Download Intro to Buddhism

Grace Episcopal Church Adult Forum
A Brief Snapshot of Buddhism
Demographics
The estimate of Buddhists in the world varies from 350 million to 1 billion, depending on how broadly
one defines “Buddhist.” A conservative estimate is 6% of the world’s population; Buddhism is
“moving ahead” of Islam from the 4th largest spiritual tradition in the world to the “number 3 spot.”
More than 2,000,000 Americans identify themselves as Buddhist.
Introduction
“What we call Buddhism today is a broad, multi-faceted religious tradition made up of several
related paths, sharing a similar goal but diverging somewhat in teachings and practices. We meet up
first with those on the Theravada path, orthodox and traditional, adhering closely to the words and
practices of Siddharta Gautama, the Buddha {Editorial comment}. But then there is the variety of
Mahayana paths such as Zen and Pure Land, with single-minded emphasis on meditation and devotion
to Amida Buddha, respectively. Yet another approach comes in the Vajrayana or Tantric path, where
practitioners engage in elaborate ritual and intense sensual meditative experiences. Yet this variety of
people all call themselves Buddhist, following the way of the Buddha toward the goal of nirvana or
enlightenment.” (Ludwig, 85)
Origin of Buddhism
The story of Buddhism begins in northern India around 563 B.C.E. with the birth of Siddharta
Gautama. The several versions of his birth, upbringing, and quest for spiritual truth are undoubtedly a
combination of fact and legend. Although Siddharta came to be called “the Buddha” after his
enlightenment, the term is not a personal name; rather, it is a title meaning “one who is awake,” “one
who is enlightened,” a title applied to all Buddhas, past and future.
Siddharta’s Story
Under the Bodhi Tree (49 days and nights)
reviewed all his former existences
experienced deep compassion for all beings in their perpetual cycles of rebirth
gained understanding of the real nature of the world and its suffering
perceived the path by which such suffering could end
After experiencing such deep bliss the Buddha remained at the Bodhi tree seven days. As he prepared
to leave he was overwhelmed by another wave of bliss and remained another 42 days in rapture.
During this time he was tempted by the evil one who told him no one would ever be able to grasp what
he planned to teach. After much thought he replied that “some will understand,” and the evil one left
him forever.
After the Bodhi Tree
According to legend, the face of the enlightened one was glowing when he got up from his
49-day
“sit” under the Bodhi tree. People noticed, and one asked him, “Are you a god?” “No.” “Are you a
saint?” “No.” “What are you?” “I am awake.”
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After his 49 days of stillness at the base of the tree, he walked more than 100 miles toward India’s holy
city of Bararas. Approximately six miles before reaching the city he stopped in a deer park at Sarnath
and preached his first sermon: “The Four Noble Truths.” If he were preaching today at Grace
Church, his message would be “The Four Noble Truths.”
The Buddha’s first audience at the deer park were the five ascetic monks who abandoned him earlier
out of impatience with his odd ways. The monks were persuaded by his teaching and became the
nucleus of the first Buddhist monastic community.
For almost 50 years the Buddha wandered from place to place teaching his message of redemption by
means of ego-renunciation, and challenging the deadness of Brahmin society. Initially he endured
considerable ridicule for being so radical.
The Buddha consulted with many people, monastic and lay alike. He encouraged people to balance
their life of work with the life of meditation. At one point he became so overwhelmed with his work
that he took a six-year leave and returned with the clarity and energy necessary for an additional 45
years of teaching. He worked long hours, and withdrew for meditation three times each day. He died
between the age of 80 and 85.
Those who knew the Buddha personally were impressed by two qualities: the depth and clarity of
his wisdom, and his ability to teach others; and the depth and breadth of his compassion for those he
met personally, for all humankind (past and present), and for all sentient beings.
The Buddha knew immediately that he had gained wisdom that must be shared with others, that he had
a great responsibility to teach others what he had learned. But he also knew that the teachings were
central, not he himself. As his death approached he refused to appoint a successor, but taught his
closest followers that the Dharma (teachings) would be his successor, that the Dharma was not
dependent on a particular person. He urged his followers to continue practicing meditation and to
teach the Dharma to others.
The Buddha offers alternatives to Hindu Thought and Practice
As Buddhist thought and practice began to crystallize, the Buddha retained some Hindu teachings
(samsara and nirvana), modified others, and offered “correctives” to other Hindu ideas and practices he
felt had been corrupted.
Authority
Hinduism
Buddhism
Hereditary caste system had become exploitive
as it hoarded spiritual ‘secrets’ and charged
fees for religious services
A religion devoid of authority. Challenged
people to accept responsibility for their own
spiritual seeking rather than relying on the
Brahmans to tell them what to do
Ritual
Hinduism
Had become a mechanistic means for getting a
miracle; superstitious petitions to ineffective
gods.
Buddhism
The spiritual task is ego-reduction, not trying
to get the gods to meet one’s ego-desires
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Speculation
Hinduism
Buddhism
Hindu thinkers/philosophers have become
engaged in meaningless hair-splitting
Avoided fruitless speculation, focused on
experience, and urged his followers to do
likewise
Tradition
Hinduism
Buddhism
Tradition had become dead weight that was not Discouraged preoccupation with what had
understood but was observed anyway.
gone on before; abandoned Sanskrit and taught
in the vernacular of the people
Grace
Hinduism
Buddhism
Karma was perceived by some people as
ruthless and arbitrary, evoking a fatalistic
attitude regarding one’s assigned that could not
be escaped
Taught a religion of intense self-effort.
Annoyed with the idea of 1,000’s of lifetimes
that might or might not lead one to paradise; he
taught a path to end suffering in one’s life
Mystery
Hinduism
The Buddha felt the Hindu priests were
engaging in mystery-mongering and
obfuscation
Buddhism
Taught a religion devoid of the supernatural;
had no interest in the idea of miracles.
The Movement Expands and Diversifies
For the first 200 years + followers of Buddhism were located primarily in the Ganges Valley. They
went about from village to village, teaching those who would listen, and providing instruction to those
who sought out their wisdom. They lived and traveled in community, sustaining themselves by
begging just enough food for each day.
The young movement received a major boost from King Ashoka (304-232 B.C.E.), one of India’s great
warrior kings (Ashoka ruled almost all of India, as well as current day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh. Ashoka became deeply grieved and guilt-ridden over the brutality of his military
conquests. He sought spiritual guidance, began studying Buddhism and practicing meditation, and
soon urged others to follow the Buddhist way as a means of peaceful and spiritual living.
He outlawed animal sacrifice, regulated the slaughter of animals for food, provided resources for the
common people and the poor, built thousands of shrines, and financially supported Buddhist
missionaries to the king’s court in Sri Lanka where the king’s family and members of his court were
converted to Buddhism.
Much like Constantine in the Roman Empire hundreds of years later, Ashoka urged the emerging
schools of Buddhism to reconcile and collaborate rather than remaining at odds with each other.
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As early as the 1st century C.E. Buddhist monks and laypeople traveled the silk paths into central Asia,
taking their meditation practices and teachings with them. As Buddhism spread to different nations
and provinces, its interpretation was influenced by the cultures in which the faith took hold.
Monks and missionaries took Buddhism to China where its Mahayana form (see below) grew to be one
of the three major religious systems of China, along with Taoism and Confucianism. Several
additional “schools” of Buddhism developed in China.
From China, Buddhism spread to Viet Nam and Korea. From Korea the tradition spread to Japan in
the middle of the 6th century. Several schools of Buddhist thought developed in Japan, one of which
was Zen, the Japanese form of Chinese Chan.
In the 7th century, Buddhist missionaries from India moved northward to the isolated Himalaya
mountains of Tibet where they encountered the indigenous Tibetan religion of Bon. Meanwhile, Chan
Buddhism from China was also making its way to Tibet. According to tradition, a Tibetan king
scheduled a debate between the Chinese Chan monks and the monks from India. The Chinese lost the
debate and were expelled.
Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a combination of Indian Tantric Buddhism and the Tibetan cultural
tradition of Lamaism (spiritual masters). With the enthusiastic support of Tibetan royalty, Buddhism
thrived. Many monasteries were established, some of them quite large. The monks and their teachings
were highly revered by the people of Tibet, and their numbers made them a common sight throughout
the land.
Two principal strands of Buddhist interpretation and practice developed, each with subsets and
variations. Although the two major strands have a great deal in common, and share the same roots,
their perspectives and practices are quite different.
Two Principal Schools of Buddhist Thought and Practice
The oldest strand of Buddhism is known as Theravada (“the way of the elders”), a strict monastic
branch emphasizing withdrawal from the world, and the daily practice of meditation and ritual. The
Theravada tradition thrived and is still found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar
(Burma). Until the Chinese take-over of Tibet, there were hundreds of Theravada monasteries and
thousands of monks and nuns throughout the nation practicing the austere and devout life as ascetics.
A second group of practitioners emerged alongside the Theravada monastic tradition. This tradition
came to be known as Mahayana (“big raft/big ferry”). Initially, the Theravada tradition was called
Hinayana (“little raft/little ferry”) because of its narrow constrictions. The Hinayana group did not like
being called narrow-minded, so they adopted the name Theravada to emphasize their perceived close
connection to the Buddha’s teachings.
Whereas the Theravada practice was primarily monastic, Mahayana practice was almost exclusively a
lay order, with a less austere and more inclusive attitude. Theravada practitioners sought elimination
of their own suffering by means of enlightenment, while the Mahayanas were interested in the wellbeing and liberation of all beings.
In the Mahayana tradition, the Buddha’s second central teaching, compassion, was regarded as highly
as his teaching about meditative practice. Mahayana teachers emphasized that those who seek the
highest spiritual goal of Buddahood must engage in the dual task of meditation and helping others.
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The Mahayana tradition opened the path to all people, lay and monastic alike. All people can be on the
path toward enlightenment, toward discovering their own Buddha nature, not just full-time monastic
practitioners.
Mahayanas also expanded the idea of who or what the Buddha is. They taught that the Buddha is
really the eternal power of the Dharma, and that the “Dharma body” of the Buddha is transcendent,
universal, and active in the world forever. The Dharma has lived for countless ages in the past and
will continue to live forever. This Dharma is ultimate reality. Although the Mahayanas view the
human manifestation of the Buddha with highest regard, they emphasize his teaching that the Dharma,
not he himself, is the central truth.
Both “branches” of Buddhism accept the Buddha as their teacher, accept the Middle Way,
Dependent Origination, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Three marks of
existence (impermanence, suffering, and the non-self). Both see buddahood as the highest attainment,
and both agree that the path is available to lay persons and monks.
Theravada Buddhism is the dominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and
Burma, and in some sections of India. Adherents: approximately 124 million
Mahayana Buddhism is prevalent in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam, Indochina,
Southeast Asia, and the West. Adherents: 500 million to one billion
Tibetan Buddhism is found in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, sections of India and China, Nepal.
Adherents: approximately 20 million
Essential Beliefs
The Four Noble Truths:
1. The Noble Truth of Dukkha (suffering): Life is characterized by incompleteness and suffering.
The starting point on the spiritual journey is to acknowledge life’s suffering, to acknowledge
the feelings of inadequacy and insecurity that everyone experiences.
2. The Noble Truth of the Origins of Dukkha: The cause of this suffering, this sense of
incompleteness, is craving: the thirst and longing for pleasure and for continued existence.
The desire for private fulfillment perpetuates and increases one’s separation from others and
one’s disregard for others.
3. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha: An end to suffering or the sense of incompleteness is
possible when one ceases craving.
If we could be relieved from the narrow limits of self-interest we would be relieved from our
suffering.
4. The Noble Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Dukkha: the Eight-fold Path is the means by which
one attains liberation.
Self-seeking is overcome through following the Eight-fold Path, both a treatment and a
training. Following the Eight-fold Path takes one from random living to the deliberate and intentional
pursuit of growth and enlightenment. These disciplined changes release one from ignorance into a new
existence.
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The Eight-fold Path
The Eight-fold Path consists of eight disciplines that lead one toward Nirvana. Once one realizes the
impermanence of the self, how grasping at the transitory only leads to frustration and disappointment,
one recognizes the interdependence of all beings rather than being self-absorbed. These eight practices
encourage good will and peace, and promote a balanced harmony with one’s environment and fellow
living beings.
Right view: having a clear understanding of the human problem and seeing the path as the means to
end suffering. “Making up one’s mind.”
Right resolve/intent: “Making up one’s heart:” Becoming clear about what one wants and becoming
passionately invested in pursuing the path as a guiding principle in one’s life.
Right speech: Monitor one’s speech and minimize one’s deviation from the truth and from
uncharitable speech. Avoid falsehood, gossip, idle chatter, verbal abuse, belittling, and criticism; and
increase one’s veracity and charity.
Right action: Move toward selflessness and charity. One gets direction regarding right action/conduct
from the Five Precepts: Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not be unchaste. Do not drink
intoxicants.
Right livelihood: For some, right livelihood means joining a monastery. For most, it means engaging
in vocations that enhance life rather than damaging it. (In the Buddha’s day some of the prohibited
vocations included: poison peddler, slave trader, prostitute, butcher, brewer, arms maker, tax collector,
and caravan leader.)
Right effort: Resolve of the will and continual effort are required. Virtues must be developed, and
passions curbed. Destructive thought patterns must be replaced by compassion and detachment.
Right mindfulness: The principal task is to overcome ignorance about our true nature, to understand
ourselves in depth, and to become diligent observers of our thoughts and feelings.
Right concentration or meditation: Techniques found in Hindu raja yoga, aimed at changing oneself
into one who can experience the world in a different way. Cleansing the mind. The way to uproot
craving is to work on the mind and heart through meditation, either tranquility meditation, insight
meditation, or both.
In summary, the world is ill at ease because it is trapped in craving, craving because people have not
seen the truth about existence. Liberation is possible for all who can change the way they look at the
world and can see that freedom from craving rooted in ignorance is possible.
The Three Jewels
Buddhists speak of “taking refuge” or placing their trust in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
These three jewels are the basic components of Buddhist belief.
•
I take refuge in the Buddha (the teachings and the path of the Buddha, not the man Siddharta)
The Buddha was a human being like the rest of us. His great achievement was done at
the human level, and is thus a goal all living beings can reach. To take refuge is not to hide, but
to align oneself with the Buddha and strive to become a Buddha ourselves.
•
I take refuge in the Dharma
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o the transcendental absolute truth of how things are - the only thing that is eternal and
unconditioned, the truth that transcends every age.
o The Dharma is taught by the Buddhas everywhere and in all times, and is known by
those who have reached enlightenment
o The Dharma is the universal ordering principle that penetrates everywhere and is
operative in everything; the ultimate truth, the knowledge of what really is
o A transcendental principle imminent and operative in the world, but also infinite and
eternal
o Taking refuge does not mean to hide or retreat, but to align oneself with the teachings of
the Buddha and to follow them as the guiding principles of one’s life.
•
I take refuge in the Sangha (the community – those who seek the Buddhist path together).
o To find strength in our practice with the community, and to count on the community to
help us on our path.
The Three Poisons
o Craving (greed)
o Hatred
o Ignorance
Additional Teachings
Despite his brilliant philosophical mind (some compared the Buddha to Aristotle and Socrates), the
Buddha sought to avoid speculation because it had little practical value. He was keenly interested in
helping people find more meaningful and satisfying lives.
When asking the question “What did the Buddha himself teach?” it is helpful to remember that the first
written records of his teaching did not appear until 150 years after his death. Although an enormous
amount of material attributed to him has come down to future generations, one must remember that the
partisan schools of Buddhism, each with its own philosophy and agenda, were well-established by the
time this material was accumulated, translated, and organized.
Samsara: the perpetual cycle of rebirth; however, for Buddhists there is no concept of a soul that
transmigrates from lifetime to lifetime. One continues to be reborn until delusion, greed, and hatred
are eradicated.
Karma: Each life is connected to the ones before it and the ones to follow by a chain of causation. In
one’s current life the will remains free, despite the influences from the past that affect the current life;
the will is influenced, but not controlled.
Nirvana: Life’s goal, experiencing enlightenment and ending the cycle of rebirths. The term Nirvana
literally means “to put out,” “ to extinguish” (not blowing out like a candle, but putting out the candle
by withdrawing fuel)
Nirvana is the highest destiny of the individual, the state in which one’s private desires have
been extinguished, the state in which everything that restricts the boundless life has died.
One ends the samsara cycle by means of enlightenment, complete freedom. Such freedom
comes by means of the Eightfold Path, a lifetime of disciplines focused on knowledge, ethics, and
meditation. The purpose of these practices is to gradually root out all clinging and to bring about the
transformation of existence, the attainment of nirvana, the imperishable and absolute state beyond
samsara.
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Anatta: “No soul”: Rather than a soul that transmigrates from one life to another, the Buddha thought
of reincarnation like a flame that is passed from one candle to another. There is a causal connection,
but not a substance that moves from place to place or person to person.
Annica: Impermanence: everything is transitory. Nothing in nature is identical with what it was the
moment before.
Meditation is a core concept and practice in Buddhism. Meditation is the process of cleansing the
mind; the way to uproot craving is to work on the mind and heart through meditation, either tranquility
meditation, insight meditation, or both.
Morality is a central issue in Buddhism. Without moral discipline, the holy life is impossible. As
stated in the Five Precepts above, morality includes abstaining from harming any living thing,
abstaining from taking what is not given, abstaining from sexual misconduct, abstaining from false
speech, abstaining from anything that intoxicates or clouds the mind.
Living the holy life involves a way of seeing reality, and a way of acting. Seeing begins with
experience rather than with doctrines or concepts. One experiences that life is flawed and filled with
suffering, and one sees that everything is impermanent. Everything is conditioned, everything is
changing. All things are empty of their own nature – there is no unchanging, self, soul, or ego.
The inevitable suffering of life is caused by self-centered craving for pleasure and security. If
one learns to relinquish craving, suffering ceases and one experiences the liberation of nirvana.
Deity/Deities: Like everything, the deities are part of the samsara cycle, and cannot be ultimate. In
Buddhism, everything is seen as impermanent. Nothing (other than Dharma), not even God, is eternal
and absolute.
Sacred Writings
The Buddha himself left no written materials. Soon after his death his closest followers gathered to
remember and collect his oral teaching into a form that could be preserved and passed on. The
teachings were transmitted orally from teacher to student, and group recitation became a principal
method of preserving the tradition. The materials appear to have been gathered into a written canon
during the first century B.C.E.
The material was divided into two groups: sutras (focusing on spiritual practice and wisdom) and
tantras (associated with ritual practice, including secret material that was attainable only through
initiation by a guru).
The primary text for Theravada Buddhists is the Pali Canon. For Mayahana Buddhists the principal
sacred literature is the collection of Mahayana Sutras (sutra = “thread” and “brief rule.”) Both
“schools” have high regard for the principal material of their sister/cousin school, and both consider
many other spiritual writings to have great value.
Pali Canon
Although the Buddha’s teachings were transmitted orally for many decades before they were
committed to writing, many devout Theravada Buddhists consider these texts “the word of the
Buddha,” and the most authoritative teaching available. The canon consists of three Pitaka (baskets):
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Vinaya Pitaka: ‘Basket of Monastic Discipline,’ focuses on the behavior and ethical code
expected of the sangha, the community of monks and nuns.
Sutta Pitaka: ‘Basket of Threads,’ considered by all Buddhists everywhere to be the most
authoritative teachings of the Buddha.
Abhidarma Pitaka: ‘Basket of Higher Dharma,’ a collection of seven extended elaborations on
the Sutta Pitaka, focusing on the nature of mind, spirit, and matter.
Mahayana Sutras
Written from oral tradition in the 2nd century C.E., their authors are unknown. Although central to
Mahayana Buddhism, different groups emphasize different aspects of the material as primary. There
are no extant copies of the Sanskrit texts, and the written material is based on Chinese and Tibetan
translations of the earlier Sanskrit versions (approximately 600 different sutras are extant).
Lotus Sutra: the largest sutra, written between 100 and 150. The Lotus Sutra focuses on the
highest state of enlightenment (“Buddahood”), and describes the spiritual path, faith, and religious
discipline. Emphasizes that the path to enlightenment is open to all, not just monastic ascetics.
Vimalakirti Sutra: A well-organized and well-written treatment of “nonduality,” that all
Buddhists recognize as a valuable document for teaching emptiness.
Mahayana Shastras
Commentaries on the sutras
Tantras
Mystical texts
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References – add from Hindu bibliography
Armstrong, Karen. Buddha
Sach, Jerry. Essential Buddhism
Smith, Huston. The World’s Religions
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