WEEK 5: INTRODUCTION TO
BUDDHISM
• DR. DORIS R. JAKOBSH
1
IS BUDDHISM A RELIGION?
• NO ‘GOD-NOTION’
• NO CREATOR
• NO ULTIMATE REALITY TO WORSHIP
2
BUT:
• ALLOWING FOR A DIFFERENT
VOCABULARY
• NON-THEISTIC
• THEN BUDDHISM IS A RELIGION
3
ESSENCE:
•
•
•
•
Buddhism is a way of life
Ethical
Psychological
Philosophy of BECOMING/AWAKENING
4
BUDDHIST ALTARS
•
•
•
•
•
•
Do not focus on an archetypal hero
Mother, father image
Rather, a psychological state
Profound meditation
Warm compassion
Fury against illusion
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Buddha
under
Bodhi
Tree,
Sri
Lanka
7
Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa.
The Buddha is dying
8
9
THAI WALKING BUDDHA
10
11
1993 CHICAGO PARLIAMENT
OF THE WORLD RELIGIONS
“The Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was not God or a god. He
was a human being who attained full enlightenment through
meditation and showed us the path of spiritual awakening and
freedom. Therefore, Buddhism is not a religion of God.
Buddhism is a religion of wisdom, enlightenment and compassion.
Like the worshippers of God who believe that salvation is available
to all through confession of sin and a life a prayer, we Buddhists
believe that salvation and enlightenment are available to all
through the removal of delusion and a life of meditation/ However,
unlike those who believe in God who is separate from us,
Buddhists believe that Buddha, which means ‘one who is awake
and enlightened’ is inherent in us all as Buddhanature or
Buddhamind.”
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BUDDHA AND ‘ULTIMATE
QUESTIONS’
- Nature of the soul
- Life after death
- Origin of the universe
- NOT ADDRESSED
13
“BEING RELIGIOUS AND FOLLOWING
DHARMA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH
DOGMA THAT THE WORLD IS
ETERNAL. FOR WHETHER THE WORLD
IS ETERNAL OR OTHERWISE, BIRHT,
OLD AGE, DEATH, SORROW, PAIN,
MISERY, GRIEF AND DESPAIR EXIST. I
AM CONCERNED WITH THE
EXTINCTION OF THESE.”
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ANALOGY:
•
•
•
•
BUDDHA TEACHINGS = RAFT
SHORE = NIRVANA
BUT: THE SHORE IS NOT DESCRIBED
MAKE-UP OF RAFT IS THE BUDDHA’S
TEACHINGS
DEER PARK SERMON
• Four
Noble
Truths
• ‘Middle
Way’
“THERE ARE 2 EXTREMES, MONKS, WHICH ARE
TO BE AVOIDED. WHAT ARE THESE 2 EXTREMES?
A LIFE GIVEN TO PLEASURES, DEDICATED TO
PLEASURES AND LUSTS – THIS IS DEGRADING,
SENSUAL, VULGAR, UNWORTHY AND USELESS.
AND A LIFE GIVEN TO SELF-TORTURE – THIS IS
PAINFUL, UNWORTHY, AND USELESS.
BY AVOIDING THESE 2 EXTREMES, MONKS, I
HAVE GAINED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MIDDLE
PATH, WHICH LEADS TO INSIGHT, WHICH LEADS
TO WISDOM, WHICH PRODUCES CALM,
KNOWLEDGE, ENLIGHTENMENT AND NIRVANA.”
FIRST NOBLE TRUTH:
LIFE INEVITABLY INVOLVES
SUFFERING:
- Imperfect
- Illness
- Hateful
- Separation
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SECOND NOBLE TRUTH:
THE ORIGIN OF SUFFERING IS
OUR DESIRES:
-
Grasping for pleasure
Grasping for becoming
Grasping for sensual delight
Grasping for what we don’t have
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THIRD NOBLE TRUTH:
SUFFERING WILL STOP WHEN
DESIRES ARE STOPPED:
- When the ‘grasping’ stops
- Elimination of passions
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FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH:
THERE IS A WAY TO GET TO THIS
POINT: THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
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1) RIGHT UNDERSTANDING
• Understanding reality through the Four
Noble Truths
• Seeing through illusions
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2) RIGHT
THOUGHT/MOTIVES
• Uncover ‘unwholesome’ emotional roots
that guide our thinking
• Discover and weed out
• Only then do we become free from selfcentredness
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3) RIGHT SPEECH
• VS. - Vain talk, gossip, harsh words, lying
• Communication must further truth and
harmony
• Including ‘self-talk’: “May you be well and
happy today…”
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4) RIGHT ACTION
FIVE RULES OF MORAL CONDUCT:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
DO NOT DESTROY LIFE
DO NOT STEAL
AVOID SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
DO NOT LIE
DO NOT USE INTOXICANTS
ABOVE ALL: ALL ACTIONS SHOULD BE
BASED ON CLEAR UNDERSTANDING
MONKEYS TAKE CARE OF
THE TREES, STORY
5) RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
• How one makes their living
• One’s work should not harm others
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6) RIGHT EFFORT
• Refers to the constant effort that must be put
into achieving these goals
• IT TAKES EFFORT!
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7) RIGHT MINDFULNESS
• The way to liberation is through the mind
“CHECK YOUR MIND
BE ON GUARD
PULL YOURSELF OUT
LIKE AN ELEPHANT FROM THE
MUD.”
8) RIGHT MEDITATION
• Applying mental discipline to quiet the
mind
THE MIND IS SUBTLE, INVISIBLE,
AND TREACHEROUS
USE SKILFUL MEANS TO SEE AND
UNDERSTAND ITS NATURE
KARMA:
• CAUSE OF NEXT LIFE = KARMA
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ANATMAN, SKANDHAS
• ANATMAN - No soul to be reborn; no
permanent reality
• SKANDHAS – aggregates
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KARMA: ANALOGY
• Candle analogy
• Domino analogy
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SAMSARA
• Worldly phenomena
• Life, suffering, decay, death, painful rebirth
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NIRVANA
“No suffering for him
Who is free from sorrow
Free from the fetters of life
Free in everything he does
He has reached the end of his road…
Like a bird invisibly flying in the sky
He lives without possessions
Knowledge his food, freedom his world
While others wonder…
He has found freedom –
Peaceful his thinking, peaceful his speech
Peaceful his deed, tranquil his mind.”
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Anuradhapura, Sri Lankan Stupa
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TIBETAN CHORTEN/STUPA
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MAITREYA
BUDDHA/FUTURE,
UNIVERSAL BUDDHA
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SAMGHA: ORIGINS
• (samgha = community/followers)
• Initially samgha = 5 ascetics
• Set in motion the ‘wheel of
dharma/dhamma’
• ANYONE could be part of the Buddha’s
group
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10 PRECEPTS
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Refrain from taking life (ahimsa)
Do not take what is not given
Chastity
Do not lie or deceive
Do not take intoxicants
Consume food in moderation; never after noon
Do not partake in public spectacles (dancing,
singing)
8) Do not ornament your body
9) Do not recline on wide or high beds
10) Do not accept gold or silver
MONASTICS VS LAY PEOPLE
ONLY FIRST FIVE PRECEPTS
FOR LAY FOLLOWERS
ALL TEN FOR MONKS AND
NUNS
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THE ‘ORDER’ AND WOMEN
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•
•
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Women included since time of Buddha
YET, some hesitation
Lesser order
Different, subordinate rules guiding them
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THREE JEWELS/THREE
REFUGES
1) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA
2) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE DHARMA
3) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE SAMGHA
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“Come, bhiksu/bhikhuni
(monk, nun)”
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WHAT CONSTITUTES THE
SAMGHA? WHO IS
‘WORTHY’?
• Order of monks and nuns came to be viewed as
‘ideal’
• Laypeople came to be viewed as the inferior way
• LED TO MAHAYANA AND THERAVADA
DIVISION
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