Buddhism exhibits salvation as, first of all, a way of understanding.
It is a religion of analysis, which bids man see life steadily and see
it whole, by first taking it to pieces! When one looks at the body,
what is it, says Buddhism, after all, that we should regard ourselves
as attached to it? There are so many bones, so many tendons, so much
skin, so many juices. If a man views the body with an anatomical eye,
he will see it as it really is; disgust will arise in him which will
lead him out into detachment. A Buddhist is sometimes urged to
practise the habit of sitting in cemeteries or among reminders of the
dead, or to have a skeleton near at hand, in order that he may
meditate upon the transient nature of all that is mortal. Similarly he
is to dispel anger or lust by asking, "Who is it I am angry with,
after whom do I lust, but a bag of bones?" It seeks to dispel passion
by reason.
8. It has a strong Moral Code: The "Four Noble Truths," and the
"Eight-fold Path."
As the old Teacher was passing away he emphasised anew the part which
intelligent belief plays in the Buddhist scheme of religion. "It is
through not understanding and not grasping four things, O monks, that
we have to abide and wander through this maze of being," he remarked.
The four things which he had in mind were suffering, its real cause
(_tanhā_), the cure of suffering, and the path which leads to
_Nibbāna_. These are the "Four Noble Truths" of Buddhism, driven
home to every disciple as the very foundation of his religious life.
With reference to the "way" which leads to _Nibbāna_ Buddhism has
made its most remarkable contribution to human thought. It is called
the "Middle Way," between the extremes of an austere asceticism and a
spirit of worldliness, a clear-cut and admirably arranged ethical
scheme, which has undoubtedly done much to elevate the nations among
whom it has been practised. The "eight practices," urged upon every
one who aspires to spiritual growth, are right thinking (about the
"four noble truths," etc.), right aspirations (benevolence, pity,
brotherhood, etc.), right speech, right action, right livelihood (by
industries which are not harmful), right effort of mind, right
attention (alertness), and right contemplation, or mystic meditation.
Such a scheme may readily be ritualised and deadened, but it lends
itself no less readily to the cultivation of simple virtues. A popular
summary, universally known, teaches "Do good, shun ill, and cleanse
the inmost thoughts, this is the teaching of Buddhas."
The "eight-fold path" is usually developed under three main
endeavours--enlightenment, morality, and concentrated meditation.
Stage by stage the disciple is led along this path. "Step by step, day
by day, one may purify one's heart from defilements by understanding,
even as the smith purifies silver in the fire." The true disciple must
avoid the extremes of asceticism, on the one hand, or of entanglement
with the world on the other. So the noble path claims to be a "middle
path" of sweet reasonableness. The lines are not always clearly drawn
between ritual offences or mistakes and moral failures, and the ideal
life often seems to be represented as primarily monastic, but there is
no doubt that one who deliberately sets himself to follow the
"eight-fold path" would be a lovable and strong type of character,
something like the fine old monk from Tibet in Kipling's "Kim." And
there have been many such, men not only of his gentle strength, but
men filled with missionary zeal and devotion to noble tasks.