Buddhism
ZaChoeje Rinpoche
It is not necessary to be a Buddhist or to become a Buddhist to benefit from the teachings of Buddha. You can incorporate the principals into whatever faith you are with the goal of being a happier, more loving person. Buddhism is one of the fastest growing methods for those in search of developing their spirituality, yet there are still many who do not understand the basic views of Buddhism. In this course we will attempt to outline the principals and show you ways to incorporate them into your daily life.
Before we get into the fundamentals, it is first necessary to know who was Buddha.
Buddha is the Sanskrit word meaning, “Enlightened” or “Awakened” one. The
founder of Buddhism, Gautama, was not a God, a prophet or a messiah, but
a normal human being who was born into a prosperous family of the Shakya clan in
northern India about 2500 years ago.
When you say sickness, suffering, and death…this is usually worded as the 4
sufferings…which are aging, sickness, death, and rebirth. Guatama was sheltered
from the realities of impermanence. His parents surrounded him with wealth and
provided for his every need because when he was born an astrologer had predicted
he would either be a great king or would leave his home and become a great
spiritual leader. His father didn’t want him to leave the kingdom, so he
prevented him from seeing the suffering in the world and provide him with a life
of luxury behind the palace walls,hoping that this would prevent him from
leaving. Yet like many people who are “blessed” with a life of comfort and
luxury, he became dissatisfied and possessed a growing sense of emptiness and
meaninglessness in his life and did not want to be trapped in the castle so he
snuck out to see the world. The first time he ventured out, he saw an aging man.
He had never seen old age as this had been kept from him. The second time he saw
someone that was very ill and suffering and the third he saw a dead body being
carried to the charnel grounds. Thus he learned of the three sufferings of aging,
sickness, and death. Finally the fourth time he saw a monk, and intrigued by his
presence, decided to renounce his wealth. One night shortly after, he cut off his
hair, exchanged his beautiful clothing for rags and left home in search of the
truth of existence.
He sat there in deep meditation as layer after layer of the nature of reality were exposed to him and he achieved a direct and total perception of the truth and reached the point of enlightened or fully awaken state. He became “Buddha” through his preseverence at training his mind into the true nature of existence and completely developing genuine love and compassion in his heart for all sentient beings. All of the answers he had been seeking had revealed themselves and he felt a profound eternal realization that he could not express in words. At first Buddha thought to remain silent basking in the contentment of his enlightened state, but he realized that the nature of his awakening was to share it with other sentient beings and help them reach their full potential.
He gave his first teaching on the Four noble truths in the Deer Park in Varanasi
and for the next forty-five years Buddha taught the Dharma of 84.000 methods or
techniqes to illuminates the path to enlightement,, as his teachings are often
called, to people from all walks of life. Despite living in a time when there
were no modern means of transportation and no telecommunication his teachings
and influence spread through India like wild fire. His goal was to present
principals that enable all human beings to free ourselves from self-imposed
limitations and to gain enlightenment or a profound sense of peace and
understanding of the world.
Buddha taught right up to the moment of his death. Providing the ultimate example
of impermanence, he died as though he was an ordinary being. This teaches us
that we all hold the same potential to gain a profound understanding of reality.
Through Buddha’s personal efforts that enabled him to obtain enlightenment, it
enabled him to teach us how we also hold the same potential to gain a profound
understanding of our mind and that it is a matter of following the path that he
has laid out for us, such as the eight-fold noble path which are laid out in the
pages to come.
Buddhism is a combination of philosophy sometimes even referred to as a science, psychology and religion. At the time of Buddha’s enlightenment, when he started teaching about 2500 years ago he had opened up a completely new concept unlike any existing religion. The goal of Buddhism is to teach us to realize the true potential that lies within us, to open our hearts and mind to become part of the universe, and to gain spiritual awareness that will ease any kind of suffering we encounter in our lives.
Buddhism does not involve praying to some outer God, but involves the individual taking steps to understand ones own mind, which will deliver whatever results they are seeking.
Buddhism aims to open up our beings to truths that go beyond the
realm of reason, words and logic. Buddhism concepts are also grasped through
emotions, intuition, and contemplative concentration as well as through intellect.
It is sometimes referred to as a science because it offers an organized
disciplined method to nourish spiritual growth and understanding. Just as
exercise and diet produce results for our bodies, a program of Buddhism will
bring positive results to ones mind.
Both Buddhism and western psychology focus on the inner workings of the mind, but Buddhism aims more to open doors to states of conciousness which are beyond the imagination of western psychology and aims not only to clear the negative imprint on mind of this life, but also to clear the negative imprint of many past lives. It offers a spiritual perspective of what we can become takes us far beyond the state of psychology.
In Buddhism the emphasis is on seeing the truth and understanding it. It requires involvement on your part. As you read through the following lessons, stop and think about each point and try to understand how you can apply them to your life. Buddhism as a method to bring you more meaning, more happiness, more of a feeling of being connected to the universe, but it is rational and requires you to put into action the principals. Personal effort is required to see any results. So, it is entirely up to you. You are your own creator, saviour, and are responsible for how far you develop you inner being and how close you come to reaching your full potential. It is important to remember that Buddhism is not a system of just faith and belief but is merely way of living and a path that you can follow and will lead you closer to reaching your full potential as a radiant being. It is up to you to start walking down that path.
When studying Buddhism for the first time, it is necessary to remind yourself to stay open to the dharma, or the teachings. It is human nature to compare whatever is new to us and keep it because it relates to some familiar concept or disregard it because it doesn’t. It will be much more beneficial if you listen with an open mind and let whatever drops of the teachings penetrate the soil of your mind. After Buddha became enlightened he needed to find a way to share his experience. He determined that there is a basic human condition that results in suffering. Suffering in this context has a wider meaning than just pain; it includes feeling unhappy, frustrated, discomfort, loss, any negative feeling and any dissattisfaction. He concluded that there is suffering, a cause for the suffering, the possibility to overcome the suffering, and a path to follow that will eliminate it. He condensed the essence of this insight into something called The Four Noble Truths, which lay the foundation for all of the Buddhist teachings.