Thread: Buddhism

For those not familiar with Buddhism, the core of the religion is the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

The two major schools of Buddhism are Thervada and Mahayana. Zen Buddhism is in the Mahayana school, which puts greater emphasis on meditation.

Mind you, these are interpretations and not word for word from the Pali and Chinese canons.

Four Noble Truths:

1. This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering

2. "This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there, that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination.

3. "This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonreliance on it."

4. "This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is the Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."

So heavy emphasis on reality, with non tainted views through concentration and meditation point to "enlightenment".

Compassion within a non-clinging frame of mind is a major theme.

Originally Posted by Bluegrass

For those not familiar with Buddhism, the core of the religion is the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

The two major schools of Buddhism are Thervada and Mahayana. Zen Buddhism is in the Mahayana school, which puts greater emphasis on meditation.

Mind you, these are interpretations and not word for word from the Pali and Chinese canons.

Four Noble Truths:

1. This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering

2. "This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there, that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination.

3. "This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonreliance on it."

4. "This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is the Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."

So heavy emphasis on reality, with non tainted views through concentration and meditation point to "enlightenment".

Compassion within a non-clinging frame of mind is a major theme.

I like Budda's laugh. Its what I use to let go of certain illusions. Being a Westerner though I am still far to fixated and weighed down by the material world but I am learning to let it go. I think you would agree being tied down to the material world is a distraction that leads to much unecessary suffering and pain.

It is hard to give up self-destructive habits some days-they are so deeply entrenched it really takes me time to become insightful enough to realize I am engaging in them and sometimes I miss it entirely but can days or months later come back to it by meditating or free associating and then developing a lesson from it.

I said to myself the one thing if I understand anything from the Budda laugh is that is a laugh of realizing the joy comes from having just let go, so simple yet so difficult for minds full of noise.

I like Shintoism and Taoism and North American aboriginal belief systems as well for the exact same reasons. They have all helped me be a less angry person and let go and understand the connection to the greater whole.

Some days I realize the great aboriginal spirit guides and the Eastern teachers and the old mystical Jewish (kabbalist) teachers and the Wiccans and Hindus and so many others-they all have been trying to tell us the same thing but we for some reason can't hear them because of all the noise we made and our disconnecting from the greater whole to the point of becoming deaf and blind to anything but self-indulgence.

I found certain Ojibiwa and Cree healing practices similiar to the Buddist, Taoist, certain Siekh and Hindu exercises have helped me deal with certain Jewish spiritual values I would have otherwise given up because of other ones I became angry over.

Originally Posted by roobarb

I like Budda's laugh. Its what I use to let go of certain illusions. Being a Westerner though I am still far to fixated and weighed down by the material world but I am learning to let it go. I think you would agree being tied down to the material world is a distraction that leads to much unecessary suffering and pain.

Absolutely. We become owned by our possessions and wants, which creates suffering. Trying to be mindful of letting that go was the first step I took to change. And change is perpetual. Good for you in seeing where you are and where you want to be.

It is hard to give up self-destructive habits some days-they are so deeply entrenched it really takes me time to become insightful enough to realize I am engaging in them and sometimes I miss it entirely but can days or months later come back to it by meditating or free associating and then developing a lesson from it.

That's a great thing about meditation. It's much easier to give up self destructive habits when we can see them for what they are, which is easier said than done. But with repetition it does get easier.

I said to myself the one thing if I understand anything from the Budda laugh is that is a laugh of realizing the joy comes from having just let go, so simple yet so difficult for minds full of noise.

I like Shintoism and Taoism and North American aboriginal belief systems as well for the exact same reasons. They have all helped me be a less angry person and let go and understand the connection to the greater whole.

Yes! Destructive habits stem from our attachment to self. The Buddhist perspective of "no-self" gives a great realization that we are all part of the same reality and existence. We are not autonomous as we try to think we are.

Some days I realize the great aboriginal spirit guides and the Eastern teachers and the old mystical Jewish (kabbalist) teachers and the Wiccans and Hindus and so many others-they all have been trying to tell us the same thing but we for some reason can't hear them because of all the noise we made and our disconnecting from the greater whole to the point of becoming deaf and blind to anything but self-indulgence.

I found certain Ojibiwa and Cree healing practices similiar to the Buddist, Taoist, certain Siekh and Hindu exercises have helped me deal with certain Jewish spiritual values I would have otherwise given up because of other ones I became angry over.

This focuses more in Christianity and Buddhism, but I recommend Thich Nhat Hanh's "Living Buddha, Living Christ".

Another important part of Buddhism are the Three Marks of Existence:

• Anicca (Sanskrit anitya) or "impermanence". This refers not only to the fact that all conditioned things (sankhara) eventually cease to exist, but also that all conditioned things are in a constant state of flux. (Visualize a leaf growing on a tree. It dies and falls off the tree but is soon replaced by a new leaf.)
• Dukkha (Sanskrit duhkha) or "unsatisfactoriness" (or "dis-ease"; also often translated "suffering", though this is somewhat misleading). Nothing found in the physical world or even the psychological realm can bring lasting deep satisfaction.
• Anatta (Sanskrit anatman) or "no-self" is used in the suttas both as a noun and as a predicative adjective to denote that phenomena are not, or are without, a permanent self, to describe any and all composite, consubstantial, phenomenal and temporal things, from the macrocosmic to microcosmic, be it matter pertaining to the physical body or the cosmos at large, as well as any and all mental machinations, which are impermanent.

Conceding that all is Impermanent is highly important in seeing in to the true nature of existence. It is beneficial, as well, in getting past shame, guilt, etc.

Everything is in a constant state of change and flux. Of we are to let go and be part of this reality, we change. No person is ever the same person as they were, or will be.