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| Poster: A Buddhist Reply Post Message Date: Mon May 6 23:15:54 2002 |
| Subject: Vo^ Nga~ |
| Post No: 840 Reply to: 839 |
The word Vo^ Nga~ you cited is not an opposite of the word Nga~ that Shakyamuni spoke when he just came out of his mother's under-arm. According to Mahayana Buddhism, Shakyamuni was a Buddha in his previous life. He resided in Tusita Heaven and because of his compassion decided to be born as a Prince of the Clan of Shakya in order to save sentient beings. Therefore, when the Indian writers recorded the life of Buddha they wanted to create a miraculous scene to emphasize His Godly birth. Similarly one can see the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Buddhists do not have to believe the unscientific birth of Buddha as true story. The writers only wanted to emphasize the miraculous birth to entice readers to the true teachings of the Buddha. The word Vo^ Nga~ you mentioned is No-Self (Skt. Anatman.) Most religions believe in an independent entity called a Self (Skt. atman) or Soul that is separate and independent from the physical body. After one dies this permanent soul will go somewhere or merge with something else, depending on the religious view one takes. For example, Christian believe this soul will go to heaven if one has faith in Jesus Christ as a son of God; Hinduism believe the soul of each individual will eventually merge with the Universal Brahma (Ultimate Reality.) During the Buddha's life, he had some discussion with Brahman priests about this problem. He said there is no such a Self. This is a very important concept in Buddhism. The reason sentient beings suffer because the have this wrong concept. Once one believe there is a "Self" or "I", he/she automatically devides the world into 2 parts: one part is mine, the other belongs to others. This leads to grasping and suffering in a cycle of birth and death. Therefore when you read Buddhist scriptures, keep in mind what is the truth and what is the beleif. It's OK to beleive that the Buddha could talk and walk when he was born, but a Buddhist must keep an open mind to know what is the truth. |