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The Relevance of Buddhism in 21St Century Karanveer Singh Department of Philosophy, King's College, University of Western Onta

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The Relevance of Buddhism in 21St Century Karanveer Singh Department of Philosophy, King's College, University of Western Onta Karanveer SIngh The Relevance of Buddhism in 21st Century Karanveer Singh Department of Philosophy, King’s College, University of Western Ontario 1 Karanveer SIngh The essay's thesis is to demonstrate that Buddhist philosophy is relevant in the 21st century because its philosophy offers a variety of solutions to contemporary problems of the modern world. This essay has a two-fold thesis. The first part of the thesis illustrates concepts such as individual empiricism, epistemology and metaphysics in Buddhist thought. The second of the thesis demonstrates how those concepts hold their relevance in the modern world. The first part of the essay will investigate the concepts of individual empiricism, process metaphysics, and noble eightfold path in a Buddhist context. The second part of the essay will examine the relevance and application of these concepts in the modern world. The third part will summarize and conclude the essay. The Buddha advocates individual empiricism to gain knowledge, in that one gains knowledge through experiences through the six sense bases (Āyatana) (Bodhi, p. 345). In individual empiricism, one finds truth only through one's experience, not even others; that is why it is called individual empiricism. He does not expect one to heed to authority or religious texts but only on one's experience (Bodhi, p. 345). Buddha's emphasis on individual empiricism is radical compared to other religions because, unlike others, he is not appealing to divine command theory or the authority of the religious scriptures but asking people to follow a scientific method of empiricism. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the fundamental nature of reality (Wikipedia, 2020). There are two primary schools of metaphysics; Substantial and Process (Wikipedia, 2020). The school of substantial metaphysics maintains that there is a substance or things that are often unchanging at the foundation of reality (Wikipedia, 2020). Western metaphysics fall under this category—for example, Plato's forms, Leibniz’s monads, etc. (Wikipedia, 2020). On the other hand, the school of process-metaphysics holds that there is no 2 Karanveer SIngh stable foundation of reality; instead, change and processes are the foundation of reality (Wikipedia, 2020). Buddhist metaphysics, committed to the school of process-metaphysics, focus on becoming than being (Bodhi, p. 342). In Buddhism, the notion of impermanence (anicca) and non-self (anatta) dictates that things or phenomena have no essence or permanent state and are in continuous flux (Bodhi, p. 342). Karma means intention (cetanā) that leads to future consequences (Wikipedia, 2020). Karma constitutes three parts; seed, substrate, and fruit (karma-phala) (Bodhi, p. 155). The intention is the seed, the substrate is an environment where the intention propagates, and the fruit (karma-phala) is the final consequence (Bodhi, p. 167). In karma, there is more emphasis on the intention than on the action as seen the quote "Monks, even if bandits were to sever you savagely limb by limb with a two-handle saw, he who gave rise to a mind of hate toward them would not be carrying out my teaching." (Bodhi, p. 278). The distinguishing feature of karma is that there is no God or external entity that "rewards" or "punishes" one's deeds. Karma works like a natural law, in that there are constant conjunctions; unwholesome karma will be followed by suffering or dukkha (Bodhi, p. 91). The concepts mentioned above are relevant in the post-modern 21st century than ever before because the philosophies that worked in earlier centuries are no longer relevant. People no more yield to the authority of divine command or cultural norms. Gods and religions have failed to survive the philosophical and scientific skepticism born out of the post-modern world. The modern society needs a framework that is not antithetical to science and technology. The Buddha advocates individual empiricism asking people to trust their senses and intuitions and see for themselves that the path that Buddha proposes liberates them from suffering (dukkha) (Bodhi, p. 92). The Buddha allows the individual to attain salvation without needing external entities such as 3 Karanveer SIngh God (Bodhi, p. 88). There is no need to submit to the authority of any kind, be it religious scriptures or hierarchies (Bodhi, p. 92). This feature of Buddhism is conducive to today's scientific-minded society when all other theistic religions have succumbed to scientific skepticism. The Buddhist process-metaphysics stands its ground in post-quantum modern physics too. Modern physics has concluded that there are no such stable particles that constitute the foundation of reality, as held earlier by classical physics, but processes that are a function of ever-changing and evolving wave functions (Wikipedia, 2020). It is akin to the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence (anicca) and non-self (anatta) that holds that things or phenomena have no essence or permanent state and are in continuous flux (Bodhi, p. 242). The illusion of permanence is nothing, but change is slow motion. The process metaphysics of Buddhism is not only relevant in modern physics but also helps one to detach and let go as there is no stable self but five aggregates (Pañcupādānakkhandhā) in constant flux that give rise to the illusion of self (atman) (Bodhi, p. 335). Moreover, there is a growing consensus among quantum physicists that, along with fundamental particles, consciousness is a fundamental aspect of reality, too, because particles exist when there is an observer, no observer, no particle to observe. In Buddhism, there are already six fundamental elements of reality with consciousness (viññāṇa-dhātu) as one of them (Bodhi, p. 350). The modern society is often reproached with a widespread decay in ethics and values. The western thought and religion founded on substantial metaphysics, holding that there is a substance or stable things at the foundation of reality, could not survive the scientific and philosophic skepticism of the 21st century (Nishitani, p. 49). As a result, people lost faith in God, religion, and morality, paving the way for nihilism, ethical subjectivism, and ethical egoism (Nishitani, p. 13). The modern world longs a grounding for morality amidst the chaos of cultural relativism 4 Karanveer SIngh (Nishitani, p. 78). The Buddhist doctrine of karma possesses the potential to bridge this chasm of nihilistic spiritual vacuity as the motivation for doing good karma (sammā-kammanta) is to cure suffering (dukkha) and get liberated by attaining Nirvana by following the noble eightfold path (ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga). In the noble eightfold path (ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga), one practices right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration ensuring ethical behaviour. This soteriological approach is relevant today because one indulges in ethical behaviour to cure oneself of suffering (dukkha), not to get into heaven or to avoid hell, the concepts that not many followers in the 21st century. The above arguments can be summarized and annotated as follows: P1: The Buddha advocates individual empiricism, noble eightfold path, and process metaphysics. P2: Individual empiricism, noble eightfold path, and process metaphysics have relevance in the 21st century because of decreasing foothold of religion, the proliferation of scientific mindset, and advances in modern physics. C1: The Buddha's teaching is relevant in the 21st century. Based on the analysis above, it can be concluded with confidence that the Buddha's teaching is relevant in the 21st century than ever because the teachings go in sync with the scientific and technological developments of the modern world. 5 Karanveer SIngh References Bodhi, Bhikkhu, and Dalai His Holiness The Lama. In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha). Fifth Printing, Wisdom Publications, 2005. Nishitani, K. (1983). Religion and nothingness. Berkeley: University of California Press. Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 2). Metaphysics. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:19, August 11, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Metaphysics&oldid=970868153 Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 31). Process philosophy. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:45, August 11, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Process_philosophy&oldid=970528292 Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 20). Karma in Buddhism. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:58, August 12, 2020, Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 11). Quantum mechanics. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:58, August 12, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quantum_mechanics&oldid=972312569 6 .
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