Sakyamuni Buddha founded Buddhism 3,000 years ago. But what exactly is Buddhism? Some of us might immediately say, ‘Aha, Buddhism is a religion.’ Well, is it really a religion? Let’s look at the definition of the English word ‘religion’. In the definition given in the Oxford Dictionary, religion involves a superhuman controlling power.

Watch my teacher’s original lecture in Chinese: Six Different Types of Buddhism.

Listen to the podcast in English: What is Buddhism? Is it a religion or education?

Listen to Amituofo Chanting.

     However, Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that Buddhas and bodhisattvas do not and cannot control our destinies, and we are the makers and masters of our own destinies. He also taught us that all beings, including human beings, have Buddha-nature, and each one of us can become a Buddha. That’s why there are an infinite number of Buddhas in the universe. So Buddhism is not a religion, but it’s now turned into a religion and we can’t deny it. It’s important that we can identify different types of Buddhism and wisely decide which one to follow.

      The first type is Sakyamuni Buddha’s Buddhism which is education. It’s Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, but we can hardly see it now. Sakyamuni Buddha taught throughout his life, and this is something we must understand. It’s clearly recorded in Buddhist sutras. Before becoming a Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha was a crown prince.

       At the age of 19, he left his splendid palace and a life of luxury, and became a monk in the hope of finding out why people have to go through the cycle of birth, old age, illness and death, and how to stop old age, illness and death, and how to get out of the cycle of birth and death, and ultimately obtain happiness and peace. At the age of 30, he attained the Enlightenment and became a Buddha, the Enlightened One.

      He started teaching, immediately after attaining the Enlightenment. He delivered his first lecture to the five bhikkhus at a grove called the ‘Deer Park’. The five bhikkhus understood what he taught and requested to study further under his tutelage. At the age of 80 he passed into Nibbana. In total, he taught 49 years. So in every respect, he was an educator . He was neither a god nor an immortal but a human being, a fully enlightened human being.

       Some of us might have heard the three Buddhist terms, that is, Buddha, bodhisattva and arhat (in Sanskrit) or arahant (in Pali). All of these are the names of levels of attainment in Buddhism, similar to the academic degrees we receive. For the convenience of understanding, Buddha is equivalent to a doctorate degree. Bodhisattva is equivalent to a Master’s degree. And arhat is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.

      In ancient times the Chinese also had academic degrees. The first one was jinshi or ‘presented scholar’ which was equivalent to a doctorate degree. The second one was juren or ‘recommended man’ which was equivalent to a Master’s degree. The third one was xiucai or ‘flowering talent’ which was equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. Be it ‘presented scholar’, ‘recommended man’, or ‘flowering talent’, all of them are the names of academic degrees. We study hard and take exams. The degrees are the results of our own efforts and indicate the level of our academic attainments. They are recognised by the public.

      So in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas. This is different from religion. In a religion no beings can become God. God is unique and one. But in Buddhism all beings can become Buddhas. This is something we should be clear about. Once we clearly understand what Buddhism is, we’ll no longer be deluded.  

       But nowadays, Buddhism has turned into a religion, and this is the second type of Buddhism. It no longer involves teaching and learning. All it does is prayer rituals. Buddhist prayers are similar to religious prayers. People would say, ‘What you do is superstitious.’ So, do prayers work? In fact, it does work. Why is it? It’s because of the power of thoughts. Scientists have discovered that the power of thoughts is incredible.    

      But there is a problem. We can’t provide evidence showing that prayers work. If we say, ‘There is a disaster. Let’s pray.’ And then the disaster is resolved. People would say, ‘That’s non-sense. There’s no disaster at all. You spread rumours and delude the public.’ Well, we don’t know how to respond to that. This is how it is because most people today only believe in science, and the first thing that science asks is ‘Show me the evidence’. That’s why Buddhism must return to teaching and learning.  

    So what did Sakyamuni Buddha teach throughout his life? There are five aspects. The first aspect is ethics, the second one morality, and the third one the karmic law of cause and effect. These three aspects are the roots of Buddhism, and they are universal education which everyone should receive. When these three aspects of education are widely given and received properly, people on this planet will enjoy social stability, peace, harmony and happiness.

     The other two aspects of what Sakyamuni Buddha taught are advanced stuff. What are they? One is science, the other philosophy. As a matter of fact, they are the summits of modern science and philosophy. We can find them in Buddhist sutras. 

     As for the philosophical aspect of the Buddha’s teachings, Professor Fang Dongmei, an eminent Chinese philosopher of the 20th century, said, ‘Sakyamuni was the greatest philosopher in the world. Buddhist philosophy is the summit of all philosophies in the world.’ So Buddhism is the summit of philosophy and science. These two aspects are the essence of Buddhism. 

    We now know that Buddhism is scientific education, philosophical education and universal education. And it’s an essential and primary education that everyone should receive in order to lead a peaceful, harmonious and happy life. Buddhas are known as ‘the teachers of those who are in human and celestial realms’ . They play the role of a teacher not only in the human world but also in the celestial world or Heaven.

    Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that there is not just one level of Heaven, but 28 levels. People in Heaven or the celestial world have much higher moral standards than us human beings. So normally, human beings who have attained that level of moral standards will go to heaven at some point, if they do not get out of the cycle of birth and death. And the higher one’s moral standards are, the higher level of heaven they will go to. In a word, Buddhism has now changed its nature and turned into a religion.

   After the Second World War, three more types of Buddhism emerged. One of them is enterprise Buddhism. People use entrepreneurial approach to run Buddhism. They have headquarters and chain stores across the world. Another type of Buddhism is tourism. The worst one is the one that has turned into a cult.

    So when we learn Buddhism, we must be really clear about which type of Buddhism we are learning. If any one of us starts from philosophical Buddhism, then we are, at least, not interfered much and should, more or less, remain a relatively clear mind. And we should be able to see clearly.

      To wrap up, there are different types of Buddhism in the world of today and we must learn the real stuff. The type which will genuinely benefit us is the Buddhism that involves teaching and learning, in which Sakyamuni Buddha is the teacher and we are the students.

     Learning Buddhism is not about how many Buddhist sutras we read, but about how much we can really put into practice the Buddha’s teachings. In other words, how much we can put into practice what the Buddha taught shows how much we really understand Buddhism. As soon as we’ve learned a little bit, we try hard to put it into practice, and this is the best way of learning Buddhism.

     The real benefit that we get from learning Buddhism is being able to solve all sorts of practical problems in our daily lives such as showing more respect to our parents, teachers and elders, no longer getting angry easily, becoming more composed and objective, being able to concentrate better, becoming less controlled by our desires, becoming less selfish, becoming less stubborn, becoming more open-minded and emotionally stable, becoming more level-headed, being able to see things from more perspectives, being able to make more sensible judgement, being able to sleep better, and becoming physically stronger. Basically, following the Buddha’s teachings correctly will bring us infinite benefits.

      Wishing whoever reads this post good mental and physical health, peace, harmony, auspiciousness, happiness, long life and infinite wisdom. Thank you

DEDICATION

The effort and gains of explaining, transmitting and listening to Buddhas’ teachings are dedicated to

遍法界。虛空界。十方剎土。微塵法界。一切眾靈。聞經覺悟。皆悉念佛。

the entire Universe and all beings of all dimensions and all existences. May they all listen to Buddhas’ teachings, awaken to the truth of the Universe, be mindful of the name ‘Amituofo’ (Amitabha Buddha),

求生淨土。圓成佛道。（三稱）

aspire to go to the Pure Land, and become Buddhas. (Read the above three times)

全球各地一切人為自然災害。祈求諸佛菩薩慈悲化解。

I pray to Buddhas and bodhisattvas for unconditionally solving all man-made and natural disasters around the globe.

全球各地一切人為戰爭、自然災害罹難眾生亡靈等眾。

For all of those who died in man-made wars and natural disasters across the world,

弟子眾等宿世現前一切有緣眾生。聞經覺悟。發菩提心。一向專念阿彌陀佛。求生淨土。見佛聞法。惑盡慧開。真實安樂。頓脫生死。速成正覺。如佛度生。

and for all of those who are related to me in all kinds of ways in this life and previous lives, may they listen to Buddhas’ teachings. May they awaken to the truth of the Universe, aspire to unearth their innate and most sincere, pure, equal and awakened mind, be single-mindedly mindful of Amituofo, aspire to go to the Pure Land so as to see Amituofo and listen to his teachings, removing all their delusions and unveiling their innate wisdom, gaining the real peace and happiness, instantly escaping from the cycle of birth and death, speedily becoming Buddhas, and helping all beings (in the entire Universe) like all other Buddhas.

願以此功德回向全球眾國主。眾國皆昌隆。消除眾災厄。世界永和平。上報四重恩。下濟三途苦。若有見聞者。悉發菩提心。盡此一報身。同生極樂國。

The effort and gains are dedicated to the leaders of all countries on the Earth. May all countries be prosperous. May all disasters be solved. May the world enjoy eternal peace. I use the effort and gains to return the help from the enlightenment of Buddhas, by the correctness of Buddhas’ teachings, from the purity of sangha, from all beings, from my parents (in this life and previous lives), and from my country(ies). I also use the effort and gains to help alleviate the suffering of those who are already in and will be reborn into the animal realm, the ghost realm and hells as the result of their bad thoughts, speech and deeds. For anyone who sees and hears me chanting or being mindful of Amituofo and doing other good deeds, may they aspire to unearth their most sincere, pure, equal and awakened mind so as to go to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, together with me, at the end of our present lives.