everything becomes so simple, so easy! I think that we should not get carried away with words like nirvana and realisation. All this means nothing to people like us. What is nirvana? What is enlightenment? If we have found inner peace, then satisfaction comes, happiness comes, joy, generosity, the ability to trust, everything comes! It is all part of this inner peace. I always remind people that the religion they follow makes no difference. If their practice helps them become more humble, better human beings who are able to appreciate themselves and others, then I think they have achieved their goal!

Of course, we are all trying to find happiness. The problem is that we get so fooled by appearances. This 21st century is so ‘visual’. Whatever has a physical form has such an impact on everybody. People want to see and enjoy beautiful things, yet they fail to see that these things are hollow inside. They want a good job, money and relationships, and they are able to change them like changing paper napkins, yet they are not happy. They are in fact looking for a direction that would give meaning to their lives but they fail to recognise that they are actually using poison in their search for happiness. It is impossible to obtain happiness through envy, jealousy, pride, anger and selfishness. If we plant poisonous seeds, the result will be inedible fruits.

This is why I think it is so important to learn to tame our mind. In a way, we have been fully tamed and trained by our own culture, by our traditions and family values, but these values are worldly values that are all about how to survive in this world. Nowadays, people are on the whole more educated and have more knowledge than ever in the past, but if we look at the world situation, we have to admit that all this education and knowledge is no good without inner wisdom as the guide.

We are living in a civilisation where people are brought up like sheep and instead of training their own minds, they either follow others or force others to go along with their ideas. We see it every day. There are many decent young people, even grown-up people, struggling to make their voices heard in order to improve the world situation but they lack the proper training and knowledge and so somehow use the wrong methods to try to get the right result. They stubbornly try to force their own solutions on others. Like these young people with good heart and motivation, who go through so many hardships just to end up in jail, whereas the multinational companies they are fighting usually seem to win, thanks to all the money and clever lawyers they have.

The Buddha who was wise and enlightened saw that it is impossible to change things in this way. He said we need more wisdom than that; it is no use trying to change everybody else, we need to change ourselves.

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All those philosophers who are learned in western subjects such as science are able to identify that which is invisible to ordinary people. Nevertheless, although they see and extract that which is precious among the external four elements, have made medical discoveries that cure diseases, are able to benefit and protect their own direction and deliver that which is harmful to others, are expert in discovering substances that bring both benefit and harm into this world; their capacity to be omniscient is still extremely limited.

If we compare that to the omniscience of the Buddha, then from a spiritual perspective the capacity of the Buddha is equal to space. There is not even a hair’s worth of anything that cannot and is not known. That is called being fully and completely omniscient.

If you come to understand the Dharma that is taught by such an omniscient Buddha then your own mind will become like the sky and will never be rigid. Your entire being will be open and free. Since the teachings of the Buddha are full of such temporary and ultimate benefit to yourself and all others if you can learn even a little bit of this Dharma that will bring tremendous achievement. Please hold this advice deep within your heart.

— Yangthang Rinpoche

禅语“指月”的含义 文｜陈浦燕

“指月”是禅宗典籍中经常用到的一个术语，以指比喻言教，以月比喻佛法。如《圆觉经》云：“修多罗(经)教，如标月指。”禅宗典籍中常用“标月之指” 表示指向月亮的手指，即引导你眼睛望向月亮的那只手指。意谓一切法门、言语等等只不过是指向目标之向导，并非目标本身，应随指见月，见月忘指，莫执指而不见月。简而言之，就是将月亮作为目标，手指作为手段。“标月之指” 在于提示人们莫将手段误当成目标。如《楞严经》卷二云：“如人以手指月示人，彼人因指，当应看月。若复观指，以为月体，此人岂唯亡失月轮，亦亡其指。”佛教诸多经论多以“指月”一语劝诫修道之人，不要执着于佛教经文名相。

禅宗认为，佛教经文不过是用来指月的手指。禅宗学徒读诵经文不过是借助于修学经教的方便，达到明心见性的目的。这就像我们要通过标月之指，更加方便地看到月亮一样。对于观看月亮的人来说，当顺着手指所指的方向见到月亮之后，手指就失去指月的作用了。如果我们认指为月，则背离了观看月亮的意图，也看不到月亮了。《楞伽阿跋多罗宝经》卷四云：“如实观察者，诸事悉无事。如愚见指月，观指不观月。”对于修道者来说，在没有明了佛理之前，需要学习经教以明理。当明心见性之后，则经教就失去了其作用。如果我们在修道过程中一直执着于经文的语言文字中不能自拔，就会陷入文字的窠臼中。这时，文字反而会成为修道的障碍。

“指月”作为禅宗祖师启悟弟子的禅语，经常被禅师在勘验弟子悟境时拈提。唐代高僧古灵神赞禅师见到师父经常在窗下阅读经典，就曾通过善巧的方式劝诫师父莫钻故纸。神赞禅师早年在本州大中寺出家，后因行脚参谒百丈禅师而悟道。开悟后即回大中寺，欲点化其本师，以报剃度之恩。

刚返回之时，师父问神赞：“你离开我到外面参学，得到了何种事业？”神赞禅师说：“并无事业。”

此后，神赞便随侍师父，做各种杂务。一天，师父沐浴时命神赞给自己搓背。神赞禅师抚摸着师父的后背，说道：“好一座佛堂而佛不是圣人。”

师父回头看了他一眼。神赞禅师接着说：“佛虽然不是圣人，还能放光。”

又有一天，师父坐在窗前看经，这时恰好有一只蜜蜂，不停地撞击着窗纸，想飞出室外。神赞禅师看了这一幕，正好借机开导师父一下，便说：“世界如许广阔不肯出，钻他故纸，驴年去!”说完，便说偈语云：

空门不肯出，投窗也大痴。

百年钻故纸，何日出头时?

师父一听，马上放下经卷，问：“你行脚遇到了何人？我前后见你说话异常。”

神赞说：“我蒙百丈和尚指个歇处，现在准备报答师父您的慈恩。”

师父听了，便命令大众设斋，请神赞禅师说法。神赞禅师登座举唱百丈禅师的门风，说道：“灵光独耀，迥脱根尘。体露真常，不拘文字。心性无染，本自圆成。但离妄缘，即如如佛。”

师父一听，言下感悟，身心踊跃，说道：“没有想到到老了，终于得以听闻一乘妙法。”

神赞禅师在师父和僧众时作开示时指出，清净佛性人人都有，不拘文字，灵光独耀。若修道之人破除妄想，不污染执着，就能见自本性，成就佛道。

在中国禅宗史上，有多部禅宗典籍是以“指月”命名。明代佛教学者瞿汝稷撰有《指月录》一书，书名即以“指月”为名。该书又作《水月斋指月录》，系记述自过去七佛、西天祖师、东土祖师至大慧宗杲等，凡六百五十位禅门诸宗匠之历略及机缘语句等。本书的编录，旨在令学者参究古尊宿之圣言圣业，以期正乱兴废。该书于明万历二十九年(1601)，由严澄撰刻《指月录》发愿偈，瞿汝稷于翌年题《水月斋指月录》授梓刊行。卷首有万历三十年夏五月戊寅之原序，并万历二十九年八月初三吴郡严澄之序。

禅宗以“ 本来无一物” 之境界为上乘，以“万虑皆空”为至德。主张不立文字，不下注脚，亲证实相，方为究竟。认为一切言教无非为示机之方便而设，如以指指月，使人因指而见月。以言教而显示实相，然言教本身并非实相。这就是本书之所以取名《指月录》的由来。

清代佛教学者聂先撰有《续指月录》一书，全书二十卷，康熙十九年(1680)刊行。该书是继《指月录》之后所编辑的禅门高僧列传。《指月录》所载仅至六祖下十六世，本书承接其后，所收内容从南宋隆兴二年(1164)六祖下十七世起，至清康熙十八年(1679)，共五百多年，至禅宗三十八世之法脉。

此外，在二十卷之前附《卷首》一篇，辑录了《指月录》中遗漏的十六世诸师传略，以及江湘、余怀的序文，灵岩学人、如是居士的弁语、海印学人的缘起、孙孝则的书问、凡例、伦叙考等文。在二十卷之后，又附有《尊宿集》，集录法嗣不详的六十一位禅师传略。

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Buddha Nature is empty of the adventitious stains, which are characterised by their total separateness. But it is not empty of the unsurpassed qualities, which have the character of total inseparability.

— Maitreya

Packed and Ready for Whatever’s Next by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

In the most basic sense, phowa, as practised in Tibetan Bön Buddhism, centres on the transference of consciousness at the moment of death. These teachings can prepare us to project our consciousness directly into a pure realm at the time of death, increasing our chance for liberation in a single lifetime. The time of our death may feel remote and unconnected from our day-to-day reality, but phowa begins now, in this realm of existence. Every day, we undergo a seemingly endless parade of transitions, from the mundane — one day, one week, or one year into the next — to major life transitions that can be much more difficult to adjust to. By recognising each transition — recognising that we have a choice, becoming aware, and then letting go of our attachment — we also prepare ourselves for the great transition at the time of death.

My teacher Yongdzin Rinpoche once said to me that the purpose of practising phowa is to “be packed and ready” when the great moment of our passing approaches. Being packed and ready means just as we are, not bringing anything with us. Whether we are crossing to the other side of this life or simply passing from one phase of life to another, we endeavour to enter empty-handed. Tibetan Bön Buddhist teachings tell us that transitions themselves — even the great transition at the end of this life — are not the cause of suffering; it is our insistence on trying to take things with us that’s the problem. We can’t take anything, and in trying to do so we disturb our minds. So, our practice is to work with ourselves and that sense of attachment, because we all find something — usually many things — to become attached to.

When you walked into the room where you are now sitting, at the very moment of entering, how fully did you walk in? How conscious were you as you crossed the threshold? How much of your “stuff” — your stories, plans, replayed conversations, the lingering discomfort in your mind and emotions — did you bring in with you? Every moment of transition is an opportunity to practice awareness and clarity, to learn about ourselves, to see the ways we become stuck, and to let go. Each time we practice this, we can reflect a little more and be open to seeing our habitual patterns. We must pay attention and be willing to change. And if we find ourselves resisting change, we can pray that we will change: “I know I need to change. May I change. Give me the strength to change.”

Different transitions challenge our attachments in different ways. Just going from one day to another — Friday into Saturday — is not so hard for most of us. But what about going from one season to another, one year to another, one job to another, one relationship to another? Each of these transitions becomes harder as our attachments and expectations around them increase. Perhaps you are used to being able to get up and run or jog each day. There may come a time when this is no longer possible, and you must forget about jogging. That kind of change can be very difficult to adapt to. Maybe you’ve always had one kind of relationship with your parents, but now it’s become another kind of relationship. Now, instead of gathering for barbecues or parties, maybe you visit them in a hospital or nursing home and hold their hands. It’s a change. You are not used to it. It’s hard to transition to the new phase of life if you’re still attached to the previous one.

Because bigger transitions are more difficult, we must focus on our ability to let go now. If you look at this moment of your life, right now, how many things could you let go of? Think of one thing at this moment that you are attached to, that you’re identifying with, that you are holding onto, that causes pain. Perhaps you have a difficult relationship with someone in your life because of a grudge you are holding onto, or perhaps your attachment to the relationship itself is holding you back. Now compare how hard it would be to let go of that attachment with the letting go you will have to do at the time of your death. Which would you prefer, dying or letting go of that attachment? There’s no question, right? You would let go of that attachment. So why not just go ahead and do it?

With awareness, we can see that when we struggle with a transition, it has something to do with an attachment, whether to an identity or to something external. If you let that one thing go, and then another thing and another and another, then all the smaller things you can let go of will help you to be free. Each act of letting go benefits you, making it easier to let go of the harder things that will come along the way. If we do not apply ourselves to these opportunities to let go, if we can’t handle the little things that come along, then we are certain to have a harder time with the big things.

Letting go is like cleaning your garage or your closet. How many of us have cleaned our closets and found stuff in there that we were not using? This is a simple opportunity to practice letting go. When you open your closet and see something you put in there five years ago that you haven’t used, haven’t even touched, go ahead and take hold of it and let that one thing go! Energetically, these small acts of letting go can make a big impact. Even just deleting photos from your phone — a simple act of selecting and then deleting — can lighten our attachments. Do you know someone who has too much stuff, whose house has almost no space for people to move, let alone any sense of spaciousness? Energetically, that’s not good for us. In a monastery, the monks clean a lot. When they clean the gompa, shine the floors, clean the shrine, it’s seen as a purification. Both a shrine and a closet are easier to clean than the chakras. If you cannot clear your central channel, at least open your closet and clear some of those blockages.

There are many ways to enter the next moment. Ceremonially, socially, we do various things that are symbolic. In the Tibetan tradition, we perform a lot of big ceremonies at the end of the year. The end of the year is a time for clearing the old year, so we do purification and rituals. We raise a prayer flag on the first day of the new year, symbolically raising all the forces of elemental energies. In our daily lives, the principle is the same. We can find a way to bring the best out of each new space, new time, new purpose, new mission, new beginning, new phase of life, new moment. It doesn’t have to be the end of the year. Every morning can be like this. In the Tibetan tradition, every day we make an offering of the fresh water on the altar. This is an old tradition, and lately I’ve been feeling a strong connection to it. Bringing something fresh to the shrine, my sense of the day ahead feels very different. That sacredness, that freshness, that sense of connection, of offering, that sense of not forgetting the refuge or source, connecting there to start my day, is very powerful.

Often, at times of transition, we behave without awareness. We behave with condition, with pain, with fear. We feel we don’t have a choice. Just knowing we do have a choice can make all the difference. The choice comes when we can take time to be still, silent, spacious. We practice not doing, not saying, not thinking (not thinking is harder, but at least not doing and not saying). Then, once we have calmed down, we find a new space from which we can do and say and think, and what we do and what we say might be different from what we originally would have said or done. One thing that we want to be able to see clearly and to say to ourselves is, “If it’s not good, I will not make it worse.” Leave it as it is.

We have so many opportunities to be aware. Think about approaching it this way: I’m going to handle this little transition well so I can handle the next, harder one even better. Each time we make these little transitions and feel free, feel good, the world opens up for us. Moments, places, locations, changes, transitions happen all the time in life. These are all opportunities to cultivate and practice to better support the transition of phowa practice at the moment of death. Beyond just preparing us for the big transition at the end of life, bringing this mindset into times of transition can make our lives easier, more productive. In the end, whether doing the phowa practice or walking from one room into the next, it’s about how clearly we enter, how clearly we go to the next day, how clearly we go to the next thing. Every entrance is interesting if we approach it with clarity.

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As long as we are mindful and aware, no one practice is better than another.

— Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche

摧破自我形象 惠空法师

每个人往往都认为自己的言语行为是对的，因为如果我们不认为对，就不会去做；可是我们要反省，既然大家的言语行为都是对的，为什麽在与人相处时会产生种种冲突呢？表面上，之所以冲突可能是为了面子、名誉或是金钱、利益等等，其实往深一层从思想观念来看，就是佛法讲的我见或我执。所谓「我见」，就是我们对於自我的定位。我们把自己定位在什麽地方？把自己塑造成什麽形象？在意识深层里，自己其实非常清楚。每个人都不想被侵犯，一旦被侵犯、剥夺，就会产生痛苦，尤其当有人侵犯到我们这个「自我形象」的领域时，我们就会因为痛苦而起反抗来保护它。其次，是我们把自我摆得太高，当我们把自我形象摆得太高时，一旦别人没给予预期的待遇，比方实际上我们只有三分，自己却把自己摆成八分、十分，这其中的落差就会造成「自尊心」的受伤。另一种状况是，例如其它人都认为我们有五分的层次，而我们却老是自贬自己只有一分或二分，如此就会变得很自卑，而这种低下的心情以佛法而言叫做「卑下慢」。所以自卑与自高，依佛法来讲都是慢心，不管是哪一种慢，都是对自己形象做了错误的评估。

有两种比较好的情形是：对於自己此时此刻所拥有的福报拿捏得很清楚，该我们的就拿，不该我们的就能够舍。能恰如其份的拿捏得当，已经算是世间人所称叹的人了。这是属於第二等人。第一等人是对於自我的形象、自我的意识完全淡化，所做的一切都是有利於他人、有利於大众的，不在乎对我有利或无利、不在乎我是高还是低，只要能对大众有利，完全不会要求自己要站在高位，更不会因为应当在高位却被放在低位而气馁。很多人内心之所以不平衡，其关键就在於内心的「我慢」作祟，这我慢是因为错误估计自己现有的形象、现有的福德因缘而造成的。

依世间法的标准，只要我们能恰如其份的拿捏自己的福德因缘，就可以被大家所接受。可是福德因缘会变，就像李登辉总统一卸任，马上就有人泼他红墨水，他即使生气想要追究也没特权，只能循一般民事官司了，这就是很明显世间福报短少的呈现。所以，最好的方式就是不要太执着於自己的形象，人家骂我们、轻慢我们没有关系，只要能够成就大众的利益、成就大众的尊严、成就大众的安乐，牺牲自己一点点享受、一点点尊严都是值得的。当我们能真正朝这方向去努力，慢慢就会乐在其中，因为我们已经在内心深层把我执消融掉了，这就是佛法的智慧。如果我们没有把自我形象消融掉，则世间所有的名、利、面子……就会与我们的善心产生拉锯战，始终无法清净。

自我形象的建立是每一个人都有的毛病，它对我们的伤害包括：第一、对事情作错误判断。举例来说，因自我放太高，根据错误的认知所做出来的判断就会有差错，明明只有三尺高，却自认为是三丈高的巨人，可是偏偏所做所为却和三丈高的巨人行为不一，如此一来整个行为、语言会和整个环境脱节，而成为人家的笑柄。这就是因为错误判断自己的时节因缘和福德因缘所致。第二、这种烦恼天天在意识里扰乱，会蒙蔽我们的智慧。我们一天到晚和人计较、猜忌，时时挂记着别人对你的颜色，内心起起伏伏，起心动念都是尘埃，扰乱了内心的宁静与清净，这样如何有能力来自我掌控？有什麽智慧来省察自己？还谈什麽修行呢？

所以，佛法讲智慧，正知见的建立是第一要务。我时常提醒大家一定要从内心的深处去反省，把自己的知见端正；当知见确立後，在日常生活中就不容易执着於自我的形象。一般我们把它叫做「我执」，「我执」名相听久了就变成顺口溜，却忘记了它就是这麽切实的烦恼啊！因此，我们一定要知道，不要老是把别人的语言、行为往内心里去计较，这是非常愚蠢的事情。我们要计较的是自己内心是不是时时刻刻很平静？自己的心是不是时时刻刻安住在法门上？不管是参话头、数息、礼佛、念佛、读经都好，这就是法门。当我们在礼佛的时候就以忏悔心礼佛；读经时就跟着经文的法义思惟；参话头或用永嘉禅法时，就用觉照风把烦恼云吹开，我们的心就能够跟光明智慧相应。

大家在日常生活中，一定要常常按照我的话去思惟，要时常告诉自己、提醒自己跟法门相应，不要跟纷纷扰扰的烦恼相应。常常思惟，让这个知见非常熟练之後，只要心念一动，正确知见就会呈现，烦恼就会很快被降伏，这就是用佛法的知见、智慧来降伏烦恼。希望大家能善於体用、善於领略。

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Whatever grounds there are for making merit productive of a future birth, all those do not equal a sixteenth part of the liberation of mind by loving-kindness. The liberation of mind by loving-kindness surpasses them and shines forth, brilliant and bright.

— The Buddha

Religion Without God by Reginald A. Ray

In the 1930’s, the scholar Helmuth von Glassenapp published a book entitled Buddhism: A Non-theistic Religion. In this title the author was making the point that unlike most of the other world religions, Buddhism denies the ultimate existence of any “God” or deity. As von Glassenapp indicates, non-theism is fundamental to Buddhism and stands right at the heart of its spirituality.

Unfortunately, people in the West have sometimes jumped to the conclusion that Buddhists do not believe in the existence of gods or other unseen beings at all. Wishing Buddhism to be true to modern scientific materialism and philosophical rationalism, they believe that Buddhism is eminently “empirical” and denies the existence of anything that cannot be seen with the senses or proved in some kind of objectively verifiable manner.

But this is not the sense in which Buddhists are non-theistic. Buddhists everywhere believe in an “unseen world” inhabited by a full range of gods, demi-gods, spirits, ghosts and demons. In addition, all Buddhists-except, perhaps, modern Western ones-pray continually to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and great teachers not only for inspiration, but for practical guidance and help.

In these various ways, Buddhists certainly seem to be behaving like worshippers in the world’s theistic religions. This raises the question: what exactly is Buddhist non-theism?

Briefly put, non-theism in Buddhism means that what is ultimately true and real cannot be found in any external god or being. Any such being has location, qualities and some kind of existence, and is therefore subject to causes and conditions. There is, according to Buddhism, something far more fundamental than this.

Theism implies an inherent limitation to human nature. It declares that to attain the ultimate, we must look outside of ourselves and our immediate experience. It establishes a reference point for reality that resides somewhere else and directs us to seek confirmation of the self in relation to that.

The doctrines of original sin or inherent human depravity would be examples of theism in its more extreme forms. They are typical in asserting that we can connect ourselves to the ultimate only by making a relation with that which is exterior to us, and that we can do so only through the agency of a saviour, a holy book, a religious institution, and so on.

In Buddhism, the meaning of theism is best understood when set in a wider context. In a larger sense, theism refers to anything outside of us that purports to solve the human predicament. It may be spiritual; it may be secular. Some people seek salvation in an external deity. But others seek it in a philosophical viewpoint or political movement, in a relationship, in social status, or in material acquisition.

In each case, the individual seeks ultimate confirmation and fulfilment by looking outside. What is already present within his or her experience, what arises throughout the course of a day or a life, is discounted as being without ultimate value. In a sense, whether the external “answer” is materialistic, psychological or religious does not really matter.

The Buddhist approach states that what is ultimately required for human fulfilment is a perfection of being that is found in who we already are. This is the meaning of the Buddha’s advice given shortly before his death and recounted in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, in which he councils his followers to be lights unto themselves, to seek refuge in themselves, and to seek no other refuge, using the dharma as a means to that end.

Here the Buddha directs us to rely only on ourselves, using various methods to explore our own human nature as it exists right now. This exploration is not a one-sided introversion. Rather, it is looking at our present experiences of both the “internal” and “external” worlds to see what lies at their base, beneath the constant chatter of discursive thinking. Then from within our own experience is gradually uncovered what is ultimately real. This is our buddhanature – that which is open, clear, all-wise and limitlessly compassionate.

In fact, it is this very nature that is habitually projected onto “supernatural beings.” It is in this sense that the Buddha, the prototype of the enlightened person, is called the devatideva in the early texts-the god above gods. The Buddha fully understands the deities-that while they may appear to exist on a relative level, they have no final reality. Instead, they are projections of the deepest qualities of our own human nature. This understanding is attained through the practice of meditation, in which the temporary defilements that obscure the buddhanature are gradually stripped away.

It is true not all Buddhists are non-theistic in this sense. One may be a Buddhist but also a theist, if one believes that enlightenment is something external and looks to texts, human teachers or institutions to provide the final answers.

Nor are all Jews, Christians, Muslims and Hindus theistic. One can be a good Christian, for example, and be non-theistic in the Buddhist understanding, if one admits the presence of a “Christ within,” as the Hesychasts do, and takes St. Paul’s perspective that when one does good, “It is not I, but Christ within me.” In similar fashion, Hindu advaita Vedanta, certain strands of Kabbala, and aspects of Sufism conform to the definition of non-theism.

Finally, it is interesting to note that theism is not universally condemned in Buddhism. In fact, it is said to be a necessary component of the path, not only at the beginning but right up until enlightenment itself. Perhaps in order to enter the path at all, one must believe that there is a tradition of teachers, texts and practice “out there” that will provide some answers to one’s basic life questions. It is only through locating the ultimate outside of oneself in the form of projections that one can rouse the motivation to traverse the path. Even for the Bodhisattvas of the high levels (bhumis), there is some sense, however subtle, of a final enlightenment to be attained.

There is no need to worry, then, that the dharma is necessarily being perverted when one finds Buddhists acting like spiritual practitioners in “theistic” religions. Of concern, rather, are those modern Buddhists who utterly abjure theism even in its relative and pragmatic senses. In turning away from devotion, veneration and supplication of the enlightened ones, they are rejecting the most powerful methodology that Buddhism possesses.

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Demonstration and refutation together with their fallacies are useful in arguing with others; and perception and inference together with their fallacies are useful for self-understanding.

— Dignāga