RE quote bank

‘The five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering’

The Buddha

-Ignorance of Anicca leads to attachment of aggregates + view of permanent self

-Aggregates are constantly changing so clinging to them5 cannot provide lasting satisfaction because they cannot meet our expectations

-Overcome this= follow Eightfold path to achieve liberation

‘The existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds’

The Buddha

-Like clouds, existence is temporary and changing

-Attachment to fixed self causes dukkha as anicca means everything is impermanent

-So accept natures of reality and follow Eightfold path to overcome 3 Poisons and achieve Nirvana

‘We are responsible for our own deeds, happiness and misery’

Narada Thera

-Responsible for ourselves which leads to our own karma

-Cannot rely on external being to achieve liberation for us-must do ourselves by following Noble Eightfold Path to reach Nirvana

-Because Samudaya states suffering is driven by craving

‘The bodhisattva vow is the commitment to put others before one self’

Trungpa

-Importance for Bodhisattva’s to have compassion and selflessness in Mahayana Buddhism

-Make Bodhisattva vow to prioritises liberation not for personal enlightenment but for the liberation of all beings by helping others remove Dukkha as Mahayana believes everyone has the potential to be enlightened

‘A state in which all personality factors and casual links stop’ (parinirvana)

Harvey

-Enlightened person die- they attain parinirvana so will no longer be reborn into samsara

-Dependent Origination- cessation of craving, ignorance and attachment ceases conditions for future rebirth

-Five aggregates (personality factors) come to a stop at death

-Parinirvana is the ultimate liberation from samsara

‘A Buddha is superior to the rest of us because he knows it how it is’

Paul Williams

‘The life story of the founder is… a crucial preliminary to understanding what follows’ (Buddha’s life gives context to understanding teachings)

Paul Williams

( ) stated hagiographic accounts clarifies the teachings and without it, historical accounts are weak

Paul Williams

( ) stated that the Dharma is the reason the life of the Buddha has any significance at all

Paul Williams

( ) sees the biography of the Buddha as a hagiography and not a historical record. For example, it is believed the Buddha did not have a miraculous birth

Paul Willams

‘For Buddhists, religion is what is relevant to this quest for salvation and nothing else’

Richard Gombrich

‘Religion is purely a matter of understanding and practising the Dharma’

Richard Gombrich

( ) only dedicated a page to Buddha’s biography

Walpola Rahula

( ) stated hagiographical accounts only ‘have their value in satisfying the religious emotions’

Walpola Rahula

‘He who sees the Dharma sees me’

The Buddha

( ) stated it is only recently that scholars have translated the Buddhist texts that gives valuable insight into the historical Buddha

Donald Lopez

( ) stated there is only little to know about Siddhartha Gautama historically

Donald Lopez

( + ) were influenced by the Buddha’s experience and teachings, particulary including mindfulness

Professor Marsha Linehan and Dr Sheldon Kopp

‘Before enlightenment chop wood and carry water, after enlightenment chop wood and carry water’

Zen perspective

‘The four Noble Truths stand at the core of all life’

Ven Master Hsing Yun

‘They teach us how to achieve liberation from all delusions’ 4NT

Ven Master Hsing Yun

‘I have destroyed all afflictions and reached full awakening’

The Buddha at his first Sermon

‘What is impermanent is suffering. What is suffering is non self’

The Buddha in the Yadanicca Sutta Pali Canon

’The four true realities taught by the Buddha’

Peter Harvey

’A powerful mental force latent in all’

Narada Thera

’It is not the first or the only cause of the arising of dukkha, but it is the most individual kind’

Walpola Rahula

’This craving is of three kinds’

Denise Cush

( ) explains identifies, fixed views and self conceit are the causes of suffering

Peter Harvey

’There is no phenomenon higher than this’ (Nirvana)

The Buddha

’The remainderless cessation through dispassion’

The Buddha

’You’re the one clinging to them’ (5 aggregates)

The Buddha

’The amazing, the astounding, the ultimate and the beyond’ (Nature of Nirvana)

The Buddha

’Peace, rest, the secure..’ (Nirvana as liberation)

The Buddha

’If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him’

Zen saying, quoted by Kopp

’Nirbanna constitutes the highest and ultimate goal of all Buddhist aspirtations’

Anguttara-Nikaya

’The extinction of thirst’

Walpola Rahula

’A radically transformed state’

Peter Harvey

( ) describes Nirvana in both positive and negative ways

Walpola Rahula

’For crossing over, not for retaining’

The Buddha

’The three categories of practice… are interdependent and relevant to each and every stage’

Rupert Gethin

’The stopping of becoming is Nirvana. It is called Nirvana because it gets rid of craving’

Samyutta Nikaya

‘The thunderous silence of Vimilakirti’

Vimalakirti Sutra

’The understanding of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the extinction of suffering and of the path leading to the extinction of suffering’

Narada Thera states the Buddha describes Right Understanding as

Gradually extending one’s awareness until every action, thought and word is performed to the full light of consciousness

Saddhatissa- right mindfulness

’The purpose of the Vinaya rules was to provide ideal conditions for meditation and renunciation’

Conze

Theravada monastic life is the ‘springboard’ for higher spiritual attainment

Richard Gombrich

’Any nun, no matter how long ordained rank below the most junior monk’

Richard Gombrich

( ) describes the Buddha as a ‘peerless physician’

Piyasassi Thera

( ) states that ‘the Noble Eightfold Path is the remedy’

Piyadassi Thera