The Northwest times. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1947-1955, 1953-03-07
Buddhism,
The Road to
Enlightenment
BY Mkt MATSUMURA

BY Mkt MATSUMURA
Buddhism is a faith of many as
poets. There is an old saying in
Buddhism which says that the Bud
dha delivered some $4,000 sermons.
This statement symbolizes the Bud
dha's compassionate heart
In order to accommodate all men
of varying degrees of intelligence
and of different personalities. the
Buddha used diverse means to the
Truth. To the philOsOphicalIy-
minded, he taught them the depths
of Buddhist philosophy; to those
suited to lead the quiet inner life,
he taught the way of meditation;
to the simple layman. he showed the
way of faith. His great compassion
would not let a single individual be
excluded from salvation, Enlighten-
| ment.
Because of these innumerabIe ma
nifestations, the Western student
who had made only a cursory OBJ
jective study could not comprehend
the living essence of Buddhism. It
was unfortunate that these people
were the very ones to publish books
On Buddhism in English. Conse-
quently, Buddhism has been gross
ly misunderstood in the West
The three outstanding miscOn-
ceptions are: % Buddhism is a
heather religion whose adherents
worship stone images and wooden
idols; (2) Buddhism is a pessimis-
tic religion; and 81 the ultimate
goal for the Buddhist is the com
plete humiliation of the individual
Buddhist images have no object
i've value. They symbolic the love
| and compassion of the Buddha For
| instance, the standing Amida Bud
| dha with his right arm raised in a
| position of guidance and his left
lowered for the salvation of man
symbolizes the Buddha in action,
guiding men to Eternal Life and
Light. The sitting Buddha is a
symbol of inner peace attained
through meditation
The second misconception arises
IRON the wrong translation of the
SanSkrit word, Dukkha The word is
generally translated as suffering or
sorrow. When the Buddha taught
that life Vas Dukkha, he was far
| from meaning that life was so mis-
cradle it was not worth while living
| Certainly, there is suffering in life,
but Dukkha means something more.
Dukkha embraces disharmony. i'm
| projections, and friction. The uni
verse Is a dynamic process: it does
not stand still for a single instant.
Just as one cannot step into the
same river twice, because it is con-
stantly flowing, so is the world in
constant flux. Consequently, dis
harmony and friction accompany
every change. The Buddha's mes
sage was to deliver mankind. He
said-"This above all teach; Duk-
kha and the deliverance from Duk-
kha.
The third misconception arises
from the misinterpretation of the
Sanskrit word. Nirvana Because
Nirvana literally means extinction
Western students have concluded
that the ultimate goal for the Bud
dhists was the humiliation of the
individual Nirvana means the ex-
tinction of evil desires, of birth and
death process and the final inter
vention of a transcendent state OF
bliss. This state is so far above the
finite mind that it can be express
ed only in the language of the ina
gination, such as the Pure Land OF
the Land of Bliss If the signifi-
canoe of NirVana was mans sinking
into absolute nothingness, one third
of humanity would never have found
peace and joy in the teachings OF
the Buddha
Although there are many forms
in Buddhim, they all attempt to
present some glimpse of the truth
and when one way is pursued with
a sincerity of heart, it will lead to