Buddhism Course

Master of Buddhism, Final Essay

The questions posed for this final essay are what I liked, disliked and learned from this course. I will refrain from copying information from past lessons and will instead speak from my heart. I feel that anyone can quote facts, but this course was more than just information for me to repeat like a parrot.

When I signed up for this course, I had already been looking into Buddhism as a serious alternative, or addition to my daily spiritual life.

The basics which I had already learned were reinforced in this course, both in readings and in practice.  I will start off by saying, that I did enjoy this course very much and I did learn quite a bit from it.

I'll first say that I enjoyed the focus on compassion and loving kindness. These two practices, and their corresponding meditations, have taught me much and helped me to bring those two precepts into my daily life even more. The level of compassion is what first had my interest in Buddhism. I liked the way this course focused on precepts, ethics and ideas that can be practiced, and not just various facts of history, although those were interesting as well.

I really enjoyed the FAQ's in Week 20, since those are so commonly asked by non-buddhists to practictioners.

I found it very interesting on the detail that we went into on the beginnings of Buddhism, the decisions that were made for monks and nuns, and the vows and lives they are required to live, even to this day. The Buddha seemed to lead his followers by having them think through their choices, and the ramifications each would have.

It is unfortunate, to me in a sense, that so many branches of Buddhism, or schools, have been formed over the centuries, but on the other hand, I feel this is just what happens when humans get involved in anything that is left up to interpretation. This has happened not only in Buddhism, but Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths as well. It highlights the need in humans to take something special, and make it their own, or in some cases, to "dumb it down" or water it down.

The Four Noble Truths, and the corresponding Eight Fold Path, seem so very simple, and yet, to put them into regular practice requires much meditation and concentration and a change of heart to see, as it is said, all sentient beings to be free from suffering. I will say that at first, all the "little" rules and precepts that followed the original teachings of the Buddha seemed like alot, but they also show how thought out and detailed Buddhist practice is and can be.

In reality, Buddhism is not even a religion in the most common sense of the word. It is a practice, a philosphy, and maybe even a faith, but in the purest sense, a person does not "worship" Buddha. He looks up to the Buddha and can aspire to be like him, but he is not a diety, to most buddhists that is. I realize that some may worship him as a diety, but he never claimed to be that.

With that in mind, the spiritual aspect of Buddhism is more subtle, with the focus being more on the mind, the discipline of the mind, and the "reprogramming" of the mind for the good of one and all. Meditation practice has certainly changed my life. There are some days when I meditate on emptiness, or impermanence, or some other buddhist idea, and I find peace in these things. There are other days when I meditate on deeper personal issues and I feel and experience a more spiritual consequence or reward for lack of a better word.

I know what Buddha and many buddhists believe and taught about reincarnation. I am still unsure of how I think on this, but I will say that I know look upon death as a part of the cycle of life and by admitting that nothing is forever and all created things are impermanent, death now looks like something less of an enemy, which is what is taught in many other faiths, and more like a piece of the puzzle of my life that is expected and needed at the right time.

I will close with what I considered to be the most profound statement that I learned in this course.

When the Buddha was asked if he was a god, he said no. He stated, " I am awake."

I love the simplicity of that statement. To the point, and to be aspired to.

Thank you for this course and for your time.

Rev. Mark J. Larose




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