Buddhism

[longhair75]

In the Bishop thread, I offered an explanation of some of the basic principals of Buddhism.

Before I start, I am not advocating Buddhism as a form of Worship. There are some forms of Buddhism that are very religious in nature. There are other forms which are philosophical in nature. In the East, the line between Philosophy and religion is not as clearly drawn as it is in Western thought. I am not a Buddhist. I am a moderate Episcopalian. I have done some reading and study, and I will be glad to answer what questions I am able, but my knowledge is pretty basic.

I researched most of this for another thread at another message board.

 

[longhair75]

At the very beginning:

1. Dukkha: Life is suffering.
2. Samudaya: Desire creates suffering
3. Nirodha: Eliminating desire strikes at the root cause of suffering
4. Marga: The eightfold path that leads us to refrain from doing the things that cause us to suffer

 

[longhair75]

The Eightfold path:

1: Right View: Shariputra ( link one of the two main disciples of the Buddha ) described right view as the ability to distinguish wholesome roots from unwholesome roots. first in the eightfold path, right view is imperative to be able to follow the rest. without right view, we are unable to identify the right and true path from that which is false. we all carry both of these roots within us. when we act in an unwholesome way, we water the roots of anger, craving and violence. right view is to recognize which roots are wholesome and to encourage those roots to be watered.

 

[longhair75]

2. Right Thinking: The next step along the eightfold path is right thinking. With right view as the foundation, our thinking becomes the speech of our minds, and makes our verbal speech clear and beneficial. Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that we write the words "are you sure?" on a large piece of paper and hang it where you will see it often. Ask yourself this question again and again. Wrong perceptions cause incorrect thinking and unnecessary suffering.

 

[longhair75]

3. Right Speech: In considering what to say about right speech, I remembered an essay by Thich Nhat Hanh. he explained it much better than I could:

"Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am determined to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self confidence, joy and hope. I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain and will not criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I am determined to make all efforts to reconcile or resolve all conflicts, however small."
(--Thich Nhat Hanh, the Heart of Buddha's Teaching pg 84)

 

[longhair75]

4. Right Action: When we act in accordance with our moral principals we act rightly. Do our actions prevent harm to others? Do our actions promote well being in ourselves, our families and communities? Do we take responsibility for our actions, learn from them and continue to act for the benefit of all? Our actions should reflect our commitment to our beliefs. We need to constantly monitor our behavior, and by our right actions contribute to the well being of society.

 

[longhair75]

5. Right Livelihood: We all must earn our living. We need to be aware of the consequences of what we do to earn our daily bread. Does your occupation contribute to the greater good? We must be mindful of the effect we have on the world around us. In our thoughts as of late are the police, fire fighters and rescue workers injured and killed in the World Trade Center tragedy. A more positive example of right livelihood would be difficult to find. Of course, we can't all pursue those occupations, but we can focus our energy in making a living in a positive fashion.

 

[longhair75]

6. Right Diligence: This is the effort we take to maintain ourselves. We concentrate on the positive aspects of our lives and nurture that effort. We identify the negatives, and discard them. By right diligence, even small tasks become a joy to us.

 

[longhair75]

7. Right Mindfulness: "There are many beautiful aspects of our consciousness, like faith, humility, self respect, non-craving, non-anger, non-ignorance, diligence ease, care, equanimity and non-violence.

Unwholesome mental formations on the other hand, are like a tangled ball of string. When we try to untangle it, we only wind it around ourselves until we can not move. The basic unwholesome mental formations are greed, hatred, ignorance, pride, doubt and views. The secondary unwholesome mental formations, arising from the basic ones are anger, malice, hypocrisy, malevolence, jealousy, selfishness, deception, guile, unwholesome excitement, the wish to harm, immodesty, arrogance, dullness, agitation, lack of faith, indolence, carelessness, forgetfulness, distraction and lack of attention."
(--Thich Nhat Hanh (once again) from the Heart of Buddha's Teaching pg74)

By practicing right mindfulness, we are able to identify and act upon our thoughts, nurturing the positive and discarding the negative.

 

[longhair75]

8. Right Concentration: There are two types of concentration: active and selective. When we actively concentrate we are aware of all that is around us. When we selectively concentrate, we focus in on one thing.

Enjoying a walk in the park allows active concentration. We smell the flowers, enjoy the beauty of the trees, and the laughter of the happy children on the playground.

When we do our taxes, we selectively concentrate, focusing in on the math and the confusing forms. We close ourselves off from the distractions of life to surmount the problem before us.

Through both active and selective concentration, we live fully in each moment, and live in the joy of that which is around us. Sometimes joy can be the selective concentration of the beauty of one flower.

 

[D'Ann]

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[JasonV]

I'm glad the thread is back.

1. Dukkha: Life is suffering.

This is one part of Buddhism that I don't fully understand. Why must the default premise be that life is suffering? Why not "Life is."? Then move on to "Sometimes life is suffering."

"Whosoever trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." (Proverbs 16:20).

 

[longhair75]

Friend Jason,

I agree. Some days, life does consist of suffering (like today) and some days, life is pretty good. I have always found that first point to be a rather pessimistic outlook. I can agree that, on occasion, desire causes suffering, but desire is not very well defined here. I desire happiness for my wife and children. I desire safety for all of the people who work and live in buildings where I am responsible for the proper operation of the fire alarm.

These are positive desires, and worthy of my labor towards fulfillment. If I were to eliminate desire in these examples, it would have a negative effect on my family and the public in general.

 

[pmcleanj]

I have always found that first point to be a rather pessimistic outlook.

From the Buddhist's I have known, I gathered the impression that a better sense of "Dukkha" is "Suffering is part of life". That is, that it is an experience like any other experience: not an absolute or inevitable; but something that can be observed, chosen, or -- more importantly -- not chosen. I think that perspective is inherent in the understanding that suffering can be eliminated by following the eight-fold path. If suffering were essentially identified with life as the phrase "Life is suffering" implies, the only way to eliminate it would be to eliminate life.

 

[longhair75]

friend pmcleanj,

You make a lot of sense here.

 

[ChaliceThunder]

Very grateful that you shared this info with us, brother Longhair75! Thank you

 

[JacksLadder]

I left Buddhism once I had my child. I could no longer agree that life was suffering. I do agree with "In life we sometimes suffer". I also believe in the self, once we are born their is a eternal truth that at a point in time I have existed. So because of that train of thought I do not believe in anatman.

 

[0-2Continuum]

thanks for posting this information

 

[A Rhys]

There's a collection of "101 Zen stories" going around the net purporting to be Muju Ichien's Shaseki-shu that can be found on many sites. I can't post links yet (fewer than 50 posts), so you'll have to Google for it.

There's one koan (short parable or story) in particular among these that references Christianity that I'll post for your consideration:

A university student while visiting Gasan asked him: "Have you even read the Christian Bible?"
"No, read it to me," said Gasan.
The student opened the Bible and read from St. Matthew: "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these... Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."
Gasan said: "Whoever uttered those words I consider and enlightened man."
The student continued reading: "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, is shall be opened."
Gasan remarked: "That is excellent. Whoever said that is not far from Buddhahood."

 

[ExpressionsOfFaith]

Hi Longhair, have you overlooked the fact that Buddhism is not a religion, and there is no God or other Deity to worship? The Buddha, was a man, who lived by and established a code of morals and practices. Buddhism does not regard him (Siddartha) to be a God or even be divine. The opening statement where you says you does not advocate Buddhism as a "worship" sets a misleading tone! Peace by among us. Bill.