The primary appeal of Buddhism was to the dignity of man, not the glory of God. In this sense the Dhamma is primarily a humanistic philosophy. In describing Buddhism as a humanism some care must be taken in defining the latter term. Theists have defined humanism broadly as embracing "any attitude exalting man's relationship to God, his free will, and his superiority over nature". Such definitions leave out an essential quality of humanism, viz. the primacy of man and the inconsequence of God. There is no implication in Buddhism that human beings have some prior claim over other forms of living beings, or for that matter over "nature", as is implied in the definition of humanism quoted. Buddhists however hold that of all forms of existence possible, the human form is the one most conducive to deliverance. These aspects of Buddhist humanism make the Dhamma once again unique.

Another aspect of Buddhist humanism is that it makes an individual the master of his own destiny. On his death-bed when asked by his followers as to whom they should follow when he was gone, the Buddha replied: "Be ye a lamp (dapa) unto yourselves; work out your own salvation with diligence". The Pali word dapa also means an island, and the Buddha's final exhortation could also be rendered as "Be ye an island unto yourselves..." etc. In either case the fundamental idea is that of self-reliance rather than reliance on an external agency. The Dhamma, as could be reconstructed from the Pali Canon remains the source of the Buddha-word. The follower of the Buddha would need to understand this, if need be with the help of a teacher but be alone has to practice it. In this respect it may be mentioned that the Mahayana Schools of Buddhism have introduced the notion of salvation by the grace of beings called "Bodhisattvas", i.e. beings who have achieved enlightenment but postponed their entry into Nirvana in order to help others to get there through their grace. This notion is foreign to early Buddhism or to present-day Theravada Buddhism.

View Our Buddha Statues Catalogue

View Our Bodhisattva Statues Catalogue

View Our Hindu God & Goddess Statues Catalogue

View Our Buddhist Ritual Items Catalogue

View Our Stupa Catalogue