Vehicle

The First Noble Truth, as explained by the Buddha - is that life is suffering. To live, you must suffer. It is impossible to live without experiencing some kind of suffering. We have to endure physical suffering like sickness, injury, tiredness, old age and eventually death. We endure psychological suffering like loneliness, frustrations, fear, embarrassment, disappointment, anger, etc...
The Second Noble Truth is that all suffering is caused by craving. In other words, we are in a constant state of want; searching, in the belief that in obtaining we will find ourselves content.

I think that any simple examination of these truths will validate their truthfulness. This, is believe is the root of religion. The quest for salvation.

The Buddha prescribed an eightfold path by which in following, you could bring about an end to suffering. These are the teachings of Buddhism. Suffering and the end of suffering.

Buddhism is but one vehicle that is constructed for the purpose of helping us transcend This Being Human.... and conveying us to the distant shore that is beyond understanding.

As conveyed by Ramana Maharshi "All the scriptures are meant only to make a man retrace his steps to his original source. He need not acquire anything new. He only has to give up false ideas and useless accretions. Instead of doing this, however, he tries to grasp something strange and mysterious because he believes his happiness lies elsewhere. That is the mistake."

An Armada of vehicles, constructed in the effort of leading us back towards our original source, the Buddha within, the Kingdom of God within us... and in usual fashion, This Being Human.... we begin to compare, look aside, hold disdain or even covet anther's vehicle.

Sri Aurobindo says,
"Each religion has helped mankind. Paganism increased in man the light of beauty, the largeness and height of his life, his aim at a many-sided perfection; Christianity gave him some vision of divine love and charity; Buddhism has shown him a noble way to be wiser, gentler, purer; Judaism and Islam how to be religiously faithful in action and zealously devoted to God; Hinduism has opened to him the largest and profoundest spiritual possibilities. A great thing would be done if these God-visions could embrace and cast themselves into each other; but intellectual dogma and cult-egoism stand in the way."

And this leads me to on to discuss in brief, one other vehicle, less known, wrapped in mystery. The Freemasons.

To be continued...................