3.

3 Recognize the Human Body Imposes Limits and Possibilities for Transcendence

A. Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma

An interesting Hindu belief is the transmigration of souls, reincarnation or

B. Buddhism: Nirvana

Nirvana means the state in which one absolutely free from all forms of bondage and
attachment. It means to overcome and remove the cause of suffering. It is also the state of perfect
insight into the nature of existence. The Buddhists see one who has attained nirvana as one who
is unencumbered from all the fetters that bind a human being to existence (i.e., wealth). He has
perfect knowledge, perfect peace wisdom (Aguilar 2010).

When the Buddha was asked whether one who attains nirvana exists or cease to exist
after death, he simply refused to answer the question and instead maintained complete silence.
The question is seen as inappropriate that any attempt to answer it can only lead into the
quagmire of idle metaphysical speculations and futile philosophical disputes. The buddha did not
want his disciples to concern themselves with purely speculative problems. Further, the
Buddha’s silence is due to his awareness that nirvana is a state that transcends every mundane
experience and hence cannot be talked about; for all talk is possible only within the perceptual-
conceptual realm. Nirvana is beyond the sense, language, ang thought (Puligandla 2007).

Another false conception regarding nirvana is that one who attains it, cuts himself/herself
off from the world of toil, tears and turmoil and spends his/her life in a state of total inactivity
and indifference to the world around him. Far from living a passive life, the Buddha from the day
of his enlightenment until death is always surrounded by people (Puligandla 2007). It is thus,
absurd to describe nirvana as a state of inactivity, stupor and indifference. One who has attained
enlightenment is a non-attachment. This means that as one attains wisdom, one desires nothing
for himself but always works for the well-being and liberation of his fellow humans.

This way of life conforms to Buddha’s teaching that wisdom consists in treading the
Middle Way, avoiding the extreme of asceticism, inactivity, and indifference on the one hand
and that of frantic activity and mindless pursuit of pleasure on the other. The nirvanic man,
according to Puligandla (2007), is the true follower of the Buddha, in that, he neither always sit
absorbed in meditation nor is always in activity. He is the living testimony that the middle way is
indeed the way to enlightenment.

C. St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas: Will and Love

For St. Augustine, physically we are free, yet morally bound to obey the law. The eternal
law is God Himself. According to this law, humanity must do well and avoid evil, hence the
existence of moral obligation in every human being. Christian life is not easy. However, no
human being should become an end to himself. We are responsible to our neighbors as we are an
end to himself. We are responsible to our neighbors as we are to our own actions.

The truth of St. Augustine’s message still rings true to this day. Despite Augustine’s
period, which was decadent, are our times any less corrupt? Innocence of heart and purity can
only be gained by God’s grace. God alone can give that gift to some instantly or to others at the
end of an entire life’s struggle. That gift to some, in itself, is a major triumph. Through prayer,
modesty, fasting and other sound measures that the Church recommends, or God provides, can
purity of heart, mind and body be maintained and daily lived (Johnston 2006).

Definitely, to live a chaste life is difficult. All are called to be chaste whether married or
single. For to be pure is also to be holy. Though all are called to different lifestyles, all are called
to be holy, pure, and chaste within that lifestyle. Any lifestyle that does not include these virtues,
even with consenting individuals, is not pleasing to God; for it does not lead to holiness,
selflessness, and full honesty. For St. Augustine, though we are physically free, one does not
have a right to do anything if it is not morally right or if one will hurt another. Rightness means
pleasing God. God has given us a choice to discern between right and wrong though we are often
ignorant in this manner unless we are wholly sincere, honest and pure (Johnston 2006).

3.4 Distinguish the Limitations and Possibilities for Transcendence

After understanding the precepts of Hinduism and Buddhism, let us distinguish the limits
and possibilities of human beings common to all Indian thought:

 It is the spiritual that endures and is ultimately real. In Hinduism, the human
aspiration is to move the divine. What we believe is how we live; if our beliefs are
in error, then our lives will be unhappy.
 There is the preoccupation with the inner life—the road to enlightenment that
stretches not outward but inward. To understand nature and the universe, we must
turn within.
 There is an emphasis on the nonmaterial oneness of creation. This means that
there are no polarities; a single spirit provides cosmic harmony.
  There is the acceptance of direct awareness as the only way to understand what is
real. The Indians find this direct perception through spiritual exercises, perhaps,
through the patience of yoga. Reason is if some use but in the final analysis, it is
only through inner experience of oneness with all of creation.
 There is a healthy respect for tradition, but never a slavish commitment to it. The
past can teach but never rule.

On the other hand, the great thinkers of medieval philosophy emphatically affirm the
principle of the conjunction of faith and reason, and embody it in their writings. However, their
special quality lies precisely in their rejecting any such “rationalistic” claim. According to St.
Augustine, Si comprehendis, non est Deus-“Whatever you understand cannot God” simply
because you understand it. As St. Thomas would affirm to Summa Thelogica, “God is honored
by silence-not because we cannot say or understand anything about him , but because we know
that we are incapable for comprehending Him”.

St. Augustine of Hippo believes that tsunami, for instance, and other calamities are part
of natural evil. As opposed to moral evil, which arises with virtual inevitability from the inherent
imperfections of the universe as a created and dependent order, natural evil does not come from
human but that is natural. The root cause both natural and moral evil leads to metaphysical evil,
which according to Augustine, pertains to certain imperfections that are inevitable in a created
and dependent universe and, thus inevitable imperfections are the source of many or all the other
evils that occur in it.

However, the Indian’s concept the Brahman has similarity with Ludwig Feuerbach, a
German 19th century philosopher, who thinks that in the essence of Christianity a person is God
and God is in the person. For Feuerbach (1980), there is no distinction between God and human
beings.

Evil and Suffering

Suffering is close to heart of biblical faith. In comparison with Buddha, who saw life in
suffering and tried to control it instead of cursing it, Job, of the Old Testament, did not just
complain. He cursed the day he was born! In a phenomenological perspective, all of us will
continue to assert our will against others, adding to the overall suffering of human experience.

In Christianity, suffering leads to the Cross, the symbol of reality of God’s saving love
for the human being. Suffering, in Buddhism, gives rise to compassion for suffering humanity.
Compassion is the heart of religion, but compassion can disappear from it. Religion, without
compassion, becomes law and burden imposed in its adherents. If there is no compassion,
religion can start wars that destroy enemies. Jesus condemned religion without compassion and
constructed, thus, the parable of Good Samaritan.