Franciscan Spirituality and Buddhism

What is Buddhism? 

Buddhism is a rather complicated religion. And some people say it's not actually a religion. That's more a way of understanding a way of loving. Some people just call it “The Way.” The way is also used to described Daoism. And actually, Christianity before it was called Christianity was also referred to as “The Way.” 

The first thing to realize is Buddha was not a god. Buddha was a human being believed to be born in around 563 before the Christian era and died around 483 Before the Christian Era. Although that's uncertain, some scholars say he was born a century earlier in Nepal. Buddhism actually has several different schools. One is called The Source, which means that it's based on Buddha's original writings. There are many schools of Buddhism. There are schools in India, China, Sri Lanka, and other countries as well. These many schools include Atheistic Buddhism, some Buddhists do not believe in God at all. And then there's a Mahayana sector of Buddhism, which developed from the first to second century BCE. This is when there began divisions of monks, nuns, and lay people all practicing Buddhism. So, let us delve into some of the teachings of The Buddha.

The Four Noble Truths

There are the four foundational truths of Buddhism, sometimes called the Four Holy Truths, or The Wonderful Truths, but the Four Noble Truths is the more common terminology.1

1. The first one is suffering, also called Dukkha, in which suffering means both physical and spiritual suffering. We suffer in many different ways, physical suffering, illness, maybe perhaps because we're not taking care of ourselves and eating properly, or just illnesses that we may develop. But there's also a spiritual suffering that we experience as human beings, because we're not following the way.

2. Creating Suffering, also referred to as Samudaya. We are not intentionally creating suffering, of course, but it is recognizing and identifying the suffering that we have. Is our suffering physical? Is our suffering spiritual? What are we doing that perhaps is really causing suffering in our lives because of the way we live?

3. Cessation of Suffering. In this Truth, we are looking at kind of reframing our suffering, called Nirodha. This is the Truth in which we think about what is causing our suffering. What are we doing in our lives that perhaps is causing us to suffer? Or what are others doing that are causing us to suffer? And how do we escape those people that may be causing us to suffering? 

4. The Path, or Marga. Here we learn to reflect and practice meditation. Meditation consists of stopping, calming, resting, and healing. We need to practice this meditation in order to really bring about healing and suffering. 

As I said, a very complex philosophy and religion, and all that suffering is considered one, we go through all phases of it, looking at what is our suffering? What caused our suffering? What can we do to stop that suffering? And then finally, at the end, really reflecting and practicing the kind of lifestyle that is going to end our suffering. 

The Eightfold Noble Path.

We won’t get into every single detail of Buddhism but will hit the highlights. The Eightfold Path2 consists of:

1. Right View--How we look at things. Do we have a wholesome attitude? Do we perhaps have the right kind of view? One of the things that Buddha said was that if we perceive the moon, the moon is us. And I know that might be a little hard to understand. But if we think about some of these things in relationship to ourselves in the universe, it starts to make sense.

2. Right Thinking is thinking in your body and your mind. It is all about loving. Do we love ourselves? Do we love each other? Do we love the world? What are we doing to create this? And I think the right thinking has to take place before we can step into some of the other steps in the Eightfold Path. 

3. Right Mindfulness. Right mindfulness teaches us that there is nothing that is really permanent. We can look at the sky, we can look at a flower, we can look at a chair, we can look at anything, but we have to see it as it is and realize that nothing is really permanent in this life. So right mindfulness means that we have the right attitude when we do look at other things and when we relate to other people. 

4. Right Speech. Right speech means that we take into account that our words and our thoughts can actually kill in the spiritual sense. We have to have the right kind of speech and attitude. We should speak the truth and not say anything with cruelty. But one of the most important parts about right speech is actually listening, listening to other people, listening to other people's speech and then responding with the correct words and not saying anything that is cruel, but also speaking the truth. Saying things that are truthful can be difficult sometimes, but if we say them in the right way, that is what is really important. 

5. Right Action. Right action includes many things. The two that really strike me are promoting social justice and living simply. We are taught in Buddhism to live according to very simple things. How we grow our food, how we consume our food really has a lot to do with living simply. Promoting social justice is making sure that we care for other people and that we're speaking out at the right time and showing with our actions what we speak. It is not just our words, it is our actions that really make an important difference. 

6. Right Diligence. Sometimes this is also called Right Effort. Again, we have to make an effort to maintain our health and to be joyous, to live our life filled with joy. And even though we have many sufferings with which we are dealing, we still are taught to live our life in joy. 

7. Right Concentration. Some call this Right Evenness, meaning that we are not too high or too low on the scale. Living joyfully is one thing, but being a Pollyanna type person is maybe a little bit too high. We know that we have to face reality, but we also don't want to become too low, too down on ourselves or on other people. One of the things that the Buddha says is that it's like the wisdom of a great mirror, that when we look at the universe, it's reflecting ourselves. When we look at ourselves, we're reflecting the universe. 

8. Right Livelihood. How do we live the right livelihood? Well, our livelihood, of course, depends on what we are doing to bring in money. We all need money to live. But Buddha says that right livelihood means we do not deal in anything relating to arms, nothing that encourages slavery of any type, nothing that will harm anything or any person—drugs, poison, all of the things in which we could be possibly dealing. If the company for which we work, for instance, is polluting the earth, we should not be working there because it is not the right livelihood. And the other thing that the Buddha mentions is that monks and nuns should not be making unreasonable demands on the laity to support them either. 

There are other basic Buddhist teachings that we might want to talk about too. There are many of them listed in Thich Nhat Hanh's book., but I am going to just highlight a few of them. There is much more that you can read about in this book, and I highly recommend that you take a lot of time to really read through this and study this wisdom. Some of the things that I will highlight here are some other basic Buddhist teachings, including the Two Truths—Worldly Truth and Absolute Truth. The concept is taught in many religions—that there's an absolute truth or an absolute law that we have to follow. In Hinduism, it is referred to as the Cosmic Truth. In Buddhism, it is the nature of reality that we are talking about. 

Another teaching of Buddha is the concept of the three Dharma seals—the first of which is impermanence, meaning that nothing is permanent in this world. No matter what we look at, if we're looking at a flower, it is only going to live a certain amount of time and then it is going to be gone. Yes, that flower brings us joy while we're looking at it. But it is impermanent as everything in this world is impermanent. The second one is the non-self, whereby everything is connected to everything else. We are connected to each other. We are connected to our earth. We are connected to the universe. Finally, the third of the dharma seals is Nirvana, the giving up of all things. It is an abandonment of the passions that sometimes rule our lives. When you are in the state of nirvana, you are really what we might refer to as being in heaven and being a final human being. 

The other thing that Hanh mentions in other basic Buddhist teachings are the Three Doors of Liberation, which are Emptiness, Aimlessness, and Signlessness. So again, we have to empty ourselves of all the things that clutter our lives. It is the extreme passions that we have to avoid. We really need to be empty of all those things. And we cannot look at everything as a sign or a symbol. Yes, there are many signs and symbols, but the Buddha recommends that we really live in a state of emptiness and signlessness. 

The three bodies of Buddha are the historical body, the actual person, the Buddha, but also the state of enlightenment and the state of enjoyment. Buddha is very much concerned with us living our lives in joy. The Five Powers is another one that I want to mention. And the Five Powers are Faith, which is the basis of everything Buddha teaches, Diligence, Mindfulness, Concentration, and Wisdom. There are other things on which I will not get into great detail on--the five aggregates, the six paramita, the seven factors of awakening, the length of independent arising and touching the Buddha within. These are all covered in Hanh's book. 

I think the most important things to think about is that Buddhism is considered a religion. Although, people follow Buddhism, even though they might belong to another formal religion, they still like the meditation that comes along with Buddhism, because meditation can draw us closer to our own God. I know many contemporary Christians and others follow the meditation and breathing exercises of Buddhism. The late priest, prophet, and mystic Thomas Merton is one theologian who, while a devout Catholic Trappist monk, followed the ways of Buddhism in his contemplation. And many lay people, including myself, find the practice of Yoga Nidra with its breathing and contemplation techniques, bring them closer to God, I know this has been true for me personally. One of the things that really struck me is that one of the meanings of Buddhism is to wake yourself up. And I know currently we hear the word “woke” and it has negative connotations for some people, and it has positive connotations for other people. But Buddha very much believed in being awake and alert to what was going on in our world. 

How Franciscan Spirituality Relates to Buddhism. 

I think many of the things that we talked about in Buddhism, to me, as I was reading them really struck true with many of the things in St. Francis's life, for instance, the right view. In Judaism and Christianity, we might think of the Ten Commandments, and in Christianity, the Beatitudes teach the right view. The right view is knowing what the world wants and following the universal law. Sometimes we think that these laws are restrictive, but what they do is really set us free. And the Buddha really believed that this right view would set us free. 

One of the things that I struck me as I was reading this is when Buddha was dying, he had a friend named Ananda, who was staying with him and knowing he was dying being just being there with him. And a disciple of Buddha came named Sibhadda, who wanted to see the Buddha, and Ananda left him in to visit the Buddha. And it reminded me very much of St. Francis as he lay dying in his monastery when Lady Jacopa came to see him. The monks did not want to let her in because they thought “we can't let a woman into the monastery.” But St. Francis is said to have replied, “Let Brother Lady Jacopa in to see me.” And she came and made him almond cookies and was with him when he died. This, in a way, reminded me of the Buddha's death, both men wanted to be surrounded with people who really understood them in their final moments.

The other part of Buddha’s teaching that really strikes me is when he said that when we perceive the moon, it is us. This very much echoes Francis's idea of the Eucharist because Francis was very dedicated to the Eucharist. And when we gaze on not the moon, but the Eucharist, we realize that it is us, that the Eucharist is Jesus coming into our body, but also taking us up into his body. So, I think Buddhism and Franciscan spirituality do have some commonalities to them. And, of course, the Buddha was very much concerned with caring for creation. He said that if we eat something that is killing another living being, that is wrong. He did not believe in eating meat at all. He also, of course, had a great reverence for all Creation. He talks throughout all his teachings about the value of creation. It reminds me very much of Francis's Canticle of Creatures,2 and how we are to revere and be one with all Creation.

Another thing that reminds me a lot of Franciscan spirituality is when we talk about Right Speech. The Buddha said that the most important thing is the ability to listen to the other person. 

I immediately thought of St. Francis's visit to Sultan Malik al-Kamir. They listened to each other, even though they were opposite ends of the spectrum, one a Muslim, one a Christian, and both of them thinking maybe they'd be able to convert the other. But the most important lesson here was that they learned to listen to each other.

Buddha's expression that words and thoughts can kill aligns with Franciscan spirituality. We hear this in Christian scriptures, how our thoughts can kill. Jesus quotes the Ten Commandments and says it's more than thou shalt not kill. It's if you think evil thoughts, if you use evil words, if you gossip, if you talk about each other, that's just as bad as an actual killing of someone. Of course, Buddha's perception of the joy of creation, really fits in very nicely with Franciscan spirituality, who showed very much the joy that was in his religion and the very joy in creation.

When Francis talks about praising Creation, he doesn't just tell us to praise the sun, the moon, the stars, and the wind and the fire and everything else in his Canticle of the Creatures. But he says that they themselves, these inanimate bodies, are praising God. And I think this is very much in alignment with Buddhist theology. Also, when we talk about Right Livelihood and we think about not dealing in arms, not dealing in anything like slavery, drugs, alcohol, poison, anything that pollutes the earth, this very much resonates with Franciscan teaching on peace and the value of peace. Francis wanted to always be in a peaceful situation, and he did his best to bring about peace.

When Buddha talks about the Worldly Truth and the Absolute Truth, I think John 8:51-59 is very much in tune with this because Jesus told us that there is an absolute truth and that we're going to see differently after we die and are resurrected. Saint Paul also tells us we're going to see differently when we come face to face with God, that what we see now is like looking in a mirror. (1 Corinthians 13:12 ) I thought of that when I read the Buddha's discussion about looking at the universe, that we mirror the universe, and the universe mirrors us. Paul tells us that seeing on earth is like looking into a cloudy mirror. But when we come face to face with God in heaven, we're going to see reality and we're going to clearly see the way we should be seen. So, all of these things, I think, relate very much to Franciscan theology. And, of course, Francis was a historical person, just like Buddha was, neither of them was God, but they both carried the message of God in really important ways. 

How Franciscan Spirituality and Buddhism Can Help Our World Today 

I think there are several things that I've highlighted in the similarities between these religions that we can do to help heal our world. The first one is to look at our universe and everything that's created as being part of us. Therefore, we don't want to intentionally destroy the earth or destroy animals or destroy anything that God created. I really believe we need to focus on both the Buddhist teaching and the Franciscan teaching of creation, because if we do not, we're not going to have a world to live in. 

Also, the right livelihood really meant a lot to me as I was reading through this. Perhaps we work for a company, and we know they are doing things that are unethical. I know I had an experience in one of my jobs where the company I worked for was doing something unethical and I had to go to court and testify against everybody on my board of directors. And of course, I lost my job. But if we just look at what we're doing for our livelihood, how are we creating money? Money itself is not evil, but if we are creating money and building a livelihood by doing something that is not appropriate and is against the rules of Buddhism or the rules of Franciscan spirituality, then perhaps we need to risk losing our job and finding something more compatible with our spirituality. Manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, for example, does not lead to a peaceful world. Are we taking care of people in our day-to-day life and not involved in anything that involves any form of slavery, alcohol, drugs, poisons of any kind. I think if we can focus on some of those things in our lives. 

The other thing that I thought was very much related to Franciscan Spirituality, similar to Buddhism, is that Buddha said the monks and nuns should not make unreasonable demands on their laity to support their work. And Francis, likewise, he did live in poverty, but when they needed money, his monks and sisters went out and worked and earned money for their meager needs that they fulfilled. Sometimes we get so caught up in making tons of money. And yes, we may be doing some good things with it, but did we have that Right Livelihood in the first place? Did we earn it in the right way? 

So, I hope that you'll consider some of these ways as something that you can do positively to live a life that's in harmony with Franciscan spirituality. And I think you'll find that what the Buddha practiced was really not that far removed from what St. Francis practiced in a much later time. Perhaps Francis actually studied Buddhism. We don't have any record of him doing that, but he probably was aware of it. And I really believe that if we follow Francis and if we follow these teachings of the Buddha, our world will be a better place.

1 Hanh, Thich Nhat, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching. New York: Harmony Books. 2015 

2 Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures, Assisi, 1224.