Buddhism

Overview

Buddhism is a world faith, a philosophy and a way of life based on the teachings of the Buddha, a person of noble birth, born in India around 2,500 years ago. He lived a life of extreme pleasure, lacking nothing materially and his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become leader of the Sakya clan.

However, after seeing for himself the great sufferings of those less fortunate than himself, at the age of 20 he left the life of luxury and became an itinerant monk in order to pursue spiritual knowledge. After years of practicing extreme austerities and engaging in prolonged and intense meditation, he realised that neither the extreme of self-indulgence nor the extreme of self-mortification lead to an end of suffering. He said 'avoiding these two extremes I have realised the middle path'.

The Buddha roamed all over India for around 40 years, teaching when requested, and these teachings have spread throughout S.E. Asia, China, Japan, Tibet and he West. Today, there are around 400 million Buddhists worldwide.

Basic concepts and beliefs of Buddhism
The teachings of the Buddha are enshrined in the 'Four Noble Truths' and in the 'Noble Eightfold Path'.

The Four Noble Truths are:

There is suffering and it needs to be understood


There is a cause for suffering


There is an end to suffering


The cessation of suffering is brought about by following the Noble Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path is the essential life-style of the Buddhist:


Right View - a full and complete understanding of the Buddha's way of life

Right Thought - a Buddhist must develop a mental state whereby goodwill and peacefulness take the place of malicious or hateful thoughts

Right Speech - the practice of truthful, kindly, helpful and harmonious communication

Right Action - living ethically, according to the Buddhist precepts and taking responsibility for one's actions

Right Livelihood - a Buddhist's occupation must not be harmful to others

Right Effort - making a consistent effort to overcome unwholesome motivations and cultivating wholesome ones

Right mindfulness - consider all things with care and act, speak and think with awareness

Right Meditation - deep concentration through following the path of Buddhist meditation

The Buddha taught that everything depends on a cause and a set of conditions for its existence, known as the 'Dependent Origination', and therefore nothing exists or can come into existence independently. Everything does exist but is not unchanging and independent. This is the concept of 'Emptiness' which is central to all schools of Buddhism. Following from this teaching, Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent - change is always possible and also that all life is interconnected and so compassion for all living things is natural and important.

The Buddha's teachings are not dogma. He said that we are not to accept them just because they are his. We are to apply our mental faculties and also try them out for ourselves. We are free to accept or reject any part of them. They are to be seen as a raft to cross a river. Zen Buddhists say that they simply represent the finger pointing at the moon - they are not the moon itself.

Following the middle path is a function of intelligence - of honest self-criticism. The Buddha was a radical - he wanted equality for all. He developed the creative side of revolution, which is not relying solely on outside help but finding out for oneself through reasoning and meditation. He never wasted time on vain speculation.

Buddhists make a declaration in the form of the 'Three Refuges':


'I go for refuge to the Buddha'
'I go for refuge to the Dharma' (Buddha's teachings)
'I go for refuge to the Sangha' (his followers both lay and ordained)

There are also five basic precepts to follow. Lay people can take all five or whichever they choose. The precepts are usually referred to as 'Rules of Training':


'I undertake the rule of training to refrain from killing'
'I undertake the rule of training to refrain from stealing'
'I undertake the rule of training to refrain from sexual misconduct'
'I undertake the rule of training to refrain from wrong speech'
'I undertake the rule of training to refrain from intoxicants'


The Buddha's teachings provide a very practical way of living a compassionate, peaceful and happy life, a life of service to others - a noble life.

Cham Tse Ling Tibetan Buddhist Group
Multi-Faith Centre of UCLA
33 St Peter's Street
Preston

Contact: Eileen Maher 01772 726481

Web site: www.cham-tse-ling.co.uk