Download Week 12 - Forms of Buddhism(NT)

Brief Review of Week 11
Parable of the poisoned arrow:
• Get help for one’s own suffering and death first
The core teaching of Buddhism: the Four Noble Truths
• impermanence of all things is dissatisfying [cf. Hinduism]
• direct cause of this state is attachment to expectations
* we expect inherent being; but “interdependent arising” is the reality
• cessation of [unnecessary] suffering by release of attachments
• the way to detachment is the Noble Eight-fold Path [dharma]
* accept reality of “interdependent arising” and seek enlightenment
* develop virtues in action through wisdom and compassion
* purify the mind of wrong intentions and attachments
Karma and rebirth are still at work without an eternal Self
• like the force of a wave-form, transmitted by the process of
“interdependent arising” [pratitya samutpada]
“Common Language
about Personal Identity”
The initial question:
“Who are you?”
Dispersion of Buddhism
[Schmidt et.al., Patterns of Religion (2005) Figure 5.1]
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Three Forms of Buddhism
[cf. HS: 119-127; 139-144]
Theravada: “way of the elders” – enlightened humans
(arhats) help during their lifetimes, then enter Nirvana
Mahayana: “greater vehicle” – enlightened humans
(bodhisattvas) vow to help all sentient beings, even
after their own death
Vajrayana: “diamond vehicle” – enlightened humans
(lamas) help followers by means of esoteric teachings;
highest lama is a bodhisattva who reincarnates
“A Day of Mindfulness”
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness:
An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation (1999)
Theravadin Monk
in Thailand
Similar caves
in Sri Lanka
have been used since
c.250 BCE
[Great Religions of the World,
National Geographic Society
(1978), p.121]
Maitreya Budda: Gandhara, Nepal & Kiangsu
[www.crystalinks.com]
[www.buddhaline.net]
[www.npm.gov.tw]
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14th Dalai Lama - Avaloketishvara
[www.lobsangwangyal.com]
Mandala of Manjusri - Madison, WI (2009)
[http://youtube.com]
Comments and Questions
“Arhats, Bodhisattvas and Lamas”
[JB: 64-87; PN: 77-94]
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Types of Buddhist Practice
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Balance in forms of meditation
• detached mindfulness alternating with insight meditation
Practice of virtues:
• Loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity, sympathetic joy
[HS: p.123, PN: pp. 74-75]]
• From the perspective of compassion and emptiness [sunyata]
Perfection of Wisdom Sutra [c.100 BCE]
Bodhisattvas and Scriptures
• Pure Land: “I take refuge in Amitaba [Buddha]”
• Nichiren: “Nam myho renge kai” – “Adoration to the Scripture of
the Lotus of the Perfect Truth” [ie. Lotus Sutra]
Esoteric methods
• mantras, mandalas, mudras, tantric sex [cf. HS: 139-144]
• Tibetan Book of the Dead [PN: pp.87-91]
Break
Time
“All systems of thought are guiding means; they are
not absolute truth…”
Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926 CE) Being Peace (1987) pp.89-100
Expedient Means: The Conjured City
[cf. HS: 144-147]
Problematic questions:
Does the end justify any means?
Is Buddhism nothing but a vehicle?
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For reflection:
“Is it true that karma is shared?”
An ethical analogy:
If a young person drinks too much and
crashes into a pole while driving
home, who is responsible?
Comments and Questions
“Chan Buddhism”
[HS: 128-139; PN: 94-109]
Chan Buddhism – Zen Buddhism
• Direct transmission
outside the scripture
[Udumbara flower and fruit;
www.examiner.com]
• recorded in mondo
or koan
“Does a dog have the Buddha nature? – No!”
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Kaku’an Shi’en - The Ten Oxherding Pictures
I: Searching for the Ox
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
II: ‘Seeing the Traces’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
III: ‘Seeing the Ox’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
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IV: ‘Catching the Ox’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
V: ‘Herding the Ox’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
VI: ‘Coming Home on the Ox’s Back’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
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VII: ‘The Ox Forgotten Leaving the Man Alone’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
VIII: ‘The Ox and the Man Both Gone out of Sight’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
IX: ‘Returning to the Origin; Back to the Source’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
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X: ‘Entering the City with Bliss-Bestowing Hands’
Shubun, c.1450 CE - Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism
The uncertain nature of Buddhism
“Is Buddhism a religion or a rebellion?”
[cf. HS: pp. 92-99]
More specifically,
1. What makes Buddhism a “religion,” if it is one?
2. If Buddhism is a rebellion against “religion” is it a
successful one?
Now that we know more about Buddhism,
how do we respond to each?
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