WHAT DO BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM MEAN TO US?
They are far away from us, and this we must not forget. For Buddha, insight requires: exercises in meditation, a life of indifference toward the world and its tasks. It will not suffice to attempt a scientific experiment and see how much we can accomplish with a few Yoga exercises. Nor will it suffice to develop a mood of indifference to the world and devote ourselves to contemplation. Those who have not tested the progress of which they are capable by years of meditative exercises grounded in the proper faith and way of life, can understand only as much as is communicable in rational thought. In Buddha and Buddhism there flows a source which we Westerners have not tapped, and consequently there is a limit to our understanding. We must first of all acknowledge that Buddhism is far removed from us and renounce all quick, easy ways of coming closer to it. To participate in the essence of Buddha’s truth, we should have to cease to be what we are. The difference lies not in rational positi
