1

BUDDHISM

• The religion of Enlightenment

2

IS BUDDHISM A RELIGION?

• NO ‘GOD-NOTION’

• NO CREATOR

• NO ULTIMATE REALITY TO WORSHIP

3

ESSENCE:

• Buddhism is a way of life

• Ethical

• Psychological

• Philosophy of BECOMING/AWAKENING

4

BUDDHIST ALTARS

• Do not focus on an archetypal hero

• Mother, father image

• Rather, a psychological state

• Profound meditation

• Warm compassion

• Fury against illusion

Buddha

under

Bodhi

Tree,

Sri

Lanka

6Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa.

The Buddha is dying

7

8

THAI WALKING BUDDHA9

10

11

BUDDHA AND ‘ULTIMATE QUESTIONS’

- Nature of the soul

- Life after death

- Origin of the universe

- NOT ADDRESSED

12

“BEING RELIGIOUS AND FOLLOWING DHARMA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH

DOGMA THAT THE WORLD IS ETERNAL. FOR WHETHER THE WORLD

IS ETERNAL OR OTHERWISE, BIRHT, OLD AGE, DEATH, SORROW, PAIN,

MISERY, GRIEF AND DESPAIR EXIST. I AM CONCERNED WITH THE

EXTINCTION OF THESE.”

ANALOGY:

• BUDDHA TEACHINGS = RAFT

• SHORE = NIRVANA

• BUT: THE SHORE IS NOT DESCRIBED

• MAKE-UP OF RAFT IS THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS

DEER PARK SERMON

• Four

Noble

Truths

• ‘Middle

Way’

“THERE ARE 2 EXTREMES, MONKS, WHICH ARE TO BE AVOIDED. WHAT ARE THESE 2 EXTREMES?

A LIFE GIVEN TO PLEASURES, DEDICATED TO PLEASURES AND LUSTS – THIS IS DEGRADING,

SENSUAL, VULGAR, UNWORTHY AND USELESS. AND A LIFE GIVEN TO SELF-TORTURE – THIS IS

PAINFUL, UNWORTHY, AND USELESS.BY AVOIDING THESE 2 EXTREMES, MONKS, I

HAVE GAINED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MIDDLE PATH, WHICH LEADS TO INSIGHT, WHICH LEADS

TO WISDOM, WHICH PRODUCES CALM, KNOWLEDGE, ENLIGHTENMENT AND NIRVANA.”

16

FIRST NOBLE TRUTH:

LIFE INEVITABLY INVOLVES SUFFERING:

- Imperfect

- Illness

- Hateful

- Separation

17

SECOND NOBLE TRUTH:

THE ORIGIN OF SUFFERING IS OUR DESIRES:

- Grasping for pleasure

- Grasping for becoming

- Grasping for sensual delight

- Grasping for what we don’t have

18

THIRD NOBLE TRUTH:

SUFFERING WILL STOP WHEN DESIRES ARE STOPPED:

- When the ‘grasping’ stops

- Elimination of passions

19

FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH:

THERE IS A WAY TO GET TO THIS POINT: THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

20

1) RIGHT UNDERSTANDING

• Understanding reality through the Four Noble Truths

• Seeing through illusions

21

2) RIGHT THOUGHT/MOTIVES

• Uncover ‘unwholesome’ emotional roots that guide our thinking

• Discover and weed out

• Only then do we become free from self-centredness

22

3) RIGHT SPEECH

• VS. - Vain talk, gossip, harsh words, lying

• Communication must further truth and harmony

• Including ‘self-talk’: “May you be well and happy today…”

4) RIGHT ACTION

FIVE RULES OF MORAL CONDUCT:

1) DO NOT DESTROY LIFE2) DO NOT STEAL3) AVOID SEXUAL MISCONDUCT4) DO NOT LIE5) DO NOT USE INTOXICANTS

ABOVE ALL: ALL ACTIONS SHOULD BE BASED ON CLEAR UNDERSTANDING

24

5) RIGHT LIVELIHOOD

• How one makes their living

• One’s work should not harm others

25

6) RIGHT EFFORT

• Refers to the constant effort that must be put into achieving these goals

• IT TAKES EFFORT!

7) RIGHT MINDFULNESS

• The way to liberation is through the mind

“CHECK YOUR MINDBE ON GUARD

PULL YOURSELF OUTLIKE AN ELEPHANT FROM THE

MUD.”

8) RIGHT MEDITATION

• Applying mental discipline to quiet the mind

THE MIND IS SUBTLE, INVISIBLE, AND TREACHEROUS

USE SKILFUL MEANS TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND ITS NATURE

28

KARMA:

• CAUSE OF NEXT LIFE = KARMA

29

ANATMAN, SKANDHAS

• ANATMAN - No soul to be reborn; no permanent reality

• SKANDHAS – aggregates

30

KARMA: ANALOGY

• Candle analogy

• Domino analogy

31

SAMSARA

• Worldly phenomena

• Life, suffering, decay, death, painful rebirth

32

NIRVANA“No suffering for him

Who is free from sorrowFree from the fetters of lifeFree in everything he does

He has reached the end of his road…

Like a bird invisibly flying in the skyHe lives without possessions

Knowledge his food, freedom his worldWhile others wonder…

He has found freedom –Peaceful his thinking, peaceful his speech

Peaceful his deed, tranquil his mind.”

33

Anuradhapura, Sri Lankan Stupa

34

TIBETAN CHORTEN/STUPA

35

MAITREYA BUDDHA/FUTURE,

UNIVERSAL BUDDHA

36

SAMGHA: ORIGINS

• (samgha = community/followers)

• Initially samgha = 5 ascetics

• Set in motion the ‘wheel of dharma/dhamma’

• ANYONE could be part of the Buddha’s group

10 PRECEPTS1) Refrain from taking life (ahimsa)2) Do not take what is not given3) Chastity4) Do not lie or deceive5) Do not take intoxicants6) Consume food in moderation; never after noon7) Do not partake in public spectacles (dancing, singing)8) Do not ornament your body9) Do not recline on wide or high beds10) Do not accept gold or silver

38

MONASTICS VS LAY PEOPLE

ONLY FIRST FIVE PRECEPTS FOR LAY FOLLOWERS

ALL TEN FOR MONKS AND NUNS

39

THE ‘ORDER’ AND WOMEN

• Women included since time of Buddha

• YET, some hesitation

• Lesser order

• Different, subordinate rules guiding them

40

THREE JEWELS/THREE REFUGES

1) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA

2) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE DHARMA

3) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE SAMGHA

41

“Come, bhiksu/bhikhuni (monk, nun)”

42

WHAT CONSTITUTES THE SAMGHA? WHO IS

‘WORTHY’?

• Order of monks and nuns came to be viewed as ‘ideal’

• Laypeople came to be viewed as the inferior way

• LED TO MAHAYANA AND THERAVADA DIVISION