Zen Buddhism Midterm

Brahmin priests

hereditary ritual professionals that dominated religious and social scene, as religion at the time was the maintenance of order

Vedas

texts & instructions that were revealed to sages in the past
Brahmin priests used to justify their authority

Wandering ascetics (sramana)

set the foundation for Buddhism by rejecting Brahmanical society
begged for alms, engaged in debate, and did strenuous physical/mental practices (yoga)

Cyclical existence (samsara)

compelled to be reborn & suffer, eternal pain with rebirths (Doctrine of Reincarnation)

action (karma)

certain conduct (your action) leads to particular rebirths

liberation (moksa)

freedom from rebirth is possible (Nirvana)
escape from endless wandering

Siddhartha Gautama

"The Buddha"
No continuous story of his life

Buddha

"Awakened One"
Now a title for someone who has woken up

Dipamkara Buddha

past Buddha
Predicted the enlightenment of Siddhartha

Queen Maya's Dream

queen dreamt of a white elephant that leapt into the side of her stomach. when she woke, she was pregnant

Buddha's Birth

popped out of the side of the queen's stomach, able to speak and walk.
show how Siddhartha was completely detached from the sexual

Prediction of Asita

predicted Siddhartha would either be a great ruler (a conquer of worlds) or a holy man

Royal Childhood

king wished Siddhartha to indulge in pleasure palaces and had him married to keep him from escaping the royal life

Four Sights

went outside the palace and saw death, sicks, old age, and a monk/Holy Man

Ascetic Practices

left everything behind and for 6 years, Siddhartha join various communities. After 5 years, he vowed he would not get up until "freedom" was found

Mara's Defeat

overcame his demons (desires, cravings) to attain Enlightenment

Turning the Wheel of Dharma

Dharma is "the teaching"
Buddha began teaching

Parinirvana

Buddha's passing
Nirvana without a physical body, leaving samsara, nirvana after death

Stupa Worship

bones and ashes of Siddhartha given to 8 groups and put in memorial mounds, which are worshipped today

Sutra

scriptures of what Buddha said

Teaching at Deer Park

Buddha's 1st teaching
Taught the 4 Noble Truths

4 Noble Truths

1) Life is Suffering
2) The cause for suffering is desire
3) Cessation of suffering is the cessation of desire
4) Cessation achieved through Eightfold Path

3 Sufferings

1) Suffering of Suffering - physical, obvious
2) Suffering of Change - things that seem good will become sources of suffering
3) Suffering of Conditionality (all-pervasive suffering) - very nature of things leads to suffering

3 Cravings

1) Craving for sensual desires -- includes "speculative views" (opinions)
2) Craving for existence - will to live, survival instinct
3) Craving for non-existence - death instinct

2 Types of Nirvana

1) Nirvana - enlightenment attain, but still a body, life, karma, in wheel of life
2) Paranirvana - Nirvana without remainder, no more rebirth, no more karma

Eightfold Path

In 3 sections: Moral virtue, Mediation, Insight/Wisdom (prajnya)
1) Right View (Attitude) - if don't believe buddhist beliefs, no go
2) Right Resolve/Intention
3) Right Speech - control what do, reduce harm
4) Right Action
5) Right Livelihood
6) Right Effort
7) Right Mindfulness
8) Right Concentration

3 Mental Trainings

1) Moral Conduct (sila) - making body and mind fit for concentration
2) Meditation (samadha) - concentration of mind towards clear truth
3) Wisdom (prajna)

5 Aggregates (skandha)

1) Form, physical body
2) Sensation - feelings, received and processed by mind
3) Perception - depends on sensation, "it is sweet" "it is sour"
4) Mental Formations/Volitions - judgements. when karma kicks in. "i don't like sour" "i like sweet"
5) Consciousness - product of all 3

Self (atman)

inner controller who makes decisions

No Self (anatman)

no permanent, essential, autonomous self
the "self" is a component of factors

Wheel of Life/Becoming (bhava-cakra)

cycle of birth and rebirth and existence in samsara

3 Marks/Characteristics (tri-laksana)

1) Impermanence (anicca)
2) Suffering (dukkaha)
3) Non-Self (anatta)
No being in the universe that does not experience these 3

3 Root Afflictions/Flames

1) Delusions/Ignorance (opposite of wisdom)
2) Greed/Desire/Attatchment (believing you exist)
3) Anger/Hatred

Karma

mental, verbal, and physical "action"
the sum of current and past action

Types of Karma

Prarabdha is present body experience
Sanchita is sum of past karma, storehouse karma
Agami is the result of current actions

6 Realms of Rebirth

1) Gods
2) demi-gods
3) humans
4) animals
5) hungry ghosts
6) hells

Buddha (not Siddhartha)

person discovers the "Middle Path" on his own, extinguishes his cravings, and teaches path to others

Arhat

"Worthy One"
person taught "Middle Path" by a buddha and cultivates it to extinguish his craving

12 Links of Dependent Arising

Ignorance
Fabrications (impulses)
Consciousness
Name & Form
Six Sources (senses)
Contact (sense impression)
Feelings
Craving
Grasping (attachment)
Existence
Birth/rebirth
Aging & Death

Mahayana

"Great Vehicle"
2nd Turning of Wheel of Dharma
"Deeper level" of teaching taught to select few by the Buddha

Hinayana

"Lesser Vehicle"
Those who rejected Mahayana
"Preliminary" to Mahayana

Bodhisattva

on endless quest to perfect certain spiritual qualities
set to attain buddhahood by following Buddha's example and guide others to buddhahood
Instead of leaving samsara, stays behind to teach

Perfection of Wisdom Literature

Contains praise for texts themselves, use of negative language, refrains from elaborate philosophical language
where HEART SUTRA and DIAMOND SUTRA from

Heart Sutra

form is emptiness and emptiness is form
No suffering, no wisdom, in emptiness

Diamond Sutra

conditioned phenomena are dreams, illusions, shadows
they exist but not in the way we think

Inherent Existence ("own-being")

all phenomena (dharma) are empty of intrinsic (inherent) existence
Within that lack of existence, however, everything appears

Emptiness (sunyata)

all form is emptiness and emptiness if form (Heart Sutra)
extension of No-Self
there is no good or bad, only what we perceive to be such

Wisdom (prajna)

profound insight of nature of reality
recognizing 3 Characteristics which mark all inner and outer phenomena (impermanence, suffering, no self)

Compassion (karuna)

cultivation towards others which helps them attain buddhahood

Skillful Means (upaya)

claimed older teachings preliminary to prepare for higher teachings and/or required interpretation

6 Perfections

generosity, morality, patience, vigor, concentration, wisdom

Mencius

Humans are fundamentally good and empathetic
Used story of someone's first instinct seeing a child on the edge of the well being to save the child
Afflictions are mental states that "stain" mind, meditation helps

Laozi

founder of Daoism
wrote Daodejing
Likely didn't exist

Zhuagzi

2nd great Daoist text and name of sage
Full of parables and paradoxes to explore the Dao in ordinary life
encouraged to "sit quietly & do nothing"
"was I Zhuagzi dreaming I was a butterfly? or a butterfly dreaming I was Zhuagzi?"

Dao

flow of the universe, no will, no desires, but determines all things
To experience, must let go and do nothing (wuwei)
Beyond words, only truly experiences through silence
"Do nothing and nothing will remain undone"

Buddha Nature

in everyone, aspects of ordinary people are already the same as a Buddha

Tathagatagarbha

Buddha Nature

Yogacara School

"Yogic Practice" school or "Mind-Only" school
Both mental & physical, using yoga for heightened consciousness through physical action
Teaches that external world is not real: our minds create the world around us. all things exist within the mind
Mahayana school

Mind-Only (citta-matra)

school says all phenomena are merely mind
reality is a projection of our minds

Storehouse (Warehouse) Conciousness

stores karmic latencies through & between lifetime
Karmic "seeds" in storehouse and when the seeds "sprout", influence new movement of conciousness

Treatise on the Awakening of Faith

composed in China in 6th century
Buddha Nature explains how we become enlightened
Storehouse explains how we become eluded
Delusions/ignorance are how imperfections of the world originated (getting philosophical)
"One Mind" with 2 Aspects :
1) Mind as Samsara - ordinary mind, Storehouse
2) Mind as Suchness - mind as things truly are without ego; Buddha Nature

Madhyamaka School

"Middle Way" Schools
taught all dharmas (phenomena) are empty of inherent existence