Buddhism
From Buddhism
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[edit] Overview of Buddhism
Buddhists believe in karma (that our actions have consequences) and reincarnation. According to Buddhism our next life (our next moment) is determined by the things we do in this life (in this very moment) or the things we did in our previous lives (positive, negative actions). Buddhist tries to find the ultimate freedom by purifying their minds from any thoughts which could bring them bad Karma and by gaining ultimate wisdom which is called nirvana. Nirvana is achieved by Meditation (noble eight fold path). According to Buddhism everything is impermanent including your own mind and body. Those who achieved nirvana can understand this phenomenon clearly.
Buddhism is a religion which abstains from any form of violence hence it boasts of being never shed blood in the name of religion. Buddhists believe that every living creature has the same right to live and it is opposed to killing of any living being (animals, insects). Buddhists don’t believe in god. They believe that their destiny is determined by their own mind rather than god. But Buddhism describes different types of higher life forms (gods realm) in this universe which has little effect on humans. The place some one is born is determined by karma it could be a higher realm or a lower realm like hell. The circle of death and reincarnation is the way of the universe; Buddhism tries to break this cycle by achieving nirvana. Most people have heard of nirvana. It has become equated with a sort of eastern version of heaven. Actually, nirvana simply means cessation. It is the cessation of passion, aggression and ignorance.
[edit] Four Noble Truths
The core of the Buddhist teaching is the Four Noble Truths: There is suffering. There is a cause to suffering. There is an end to suffering. The is a path out of suffering (The Noble Eightfold Path).
1. The Reality of Suffering--dukkha 2. The Cause of Suffering--samudaya 3. The Cessation of Suffering--nirodha 4. The Path to the Cessation of Suffering--magga
The first sermon that the Buddha preached after his enlightenment was about the four noble truths. The first noble truth is that life is frustrating and painful. In fact, if we are honest with ourselves, there are times when it is downright miserable. Things may be fine with us, at the moment, but, if we look around, we see other people in the most appalling condition, children starving, terrorism, hatred, wars, intolerance, people being tortured and we get a sort of queasy feeling whenever we think about the world situation in even the most casual way. We, ourselves, will some day grow old, get sick and eventually die. No matter how we try to avoid it, some day we are going to die. Even though we may try to avoid thinking about it, there are constant reminders that it is true.
The second noble truth is that suffering has a cause. We suffer because we are constantly struggling to survive. We are constantly trying to prove our existence. We may be extremely humble and self-deprecating, but even that is an attempt to define ourselves. We are defined by our humility. The harder we struggle to establish ourselves and our relationships, the more painful our experience becomes.
The third noble truth is that the cause of suffering can be ended. Our struggle to survive, our effort to prove ourselves and solidify our relationships is unnecessary. We, and the world, can get along quite comfortably without all our unnecessary posturing. We could just be a simple, direct and straight-forward person. We could form a simple relationship with our world, our coffee, spouse and friend. We do this by abandoning our expectations about how we think things should be.
This is the fourth noble truth: the way, or path to end the cause of suffering. The central theme of this way is meditation. Meditation, here, means the practice of mindfulness/awareness (shamata/vipashyana in Sanskrit). We practice being mindful of all the things that we use to torture ourselves with. We become mindful by abandoning our expectations about the way we think things should be and, out of our mindfulness, we begin to develop awareness about the way things really are. We begin to develop the insight that things are really quite simple, that we can handle ourselves, and our relationships, very well as soon as we stop being so manipulative and complex. The fourth noble truth introduces the Noble Eightfold Path.
[edit] Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path leads to an end to the suffering described by the Four Noble Truths.The Noble Eightfold Path is essentially a practical guide to ethics, mental rehabilitation and mind deconditioning, and is believed, by Buddhists, to result in an end to dukkha, or suffering, which is a goal that has informed and driven part of the Buddhist tradition.
1. Right understanding 2. Right intention 3. Right speech 4. Right action 5. Right livelihood 6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration
These elements of Noble Eightfold Path are to be developed simultaneously.Those who understand the noble truths and those who follow the Noble Eightfold Path will ultimately realise three facts about this universe.
1. Transitoriness (Anicca)
2. Unsatisfactoriness (Dukkha)
3. Insubstantiality (Anatta)
[edit] The Precepts
The precepts are a condensed form of Buddhist ethical practice. They are often compared with the ten commandments of Christianity, however, the precepts are different in two respects: First, they are to be taken as recommendations, not commandments. This means the individual is encouraged to use his/her own intelligence to apply these rules in the best possible way. Second, it is the spirit of the precepts -not the text- that counts, hence, the guidelines for ethical conduct must be seen in the larger context of the Eightfold Path.
The first five precepts are mandatory for every Buddhist. Precepts no. six to ten are laid out for those in preparation for monastic life and for devoted lay people unattached to families. The eight precepts put together number eight and nine and omit the tenth. Lay people may observe the eight precepts on Buddhist festival days. Ordained Theravada monks undertake no less than 227 precepts, which are not listed here.
I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from
1. ...harming living beings.
2. ...taking things not freely given.
3. ...sexual misconduct.
4. ...false speech.
5. ...intoxicating drinks and drugs causing heedlessness.
6. ...taking untimely meals.
7. ...dancing, singing, music and watching grotesque mime.
8. ...use of garlands, perfumes and personal adornment.
9. ...use of high seats.
10. ...accepting gold or silver.
(adapted from The Word of the Buddha, Niyamatolika, The Buddhist Publication Society, 1971, p xii)
[edit] Karma
Kamma is not moral justice. If one takes it as moral justice, then one suggests that someone is sitting in judgement over beings. There is no one who makes judgements over the doings of beings; there is just the moral law of kamma. Just as kamma is not moral judgement, so it is not reward and punishment. According to the law of kamma, if you do good deeds, you get good results, and if you do bad deeds, you get bad results. However, these good and bad results are not given by anyone and are not given as reward and punishment. Kamma is a moral law which needs no lawgiver, a law which operates naturally.The inequalities among human beings the individual differences between people – has troubled many thinkers in the past as well as in the present.Why some people are poor some rich,some healthy some unhealthy or born deformed? all this could be explained by karma.
What is kamma? Buddha said: “Oh monks, it is volition that I call kamma.” The popular meaning of kamma is action or doing, but as a technical term, kamma means volition or will. When you do something, there is volition behind it, and that volition, that mental effort, is called kamma.Volition is one of the fifty-two mental states which arise together with consciousness.Kamma means only the cause.Kamma belongs to the mental aggregates.There are five aggregates: materiality, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
Volition belongs to the aggregate of formations. The aggregate of formations is mental, and just as other mental states, it lasts only a very short moment. It comes into being, stays only a little bit of time, and then passes away. But volition is different from other mental states in that it has the ability to leave some potential. When it dies, it does not disappear altogether. It leaves something, some power or potential to give results, when circumstances favor those results to appear. One does kamma here and now, but the results may be in this life, the next life, or in some life after the next life.
Kamma or volition has potential to give results, and this potential is a tremendous force. Kamma does not end with the demise of the present life; it goes on and on. But we cannot say that kamma is stored somewhere in our body or consciousness because everything is impermanent and must be continually changing. Kamma is likewise impermanent and so disappears, but it leaves a potential in the continuity of beings so that, when circumstances are favorable for results to appear, those results appear.
In Buddhism, karma is directly related to the motivation behind an action. The motivation usually makes the difference between 'good' and 'bad', but included in the motivation is also the aspect of ignorance; so a well-intended action from a deluded mind can easily be 'bad' in the sense that it creates unpleasant results for the 'actor'.
Other Niyama Dharmas
In Buddhism, Karma is not the only cause of anything that happens. There are Five "Niyama Dharma" that causes a result. They are...
* Karma Niyama - Consequences of one's actions * Dhamma Niyama - Laws of nature * Irthu Niyama - The seasons changes and climate * Biija Niyama - Genetical inheritance * Chitta Niyama - Will of mind
The last four are also summarized as 'conditions' or 'circumstances' in which karmic potential can ripen as result.
[edit] References
VOLITION An Introduction to the Law of Kamma by Sayadaw U Sãlànanda
