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KARUNA BODHISATTVA ORDER |
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ABOUT BUDDHISM |
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SANGHA SHOP |
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To be comfortable within ourselves. ‘He who goes for refuge to the Buddha, to Truth, and to those whom he taught, he goes indeed to a great refuge. Then he sees the four great truths…’ One of the main differences Buddhism has with other religions is that there is no supreme Deity or God. This is not to say that Buddhism denies any such Being. It is just that Buddhism does not concern itself with the existence of any absolute Being or Force. Buddhism is non-theistic. There are no revelations. ‘What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow, our life is the creation of our mind.’ It is therefore possible for people with beliefs of other religions to use Buddhism as a way of life; whether they accept all the teachings or maybe just take a few snippets. Either way, it is important that we all embrace each other and respect individual choices. Enlightenment. Consisting of wisdom and compassion. The Path to Enlightenment. This is the sum total of the practices which lead to the Realisation of Enlightenment and the Path of Higher Evolution. The spiritual community, comprising of individuals all aiming for the same goal. All three together form the ‘Ideal of the Buddha,’ that is ‘Buddhahood.’ Fundamental to Buddhism is the going of refuge to the Three Refuges or the Triple Gem, or Three Jewels as they are also known. These refuges are the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. The Buddha being the Buddha Sakyamuni, who we will see shortly; the dhamma is the teachings of the Buddha; and the Sangha is the Buddhist Community. This ‘going for refuge’ is not only verbal but also by the way Buddhists live their lives. Taking refuge in the Buddha no way implies that that the Buddha himself will help the individual reach their goal. As we saw earlier, in Buddhism there is no Absolute Divine Being, or God who can provide us with miracles. Salvation is through ourselves. It is down to how we lead our individual lives. The image of the Buddha is used to represent the ideas of Buddhism and to act as a point of focus to help with concentration. Though of course reverence is shown to the Buddha as an Enlightened One, and as one who has shown us the Path, genuine reverence to the Buddha is measured to the extent that one follows his teachings; ‘He who, having entered on the course, lives in conformity with the dhamma, having engaged in practices in conformity with the Dhamma, pays reverence to the Tathagata.’ The Buddha said to one of his disciples, ‘He who sees the Dhamma sees me. He who sees me sees the Dhamma.’ The Buddha taught the Dhamma, not because it provides answers to metaphysical problems, but because it leads a way which is connected with welfare, with truth, to understanding, wisdom, and to a higher life. The dhamma can provide us with the Middle Way and deliverance from suffering. The Sangha, as a term, was originally only the Order of monks and nuns, but in time has come to be applied in many instances to the Buddhist community as a whole. It is generally to those that have realised the Truth and are able to teach from their own experience that Buddhists take their refuge. Essential to the teachings of the Buddha are the Four noble truths and the Eight-fold path. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS INTRODUCTION As discussed earlier, the first part of the Buddha’s teaching is that of morals and ethics. We have seen in the Buddha’s first discourse that those who wish to lead a pure life should avoid the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. Having practised both of these the Buddha realised their futility. He had discovered that by moderation, and by taking the Middle Way, majjimapatipada, one could achieve Nirvana. The Buddha declared, ‘Suffering I teach – and the way out of suffering.’ This is the teaching of the Four Noble Truths, which in turn leads onto the Eight-Fold Path and which in-turn also takes us to the Five Precepts. So first of all we take a look at the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are; 1/ That dhukka, suffering, exists; 2/ Suffering is caused by ignorance which results in desire, 3/ Cessation of suffering can be brought about by eliminating desire 4/ The path to eliminating suffering. THE FIRST NOBLE TRUTH The first Noble Truth is showing that there is an unsatisfactory side to life. Not necessarily that life is wholly unsatisfactory. It can be that we are in contact with that for which we feel aversion for, or that we are separated from that which we feel attraction for. Dhukka can be considered, and in many cases is, ‘suffering.’ However, this does not convey the essence of what the word means. A better term for Dukkha may be ‘unsatisfactoriness,’ or ‘dissatisfaction.’ ‘Dissatisfaction’ may be the more appropriate, as the word ‘unsatisfactoriness’ does not exist in the Oxford English Dictionary. Perhaps someone could be kind enough to include it next time that section is reviewed. Anyway, Dhukka can also be anything that we are not permanently content with. However, even ‘discontentment’ does not truly convey the meaning. We may be ‘content’ with the fine weather today. But it won’t last, and it could be raining tomorrow, especially in Britain! Therefore the ‘contentment’ we feel is only temporary, it does not last. As we would wish that contentment to last forever, it is therefore unsatisfactory. There is, good gracious, a pleasurable side to life, sukha. But it is dhukka which is problematical for us. Unfortunately even the most pleasurable experience can’t last, so everything is affected by dhukka. So it is necessary, not to ‘bury our heads in the sand,’ but to accept and realise that dhukka exists. THE SECOND NOBLE TRUTH The second Noble Truth shows us that there is a cause of dhukka. This is tanha, which translates as ‘thirst.’ Examples of this include the lust for wealth, the craving for sensual pleasures, a desire to do good or the attachment to a friend. Quite often we can find ourselves with an internal feeling of dissatisfaction, a grasping, or need, for something else. This leads to the Chain of Interdependent Origins. We shall look at this in more detail later on, though a brief look here serves as a suitable explanation, and helps our understanding. It can be said that the basis of the Chain of Interdependent Origins is ignorance, which in this context is lack of knowledge. From this ignorance arises desire. This then leads us into actions we take to satisfy this desire. Consequently, as a result of sensations experienced by taking this action, new desires arise. These desires are two-fold. Either a desire to experience the sensation again if it was pleasurable; or a desire to avoid experiencing the sensation again if it was not pleasurable. These then lead to further actions, and so on for eternity as long as ignorance exists. THE THIRD NOBLE TRUTH The Third Noble Truth tells us that there is a path to lead us away from suffering and to Nirvana. It is the destruction of ignorance which results in the destruction of desire. With desire having ceased, then the urge for action no longer arises. As a result, the sensations experienced from the action no longer arise, nor, consequently do the desires of these sensations. Thus, the cause having ceased to exist, the revolution of the Chain of Interdependent Origins also ceases. THE FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH The Fourth Noble Truth gives us the path to Nirvana, the Eight Fold Path, the Middle way. It gives us guidance onto how we should live our lives and what practical steps we need to take to dispense with Dukkha. There are, as the name suggests, eight steps to be followed on this path. Each of the eight parts expresses an idea of perfection, Samma (Pali), Samyak (Sanskrit), yang dagpa (Tibetan). Right Transformation consists of all the other parts of the Eight-Fold Path. It is not necessary to follow the eight parts one after another. They are like branches on a tree and can be followed in any order. The eight parts to the path are; RIGHT UNDERSTANDING Right Understanding is a proper, thorough and integral view of Right Vision. This is the vision of seeing life as it is with its three characteristics of impermanence, anicca, suffering, dhukka, and no-self, anatta. All these three concepts, which form the Nature of Existence, are dealt with in the Buddha’s Second Discourse, are looked at later. Right Vision forms the first phase of spiritual insight. This is then followed by a Transformation of the whole being in accordance with an experience of Right Vision. The Transformation can happen within the other seven parts of the path in any order. RIGHT THOUGHT Right Thought can also be described as Right Resolve. It involves correct motivation. The mind should be free from lust, ill-will, cruelty, and so on. We should be willing to give-up anything that obstructs our way on the Path, and we should unselfishly transfer merit obtained to all sentient beings. The Transfer of Merit is looked at in Part Four. The teaching may be easy to understand, but we can sometimes find it difficult to put it into practice. This can sometimes be a source of suffering as we cannot act against our emotions as they are stronger than reason. ‘It is easy to do what is wrong, to do what is bad for oneself, but very difficult to do what is right, to do what is good for oneself.’ RIGHT SPEECH Right Speech is the abstention from imperfect speech, such as lying, musavada, or idle gossip, samphappalapa. Speech is half-way between the heart and the mind, and is made up of both. Right Speech manifests Right Vision corresponding to perfect mind and perfect heart. It is a combination of wisdom and d. Spiritually, it is more than this. It is an attitude of honesty of what is really on our mind or what we really think or feel. We need to be clear about what we think and what we don’t think. Importantly, we must be honest with ourselves. Positive Speech represents the ideal of human communication. It is not unduly loud, nor is it prompted infatuation or selfish interests, and it is free from dogma and discrimination. RIGHT ACTION Right Action is concerned with the principles of ethics. What makes actions right or wrong? Is there any universal nature for the criteria? What are the guiding principles? In Buddhism, actions are right or wrong according to the state of mind when they are performed. Therefore Buddhist ethics are psychologically based rather than theologicalIn Buddhism there are Precepts, or Silas, which are guidelines, not rules, laid down to be followed. They are patterns of ethical behaviour, and are expressive of a skilful mental state. In general, the first five, are to be followed where possible by all Buddhists. These are known as the Five Precepts; -To abstain from harming any living being This relates to all forms of violence, hatred or aggressiveness, the opposite of which is Metta -To abstain from not to take that which is not given This relates to theft and exploitation, the opposite of which is Dana -To abstain from sexual misconduct This relates to adultery and such matters as rape, the opposite of which is Santusti (contentment) -To abstain from false speech This relates to speech which can cause harm, fear etc, the opposite of which is satiya (truthfulness) -To abstain from taking substances which cause heedlessness This relates to drugs and alcohol causing heedless thought, the opposite of which is mindfulness RIGHT LIVELIHOOD Positive View transforms different sections of our Being little-by-little. This equates to Positive Transformation. Within this there is also the transformation of the collective life and society. To this there are three principal aspects, Social, Political and Economic. Buddhism is not only concerned with the development of the person, but also with the development of society as a whole. One should therefore seek to transform the society in the midst of which one lives. Right Effort is a general requirement at all the stages in the Eight-Fold path. RIGHT MINDFULNESS Right Mindfulness relates to ‘levels of awareness.’ If we are unmindful we have poor concentration leading to a state of drift and no real individuality. To be mindful requires recollection, to be undistracted, concentration and a purpose. - RIGHT CONCENTRATION Right Concentration, sometimes called Right Meditation, can also be termed Samadhi. It is a state of concentration, of absorption, of higher consciousness. To overcome the cycle of Rebirth we must understand that everything is impermanent and unsatisfactory. True knowledge of this is acquired through the practice of meditation. The more we are involved in the spiritual life, the less we have to say about it. There is not much that can be expounded on Samadhi. Samadhi can be said to be a state of being firmly fixed. In the Pali texts it is usually said to be the fixation of the mind on an object – concentration. In the Mahayana, (Samatha), it is said to be the fixation or establishment of the whole Being in a certain mode of being – Enlightenment. Samadhi is the culmination of the whole Path of Transformation, an understanding of the whole Being. It gives real sense to the journey on the Eight-Fold Path. It represents Right Vision being triumphant, and reigns on every level on one’s Being and Self. This then is the Middle Way, the Buddhist Philosophy of life in which one lives and progresses. Once deliverance has been obtained from suffering it cannot be lost by those who have won it. The Buddha said ‘that whatever is subject to arising must also be subject to ceasing.’ Suffering, I am glad to say, is no exception to this.
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It is not possible to give a full history of Buddhism, it’s teachings and traditions in just one segment of a website—so we have laid out a brief introduction below: If you would like to know, we can recommend reading ‘The Easy Buddha’ by Kyimo - this is available by clicking here. Buddhism is a colourful, energetic, dynamic and diverse faith. Traditionally within Buddhism there are many different thoughts We find that unlike in most religions, the Buddha said there are no hard and fast principles. There is no dogma in Buddhism. Take what has been said and written and use them as guidelines. Experience it, understand it, and then apply it as you are able to do so. Remember at all times, we are only human; we experience human emotions and feelings. It is important not try to be someone or something we are not. We need to accept our strengths and vulnerabilities. Explore them. Understand them. |
