SOR-U3-Buddhism & Others

Main notes about Buddhism

Sacred Text - The Pali Canon

Sacred Text - The Pali Canon

Contains the words of Buddha, some of his sermons and also his teachings of his disciples.

Sacred Text - Tibetan (book of the dead)

Guides individuals through the experiences of the afterlife on how to have a good next life or to become free from the cycle of birth and death.

Sacred Text - Mahayana

Speaks about compassion, enlightenment for all, and the Bodhisattva ideal while it provides a range of teachings and practices beyond other traditions

Pali Canon - The 3 Baskets - The Vinaya Pitaka

1. The Vinaya Pitaka (basket of discipline).

   • This contains the rules that the Buddha taught monks and nuns for them to live by.

Pali Canon - The 3 Baskets - The Sutta Pitaka

2. The Sutta Pitaka (basket of discourses).

   • This makes up over half of the Pali Canon and contains writings called the Dhammapada and the Jataka Tales. The

   • The Dhammapada (path or way of Dhamma) is a collection of Buddha’s sayings, arranged as 423 verses and split into 26 chapters.

Pali Canon - The 3 Baskets - The Abhidamma Pitaka

3. The Abhidamma Pitaka (basket of higher teachings.)

   • These writings explore and sum up the teachings of Buddhism

6 Perfections - only need to know first 3

Generosity:

Give without expecting anything in return

1. Give material things

2. Give safety/protection

3. Give the Dhamma

Morality:

Follow the 5 precepts to live a moral life

1. Abstain from taking life

2. Abstain from taking what is not given

3. Abstain from sexual misconduct

4. Abstain from wrong speech

5. Abstain from intoxicants

Patience:

To be tolerant and endure

• Developed through the practice of Karuna (compassion) Metta (loving-kindness)

Five Precepts

The Five Precepts or basic moral values for human beings are part of the belief structure and basic ethics of Buddhism.

–Destroying living creatures

–Taking that which is not given

–Sensual misconduct

–Incorrect speech

–Intoxicating drinks and drugs which can lead to carelessness.

Ten Virtuous Deeds

• In the Mahayana variant of Buddhism, especially, there is another list of Virtuous Deeds or acts which lead to nirvana.

  “no”

  –Killing

  –Tale bearing

  –Stealing

  –Idle talk

  –Sensual misconduct

  –Lying

  –ignorance

  –Harsh speech

  –Hatred

  –Greed

Buddhist Teachings - Three Jewels

1. Buddha: The ideal that every Buddhist should follow and as existing in a dimension beyond this world

2. Dharma: The totality of Buddhist teachings about the world and how to live in it

3. Sangha: The community of monks and nuns

Buddhist Beliefs - Three Marks of Existence

1. Anicca - impermanence, nothing is fixed, everything is changing

2. Anatta (nothings permanent) - all existence is interdependent so when conditions change, people also change.

3. Dukkha (suffering) - all life is suffering, because the world is unable to satisfy people’s desires

Buddhist Beliefs - Four Noble Truths

Dukkha - all life involves suffering

Tanba - the origin of suffering is craving

Niroda - the cessation or end of suffering

Magga - the middle path or way

The Eightfold Path

1. Right Understanding - developing a philosophical understanding of life and comprehending the first three noble truths

2. Right Thought - developing thought or intention to follow Buddhist path to liberation with diligence.

3. Right Speech - Buddhist abstaining from using speech that adds to suffering in the world. Refrain from:

   • telling lies

   • spreading gossip

   • speaking harshly

   • time-wasting chatter

4. Right Conduct/Action - (guided by the 10 precepts) taking action that does not cause harm and tries to lead a person to liberation. Refrain from:

   • harming or killing

   • stealing

   • using intoxicants

   • sexual misconduct

5. Right Livelihood - their work should benefit others rather than harm them

6. Right Effort - the effort to prevent negative thoughts, or cravings, to create a healthy state of mind

7. Right Mindfulness - the deepening of mindfulness, which leads to a focused state of consciousness

8. Right Concentration - the practice of deep concentration and meditation, which enables a person to develop loving kindness and gain insight into the truths of life.

Karma (Sanskrit) or Kamma (Pali)

Definition: Actions have consequences

What is it: An ethical principle that explains how a person’s actions lead to either happiness or suffering.

Karma is not a punishment or a reward, it reflected the extent to which a Buddhist overcomes or fails to overcome ignorance and/or greed.

• There is good karma and bad karma

The Four Sublimes States

• Loving-kindness

• Compassion

• Sympathetic joy

• Equanimity

Theravada Buddhism

• Monks are the heart in Theravada Buddhism

• Buddhists believe that the elders pass on the Buddha’s teachings unchanged

• They believe that lay people cannot attain nirvana, therefore the life/way of the monks is the sure path

• Lay people should provide for monks (i.g. providing food)

• Providing for the monks gives good karma

• The teachings of are contained in the Pali Canon

• Nirvana is the absence of self-centeredness and therefore the absence of suffering

Mahayana Buddhism

• They believe that everyone have the capacity to become enlightened

• They believe enlightenment is a call to compassion

• The importance is not the history or life of the Buddha but rather his enlightenment

• The pairing of wisdom and compassion (karuna) is important because to care for someone else is to care for oneself

• Karuna plays a centre role in Mahayana that a person of deep compassion, bodhisattva is said to delay entering nirvana in order to help others

• Nirvana attained by the bodhisattva is different from nirvana in Theravada

• Nirvana is the absence of self-centeredness and therefore the absence of suffering but it adds the state of spiritual perfection of total compassion and concern for others

• Nirvana has a more altruistic character because there is no gap between nirvana and samsara

Four stages on the bodhisattva path

1. Intention: must be sincere in their search for enlightenment

2. Vow: the bodhisattva makes two vows - to become a buddha & to lead others to enlightenment

3. Course of the bodhisattva: the buddha sets out on the path of the 6 perfections

   • Charity (dana)

   • Morality (sila)

   • Patience (kshanti)

   • Vigour (virya)

   • Mediation (dhyana)

   • Wisdom (prajna)

4. Buddhahood: when the bodhisattva becomes enlightened

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