Is Buddha a Buddhist?
No way.
You don’t need to be a Buddhist to follow the teachings of the Buddha, who taught you how to live your life happily.
Buddhists during the Buddha’s time may have been a group of people who were brought up in other faiths and changed their way of life after first hearing and comprehending them so that they may have called themselves Buddhists.
Today’s Buddhists are the descendants of those generations, but still, most of them need a proper understanding of the teachings of Gautama Buddha.
Although Buddhism can be of inheritance through parents, no one cannot be a ‘Buddha’s Shrawaka‘ by heritage.
It is necessary to understand that one becomes a disciple of the Buddha
by understanding his dharma wisely and following it accordingly and that ‘a Buddhist‘ is only a name inherited from their parents as their religion.
So how does a Buddhist become a ‘Buddha’s Shrawaka‘ ( disciple of the Buddha) who sought refuge in the Buddha?
Only those who pay attention to the preached dharma wisely, comprehend it intelligently, and behave accordingly are eligible to become followers, according to the Buddha.
The following sutras have also described the traits and behaviours expected of a layperson or priest who upholds the Buddha’s doctrine.
Read the Muni Sutra, Nalaka Sutra, Wa’settha Sutra, Guhatthaka Sutra, Sakya Koliya Diya Dabara – Dhamma Padaya, Alavaka Sutra, A’magandha Sutra, Kasi Bharadvaja Sutra, Purabheda Sutra, Salla Sutra which I have translated in
Athi Pujaniya Pirith Poth Wahanse, in Sinhala language.
A person of any religion, race, or caste who does not know much about Buddha’s teaching can read these sutras and understand how a disciple of Buddha should lead his life.
A disciple of the Buddha should apply the learning to their day-to-day life.
They should not harm even an unseen being.
They should act wisely.
They should respect Nature because the Buddha’s teaching is about the reality of Nature.
You can experience the results from the moment you start practising, according to the Buddha’s teaching.
You need to monitor your senses and look at your thoughts wisely.
It will help you to understand ‘who you are’ if you contemplate your thoughts wisely.
If you meditate wisely, you will realise you had to suffer because of everything you grasped as ‘mine’.
You will realise that at each moment of grasping, greedy and hateful thoughts arose in you because you were trying to possess that person or thing forever.
Calm thoughts will arise as you realise that the person or object or the desire for them is not eternal.
You need to identify the cause of such harmful lustful, and hateful thoughts and take steps to eliminate them.
If tranquil thoughts arise, take action to improve them.
Aaryasathya 