Buddhism

Buddhism

1. The Eightfold path

   • Right Speech
     • You should not use your words to hurt people and you should always try to be truthful.
     • You should NOT: tell lies, spread gossip, use abusive language, promote division and hostility between people
   • Right Action
     • This a set of rules for Buddhists to follow: the 5 Precepts and they should always try to do the right thing
     • The 5 Precepts: do not destroy/ harm living things, do not take what is not freely given, do not misuse sex, do not lie, do not use drugs/ alcohol
   • Right Livelihood
     • Buddhists should earn their money in a way that does not go against Buddhist principles e.g. aid worker, nurse/ doctor
     • They should not trade in arms, alcohol, killing animals or cheat
   • Right Effort
     • This involves meditation to remove harmful thought and replace them with helpful ones. This helps Buddhists with other aspects of the Eightfold path
       • Loving kindness - which is gentle
       • Compassion - which is an understanding and concern for those who suffer
       • Sympathetic joy - which is gladness and pleasure when something goes well for another person
       • Equanimity - where the mind is not agitated but calm and balanced
   • Right Concentration
     • Training the mind will get rid of hatred, greed and ignorance
     • This is formal meditation to prepare the mind for insight into the truth. It leads to wisdom, this requires you to develop the ability to concentrate deeply on one thing rather than everything around them
   • Right Mindfulness
     • This requires you to be aware of your thoughts. It is the deliberate cultivation (development) of calm and awareness of your own body, sensations, feelings and thoughts. This will make you more knowledgeable about yourself and better able to control your physical and emotional self
   • Right View
     • This involves having the right understanding about the world (karma). Like a board game, without following the rules you can't win; you may do something right once in a while but this cannot be sustained.
     • You need a vision of the world as it could be- accepting the suffering that exists and that the Dharma offers a way to overcome it
   • Right Intention
     • This involves having thoughts and intentions that do not harm - this also means giving up worldly desires, for example, greed and hatred

2. Their main aim is to reduce/ remove suffering

3. The 4 Noble Truths

   • The 1st Noble Truth
     • To live is to suffer
     • There are many forms of suffering
   • The 2nd Noble Truth
     • The more you want the more you suffer ( selfish desire)
   • The 3rd Noble Truth
     • If you can rid yourself of selfish desire, greed and craving then suffering will also disappear - there is a cure for suffering
   • The 4th Noble Truth
     • There is a way to get rid of selfish desire. It is the Middle way and involves following the Noble Eightfold Path

4. Buddhist teachings

   • Aniyta/ Anicca (impermanence)
     • Nothing is permanent; everything changes. The world is made up of lots of different elements called dharmas. Humans are consist of many of these dharmas, we are not permanent or lasting either. We may experience moments of happiness and joy, and moments of pain and misery, we should not cling to life.
     • This is like a flower; it blossoms from a bud into a flower (good) but will later die (bad).
   • Trishna/ Tanha (craving/ thirst)
     • The Buddha taught that the reason why human life is full of unsatifactoriness (dukkha/ dukkha) is because we crave stuff and want to avoid unpleasant experiences. However, this leads to frustration - things never last, even if we have pleasant experiences we always want more! These cravings can lead to conflict with others
     • This is like a personal battle against desire and you only feel satisfied once you have found a way to stop suffering
   • Karma/ Kamma (actions)
     • The Buddha taght that all beings are reborn according to their past deeds. as human beings, then, we are inheritors of our past actions. The quality of our actions moulds the kind of person we will be in subsequent life. Like a seed, our actions ripen into fruit in this life or another. All desires, intentions and actions matter beacause they have consequences and effects. we should try to be skilful in our actions, developing a healthy state of mind.
   • Dharma/ Dhamma (teaching)
     • Buddhists believe that the Buddha discovered the truth about the nature of life and living. The truths he discovered are called Dharma - these are natural laws of the universe. Buddhism is about practising and understanding the Dharma, doing this can lead to freedom of the mind and suffering and unsatisfactoriness
     • This is like a puzzle because you have to work out how to do it and when it is completed you feel satisfaction

5. Ethical conduct

   • It is used primarily to create and ease mental purification