|
|||
|
s Buddhism: Basic Beliefs |
|||
Contents
How did Buddhism begin?
What did Buddha teach?
Three Universal Truths
Four Noble Truths
The Eightfold Path
Where are Buddha's words
written down?
If Buddhism began in India, why is it all over some many eastern countries?
The Five Precepts
How did
Buddhism begin?
About 2500 years ago, a prince named Siddhartha Gautama began to question his
sheltered, luxurious life in the palace. He left the palace and saw four
sights: a sick man, an old man, a dead man and a monk. These sights are said
to have shown him that even a prince cannot escape illness, suffering and
death. The sight of the monk told Siddhartha to leave his life as a prince
and become a wandering holy man, seeking the answers to questions like "Why
must people suffer?" "What is the cause of suffering?" Siddartha spent many
years doing many religious practices such as praying, meditating, and fasting
until he finally understood the basic truths of life. This realization
occurred after sitting under a Poplar-figtree in Bodh Gaya, India for many
days, in deep meditation. He gained enlightenment, or nirvana, and was given
the title of Buddha, which means Enlightened One.
What did Buddha teach?
Buddha discovered Three Universal Truths and Four Noble Truths, which he then
taught to the people for the next 45 years.
Three Universal Truths
-
Everything in life is impermanent and always changing.
-
Because nothing is permanent, a life based on possessing things or persons doesn't make you happy.
-
There is no eternal, unchanging soul and "self" is just a collection of changing characteristics or attributes.
-
Human life has a lot of suffering.
-
The cause of suffering is greed.
-
There is an end to suffering.
-
The way to end suffering is to follow the Middle Path.
Buddha then taught people not to worship him as a god. He said they should
take responsibility for their own lives and actions. He taught that the
Middle Way was the way to nirvana. The Middle Way meant not leading a life of
luxury and indulgence but also not one of too much fasting and hardship.
There are eight guides for following the Middle path.
The Eightfold Path
-
Right understanding and viewpoint (based on the Four Noble Truths).
-
Right values and attitude (compassion rather than selfishness).
-
Right speech (don't tell lies, avoid harsh, abusive speech, avoid gossip).
-
Right action (help others, live honestly, don't harm living things, take care of the environment).
-
Right work (do something useful, avoid jobs which harm others).
-
Right effort (encourage good, helpful thoughts, discourage unwholesome destructive thoughts).
-
Right mindfulness (be aware of what you feel, think and do).
-
Right meditation (calm mind, practice meditation which leads to nirvana).
What is
meditation?
Meditation is an essential practice to most Buddhists. Buddhists look within
themselves for the truth and understanding of Buddha's teachings. They seek
enlightenment, or nirvana, this way. Nirvana is freedom from needless
suffering and being fully alive and present in one's life. It is not a state
that can really be described in words -- it goes beyond words.
Meditation means focusing the mind to achieve an inner stillness that leads
to a state of enlightenment. Meditation takes many forms.
-
It can be sitting quietly beside a beautiful arrangement of rocks, contemplating beauty.
-
It can be practicing a martial art such as karate or aikido since they require mental and physical control and strong concentration.
-
It can mean focusing on a riddle such as "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
-
It can be contemplating a haiku or short poem that captures a moment in time.
-
It can be in a meditation room of a monastery.
-
It can involve chanting.
-
It can involve the use of a mandala to focus attention to the invisible point at the center of interlocking triangles.
-
It can involve quietly noticing one's breath as it goes in and out
-
It can happen anywhere at any time.
Where are Buddha's words
written down?
After Buddha died, his teachings were gradually written down from what
people remembered. The ripitaka, or The Three Baskets, is a collection of
Buddha's sayings, his thoughts about them, and rules for Buddhists monks. The
Ripitaka was first written on palm leaves which were collected together in
baskets.
If Buddhism began in India, why is it all over some many eastern countries?
There are over 500 million Buddhists today. After Buddha's death, some of
his followers had some differences of opinion which eventually led to their
breaking away and forming separate kinds of Buddhism. There are two main
types, Theravada, which spread to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and
Laos, and Mahayana which spread to Nepal, Viet Nam, China, Korea and Japan.
Mahayana took on aspects of the cultures where it was practiced and became
three distinct branches: Vajrayana Buddhism or Tibetan Buddhism, Pure Land
Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.
The Five Precepts
Even though each form of Buddhism took on its own identity, all Buddhists
follow a set of guidelines for daily life called the Five Precepts. These
are:
-
Do not harm or kill living things.
-
Do not take things unless they are freely given.
-
Lead a decent life.
-
Do not speak unkindly or tell lies.
-
Do not abuse drugs or drink alcohol.
