Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs

The Oxford English Dictionary defines Buddhism as, “a religious and philosophical system based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, which is underpinned by the four Noble Truths and maintains that human suffering can be eradicated by achieving enlightenment.” The common Western belief that Buddhism is a religion is exactly what Stephen Batchelor aims to disprove in his book Buddhism Without Beliefs. However, Buddhism does not have a higher power that its followers believe in nor does it outline specific rules or the proper ways to achieve enlightenment. Instead Buddhism is more agnostic in its worldview, since there is a definite belief in an answer, but Buddhists are not told the meaning of life nor how they can achieve their purposes.
Therefore, Buddhism is not a religion as many Western cultures choose to view it as, but rather it is an agnostic philosophy based way of life that aims towards a final goal of enlightenment through the eight-fold path and the four noble truths.
Buddhism can be best described as an agnostic philosophy that relies on the individual’s found path towards enlightenment rather than a set group of rules, practices, and ideas that all must follow to achieve their goals.
A Buddhist can not follow some form of doctrine, because the truth they need to find must come from self-realization and self-reflection, “If one merely "sees" the Truth…one is still bound to suffering; but if one truly sees it, one is freed from suffering. Consequently, if one does not truly see it, one cannot be liberated and so remains bound, whereas if one manages to resist the temptation to merely "see" it, one is freed,” (The Heart Sutra). The basic ideology in Buddhism is not a black or white answer, instead Buddhism is full of paradoxes and complex ideas that can only seek to guide Buddhists towards the answers not fully lead them towards it. Unlike other forms of organized religion there are no documents or rules that provide the specific outlines towards the answers of the universe and a human’s final destination. Buddhism is agnostic in this way since the true solutions are not clear-cut and requires a person’s own searching and dharma to identify and move towards achieving enlightenment. Furthermore, the Buddha was referred to as the “Silent Sage”, because he would not answer questions asked of him regarding the correct path to enlightenment or the purpose of life. Buddhism aims for each individual Buddhist to identify and follow their own
conclusions and decisions regarding the proper path, instead of following someone else’s doctrine or teachings. Unlike most other forms of organized religion which rely on another person’s doctrine in order for its followers to find their goal or purpose, Buddhism relies on an individual’s own path. In Buddhism, a person can not follow another person’s dharma or chosen path, instead they must perceive and follow their own beliefs that they obtain through meditation, “Joshu asked Nansen: "What is the path?" Nansen said: "Everyday life is the path." Joshu asked: "Can it be studied?" Nansen said: "If you try to study, you will be far away from it." (Everyday Is The Path, The Gateless Gates). The truth cannot be found by looking at other’s path nor by reading a preset doctrine or list of steps and rules, instead the truth must be obtained entirely based on a Buddhist’s encounter with their life and their understanding of the world they live in. Every factor in the world is their doctrine towards enlightenment rather than a book or a preacher, therefore finding the path requires the individualness of meditation “Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others,” (The Book of Tea). Buddhism is not what the definition of religion defines due to its lack of definite knowledge of answers and an unknown belief system that must be determined by each person for themselves. Religion is defined as a “particular system of faith and worship” which implies that any follower of a religion must have some form of worship and needs faith in some certainty about their religion. Under these parameters, Buddhism cannot be defined as a religion, since, as mentioned previously, Buddhists have no faith in any form of a definite answer or knowledge of what it is that they believe in. A Buddhist’s journey to enlightenment does not involve an understanding of if the path towards enlightenment even exists for them let alone how they should go about achieving it. Also, Buddhism, unlike all other major religions, does not have any form of higher power or godlike figure that its followers believe in. In addition, there are no texts or official guides that can provide the answer a Buddhist looks for, Buddhists only have themselves and their ability to comprehend the world, “There is no dharma by means of which Buddhas attain supreme spiritual wisdom. Wisdom is attained only by self-realisation through the practice of the Dhyana Paramita.” (Prajna Paramita, the Diamond Scripture). Unlike other major religions, there are no ways that are pre-determined that can provide Buddhists with the truth, instead Buddhists have to rely on their own interpretations and findings to determine their path. Buddhism has no clear-cut answers that define whether or not the beliefs Buddhists have are accurate or explain how to achieve enlightenment therefore Buddhism is more agnostic in that there is knowledge enlightenment exists but it is not defined or cannot be explained.