Was Siddhartha a Buddha?

[Bradley West]

Was Siddhartha a Buddha?

The following article is reproduced from a compilation of articles under the heading ‘IS BUDDHISM THE WORD OF SIDDHARTHA?’ By Paul Hess.

WAS SIDDHARTHA A BUDDHA?

‘To the seeker, he is the master of his world where there
are no Buddhas, gods, holy men and sacred books’.


There is no denying religions were created by man to exploit man. Hence, such dubious religious jargon ‘holy, noble, sacred, divine’ etc. provide much needed ‘icing on the cake’ to help them cover up their ulterior motives.
In Indian terminology, ‘Buddhi’ literally means wisdom and ‘Avijja’ ignorance. Accordingly, all prominent so-called sages or wise men are commonly referred to as ‘Buddhas’ by their followers in whom they have inculcated the notion that they are merely ignorant or ‘Avijja’, immoral and subservient beings needing guidance. However, Siddhartha was unique for he gave the seeker the dignity he deserves by urging him to take charge of his own world to seek the ‘Way’ to conquer the dualistic world of ‘Buddhi’ and ‘Avijja’, holy and unholy, Samsara and Nibbana, merits and sins created by religions to subjugate their followers to do their bidding. Siddhartha has no equal in the history of mankind, never claimed anything for himself. He stands on a pedestal of his own way beyond others.
The dualistic human mind could not comprehend the unique ‘Way’ he discovered for what it is and as a result, we are lost in a world looking for ‘Buddhi’ to conquer ‘Avijja’ when in fact they are inseparable. So much for Buddhism, their so-called holy men, and sacred books.
‘Buddha’ is a combination of Wisdom and Ignorance. Hence, Siddhartha was not a ‘Buddha’ but the one who conquered his ‘Dhamma’ the creator of his world the ‘Chitta’ to go beyond both ‘Buddhi and Avijja’. The renunciation of ‘Mind and Matter’, ‘a something never heard before’.
‘Siddhartha, a lone bright star in an otherwise starless night sky.
The mockery that is Buddhism is a disgrace to him and the profound
‘Way’ he discovered. Yet to question its credibility is to become a
heretic and to be treated as someone who has lost his head. And the
‘Word of Siddhartha’ is lost to the world of religions where greed, lies,
and deception is the norm’.

[Pam Seeback]

Bradley West: There is no denying religions were created by man to exploit man. Hence, such dubious religious jargon ‘holy, noble, sacred, divine’ etc. provide much needed ‘icing on the cake’ to help them cover up their ulterior motives.

But one can deny that religions were created to exploit man, that instead, they were created out of ignorance of the absolute wherein there is no icing on the cake. Do you really think the Pope is consciously trying to exploit and deceive his 'flock?' I am not saying that those who have religious authority do not derive pleasure from their power, but that they are ignorant as to how this pleasure keeps them trapped in suffering. A related question: do you believe that the concepts 'Buddhi' and 'Avijja' and 'Citta' and 'Buddha' are icing on the cake just as are the concepts 'holy, noble, sacred, divine', etc.? I find it interesting that you included the concept 'noble' in your list of religious jargon when it was the Buddha who brought the four noble truths to the world.

In Indian terminology, ‘Buddhi’ literally means wisdom and ‘Avijja’ ignorance. Accordingly, all prominent so-called sages or wise men are commonly referred to as ‘Buddhas’ by their followers in whom they have inculcated the notion that they are merely ignorant or ‘Avijja’, immoral and subservient beings needing guidance. However, Siddhartha was unique for he gave the seeker the dignity he deserves by urging him to take charge of his own world to seek the ‘Way’ to conquer the dualistic world of ‘Buddhi’ and ‘Avijja’, holy and unholy, Samsara and Nibbana, merits and sins created by religions to subjugate their followers to do their bidding. Siddhartha has no equal in the history of mankind, never claimed anything for himself. He stands on a pedestal of his own way beyond others.
The dualistic human mind could not comprehend the unique ‘Way’ he discovered for what it is and as a result, we are lost in a world looking for ‘Buddhi’ to conquer ‘Avijja’ when in fact they are inseparable. So much for Buddhism, their so-called holy men, and sacred books.

And here you are, renouncing Buddhism but worshiping the Buddha. While it is true that you are not applying adjectives such as 'holy and sacred divine', but of your own words, you declare Siddhartha to be 'a lone bright star'. Ultimately, is there a difference?

‘Buddha’ is a combination of Wisdom and Ignorance. Hence, Siddhartha was not a ‘Buddha’ but the one who conquered his ‘Dhamma’ the creator of his world the ‘Chitta’ to go beyond both ‘Buddhi and Avijja’. The renunciation of ‘Mind and Matter’, ‘a something never heard before’.

‘Siddhartha, a lone bright star in an otherwise starless night sky.
The mockery that is Buddhism is a disgrace to him and the profound
‘Way’ he discovered. Yet to question its credibility is to become a
heretic and to be treated as someone who has lost his head. And the
‘Word of Siddhartha’ is lost to the world of religions where greed, lies,
and deception is the norm’.

The profound 'Way' he discovered is dependent on lighting the fuel of suffering and who suffers more than those who cling to power and security, aka the priests, minsters, CEO's? Does not pride goeth before a fall and is not the fall necessary so pride can end? Don't forget Siddhartha was raised in a religious home of great reknown, was married and had a child -- plenty of fuel to ignite the suffering he needed to experience in order to find the way to bring it to an end.

The only way you can truthfully say that Buddhism IS a mockery to Siddhartha is if he told you so or if you are Siddhartha himself and of course, I know neither scenario is true. Are you deliberately setting out to deceive us by claiming personal knowledge of Siddhartha's thoughts? I doubt it, anymore than the priests and ministers are conscious of the effects of their ignorance on themselves and the world. Which, as I alluded to above, turns out to be the Way-in-disguise -- because of suffering, suffering ends.

[Bradley West]

Hi Pam,
Your reply to my post has rendered me speechless. What else can I say?
Buddhism as all blind faiths is a so-called ‘holy and sacred’ lucrative business and for its success, it must appeal to the beliefs of the common man the naïve the majority or risk being rejected. In contrast, the ‘Dhamma’ the Dependent Origination or the cosmic law discovered by ‘Siddhartha’ concerns the seeker himself a very personal endeavor beyond words and no amount of conceptualizing would suffice and therefore cannot be discoursed or found in so-called sacred books. However, it can only be experienced within. Therefore ‘Siddhartha’ disclosed only the method the ‘Middle Way’ (not to be mistaken for the Buddhist “eightfold path’ a sham} and the set of tools the ‘Mental Factor’ the inseparable concomitance Sila, Samadhi, Wisdom’ for the seeker to seek his unique ‘Middle Way’ for the renunciation of the dualistic world the creator of the illusive ‘I’ he is trapped in. Unlike in Buddhism, It is not about achieving ‘Wisdom’ or ‘Enlightenment’ which are mere constructs of the mind but for the abandoning of ‘Mind and Matter’. As you would see they are worlds apart.
Trying to impart Dhamma which is beyond the comprehension of the mind is like trying to convince a fish as to what life is like beyond its watery world. No wonder it is said, Siddhartha maintained strict silence on hypothetical questions based on hearsay or that have no relevance to the way of a seeker.
Here is a beautiful ‘Zen’ adage that reveals the profoundness of the ‘Word of Siddhartha’.
‘The sound of one hand clapping’
Have you ever heard the ‘Sound of one hand clapping’? Trapped in duality, all that you could hear is the ‘sound of two hands clapping’. However, the ‘Sound of one hand clapping’ could only be heard, to quote the Zen master Hakuin,
“in the depths of the innermost self, more remote than the farthest mountain,
and yet closer than close”

In other words, it can only be heard right there within you, so close yet so far for we seek it without. Stop running after others and turn your gaze inwards the world deep down within to find the way to this ‘secret house of the sound of one hand’ the abode of those who have gone beyond but where no abode or those who have gone beyond can be found, but just ‘Emptiness’.