Buddhism

MAIN IDEAS/BELIEFS:

  • Pain and suffering are illusions of ego. 
  • Your experiences are temporary and will fade away, therefore an illusion (Happiness is temporary, pain is temporary)
  • Compassion = realising impermanence and that it will pass and doesn’t matter 
  • Many parts of Hinduism are seen throughout Buddhism but rather than them being gods, demons, people etc. they are simply ideas. 
  • Attachment is suffering and our needs and desires are suffering
  • We need to accept the impermanence of things and that life is not satisfactory 

The three jewels:

  • Buddha (the person) 
  • Dharma (the teaching)
  • Sangha (the community) 

The four noble truths:

  1. All is suffering:
  • Dukka translates as suffering or anguish 
  • Suffering is part of multiple existences 
  • Life then has some perspective 
  1. The cause of suffering is desire:
  • The origin of suffering is desire or attachment to life 
  • We seek to have our senses satisfied 
  • Feeling satisfied, or unique is illusory
  • Such illusions lead to suffering 
  1. There is a way out of suffering:
  • The cessation of dukkha is nirvana
  • Nirvana is the state of ‘not desiring’
  • A state of nothingness (or heaven), where the individual ceases to exist and is one with the world 
  1. The way out is the Noble Eightfold Path:
  • The fourth noble truth consists of the avoidance of extremes - the middle way:
    • Right seeing/understanding
    • Right thought
    • Right speaking 
    • Right concentration
    • Right action
    • Right livelihood
    • Right effort 
    • Right mindfulness

The marks of existence:

  • According to Buddhist teachings, the Buddha distinguished three features of existence:
    • Annica - impermanence 
    • Dukkha - suffering 
    • Anatta - absence of the individual self 

Annica: 

  • There are no certainties or realities in life 
  • As things come into existence, they are already fading 
  • Nothing is permanent 

Dukkha:

  • Translates to suffering or anguish 
  • Linked to human needs
  • These are illusions
  • Anguish or suffering is the common human condition

Anatta:

  • The principle that there is no self
  • Consciousness is constantly changing
  • Nothing separates oneself from every other part of existence

Karma:

  • Can be seen as natural law - the law of moral causation
  • Actions and attitudes have natural consequences
  • Accumulation of karma influences the reincarnation cycle 

Samara:

  • The Hindu concept of rebirth and reincarnation
  • In Buddhism, a metaphorical system that illustrates the endlessness of unenlightened life
  • Nirvana or enlightenment is the way to escape

Nirvana:

  • The endpoint of all evolved souls, where desire is extinguished, and the self ceases to exist and is one with the world

THE THREE SCHOOLS:

Theravada:

  • The most traditional and earliest form of Buddhism

  • Three pieces of training:

  • Development of ethical conduct

  • Meditation

  • Insight

Mahayana:

  • It exists mainly in Tibet, China and Japan

  • Laying down your life for the sake of others' enlightenment 

  • Three fundamental themes:

  • The bodhisattva

  • The emptiness of all things

  • That all humans possess within them the potentiality for Buddhahood 

Vajrayana:

  • Started in Northern India 

  • The more mystical version of the Buddhist beliefs 

  • Chöd is one of the traditions performed in this school (an extreme version of school)

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A PRIVATE RELIGIOUS TRADITION:

  • Puja - personal devotion and ritual which differs according to personal preference and cultural context

  • Can include meditation and prayer

  • The practice of puja can help in:

  • Getting rid of negative energies

  • Developing positive energy

  • Expressing devotion and gratitude

  • Many Buddhists believe that puja does not constitute worship. Rather, they see it as a way to reflect on the dharma as a guide to the journey through life. 

  • Many individuals like to reserve a particular place and time for the practice of puja. There is often a small shrine in their house. 

  • The practice of yoga can also be considered to be a kind of puja

Shrine:

  • The place where one practises puja should be a special place that may include:

  • Pictures, flowers, incense, candles

  • Bells, mala, cushions

  • A statue of Buddha

  • It should be a place where, through meditation, one can focus on the higher things in life 

Puja aids:

  • Mala (beads)

  • Mandalas (symbolic representations of the world)

  • Koans (riddles)

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