The Four Certainties
These are characteristic marks of a buddha. The four certainties are:
1.) Certainty that his perfect enlightenment
is irreversible
2.) Certainty that all defilements
are exhausted
3.) Certainty that all obstacles
have been overcome
4.) Certainty of having proclaimed
the way of abandoning samsära
Samsära - "journeying" ;
"the cycle of existences," a succession of rebirths that a
being goes through within the
various models of existence until it has attained liberation
and entered nirväna.
The Four Foundations (Awakenings) of Mindfulness - Satipatthäna
Satipatthäna is one of
the fundamental meditation practices of the Hïnayäna, which
consists of (in order):
1.) Mindfulness of body
This includes mindfulness of inhalation and exhalation
as well as of bodily posture, clarity of mind
during all activites, contemplation of the thirty-two parts of the body,
analysis of the bodily elements,
and charnel ground contemplation.
2.) Mindfulness of feeling
This is where one recognizes feelings as pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent,
worldly or supramundane,
and sees clearly their transitory quality.
3.) Mindfulness of mind
In mindfulness of mind, every state of consciousness
that arises is noted and recognized as passionate
or passionless, agressive or free from aggression, deluded or undeluded.
4.) Mindfulness of mental objects
In
mindfulness of mental objects, one is aware of the conditionedness and
inessentiality of things,
knows whether or not the five hindrances are present, recognizes the personality
and the basic elements
of the mental process as consisting of the five skandhas, and possesses
an understanding of the four
noble truths that corresponds to reality.
Skhandha - term for the five aggregates, which constitute the enirety
of what is gernerally known as "personality".
They are: (1) corporeality or form (2) sensation (3) perception
(4) mental formations (5) consciousness
The Four Noble Truths
1.) The truth of suffering
2.) The truth of the origin of suffering
3.) The truth of the cessation of
suffering
4.) The truth of the path that leads
to the cessation of suffering
The first truth states that all existence
is characterized by sufering and does not bring true
satisfaction. Everything is suffering:
birth, sickness, death; coming together with what one does
not like; not obtaining what one
desires; and the five aggregates of attatchment that constitute
the personality.
The second truth gives as the cause
of suffering craving or desire, the thirst for sensual pleasure,
for becoming and passing away. This
craving binds beings to the cycle of existence.
The third truth says that through
remainderless elimination of craving, suffering can be brought
to an end.
The fourth truth gives the eightfold path as the means for the ending of suffering.
The eightfold path:
1.) Perfect view
2.) Perfect thought
3.) Perfect speech
4.) Perfect action
5.) Perfect livelihood
6.) Perfect effort
7.) Perfect mindfulness
8.) Perfect concentration
Perfect View - i.e., the view based
on the understanding of the four noble truths and the
nonindividuality of existence
Perfect Thought/Resolve - i.e.,
resolve in favor of renunciation, good will, and non-harming of
sentient beings
Perfect Speech - i.e., avoidance
of lying, slander, and gossip
Perfect Action - i.e., avoidance
of actions that conflict with moral discipline
Perfect Livelihood - i.e., avoidance
of professions that are harmful to sentient beings
Perfect Effort - i.e., cultivation
of what is karmically wholesome and avoidance of what is
karmically unwholesome
Perfect Mindfulness - i.e., ongoing
mindfulness of body, feelings, thinkings, and objects of thought
Perfect Concentration - i.e., concentration
of mind that finds its highpoint in the four absorptions.
The eightfold path does not actually
represent a path on which linear progress is made, since in practice the
the first to be realized are stages 3-5, then stages 6-8, and then finally
1-2. Perfect view is the immediate condition for entering upon the supramundane
path of sacredness and for the attainment of nirvana.
The Four Perfect Exertions
This is one of the meditation practices
recommended by the Buddha. The objective is to
avoid unwholesome factors in the
future and eliminate those that are present. The four
perfect exertions are:
1.) The exertion of restraint (i.e.,
avoiding unwholesome factors)
2.) The exertion of overcoming (unwholesome
factors)
3.) The exertion of developing (wholesome
factors, especially the factors of enlightenment)
4.) The exertion of maintaining
(wholesome factors)
The four perfect exertions are identical
with the sixth element of the eightfold path, right
effort or exertion.
The Four Stages of Absorption (Dhyäna)
Dhyäna - in general, any absorbed state of mind brought about through concentration. Such a state is reached through the entire attention dwelling uninterruptedly on a psychical or mental object of meditation; in this way the mind passes through various stages in which the currents of the passions gradually fade away. Dhyäna designates particularly the four stages of absorption of the world of form, the condition for which is the removal of the five hindrances. These four absorptions make possible the attainment of abhijñä. They prepare the way for the elimination of the defilements or cankers (äsrava.) This is tantamount to liberation.
The first absorption stage is characterized
by the relinquishing of desires and unwholesome factors and is reached
through conceptualization and discursive thought. In this stage, there
is joyful interest and well-being. The second stage is characterized by
the coming to rest of conceptualization and discursive thought, the attainment
of inner calm, and so-called one-pointedness of mind, which means concentration
on an object of meditation. Joyful interest and well-being continue. In
the third stage joy disappears, replaced by equanimity; one is alert, aware,
and feels well-being. In the fourth stage only equaniminty and wakefulness
are present.
The Four Stages of Formlessness
These are meditation practices from
the early phase of Buddhism, the objective of which
was to raise oneself stage by stage
into increasingly higher levels of incorporeality. These
are the four stages of formlessness:
1.) The stage
of the limitless space
2.) The stage
of the limitlessness of consciousness
3.) The stage
of nothing whatever
4.) The stage
of beyond awareness and non-awareness
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