Living According to The Divine Law in Buddhism

Revelations guide man to live
according to the Divine Law
through relating his activities on earth
to his ultimate goal(s) of existence,
and to face earthly challenges

The Egyptian Society for Spiritual and Cultural Research

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Living According
to The Divine Law
in Buddhism

Buddhism recognizes man's susceptibility to become entangled in "imaginary and false discrimination" made up of what earthly life terms as "good or bad, likes and dislikes". People, thus, are not free to handle things from the perspective of Truth. Buddhism points the way out from that "maze" when it guides people to "restore the purity of their original mind and their body would be free from defilement and suffering; they would know the peacefulness that comes with that freedom."(TB: 140). So, man is warned that earthly attraction of wealth, fame and praise of others might delude him. "If people chase after honors and public acclaim and leave the way of truth, they are in serious danger and will soon have cause to regret….like a child who licks honey from the blade of a knife. While he is tasting the sweetness of honey, he has to risk hurting his tongue." (TB: p. 234)

Buddha's teachings guide man to be aware that all "the treasures of the world, all its gold and silver and honors, are not to be compared with wisdom and virtue". "To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue" (TB: p. 238). Man is guided to open himself to that light by understanding Buddha's teachings Dharma. Such an understanding would help him to become free from the illusions of "fame, praise, and wealth." These teachings will help him to make of all his deeds an expression of a "pure and peaceful mind". By the wisdom he acquires, he will act in this life not from the perspective of what is "perishing", but what is immortal.

A Buddhist poet, in the "Vanity of Worldliness" chapter, relates a story about two different reactions of people to the same situation. The people lived in a country where an epidemic swept over. While some were terrified by the horror of death, others began to shout loudly: "Let us enjoy ourselves today, for we know not whether tomorrow we shall live".The first group could not face the situation while the second group escaped from reality and their laughter was mere pretence (GB: 43: 2). The poet, while criticizing both reactions, presents an approach to earthly life:

"After pleasure they hanker and find no satisfaction;
Riches they covet and never have enough.
They are like unto puppets held up by a string.
When the string breaks they come down with a shock."

"In the domain of death there are neither great nor small;
Neither gold nor silver is used, nor precious jewels."
(GB: 55: 11)

He explains that man when freed from illusions will know the real objective of his life:

"Reform today and do not wait until it be too late."

"It is good to reform and it is good to exhort people to reform.
It is good to lead a righteous life and to take refuge in the Buddha's name.
Your talents may reach to the skies, your wealth may be untold
But all is in vain unless you attain the peace of Nirvana
(GB: 43: 11, 12, 13, 14)

Buddha also teaches that when man is sure that there is One Law, he will know that good actions would lead to good fruits, and the opposite is true. Man, then would handle life with an understanding of Karma (the working of cause and effect, whereby positive actions produce happiness and negative actions produce suffering):

Verily, I say unto thee:
Not in the heavens,
Not in the midst of the sea,
Not if thy hidest thyself away in the clefts of the mountains
Wilt thou find a place where thou canst escape the fruit of thine evil actions
At the same time thou art sure
To receive the blessings of thy good actions (GB: 53: 63, 64)

Good action is simply that which stems from freedom from illusions and adopting a truthful orientation towards earthly life.

The challenge that man faces is that which resides within him. In Buddhism,man is guided to "learn to distinguish between self and Truth"; "false self" and "true self". Teachings clarify that "false self" is the ego, and "true self" is truth: Buddha nature, pure mind, enlightenment and love. All teachings help man be free from the "false self". The core guidance of "the noble path" is that man should practice in daily life getting free from the self, and getting devoted to Truth.

The lesson that should be learnt is how to "liberate our souls from our petty selves" because "the consciousness of self dims the eyes of the mind and hides the truth". When man is liberated from the self he becomes "clear as a crystal diamond reflecting the light of truth." Man becomes "a radiant picture mirroring things as they are, without the admixture of burning desires", "the distortion of erroneous illusion", or "the agitation of clinging and unrest" (BG: 2:17)

Buddhist Teaching promises that when man is free from the self in all his actions he attains Nirvana:

The extinction of self is salvation;
The annihilation of self is the condition of enlightenment;
The blotting out of self is Nirvana (BG: 2: 20)

Self is death and truth is life.
The cleaving to self is perpetual dying,
While moving in the truth
Is partaking of Nirvana
Which is life everlasting (GB: 53: 14)

Buddha's teachings show that for man to be totally free from the false self with all its illusions and attachments, he should strive to learn through experience and not be satisfied by theoretical learning:

Learning is a good thing; but it availeth not.
True wisdom can be acquired by practice only.
Practice the truth that thy brother is the same as thou
Walk in the noble path of righteousness
And thou wilt understand that while there is death in self,
There is immortality in truth (GB: 53: 67)

The process of living, the behavior of man, and his attitude towards others should follow high ethics.

Kill not, but have regard for life.
Steal not, neither do ye rob; but help everybody to be master of the fruits of his labor
Abstain from impurity, and lead a life of chastity.
Lie not, but be truthful. Speak the truth with discretion, fearlessly and in a loving heart
Invent not evil reports, neither do ye repeat them.
Carp not, but look for the good sides of your fellow beings,
So that you may with sincerity defend them against their enemies
Swear not, but speak decently and with dignity.
Waste not the time with gossip, but speak to the purpose or keep silence.
Covet not, nor envy, but rejoice at the fortunes of other people
Cleanse your heart of malice and cherish not hatred,
Not even against your enemies;
Free your mind of ignorance
And be anxious to learn the truth