Archive for Buddhism
Buddhism Course – Week 4
Four audio podcasts accompanying this course are available to download at http://cslsrpodcasts.blogspot.com.
The same content is also available as “Buddhist Meditation,”
a CD Audio Set available at Stepping Stones Books & Gifts.
Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa
Spiritual Enrichment Course
Written by Rev. Kim Kaiser
A great Indian master once said, “Wisdom tells me I am nothing; love tells me I am everything. Between the two, my life flows.”
—Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das
Go to http://www.dhamma.org/en/bycountry/na/ca.us.shtml for information on free vipassana retreat
The term TANTRA refers to systems of practice and meditation derived from esoteric texts emphasizing cognitive transformation through visualization, symbols, and ritual. These in turn gave rise to a vast commentarial literature, as well as oral traditions, and tantric practices, ideas, and images today permeate all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism The root texts of this system are generally called “tantras”; most of these highlight a particular Buddha who is the focus of ritual and meditative practices…
Tantric Buddhism is often referred to by its adherents as the Vajra Vehicle (Vajrayana). The vajra (Tibetan dorje) is an important symbol in the tantras: it is described as the hardest substance, something that is pure and unbreakable, like the omniscient wisdom of a Buddha.
Unlike ascetic traditions that seek to find satisfaction through difficult or painful meditative practices, Vajrayana cultivates blissful mental states. In tantra, one actualizes progressively deeper understanding of the nature of reality through experiencing pleasurable cognitions, gaining control over physical and mental energies, and conjoining blissful consciousnesses with realization of the nature of reality.
Tantra, however, is not concerned merely with the cultivation of pleasure, nor is its purview restricted to actions and practices that are traditionally associated with “religion.” Tantra proposes to incorporate all actions, all thoughts all emotions into the path. Nothing in itself is pure or impure, good or bad, mundane or transcendent; things only appear to us in these ways because of preconceived ideas. In the Vajrayana systems, any action – even walking, eating, defecating, or sleeping – can be an element of the spiritual path. Tantric practitioners seek to overcome the pervasive sense of ordinariness that covers our perceptions of daily life.
Initiation is required, from a teacher, only to qualified aspirants, and all is to be kept completely secret.
To practice Tantra, you must train (like a jet pilot does) to be able to handle this “fast track” to enlightenment in this lifetime.
Mandalas – external and internal images of Buddhas and their realms. Mantras – central to Vajrayana path, therefore it is also called the “Mantra Vehicle” —
Sadhanas – meditational rituals – in which one combines prayers, visualizations, hand gestures, and bodily movements that represent the awakened aspects of the mind of a particular Buddha…Sadhanas describe the qualities of the (Buddha) and its retinue, contain recitations of mantras and prayers, and they are connected with visualization of the deity’s mandala.
…meditators view themselves as inseparable from the deity and as possessing all the attributes of a fully awakened Buddha. Thus they are not simply praising someone else’s good qualities but are using the mediation to develop the same attributes themselves.
The Buddha is viewed as responding positively to one’s prayers and bestowing blessings…one may imagine that all sentient beings are also participating in the practice and deriving merit from it…in the next phase one visualizes the Buddha being dissolved into emptiness and one abides in nonconceptual contemplation of suchness. The concluding part of the ritual involves dedication of the merit generated by it to all sentient beings and hoping that they benefit from one’s practice.
This practice enables meditators to reconstruct the world in accordance with the meditation. Those who become adepts know that they are no longer bound by the fetters of ordinariness; their surroundings become the environment of a Buddha. Their companions are viewed as Buddha’s retinue and their actions are the compassionate activities of a Buddha.
…for one who attains advanced levels of meditation, painful cognitions no longer occur, no matter what external experience one encounters. All of one’s cognitions are a union of bliss and emptiness. One recognizes that nothing is inherently what it appears to be.
Tantric texts stress that such bodhisattvas are not creating a delusional system in order to hide from the harsher aspects of reality. Rather, they are transforming reality, making it conform to an ideal archetype.
Since all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they have no fixed nature…all we ever experience are our cognitions of objects, which are overlaid with conceptions about them. All our perceptions are ideas about things, and not real things. These ideas are also empty, arising from nothingness and immediately dissolving again into nothingness, leaving nothing behind. Tantric adepts develop the ability to reconstitute “reality,” which is completely malleable for those who train in yogas involving blissful consciousnesses realizing emptiness. The sense of bliss pervades all their cognitions, and their understanding of emptiness allows them to generate minds that are manifestations of bliss and emptiness.
Four Types of Tantras
Action tantras are primarily taught for meditators who require external activities. The special trainees of action tantras are people who lack the capacity for profound meditation on emptiness but are able to engage enthusiastically in external rituals and activities.
Action tantra trainees engage in activities in which symbolic representations of aspects of the path are created or acted out. For example, one may make or buy a painting of the deity, place it in a special spot and make offerings to it, imagining that the deity is actually present there. Other activities include ritual bathing in which one envisions the external activity of washing as purifying mental afflictions. The activities of action tantra are designed for those who are not adept at internal visualization and who can benefit from having physical symbols as focal points for their meditation.
Practitioners of action tantra understands it in reality all phenomena are an undifferentiable union of appearance and emptiness, but on the conventional level of practice they perceive themselves and the meditational deity as separate entities. They view the deity as a master or lord and themselves as servants, performing acts of devotion in stylized ritual dramas involving activities of body and speech.
Performance tantras equally emphasize external activities and internal yoga. The main practices of performance tantra involved mentally creating an image of oneself as an awakened being and also generating the form of the deity in front of oneself as a template. One views oneself in the deity as companions or friends, and one strives to emulate it. One also chants the mantra of the deity and endeavors to perform one’s ability to visualize it without mental fluctuation.
In the yoga tantra one visualizes oneself as an actual Buddha, and not merely as a devotee or companion of a Buddha. Yoga tantras emphasize internal yoga. One visualizes oneself and the archetypal deity as separate beings, and then one causes the deity to enter oneself. In new tantra one first generates a vivid image of the deity, together with its Retin-A, contemplating both its wondrous forms and exalted attributes, and then one absorbs the deity into oneself, imagining that one becomes merged with it.
In highest yoga tantra one develops a profound awareness of one’s body as being composed of subtle energies… one then generates oneself as a fully awakened Buddha composed entirely of the subtle energies and possessing a Buddhas wisdom consciousness…. One transforms oneself into an actual deity possessing the exalted form and awakened mind of a Buddha.
—Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by John Powers
Dhyani Buddhas — Five Buddha Families
http://ngalsohealingart.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/006-5-diani-buddha.jpg
Five personality types are described and identified as impure modes of five aspects of Buddha Mind. These are called the Five Buddha Families (Sanskrit: Buddha-kula, home, nest, or cell of Buddha). Five Buddhas are arranged in a mandala.
The central Buddha is Vairochana (or another of the Cosmic Buddhas) who is pure mind, pure light, or pure space. His color is white, or rather, a kind of translucent luminosity, impossible to achieve on the physical plane, that is both crystalline clear, as if it had no solidity, and radiating like flawless alabaster lit from within. He is the hypostasis of basic, spacelike Buddha Wisdom.
The other four Buddhas encircle the Cosmic Buddha:
Amoghasiddhi to the north, who is green and whose symbol is the sword; Akshobhya to the east, who is blue and whose symbol is the vajra; Ratnasambhava to the south, who is yellow and whose symbol is the
brilliant, fiery chintamani (wishing-jewel); and
Amitabha to the west, who is red and whose symbol is the lotus.
Each Buddha is associated with a certain quality of mind, and manifests it in its pure mode. The Buddhas at the four cardinal points are hypostases of the four wisdoms, which, according to the Yogachara system, are produced by the transformation of the defiled consciousnesses. The Cosmic Buddha is the hypostasis of the foundation or source of the four wisdoms. Unliberated beings manifest the same five qualities, but impurely, and are therefore assigned to one or the other Buddha as their Buddha Family, as follows:
1. Vairochana or “Buddha” Family: The basic quality is spaciousness. In impure mode, it manifests as sloth, isolation, a spaced-out indifference to events. In pure mode, it is the complete openness of the Wisdom of All-Encompassing Space. (skandha of form, rupa)
2. Amoghasiddhi or “Karma” (action) Family: The basic quality is activity. In impure mode, it manifests as busyness, perfectionism, and irritation at messiness. In pure mode, it becomes the Wisdom of Perfect Activity, always meeting events appropriately, neither doing too much nor too little. (skandha of samskara (impulses)
3. Akshobhya or “Vajra” (method) Family: The basic quality is brilliance. In impure mode it manifests as criticism, self-justification and fixed ideas. In pure mode it becomes the clarity and openness of nonjudgmental Mirror Wisdom. (skandha of vijnana, consciousness)
4. Ratnasambhava or “Ratna” (jewel) Family: The basic quality is expansive richness. In impure mode it manifests as greediness and self-indulgence. In pure mode it becomes the Wisdom of Non-Duality, which gives universally and impartially of its own richness. (skandha of vedana, feeling)
5. Amitabha or “Padma” (lotus) Family: Its basic quality is attraction. In impure mode it manifests as seduction and possessiveness, especially sexual possessiveness. In pure mode it becomes the Wisdom of Proper Comprehension, which clearly distinguishes the variety of delightful things and becomes itself attractive rather than seeking to attract. (skandha of samjna, perception)
—The Vision of Buddhism by Roger Corless
…(The Tibetan teacher) Chekawa recommended using obstacles as stepping stones to realization. In Vajrayana, obstacles are seen as non-dual with liberation.
Another aspect of Tantra which has been commonly misunderstood is the presence of so-called “terrifying deities.” Sometimes these entities are represented as copulating with each other, thus increasing the scandalized fascination of the uninitiated observer. This is, once again, an expression of the embodiment of the non-duality of samsara and nirvana. The Tantric entities in sexual union embody the non-duality of attachment or lust (raga) and compassion (karuna). The horrific entities embody the non-duality of aversion or hate (dvesha) and skillful means. Skillful means, or compassion in action, is energy directed towards the liberation of all sentient beings. Hate, in Vajrayana perspective, is the same energy perverted to selfish and harmful ends. But hate, we may have noticed, is often the stronger form of the energy. If we are trying to be helpful to someone (i.e., to use our skillful means), we may become discouraged and give up when our efforts seem to be unavailing. Hate, however, can carry us, our families, and whole countries along in vendettas, blood feuds, and wars. We do not really have to work at being hateful. Hate more or less presents itself. It has the same self-generating quality as Tantric spontaneity. Therefore, many entities who are known as calm, loving, and helpful Bodhisattvas at the Mahayana level appear as wrathful beings, regarded as more powerful forms, at the Vajrayana level. The peaceful Avalokiteshvara, for example, manifests as the bloodthirsty Mahakala. The blood that Mahakala drinks, however, is the blood of demons. Expressed psychologically, Avalokiteshvara encourages our positive emotions while Mahakala destroys our negativities. A certain lama who had come to the west and discovered American television very much enjoyed watching The Incredible Hulk. It is, indeed, very Tantric. David (known as Bruce in the comic strip version) is an open-faced, gentle, and helpful young man who, when angry, changes into a terrifying green monster, always opposed to evil, never allied with it. David wants to be kind and generous, but his normal strength is no more than human and is inadequate against numerous or very powerful foes. When his real energy is aroused, however, he can tear concrete blocks apart and do whatever is necessary to obliterate harmful forces. His job finished, he changes back into a mild-mannered human (always finding, through the fortunate fruiting of karma, a new set of clothes which fits him perfectly). The non-duality of David and the Hulk is quite close to the non-duality of Avalokiteshvara and Mahakala. Avalokiteshvara is white, smiling, and fully clothed, as David is human, good-looking, and conventionally dressed. Mahakala is black, growling, and practically naked, as the Hulk is green, growling, and wearing only shorts (the trouser legs having split off during the transformation, although the waist has held). Just as ordinary people are helped by David, Avalokiteshvara helps ordinary practitioners slowly and gently cultivate compassion. For a frontal attack on the forces of evil, the Hulk must manifest, and for a direct attack on negativities as non-dual with virtues, Mahakala must be invoked.
—The Vision of Buddhism by Roger Corless
Visualization and Concentration
Many people are drawn to Tibetan Buddhism by its colorful esoteric iconography and the creative visualization practices associated with it. Visualization is a powerful and profound way to use the mind and its brilliant beacon light of awareness. These practices help us transcend our limited self-concepts and identity. We learn to transform ourselves into Buddhas and Bodhisattvas living in the most splendid Buddha world mandala that we could ever imagine. We thereby loosen up the hold our own karmically conditioned, present-lifetime world has over us.
Through visualization practice we see how we continuously project—every single day—the current visualization or self-concepts we maintain of ourselves and our experiences. This practice helps us develop a greater perspective on how we could just as easily reshape our perceptions and our entire life in any number of fulfilling and meaningful ways. Visualization helps us learn that we are not necessarily stuck with who or what we think we are; we could be almost anyone or anything. Therefore, why not exercise our power of choice and the intrinsic wisdom of awareness by manifesting oneself as a radiant, empowering, and protective female Buddha Tara, or as a gentle forgiving Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of love and compassion? Wouldn’t this prove far more satisfying than any negative self-images we may currently hold?
These visualizations are primarily meditations on identity and its transformation—how we create ourselves and our self-image; how we create and recreate our karma and our world…
…it is less important to be able to visualize or graphically imagine the forms and attributes of the deity than it is to viscerally “feel” the presence of the invoked meditational deity, embodying the universal qualities we are learning to cultivate. There are no deities per se in Buddhism. Instead these numinous forms are archetypes embodying the most noble and sublime qualities we can aspire to achieve—mere personifications of spiritual principles like wisdom, compassion, healing power, and so on. People often ask me if these deities exist outside and independent of our own minds. One might just as well wonder whether we too exist in such a way. As I often reply, they are as real, or unreal, as we are.
—Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das
Visualization and Science of Mind
Ernest Holmes encouraged us to look at reality with the expectation of seeing the Divine.
He said that we must not let appearances tell us what is real,
but must turn to the One Mind within us to “relight the torch of our imagination by “fire caught from heaven.” p. 218.3 SOM
We need to imaginatively dwell in the Divine Presence. Never limit your view of life by any past experience. The possibility of life is inherent within the capacity to imagine what life is, backed by the power to produce this imagery, or Divine Imagination. It is not a question of failing or succeeding. It is simply a question of sticking to an idea until it becomes a tangible reality. The illusion is in the way we look at things. We have looked at poverty, degradation and misery until they have assumed gigantic proportions. Now we must look at harmony, happiness, plenty, prosperity, peace and right action, until they appear.
p. 187.1 SOM
Here is a description of a Tibetan practice of visualization:
An entity of purified mind, such as a Buddha or bodhisattva, is seen as present, and the meditator interacts with the entity.
Seated in the proper posture, we might visualize such a being as the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara appearing before us. He will be crystal clear white in color, a handsome young man, about 16 years old, smiling graciously at us, richly clothed, sitting crosslegged on a lotus throne, his hands in the particular gestures which signify compassion and purity. We try to see him as clearly as we can, and feel his compassionate presence. Then we commune with him, offering him gifts and praying to him for ourselves and all sentient beings, according to the directions of whatever sutra we are following. When we are finished, we dismiss the visualization by dissolving it into light, and then into space.
—The Vision of Buddhism by Roger Corless
Seeing the Buddha in All: The Practice of Pure Perception
You are not the only unawakened Buddha or amnesiac saint on the block. Seeing others as Buddhas is taught in Vajrayana practices as the cultivation of pure perception or sacred outlook. Pure perception is about inner vision. As an example, all you pet lovers might want to think about a dog that you know. The mailman may see that dog as an unholy terror; an allergic relative may see it as a dirty dust ball; a child may see it as a best friend; its owner may see it as an angelic blessing and an oasis of unconditional loyalty and win/win mutuality in his life. The Dharma teaches us that all beings have Buddha-nature, including that dog. Can you look at that dog and perceive its Buddha-nature? Can you look in the eyes of someone you love and see Buddha-nature? Can you look at someone you fear or someone who has been unkind to you and see Buddha-nature? The question is how far can any of us extend ourselves toward including one and all in our unconditional loving hearts? Can we love and respect even those whose actions or personalities we don’t happen to like? How far can we genuinely extend ourselves to include all in our wishes, thoughts, prayers, and hearts? Can we forgive others and forgive ourselves too? Seeing the Buddha in all is a challenge, but it’s also a mirror for clearly seeing into your own heart and soul. This sacred outlook and penetrating spiritual gaze could prove extraordinarily revealing.
— Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das
My living Dzogchen teacher Nyoshul Khenpo often points out that the primary distinction between the deluded mind and the enlightened mind is mainly a difference of narrowness and openness, being narrow-minded versus open-minded. The more constricted and narrow your attitude, the more ego-centered you are. The more open your attitude, the more conscious you are of everyone’s well-being. Thus the entire path from an ordinary sentient being to Buddhahood is the gradual opening of heart and mind.
— Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das
Typically the first Tibetan mantra that Westerners hear or learn about is Chenresig’s mantra “Om Mani Pedmé Hung.” This mantra literally translates as “The jewel is in the lotus.” What it means is that wisdom and compassion—the jewels that we all seek—are inherently within us all, like pure seeds blossoming and unfolding within our own tender unguarded hearts. What we seek, we are. “Om Mani Pedmé Hung,” commonly called the six-syllable mantra, can legitimately be referred to as the national mantra of Tibet. Always on the lips of Tibetans, the six syllables create a constant background sound wherever one travels. Lay people, adults and children, holding their malas and twirling prayer wheels, mutter it while doing daily chores, while lamas, nuns, and monks chant it prayerfully as part of their meditative and contemplative practices and visualizations.
The Six-syllable Mantra Meditation: Om Mani Pedmé Hung
To yourself enter into that sacred dimension of the sound of loving-kindness, you only need to stop for a moment. Right now, take a break; take a breath. Visualize the most genuinely exalted loving image of unconditional love and compassion you can imagine. It might be Buddha, Padmasambhava, Tara, Jesus, Mary, a personal saint or archangel, or your own spiritual teacher or guide. Toward this image, cultivate thoughts of gratitude, devotion, trust, faith, and appreciation. With that thought or image in your mind, chant Om Mani Pedmé Hung softly, regularly. Use this mantra of love and compassion to soften, to ease and gentle your mind, energy, and spirit. Use it to dissolve any hardness or constriction around your heart, to warm up and loosen your gut. Chant it again and again, awakening to the presence of that exalted being, that sacred reality or spiritual dimension. Sense where you are, what you are, and who you are and can be. Let everything dissolve into that purring, stream, that songlike repetitive sound of Great Compassion’s mantra.
Om Mani Pedmé Hung … Om Mani Pedmé Hung … Om Mani Pedmé Hung
Now think of someone you truly love—a spouse, a child, a parent, a friend, a pet, and extend unconditional love and empathy to them … then to a few more people. Keep reaching out with radiant, visualized light rays of your love. How far can you go? Keep going.
Loving-Kindness Is the Heart of the Dharma
The Buddha once described the spiritual path that leads to nirvana or perfect freedom as “the liberation of the heart and mind, which is love.” Learning to love life in all its forms, and to love unconditionally is the way of Dharma.
— Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das
Taking Refuge
“How do I start?” Isn’t that always the major issue for most seekers, particularly here in the Western Hemisphere? It can feel very frustrating and lonely trying to initiate and develop a spiritual path in the context of a busy contemporary life. Learned teachers, lamas, or gurus are not always readily available; spiritual role models and mentors are hard to come by; and as appealing as the notion of checking oneself into a monastery filled with other men and women on similar spiritual quests may often seem, for most people such a choice simply isn’t a viable option. So how do you start? It may be reassuring to know that the first steps today are the same as they were 2,500 years ago.
Taking the First Step
Acknowledge that enlightenment is a real possibility. The Buddha was an actual historical person. Although he is among the leaders of the world’s great religions, he did not claim that he was, in any way, divine or otherworldly. Buddhism teaches that the Buddha was born a man, not a god. Because of his inquiry into the nature of reality, of self and the world, he achieved enlightenment. This enlightenment did not come about through the intervention of outside, mystical, or otherworldly forces. The Buddha Way is the way of clear-seeing rationality; it is the way of reality; it is the way of critical examination and sustained inquiry into the nature of life. The Buddha himself taught that blind faith and devotion alone do not lead to freedom and enlightenment, useful as they might be at a certain stage. When the Buddha was living in his palace, he was a good person, kind to his wife, family, and servants. The potential for enlightenment may have been present for all to see, but it was the arduous inner work the Buddha did on himself after he left the palace that led to his perfect enlightenment.
The Buddha was born a human being not so very different from you or me. Through his own efforts, he was able to reach perfect awareness and self-knowledge; through his own efforts, he was able to know all things knowable. The implications of this are extraordinary: If the Buddha could achieve enlightenment, then we can all achieve enlightenment. If the Buddha could know the truth of things as they are, then we—you and me—can know the truth of things as they are. “What? Me?” you ask. Yes, you! Never forget the revolutionary gospel, the good news, of Buddhism: Each of us is fully endowed with luminous Buddha-nature, the potential for awakened enlightenment. Tibetans firmly believe that there have been and still are many enlightened beings who walk among us. In fact, there are yogis living anonymously everywhere without calling attention to themselves. Spiritual giants are universally accepted as heros in Tibet where the names that are remembered aren’t those of sports figures, politicians, or movie stars. Ask any Tibetan about Milarepa, the eleventh-century cave-dwelling yogi-sage. As Tibet’s most beloved poet, Milarepa gained enlightenment in a single lifetime, and every child has heard his spontaneous songs of joyous wisdom. Just as a child in the West grows up believing that it’s possible to become president or an actor or sports figure, children in Tibet grow up believing in the possibility of enlightenment. The secret wisdom of Tibet pronounces that any one of us is capable of purifying our negativities and obscurations, perfecting our understanding, and practicing universal compassion. Actualize your Buddha-nature, your innate perfection, and you too will achieve enlightenment.
Make a Commitment to Awakening
The Buddha cannot, and would not, force you to walk the way of truth and liberation. The Buddha cannot, and would not, force you to walk the path of compassion and self-purification. The Buddha cannot, and would not, force you to follow the liberating heart-opening lessons of the Dharma. Buddhism teaches that no one else controls your destiny. It’s all in your hands—the Buddha in the palm of your hands. The potential for self-perfection is yours right now. Innate Buddha-nature expresses itself through human nature. Make a commitment to awakening and enlightenment, and the Dharma gate and the path to enlightenment will open for you, just as it has opened for countless others. In Buddhism, when you make a commitment to awakening, it is known as “taking refuge” or “going for refuge.”
Going for Refuge
In Tibetan Buddhism, one of the first things a new Dharma student does is to make a commitment to wakefulness by taking part in a rite known as the Refuge Ceremony. Taking refuge imples finding a reliable spiritual sanctuary, a place to safely rest your heart and mind. The Refuge Ceremony and the recitation of the Refuge Prayer formalizes one’s commitment to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha or spiritual community. The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are known as the Three Jewels of Buddhism, or the triple-faceted gem.
Take refuge in yourselves, not in anything else. In you are Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Don’t look for things that are far away. Everything is in your own heart. Be an island unto yourself.
—The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Refuge Prayer
I take refuge in the Buddha, the one who shows me the way this life.
I take refuge in the Dharma, the way of understanding and of love.
I take refuge in the Sangha, the community that lives in harmony and awareness.
Dwelling in the refuge of Buddha, I see clearly the path of light and beauty in the world.
Dwelling in the refuge of Dharma, I learned to open many doors on the path of transformation.
Dwelling in the refuge of Sangha, I am supported by its shining light that keeps my practice free of obstacles.
Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself, I aspire to help all people recognize their own awakened nature and realize the mind of love.
Taking refuge in the Dharma in myself, I aspire to help all people grasp the way of practice and walked together on the path of liberation.
Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself, I aspire to help all people build spiritual community and encourage the transformation of all beings.
—The Heart of Buddhism by Thich Nhat Hanh
Heart Sutra
Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceived that all five skandhas in their own being are empty
and was saved from all suffering and distress.
Oh Shariputra , form does not differ from emptiness;
emptiness does not differ from form.
that which is form is emptiness;
that which is emptiness, form.
The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
Oh Shariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear nor disappear,
are not tainted nor pure,
do not increase nor decrease.
Therefore in emptiness, no form,
no feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness;
no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind;
no realm of eyes until no realm of mind consciousness;
no ignorance and also no extinction of it
until no old age and death and also no extinction of it;
no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path;
no cognition, also no attainment.
With nothing to attain
the Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and his mind is no hindrance.
Without any hindrance no fears exist;
far apart from every perverted view he dwells in Nirvana.
In the three worlds all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore know the Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra
is the great bright mantra
is the utmost mantra
is the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering,
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the prajna paramita mantra
proclaim the mantra that says:
Gate, Gate, paragate, parasamgate!
Bodhi! Svaha!
By this effort, may all sentient beings be free of suffering.
May their minds be filled with the nectar of virtue.
In this way may all causes resulting in suffering be extinguished,
And only the light of compassion shine throughout all realms.
—Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo
http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/1007/transfer-of-merit
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My Notes
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Buddhism Course – Week 3
Four audio podcasts accompanying this course are available to download at http://cslsrpodcasts.blogspot.com.
The same content is also available as “Buddhist Meditation,”
a CD Audio Set available at Stepping Stones Books & Gifts
Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa
Spiritual Enrichment Course
Written by Rev. Kim Kaiser
To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of the universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless enlightenment goes on forever and ever.
—Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)
…the peculiarity of mystical language…is not that it is describing another reality, but that it is describing the same reality in another way.
…mystical experience is the experiential knowledge that, in one way or another, everything is interconnected, that all things have a single source.
—Mysticism: Its History and Challenge, by Bruno Borchert.
Interconnected
Our understanding is that there is one whole being that includes everything, and that the many things are found in one whole being. Although we say “many beings,” they are actually the many parts of one whole being that includes everything. If you say “many” it is many, and if you say “one” it is one. “Many” and “one” are different ways of describing one whole being.
—Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness by Suzuki Roshi
Single Source
There is One, and not two. Never forget that. Anywhere in the universe, just One. That one life is the substance of everything. It is one in unity but multiple in manifestation. It is one substance from which an infinite variety of different things come but every one of those things is made out of the one thing.
—Love and Law by Ernest Holmes, (p. 48.2)
I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we have to believe in something which has no form and color — something which exists before all forms and colors appear… but I do not mean voidness. There is something, but that something is something which is always prepared for taking some particular form, and it has some rules, or theory, or truth and its activity. This is called Buddha nature, or Buddha himself… It is one existence which has no form or color, and it is always ready to take form and color. This is not just theory. This is not just the teaching of Buddhism. This is the absolutely necessary understanding of our life.
—Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (ZMBM) by Suzuki Roshi
Emptiness
Shunyata – no “marks” – no inherent character or quality
Emptiness, voidness—sunyata—is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism, which explains that it is not just the self that is inherently empty, but anything—and everything. But do not become confused: This certainly does not mean that the world and everything in it doesn’t exist; it simply means that there is nothing behind appearances. It’s all surface, mere temporary appearances. It is all cause and effect. All things, by definition, are impermanent—like dreams, echoes, or mirages. We know, of course, that we dream, some nights peacefully, others chaotically; we also know that these dreams are not as real as we think they are while they are taking place. They, and everything else, are empty and relative—arising because of cause and effect, or interdependent origination. Everything arises as if from emptiness and is resolved back into the unborn nature of emptiness. We do not need to rid ourselves of these dreams, merely to understand and see through them, even as they vividly manifest in our perceptions.
In the non-dual Dzogchen-Mahamudra teachings, sunyata is viewed in positive terms as the supreme reality. This is not a nihilistic black void or vacuum, not an independently existing reality. It’s intangible, yet vividly dancing with sounds and colors—shimmering, fertile, and effulgent—a radiant, rainbow like display, not unlike a cinema projection. That’s why we call it the fertile womb of emptiness from which all Buddhas emerge. Sunyata, the mother of all the Buddhas, is the mother of all of us too. Buddhism is a very hearty spiritual tradition. The essential message is that each of us has the soul or spirit of a Buddha. It just doesn’t use those same words, because the word “soul” implies a fixed entity, which runs contrary to the laws of cause and effect, and the fact of impermanence. All beings have Buddha-nature. All creatures great and small.
—Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das, p.122.
Dark Matter
Over 75% of the universe is not detectable using current scientific instruments. It is called dark matter but is perhaps more accurately described as “transparent” matter, meaning we see right through it and think nothing is there.
Shunyata is like space, clearly present but undescribable …
Shunyata (in Sanskrit) or suññata (in Pali). This word is often translated as Emptiness, but I propose the translation “Transparency.” Reality, according to the Buddha, is not an illusion, it certainly exists, but its thing-ness, essence, or intrinsic autonomy cannot be found when it is analyzed. Reality is real, but its reality is transparent to analysis. Reality is, for Buddhism, space-like rather than particle-like. A particle may be located in space, but space itself cannot be located. Space is non-locatable and non-referential: it does not have a beginning, a middle, or an end, an inside or an outside, it is not made up of anything or of nothing, and it cannot be packaged. It is that without which nothing could be, yet it is not itself a something or a nothing that causes anything to be or not to be. But, for all this indescribability, space indubitably and incontrovertibly is. Space exists, but how it exists is indescribable. In fact, questions about how, when, and where it exists are unintelligible and incoherent. So, says Buddhism, although things (like apples) exist, while other things (like unicorns) do not exist, upon sophisticated and sustained physical, mental, and spiritual analysis, the how, when, and where of that existence or non-existence cannot be found. This is shunyata: Emptiness, Transparency, or, as the Chinese translate it, Spaciousness (k’ung, “vacuity”).
—The Vision of Buddhism by Roger Corless
One Being/One Mind
Mystics report: …a realization – with one’s whole being – that all things are one, a universe, an organic whole into which the self fits…
Our understanding is that there is one whole being that includes everything, and that the many things are found in one whole being. Although we say “many beings,” they are actually the many parts of one whole being that includes everything. If you say “many” it is many, and if you say “one” it is one. “Many” and “one” are different ways of describing one whole being. To completely understand the relationship between one great whole being, and the many facets of that one great whole being is kai. Kai means to shake hands. You have a feeling of friendship. You feel that the two of you are one.
—Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness by Suzuki Roshi, p. 28
…the big mind…is always on your side…is always with you…(it) is not just your mind, it is universal mind, always the same, not different from another’s mind. It is Zen mind. It is big, big mind…this mind is…everything.
—ZMBM, p. 134
There is but One Mind; It is Omnipresent – It is all there is. Everything, visible and invisible, is but a manifestation of this One Mind – the result of Its Creative Action and the becoming of that which It creates.
—The Basics of Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes, p. 15.3
The true understanding is that the mind includes everything; when you think something comes from outside it means only that something appears in your mind… If your mind is related to something outside itself, that mind is a small mind, a limited mind. If your mind is not related to anything else, then there is no dualistic understanding in the activity of your mind…Big mind experiences everything within itself. Do you understand the difference between the two minds: the mind which includes everything, and the mind which is related to something? Actually, they are the same thing, but the understanding is different, and your attitude towards your life will be different according to which understanding you have.
—ZMBM, pp. 34-35.
We must treat things as part of ourselves, within our practice and within big mind. Small mind is the mind that is under the limitation of desires or some particular emotional covering or the discrimination of good and bad… the Buddhist way is to try hard to let go of this kind of emotional discrimination of good and bad, to let go of our prejudices, and to see things as it is.
—Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness by Suzuki Roshi, p. 29
Trusting In Mind
(Third Patriarch of Zen, Seng-Ts’an)
A New Translation of the Hsin Hsin Ming, the classic poem by the Third Chinese Patriarch of Zen, Seng-Ts’an.
Seng-Ts’an was the third Chinese patriarch of Zen, who received transmission from Bodhidharma’s successor, Hui K’o. The poem attributed to him, the “Hsin Hsin Ming” (lit. “Trust Mind Inscription), is one of the earliest and most influential Zen writings, blending together Buddhist and Taoist teachings.
The translator, Zen Master Hae Kwang, teaches Zen at the Kansas Zen Center and Classics at the University of Kansas.
The Great Way is not difficult,
Just don’t pick and choose.
If you cut off all likes or dislikes
Everything is clear like space.
Make the slightest distinction
And heaven and earth are set apart.
If you wish to see the truth,
Don’t think for or against.
Likes and dislikes
Are the mind’s disease.
Without understanding the deep meaning
You cannot still your thoughts.
It is clear like space,
Nothing missing, nothing extra.
If you want something
You cannot see things as they are.
Outside, don’t get tangled in things.
Inside, don’t get lost in emptiness.
Be still and become One
And all opposites disappear.
If you stop moving to become still,
This stillness always moves.
If you hold on to opposites,
How can you know One?
If you don’t understand One,
This and that cannot function.
Denied, the world asserts itself.
Pursued, emptiness is lost.
The more you think and talk,
The more you lose the Way.
Cut off all thinking
And pass freely anywhere.
Return to the root and understand.
Chase appearances and lose the source.
One moment of enlightenment
Illuminates the emptiness before you.
Emptiness changing into things
Is only our deluded view.
Do not seek the truth.
Only put down your opinions.
Do not live in the world of opposites.
Be careful! Never go that way.
If you make right and wrong,
Your mind is lost in confusion.
Two comes from One,
But do not cling even to this One.
When your mind is undisturbed
The ten thousand things are without fault.
No fault, no ten thousand things,
No disturbance, no mind.
No world, no one to see it.
No one to see it, no world.
This becomes this because of that.
That becomes that because of this.
If you wish to understand both,
See them as originally one emptiness.
In emptiness the two are the same,
And each holds the ten thousand things.
If you no longer see them as different,
How can you prefer one to another?
The Way is calm and wide,
Not easy, not difficult.
But small minds get lost.
Hurrying, they fall behind.
Clinging, they go too far,
Sure to take a wrong turn,
Just let it be! In the end,
Nothing goes, nothing stays.
Follow nature and become one with the Way,
Free and easy and undisturbed.
Tied by your thoughts, you lose the truth,
Become heavy, dull, and unwell.
Not well, the mind is troubled.
Then why hold or reject anything?
If you want to get the One Vehicle
Do not despise the world of the senses.
When you do not despise the six senses,
That is already enlightenment.
The wise do not act.
The ignorant bind themselves.
In true Dharma there is no this or that,
So why blindly chase your desires?
Using mind to stir up the mind
Is the original mistake.
Peaceful and troubled are only thinking.
Enlightenment has no likes or dislikes.
All opposites arise
From faulty views.
Illusions, flowers in the air –
Why try to grasp them?
Win, lose, right, wrong –
Put it all down!
If the eye never sleeps,
Dreams disappear by themselves.
If the mind makes no distinctions,
The ten thousand things are one essence.
Understand this dark essence
And be free from entanglements.
See the ten thousand things as equal
And you return to your original nature
Enlightened beings everywhere
All enter this source.
This source is beyond time and space.
One moment is ten thousand years.
Even if you cannot see it,
The whole universe is before your eyes.
Infinitely small is infinitely large:
No boundaries, no differences.
Infinitely large is infinitely small:
Measurements do not matter here.
What is is the same as what is not.
What is not is the same as what is.
Where it is not like this,
Don’t bother staying.
One is all,
All is one.
When you see things like this,
You do not worry about being incomplete.
Trust and Mind are not two.
Not-two is trusting the Mind.
Words and speech don’t cut it,
Can’t now, never could, won’t ever.
Bodhisattvas
The heart of the Bodhisattva Resolve, which the Mahayana practitioner makes in a formal liturgical ceremony, is the determination that one will lead all other sentient beings without exception into final and complete enlightenment, into the end of all suffering forever, before one allows oneself to attain complete enlightenment and the final end of suffering. This means, in effect, putting off one’s own nirvana, even though one has become pure enough to attain it, for anything approaching the imaginable future. The bodhisattva dedicates his or her practice, in this and all subsequent lives, for the good of all sentient beings, “until samsara is emptied.”
Certain bodhisattvas are identified by Mahayana as “Great Bodhisattvas.” They function essentially as Buddhas and are accorded regular worship. Some of the best known are as follows.
1. Avalokiteshvara: The bodhisattva of perfect compassion, who takes a variety of forms, and (in Sino-Japanese Buddhism, though not in Tibetan Buddhism) may be female, and may have eleven heads and a thousand arms. Always he/she “listens to the prayers of the world” (hence the Chinese and Japanese names Kuan (shih) yin/Kan (ze) on) and “always has his eyes open” (hence the Tibetan name Chenrezig) so as to be able to assist in any difficulty. As the servant of Amitabha Buddha (the Buddha of the Western Paradise—see the sections on Vajrayana and Pure Land Buddhism in chapter 10), he has a representation of Amitabha in his crown, but, even when he has this feature, he sometimes appears as an independent figure. The Dalai Lama is a Nirmanakaya (Tibetan: tulku) of Avalokiteshvara.
2. Mañjushri: The bodhisattva of perfect wisdom, who holds a book, from which he teaches, and a sword, with which he destroys ignorance, and rides a lion, whose voice silences all other animals. He is popular as a patron of the Zen meditation hall (wherein the wisdom of insight is sought) and of Dharma study (that is, of the wisdom aspect of Buddhist practice) in general.
3. Samantabhadra: The bodhisattva of perfect conduct, whose Bodhisattva Resolve focused especially on acts of devotion to all the Buddhas and the other Great Bodhisattvas, and pledges of untiring liberative action. He rides an elephant, which symbolizes the mind, as it is considered to be the wildest of all animals when out of control but the most docile of all when trained.
4. Achala: The bodhisattva of perfect stability. He symbolizes the eighth bodhisattva level. Surrounded by flames and standing firmly on a rock, he glares fiercely at the evil in and around his worshippers and prepares to snare the demons with his noose. In Japan, where he is known as Fudo Myo-o, “Immovable Wisdom King,” he was popular with the samurai, who prayed to him that they might be able to stand their ground and fight bravely. Many ordinary Japanese today seek his protection in the cut and thrust of rush hour traffic by hanging his amulet in their cars.
—The Vision of Buddhism by Roger Corless
________________________
Dogen certainly speaks of relying on the cosmic Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for assistance, and even in totally entrusting them. In the undated Shobogenzo essay Shoji, Dogen says simply, “Just set aside your body and mind, forget about them, and throw them into the house of Buddha; then all is done by Buddha.”
http://www.ancientdragon.org/dharma/articles/dogens_zazen_as_other_power_practice#_ednref15
Bow to Everything
When everything exists within your big mind, all dualistic relationships drop away. There is no distinction between heaven and earth, man and woman, teacher and disciple. Sometimes a man bows to a woman. Sometimes a woman bows to a man. Sometimes the disciple bows to the master; sometimes the master bows to the disciple, a master who cannot bow to his disciple cannot bow to Buddha. Sometimes the master and disciple bow together to Buddha. Sometimes we may bow to cats and dogs.
In your big mind, everything has the same value. Everything is Buddha himself. You see something or hear a sound, and there you have everything just as it is. In your practice, you should accept everything as it is giving to each thing the same respect given to a Buddha. Here there is Buddhahood them Buddha bows to Buddha, and you bow to yourself. This is the true bow.
—ZMBM, p. 43
A research study done in the 1970s, compared the response of longtime Zen Buddhist meditators with graduate students who had never meditated. A bell was rung while they were meditating at random intervals. The brain wave patterns at first were identical, there was an initial period of recognition, and then a settling back down into the meditative state. After a short while, the graduate students began to learn to ignore the bell and their brains hardly registered it as they very quickly resumed their meditative state. Zen meditators never became habituated to it. It was as if the bell was being heard for the first time every time.
Readiness of Mind is Wisdom
Just to see, and to be ready to see things with our whole mind is Zen practice…This is called mindfulness. Mindfulness is, at the same time, wisdom. By wisdom we do not mean some particular faculty or philosophy. It is the readiness of the mind that is wisdom. So wisdom could be various philosophies and teachings, and various kinds of research and studies. We should not become attached to some particular wisdom, such as that which was taught by the Buddha. Wisdom is not something to learn…the point is to be ready for observing things, and to be ready for thinking. …this is called emptiness of your mind
—ZMBM, p. 115
We must treat things as part of ourselves, within our practice and within big mind. Small mind is the mind that is under the limitation of desires or some particular emotional covering or the discrimination of good and bad… the Buddhist way is to try hard to let go of this kind of emotional discrimination of good and bad, to let go of our prejudices, and to see things as it is.
—Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness by Suzuki Roshi, p. 29.
Study Buddha’s words through some activity that you face moment after moment.
—ZMBM, p. 89
Bodhisattva vow
However innumerable sentient beings are,
I vow to save them.
However inexhaustible the passions are,
I vow to extinguish them.
However limitless the dharmas are,
I vow to study them.
However infinite though Buddha — truth is,
I vow to attain it.
—Dogen Kigen: Mystical Realist by H. J. Kim, p. 263.
Heart Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceived that all five skandhas in their own being are empty
and was saved from all suffering and distress.
Oh Shariputra , form does not differ from emptiness;
emptiness does not differ from form.
that which is form is emptiness;
that which is emptiness, form.
The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
Oh Shariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear nor disappear,
are not tainted nor pure,
do not increase nor decrease.
Therefore in emptiness, no form,
no feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness;
no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind;
no realm of eyes until no realm of mind consciousness;
no ignorance and also no extinction of it
until no old age and death and also no extinction of it;
no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path;
no cognition, also no attainment.
With nothing to attain
the Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and his mind is no hindrance.
Without any hindrance no fears exist;
far apart from every perverted view he dwells in Nirvana.
In the three worlds all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore know the Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra
is the great bright mantra
is the utmost mantra
is the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering,
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the prajna paramita mantra
proclaim the mantra that says:
Gate, Gate, paragate, parasamgate!
Bodhi! Svaha!
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Buddhism Class – Week 2
Four audio podcasts accompanying this course are available to download at http://cslsrpodcasts.blogspot.com.
The same content is also available as “Buddhist Meditation,”
a CD Audio Set available at Stepping Stones Books & Gifts.
Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa
Spiritual Enrichment Course
Written by Rev. Kim Kaiser
Once there was a layman who came to Ajahn Chah and asked him who Ajahn Chah was. Ajahn Chah, seeing that the spiritual development of the individual was not very advanced, pointed to himself and said, “This, this is Ajahn Chah.”
Once there was a layman who came to Ajahn Chah and asked him who Ajahn Chah was. Ajahn Chah, seeing that the questioners capacity to understand the Dhamma was higher, Ajahn Chah answered by saying, “Ajahn Chah? There is NO Ajahn Chah!”
A visiting Zen student asked Ajahn Chah, “How old are you? Do you live here all year round?” “I live nowhere”, he replied. “There is no place you can find me. I have no age. To have age, you must exist, and to think you exist is already a problem. Don’t make problems, then the world has none either. Don’t make a self. There’s nothing more to say.”
Remember you don’t meditate to get anything, but to get rid of things. We do it, not with desire, but with letting go. If you want anything, you won’t find it.
A woman wanted to know how to deal with anger. I asked when anger arose, whose anger it was. She said it was hers. Well, if it really was her anger, then she should be able to tell it to go away, shouldn’t she? But it really isn’t hers to command. Holding on to anger as a personal possession will cause suffering. If anger really belonged to us, it would have to obey us. If it doesn’t obey us, that means it’s only a deception. Don’t fall for it. Whenever the mind is happy or sad, don’t fall for it. It’s all a deception.
Try to be mindful, and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to drink at the pool, and you will clearly see the nature of all things. You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still. This is the happiness of the Buddha.
Proper effort is not the effort to make something particular happen. It is the effort to be aware and awake each moment, the effort to overcome laziness and merit, the effort to make each activity of our day meditation.
Do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not expect any praise or reward. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom. Your struggles with the world will have come to an end.
http://www.purifymind.com/ChahQuotesSimiles.htm
Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana
anatta/anatman
0 Bhikkhus, when neither self nor anything pertaining to self can truly and really be found, this speculative view: “The universe is that ätman (Soul); I shall be that after death, permanent, abiding, everlasting, unchanging, and I shall exist as such for eternity—is it not wholly and completely foolish.
Monks Form is impermanent. That which is impermanent is painful. That which is painful is [the result of a false idea of] self. One who is without self knows, “This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self. Thus should it be rightly regarded and considered. Monks! Feeling is impermanent Perception is impermanent Mental constituents are impermanent Consciousness is impermanent…. Thus should it rightly be regarded and considered.
Stated in the more frank language of the Chan/Zen School, the skandhas are “nothing more than a heap of snot and a puff of wind.”
—“Buddhist Ideas about No-Self and the Person”
by Martin Verhoeven in Religion East & West, Issue 6, October 2006.
…mindfulness, or awareness, does not mean that you should think and be conscious. “I am doing this” or “I am doing that.” No. Just the contrary. The moment you think, “I am doing this,” you become self-conscious, and then you do not live in the action, but you live in the idea of “I am,” and consequently your work too is spoiled. You should forget yourself completely, and lose yourself in what you do. The moment a speaker becomes self-conscious and thinks, “I am addressing an audience,” his speech is disturbed at his trend of thought broke. But when he forgets himself in his speech, in his subject, and he is at his best, he speaks well and explains things clearly. Oh, great work—artistic, poetic, intellectual or spiritual—is produced at those moments when its creators are lost completely in their actions, when they forget themselves altogether, and are free from self-consciousness. (p. 72)
You experience an unhappy, sorrowful sensation. In this state your mind is cloudy, hazy, not clear, it is depressed… First of all, you should learn not to be unhappy about your unhappy feeling, not to be worried about your worries… Try to examine how it arises, its cause, how it disappears, it’s cessation. Try to examine it as if you are observing it from outside, without any subjective reaction, the scientists observed some object. Here, too, you should not look at it as “my feeling”, or “my sensation.” Subjectively, but only look at it as “a feeling” or “a sensation.” Objectively. You should forget again the false idea of a “I.” When you see its nature, how it arises in disappears, your mind grows dispassionate towards that sensation, and becomes detached and free. It is the same with regard to all sensations or feelings. (p. 73)
—What the Buddha Taught, Walpola Rahula,
Skandhas
…the skandhas (Sanskrit) or khandhas (Pāli, aggregates in English) are the five functions or aspects that constitute the human being. The Buddha teaches that nothing among them is really “I” or “mine.”
In the Theravada tradition, suffering arises when one identifies with or clings to an aggregate. Suffering is extinguished by relinquishing attachments to aggregates.
The Mahayana tradition further puts forth that ultimate freedom is realized by deeply penetrating the nature of all aggregates as intrinsically empty of independent existence.
The Five Skandhas
The sutras describe five aggregates:
“form” or “matter (Skt., Pāli rūpa) : external and internal matter. Externally, rupa is the physical world. Internally, rupa includes the material body and the physical sense organs.
“sensation” or “feeling” (Skt., Pāli vedanā : sensing an object as either pleasant or unpleasant or neutral.
“perception”, “conception”, “apperception”, “cognition”, or “discrimination” (Skt. samjñā, Pāli saññā): registers whether an object is recognized or not (for instance, the sound of a bell or the shape of a tree).
“mental formations”, “impulses”, “volition”, or “compositional factors” (Skt. samskāra, Pāli saṅkhāra): all types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, prejudices, compulsions, and decisions triggered by an object.
“consciousness” or “discernment” (Skt. vijñāna, Pāli viññāṇa):
In the Nikayas/Āgamas: cognizance, that which discerns
In the Abhidhamma: a series of rapidly changing interconnected discrete acts of cognizance.
The Buddhist literature describes the aggregates as arising in a linear or progressive fashion, from form to feeling to perception to mental formations to consciousness. In the early texts, the scheme of the five aggregates is not meant to be an exhaustive classification of the human being. Rather it describes various aspects of the way an individual manifests.
No Essence
The aggregates don’t constitute any”’essence.” In the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha explains this by using the simile of a chariot:
A “chariot” exists on the basis of the aggregation of parts, even so the concept of “being” exists when the five aggregates are available.
Just as the concept of “chariot” is a reification, so too is the concept of “being.” The constituents of being too are unsubstantial in that they are causally produced, just like the chariot as a whole.
The chariot metaphor is not an exercise in ontology, but rather a caution against ontological theorizing and conceptual realism.Part of the Buddha’s general approach to language was to point towards its conventional nature, and to undermine the misleading character of nouns as substance-words.
Eighteen DHATUS
| Six External Bases | Six Inernal Bases | Six Consciousnesses |
| 1. Visual Objects | 2. Eye Faculty | 3. Visual Consciosness |
| 4. Auditory Objects | 5. Ear Faculty | 6. Aural Consciousness |
| 7. Olfactory Objects | 8. Nose Faculty | 9. Olfactory Consciousness |
| 10. Gustatory Objects | 11. Tongue Faculty | 12. Gustatory Consciousness |
| 13. Tactile Objects | 14. Body Faculty | 15. Touch Consciousness |
| 16. Mental Objects | 17. Mental Faculty | 18. Mental Consciousness |
The 12 Nidanas or Interdependent Originations
(sk. pratityasamutpada)
The sybolism can be seen in the tangha, shown on pages 10–11, starting at 12 o’clock going clockwise.
| 1. Ignorance or marigpa. (sk. avidya) |
Symbol: A blind old woman. The lack of wisdom. Impulse has moved us away from openness and equanimity into belief in self-existence which is blind to its true nature. |
| 2. Conditioning factors |
or karmic formations.
(sk. samskaras)Symbol: A potter making pots.
Pots are a common image in Indian philosophy to depict something coming into being, getting broken and being a useful item in between. Karmic formations (i.e., the deeply imbedded idea of having a self, activities of body, speech and mind as well as more individual tendencies and predispositions) are important factors in forming a person’s identity and are subject to change. The movement from openness relies on and looks for habitual reasons and connections.3. Consciousness.
(sk. vijnana)Symbol: A monkey scampering across a rooftop.
The monkey is a traditional image for human consciousness as both run here and there (sometimes seemingly aimlessly). There is a tendency to wander as the objects of perception change. Also there is the ability to identify, formulate and make things into something.
| 4. Name and Form. (sk. nama-rupa) |
Symbol: Two men in a boat. Two elements contribute to our identity as a self. Form refers to the physical body and name to the non-physical components of the aggregates (feeling, perception, formation, consciousness). |
| 5. The Six Senses. (sk. shadayatana) |
Symbol: A house with six windows. These 6 structures are eye/seeing, ear/hearing, nose/smelling, tongue/taste, skin/touch and mind/thought (which perceives and processes mental objects). They assist name and form as the source of our sense data about and interactions with the world. |
| 6. Contact. (sk. sparsa) |
Symbol: A couple making love. The activity of the sense organs connecting with the sense objects and sense consciousnesses. |
| 7. Feeling. (sk. vedana) |
Symbol: A man with an arrow in his eye. Contact gives rise to feelings of attachment, aversion or indifference, depending on the nature of the contact. |
| 8. Craving. (sk. trshna) |
Symbol: A picnic with eating and drinking. To desire further experience of the feeling, especially to obtain the pleasant ones and to avoid the unpleasant ones. One become compelled by the feeling which then becomes reinforced into habitual patterns of attachment and aversion. |
| 9. Grasping. (sk. upadana) |
Symbol: A monkey picking fruit. Fixation happens and concrete steps are taken to try to get what is desired. |
| 10. Becoming. (sk. bhava) |
Symbol: A pregnant woman. Purposefully striving to gain or avoid things. Intentional activity sets up the operation of karma which sets up the causes whose results become manifest in present and future lives. |
| 11. Birth. (sk. jati) |
Symbol: A woman giving birth. Bearing the fruit of the previous 10 steps. That which was desired and conditioned comes into being. |
| 12. Old age and death. (sk. jara-marana) |
Symbol: A corpse being carried away. Once there is birth, death is inevitable. Old age, illness and death are representative of the problems that afflict human existence for which the Buddha was trying to find an answer. |
The Buddha became enlightened when he was able to figure out the causal chain responsible for rebirth. This causal chain called the 12 nidanas points to the way that various elements are linked, with one step becoming the groundwork for others.
From a spiritual perspective, the two most important steps are the first (ignorance) and the seventh (craving). These are the two points at which human beings can consciously act to disrupt this causal chain and thus bring it to an end.
—Basicdharma.org
Vipassana
The Essence of Vipassana: Observing Your Mind
Begin practice by sitting up straight and paying attention. You can sit on the floor, you can sit in a chair. At first, you need not fix your attention on much. Simply be mindful of in-and-out breathing. If you find it helpful, you can also repeat “Buddha,” “Dharmo,” or “Sangho” as a mantra while you watch the breath going in and out. In this awareness of breathing, you must not force. If you try to control your breathing, that is not yet correct. It may seem that the breathing is too short, too long, too gentle, too heavy. You may feel that you are not passing the breath properly, or you may not feel well. Just let it be, let it settle by itself. Eventually the breath will enter and exit freely. When you are aware of and firmly established in this entry and exit, that is correct breathing.
When you become distracted, stop and refocus your attention. At first, when you are focusing it, your mind wants it to be a certain way. But do not control it or worry about it. Just notice it and let it be. Keep at it. Samadhi will grow by itself. As you go on practicing in this way, sometimes the breath will stop, but here again, do not fear. Only your perception of the breath has stopped; the subtle factors continue. When the time is right, the breath will come back on its own as before.
If you can make your mind tranquil like this, wherever you find yourself-on a chair, in a car, on a boat-you will be able to fix your attention and enter into a calm state immediately. Wherever you are, you will be able to sit for meditation.
Having reached this point, you know something of the Path, but you must also contemplate sense objects. Turn your tranquil mind toward sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, thoughts, mental objects, mental factors. Whatever arises, investigate it. Notice whether you like it or not, whether it pleases or displeases you, but do not get involved with it. This liking and disliking are just reactions to the world of appearances-you must see a deeper level. Then, whether something initially seems good or bad, you will see that it is really only impermanent, unsatisfactory, and empty. File everything that arises into those three categories-good, bad, evil, wonderful, whatever it is, put it there. This is the way of vipassana, by which all things are calmed.
Before long, knowledge and insight into impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and emptiness will arise. This is the beginning of true wisdom, the heart of meditation, which leads to liberation. Follow your experience. See it. Strive continuously. Know the truth. Learn to give up, to get rid, to attain peace.
When sitting in meditation, you may have strange experiences or visions such as seeing lights, angels, or buddhas. When you see such things, you should observe yourself first to find out what state the mind is in. Do not forget the basic point. Pay attention. Do not wish for visions to arise or not to arise. If you go running after such experiences, you may end up babbling senselessly because the mind has fled the stable. When such things do come, contemplate them. When, you have contemplated them, do not be deluded by them. You should consider that they are not yourself; they too are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not self. Though they have come about, do not take them seriously. If they do not go away, re-establish your mindfulness, fix your attention on your breathing, and take at least three long inhalations and exhalations-then you can cut them off. Whatever arises, keep re-establishing your attention. Do not take anything as yourself-everything is only a vision or a construction of the mind, a deception that causes you to like, grasp, or fear. When you see such constructions, do not get involved. All unusual experiences and visions are of value to the wise person but harmful to the unwise. Keep practicing until you are not stirred by them.
If you can trust your mind in this way, there is no problem. If it wants to be glad, you just know that this gladness is uncertain, unstable. Do not fear your visions or other experiences in practice, just learn to work with them. In this way, defilement can be used to train the mind, and you come to know the natural state of the mind, free from extremes, clear, unattached.
As I see it, the mind is like a single point, the center of the universe, and mental states are like visitors who come to stay at this point for short or long periods of time. Get to know these visitors well. Become familiar with the vivid pictures they paint, the alluring stories they tell, to entice you to follow them. But do not give up your seat-it is the only chair around. If you continue to occupy it unceasingly, greeting each guest as it comes, firmly establishing yourself in awareness, transforming your mind into the one who knows, the one who is awake, the visitors will eventually stop coming back. If you give them real attention, how many times can these visitors return? Speak with them here, and you will know every one of them well. Then your mind will at last be at peace.
—A Still Forest Pool by Achaan Chah
| Self and Other |
From Thoughts on Shin Buddhism
PART 3 Eastern Buddhist
by D. T. Suzuki
At first glance, Buddhism seems to be most concerned with the concept of change and impermanence, as expressed in such doctrines as the Four Noble Truths (suffering, the cause of suffering, the extinction of suffering, the way leading to deliverance) and the four forms of existence (arising, abiding, transforming, and perishing). Buddhism, however, sees the immovable in that which is ceaselessly moving. It is because we take the ever-moving self, stop it for a moment and try to understand what it is that we run into difficulties. It is best to leave moving things in motion, viewing self too in this way.
Where does this “I am that I am” come from? This “I” is not the self of duality, the self of “self and other”—it is self unseparated from other. In a sense it is the absolute self, and as such is the same as Absolute Other Power, which being absolute lies at the root of all. But even when dealing with Absolute Other Power the self cannot be left out of consideration. It is we ourselves who must recognize the absoluteness of Absolute Other Power, and even though it is through Amida’s Other Power that we are enabled to do this, still the self inevitably appears in the process. The self we are now speaking of is not the self which stands against Other Power, but the self which has become one with Other Power.
My Notes
Taking Refuge
Three Treasures –
When this existence is personified we call it Buddha; when we understand it as the ultimate truth then we call it Dharma; and when we accept the truth and act as a part of the Buddha, or according to the theory, we call ourselves Sangha. But even though there are three Buddha forms, it is one existence which has no form or color, and it is always ready to take form and color.
—Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
What is taking refuge?
What is taking refuge in the:
Buddha
Dharma
Sangha
Heart Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceived that all five skandhas in their own being are empty
and was saved from all suffering and distress.
Oh Shariputra , form does not differ from emptiness;
emptiness does not differ from form.
that which is form is emptiness;
that which is emptiness, form.
The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
Oh Shariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear nor disappear,
are not tainted nor pure,
do not increase nor decrease.
Therefore in emptiness, no form,
no feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness;
no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind;
no realm of eyes until no realm of mind consciousness;
no ignorance and also no extinction of it
until no old age and death and also no extinction of it;
no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path;
no cognition, also no attainment.
With nothing to attain
the Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and his mind is no hindrance.
Without any hindrance no fears exist;
far apart from every perverted view he dwells in Nirvana.
In the three worlds all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore know the Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra
is the great bright mantra
is the utmost mantra
is the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering,
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the prajna paramita mantra
proclaim the mantra that says:
Gate, Gate, paragate, parasamgate!
Bodhi! Svaha!
Buddhism Course – lesson 1
Mysticism
Mystical experiences do not necessarily supply new ideas to the mind, rather, they transform what one believes into what one knows, converting abstract concepts, such as divine love, into vivid, personal, realities.
It is the experiential knowledge that, in one way or another, everything is interconnected, that all things have a single source.
Mystical experience is often felt… as being in love,
They speak of union, fusion, absorption in, of being completely taken up by, and so on…
Awareness of a separate “I” disappears. Inner and outer flow away.
The awareness of a separate person ego that experiences something “other,” and feels that the self is enjoying, seeing experiencing—that awareness is no more.
There is no longer any awareness of time, or of any stream of time with past and future. Rather there is a sense of eternity.
…a realization – with one’s whole being – that all things are one, a universe, an organic whole into which the self fits…
it is like paradise: everything is one and interconnected, and is not divided into good and evil, into I and not-I, into body and mind.
Essentially, everything seems to be good….
love seems to be the basis of everything, the connection of this whole, the heart of this organism.
(Mystics) say something about God as he is experienced, but nothing about God as He is in Himself. All mystics declare their total ignorance of the being of God…widely differing names are given to what is encountered…
The Ultimate Reality, the Absolute, All-is One/One is All, the Unity of All Things, the Ground of Creation, Brahma, are names for the deeper reality experienced as a oneness in which everything is interconnected.
The true I, the Self, the Vital Spark, Atman, are names for the experience that this deepest reality also dwells in the innermost part of the human being. “Brahma is all and Atman is Brahma.” Names such as Ground or Deeps are also tied in with this experience.
You, the Bridegroom, the Beloved, indicate partnership and the personal character of the mystical experience.
The adoption of a name like Father, Son, Corpus Christi, Jesus, Mary, Krishna, points to an experience of the All-One in which humanity is central…
The peculiarity of mystical language…is not that it is describing another reality, but that it is describing the same reality in another way.
—Mysticism: Its History and Challenge
by Bruno Borchert
Buddha – The Awakened One
Bodhi…is the perfect liberation of body, speech, and mind. Tibetans call a Buddha Sangye (sangs rgyas). Sang means to come to one’s senses after having been asleep or drunk, and gye means broad, wide, or fully developed. Thus, Sangye means fully awake, having one’s potential fully developed. In this state of full awareness, a Buddha sees reality as it truly is…
—The Vision of Buddhism
by Roger Corless
Jane Hirshfield “He said, at this moment all beings and I awaken together. So it was not just him. It was all the universe. He touched the earth. ‘As earth is my witness. Seeing this morning star, all things and I awaken together.'”
Robert Thurman: “It’s not like entering a new state; it’s uncovering or surrendering to the reality that has always been there. He realized he’d always been in Nirvana that Nirvana was always the case; your reality itself is Nirvana. It’s the unreality; it’s your ignorance that makes you think you’re this self-centered separate being trying to fight off an overwhelming universe and failing. You are that universe.”
http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/enlightenment-part-3/
Siddhartha Gautama’s Early Life
Siddhartha Gautama was born about 583 BCE, in or near what is now Nepal. His father, King Suddhodana, was leader of a large clan called the Shakya. His mother, Queen Maya, died shortly after his birth.
When Prince Siddhartha was a few days old, a holy man prophesied the Prince would be either a great military conqueror or a great spiritual teacher. King Suddhodana preferred the first outcome and prepared his son accordingly. He raised the boy in great luxury and shielded him from knowledge of religion and human suffering. The Prince reached the age of 29 with little experience of the world outside the walls of his opulent palaces.
The Four Passing Sights
One day, overcome with curiosity, Prince Siddhartha asked a charioteer to take him on a series of rides through the countryside. On these journeys he was shocked by the sight of an aged man, then a sick man, and then a corpse. The stark realities of old age, disease, and death seized and sickened the Prince.
Finally, he saw a wandering ascetic. The charioteer explained that the ascetic was one who had renounced the world and sought release from fear of death and suffering.
The Renunciation
For a time the Prince returned to palace life, but he took no pleasure in it. Even the news that his wife Yasodhara had given birth to a son did not please him. The child was called Rahula, which means “fetter.”
One night he wandered the palace alone. The luxuries that had once pleased him now seemed grotesque. Musicians and dancing girls had fallen asleep and were sprawled about, snoring and sputtering. Prince Siddhartha reflected on the old age, disease, and death that would overtake them all and turn their bodies to dust.
He realized then that he could no longer be content living the life of a prince. That very night he left the palace, shaved his head, and changed his prince’s clothes for a beggar’s robe. Then he began his quest for enlightenment.
The Search
Siddhartha began by seeking out renowned teachers, who taught him about the many religious philosophies of his day as well as how to meditate. But after he had learned all they had to teach, his doubts and questions remained. so he and five disciples left to find enlightenment by themselves.
The six companions attempted to find release from suffering through physical discipline–enduring pain, holding their breath, fasting nearly to starvation. Yet Siddhartha was still unsatisfied. It occurred to him that in renouncing pleasure he had grasped pleasure’s opposite–pain and self-mortification. Now Siddhartha considered a Middle Way between those two extremes.
He remembered an experience from his childhood, when his mind had settled into a state of deep peace. The path of liberation was through discipline of mind. He realized that instead of starvation, he needed nourishment to build up his strength for the effort. But when he accepted a bowl of rice milk from a young girl, his companions assumed he had given up the quest and abandoned him.
The Enlightenment of the Buddha
Siddhartha sat beneath a sacred fig (Ficus religiosa), known ever after as the Bodhi Tree, and settled into meditation.
The work of Siddhartha’s mind came to be mythologized as a great battle with Mara, a demon whose name means “destruction” and who represents the passions that snare and delude us. Mara brought vast armies of monsters to attack Siddhartha, who sat still and untouched. Mara’s most beautiful daughter tried to seduce Siddhartha, but this effort also failed.
Finally, Mara claimed the seat of enlightenment rightfully belonged to him. Mara’s spiritual accomplishments were greater than Siddhartha’s, the demon said. Mara’s monstrous soldiers cried out together, “I am his witness!” Mara challenged Siddhartha–who will speak for you?
Then Siddhartha reached out his right hand to touch the earth, and the earth itself roared, “I bear you witness!” Mara disappeared. And as the morning star rose in the sky, Siddhartha Gautama realized enlightenment and became a Buddha.
The Teacher
At first, the Buddha was reluctant to teach, because what he had realized could not be communicated in words. Only through discipline and clarity of mind would delusions fall away and the Great Reality could be directly experienced. Listeners without that direct experience would be stuck in conceptualizations and would surely misunderstand everything he said. But compassion persuaded him to make the attempt.
After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park in Isipatana, located in what is now the province of Uttar Pradesh, India. There he found the five companions who had abandoned him, and to them he preached his first sermon. This sermon has been preserved as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta and centers on the Four Noble Truths. Instead of teaching doctrines about enlightenment, the Buddha chose to prescribe a path of practice through which people can realize enlightenment for themselves.
The Buddha devoted himself to teaching, attracting hundreds of followers. Eventually he became reconciled with his father, King Suddhodana. His wife, the devoted Yasodhara, became a nun and disciple. Rahula, his son, became a novice monk at the age of 7 and spent the rest of his life with his father.
Last Words
The Buddha tirelessly traveled and taught until his death at age 80. His last words to his followers:
Behold, O monks, this is my last advice to you. All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation.
http://buddhism.about.com/od/lifeofthebuddha/a/buddhalife.htm
Training the mind:
Buddhism points out that you are not what you think; like the weather, what you think is unpredictable and subject to change. Because of this the untrained mind is also essentially unreliable. Your thoughts and feelings lack permanence. This is a fact of conditioned, conventional existence.
—Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment
by Lama Surya Das
There is a great difference between conscious and unconscious thought for trained thought is far more powerful than untrained…Even a small amount of right thought puts to rout that which is wrong.
—209.1 SOM
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The four noble truths is the first teaching the Buddha ever gave (to his five former ascetic colleagues) soon after his enlightenment. It is called the Discourse on Turning the Wheel of Dharma (Dhamma-cakka-pavatana Sutta). In this schema, the four noble truths are: Conditioned existence is dukkha (pain, suffering, discomfort, disease, sense of incompleteness). Dukkha is caused by “thirst” or craving (Pali/Skt: tanha), the desire to be, desire to have. The thirst can be stopped (nirodha). It can be stopped by walking the eightfold path (wholesome view, wholesome intention, wholesome speech, wholesome action, wholesome livelihood, wholesome effort, wholesome mindfulness, wholesome concentration).
—The Heart of the Universe: Exploring the Heart Sutra
by Mu Soeng
First Noble Truth
The First Noble Truth is known as the truth of dukkha.
Etymologically speaking, the literal meanings of dukkha are “hard to bear,” “dissatisfactory,” “off the mark,” “frustrating,” and “hollow.” The word dukkha, however, is frequently translated as suffering. This concept, the so-called “bad news” of Buddhism, has led some people to misconstrue Buddhism as pessimistic and life-denying. Yet Buddha’s primary message, the “good news” of Dharma, is that there is a way to be free of suffering. The message of the Dharma is inherently optimistic; it contains the promise, the real possibility, of spiritual rebirth and the end of suffering—the deathless spiritual enlightenment known as nirvana. Buddha Dharma does not teach that everything is suffering.
What Buddhism does say is that life, by its nature, is difficult, flawed, and imperfect. For most of us, this fact of life hardly merits a news flash. Who among us has a perfect life? Of course we would like it to be delightful and wonderful all the time. But it’s not going to happen. That’s the nature of life, and that’s the First Noble Truth. From a Buddhist point of view, this is not a judgment of life’s joys or sorrows; this is a simple, down-to-earth, matter-of-fact description. The fact is that we will all experience ups and downs no matter who we are. That’s part of the roller-coaster ride. Buddhism is neither pessimistic nor optimistic; it is realistic…
(Buddha) had to break through the obscurations of delusion—his own denial—and see the reality of conditioned existence, known as samsara, with all its inherent shortcomings. For all of us, this is an essential part of the path to enlightenment: Awaken your innate, inner Buddha; break through the denial systems in your life; see through the veils of illusion; recognize who and what you truly are; and know the truth of things exactly as they are.
—Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment
by Lama Surya Das
Three Sources of Dukkha
1. Ordinary, Everyday Difficulties or Dukkha
You don’t always get what you think you want, and that makes most people feel unhappy at least some of the time. If you are born, you are eventually bound to experience both physical and emotional pain. Birth, aging, illness, loss, grieving, as well as disappointments happen to every single one of us. This isn’t all bad. We can learn a great deal from the problems, both large and small, that we experience.
2. Difficulties or Dukkha Caused by Changing Circumstances
These are moments of genuine happiness. The difficulty, or dukkha, that we all face is that these moments don’t last: The music ends, your friends get a divorce, the new job you thought you wanted turns into a stress-producing headache, moments of cosmic love and bliss are fleeting. Thus we frequently end up feeling nostalgia, disappointment, and loss. Nothing good lasts forever; even the best moments of life are laced with a bittersweet quality. This is known as the dukkha of changing circumstances.
3. Difficulties or Dukkha Caused by the Flawed Nature of Conditioned
Existence
The third level of duhkha is derived directly from the observations made at the second level. Since we have discovered that, whether we are at work or away on vacation, that is, wherever we are in samsara, we are still suffering, we conclude that samsara itself is suffering. And, since we have found, during sitting meditation, that no position of the body is intrinsically comfortable, we have to admit that the body is suffering. This is called samskara-duhkhata, the suffering of conditioned existence… It is not that there is suffering in samsara, along with no suffering, but that samsara is suffering, through and through. Samsara and duhkha are synonymous. This is something that is not readily apprehended. It is said to be like a very fine hair in one’s eye. Because of the extreme fineness of the hair it is only noticed by someone whose pain threshold is very low.
Second Noble Truth
The Arising of Duhkha
The first part of the Fourfold Truth identifies the disease that afflicts all samsaric beings. The second part of the Fourfold Truth gives the etiology of the disease. Samudaya, arising, refers to the origin or the source of suffering. The root of suffering is upadana, grasping. Reality is flowing, but we attempt to freeze it; it is spacelike, but we attempt to parcel it up. From this comes, at the very least, disappointment, since when look at what we have grasped, we find it is not what we thought it was. Four types of grasping are traditionally identified: grasping at sense objects, at viewpoints, at ceremonies, and at the word “I.”
Third Noble Truth
The Stopping of the Arising of Duhkha
The third part of the Fourfold Truth is a message of hope. Our disease is not incurable. The Buddha, as the Master Physician (Bhaishajya-guru), has identified the disease as duhkha and the cause as grasping (upadana). Now, he analyzes the cause in more detail. Suffering does not come to us because of fate or the decree of a deity, it comes from our own past actions, and, therefore, we can do something about it. When the mechanism of the fruiting of action is understood, suffering can be stopped. This part of the Fourfold Truth is therefore called nirodha, stopping or extinction.
Fourth Noble Truth
The Way to the Stopping of the Arising of Duhkha
The last part of the Fourfold Truth is the remedy for the disease of suffering. It is called marga or the path. More precisely, it is the Holy Eightfold Path (aryashtangika-marga). The practice is called a path because suffering is ended bit by bit, with many reversals, and it is something we have to tread. The remedy is not a pill that works all at once and without our cooperation.
The eight limbs of the path are as follows:
1. Right View (samyag-drishti): understanding reality as it truly is, rather than as our deluded consciousness thinks it is. The basis of right view is the correct understanding of the Fourfold Truth.
- The Radiant Buddha said: Regard this fleeting world like this: Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn, like bubbles on a fast moving stream, like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass, like a candle flickering in a strong wind, echos, mirages, and phantoms, hallucinations, and like a dream. —from The Eight Simile of Illusion by Prajna Paramita
- Right View is the reliable touchstone that reminds us to look at the world without any delusions or distortions about reality, or ourselves; to see roses where there are roses, thorns where there are thorns. Right View emphasizes the development of wisdom or prajna, which at its essence means knowing what is, knowing how things work, and knowing oneself and others.
2. Right Attitude (samyak-samkalpa): judging or classifying mind, the mind that we ordinarily use in going about our business, is to be free of attachment, hate, and confusion.
- The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character; So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love Born out of concern for all beings….
- This step speaks about the possibility, and necessity, of using our minds and firm determination, or resolve, to free ourselves from ignorance, delusion, negativity, and selfishness. This step asks us, as seekers, to purify our attitudes and thoughts—to become totally straightforward and honest with ourselves—and, in so doing, to develop a working loving-kindness, empathy, and compassion toward all creatures. We cannot find deeper spiritual understanding without developing the faculties and qualities of the heart and mind.
3. Right Speech (samyag-vak): helpful and compassionate speech, free from lying, backbiting, and so forth.
- METTA PRAYER May all beings be happy, content, and fulfilled. May all beings be healed and whole. May all have whatever they want and need. May all be protected from harm, and free from fear. May all beings enjoy inner peace and ease. May all be awakened, liberated, and free. May there be peace in this world, and throughout the entire universe.
- In nontheistic Buddhism, as we pray, we are not petitioning for something so much as we are reaffirming our intentions and asserting our vows. The word we translate as prayer in Tibetan is Monlam. It roughly translates as aspiration-path or wishing-path. In the Dzogchen tradition, prayers are like the self-resound of Buddha-nature, Dharmata, a spontaneous display of innate wisdom mind…
4. Right Action (samyak-karmanta): helpful and compassionate conduct, free from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
- a. Do not do anything harmful; do only what is good; purify and train your own mind: This is the teaching of the Buddha; this is the path to enlightenment. —The Buddha
- A clear perspective on Right Action teaches us that our actions are like seeds—karmic seeds. The commonsense wisdom of the laws of causality helps us understand that apple seeds don’t produce lemon trees.
- The Dalai Lama once wrote “The true religious person … accepts the truth that he or she is responsible for the pleasurable and unpleasurable feelings he experiences, these being the fruits of his own karma [actions].”
5. Right Livelihood (samyag-ajiva): earning our living in a manner that helps, rather than harms, sentient beings.
- …work that helps us live here and now while keeping us connected to a higher, more timeless, reality. Right Livelihood is work that genuinely develops us as we develop it. In an interview, the wonderful poet Maya Angelou defined work as “something made greater by ourselves and in turn that makes us greater.”
6. Right Effort (samyag-vyayama): actively working to overcome our hindrances and negativities, and cultivating our wholesome qualities.
- a. With sustained effort and sincerity Discipline and self-control The wise become like islands Which no flood can overwhelm. —from The Dhammapada (Sayings of the Buddha)
- Right Effort really means spiritual effort. We are working to elevate ourselves, trying to develop more wholesome mind states, while gently striving to go deeper and live more fully. Through this effort we are opening and awakening our hearts and minds, body and soul.
7. Right Mindfulness (samyak-smriti): maintaining awareness of reality as it truly is.
- Keeping Your Eyes Open — The whole thrust of Buddha’s teaching is to master the mind. If you master the mind, you will have mastery over body and speech…. Mastery of the mind is achieved through constant awareness of all your thoughts and actions…. Maintaining this constant mindfulness in the practice of tranquility and insight, you will eventually be able to sustain the recognition of wisdom even in the midst of ordinary activities and distractions. Mindfulness is thus the very basis, the cure for all samsaric afflictions. —From Journey to Enlightenment by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
- Right Mindfulness, the seventh step on the Noble Eight-Fold Path, might even be called the escalator to enlightenment… Consider all the books, articles, and personal-growth techniques reminding us to “let go and live in the moment,” to “be present,” to “live a conscious life,” to “slow down,” and to be “in touch with our feelings.” Conscious presence, here and now, is the lesson of mindfulness. It’s one we all need.
8. Right Concentration (samyak-samadhi): meditation according to proper Buddhist principles.
- The Buddha said that he experienced indescribable bliss, rapture, peace, and transcendence through concentration and that you can too. Right Concentration, the final step on the Noble Eight-Fold Path, involves more than the simple act of focusing… Right Concentration implies a unification of spiritual intentionality, focus, mental discipline, energy, and attention. In Right Concentration we skillfully collect and harness all of our energy so that every part of our being is integrated and focused, working together toward our goal of enlightenment. Once you have arrived at this point, concentration in this sense is not forced, restricted, or fixated, but instead rests naturally where it is placed. Learning how to practice Right Concentration is a little like finding your balance.
Numbers 1-8 are from The Vision of Buddhism by Roger Corless.
Commentary listed as a ,b ,c, etc. are from Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das.
Three Treasures –
When this existence is personified we call it Buddha; when we understand it as the ultimate truth then we call it Dharma; and when we accept the truth and act as a part of the Buddha, or according to the theory, we call ourselves Sangha. But even though there are three Buddha forms, it is one existence which has no form or color, and it is always ready to take form and color.
— Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
by Shunryu Suzuki
What is taking refuge?
What is taking refuge in the:
Buddha
Dharma
Sangha
Heart Sutra
Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceived that all five skandhas in their own being are empty
and was saved from all suffering and distress.
Oh Shariputra , form does not differ from emptiness;
emptiness does not differ from form.
that which is form is emptiness;
that which is emptiness, form.
The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
Oh Shariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear nor disappear,
are not tainted nor pure,
do not increase nor decrease.
Therefore in emptiness, no form,
no feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness;
no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind;
no realm of eyes until no realm of mind consciousness;
no ignorance and also no extinction of it
until no old age and death and also no extinction of it;
no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path;
no cognition, also no attainment.
With nothing to attain
the Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and his mind is no hindrance.
Without any hindrance no fears exist;
far apart from every perverted view he dwells in Nirvana.
In the three worlds all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment.
Therefore know the Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra
is the great bright mantra
is the utmost mantra
is the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering,
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the prajna paramita mantra
proclaim the mantra that says:
Gate, Gate, paragate, parasamgate!
Bodhi! Svaha!
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Spiritual Enrichment Course
Written by Rev. Kim Kaiser
FUKANZAZENGI by Eihei Dogen
“…cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words and following after speech, and learn the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illuminate your self. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will be manifest. If you want to attain suchness, you should practice suchness without delay.
For (zazen), a quiet room is suitable. Eat and drink moderately. Cast aside all involvements and cease all affairs. Do not think good or bad. Do not administer pros and cons. Cease all the movements of the conscious mind, the gauging of all thoughts and views. Have no designs on becoming a Buddha. Zazen has nothing whatever to do with sitting or lying down.
…You should have your robes and belt loosely bound and arranged in order. Then place…your left palm (facing upwards) on your right palm, thumb-tips touching. Thus sit upright in correct bodily posture, neither inclining to the left nor to the right, neither leaning forward nor backward. Be sure your ears are on a plane with your shoulders and your nose in line with your navel. Place your tongue against the front roof of your mouth, with teeth and lips both shut. Your eyes should always remain open, and you should breathe gently through your nose.
Once you have adjusted your posture, take a deep breath, inhale and exhale, rock your body right and left and settle into a steady, immobile sitting position.”
Count each exhalation up to ten, then begin again
If you lose track, return to 1
Returning is the key to this practice
Siddhartha – The Movie
Click the link to view the movie – and then write your comments below.
What parts of the movie do you believe are true depictions of Buddha’s life?
What personal lessons did you take from the movie?
About Buddhism
Buddhism is a tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development. Buddhists strive for a deep insight into the true nature of life and do not worship gods or deities.
Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life. There are 376 million followers worldwide.
Buddhists seek to reach a state of nirvana, following the path of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, who went on a quest for Enlightenment around the sixth century BC.
There is no belief in a personal god. Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent and that change is always possible. The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.
Buddhists believe that life is both endless and subject to impermanence, suffering and uncertainty. These states are called the tilakhana, or the three signs of existence. Existence is endless because individuals are reincarnated over and over again, experiencing suffering throughout many lives.
It is impermanent because no state, good or bad, lasts forever. Our mistaken belief that things can last is a chief cause of suffering.
The history of Buddhism is the story of one man’s spiritual journey to enlightenment, and of the teachings and ways of living that developed from it.
The Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was born into a royal family in present-day Nepal over 2500 years ago. He lived a life of privilege and luxury until one day he left the royal enclosure and encountered for the first time, an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. Disturbed by this he became a monk before adopting the harsh poverty of Indian asceticism. Neither path satisfied him and he decided to pursue the ‘Middle Way’ – a life without luxury but also without poverty.
Buddhists believe that one day, seated beneath the Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening), Siddhartha became deeply absorbed in meditation and reflected on his experience of life until he became enlightened.
By finding the path to enlightenment, Siddhartha was led from the pain of suffering and rebirth towards the path of enlightenment and became known as the Buddha or ‘awakened one’.
Schools of Buddhism
There are numerous different schools or sects of Buddhism. The two largest are Theravada Buddhism, which is most popular in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Burma (Myanmar), and Mahayana Buddhism, which is strongest in Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia.
The majority of Buddhist sects do not seek to proselytise (preach and convert), with the notable exception of Nichiren Buddhism.
All schools of Buddhism seek to aid followers on a path of enlightenment.
Key facts
- Buddhism is 2,500 years old
- There are currently 376 million followers worldwide
- There are over 150,000 Buddhists in Britain
- Buddhism arose as a result of Siddhartha Gautama’s quest for Enlightenment in around the 6th Century BC
- There is no belief in a personal God. It is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God
- Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent – change is always possible
- The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, but there are many more
- Buddhists can worship both at home or at a temple
- The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.