The Significance of Sacrifice in Buddhist Practice :: Religion

The Significance of Sacrifice in Buddhist Practice The self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc at a busy intersection in Saigon on June 11, 1963 utterly shocked most Americans who could not fathom why a person would commit such a horrific act. Without trying to explore any feasible explanations within this man’s religion, many decided that he was probably just a fanatic who wanted to make a political statement in the most appalling manner possible. Was that the case? Was Quang Duc simply a political activist pushed to the limit, or was he acting with motivation derived from his religion? To answer this question, one must evaluate the function of sacrifice within the Buddhist tradition. As with many religions, Buddhism offers its practitioners the opportunity for different levels of involvement on the spiritual path towards enlightenment. This spectrum of involvement ranges from one who practices with minimal sacrifice primarily to achieve personal spiritual gain to one who sacrifices his or her life with the hope of benefiting all of humanity. Furthermore, as a person moves along this spectrum from little to great sacrifice, one also harbors a growing commitment to the spiritual welfare of all sentient beings. As the kinds of practice and sacrifice are explained for different levels of involvement in the religion, it will become clear that the relative commitment to help others directly correlates to the stage of practice and sacrifice. Additionally, an intriguing comparison will be made between these concepts within Buddhism and very similar concepts with the Jewish tradition of mystical or contemplative death. Basics of Buddhism When exploring the specific function of sacrifice within Buddhism, it will be necessary to understand some of the fundamental beliefs that lay the groundwork for the religion as a whole. The Buddha was an actual historical figure who lived around 350 BCE in northern India. After his own spiritual awakening, he taught four basic lessons about the nature of life. The Four Noble Truths state 1) that life is qualified by suffering 2) that suffering has a cause 3) that there can be an end to suffering 4) that there is a path describing how to end suffering [1] In further explanation, the cause of suffering is attachment to objects or feelings which are ultimately impermanent. If one does not learn how to overcome such attachment, one will forever be limited to the cycle of rebirth, or reincarnation, called samsara.