Buddhism:
"The Buddha was born as we are born. What the Buddha overcame we too can overcome. What the Buddha attained we too can attain."
Buddha is a title and not a name and with a meaning approximating to 'one who is awake'. It refers to a state of being that can show in any human being who realises this state of mind. Most of us need to practise to attain this state so come and join us in this journey.
Buddhist teachings help us work with thoughts and emotions that arise in meditation so we can take the beneficial effects of meditation into our daily lives. For some it connects with their highest ideals or a kind of intuitive vision of a more satisfying life to be found in a more expansive and creative mind.
Central to Buddhism is non compulsion and kindness to all (including oneself!!!). How can anyone find freedom from their own mind states through force?
To find out more read on:
"The Buddha was born as we are born. What the Buddha overcame we too can overcome. What the Buddha attained we too can attain."
Buddha is a title and not a name and with a meaning approximating to 'one who is awake'. It refers to a state of being that can show in any human being who realises this state of mind. Most of us need to practise to attain this state so come and join us in this journey.
Buddhist teachings help us work with thoughts and emotions that arise in meditation so we can take the beneficial effects of meditation into our daily lives. For some it connects with their highest ideals or a kind of intuitive vision of a more satisfying life to be found in a more expansive and creative mind.
Central to Buddhism is non compulsion and kindness to all (including oneself!!!). How can anyone find freedom from their own mind states through force?
To find out more read on:
"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural & spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description...If there is any religion that could cope with modern Scientific needs, it would be Buddhism" - Einstein
What is Buddhism?
Buddhism doesn't fall neatly into a category. It is hard to say whether it is a philosophy or a religion. One of the reasons for this is that worship is not directed towards a God or a creator. Worship in Buddhism is more like a reverence and wonder directed towards Wisdom and Compassion, wherever it manifests in the Universe.
Enlightened beings, because they see things as they really are, are embodiments of Wisdom and Compassion. Buddhists believe that through the path of Buddhism (the Dharma) we can learn to become less and less restricted by our habits, and more and more open-hearted, creative, spontaneously kind and wise. Ultimately we can become Enlightened, and the Dharma is a practical step-by-step teaching leading to this.
Buddhism is a hands-on discipline that advises us not to take it on trust. It says to come and see for yourself. The Buddha once said, “Monks don’t accept what I say just out of respect for me. Just as gold is tested in the fire, test my words in the fire of your experience.”
Buddhism grew from the experience and teaching of a man who lived over 2,500 years ago who through his fearless quest for truth, motivated by a desire to find an answer to suffering, re-discovered or uncovered a deep principle of the universe - the principle and possibility of Enlightenment. The Buddha was a hero and an explorer who went where no one else had been - at least in this world system and time. He had no map to follow, no textbook to refer to, no compass to confirm that he was going in the right direction. The Buddha was a spiritual pioneer, who opened up a way to something incomparably precious for humanity (and all beings throughout space), and that is why he is so revered.
Who was the Buddha?
The Buddha began life in the 6th century BC as Siddhartha Gautama, the son of a tribal leader, in an area that is now probably Nepal. Siddhartha had a prince-like standing in his tribe. Although he had wealth, privilege, intelligence and status, he felt there was more to life than living out a plan made for him by his culture and family. He began to wonder about what this experience of life was actually about, and particularly why there is suffering - why people get sick, grow old, die. When he had a son, this brought the existential questions even closer to home. Thinking that his cherished family were also subject to sickness, old age and death, led him to the conviction that the meaning of life was only to be found in a pursuit for Truth - and that he would rather die than not put all the energy of his life into this quest.
It is said that one day he met a sadhu, (literally, ‘good person’), who had given up all material possessions to go forth in search of truth. This must have been a major factor in inspiring Siddharta, at 29, to leave behind his comfortable life in order to find the truth.
He went in search of teachers, illuminated ones who could give him the knowledge he sought. He would absorb their teachings and then move on, valuing what he had learned but always feeling that there was something more, something that he was missing. For years he practised a programme of severe austerities thinking this was the way to truth, during which he became weaker and weaker through long periods of fasting. He began to accumulate disciples, impressed by his great feats of asceticism. But eventually he realised that his austerities were just not bringing him any closer to the truth, and he began to eat again (much to the disgust of his many disciples who thought he had given up).
Six years after leaving his home and family, he came to a place now known as Buddha Gaya, and stopped under a tree by a river. He started to relax his whole being, and stopped willfully pushing so hard for the truth. At the same time he was determined to gain enlightenment and vowed that he wouldn't move from the spot until he had done so. No one knows how long he stayed there, but it was during this time that he attained the state of enlightenment, or nirvana - that Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha.
So what is Enlightenment like?
Enlightenment cannot be expressed in words because it is a direct seeing outside of the conceptual mind . Illumination, knowing, peace, calm, clarity, wisdom, profound love and freedom are words that are sometimes used to hint at the way of seeing that the word Enlightenment points to.
Trying to describe Enlightenment has been likened to the experience of a frog that leaves his tank and experiences the ocean, trying to explain the experience to another frog that has never left the tank (quite apart from the fact that frog's can't talk and communicate! ahem :))
What do Buddhists do?
Buddhists try to live their whole lives more and more aligned to awareness and kindness. They use many practical tools to help them to do this, some of the main ones being Meditation, Action in the world (the practice of ethics - purifying actions of body, speech and mind), Friendship, Dharma study, and Reflection. Within the Triratna Community, participation in the Arts and cultivation of the Imagination are also highly valued.
Traditionlly the path is divided into three stages: Ethics, Meditation and Wisdom. Through learning to act with greater kindness and wisdom in the world (ethics), the mind becomes more integrated. With a more integrated and stable mind one meditates. Through Meditation, one gains insights, and deepens in wisdom. One is more able to enter into unknown territory, and let go of habits. Although this general pattern can be experienced in one's life as a Buddhist, it is also helpful to see that all three stages can be practiced at the same time.
The practice of Buddhism (the Dharma) isn't a separate part of life - it represents a deepening into central values that inform everything one does in life. It is also a progressive path, beginning with learning to stabilise the mind so that the mind will be more able to penetrate and absorb insights into the true nature of life.
Summary
The Buddha rediscovered a path - a path along which others may follow. And he left a very clear, detailed and practical map for those who choose to try it. People who study Buddhism today are literally followers of the Buddha, trying to re-enact for themselves what the Buddha achieved. It is not an all-or-nothing religion. One simply takes one step at a time, as if entering into the depth and wonder of the ocean by means of a gradually sloping shore.
Buddhism doesn't fall neatly into a category. It is hard to say whether it is a philosophy or a religion. One of the reasons for this is that worship is not directed towards a God or a creator. Worship in Buddhism is more like a reverence and wonder directed towards Wisdom and Compassion, wherever it manifests in the Universe.
Enlightened beings, because they see things as they really are, are embodiments of Wisdom and Compassion. Buddhists believe that through the path of Buddhism (the Dharma) we can learn to become less and less restricted by our habits, and more and more open-hearted, creative, spontaneously kind and wise. Ultimately we can become Enlightened, and the Dharma is a practical step-by-step teaching leading to this.
Buddhism is a hands-on discipline that advises us not to take it on trust. It says to come and see for yourself. The Buddha once said, “Monks don’t accept what I say just out of respect for me. Just as gold is tested in the fire, test my words in the fire of your experience.”
Buddhism grew from the experience and teaching of a man who lived over 2,500 years ago who through his fearless quest for truth, motivated by a desire to find an answer to suffering, re-discovered or uncovered a deep principle of the universe - the principle and possibility of Enlightenment. The Buddha was a hero and an explorer who went where no one else had been - at least in this world system and time. He had no map to follow, no textbook to refer to, no compass to confirm that he was going in the right direction. The Buddha was a spiritual pioneer, who opened up a way to something incomparably precious for humanity (and all beings throughout space), and that is why he is so revered.
Who was the Buddha?
The Buddha began life in the 6th century BC as Siddhartha Gautama, the son of a tribal leader, in an area that is now probably Nepal. Siddhartha had a prince-like standing in his tribe. Although he had wealth, privilege, intelligence and status, he felt there was more to life than living out a plan made for him by his culture and family. He began to wonder about what this experience of life was actually about, and particularly why there is suffering - why people get sick, grow old, die. When he had a son, this brought the existential questions even closer to home. Thinking that his cherished family were also subject to sickness, old age and death, led him to the conviction that the meaning of life was only to be found in a pursuit for Truth - and that he would rather die than not put all the energy of his life into this quest.
It is said that one day he met a sadhu, (literally, ‘good person’), who had given up all material possessions to go forth in search of truth. This must have been a major factor in inspiring Siddharta, at 29, to leave behind his comfortable life in order to find the truth.
He went in search of teachers, illuminated ones who could give him the knowledge he sought. He would absorb their teachings and then move on, valuing what he had learned but always feeling that there was something more, something that he was missing. For years he practised a programme of severe austerities thinking this was the way to truth, during which he became weaker and weaker through long periods of fasting. He began to accumulate disciples, impressed by his great feats of asceticism. But eventually he realised that his austerities were just not bringing him any closer to the truth, and he began to eat again (much to the disgust of his many disciples who thought he had given up).
Six years after leaving his home and family, he came to a place now known as Buddha Gaya, and stopped under a tree by a river. He started to relax his whole being, and stopped willfully pushing so hard for the truth. At the same time he was determined to gain enlightenment and vowed that he wouldn't move from the spot until he had done so. No one knows how long he stayed there, but it was during this time that he attained the state of enlightenment, or nirvana - that Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha.
So what is Enlightenment like?
Enlightenment cannot be expressed in words because it is a direct seeing outside of the conceptual mind . Illumination, knowing, peace, calm, clarity, wisdom, profound love and freedom are words that are sometimes used to hint at the way of seeing that the word Enlightenment points to.
Trying to describe Enlightenment has been likened to the experience of a frog that leaves his tank and experiences the ocean, trying to explain the experience to another frog that has never left the tank (quite apart from the fact that frog's can't talk and communicate! ahem :))
What do Buddhists do?
Buddhists try to live their whole lives more and more aligned to awareness and kindness. They use many practical tools to help them to do this, some of the main ones being Meditation, Action in the world (the practice of ethics - purifying actions of body, speech and mind), Friendship, Dharma study, and Reflection. Within the Triratna Community, participation in the Arts and cultivation of the Imagination are also highly valued.
Traditionlly the path is divided into three stages: Ethics, Meditation and Wisdom. Through learning to act with greater kindness and wisdom in the world (ethics), the mind becomes more integrated. With a more integrated and stable mind one meditates. Through Meditation, one gains insights, and deepens in wisdom. One is more able to enter into unknown territory, and let go of habits. Although this general pattern can be experienced in one's life as a Buddhist, it is also helpful to see that all three stages can be practiced at the same time.
The practice of Buddhism (the Dharma) isn't a separate part of life - it represents a deepening into central values that inform everything one does in life. It is also a progressive path, beginning with learning to stabilise the mind so that the mind will be more able to penetrate and absorb insights into the true nature of life.
Summary
The Buddha rediscovered a path - a path along which others may follow. And he left a very clear, detailed and practical map for those who choose to try it. People who study Buddhism today are literally followers of the Buddha, trying to re-enact for themselves what the Buddha achieved. It is not an all-or-nothing religion. One simply takes one step at a time, as if entering into the depth and wonder of the ocean by means of a gradually sloping shore.
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“Happy indeed we live, friendly amid the haters.
Amongst those who hate, we dwell free from hate. Happy indeed we live, healthy amid the sick. Amongst those who are sick, we dwell free from sickness. Happy indeed we live, content amid the greedy. Amongst those who are greedy, we dwell free from greed”. |