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Doctrine The Three Universal Truths
During his enlightenment, the Buddha found the answer to these questions. He discovered three great truths. These truths
are common to all Buddhist belief and teaching:
3. Law of Cause and Effect KARMA
• There is continuous changes due to the law of cause
1. Nothing is lost in the universe
and effect known as karma
• The first truth is that nothing is lost in the
• Nothing ever happens to us unless we deserves it.
universe.
• We receive exactly what we earn, whether it is good
• Matter turns into energy, energy turns into
or bad.
matter.
• We are the way we are now due to the things we have
• We are the same as plants, as trees, as other
done in the past.
people, as the rain that falls.
• Our thoughts and actions determine the kind of life we
• We consist of that which is around us, we are the
can have.
same as everything.
• If we do good things, in the future good things will
• If we destroy something around us, we destroy
happen to us.
ourselves.
• If we do bad things, in the future bad things will
• If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves.
happen to us.
2. Everything Changes
• Every moment we create new karma by what we say,
• The second universal truth of the Buddha is that
do, and think.
everything is continuously changing.
• Life is like a river flowing on and on, everchanging.
• Sometimes it flows slowly and sometimes swiftly.
It is smooth and gentle in some places, but later
on snags and rocks crop up out of nowhere.
• As soon as we think we are safe, something
unexpected happens.
Dissolution of sand art mandala
Doctrine Buddhism: Major Doctrines All
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1. The Truth of Suffering, or Misery: suffering (dissatisfaction, disease, or the idea that the world is
essentially unpleasant in all its details, and gives us a nagging feeling that something is not quite right, is a
good Buddhist clue that something is wrong more deeply.).
2. The Truth of the Cause: suffering is caused by desire and by ignorance which ultimately depend on
each other.
3. The Truth of Cessation: Nirvana, the end of suffering & desires; Mahâyâna desire can be transformed
rather than abolished
4. The Truth of the Way which is the Middle Way--the Eightfold Path; meditation of various kinds;
monasticism, itinerancy, or solitude, Right Knowledge (or Views), Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right
Conduct (or Action), Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation (or
Concentration)
Doctrine Major Doctrine: Noble Eightfold Path
When the Buddha gave his first sermon in the Deer Park, he began the 'Turning of the Dharma Wheel'.
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The Buddha's teaching goes round and round like a great wheel that never stops, leading to the central point of the wheel, the only point which
is fixed, Nirvana.
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The eight spokes on the wheel represent the eight parts of the Noble Eightfold Path.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Right View.
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The right way to think about life is to see the world through the eyes of the Buddha--with wisdom and compassion.
Right Thought.
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We are what we think. Clear and kind thoughts build good, strong characters.
Right Speech.
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By speaking kind and helpful words, we are respected and trusted by everyone.
Right Conduct.
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No matter what we say, others know us from the way we behave. Before we criticize others, we should first see what we do ourselves.
Right Livelihood.
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This means choosing a job that does not hurt others. The Buddha said, "Do not earn your living by harming others. Do not seek happiness by
making others unhappy."
Right Effort.
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A worthwhile life means doing our best at all times and having good will toward others. This also means not wasting effort on things that harm
ourselves and others.
Right Mindfulness.
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This means being aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
Right Concentration.
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Focus on one thought or object at a time. By doing this, we can be quiet and attain true peace of mind.
Doctrine Noble Eightfold Path
The eight factors of the path are commonly presented within three divisions (or higher trainings)
The eight factors of the path are not to be understood as stages, in which each stage is completed before moving
on to the next. Rather, they are understood as eight significant dimensions of one's behaviour—mental, spoken,
and bodily—that operate in dependence on one another; taken together, they define a complete path, or way of
living.
Doctrine Major Doctrine: The Triple Jewels
The Buddha established the Three Refuges
• If a person wants to become Buddhists the individual will take refuge in and rely on the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
• These are known as the Triple Jewel.
• The Sangha are the monks and nuns.
• The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha together possess qualities that are precious like jewels and can lead one to
enlightenment. The Buddha is the guide. The Dharma is the path. The Sangha are the teachers or companions along the way.
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There is a special ceremony for taking refuge with the Triple Jewel. With a sincere mind, one recites the following verse in front
of an ordained monk or nun.
I go to the Buddha for refuge.
I go to the Dharma for refuge.
I go to the Sangha for refuge.
For a Buddhist, taking refuge is the first step on the path to enlightenment. One who take the precepts is called a lay person.
Doctrine Major The Five Precepts
Conduct to be avoided by Buddhists. These have been
passed down from the Buddha himself.
1. No killing
Respect for life
2. No stealing
Respect for others'
property
3. No sexual misconduct
Respect for our pure
nature
4. No lying
Respect for honesty
5. No intoxicants
Respect for a clear
mind
No killing The Buddha said, "Life is dear to all beings.
They have the right to live the same as we do." We
should respect all life and not kill anything.
No stealing If we steal from another, we steal from
ourselves.
No sexual misconduct Proper conduct shows respect
for oneself and others. Our bodies are gifts from our
parents, so we should protect them from harm.
No lying Being honest brings peace into the world.
No intoxicants The fifth precept is based on keeping a
clear mind and a healthy body. The worst thing is that
he will lose his wisdom and become stupid.
Doctrine Rebirth
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Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the evolving
consciousness or stream of consciousness that upon death
gives rise to a new individual
The consciousness in the new person is neither identical nor
entirely different from that in the deceased but the two form
a causal continuum or stream.
In traditional Buddhist cosmology these lives can be in any
of a large number of states of being including the human,
any kind of animal and several types of supernatural being.
Buddhist teachings all agree say that that the circumstances
into which one is reborn is conditioned by the sum total of
the karma (actions of body, speech and mind) created in
the previous life.
• good karmas will yield a happier rebirth,
• bad karmas will produce one which is more unhappy.
• The basic cause for this is the abiding of
consciousness in ignorance.
• when ignorance is uprooted, rebirth ceases
and nirvana is at hand
Buddhism says that the person is made up of thoughts,
feelings and perceptions interacting with the body in a
dynamic and constantly changing way.
Buddhism explains the continuity of the individual without
recourse to the belief in an "eternal soul", an idea which
contradicts the universal truth of impermanence.
Doctrine The Wheel of Life Rebirth
Buddhists do not believe that death is the end of life. When one dies, one's consciousness
leaves and enters one of the six paths of rebirth.
• There are are the six states on the wheel of life
1.
Heavenly Beings--where everyone is happy
2.
Human: sone of the realms of rebirth in which attaining Nirvana is possible
3.
Asuras are beings who have many good things in life, but still like to fight.
They appear in the heavens or on earth
as people or animals. (not recognized by Theravada tradition as a separate
realm)
4.
Animals: sharing space with humans, but considered another type of life;
5.
Hungry ghosts are beings who suffer from constant hunger (Preta)
6.
Hell-beings--where the suffering is unbearable (Naraka beings)
Beings can rise or fall from one path to another.
If one does good deeds, one will be born into the paths of gods, humans, or asuras.
If one does evil deeds, one will be born into the paths of animals, hungry ghosts, or
hell-beings.
• From one life to the next one can suddenly change from an human to an animal or from
a ghost to a hell-being, according to the things one has done.
How to Escape the Turning Wheel Three Poisons Greed, Hatred and Stupidity
• The wheel of life and death is kept turning by the three poisons of greed, hatred, and
stupidity.
• By cutting off the three poisons, we can escape the wheel and become enlightened.
• There are four stages of enlightenment.
1.
Buddhas- perfect in enlightenment.
2.
Bodhisattvas- enlighten themselves as well as others.
3.
Pratyekabuddhas- hermits who retreat from the world to enlighten
themselves.
4.
Arhats- enlighten themselves.
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Doctrine Karma
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Karma is the law of moral causation. The theory of Karma is a
fundamental doctrine in Buddhism.
Buddha explained and formulated this doctrine in the complete
form in which we have it today.
• What is the cause of the inequality that exists among
mankind?
• Why should one person be brought up in the lap of luxury,
endowed with fine mental, moral and physical qualities, and
another in absolute poverty, steeped in misery?
• Why should one person be a mental prodigy, and another an
idiot?
• Why should one person be born with saintly characteristics
and another with criminal tendencies?
• Why should some be linguistic, artistic, mathematically
inclined, or musical from the very cradle?
• Why should others be congenitally blind, deaf, or deformed?
• Why should some be blessed, and others cursed from their
births?
Either this inequality of mankind has a cause, or it is purely accidental.
According to Buddhism, this inequality is due not only to heredity, environment, "nature and nurture", but also to
Karma.
The inequality is the result of our own past actions and our own present doings.
We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell.
We are the architects of our own fate.
Doctrine Noble The Four Immeasurables
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Buddha combined the yoga practice of his
teacher Kalama with what later became known
as "the immeasurables".
• "Four Immeasurable Minds" of love,
compassion, joy, and equanimity
• Of the four, mettā or loving-kindness
meditation is perhaps the best known.
• The Four Immeasurables are taught as a
form of meditation that cultivates
"wholesome attitudes towards all sentient
beings.
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The practitioner prays:
• May all sentient beings have happiness
and its causes,
• May all sentient beings be free of
suffering and its causes,
• May all sentient beings never be
separated from bliss without suffering,
• May all sentient beings be in equanimity,
free of bias, attachment and anger.
DOCTRINE:
OTHER IDEAS
IN BUDDHIST
PHILOSOPHY
Ethical—Buddhist
• The foundation of Buddhist ethics for laypeople is The Five Precepts which are common to all Buddhist schools.
• Following the Five Precepts is said to lead to rebirth as a human and prevent rebirth in one of the lower realms of suffering.
• They create a foundation for meditation practice that leads toward freedom
• They were the basic moral instructions which the Buddha gave to laypeople and monks alike.
• When one "goes for refuge" to the Buddha's teachings, one formally takes the five precepts which are:
• I undertake the training rule to abstain from killing;
• I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given;
• I undertake the training rule to abstain from sensual misconduct;
• I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech;
• I undertake the training rule to abstain from alcoholic drinks, which are the basis for heedlessness.
• There is also a more strict set of precepts called the eight precepts which are taken at specific religious days or religious retreats.
• The eight precepts encourage further discipline and are modeled on the monastic code. The three additional rules of the Eight Precepts are:
• “I accept the training rule to abstain from food at improper times.” (e.g. no solid foods after noon, and not until dawn the following day)
• “I accept the training rule (a) to abstain from dancing, singing, instrumental music, and shows, and (b) from the use of jewelry,
cosmetics, and beauty lotions.”
• “I accept the training rule to abstain from the use of high and luxurious beds and seats.”