Late Night Philosophy

On Messiahs and the Buddha

Thank you to Leah Arlene for bringing up the topic.

I see a Messiah as just another prophet. After all, the Old Testment has
plenty of prophets that lead the people of Isreal to victory or freedom or
spiritual growth. Abraham, Moses, David, and um... some others. At the time,
they could have been seen as Messiahs, since the people were slaves, oppresed,
or under the threat of invasion. Then this prophet comes along and performs
some miracles and the people are saved for a while. Of course, Jesus is seen as
*the* Messiah because of his virgin birth, the healings, taking the sin of the
world on himself, and proving it all by being ressurected into a perfect holy
body. But since the Jews were being occupied by the Romans at the time and
Jesus did nothing to get rid of them (unlike the prophets of the past, who took
on some serious enemies with huge and devestating miracles). So while many saw
the deeper meaning, that pacifism, love and truth were true freedom, many
resented the change that it brought around. Of course, I'm not a theologian and
I'm just trying to remember as much as I can without having to look it up.

So a true Messiah is a true spiritual Saviour. Someone that transcends simple
victory over oppressive enemies, but someone that shows people the truth that
will set them truly free. The truth that makes being oppressed seem irrelevent
to what's really real and true.

To me, I see that person as the Buddha. Sometimes it seems to me that I say
that just to be different, and to be honest, I still have a lot more to learn
about it. I've really only taken the core of Buddhism to heart so far. But like
Christianity was built on the Jewish faith, so was Buddhism built on the Hindu
faith, but it denounces the Hindu gods as deities to be worshipped, but simply
respected (since they still have the power to kill you or punish you like an
insect). But even if you don't believe in Hindu gods, the applications are the
same. All gods, in all faiths, might be real and might still screw you over,
but they're not immortal, eternal, or infallable. They just think they are
because they've been around so long. The truth is that they'll be reincarnated
like the rest of us. To me, that's reassuring. But, even leaving all that
aside, I still like Buddhism best and see the Buddha as my spiritual saviour.
Even if one doesn't believe in reincarnation, I think that the tenents of
Buddhism, if taken to heart, can help anyone at least get some sense of balance
and objectivity. The aim isn't to save one's soul, but to eliminate suffering
(caused by desire), gain self-knowledge, and to transcend the cylce of
reinarnation. What that transcendance is called is Nirvana. Far as I can
understand, it's a complete lack of desire for anything. I still need to think
more on that and read more on it too, but it sounds nice not to want or to be
neglected of anything, among other things I don't completely understand.

Maybe it's just that I dislike ultimate authority, but I like the idea of not
worshipping someone, but simply paying respect to someone who understood more
than you. Like, you don't pray to Buddha, you pay him respect. It's not like
Buddha can come down and smite me if I don't or forget to. It's just a nice
thing to do for someone that you respect as a superior. The way I see it,
Buddhists aren't so much following a path as they are rejecting a fundamental
law of nature; karma and reincarnation. I think one of my past entries talks
about karma and weather or not there's a Universal Morality that we judge
ourselves by when we die. After all, there's no God to judge a Buddhist and
karma isn't an active force, far as I know. It's just degrees of good or bad
that we accumlate based on our thoughts and actions. If there's a sense of
Universal Morality at our core, one that transcends values and social ideals,
that all life everywhere obeys like the laws of physics (and, for certain, the
universe would have to have been created with that set of Univeral Morality as
an integral part), then we determine our next reincarnation. Or rather, our
base-selves , which are only concerned with Univeral Morality, instinctivly
take on an appropriate form.

So at the same time that one is trying to know one's self, improving one's
karma, and trying to liberate one's self from the suffering of the universe,
Buddhists are encouraged to improve the karma of others. That makes sense,
since who wants to live in a world of endless suffering? Funny how that sounds
like the Christian statment that we (even the Christians) are all sinners, so
save your soul through Jesus. In any case, even if one only takes the least of
Buddhism to heart, it's still a karmic improvement. Even being a good and
faithful Christian is a karmic improvement. A Buddhist wouldn't try to convert
a Christian, or any other faith, he'd say, "Keep up the good work. Maybe in
your next life you'll become a Buddhist." Because good karma is good karma no
matter what faith one is with and it'll improve one's next life. That's why I
see the Buddha as a great spiritual teacher. It is, in my opinion, the empitome
of social and religious tolerance, mental objectivity, philisophical discussion
and, at the core, a universal truth. And since the universe it likely to be
uninhabitable eventually and since those who never achieve Nirvana will keep
reincarnating until that dismal end, who knows what will happens to them when
there is no human or humanoid life (the only forms intelligent enough and in
sync with reality to achieve Nirvana) to reincarnate into? Maybe the cycle will
start over and people will begin suffering again and Buddhas will be needed
again to show them the way out of universe into that perfect place of mental
peace.

Buddhism really has helped my more than
Christianity at finding some sense of mental peace. And it fits with what I see
around me in the world of science. Sure, reincarnation is hard to prove, just
like ghosts or Bigfoot. But since there are documented and often quoted cases
of reincation, life after death, religious miracles, etc... it comes down to
whatever seems to make the most sense. And reincarnation makes more sense to me
an a unique and everlasting soul. And that the Buddha taught a middle path to
spiritual fulfillment makes more sense to me.

"I can't imagine a God who would care."
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid."
Bishop, Aliens
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