If we’ve come from religions that posit a creator, we know that morality is what God said we must do, and so a sin by definition is doing what God said not to do.
I’m not criticizing, but it’s not Buddha’s view at all.
Naturally we bring that view into our Buddhism because it sounds very similar: Jesus says don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t lie – well so does Buddha. But the reasons are radically different.
I always remember, I always quote this: I asked a Jesuit priest friend of mine to please explain what it is that makes something a sin? Meaning, how do you define something as being wrong? What makes it wrong? Why is it wrong?
We have to ask this question. If somebody says, in general, to you, “Don’t do that,” your first question should be, “Well, could you please explain why not?” There should be logic behind it, okay? But for us, as soon as it comes to religious philosophy, we don’t do that. We just kind of think, “Oh, I should do it. Somebody said do this, somebody said don’t do that.”
So now, I asked this priest, what makes killing, for example, or lying, or stealing, why is it wrong? And he said the main reason killing, stealing, lying are wrong – the main reason they are sins, what literally defines them as a sin – is the fact that God said not to do them. I’m not criticizing, but it’s a very powerful point.
In other words, because of this concept of God, a creator, this all-powerful, all-pure, all-knowing energy that pervades the universe, that literally created me, created the universe, therefore creates the laws, and therefore says do this and says don’t do that, then by definition, “going against God’s will” is what is a sin. That’s pretty powerful!
Now, my feeling is, philosophically speaking, that’s how we feel about morality. Look at us, even if we’re a materialist: we think, “Oh, I shouldn’t do that – the judge said this, the police say that, the world says this, Mummy says that, Daddy says this,” and we run around trying to be good girls and good boys, because we think if we don’t, we’ll get punished.
It’s a philosophical position actually, deep in our bones, and Buddha fundamentally disagrees with it. If there’s no creator, how can there be a punisher and a rewarder?
Okay, there’s Jesus, he says, “Don’t kill,” and you say, “Why not?” And he will say, “Because God said.” Now you ask the Buddha, he’s got a little list of 10 don’ts the same as Jesus. He also says, “Don’t kill,” but this is the radical difference, and you’ve got to hear it, it’s crucial: Buddha says, “Don’t kill,” not because he said so, but because with his intelligence he has observed that – guess what, folks, people don’t like being harmed! In other words, it’s a natural law.
They call these 10 don’ts in Buddhism “natural negativities.” It’s got nothing to do with the fact that Buddha said it.
Our trouble is if we’ve come from being Christians or Muslims we hear it in exactly the same way: we assume Buddha is the equivalent of a creator, he is the boss, and he will punish me if I’m naughty. But that’s complete nonsense for the Buddha: it’s a dualistic nonsense, it’s not valid, it’s not viable, it’s not real, it’s not important, it’s not the point.
The priest said to me that for Christians there is some aspect of natural law – in other words, it’s true, people don’t like being killed – but the main reason killing is wrong is because God is the boss, and he said don’t do it.
Whereas Buddha is more like a doctor. If you go to your doctor and she says, “Robina, don’t smoke,” you will say, “I understand, please tell me why, doctor. Why, why?” And she will show you the videos of all the terrible cancer that people’s lungs get from smoking. And she’ll say, “Because it will cause you suffering, Robina.”
She does not say, “Because I say so, and if you smoke cigarettes, Robina, I will punish you with cancer.” But that’s how we think of morality – and for the Buddha, it’s childish, and it’s missing the point. That’s the negative side of the neurotic view we all have about, “Don’t tell me what to do” – and as soon as we hear in religion, “Don’t do this and don’t do that,” we hear it like that.
It’s totally invalid because Buddha is not a creator, Buddha is not the boss, Buddha does not punish, Buddha does not reward. There is no punisher, there is no rewarder.
Karma is a natural law, and Buddha is a wise doctor who from his own experience has observed the reality that my killing will harm me, like my smoking will harm me. If I kill and I steal and I lie, those actions will program my mind with that negativity and I will be the recipient of the future suffering. That’s the basis of Buddhist morality, and we have to think it through like this – otherwise we become like children. Is that clear?
We need to think these things through – we never do. We just hear, “Oh, it sounds like Christianity to me, it’s all punishment and reward.” No, it’s not! It’s advice from a kind doctor, you know? It’s really important to think of this. This is the fundamental difference: I mean, it’s not a minor difference, it’s a radical difference. You have to really think about it very carefully.
We are our own boss. As His Holiness says, karma is like self-creation. And Buddha is a wise doctor who points out if you do this and this and this, he has found from his own experience that that result will come – just like your doctor.
The good things too: we also create those.
Therefore you are grateful to hear the advice, “Don’t smoke,” you’re grateful to hear the advice, “Don’t kill,” because you don’t want future suffering. But it takes a while to hear it because we’re like babies. We think, “Oh, I’m allowed to kill. It’s not my fault.
It’s a bit like going to the doctor and saying, “Can you please give me permission to smoke? I can’t give it up. Can you please stop me from getting cancer?” Don’t be ridiculous, you know – it’s childish.
We need to think these things through very carefully, especially if we’ve come from a very strong creator religious background, you know, because it’s fundamentally different. On the face of it, it doesn’t sound different, and even hearing this might not make much of a difference, but the difference is so radical – it’s another whole language.