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There are certain truths or realities within manifest existence. While Omnism is non-dogmatic, deciding these truths is essential. Most religions provide doctrinal lists that are to be accepted by their adherents. For example, some require belief in heaven and hell, in the importance of accepting their teacher or founder as the ultimate authority, and so on. Such doctrines may or may not be objectively true. Omnism offers no such dogmas.

Still, there are truths. Living beings require sustenance, for instance. Without food and water, living entities die physically. Surely, all will agree on this point even amid debates about what foods and drinks are spiritually healthy and which are not (vegan, vegetarian, kosher, halal, etc.). While most religions stress the importance of accepting certain human dogmas, one religion advocates abandoning them. That is Buddhism. A consideration of Buddhism can be helpful when discerning between human dogma and objective truth. This is not always easy. Objective reality does not always agree with scientific fact, the latter limiting itself to materialism and human research methods based on controlled observation. There is certainly more to reality than is observable through the limited scientific methods. Religious, spiritual, and mystical systems open portals into reality far beyond gross matter. Omnists delve into these realms and into the more objective reality, seeking harmony in all systems. What constitutes ‘objective reality’ to Omnists is subtle, but is essentially determined individually based on inward realization and perceived results. As the ancient adage states, a tree's quality is discernible by the fruits it produces. Omnists are free to accept or reject any teaching based on their own perceptions. For this reason, Omnists do not grant absolute authority to anyone else while learning from all. This principle allows us to learn from the Buddha.

Buddha's Enlightenment:

Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha, was raised in a wealthy Sanatana Dharma royal family. He lived a sheltered life of luxury as a prince before renouncing everything to seek enlightenment. His spiritual quest was sparked after witnessing the realities of suffering, aging, sickness, and death. Paraphrasing Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, 7:16-18, Four kinds of righteous people seek Truth: those who are distressed, those who are inquisitive, those who seek material well-being, and those who are wise.

Siddhartha Gautama grew up in comfort and wealth, but he was inquisitive of meaning. Witnessing the realities of suffering, aging, sickness, and death, he became distressed and desired understanding.

Orthodox Hindu theology, particularly those influenced by the Puranas, identifies the Buddha as the ninth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. Vaishnava scriptures foretell the coming of ten incarnations or avatars of One God (called the Dashavatara). The Buddha was the ninth of these (the tenth will be Lord Kalki, who is to oversee the conclusion of the final age, known as Kali Yuga). It should be noted that this view is not universally accepted within Hinduism. Some argue the Buddha’s inclusion in the list was a way to integrate Buddhism into the Sanatana Dharma framework. The coming of Buddha encourages Vaishnavas to have faith in the coming of Kali and ultimate salvation. Regardless, after his enlightenment, Buddhism became a separate religion from Hinduism, even though many crossovers between the two great religions exist. In theory, all religions can be said to be part of humanity’s quest for Truth or Sanatana Dharma. By this definition, Omnism is simply a Western term for Sanatana Dharma or the Universal Quest for Truth. Don’t get too hung up on terminology.

In any case, Siddhartha Gautama was born into a royal Hindu family, the Shakyas, in Lumbini, near the border of modern Nepal and India, around 563 BCE. He is a historical figure. This was the same basic time when Cyrus the Great was replacing King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and establishing his Zoroastrian empire in Persian Iran. Based on a seer's prophecy concerning his son's future, his father, King Suddhodana, shielded him from the harsh realities of the world, hoping his son would become a great political leader and forego religion. The prince grew up with every comfort and luxury within the palace walls, shielded from the vagaries of normal life, yet he was curious about life beyond the walls. He sensed his sheltered upbringing was hiding something from him.

At his birth, a seer predicted Siddhartha would become either a great king or a great spiritual leader. His father, heeding the seer, tried to ensure Siddhartha would become a political ruler by keeping him isolated from suffering and hardship, the realization of which the seer said would pull him towards spirituality and away from politics.

At first, Siddhartha accepted his social programming. He married Yashodhara and fathered a son, Rahula, but his spirit pulled him towards spirituality until finally, he demanded to leave the walled fortress and see what lay beyond it against the king's desires. He argued he needed to know his subjects if he was one day to become king. The areas outside the gates were washed and painted; anyone who was old, poor, or ill was hidden away from the prince's sight. Despite the royal staff’s attempts to shield the young prince from the human condition, Siddhartha encountered an old man, a sick person, a corpse, and a religious ascetic. This, as the seer predicted, led him to question the nature of suffering and the human condition and to seek a solution. At 29 years old, Siddhartha, moved by the realities of suffering, left his palace, family, and royal life to become a wandering ascetic, seeking spiritual liberation and a cure to suffering.

As an ascetic, Siddhartha studied with various teachers, Hindus, Zoroastrians, and others, and practiced extreme Hindu fakir self-denial, but he found these paths insufficient. Rather than ease suffering, such attempts only increased it. He then decided to practice Dhyana Yoga, deep meditation and so he sat under a Bodhi tree in the forest and meditated until, as he hoped, he would achieve enlightenment. After 49 days (seven weeks) of constant meditation, Siddhartha became the Buddha, as a barge was floating down the Phalgu River. On the barge, from where he sat, he heard a teacher onboard telling his student how to string a vina. Siddhartha listened as the teacher explained that if the strings were too loose, the sound would be out of tune, but if they were too tight, they would break. This instruction was his needed ‘aha moment.’ The Buddha realized the importance of balance. This gave rise to his teaching of the Middle Way doctrine (or Majjhimāpaṭipadā). Realizing this, he determined the ”Four Noble Truths” as the means to ending all suffering. He considered these four truths to be incontrovertible:

• Dukkha (Suffering): Life is inherently marked by suffering, dissatisfaction, and impermanence.
• Samudaya (Origin of Suffering): Suffering (dukkha) arises from attachment, craving, and ignorance (or in terms of Sanatana Dharma, from attachment to the Triguna or material qualities of nature).
• Nirodha (Cessation of Suffering): Suffering can be overcome by eliminating attachment and craving.
• Magga (Path to the Cessation of Suffering): The way to achieve this is the Eightfold Path: a disciplined way of living that promotes ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom.

The Buddha taught that "The Eightfold Path" is a practical, indisputable method of achieving enlightenment. One who would be liberated from suffering requires:

• Right understanding (Samma-Ditthi): Understanding the Four Noble Truths and the nature of reality.
• Right thought (Samma-Sankappa): Cultivating positive and wholesome thoughts.
• Right speech (Samma-Vaca): Speaking truthfully, kindly, and constructively.,
• Right action (Samma-Kammanta): Engaging in ethical and compassionate behavior.
• Right livelihood (Samma-Ajiva): Earning a living in a way that does not harm others.
• Right effort (Samma-Vayama): Cultivating positive mental states and overcoming negative ones.
• Right mindfulness (Samma-Sati): Being present and aware of one's thoughts, feelings, and actions.
• Right concentration (Samma-Samadhi): Training the mind to focus and achieve a state of calm and clarity

Accepted Truths:

• Karma: The law of cause and effect, stating that our actions, thoughts, and words create consequences that shape our future lives.
• Rebirth (Samsara): The cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, driven by karma, until enlightenment is achieved.
• Interconnectedness and Impermanence of all things:
• Interconnectedness: Everything is interconnected and interdependent, and nothing exists in isolation.
• Impermanence: All things are constantly changing and in a state of flux.
• Nirvana: Nirvana is the ultimate goal in Buddhism. It is the end of all suffering and the cycle of rebirth. Nirvana is a state of liberation and enlightenment, achieved through understanding and practicing the Buddhist teachings
• Supernatural Beings: Unlike many religions (Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, etc.) Buddhism doesn't refer to a creator god overseeing the univers. Since Buddhism demands evidence for all beliefs and since belief in gods has resulted in degrees of chaos based on conflicting unsubstantiable beliefs, instead of theology, Buddhism focuses on achieving enlightenment and understanding for individuals and the world entire. While some Buddhist traditions, such as Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana), acknowledge the existence of celestial beings like the devas in Sanatana Dharma, they are not worshipped as gods and are seen as part of a complex cosmology comparable to humans and lower forms. Buddhism does not deny such a Being (or beings), it merely views the question as unaswerable and hence irrelavant.

By practicing the Middle balanced Way with these Four Noble Truths, empowered by the Eightfold Path, anyone can become an enlightened arhat, one worthy to attain liberation or moksha and Nirvana, freedom from suffering, and the cycle of rebirth.

In this Omnism course, we are seeking enlightenment and to realize and actualize the Self. Therefore, understanding and applying this knowledge is useful regardless of one’s spiritual or religious path. Buddhists insist that Buddhism is not really a religion. It is a spirituality and discipline to an inward destination. Likewise, many Christians say Yeshua did not teach a new religion but argued that the Kingdom of God is within. The religious systems that later developed among the Buddhists and Christians arguably arose to assist those who followed these inwardly focused systems. Hinduism had grown so complicated that the Buddha sought to return it to its spiritual origins, much as Yeshua ben Miriam sought to restore biblical spirituality to its pre-Rabbinic essence. One of the central differences between Buddhism and the "Abrahamic religions" is that Buddhism does not focus on the existence of a divine being. In the same way, Omnism is not a religion. It seeks to rediscover spiritual principles and methods that produce harmony. Much as the vina instructor taught, we need to apply balanced reasoning to our spiritual and material endeavors.

The Buddha taught in Kalama Sutta:

"Believe nothing, O Kalamas,
merely because you have been told it...
or because it is traditional,
or because you yourselves have imagined it.
Do not believe what your teacher tells you,
merely out of respect for the teacher.

But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis,
you find to be conducive to the good,
the benefit, the welfare of all beings—
that doctrine believe and cling to,
and take it as your guide."
      — Gautama Buddha

As Omnists, we want to know the truth, to distinguish reality from human conceptions. By accepting such teachings as these, we clear our minds to evaluate every claim and belief objectively. Many of us understand that “objective” does not necessarily refer to the scientific method because those accept only what can be confirmed from material nature. The great religions and mystics have opened portals to reality far more expansive than materialists imagine. It falls to each of us to evaluate the various options and apply our efforts to those that resonate with our Soul. There is much within all systems that inspires, and much may not. This resonance varies with each of us, even as a symphony is composed of different instruments. The cellist, drummer, flutist, etc., are not the totality of the orchestra, but when their instruments harmonize, the result is wondrous. So too, with us. Play your own instrument! As Sri Krishna tells Arjuna in the Gita:

3:35: Better is one’s own duty, though poorly exercised, than that of another, even if performed well. It is better to die performing one’s own duty because doing the duty of another is filled with dread.

And remember, "If that which you seek without, you find not within, you will never find it without."

Core Truths
Buddhist Meditation Techniques Part 2

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* John of AllFaith January 09, 2025

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Who Are You?
The Nature of the Soul, 2

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