#207 | From Suffering to Serenity: What Is Buddhism, Really? Philosophy or Religion?

episode SUMMARY:

Douglas Vigliotti explores the spiritual and philosophical work, "The Dhammapada," translated by Eknath Easwaran. He delves into the core teachings of Buddhism, including the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path (aka The Dharma Wheel), offering insights into the myth of Siddhartha and the applicability of Buddhist principles for anyone. With thought-provoking quotes from Buddha, this episode provides a glimpse into the path of Dharma and the pursuit of wisdom and inner peace.

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Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do. So this week I am transferring back into a work of nonfiction. It is a spiritual work, a philosophical work. Some might call it a religious text, but that might be up for debate, depending on how you view it, and what lens you look at it through. That is something I will talk about in the episode. So the book is called “The Dhammapada”, and specifically the edition that I am speaking about today is the translated version by Eknath Easwaran. It is about 280 pages or so. This version came out in 2007. I will share more about the book and the author and some of my biggest takeaways in a moment. But first I wanted to just remind you that if you are a regular listener, I would love for you to subscribe to the podcast because in doing so, you help more listeners find the show and that helps inspire more men to read.

(01:14)

So if you could hit the subscribe button on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on, that would go a long way. Also, I did want to remind you that there is a companion newsletter to this podcast and it is just one email every month that rounds up all of the episodes from that month. Each newsletter includes episode summaries, full book and author information, all of my favorite quotes from the books as well as newsletter-only book recommendations. It's great for people who want to be in the know, but don't listen to every episode or maybe you stumbled upon the podcast and you're not really a podcast person. Either of those reasons, any of your own reasons are all good reasons to sign up for the newsletter and you could do so at BooksforMen.org. Alright, so now let's jump into the episode for the week, “The Dhammapada”, translated by Eknath Easwaran, who is the author.

(02:07)

So he's a spiritual teacher. He's a translator of many Indian texts, core religious texts like the “Bhagavad Gita” and the “Upanishads”, which are the basis of Hinduism. And also the text that I am sharing with you today, “The Dhammapada” which is the basis of Buddhism. So it goes without saying that Buddhism and Hinduism are different things. I feel like Hinduism is more of a religion than Buddhism. That’s not to say that Buddhism doesn't have religious aspects to it, but it is debatable whether it is more philosophical and spiritual or actually religious. Sure, if you look at the breakdown of religion in the world, you'll see Buddhism probably as the fourth or fifth highest total. I think it's fifth. So Christianity represents 32% of the world's population. Islam represents 25% of the world's population. Atheism. So not believing in any God is 16% of the population.

(03:10)

Hinduism is another 16%, and then Buddhism is around 5%, where the remaining 1% or so are all of the smaller subculture religions that exist around the world. And there are tons of them. And so the reason why I will say that Buddhism is not much of a religion as the other religions that I just mentioned, is because of one core concept. And that is it does not place a belief in God or any gods. It places the power in your hands a way and a method that is doable to relieve suffering in your life and live in a state of joy. Does it require you to believe in some mythology? Yes, but it doesn't require you to believe in a God or Gods necessarily. It does require you to have faith in human nature and the world around you. Or something that you heard me talk about on the podcasts last week or the week before with Stoicism, the logos.

(04:20)

Now obviously Buddhists don't use that terminology, but it has a similar meaning in that you're placing faith in the natural order of the world and what happens that is out of your control. And there is a spiritual side to this. Many people call this God in some contexts, but I think there is a delineated difference between believing in a God and having a spiritual relationship with the world in some sense. An interesting example of this is a book called “Awareness” by Anthony DeMello. I read this book earlier this year, and he was actually a Jesuit priest who mixed Buddhist teachings and Buddhist principles into his sermons and his writings. You'll also find that Eknath Easwaran will talk about Jesus Christ and other religious texts and philosophies a lot in the opening of the version that I am sharing with you today. I think you'll also find that there are a lot of atheists out there who ascribe to Buddhist principles who may not call them Buddhist principles outright or they might, but if you listen to them and you have an understanding of Buddhism, you'll see what they're saying.

(05:55)

Sure sounds a lot like Buddhism to me, or at least as I said a bunch already, Buddhist principles. And the reason why I bring this up and want to highlight the crossover effect of Buddhism and this book, “The Dhammapada”, is because there is a lot of appeal in the messages that it offers. And that's primarily why I wanted to share it with you today. So this edition, the Eknath Easwaran edition, starts off with a hundred-page intro by the translator. So it gives you a briefing on Buddhism, what to expect from the text, and the importance of the text. And then there's the actual book, which is 423 verses with commentary by the translator. These verses are similar to what I shared a couple of weeks ago with “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius in short, quippy messages from Buddha himself. And I think this makes it, one, easy to understand and read, and two, a foundational text for anybody to read if they want to get a better understanding of Buddhism or Eastern philosophy in general.

(07:14)

Like Easwaran says in the opening, “If all of the New Testament had been lost, it has been said and only the Sermon on the Mount had managed to survive these 2000 years of history, we would still have all that is necessary for the teachings of Jesus Christ … Buddhist scripture is much more voluminous than the Bible, but if everything were lost, we would need nothing more than ‘The Dhammapada’ to follow the way of the Buddha.” So to understand this, you need to understand the myth of Siddhartha turning into the Buddha. So, Siddhartha went basically on this journey of discovery and he had to defeat the temptations of Mara to awake as the Buddha. He sat there for weeks probing deeper into the heart of life, and then he would go on to teach anyone willing to listen, even if it was only one person at a time.

(08:16)

The path of Dharma (aka the Dhammapada) and he did this for the next 40 years of his life. He went from village to village eventually passing into nirvana for the last time. But knowing he was about to because he had been visited by Mara again for the first time since he originally went into nirvana, he told one of his female monks, her name was Ananda, I think she was the first female monk, actually, which is a whole other story. But she gathered up all the people and went and told everyone and they came to watch him die essentially and live his final hours. The Buddha's last words were: “I exhort you, brothers. Remember all things that come into being must pass away. Strive earnestly!” So, obviously I love that because it talks about the impermanence of life or the transitory nature of everything, which is something you've heard me talk about on this podcast before a lot, actually.

(09:26)

But what does Buddha want you to strive earnestly to do? What is the path of Dharma? So I will spend the remaining time that I have here sharing with you on the highest level what this path of Dharma is. And really it relies on the Four Noble Truths and what is called the Eightfold Path or the Dharma Wheel. And so those four noble truths are the fact of suffering, meaning pain is inevitable. The second noble truth is the cause of suffering. So it is not that life that brings sorrow, but the demands that we bring on life. The third noble truth is that any ailment that can be understood can also be cured or suffering that has a cause can also have an end. And then the fourth noble truth is selfishness, which is the root evil or the root thing that you're trying to extinguish essentially in Buddhism can be extinguished with the eight spokes of the Dharma Wheel or the Eightfold Path.

(10:40)

So obviously this leads me to what is it spoke number one of the Dharma Wheel is right understanding which quite simply means seeing life as it is sounds very similar to some of the principles that we already talked about two weeks ago with stoicism spoke. Number two also has a lot of similarities. It is right purpose. So thinking that is in line with life as it is. One of my favorite quotes comes in verse one actually or verse two. And it's, “Our life is shaped by our mind. For we become what we think.” Or another quote that I love comes from verse 43 talking about this specifically. And Buddha says, “More than those who hate you. More than all your enemies. An undisciplined mind does greater harm.” Spoke number three is right speech. This could be understood as speak kindly. One of my favorite quotes from the book comes in verse number 51, where Buddha says, “Like a lovely flower full of color, but lacking in fragrance are the words of those who do not practice what preach.”

(12:10)

Spoke number four pairs really nicely with spoke number three, and that is right conduct simply known as acting kindly. So Buddha says in verse 240, “As rust consumes the iron, which breeds it, evil deeds consume those who do them.” Or another one of my favorites that is right in line with this is from verse number 292. And Buddha says, “Do not fail to do what ought to be done. Do not do what ought not to be done. Otherwise, your burden of suffering will grow heavier.” Spoke number five is right occupation. This could be simply understood as live for everyone, not just yourself. So he hammers this home in verse number 291 with, “Don't try to build your happiness on the unhappiness of others. You will be enmeshed in a net of hatred.” Spoke number six is right effort. And this is just the constant endeavor to train one's mind.

(13:25)

And most people know this as meditation or mindfulness, but Buddha says it quite directly in verse 276, “All effort must be made by you. Buddhas only show you the way.” Spoke number seven is right attention. So keeping the mind where it should be, not letting it deter into all of the temptations or distractions or not right speech or right thinking or right understanding or right purpose. It's the right attention. Some of my favorite passages are, “Do not envy others for the gifts they receive, or you'll have no peace of mind day or night.” That's in verse 249. Or another one that I really love is, “But when one keeps dwelling on the faults of others, his own compulsions grow worse, making it harder to overcome them.” And that's from verse 253. And then finally the last spoke on the dharma wheel is something that I just mentioned moments ago, and that is right meditation.

(14:40)

So that is the means of training the mind. So while “The Dhammapada” gives you a way and gives you principles to live by, to be able to do this is through a constant or consistent meditation practice. And like Buddha says in verse 282, “Meditation brings wisdom. Lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back and choose the path that leads to wisdom.” So look, I get it. This is a lot to take in, especially for a podcast. So I'm going to end it here, but I hope this gave you at least a high-level overview of Buddhism and what you can expect from reading “The Dhammapada”. On that note, I wanted to remind you that if you enjoyed listening to this podcast to please hit the subscribe button on whatever platform you're listening to this on, because it does help more people find the show and in return, inspire more men to read.

(15:45)

Also, if you'd like to connect with me, there are two primary ways you could do that, either by finding me on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti, it is the only social media that I have, or heading over to my website, DouglasVigliotti.com. Lastly, if you're interested in listening to my 2021 poem collection, it's titled “mini heartbreaks (or little poems about life)”. It's raw, it's unorthodox, it's a mini-memoir, of sorts, on writing artistry growing up, moving forward, missed opportunities, and life in general. You can listen to that on the podcast “Slightly Crooked: Good Stories, Told Well”, and the link for that will be in the show notes. Alright, so that's all I've got. Thank you so much for listening and for this podcast, if you'd like more information, you can always visit BooksforMen.org.