The erroneous beliefs of Buddhism vary greatly from country to country, because over the past 2500 years, this religion has mingled with the various local religions, customs, and established cultures of countries into which it has spread. Today, the varieties of Buddhism practiced in Japan, China, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and America are all quite different from one another.
In Tibet, the dissemination of Buddhist texts is one of the most important acts of worship. In particular, priests who have removed themselves from the world completely give themselves solely to this work. With no idea of the true nature of the afterlife, these people live out their worldly lives in vain pursuits.
As historical sources show, Buddha always chose to speak about his basic tenets and deliver his way of worship orally; centuries of research has determined that he left behind no written texts. Buddhists maintain that his sermons were passed down orally from generation to generation for 400 years, until they were finally compiled in the Pali canon. However, most scholars believe that the great majority of these words are not Buddha's at all, but were added to in the course of centuries until they attained their present form. Therefore Buddhism, not relying on any written texts, underwent many changes and distortions over the course of time, being considerably reshaped by additions and omissions.
Today, Buddhism's holy book, written in the Pali language, is called the Tipitaka, which means "triple basket." It is not known for sure when the Tipitaka was written down, but it is thought to have attained its present shape in Sri Lanka sometime in the first century B.C. Its texts are divided into the following chapters:
1. Vinaya Pitaka: This chapter, meaning "Basket of Discipline," contains rules relevant to priests and nuns and how they should be followed. There are also some matters of relevance to those lay readers who are not priests or nuns.
2. Sutta Pitaka: Most of this volume is composed of talks in which Buddha explained his ideas. For this reason, this chapter is called the "Basket of Discourse." These words of his were passed down through the centuries, becoming mixed with other legends and false beliefs.
3. Abhidhamma Pitaka: This volume contains Buddhist philosophy and interpretations of Buddha's sermons.
Today's Buddhist priests regard these texts as holy; they worship and organize their lives according to them. They portray Buddha as an actual god (God is surely beyond that!), and for this reason, modern Buddhists bow before his statues, place before them offerings of food and flowers, and expect help from them. This is a completely illogical practice, however, and anyone who believes that stone or bronze statues can hear or help is greatly deceived. Later in this book, we examine these basically pagan practices in more detail, and see how Buddhism has become a secret doctrine concentrating on human beings without accounting for questions of how this world's flawless systems function, much less how the entire universe came to be.
Throughout the centuries, libraries in Tibet have been destroyed. But handwritten books by Tibetan priests are still preserved in neighboring regions. All this Buddhist literature leads people to lead a nightmarish life. This perverse and benighted religion claims that after they die, people might come back as a cow or a mouse and condemns them to lives of fear and anxiety.