Doubt and contradiction in buddhas teaching

Question

I have few doubts in buddha teaching. Just wondering my mind since i start reading the various teachings.

1. Lets assume we all achieve the enlightenment then what will happen to world? No one will exist .. no life will exist... that will be the end of this universe.
2. If we really know the path then why even one percent leaves behind and could not achieve nirvana.
3. Buddha says we lose what we cling to. But he talks about love too. Loving your son or wife will bring attachment for sure. What one should do when a person rapes/molest your close one in front of you? Anger and emotions will take over.

Answer 1

1. No need to worry about this scenario. Even during the Buddha's time, at the peak of the Dhamma, how many people attained enlightenment and how many did not? By the way, with or without enlightenment, the universe will go thru periods of birth, decay, and destruction. It's inevitable that one day life as we know it will cease to exist. And one day, life will spring up again. Hence the endless cycle of Samsara.

2. Well, as the saying goes, there's a big difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

3. One can equanimously execute countermeasures to incapacitate a rapist or molester without letting anger arises. Matter of fact, martial arts practitioners are trained to keep a cool head. Anger, rage, fear, etc. only cloud one's mind and make it much harder to handle rough situations.

Answer 2

1.

I think that Buddhist doctrine is that ...

• There's no such thing as an "independent" nor "permanent" self -- and that what people often call "self" (e.g. body, feeligs, etc.) exist depending on other things
• Holding a view of self, and/or selfishness, leads to suffering

I think that the suttas have little or nothing to say about the "end of the universe".

I don't think they even say that it's possible that "we all achieve the enlightenment" -- only those who see clearly and who make the effort, and even then not immediately.

Maybe something like this topic is relvant too: Should a Buddhist have Children?

3.

Buddhism teaches morality and harmlessness -- if everyone practised that then I suppose there would be no rape.

On the subject of resisting violence, this says ...

If a monk was physically attacked, the Buddha allowed him to strike back in self-defense, but never with the intention to kill.

... perhaps something like that would be applicable, i.e. that you could make an effort to stop the crime if you see it.

I'm not sure that "anger taking over" does any good.

I think that accepting hypotheticals as real can be a source of harm, e.g. "We'd better kill these people now because they might have hurt us in the past, or they might hurt us in future".

So either try to see the world as it actually is without imagining catastrophe; or when you're daydreaming try to imagine instead how you might do better than participate in or initiate violent conflict.

Answer 3

Nirvana is not disappearing as a being. Nirvana is state of mind that one has no attachment to their mind and body. Being that Buddha meant was not this physical or mental phenomenon but a state of mind that gives you a hard time due to your failure to properly handle the situation. Most of all sufferings from having a physical body is not the one Buddha meant to eliminate but the mental is. Buddhism is not the ultimate solution to all problems humans are facing either. There is no such a thing in the universe.