BUDDHISMFounder: Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE), who was, according to legend, a prince in India. Buddha is a title meaning enlightened one.

...birth old age, death.sorrow, misery, grief, and despair, for the extinction of which

in the present lifeI am prescribing...

The Buddha’s Reformation of Hindu Dharma

In Hinduism, the eternal self (atman) seeks liberation from samsara by means of ritual performance, or self-mortification, or realization of the identity of atman with Brahman.The Buddha rejects ritual, rejects the Vedas and the Upanishads, condemns Atman is Brahman as too intellectual. He rejects the caste system and bases salvation on a strict code of personal behavior and religious insight.

The 12 Acts of the Buddha1. Waiting in Tushita Heaven. Prior to its human birth, the life that was to become the Buddha, existed in the divine realm of Tushita. (the sated), a blissful but impermanent state.

2. Growing in the womb of Mayadevi. Queen Mayadevi dreams that a white, six-tusked elephant entered her womb. She knew an auspicious and powerful son was coming.

Siddhartha is Born3. Final human birth. In a grove of sal trees, her son emerged painlessly from her side. Siddhartha, “Object Achieved," took 7 steps in each direction and proclaimed: I alone in the world am the honored one. Mayadevi dies a few days later, and is reborn as a goddess.

Marks on Siddhartha’s body indicated his destiny for great earthly power. A soothsayer warns that he would seek spiritual sovereignty instead if he realized that worldly power was subject to decay.4. Intellectual and physical training.

The Legend of Siddhartha5. Marriage and sensuality. His Dad provides a wife, 3 palaces, and 40,000 dancing girls.At age 29 Gautama slips outside the compound and sees:

The four sights:An old man (old age)A diseased man (disease)A corpse (death)A serene monk (potential for liberation).

6. The Great RenunciationSiddhartha leaves his wife and son in pursuit of a higher dharma, the search for enlightenment (bhodi) and Nirvana (emancipation). 7. Self denial: Followed current gurus, mastered their dharma, attained samadhi, but still felt unsatisfied. Mastered ascetic techniques, became emaciated. Realized a healthy body is necessary to pursue wisdom. Advocates a middle path between sensual indulgence and self-denial.

Attaining Enlightenment8. March to the center. Finds the Bodhi tree, sits.9. Overcoming Mara. The lord of samsara attempts to defeat Siddhartha with fear, hate, and lust. The earth is my witness.

10. Attaining enlightenment. Saw his former lives, saw the entire space-time continuum. Saw the universality of suffering. Relinquished desire, desirelessness, and indifference. Now is birth and death finished!

Teaching and Final Nirvana

11. Teaching: Siddhartha, now become the Buddha, decided it was useless to teach others. The King of the gods asks him to teach those “with little dust on their eyes.” For 45 years, expounds on his first sermon, The Wheel Sutra.12. Final Nirvana: Ill from some bad almsfood, gathers disciples, What was to be done has been done. Now, be your own refuges and your own lights. All things made of parts will drop apart. Work out your liberation diligently. The Buddha then attained final Nirvana, he “went out” as the candle’s flame goes out.

The New DharmaRetains belief in karma: every action bears fruit, good actions bring good fruit, bad actions bad fruit. He adds that intention is more important than the action itself.

Samsara: cycle of birth and rebirth: all sentient beings undergo repeated rebirth. Karma determines the next stage of existence that one’s predispositions will occupy.

The Five Stages of Existence

1. Denizen of Hell (pit of coals)2. Animal (pit of excrement)3. Hungry Ghost (tree with little shade.4. Human (shady tree)5. Deity, higher spirit (palace)

Welcome back

to stage 1!

Dharma: Law, Doctrine. Four Noble Truths

I. Noble Truth of sorrow/suffering. Life is characterized by birth, disease, death, contact with unpleasant things, separation from pleasant things, unfulfilled wishes.

Contact with a pleasant person or thing is pleasurable. When such contact becomes impossible, suffering and sadness results. But if you have no attachment to that person or thing, that is freedom/liberation. Whatever is impermanent is dukkha.

Samudaya: the Arising of Dukkha

Noble truth of the arising of sorrow. It is this thirst (tanha) which produces re-existence and re-becoming, and which is bound up with passionate greed.... Thirst for sense-pleasures, thirst for existence and becoming, thirst for nonexistence.The origin of this “thirst” is the false idea of self. Selfish craving for and attachment to pleasure, wealth, power, ideas, opinions, and beliefs, generates karma and keeps one bound to samsara.

Nirodha: The Cessation of Dukkha

Third noble truth: there is emancipation, liberation, freedom from suffering. to eliminate dukkha, one must eliminate the “thirst” that is its source. Nirvana, the extinction of thirst.

Freedom from conceit, destruction of thirst, the uprooting of attachment, Nibbana.The extinction of desire, the extinction of hatred, the extinction of illusion.Annihilation of the false idea of “self.”

Magga: The PathIV. Noble truth of the way that leads to the stopping of suffering: the eightfold path.Following the 8-fold path leads to the perfection of Ethical conduct, Mental discipline, and Wisdom.

Right views (intuitive insight: seeing things as they really are, awareness of the triple truth- all existence is suffering and impermanent, there is no permanent self or soul).

WisdomRight thought. Selfless renunciation or detachment, thoughts of love and non-violence directed to all living things.Ill-will, hatred, violence, result from lack of wisdom.

Ethical conduct (Sila), based on universal love and compassion for all living beings. Moral perfection requires the equal development of wisdom and compassion.

Moral Conduct 5 Precepts

Right Speech- Truthfulness, no slander, profanity, abusive speech, or idle talk.Right Conduct- avoid killing, lying, stealing, sexual misconduct, intoxicants.Right Livelihood- butcher, tanner, astrologer, psychic (forbidden jobs).

To abstain from taking lifeTo abstain from taking what is not givenTo abstain from sensuous misconductTo abstain from false speechTo abstain from intoxicants as tending to cloud the mind.

Mental DisciplineRight Effort- the energetic will to prevent evil thoughts and to produce good thoughts. Right Mindfulness- To be attentive to bodily activities, mental states, feelings. Awareness of their nature, arising, and disappearing.

We are always giving our attention to something. Appropriate attention is to dwell fully in the present momentWhen we are mindful, we can see and listen deeply, and the fruits are always understanding, acceptance, love, and the desire to relieve suffering and bring joy. (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Right ConcentrationRight concentration leads to the four stages of Dhyana. First, discard passionate desires and unwholesome thoughts. Next, suppress intellectual activity, develop tranquility and ‘one-pointedness’ of mind. Third, feeling of joy disappears, leaving happiness and equanimity. Finally, all sensations disappear, pure equanimity and mindfulness remain.

Two Schools of BuddhismTheravada (way of the elders, called Hinayana-lesser vehicle-by the later school). Goal- Nirvana without residue. Sage- Arhant, an enlightened being, attains Nirvana and escapes samsara. Nirvana (lit.) to blow out, to be extinguished like the flame of a candle (transcendence, not annihilation). Seems to require that one become a monk in order to attain enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddhism (1 BCE)

Greater vehicle: Goal- Nirvana with residue. Sage- Bodhisattva, a being destined for enlightenment. Achieves Nirvana but chooses to remain in samsara to help other sentient beings reach enlightenment. Has a storehouse of good karma to transfer to others. The path for becoming a bodhisattva is open to all, even the worst sinner.

Anatman (No Self)A sentient being is merely a composite of five aggregates in a state of flux: body, sensations, perceptions, volitions, consciousness. This combination gives rise to the illusion of self, which in turn produces craving, tying one to samsara.

The human condition- sorrowful, transient, soulless entities.Buddhist ethics: not to commit evil, to do good, to purify one’s mind. An act is evil if it brings harm to oneself or others.

Zen Buddhism (C’han)Emphasis on meditation, intuitive insight producing sudden enlightenment (satori). Scriptures and doctrine are unimportant. Meditation allows one to discover one’s own Buddha nature. Become a Buddha just as you are. Absence of rational thought, employs questions and answers, koans- illogical utterances (the sound of one hand clapping). Legendary founder- Bodhidharma.

Zen SchoolsNorthern school- enlightenment comes gradually. Absolute quietude must be attained, erroneous thoughts eliminated, for the pure mind to arise.

Southern school- advocates sudden enlightenment. Rejects pure mind/false mind distinction. The Buddha-mind is everywhere, so anything at any time may occasion its realization.

Illogical Zen

To realize one’s Buddha nature, one must transcend the limits of mere affirmation and denial. Empty handed I go, and behold the spade is in my hands...Accordingly, Zen masters advocate: the absence of thought, forgetting our feelings, letting the mind take its own course.

Undetermined QuestionsBuddha calls certain questions undetermined and claims that knowing the answers is not necessary for enlightenment. The attempt to answer them will hinder one’s quest for liberation. Is the world eternal? Is it infinite?

Is the soul identical with the body? Does the Tathagata (enlightened being) exist after death?Buddhism as skillful means the raft of the dharma is for carrying over, not for retaining. The dharma consists of provisional teachings, that adapt and change with time.