The Four Noble Truths
1.) The truth of suffering (dukkha)
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 suffering 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 attachment 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.) Right Understanding
2.) Right Thought
3.) Right Speech
4.) Right Action
5.) Right Livelihood
6.) Right Effort
7.) Right Mindfulness
8.) Right Concentration
Different aspects of the eightfold path are sectioned into three categories that allow one to gain a better understanding of each. These categories are Ethical Conduct, Mental Discipline, and Wisdom.
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(Ethcial Conduct), then stages 6-8(Mental Discipline), and then
finally 1-2(Wisdom). They are all
interconnected and dependent on each other in different ways. One
cannot properly exist without the
other.
Ethical Conduct
The Buddha claimed his teachings
were out of compassion for the world. Ethical conduct is a means to
develop this compassion. Understanding
and practicing Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood
will help us to decrease the suffering
of others and eliminate that of our own.
Right Speech -
abstaining from telling lies, and avoidance of slander and useless gossip.
Right Action
- avoidance of doing that which causes harm, and of actions that
conflict with moral discipline.
Right Livelihood - determines
that one should abstain from making a living through causing harm to sentient
beings
Mental Discipline
Right Effort - cultivation of what is karmically wholesome, and effort to prevent unwholesome states of mind. Without Right Effort, it is easy to become sidetracked into using different, incomplete, or unwholesome ways of dealing with certain problems, and easy to think of one's goals as being over-ambitious, idealistic, or extreme.
Right Mindfulness - ongoing awareness of body,feelings,conceptions,and objects of thought. Right Mindfulness relates Right Effort to the constantly present moment; without effort, mindfulness would be unproductive, and without both, Ethical Conduct would be no more than just a duty or burden.
Right Concentration - attentiveness
and focus of and on everything. If Right Mindfulness is a matter of awareness,
Right Concentration is the basis upon which that awareness is attained.
This perfect concentration finds its highpoint in the four absorptions.
Wisdom
Wisdom is the summation of what has
already been practiced. The two aspects of wisdom are
primarily dependent on Right Mindfulness,
but also of the others because they signify the concepts
gained through the previous experiences
that have evolved and built up one's present wisdom.
Right Thought - constitutes
selflessness renunciation or detachment, eliminating desire, hatred, and
ignorance.
Right Understanding - realization
of things as they are; viewing reality in its true form. Right Understanding
is the
immediate condition for entering upon the supramundane path of sacredness
and for the
attainment of nirvana.
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 (cycle of existence)
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 activities, 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, aggressive 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.
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 which help attain 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 equanimity 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
The Five Aggregates (Skandha)
The five aggregates
explain what -concerning that fact that nothing exists - we consist of.
The
Buddha stated
that we are a combination of ever-changing forces or energies which can
be divided
into five
groups, which themselves are both dukkha (suffering), and the basis of
attachment. The
five aggregates
are:
1.) The aggregate
of matter
2.) The aggregate
of sensations
3.) The aggregate
of perceptions
4.) The aggregate
of mental formations
5.) The aggregate
of consciousness
The aggregate of matter
This includes
our five material sense organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue; and 'body and
mind' objects,
which are
thoughts, ideas, and conceptions.
The aggregate of sensations
This includes
all sensations: pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. Sensations are experienced
through
the contact
of physical and mental organs with the world and include the creation of
visual form,
sounds, smells,
taste, touch, and thoughts or ideas.
The aggregate of perceptions
Perceptions
involves recognition, and arises from sensation in relaxation to matter.
Perceptions are
produced through
the contact of our six faculties with the external world.
The aggregate
of mental formations
This is meant
as volitions, mental acts of will which include intuition, determination,
heedlessness,
and the idea
of the self. They also include the three poisons: desire or craving, ignorance
or delusion,
and hatred
or aversion. The important thing about mental formations is that they are
the basis of karma,
because they
are the basis on which we act. The relationship between mental formations
and actions is
so close that
they cannot be separated.
The aggregate of consciousness
In this context,
consciousness does not contain the idea of recognition; rather, it denotes
awareness in
its most rudimentary
form. Consciousness creates awareness of a sense object, so that visual
consciousness
arises when
the eye comes into contact with a color or form. It is perception that
then identifies the color
as blue, or
the form as round, for example. The same is true of the process occurring
with each of the other
sense organs.
Karma
Karma is the Universal law of cause
and effect, which according to the Buddhist view takes effect
in the following way:
"The deed (karma) produces a fruit
under certain circumstances; when it is ripe then it falls upon
the one responsible. For a deed
to produce its fruit, it must be morally good or bad and be conditioned
by a volitional impulse, which in
that it leaves a trace in the psyche of the doer, leads his destiny in
the direction determined by the
effect of the deed. Since the time of ripening generally exceeds a lifespan,
the effect of actions is necessarily
one or more rebirths, which together constitute the cycle of existence."
The effect of an action, which can
be of the nature of body, speech, or mind, is not primarily determined
by the act itself but rather particularly
by the intention of the action. It is the intention of actions that
cause karmic effect to arise. When
a deed cannot be carried out, but the intention toward it exists, an
effect is still produced. Only a
deed that is free from desire, hate, and delusion is without karmic effect.
In order to liberate oneself from
the cycle of rebirth, one must refrain from both "good" and "bad" deeds.
The Five Hindrances (Nivarana)
This refers to the five qualities
that hinder the mind, obstruct insight, and prevent practitioners from
attaining neighboring or complete
concentration, and from knowing the truth.
The five hindrances are:
1.) Desire
2.) Ill will
3.) Sloth and torpor
4.) Restlessness and compunction
5.) Doubt
The elimination of the five hindrances is the precondition for attaining the four stages of absorption.
Samsara - The Cycle of Existences
This is a succession of rebirths
that a being goes through within the various models of existence
until it has attained liberation
and entered nirvana. Imprisonment in samsara is conditioned by the
unwholesome roots. The type of rebirth
within samsara is determined by the karma of the being.
In the Mahayana, samsara refers to
the phenomenal world and is considered to be essentially identical
with nirvana. This essential untiy
of samsara and nirvana is based on the view that everything is a
mental representation, and thus
samsara and nirvana are nothing other than labels without real
substance. To the extent that one
does not relate to the phenomenal aspect of the world but rather
its true nature, samsara and nirvana
are not different from one another.The chain of existences is
without a knowable beginning. If
you take into consideration the untiy of samsara and nirvana, then
there was never anything to be created.
The Three Unwholesome Roots (Akushala-mulas)
The three unwholesome roots are what
bind a sentient being to samsara.
The three unwholesome roots are:
1.)Greed/Craving
2.)Hate/Aversion
3.)Delusion/Ignorance
Greed is attraction to a gratifying
object and can be removed through the practice of generosity.
Hate is ill will toward everything
that stands in the way of gratification, and is overcome through
the cultivation of kindness. Delusion
refers to the inconsistency of an action or thought with reality
and is overcome through insight.The
removal of these factors is necessary for the attainment of
enlightenment. In symbolic representations,
greed is depicted as a cock, hate as a snake, and
delusion as a pig.
Akushu-ku
Akushu-ku - "falsely understood emptiness"
This refers to a misunderstanding
of the teaching of emptiness which arises from the experience of
enlightenment. In this misunderstanding
emptiness is understood as mere nothingness, as a negation
of all existence. Emptiness, as
it is spoken of in Zen, has nothing to do with this purely philosophical
concept of nothingness. It is an
emptiness that is not the opposite of existence of all things and their
properties but rather the basis
of this existence, that engenders and bears it and, from the standpoint
of complete enlightenment, is absolutely
identical with it.Thus it says in the Heart Sutra:
"Form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form."
Enlightenment
The word "enlightenment" is used
to translate the Sanskrit term bodhi (awakened). This is when a
person awakens to a nowness of emptiness
which he himself is - even as the entire universe is
emptiness - and which alone enables
him to comprehend the true nature of all things. Since
enlightenment is repeatedly misunderstood
as an experience of light and experiences of light
wrongly understood as enlightenment,
the term awakening is preferable, since it more accurately
conveys the experience. The emptiness
experienced is no nihilistic emptiness; rather it is something unperceivable,
unthinkable, unfeelable, and endless beyond existence and nonexistence.
Emptiness
is no object that could be experienced
by a subject, since the subject itself is dissolved in the
emptiness.
The perfect enlightenment of Shakyamuni
Buddha is the beginning of the buddha-dharma, that which
is known as Buddhism. Buddhism is
basically a religion of enlightenment; without this experience there
would be no Buddhism.
Although enlightenment by its nature
is always the same, there are quite different degrees of this
experience. If we compare the process
to breaking through a wall, then the experience can vary
between a tiny hole in the wall
and the total annihilation of the wall as in the complete enlightenment
of Shakyamuni Buddha - and all degrees
in between. The differences in clarity and accuracy of insight
are enormous, even though in both
cases the same world is seen.
In a profound experience it becomes
clear that emptiness and phenomena, absolute and relative, are
entirely one. The experience of
true reality is precisely the experience of this oneness.There are no
two worlds, as misunderstood by
many. In profound enlightenment the ego is annihilated, it dies. Thus
it is said in Zen, "You have to
die on the cushion." The results of this "dying," of this "great death,"
is
"great life," a life of freedom
and peace.
Eight Liberations
This refers to a meditation exercise
that moves through the eight stages of concentration as
an aid to overcoming all clinging
to corporeal and noncorporeal factors.
The eight stages are as follows:
1.) Cognition of internal and external
forms
2.) Cognition of forms externally
but not internally
3.) Cognition of the beautiful
4.) Attainment of the field of the
limitlessness of space
5.) Attainment of the field of the
limitlessness of consciousness
6.) Attainment of the field of nothing
whatsoever
7.) Attainment of the field of neither
perception nor nonperception
8.) Cessation of perception and
feeling
Liberation 1 (cognition of internal
and external forms) refers to the contemplation of things within
and outside the body as impure in
order to overcome attachment to forms.
Liberation 2 (cognition of forms
externally but not internally) - since there is no further attachment
to forms internally,"contemplation
of the external as impure" is practiced in order to reinforce this condition.
Liberation 3 (cognition of the beautiful)
- no attachment to the beautiful arises; contemplation of
impurity is dropped
Liberations 1 & 2 correspond
to the first stage of the eight masteries.
Liberations 3 & 4 correspond
to the second stage of the eight masteries.
Liberations 4-7 are identical with
the four stages of formlessness.
Eight Masteries
Also known as the eight fields of
mastery - Eight meditation exercises for mastery of the sphere
of the senses through command of
perception of forms in relation to various objects.
The eight masteries are:
1.) Perception of forms in relation
to one's own body and of limited forms in the external world
2.) Perception of forms in relation
to the body and of unlimited external forms
(these first two stages permit the
practitioner to conquer attachment to forms and correspond
to the first of the eight
liberations)
3.) Perception of no forms in relation
to one's own body and limited external forms
4.) Perception of no forms in relation
to one's own body and unlimited external forms
(stages 3 & 4 serve to strengthen concentration and correspond to the second stage of the eight liberations)
In masteries 5-8 no forms are perceived
in relation to the body, but externally blue, yellow, red, and
white forms are perceived. These
exercises aim at restraining attachment to beauty. Masteries 5-8 are
identical with the third stage of
the eight liberations and the fifth through eighth kasina exercises.
"Perception of forms in relation
to one's own body" means picking a limited (small) or unlimited (large)
place on one's body and directing
one's attention fully onto it, so that after some practice this object
appears as a mental reflex. In masteries
3 and 4 one selects an external object (e.g., a flower). A
limited, small object is supposed
to be beneficial for mentally unsteady persons, a large one for mentally
deluded persons, a beautiful one
for person inclined to reject things, and an ugly one for lustful persons.
Kasina
This is the term for the ten "total
fields" that serve as objects of meditation, i.e., as supports for
concentration of the mind. In this
process, the mind is exclusively and with complete clarity filled
with this object and finally becomes
one with it (samadhi). If one continues in the exercise, every
activity of the senses is nullified
and one enters the state of the first absorption(dhyana).
The ten kasinas are:
1.) Earth
2.) Water
3.) Fire
4.) Wind
5.) Blue
6.) Yellow
7.) Red
8.) White
9.) Space
10.) Consciousness
In the form of an earthen disk, a
water bowl, a burning staff, a colored disk, etc., these are employed
as meditation objects.
Samadhi
This is the collectedness of the
mind on a single object through (gradual) calming of mental activity.
Samadhi is a nondualistic
state of consciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing
"subject" becomes one with the experienced
"object" - thus is only experiential content. This state of consciousness
is often referred to as "one-pointedness of mind"; this expression however,
is misleading
because it calls up the image of
"concentration" on one point on which the mind is "directed." However,
samadhi is neither a straining concentration
on one point, nor is the mind directed from here from here
(subject) to there (object), which
would be a dualistic mode of experience.
The ability to attain the state of samadhi is a precondition for absorption (dhyana).
Three supramundane types of samadhi
are distinguished that have as their goal emptiness, the state of no-characteristics
and freedom from attachment to the object, and the attainment of nirvana.
Any other
form of samadhi, even in the highest
stages of absorption, is considered worldly.
Nirvana
This is the goal of spiritual practice
in all branches of Buddhism. It is the departure from (and in
the same way unity with) the cycle
of rebirths (samsara) and entry into a whole new mode of
existence. It requires complete
overcoming of the three unwholesome roots and the coming to
rest of active volition. Nirvana
is freedom from the determining effect of karma. It is unconditioned;
its characteristic marks are absence
of arising, subsisting, changing, and passing away. It is
conceived as oneness with the absolute.
Nirvana is also described as dwelling in the experience
of the absolute, bliss in cognizing
one's identity with the absolute, and as freedom from attachment
to illusions, affects, and desires.
In many texts, to explain what is
described as nirvana, the simile of extinguishing a flame is used.
The fire that goes out does not
pass away, but merely becomes invisible by passing into space;
thus the term nirvana does not indicate
annihilation but rather entry into another mode of existence.
The fire comes forth from space
and returns back into it; thus nirvana is a spiritual event that takes
place in time, but is also, in an
unmanifest and imperishable sphere, always already there.
Ego
In Buddhism the concept of an ego,
in the sense of consciousness of one's self, is seen as composed
of nonvalid factors, as delusion.
This should not be confused with the word that is used to denote
selfishness or conceit, such as
in "big ego". The concept of an ego arises when the dichotomizing
intellect is confused into presupposing
a dualism between I and not-I. As a result we think and act
as though we were entities separated
from everything else, over against a world that lies outside of us.
Thus the idea of an I becomes
fixed in our subconscious, a self which produces thought processes like
"I hate this, I love that; this
is yours, this is mine." Nurtured by such conceptions, we reach the point
where the I or ego dominates the
mind; it attacks everything that threatens its dominance and is
attracted to everything that seems
to extend its power. Enmity, desire, and alienation, which culminate
in suffering, are the ineluctable
results of this outlook, which in Zen is cut through by the practice of
zazen. Thus in the course of Zen
training under a roshi, who leads people on the path to enlightenment,
the dominance of the ego illusion
over the practitioner's thinking and aspirations is gradually overcome.
Resource: The Shambhala
Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen
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