Sri-Lanka The Island!

What is Buddhism?

The founder of Buddhism is neither a deity nor a prophet, but a man who has awakened from ignorance to perfect enlightenment; his name, Buddha, is in fact a title meaning the Enlightened One. The Buddha's teaching, known to his followers as the Dhamma, is taught on the basis of his own clear comprehension of reality, free from appeals to divine authority and demands for unquestioning faith. Open to reason and critical inquiry, the Dhamma calls out for personal verification.
The teaching begins with the observation that human life is beset by a sense of dissatisfaction pain or suffering and the cause for the suffering is the self centered desires. Then follows the most optimistic affirmation of the Buddha that suffering can be totally overcome! Hence liberation from suffering is the goal of the teaching and the Noble Eightfold Path has been laid down as the way to liberation.

Buddhism offers, as integral to its path, a profound philosophy, an intricate analysis of the mind, lofty ethics and well-tested methods of meditation. The fruits of the Buddhist Way show in serene understanding, in kindness and compassion towards others, and in equanimity amidst the vicissitudes of life. Free from dogma, emphasizing personal responsibility as the key to right conduct and direct experience as the key to truth, Buddhism has an important role to play in the modern world.


Buddhism as a religion, philosophy,psychology and a science - Piyadassi Thera

Buddhism as a Religion
To all Buddhists the question of religion and its origin, is not a metaphysical one. But a philosophical and an intellectual one. Religion is no real creed or a code of revelation or fear of the unknown fear of a supernatural being who rewards and punishes his good deeds and ill deeds. In other words it is not a theological concern. But rather a philosophical and an intellectual concern resulting from the experience of suffering, conflicts, unsatisfactoriness of the empirical existence of the nature of life. The Buddhist way of life is an intensed process of cleansing one's speech action and thought. It is self development and self-purification resulting in self-realization. The emphasis is on practical results and not on mere philosophical speculation or logical abstraction or even mere cogitation.

Buddhism as a Philosophy

From the point of view of philosophy, Buddha was not concerned with the problems that have worried philosophers both of the East and West from the beginning of history. He was not concerned with metaphysical problems which only confused man and upset his mental equilibrium. Their solution he knew will not free mankind from suffering from the unsatisfactory nature of life. That was why the Buddha hesitated to answer such questions as "Is the world eternal or not ?" "Has the world an end or not?" What is the origin of the world?" So on and so forth.

Buddhism as a Psychology

Buddhism also is the most psychological of religions. It is significant that the intricate workings of the human mind are more fully dealt with in Buddhism rather than in any other religion and therefore psychology works hand in hand with Buddhism than with any other religion. Is Buddhism related to modern psychology ? one may ask. Yes, but with some differences.

Buddhism is more concerned with the curative rather than the analysis. Psychology helps us to understand life intellectualy. Meditation goes beyond the intellect to the actual experience of life itself. Through Meditation the Buddha had discovered the deeper universal melodies of the human heart and mind.

Buddhism as a Science

The remarkable insight into the workings of the mind derived through investigation makes the Buddha the supreme psychologist cum scientist.

Admittedly, his way of arriving at these truths of mental life is not that of a experimentalist. Yet, what the Buddha had discovered remains true and infact has been corroborated by the experimentalists. But the purpose of engaging in these inquiries is quite different from that of the scientist. The statement of the Buddha about nature of the mind and matter are directed towards specific ends. They are simply the deliverance of man, supreme security from bondage of suffering.



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Salient features of Dhamma -

Many shades of meaning
The Buddha's teaching is called the Dhamma. The word 'Dhamma' has several shades of meaning . In the most basic sense ' Dhamma' signifies the true nature of things. Dhamma is the fundamental element of lawfulness operating in the universe, structuring all events, all experience and all phenomena. All actual things, all phenomena are called dhammas in the plural because all of them embody the true nature of things.

Dhamma also means the ethical law, the fundamental principle of righteousness, the cosmic law of virtue and goodness.

Dhamma also has a practical sense, something applicable to our own life. Dhamma is that which sustains us , which supports us, or which upholds our own effort to live in virtue and goodness. In this sense Dhamma is the path. On the one hand it is the lower path of virtue, on the other, Dhamma is the Supramundane path, the higher path that leads to realization of the true nature of things.

The Buddha's teaching is called the Dhamma, because this teaching makes known the true nature of things - discloses the true nature of all existence.


The Buddha only shows the way.. We ourselves should tread the path

Dhamma is like a raft

The man struck by the 'poison' arrow






The Four Noble Truths - By Bhikkhu Bodhi

Foot prints of an elephant

The recorded teachings of the Buddha are numerous. But all these diverse teachings fit together into a single unifying frame, the teaching of the Four Noble Truths. The Buddha compared the Four Noble Truths to the footprints of an elephant. Just as the footprint of an elephant can contain the footprints of any other animal, the footprints of tigers, lions, dogs, cats, etc. So all the different teachings of the Buddha fit into the single framework of the Four Noble Truths.

The Buddha makes it clear that the realization of the Four Noble Truths coincides with the attainment of enlightenment itself. He says that when a Buddha appears in the world there is a teaching of the Four Noble Truths. So the special purpose of the Dhamma is to make known the Four Noble Truths and the special aim of those treading the path to enlightenment is to see for themselves the Four Noble Truths.

The Four Noble Truths are as follows:-


1. The truth of Dukkha
2. The truth of the origin of Dukkha
3. The truth of the cessation of Dukkha
4. The truth of the path, the way to liberation from Dukkha


The word 'Dukkha' has often been translated as suffering, pain and misery. But 'Dukkha' as used by the Buddha has a much wider and a deeper meaning. It suggests a basic unsatisfactoriness pervading all existence, all forms of life, due to the fact that all forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any inner core or substance. The term, dukkha, indicates a lack of perfection, a condition that never measures up to our standards and expectations.

Each word in the phrase "Four Noble Truths" is significant.
A Doctor's Prescription




The Noble Eightfold Path -By Bhikkhu Bodhi

Dukkha, its origin, its cessation, and the way to its cessation-these are the Four Noble Truths, the "elephant's footprint" that contains within itself all the essential teachings of the Buddha. It might be risky to say that any one truth is more important than the others. since they all hang together in a very close integral unit. But if we were to single out one truth as the key to the whole Dhamma it would be the Fourth Noble Truths, the truth of the way, the way to the end of Dukkha. That is the Noble Eightfold Path, the path made up of the following eight factors divided into three larger groups;

wisdom
1. right view
2. right intention

moral discipline

3. right speech
4. right action
5. right livelihood

concentration

6. right effort
7. right mindfulness
8. right concentration



We say that the path is the most important element in the Buddha's teaching because the path is what makes the Dhamma available to us as a living experience. Without the path the Dhamma would just be a shell, collection of doctrines without inner life. Without the path full deliverance from suffering would become a mere dream.

Discovery of a lost path
The way to awakening
The Middle way
Vision and Mission
The Two Kinds of Noble Eightfold Path
Not a Mere Ethical Conduct





The True Nature of Existence - By Bhikkhu Bodhi

Purpose of leading a spiritual life

Once the Buddha addressed his diciples thus: "Monks it may be that ascetics belonging to other sects will ask you what is the purpose of leading a spiritual life under the Buddha.?" The monks remained silent. Then the Buddha himself gave the answer.

"You should answer them thus: It is for the purpose of understanding things that should be fully understood that we lead a spiritual life under the Buddha." Then the Buddha continued: "What are the things that should be fully understood? They are the five aggregates of clinging: material form, feeling, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness."

From this incident we can see that the path laid down by the Buddha is essentially a path of understanding. The understanding aimed at is not mere conceptual knowledge or a collection of information. Rather it is an insight into the true nature of our existence. This understanding brings liberation, the release of the mind from all bonds and fetters and issues in the cessation of Dukkha or suffering.

The Buddha offers us the Dhamma as a search light that we can focus on our own experience in order to understand it in correct perspective. To understand our experience or our existence, involves two steps:



1) We have to look into the makeup of our being to see what our existence consists of, we have to take it apart mentally, to see how it works, then put it together again and see how it holds together.
2) We have to examine our experience in order to discover its most pervasive features, the universal characteristics of phenomena.




The Five Aggregates Of Clinging - By Bhikkhu Bodhi

The two steps aforesaid treats our experience analytically. We have to dissect the being, our own individuality. The Buddha reveals that what we are, our being or personality, is a composite of five factors which are called the five aggregates of clinging. They are called the five aggregates of clinging because they form the basis for clinging. Whatever we cling to can be found amongst the five aggregates. These five function together as the instrument for our experience of the world. We cling to them as instruments of our experience in this life, and when they break up at death, due to that same clinging - the desire for enjoyment and for existence - a new set of aggregates, a new life arises to continue our experience in another existence. Thus we build up one set of aggregates after another, life after life, and in that way we accumulate Dukkha, the suffering, in the round of samsara.
The Buddha says that the five agregates have to be fully understood. This is the first Noble Truth, the truth of Dukkha. The five aggregates are our burden, but at the same time they provide us with the indispensable soil of wisdom. To bring suffering to an end we have to turn our attention around and see into the nature of the aggregates.

The five aggregates are:


1. Material form.
2. Feelings.
3. Perceptions.
4. Mental formations.
5. Consciousness.


These five aggregates exhaust our psychophysical existence. Any event, any occurrence, any element in the mind-body process can be put into one of these five aggregates. There is nothing in this whole experiential process that lies outside them.

All these four mental aggregates always exist together; they all depend upon one another. Whenever there is any experience of an object, at that moment there is present, simultaneously, a feeling, a perception, a cluster of mental formations and consciousness, the light of awareness.

Whatever we identify ourselves with, whatever we take to be 'I', or 'my self' can be found within these five agggregates. Therefore if we care to understand ourselves, what we have to understand is the five aggregates. To fully understand the five aggregates means to see them as they really are, and this means to see them in terms of the three characteristics of existence, that is, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness or suffering, and selflessness or non-self.





The Trilogy of Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta - By Bhikkhu Bodhi

The Buddha says that we have to examine our experience in order to discover its most pervasive features, the universal characteristics of phenomena, namely, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and egolessness or notself.
The Buddha says:


All formations are impermanent.
All formations are unsatisfactory.
All phenomena, everything whatsoever, are not self.


Formations are things which arise from causes and conditions. They include all compounded or formed phenomena. Although all formations around us have these three characteristics, we are unable to see them because our minds are ordinarily cloaked by ignorance. Ignorance is a mental factor which has been covering the minds of all sentient beings through beginningless time. It covers the minds of every one but the fully enlightened ones, the Buddhas and the arahants.

Ignorance functions in two ways, negative and positive. On the negative side it simply obstructs us from seeing things as they are; it throws up clouds of mental darkness. On the positive side, it creates in the mind illusions called perversions. Due to these perversions, we see things in quite the opposite way from the way they really are.

These perversions are:
(a) Perversion of seeing what is unattractive as attractive.
(b) Perversion of seeing what is Dukkha or unsatisfactory as pleasurable.
(c) Perversion of seeing what is impermanent as permanent.
(d) Perversion of seeing what is really not self as self.


These illusions give rise to craving, conceit, wrong view and all other defilements, and in that way we become entangled in dukkha.

These universal characteristics have to be understood in two stages: first intellectually, by reflection; and thereafter by direct insight or realisation through insight meditation. When we explain these intellectually, we should not make this a substitute for practice, but only take it as a guideline for understanding what has to be seen by the actual practice of insight meditation.



Dependent Arising : Patticca Samuppada - By Bhikkhu Bodhi

The Buddha says "One who sees dependent arising sees the Dhamma and one who sees the Dhamma sees dependent arising". The Dhamma is the truth discovered by the Buddha. In his statement the Buddha makes an explicit equation between the profound truth he has realized and dependent arising. Again in describing his own quest for enlightenment, the Buddha says that immediately before his enlightenment, when he was sitting in meditation he began enquiring into the chain of conditioning, seeking the causal origination of suffering, and this inquiry led him to the discovery of dependent arising. So from one angle one can equate the discovery of dependent arising with the attainment of enlightenment itself.

The Buddha says this dependent arising is deep in truth and deep in appearance. It is through not understanding and not penetrating this truth of dependent arising that living beings have become entangled like a matted ball of thread,or have to become like grass and rushes, unable to pass beyond the woeful states of existence, unable to escape from samsara, the cycle of becoming. Thus dependent arising is not only the content of the Buddha's enlightenment, not only a philosophical doctrine, but it is also the truth that has to be realized to gain liberation from suffering. So this is the key not only to the intellectual understanding of the Dhamma, but to the attainment of liberation itself.

When there is this.. that comes to be!
The first cause of the Universe..
Spokes of the wheel of existence..
Such is the arising of suffering..
Our present life.. the result of our past life..
The striking discovery of the enlightenment..
Practical Implementation of the Theory of Dependent Arising



Kamma -Bhikkhu Bodhi

There is a tremendous variety among the living beings existing in the world. People and animals are of different sorts. What is it that causes us to take rebirth in a particular form? Does it happen through coincidence, through accident, by chance without any reason or is there some principle behind it? What is it that determines the form of rebirth we take?

Buddha answers these questions, with the Pali term "kamma". Kamma is the factor which determines the specific form of rebirth, what kind of a person we are, at the outset of our life, and it is kamma again that determines a good number of the experiences that we undergo in the course of our life.

The word "kamma" means literally action, deed or doing. But in Buddhism it means specifically volitional action.

The Buddha says:
"Monks it is volition that I call kamma. For having willed, one then acts by body, speech or mind". What really lies behind all action, the essence of all action, is volition, the power of the will. It is this volition expressing itself as action of body, speech and mind that the Buddha calls kamma.

This means that unintentional action is not kamma. If we accidently step on some ants while walking down the street, that is not the kamma of taking life, for there was no intention to kill. If we speak some statement believing it to be true and it turns out to be false, this is not the kamma of lying, for there is no intention of deceiving.

Kamma manifests itself in three ways, through three "doors" of action. These are body, speech and mind. When we act physically the body serves as the instrument for volition. This is bodily kamma. When we speak, expressing our thoughts and intentions, that is verbal kamma, which can be performed either directly through speech or else indirectly through writing or other means of communications. When we think, plan, desire inwardly, without any outer action, that is mental kamma. What lies behind all these forms of actions is the mind and the chief mental factor which causes the action is the volition.

Every choice of our's has a tremendous potential for the future
Kamma is like a seed
Type of Kamma Based on the Time of Fruition
Types of Kamma based on Ethical Grounds - Wholesome and Unwholesome Kamma
Why is one intelligent and another dull minded? How is one born ugly and another beautiful?
Survey of Buddhist Cosmology
Mind is the architect of the whole universe
We are not hopeless prisoners of our past
Going beyond kamma - the ultimate aim of the Path




Nibbana - By Bhikkhu Bodhi

The Buddha says that he teaches only Dukkha and the cessation of Dukkha, that is, suffering and the end of suffering. The First Noble Truth deals with the problem of suffering. However, the truth of suffering is not the final word of the Buddha's teaching. It is only the starting point. The Buddha starts with suffering, because his teaching is designed for a particular end: it is designed to lead to liberation. In order to do this he must give us a reason for seeking liberation. If a man does not know that his house is on fire, he lives there enjoying himself, playing and laughing. To get him to come out we first have to make him understand that his house is on fire. In the same way the Buddha announces that our lives are burning with old age, sickness and death. Our minds are flaming with greed, hatred and delusion. It is only when we become aware of the peril that we are ready to seek a way to release.

In the Second Noble Truth, he points out that the principal cause of suffering is craving, the desire for a world of sights, sounds , smells, tastes, touch sensations and ideas. Since the cause of Dukkha is craving, the key to reaching the end of Dukkha is to eliminate craving. Therefore the Buddha explains the Third Noble Truth as the extinction of craving.

Psychological Dimension of Nibbana

Philosophical Dimension of Nibbana

Nibbana is an existing reality

Is Nibbana conditioned by its path

Is Nibbana mere annihilation ?

The story of the Turtle and the Fish

Two elements of Nibbana

Experience of an Arahant

State of an Arahant after passing away

Mind Stilled


Rebirth - Bhikkhu Bodhi

The question of human destiny after death is probably one of the most critical questions we can raise. Nowadays it has become fashionable to dismiss this question as unimportant. But if we reflect on the extent to which our views influence our action we will see that it is quite essential to gain some understanding of the complete context in which our lives unfold. Moreover our views on the afterlife will determine what we regard as important in this present life.

Three positions of human destiny after death
There are three possible positions that can be taken on human destiny after death. One position, the outlook of materialism. It simply denies that there is an afterlife. It holds that the human being consists of organic matter. It regards mind as a byproduct of organic matter, and after death, with the break up of the physical body, all consciousness comes to an end and the life process is completely extinguished.

The second alternative is the view held in Western theistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam in their orthodox forms. They believe in an eternal afterlife. According to these religions, we live a single life on earth and after death we live eternally in some state of existence determined by our present beliefs and conduct.

Then there is a third view, a view which prevails in the religions of the East, Hinduism and Buddhism. This is the idea of rebirth. According to this, the present life is only a simple link in a chain of lives that extends back into the past and forward into the future. This chain of lives is called samsara.

Buddhism and Hinduism compared
Rebirth without a "Transmigrating soul"
What continues from one life to another?
Preservation of identity illustrated
Conception
Teaching of dependent arising with specific reference to Rebirth
Craving the Seamstress
What is it that causes rebirth in a particular form
Is rebirth scientifically acceptable?





Mind

In theistic religions the basis is God. It is theocentric. In Buddhism which is anthropocentric the mind is the basis. In order to understand fully the ideal of freedom of the mind it is necessary to appreciate the importance of the mind. If there is no proper understanding of the importance of the human mind we cannot appreciate to its fullest extent the reason why it is so necessary to develop and safeguard the freedom of the mind.

Of all forces the force of the mind is the most potential. It predominates every other force. It is a power by itself and within itself. Any attempt to thwart the growth of this is a step in the wrong direction. No one had understood the power of the mind so clearly as the Buddha. The Buddha while not denying the world of matter and the great effect that the physical world has on mental life emphasis the very great importance of the human mind.

The Buddhist point of view is that the mind or consciousness is the core of our existence. All our Psychological experiences such as pain and pleasure, sorrow and happiness good and evil, life and death are not attributed to any external agency. They are the results of our own thoughts and their resultant actions.



TAMING THE BULL - Bhikkhu K. Ñânananda

Mind is like an unruly bull. Put in tether, it tugs and tugs and tugs - breaks loose and runs riot. One has to master the art of reining it in. Otherwise there is the risk of getting carried away by it. A wrong grasp of the rope leaves one with a bruised back.

The all-compassionate and supremely - wise Buddha-the `Incomparable Tamer’ - gives us as many as five methods to be applied in such a situation. The order of their arrangement is psychologically important. Only when the first method fails, the second has to be applied and when that too fails, the third and so forth. The range of methods shows his breadth of compassion and the particular arrangement, the depth of his wisdom. Each method is exemplified with a simile as a practical illustration easy to remember.

HERE ARE THE 5 METHODS :-

When in attending to some kind of mental object, one finds that evil unwholesome thoughts connected with desire, aversion and delusion arise, one should attend, instead of it, to a wholesome object of thought. As one goes on attending to such an alternative object, those evil unwholesome thoughts will be abandoned and the mind becomes steady, restful, one-pointed and concentrated.
Simile: Just as a skilled carpenter or a carpenter’s apprentice would knock out, beat out and remove a coarser peg by means of a fine one-

If inspite of this attempt those evil unwholesome thoughts keep on arising, the danger of such thoughts should be carefully examined : `These thoughts are in this way unwholesome. They are in this way faulty. They have such and such painful consequences’. By this method also those evil unwholesome thoughts will be dispelled and the mind made steady, restful, one-pointed and concentrated.
Simile: Just as a young woman or a young man, fond of adornment would be repelled, ashamed and disgusted with a carcass of a snake, a carcass of a dog or a carcass of a human being hung around the neck -

If those evil unwholesome thoughts still continue to arise, one should assume an attitude of unmindfulness and inattention.
Simile: Just as a man with eyes, not wishing to see material shapes that come within his range of vision, would close his eyes or look away -

If these still persist, one should pay attention to the adjustment of those thought- preparations.
Simile: Supposing to a man who is walking quickly, it occurs: `Now, why do I walk quickly? What if I were to walk slowly?’ Then he walks slowly. But then it occurs to him: `why do I walk slowly? Should I not be standing?’ So he stands. Then again it occurs to him: `Now why am I standing? I might as well sit down.’ So he sits down. It occurs to him then: `Now, why am I sitting? Should I not be lying down?’ So he lies down. Just as that man avoids the grosser posture and assumes a subtler one -

But if those evil unwholesome thoughts still keep on arising, then one should clench one’s teeth, press the tongue against the palate and pull up, squeeze and put down the mind with the mind.
Simile: Even as a strong man would grab a weak man by the head or shoulders and pull him up, squeeze and put him down -

Whoever can train his mind to become steady, restful, one - pointed and concentrated by means of these five methods, is a master of the rambling ways of thought. Whatever thought he wishes to think - that he will think. Whatever thought he does not wish to think - that he will not think. He has cut off craving, unhooked the fetters and by fully understanding conceit, has put an end to suffering.


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