The self-centeredness of Buddhism

According to tradition, Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) began his journey to enlightenment when he had an existential crisis upon realizing life’s realities of death, suffering, and illness.

In his attempt to respond to the conviction he had after seeing an old man, an ill person, and a funeral, Siddhartha left his wife and child in the middle of the night without their knowledge (Corduan, 316) and began to practice extreme asceticism (Halverson, 55).

• He would deprive himself of all human comforts, sometimes living on only one grain of rice per day, and sometimes (according to some) would even live off of his own excrement (Ibid, 317).

• He continued to utilize self-mortification and continual meditation to reach spiritual enlightenment.

Upon becoming “awakened,” after resisting the temptation to recant his path to enlightenment, he eventually became awakened and became the Buddha. Based on pure speculation here, this ‘temptation’ could actually have been the Holy Spirit compelling him to stop the madness, but he decided it was not good and refused.

The path to enlightenment is a process of detachment to eliminate suffering. A group of monks found his tactics admirable and respectful, eventually becoming his disciples. 

To this day, people view him and his teachings as noble, selfless, and practicing true humility.

Since the goal of Buddha’s philosophy is “self-extinction,” it would be easy to believe that Buddha’s teachings are, in fact, the epitome of humility and selflessness. However, the path to achieving this “self-extinction” and the definition of “self-extinction” in Buddhism requires constant inward focus, which produces constant self-focus. Self-extinction, according to Buddha, will allow someone to finally reach Nirvana.

Nirvana does not have a clear definition, but a contradictory one, “Nirvana is not nothing or nonbeing, but neither is it anything that has being (Ibid, 319).” Buddha’s sayings often sound or appear to have wisdom, but are confusing and esoteric. Buddha claimed that Nirvana is the “highest happiness” and that Nirvana is “eternal.” However, there is a logical problem with this claim. Nirvana is also the complete annihilation of the self, or ego. A predominant characteristic of Nirvana is the “absence of self.” This means that when a person reaches Nirvana, they become nothing and are absorved into the great void. This euphoric state (if one could call it that, since the self is no longer ‘experiencing’ anything) is largely undefined and vague.

It is also logically problematic to say that one is experiencing anything if they are nothing.

The self-centeredness of Buddha’s teachings begins with the ‘Four Noble Truths”: (1) to live is to suffer, (2) suffering is caused by attachment, (3) to eliminate suffering, one must eliminate attachment, and (4) one can eliminate attachment by following the noble eight-fold path.

Zooming in on #2-3 will provide a good example of how Buddhism teaches selfishness. Winfried Corduan, an expert on religious studies, describes this teaching this way:

“…an individual can eliminate suffering by eliminating attachment. Obviously, if suffering is caused by being attached to life, the solution to suffering is to get rid of the attachment. Simply put, we suffer due to poverty, poor health, or the death of a loved one, only as long as we consider having material goods, good health, or the loved one’s presence as essential to our happiness (Ibid, 320).”

Did you hear that?

‘Or the loved one’s presence as essential to our happiness’ means ‘be attached to no one, give your heart to no one, focus on your righteousness by obeying the 8-fold path of perfection, and you will reach nirvana.’

Buddha taught that to rid oneself of attachment, a person must live a rigorous life of concentrated effort (on self), which is the eight-fold path. One must:

(1) have the right view,

(2) the right intention,

(3) the right action,

(4) the right speech,

(5) the right livelihood,

(6) the right effort,

(7) the right mindfulness, and

(8) the right concentration.

From a Christian perspective, the eightfold path is incredibly legalistic. Biblically, we know that those who believe they can be justified by ‘the law’ (or an eightfold path) are inevitably going to be self-righteous because no one can keep the law to reach spiritual liberation.

As a matter of fact, the Bible goes further to say this:

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh… (Romans 8:3)”

“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it (James 2:10).”  

Further, regarding “detachment” by ridding oneself of all desire, the Bible teaches that we do not have to rid ourselves of all desire but instead have the RIGHT desires. The tireless effort of attempting to rid oneself of all desire could even be considered clinical depression or disassociation, which is not considered to be psychologically healthy for a normal human being.

Buddhism is an invitation to constant self-focus to almost neurotically (and hopelessly) rid oneself of desires, going against the very nature of man and what it means to be a healthy human being, full of connection and grief and all that is in between.

The Bible teaches that humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 2), which means we experience the same emotions as God and are built to be connected to Him and others (although, through the fall, our emotions and connections are affected by sin). Christ came to restore connection (reconciliation) to God through the forgiveness of sins, which is what we are created for.

In turn, we learn to have the right relationship with others, which is also a healthy connection. In order to have a healthy relationship with others by loving them, we must “die to self,” which is likely what Buddha sensed but missed completely.

Dying to self is denying the flesh, but not killing the self completely. Christ came to save the soul, which is the individual self, created by God. God cherishes the individual souls that He has created and does not will for any to perish (2 Peter 3:9) or to be ‘absorbed into nothingness (Nirvana).’

Buddha, on the other hand, indulged in self-examination, which, by definition, is selfish. Self-examination is good if it is for the sake of loving God and others well, which is being properly connected to them. “Let us test and examine our ways and return to the LORD (lamentations 3:40).” Self-examination should always be for the sake of loving others, not ridding ourselves of who we are completely, which is created in the image of God (Imago Dei) with great worth, divine calling, and specialness to God (DNA, personality, etc).

Even though self-extermination could appear as noble, the attitude of the heart is selfishness due to the constant need for self-focus and an unhealthy discipline of law-keeping (eightfold path).

The scriptures even warn against those who teach extreme asceticism because of the fruitlessness and false sense of righteousness it produces, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind… (Colossians 2:18).”

Notice asceticism (which is what Buddha taught and practiced rigorously) is noted as being “puffed up,” not “noble” or “humble” as some typically confuse it with.

I will end with the true definition of love, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).” Our “death to the self” is to die to the desire of self-preservation for the sake of others’ it does not mean to exterminate the self for the sake of self.