Buddhists Are Brave People

Buddhism is the solution Buddha taught to liberate humans from samsara (reincarnation), the endless cycle of rebirth and dukkha (suffering). If samsara is not true, then the endless cycle of rebirth and suffering does not exist and Buddhism become a solution for a non-existence problem.

Samsara is not provable. The problem with samsara is twofold:

1. Presently there is no way to verify it in an objective manner;
2. There is no mechanism to explain how reincarnation might occur.

Just because samsara is not provable does not mean it is not true. But it is unwise to make it the problem to be solved. In fact, samsara is actually a process to make karma true.

Karma is the Indian cause and effect. Karma states that everything that happens to a person is caused by something the person has done in the past.

Cause and effect is true. A simple example of cause and effect is birth. Every human born is the effect caused by a man and woman having sex. However, since birth is caused by the parents' action and not the baby's own action, karma is false.

To make karma true, samsara, an unprovable process, was added. Now the baby's birth is caused not only by the parent's action, but also the baby's action in the past life. Now why a baby is born rich or poor can be explained. And now when we see good people not getting their good rewards or bad people not getting their just desserts even by the time they die, we know that they will get it in their future reincarnation! So karma and samsara together provides a complete system to explain our imperfect and suffering world. We are trapped in this endless cycle of rebirth because of our karmic debt. And Buddha came up with the solution to escape from the cycle.

The goal of Buddhism is nirvana. When one escapes from samsara, one will enter into the state of nirvana. The commonly agreed definition of nirvana is cessation of dukkha (suffering) and liberation from samsara (reincarnation). But what will happen if suffering cease? There are two possibilities, eternal life with pure happiness or cessation from existence. But Buddha did not give an answer to that question. Since the word nirvana literally means "quenching" or "blowing out" in the way that the flame of a candle is blown out, is nirvana the cessation of existence? We really do not know. And if it is eternal life with pure happiness, where would you be since there is no more samsara (rebirth)?

We have to remember that Buddha is from below, unlike Jesus, who is from above (John 8:23, John 3:13). Buddha did not attain nirvana and come back after death to tell what nirvana really is. Jesus died and was resurrected. He himself is the proof that we will be resurrected like Him (Romans 6:5, 1 Corinthians 15:14-20).

All I can say is Buddhists are brave people. They have faith to practice the solution of a problem caused by an unproven process, to attain a final state which is not clearly defined. I am not brave like them. I prefer to have my faith based on provable events.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV)