Scholar Charles Prebish answered “Yes,” because Buddhism posits a conception of ultimate truth and a path to experiencing that truth. Tibetan Buddhist teacher Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche answered “No,” arguing that Buddhism is instead a science of mind.
For example, we’ve asked three leading Buddhist thinkers the same question, and they had three different responses. It depends who you ask, and it depends on your definition of “religion,” too. These are known as the “three marks of existence.”ĭzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche describes these truths in, alternatively, four points, known as “the four seals”: all compounded things are impermanent all emotions are pain all things have no inherent existence nirvana is beyond concepts. Thich Nhat Hanh describes them this way: impermanence, (everything is always changing), no self (nothing has a solid core or soul), and nirvana (peace is freedom from fixed concepts). How do I study without a teacher or community?īuddhists have lots of differing beliefs and practices, but there are a few shared principles these are the fundamental discoveries the Buddha made.
Wood with lacquer, Myanmar, 15th century.
