Meaning, not words, are important

Acharya Mahayogi Sridhar Rana Rinpoche

That what is to be dropped, to let go, in all religious system is Dukha (sorrow) but the cause of that Dukha (Heya hetu) are not the same. The cause of sorrow of man in Christianity is, not surrendering to Christ as the one and the only son of God; in Islam it is not surrendering to Allah - the one and only, but rather to various idols; in Hinduism, it is clinging to Anatman (all that is not Atman); or in some forms of Hinduism it is just like Christianity or Islam in that the cause of Dukha is not surrendering to Krishna or somebody else; while in Buddhism it is clinging to Atman (the concept that there is a truly existing self). Likewise the Hana (the state of being free from Dukha) is something all religious traditions have as a part of its goal; and the definition of what is true freedom/sorrow are defined differently in each system. It is important to understand there are many types and many levels of freedom from Dukha and they are not necessarily the same – in terms of level or quality. And again, the way (Marga) or Hanopaya (the method of reaching the goal - freedom from sorrow) are again very different in all systems. In Christianity, it is surrendering to Christ; in Islam it is surrendering to Allah; in Hinduism it is realising the Atman (one’s true self) etc. But all of these are drastically different from the way Buddhism advocates and that is to realise Anatman (that there is no really existing self/Atman anywhere to be found) which is the opposite of realisation of the Atman as posited by Hinduism! As the Buddha said - depend on the meaning, not on the words; and this is common sense! Those who advocate that the Heya, Heya hetu, Hana, Hanopaya are the same as the Buddha’s four noble truths have fallen for mere words. Even the medical sciences and Ayur Veda have their own forms of truths but that doesn’t mean Ayur Veda or for that matter the medical sciences are the same as Buddhism or are a branch of Buddhism.   All forms of present day Hinduism believe firmly in a creator - God – Ishwar. Jainism normally does not have such a concept. The Tirthankaras like Mahavira are enlightened beings who have freed themselves from Samsara but they are by no means considered God, the creator of the Samsara/world. But Buddhism is even further away from Hinduism in that it neither accepts Atman (supreme self) nor an Ishwar (creator-God). Both concepts according to Buddhists are products of Mithya Dristi (false/ignorant/misleading views/concepts). So enlightenment in Buddhism is neither seeing that imagined eternal unchanging self as one’s true nature or seeing God or God realisation. (To be continued) (Sridhar Rinpoche is a Vajrayana master)