Buddha
400 to 500 years before the birth of Jesus, a sage of an entirely different tradition was born in the foothills of the Himalayans, in what is now called Nepal. Called the Buddha (or the awakened one) by his followers, he grew up as the pampered son of a powerful leader within the warrior caste. Eventually, however, Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha, left wealth, home, and family behind in search of Nirvana, the transcendent state that lies beyond the endless cycles of reincarnated human existence. After six years of various austerities and spiritual disciplines failed to reveal it, he settled beneath a fig tree, vowing to remain there until he attained his goal.
The spread of Buddhism around the world attests to his finding it, and the details of his discovery have changed countless lives. In this post, I’ll summarize the very basics of Buddhism and explain its foundational tenets—simplifying it so much that I’ll risk offending any Buddhist reading this. In my next post, however, I’ll describe five of its integral philosophies– namely, Suffering/Dissatisfaction, Dependent Origination, Rebirth, No Self, and Impermanence, so hopefully, that will redeem me.
In a nutshell
Each of us is a conglomerate of reactions, opinions, and habits. Most of these are based on a desire to hold onto a sense of self. Once we can deconstruct this sense of self—specifically, once we can release our desires–we will have no self. Therefore, we will not reincarnate.
Spiritual Practice
This consists of meditation, of assimilating the teachings, and of association with a like-minded community. These are called The Three Jewels. Of these three, the teachings are considered particularly important.
The Four Noble Truths
And of Buddhism’s teachings, the four noble truths are foundational. They state that although craving causes a constant state of dissatisfaction (dukkha), by following the 8-fold Path of ethical guidelines we can eventually eliminate it, thereby achieving a state of equanimity–which is pleasant in itself, but which also is a state of being and understanding that no longer leads to rebirth.
The 8-fold Path of Buddhism: The 8-fold path is often divided into three categories—ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom.
- Moral Conduct
This is based on wise compassion, which aside from those qualities that naturally come to mind also includes tolerance. It manifests in three areas of our lives: our speech, our actions, and our careers.
Right Speech consists of telling the truth and speaking in a way that sows harmony rather than enmity. Speech about trivial concerns is discouraged.
Right Actions are all those that are honorable and peaceful. We should abstain from destroying life, from stealing, from illegitimate sexual intercourse, etc. In other words, we should walk the talk.
Right Career indicates a career that does no harm to others–neither directly nor indirectly. (This includes selling alcohol and weapons.)
- Mental Discipline
Through practicing the following, we train and develop our mind much as a strength trainer develops his body.
Right Effort means discouraging negative attitudes or thoughts and encouraging positive ones. For instance, if a salesperson is rude, instead of harboring resentment, one forgives and moves on.
Right Mindfulness means cultivating awareness of one’s thoughts, attitudes, and emotions, as well as of one’s physical sensations and presence. By regarding one’s thoughts, attitudes and emotions we understand what triggers them. By being aware of one’s physical presence, we no longer float away on our thoughts, losing all sense of where we are, what we are doing, etc.
Right Concentration refers to meditation. There is a certain path one attempts to follow in this, beginning with the replacement of negative emotions and thoughts with positive, joyful ones. Then, one-pointedness of the mind is developed. Finally, these fall away and only equanimity and awareness remain.
- Wisdom
Right Thought implies replacing egocentric concerns and actions with selfless ones. One detaches one’s self from one’s self, so to speak.
Right Understanding means understanding the rationale of Buddhism—not necessarily in its details, but in a holistic sense.
By following the 8-fold path, Buddhists expect to purify themselves, discipline themselves, and ultimately transcend egoism. This, in turn, releases them from their attachment to the physical plane and breaks the cycle of rebirth.
I’ll go into this more in my next post. In the meantime, I find the following to be an interesting Buddhist quote by which to sign off:
“All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind.” Dhammapada