The Fundamentals of Buddhism

    The true meaning of Buddhism goes beyond words. The core principles of the Buddha Dharma involve finding the origin of life and the universe; thus, many questions about the origin of life can be answered in Buddhism.

The search for the origin of life has dominated human history since its beginning and has breached even the most constructive rationalization of the human mind. In fact, the Buddha Dharma is also referred to as the inconceivable dharma. As the search focuses on the mind, we can imagine that it will not be confined to the scientific theories of perishable human existence. The wisdom and realization level of attainment in Buddhist cultivation far exceed the capabilities of scientific principles or any scientific instruments employed therein. Contemporary scientists’ focus on physical matters will never reach the level of the mind of ultimate reality: the eighth vijñāna.

Why do we say the foregoing? According to the teachings of Yogācārabhūmi (Treatise on the Stages of Yogic Practice), wisdom is categorized into two types: mundane wisdom and transmundane wisdom. Mundane wisdom belongs to the open-learning concept, similar to humans becoming or being “students” to acquire various experiences and knowledge to make a living or simply survive since birth. Transmundane wisdom, on the other hand, denotes the wisdom of liberation from the three realms and is a unique Buddhist wisdom. The principles taught during the three rounds of Dharma transmission differ from the novel technologies and open-learning concepts that are prevalent in the contemporary mundane world.

The Buddha Dharma is not developed, nor does it evolve into a set of doctrines predicated on the gradual progression of the open learning process, which proceeds from the simplest to the complex. In contrast, the content of the Buddha Dharma as a religion was established by the Buddha, who had personally attained the unsurpassed and complete realization of the ultimate wisdom.

The Buddhist teachings stem from the Buddha’s wisdom and relate to a cultivation process that includes 52 predetermined stages. This serves as the structure that the subsequent Buddhist disciples who have initiated the Bodhicitta mind must follow to progress sequentially and eventually attain enlightenment and, ultimately, Buddhahood.

If the core essence of Buddhism is “emptiness” in the absolute sense, why do we still need the Buddha to tell us this? Moreover, will the principle of cause and effect and the unceasing transmigration within cyclic existence not be invalid and meaningless because everything will turn into emptiness or nothingness? As such, why do we still make an effort to study emptiness or nothingness? Why do we not just continue living like animals, without knowing the true meaning of life?

Thus, the true meaning of “emptiness” is indeed an important teaching in Buddhism. Correctly understanding its profound depths to avoid misinterpreting the true meaning of Buddhism is important for every Buddhist.

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