Many assume that Buddhism is about enlightenment. Well, we suppose it depends on what you mean by "enlightenment." Buddha, in Sanskrit means the "awakened one." In the Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha, Siddhartha becomes the "awakened one" at the end of the fourth watch - the Buddha Eye symbolized by the rosy red fingers of Dawn - and looks at the world with compassion. After an arduous night under the Bodi tree, he lost all ego, all hubris, and looked at the truth.

Many Sutras devote at least some of the text, to one of the infinite number of Buddhas explaining that Buddhism is not a religion. As Candrakirti says, its neither ontological nor nihilistic. It speaks of what cannot be spoken. In this respect it seems to point back past the tradition of the Upanishads and its derivatives, back to the Rig Veda.

Sweeping generalizations about anything only does injustice. "Buddhism" qua Buddhism has more denominations, schools of thought, religions, philosophies, theologies, or however you want to name it, than Christianity, and by a large margin too. Before Buddhism left India (eventually it left India all together), the original Theravada Buddhism split into a million sects.

Whatever your take on it is, one thing is certain: the ultimate annihilation of ego is certainly anti-hubris.

We will always be expanding our selection, but, we'll start off with the complete texts of the VAGRAKKHEDIKÂ (the Diamond-Cutter or Diamond Sutra), THE SMALLER PRAGÑÂ PÂRAMITÂ-HRIDAYA-SÛTRA(the Heart Sutra), and the SADDHARMA-PUNDARÎKA (the Lotus Sutra).

One excellent online resource for books is at Project Gutenberg.

Enjoy!


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