What is Buddhism?

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Buddhism is…
 a religion, philosophy, soteriology and
way of life that was developed in North-
Eastern India from the teachings of a man
called Siddartha Gautama, born about 624
BCE as a prince in a Hindu royal family
called Sakyamuni, who after his
enlightenment became known as Buddha,
the Enlightened One.

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Various Pictures of Buddha

Baby Buddha Amitabha Buddha Amitabha Buddha Quan

Yin

Thai Buddha Buddha Mind Medicine Buddha Medicine Buddha

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Main Events in the Life of Gautama Buddha
 Birth (Lumbini) - 624 B.C.E.
 Marriage (Kapilavastu) - 608 B.C.E - at 16
 Renunciation (Kapilavastu) - 595 B.C.E - at 29

 Enlightenment (Bodh-Gaya) - 589 B.C.E - at 35

 First Sermon (Sarnath) - at 35

 Teaching Dharma - the Middle Way - for 45 years

 Death / Parinirvana (Kushinagar) - 544 B.C.E - at 80

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The Four Sights

 1. Old man

 2. Sick man

 3. Dead man

 4. Ascetic

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The Buddhist Sutras
 Buddha’s teachings were originally transmitted orally, by him and his
disciples.

 After Buddha’s death, his teachings were recited by his disciple Ananda to a
Buddhist Council and then recorded in various documents (in Sanskrit, Pali,
Chinese and Tibetan language), called sutras.

 Some of the most important independent sutras are

 Lankavatara Sutra

 Amitabha Sutra

 Brahma Net Sutra

 Vimalakirti Sutra

 Prajna-Paramita Sutras

 Hrdaya / Heart Sutra

• “Form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is form”

 Vajracchedika / Diamond Sutra

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The Four Noble Truths
 1. All life involves suffering

 2. The cause of suffering is desire and attachment

 3. Desire and attachment can be overcome, and

this state is called Nirvana

 4. The way to end suffering is through following

the Eightfold Path

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What is Nirvana?
 Nirvana is the “heaven” of all Buddhism, beyond all “heavens”.

 Total extinction of desire & suffering.

 A state of ineffable peace and liberation from

 the world of space & time

 all craving and repulsion

 birth, death and rebirth

 all passion

 all that is transient

 Uncompounded state, made of nothing at all; one cannot say of Nirvana that it
 arises or it does not arise

 is to be produced

 is in the past, present or future

 is cognizable by mind, or perceivable by any sense…

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Buddhist Definitions of Enlightenment

 The spiritual condition of a Buddha or a

Bodhisattva, caused by Prajna (Wisdom) and
Karuna (Compassion).

 Enlightenment or Boddhi is the highest state of

Samadhi (Self-absorption) in which the mind is
awakened and illuminated.

 The achievement of Buddhahood.

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Varieties of Enlightenment
 Enlightenment as Escape
 Enlightenment as Emptiness
 Enlightenment as Eternal Life
 Enlightenment as Realization of Buddha Nature
 Enlightenment as Non-Duality
 Enlightenment as Impassivity
 Enlightenment as Faith
 Tantric Enlightenment
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The Eightfold Path
 1. Right view
Wisdom & Understanding
 2. Right thought
 3. Right speech
 4. Right action
Ethical
 5. Right livelihood Conduct
 6. Right effort
 7. Right mindfulness
Mental Discipline
 8. Right concentration

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The Triple Gem & Three
Refuges
Buddhists are united in their belief in the:

 Buddha

 Dharma (Buddha’s teachings)

 Sangha (Buddhist community)

Because these are also the sources of help and support to the believers, they are also
known as the Three Refuges:
 I go to the Buddha as my refuge
 I go to the Dharma as my refuge
 I go to the Sangha as my refuge

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The Three Universal Truths

 1. Annica: Everything in life is impermanent

and constantly changing.

 2. Dukkha: Because nothing is permanent, life

is unsatisfactory and full of suffering.

 3. Anatta: There is no eternal soul or

permanent self; ego-lessness; non-ego.

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The Three Mind Poisons

 Greed

 Hate

 Ignorance

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Basic Concepts in Buddhism (1)
 Annica = impermanence

 Dukkha = unsatisfactoriness or suffering

 Annata or Anatman = no Atman, no permanent or

unchanging self or soul

 Ahimsa = non-violence, harmlesness

 Sunyata = emptiness, voidness, no-thingness

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Basic Concepts in Buddhism (2)
 Samsara = the belief in rebirth as a potentially endless series of
worldly (and illusory) existences in which every being is caught up,
and only the entry to Nirvana can bring to an end.

 Nirvana = the aim of all Buddhist religious practice is to be rid of the

delusion of ego, thus freeing oneself from the fetters of this mundane
world. One who is successful in doing so is said to have overcome the
round of rebirths and to have achieved enlightenment.

 Karma (Sanskrit: karman; Pali: kamma; literally “act,” or “deed”) =

the belief that good conduct brings a pleasant and happy result and
creates a tendency toward similar good acts, while bad conduct brings
an evil result and creates a tendency toward repeated evil actions. This
furnishes the basic context for the moral life of the individual, and for
the belief in reincarnation among many Buddhists.

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Basic Concepts in Buddhism (3)
 Reincarnation, also called Transmigration of souls, or
Metempsychosis = rebirth of the soul in one or more
successive existences, which may be human, animal, or, in
some instances, vegetable.

 While belief in reincarnation is most characteristic of

Asian religions and philosophies, it also appears in the
religious and philosophical thought of primitive religions,
in some ancient Middle Eastern religions (e.g., the Greek
Orphic mystery religion), Manichaeism, and Gnosticism,
as well as in such modern religious movements as
Theosophy.

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Theory of Dependent Origination
According to this theory, things arise from conditions, and
one thing arises out of another, or a group of others…

 It provides a sense of purpose;

 It provides a basis for ethics, since things have consequences;
 It does away with the need for either god above or a
metaphysical substratum below, behind or beyond…

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Theory of Inter-dependent Co-arising
According to this theory, things arise together, only appear separate
but allegedly are part of One, Non-Dual, Inter-dependent Whole,
God, Universal or Buddha Mind, Field of Infinite Possibilities,
Void, Creative Vacuum, Tao, Silence...

 This belief may result in a lack of individual purpose or responsibility;

in fatalism, quietism and inactivity, appeal to “Other Power”…

~ ~ ~
Source of All, Transcendental Unity or Being, Tao, Creator God,
Buddha Nature, The Source, Universal or Buddha Mind,
Field of Infinite Possibilities, Void, Creative Vacuum, Silence,
etc – behind, beyond, below or above
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Varieties of thought “patterns”
 Thoughts of an “ordinary man”
 confused

 orderly

 Thoughts of an “enlightened man”

Arising into full consciousness out of and “returning back to”

Omni-Present Silence, Void, Field of Infinite Possibilities,
Creative Vacuum, Universal Mind, Zero Point Energy… 20
The Five Aggregates
 To make clear the concept of no-self (annata), Buddhists
set forth the theory of the five aggregates or constituents
(skhandas) of human existence:
 1. corporeality or physical forms (rūpa)

 2. feelings or sensations (vedanā)

 3. ideations (saññā)

 4. mental formations or dispositions (sankhāra)

 5. consciousness (viññāna ).

 Human existence is only a composite of the five

aggregates, none of which is the self or soul…
 A person is in a process of continuous change, with no
fixed underlying entity.
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10 Precepts / Virtues
 1. No killing any living beings
 2. No taking what has not been given
 3. No sexual misconduct
 4. No lying
 5. No drinking of liquor
 6. No wearing or adornments and perfume
 7. No enjoying singing & dancing
 8. No sleeping in large, raised beds
 9. No eating after noon
 10. No possessing of gold, silver and other
precious metals
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10 Wholesome Courses of Action
1. Generosity (Dana)
2. Morality (Sila)
3. Meditation (Bhavana)
4. Reverence
5. Service
6. Transference of merit
7. Rejoicing in other’s merit
8. Hearing the Doctrine / Dharma
9. Expounding the Doctrine
10. Straightening of one’s own views

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10 Unwholesome Courses of Action
1. Killing
2. Stealing
3. Sexual misconduct & abuse of the senses
4. Lying
5. Slandering
6. Harsh speech
7. Frivolous talk
8. Covetousness
9. Ill-will
10. False view

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The Main Schools of Buddhism
 Theravada

 Mahayana
 Pure Land
 Ch’an / Zen

 Vajrayana / Tibetan

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The Spread of Buddhism in Asia

Vajrayana / Tibetan

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Timeline of the Spread of Buddhism in Asia
Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan,
Buddhism has played a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of the
Eastern world, and during the 20th century also spread to the West.

It is estimated that there are over 500-million Buddhists in the world today.

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Map of Buddhist Population in India (1991)

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 Buddhist Soteriology
Buddha’s Way of “Salvation”, Liberation and Transcendence of Dualities
(NOUMENON) LIBERATION (MOKSHA) The ‘Witness’ or ‘Nirguna
ABSOLUTE

NON-DUALITY (ADVAITA) Brahman’ of Vedanta,

ENLIGHTENMENT (SATORI) ‘Father’ of Christianity,
EMPTINESS, VOIDNESS (SUNYATA) ‘Buddha-mind’ of Ch’an,
REALISATION OF NO-SELF (ANATTA) ‘One’ of Mysticism,
Going beyond the mind, witnessing the mind ‘Absolute’ or ‘Noumenon’
of Philosophy, etc.
PURE CONSCIOUSNESS, I, TRUE SELF, SILENCE

QUENCHING OF DEFILEMENTS QUENCHING OF DEFILEMENTS

BY CONSTANT MINDFULNESS BY CONSTANT MINDFULNESS
Bringing Unconsciousness Bringing Unconsciousness
to Consciousness to Consciousness

DEFILEMENTS (KILESAS)
DUE TO UNCONSCIOUS IDENTIFICATION OF SELF WITH THE MIND - BODY
(PHENOMENA)
RELATIVE

MANIFESTING AS SELFISHNESS, ILLUSION (MAYA), DUALITY (DVAITA)

RESULTING IN SUFFERING (DUKHA)

ATTRACTION REPULSION
Craving Rejecting
Liking Disliking
Clinging CONFUSION & DELUSION Resisting
Seeking Avoiding
Hoping Despairing
Loving Hating 29
“Steps” to Enlightenment, Satori,
Knowledge of Self, Vidya, Jnana
 Ordinary, unenightened person, ajnani
 I am my name, gender, nationality,
one,
personality, body, emotions, mind,
intellect, soul, ego; feeling and thinking self,
“I” & “mine” (selfishness) v. “others”… ego,
i
Zero
 Deliverance, Enlightenment, Satori,
Point
Self-Realisation, Moksha, Liberation…
 I am no-thing; there is no “i”; no-self I,
I am / is not a thing or object… Self,
One,
 Enlightened person, jnani Paradox
 I am Nothing-Everything, Self, One, (Nothing-in-and
as-Everything)
One Self, One-with-All, Love, Witness, 30
Just Being…
Quotes from Buddhism (1)
 The One Mind alone is the Buddha, and there is no
distinction between the Buddha and sentient being, only that
sentient beings are attached to form and so seek to attain
Budhahood externally. By the very seeking they lose it, for
that is using the Buddha to seek Buddha, and using the
Mind to grasp Mind. - Huang
Po

 If you run away from the Void, you can never be free from
it; if you search for the Void, you can never reach it.
- Niu-tou Fa-Yung
 If you are afraid, you are in error. If you know how to calm
your spirit and keep still in all circumstances, you are in
truth. -
Boddhidharma 31
Quotes from Buddhism (2)
 In the Diamond Sutra, Subhuti asks Buddha about
his enlightenment. The Buddha’s response was
very simple and yet profound:

“Through the consummation of incomparable

enlightenment, I acquired not even the least thing;
therefore it is called “the consummation of
incomparable enlightenment.”

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Quote from T.S. Eliot
 About “the still point” (wei-wu-wei or non-dual
action, or living in the present moment…)

… at the still point, there the dance is,

But neither arrest nor movement. And don’t call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only dance…

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Why are you so unhappy?
Why are you so unhappy?
Because 99,9 per cent
of everything you think
and everything you do
is for yourself—
and there isn’t one.

From Ask the Awakened by Wei WuWei

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 Thank You

Ivan Frimmel
Cell: 082-454-0311

E-mail: ivan.frimmel@nanhua.co.za

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