Introduction to World Religions DI 1009

Alejandro Chvez Segura

Divinity University of St. Andrews

Siddharta Gautama: the historical Buddha

 Kapilavatthu VI century BCE (circa 560-480)

Full moon of May (Vaishakha)

Shakya clan. King Suddhodhana and Queen Maya

White elephant dream

Birth at Lumbini grove The seven steps and declaration of birth.

For Awakening I am born, for the welfare of the world; This indeed is the last coming into existence for me! Siddhartha.- he whose purpose is accomplished, "one who has found meaning (of existence)" or "he who has attained his goals".

 Asita the Brahmin and the two paths:

Great King Buddhahood

Prince deliberately isolated from pain and suffering experiences. Married at 16 Yasodhara

 Channa, the charioteer, and Kanthaka. The Four Signs:

tired, wrinkled, worn-out old man a man in great pain a corpse being taken to the cremation ground with a diseased body religious ascetic

 Rahula 29 years old the beginning of a six-year quest for awakening. Extreme ascetism: Arada Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra The five ascetics

 The Middle Path Bodhi Tree (Bodhgaya)

Let only skin, sinew and bone remain, let the flesh and blood dry in my body, but I will not give up this seat without attaining complete awakening

Confrontation with Mara

Desire, aversion, hunger and thirst, craving, tiredness and sleepiness, fear and doubt.

 After that morning, the new Buddha spent some time assimilating his experience in great bliss and deep meditation. This time has been stereotyped into a period of seven times seven days.

 Enlightenment Nirvana
Awaken Vigilant True nature of things (relativeabsolute truth)

Brahma petition
Beginning of preaching (45 years)

The first Sermon (turning wheel of Dharma)

Benares Fourth Noble Truths Dependent origination

 Formation of Sangha
Sariputta Moggallana Ananda Rahula Krsa Gotami skilful means (upaya kaulsaya)

Fourth fold Assembly

Monks Nuns Laymen - Laywomen

 Not by water is one pure, tho many folk bathe here. In whom is Truth and Dhamma, he is pure and hes a Brahmin. Revile not, harm not, live by rule restrained; of food take little; sleep and sit alone; Keep thy mind bent upon the higher thought. Such is the message of awakened one.

 This world of men, given over to the idea of I am the agent, bound up with the idea another is the agent, understand not truly this thing; they have not seen it as a thorn. For one who looks at this thorn with caution, the idea I am the agent exists not, the idea another is the agent exists not. This folk is laid by vain conceits, fettered thereby, bondmen thereby. They, through their views thus quarrelsome, bet not beyond the rolling round.

 Devadatta (more strict norms)

Archers Rock Elephant (Nelagari)

Cunda Kusinara Parinirvana at the age of 80

 Subject to decay are all compounded things, so be mindful and vigilant in working out your own salvation

Buddha
Awakened One. An epithet of those who successfully break the hold of ignorance, liberate themselves from cyclic existence, and teach others the path to liberation. Derived from the Sanskrit root budh, to awaken, it refers to someone who attains Nirvana through meditative practice and the cultivation of such qualities of wisdom, patience and generosity.

Dharma
Truth. A term derived from the Sanskrit root dhr (to hold, to bear), most commonly used to refer to Buddhist doctrine and practice. Part of the Three Jewels or Three Refugees, on which Buddhist rely for the attainment of liberation. Other meanings: dharmas as basic building-blocks of reality; a law or rule to be followed; good qualities; and truth.

Sangha
Community. The community of Buddhists. The term can be used just to refer to monks and nuns, or can also include laymen and women who have taken the five vows of Panca-Sila (Five Precepts). All four groups are required formally to adopt a set of rules and regulations. (codes of conduct: patience, tolerance, ethical behaviour)

The Five Precepts

These are undertaken as voluntary commitments in order to become a Buddhist along with the recitation of taking refuge in the Three Jewels:
I undertake to abstain from killing. I undertake to abstain from taking what is not given. I undertake to abstain from misuse of sensual pleasures. I undertake to abstain from false speech. I undertake to abstain from drugs and alcohol as they tend to cloud the mind.

Karma
Action. Buddhist ethical theory is primarily concern with volitional actions, that is, those actions that result from deliberate choice. Such actions set in motion a series of events that inevitably produce concordant results. These results may be either pleasant or unpleasant, depending on the original volition. In some cases the results of actions are experienced immediately, and in others they are only manifested at a later time. Some karmic results do not occur until a future life.

By oneself is wrong done, By oneself is one defiled. By oneself wrong is not done. By oneself, surely, is one cleansed. One cannot purify another; Purity and impurity are in oneself.

Samsara
Cyclic existence. The beginning-less cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in which ordinary beings are trapped. According to Buddhism, the universe is beginningless and endless, and the begins who dwell within it transmigrate from life to life in dependence upon their volitional actions (karma). Due to ignorance of the true nature of reality, they are generally predisposed towards actions and attitudes that lead to negative consequences.

Nirvana
Cessation. Liberation from cyclic existence, which is the final goal of Buddhist practice. The term is a combination of the Sanskrit prefix nir plus the verbal root va, and literally means blow out or extinguish. It is attained when the afflictionssuch as anger, desire and obscuration have been eliminated, and one has brought to a halt the effects of compositional factors. At this point, the energies within cyclic existence have been eliminated, and so one is released from the round of birth, death, and rebirth.
Nirvana as negative.- cessation of suffering. Nirvana as positive.- peaceful and supramundane state.

Parinirvana
Great Nirvana , Ultimate Nirvana. Commonly referred to the end of cycle of birth, death, and rebirth of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Parinirvana is the category that implies the final extinction of feeling, thought and karmatic burden. Is the emptiness of self and all its derivations, the Absolute Truth manifested. An existent and non-existent state beyond the 6 realms of existence.

The Six Realms of Existence

3 worlds: Desire, Forms and No-forms
31 destinations
No-form (4) Form (16) Desire (11)

The Six Realms of existence:

Devas.- pride Asuras.- jealousy Human.- desire Animal.- ignorance Pretas.- greed Hell-like.- anger-hate

Sunyata
Emptiness. The notion that all phenomena lack an essence or self, because they are dependent upon causes and conditions; and so lack inherent existence. Thus persons are said to be empty of being a self because they are composed of part that are constantly changing and dependent upon causes and conditions.

Monks, there exists that condition wherein is neither earth nor water nor fire nor air: wherein is neither the sphere of infinite space nor of infinite consciousness nor of nothingness nor of neither-consciousness-norunconsciousness; where there is neither this world nor a world beyond nor both together nor moon-and-sun. Thence, monks I declare is no coming to birth; thither is no going (from life); therein is no duration; thence is no falling; there is no arising. It is not something fixed, it moves not on, it is not based on anything [you can think, feel or imagine]. That indeed is the end of Ill.

The Four Noble Truths

1. Truth of suffering (dukkha)
Unsatisfactoriness Impermanence Clinging to senses Dissatisfaction with life

2. Truth of the origins of suffering

Craving (tanha) selfish desires Ignorance (avidya)

3. Truth of cessation of suffering

Identifying the causeeliminate the root of it Benefits of not sufferingfreedom

The Four Noble Truth: the Path

The Eightfold Path for overcome suffering
Morality (Sila)
Right speech Right action Right livelihood

Concentration (Samadhi)
Right effort Right consciousness Right concentration

Wisdom (Prajna)
Right view Right thought

Morality
Right speech Right action Right livelihood

Concentration
Right effort Right consciousness Right concentration

Wisdom
Right view Right thought

The Twelve Nidanas

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Ignorance conditions the karma-formations The Karma-formations condition Consciousness Consciousness conditions Mind-and-Body Mind-and-body conditions the Six Sense-Bases The Six Sense-Bases condition Contact Contact conditions Feeling

7. Feeling conditions Craving 8. Craving conditions Clinging 9. Clinging conditions Becoming 10. Becoming conditions Birth 11. Birth Conditions Ageing and Death 12. Ageing and Death conditions sorrow, lamentation, pain grief, and distress. And thus this whole mass of suffering takes its origin.

Dependant liberation chain

By the cessation of mind-and-body consciousnees ceases, By the cessation of consciousness, mind-and-body ceases; By the cessation of mind-and-body the six sense-bases ceases; By the cessation of the six sense-bases contact ceases; By the cessation of contact feeling ceases; By the cessation of feeling craving ceases; By the cessation of craving clinging ceases; By the cessation of clinging becoming ceases; By the cessation of becoming birth ceases; By the cessation of birth ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief an distress cease. And thus this whole mass of suffering ceases.

Anatman No-self
The three marks of existence
Dukkha: unsatisfactoriness, suffering Anicca: impermanence ever-changing quality of existence Anatman: no-self

Soul.- independent unit Non-soul.- interdependent conglomerate of causes and conditions.

Buddha was a man, a human being like ourselves and we are called to achieve the state of enlightenment obtained by him. The Buddha Shakyamuni is now dead and beyond any contact with struggling beings, as are all dead enlightened one. However, the tradition gives us everything we need to know about what he taught when we was alive.

There is nothing in Buddhism corresponding to an ultimate, personal creator. The Buddha is not like God because he has passed away into unimaginable nirvana and cannot be contacted. Theravadins often believe in gods who are simply one of the possible forms in Samsara, more rarefied and happier than humans, but with less opportunity to progress towards nirvana. These gods are not immortal, and must die and be reborn again.

Because there is no God, the Buddha is dead, and gods can only help with worldly things, it is the responsibility of each individual to sort out his or her own life. There is no saviour to cry to for help. The Buddha has given us a map of the way to nirvana, but we must get ourselves there. The ideal aimed at is to become an arhat, an enlightened person who has reached the knowledge of the end of all craving and ignorance. Arhat is one who has lost all sense of a self separate from others, and all selfish impulses. Compassion for others, and helping them on their spiritual path, is a vital part of Theravada Buddhism. Without a compassionate mind, enlightenment would never be attained.

Theravada Buddhists do have religious rituals but this is said to be comparable to honouring a great man, and is a reminder of his teaching, rather than religious ritual as normally understood. Religious ritual in the sense of prayers and offerings which expect a favour in return are made to the gods and other supernatural beings who may be able to help you with purely worldly but no spiritual request.

Theravada philosophy is practical and based on analysing the factors of existence. It is put forward in the Abhidhamma PItaka of the Pali Canon and holds that existence can be analysed into impersonal events called dharmas which can be translated as atoms, elements or vibrations. There are, for practical purposes, 171 dharmas such as 89 different states of consciousness, 28 material qualities, 5 types of sensation. Theravada philosophy teaches that one should observe the universe as made up of a series of dhammas constantly leading dynamically from one to the next, without imposing false mental constructions, such as my self, on them.

Pali CanonTripitaka
Vinaya Pitaka.- disciplinary rules for the order of monks Sutta Pitaka.- discourses of the Buddha Abhidhamma Pitaka.- further philosophical writings.

Vipassana.- leading to insight into the nature of reality.

The first level of dyhana (jhana) is a state of detachment filled with a sense of rapture and joy. The second level of dyhana (jhana) is reached when one learns to quieten the endless chatter of the mind and can dwell in a state of stilled consciousness, concentrated, rapturous and joyful. The third level of dyhana (jhana) is reached when the excitement of rapture fades away leaving a more spiritual and rarefied joy. The fourth level of dhyana (jhana) passes beyond even joy to a state of clear, calm, pure consciousness, totally peaceful and undisturbed. (samadhi)

Leading to calmness and control of the mind. Metta: Meditation on love

The first metta (friendliness or loving kindness), the feeling of wishing well to all beings. The second is karuna (compassion), the sincere sorrow over all the sufferings undergone by beings in this world and the wish that they could be freed from suffering with us helping them. The third mudita (sympathetic joy), the sincere rejoicing in the happiness of others,, both physically and spiritually. The fourth upekkha (even-mindedness), the loving of all beings equally, not being selectively attached to family or friends, but feeling the kind of love a mother has for her child for all beings without exception.

Sri Lanka
Wesak.- occurs on the full moon of May and celebrates the Buddhas birth, enlightenment and death. More people than usual attend the temple, cards and gifts are given to friends and relations, processions are made, houses are decorated. Poson.- on the full moon of June is peculiar to Sri Lanka as it celebrates the first arrival of Buddhism in the island when Asokas son converted King Tissa. Asala.- on the full moon of July celebrates the Buddhas conception, renunciation and First Sermon. The perahera.- (procession) is a festival which takes place in Kandy in the centre of the island, around the temple where the Buddhas tooth is kept.

Thailand
Songkran is the Thai Ne year and lasts three days in the middle of April, the hot season. Loy Krathong, in November is celebrated at full moon. The custom is to float lighted candles in little leaf cups upon the river. This is said to symbolise our journey toward the other shore of nirvana. Also in November is the Elephant festival, with races and processions. Elephants featured in many of the parables of the Buddha, especially as a symbol for the necessity of training. Thai people may also believe in the gods derived from Hinduism, local gods and spirits for which there are various ceremonies.

One or more of the Mahayana scriptures as the word of the Buddha. The goal for most Mahayana Buddhists to become a Bodhisattva (beings of enlightenment)and eventually a Buddha-in order to save others as well as oneself. It is therefore possible that help can be gained from beings further advanced on this path. Mahayana Buddhists speak of bodhisattvas as heavenly beings with the power to help those who call on them.

The Mahayana universeor multiverseis even larger than the cosmology of the Theravada Buddhists. (Buddhas in other world-systems) Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of our world system, is available in a glorious, heavenly or spiritual form, like the other Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

For some Mahayana Buddhists the word Buddha no longer refers to particular beings but to the ultimate reality underlying the whole universe, everywhere and in everyone. Mahayana Buddhism developed several different philosophical approaches.
Madhyamaka (Nagarjuna) Yogacara (Asanga-Vasubandhu)

Some Mahayana schools

Pure Land Tendai Nichiren Shingon (tantra) Chan (Zen)

Mahayana monks (and nuns where they exist) follow the Vinaya rules as passed down by nonMahayana traditions. Finally, Mahayana is characterised by its diversity. It is not a single school of Buddhism in the sense that Theravada is, or the Sarvativada was, but a convenient label for a whole variety of teachings and practices, suitable for different sorts of people in different cultures and at different levels of spiritual development. This is one of the sense in which it is the great vehicle.

Dharmakaya.- refers to that which ultimately makes a Buddha a Buddhathe understanding of the truth about the universe, the emptiness of all things, the underlying of truth of the universe. The Dharmakaya is enlightened purified consciousness which sees reality for what it is. It cannot be described using ordinary language. Sambhogakaya.- refers to the glorious, heavenly Buddhas described in the Mahayana sutras. They are worshipped and visualised. It can be said that the Dharmakaya is the Buddha from the point of view of wisdom, and the Sambhogakaya from the point of view of compassion. Nirmakanaya.- (transformation body) refers to the Buddha manifested in earthly form, of which the best known example is Gautama. The teachings of such nirmanakayas will be governed by upaya kaulsaya and be suited to the needs of whatever beings need help.

The Prajnaparamita Literature

The central insight of this perfect wisdom is that all things are characterized by sunyata (emptiness). The constant theme of the Prajnaparamita sutras is that ALL dharmas are empty, lacking in inherent existence. Emptiness does not mean nothingness, nor is it a substance out of which all things are made, it is just that nothing whatsoever has ultimate or necessary beingincluding nirvana, Buddhas, perfect wisdom and emptiness. The concept of two levels of truth, the conventional and the ultimate, helps to make sense of this teaching. On the conventional level, we can talk of things like people and bodhisattvas and Buddhas existing, but on the ultimate level of possessing eternal, separate, non-relative existence they cannot be said to be

The Sukhavati Sutras

There are two main Sukhavati sutras, smaller and larger, which are usually dated about the 2nd century CE. They concern the word of Sukhavati (Happy land), which is one of many pure lands or Buddha worlds other than our own world system. The sutras represent the devotional rather than wisdom aspect of Mahayana Buddhism.

The Sadharmapundarika Sutra

Lotus of the Wonderful Law is one of the most popular Mahayana scriptures, especially in China and Japan. It puts forward some of the central concepts of Mahayana Buddhism, that all beings are called not just to be arhats, but to be Buddhas, and that Shakyamuni Buddha is a being with a lifespan far beyond the brief story usually told. This announcement, that all of you shall become Buddhas is so astounding, and so different from what is normally taken as the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha, that the Lotus sutra has to explain why the Buddha did not give this teaching to start with.

Explains the variety of Buddhist teachings.

There is just one Vehicle (one Buddhism) Differentiation of the Buddha as an enlightened being and the Eternal Buddha.

Tantra Buddhism Vajrayana