Transcript The Means (6)

THE MEANS (6)
Which practices help to
achieve the goals?
Human beings progress
towards Enlightenment
by following the
Eightfold Path.
THE MEANS (6) SUB-TOPICS
 The
Noble Eightfold Path — focus on Right
Intention, Right Speech, Right Action and
Right Livelihood; the Threefold Way.
 Ethics
— the Five Precepts in principle and
practice; the Bodhisattva and Arhat ideals.
 Meditation
and worship — purpose and
practice.
 (The
differences in Theravada and Mahayana
practice should be addressed).
THE MEANS (6) INTRODUCTION



To achieve the goal of enlightenment, Buddhists
first take refuge in the 3 Jewels: Buddha,
Dhamma and Sangha.
Following this, the way in which Buddhists live
their lives is all important.
So what can Buddhists actually do to attain
nibbana?
THE MEANS (6) INTRODUCTION
 This
1.
2.
3.
4.
 Put
ties in to the 4 Noble Truths:
All life is suffering.
Suffering is caused by craving.
Suffering can end.
You can end suffering by following the
middle way.
simply, it is the way the Buddha
described to escape samsara – importantly
it was a practical response to avoid
suffering and is based on avoiding
extremes (magga). Little Buddha...
THE THREEFOLD WAY
Wisdom
• Linking thoughts and actions.
Must be found within.
Morality
• Putting beliefs into action.
Focus on skilful actions and
compassion.
Meditation
• Training your mind to see
reality. Emphasis on awareness:
actions follow the mind.
THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
Wisdom
• Right View
• Right Intention
Morality
• Right Speech
• Right Action
• Right Livelihood
Meditation
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Concentration
Important: these are not to be seen in isolation.
BREAK
Visual/Kinesthetic
 Make
up gestures
and a list that will
help you to
remember each of
the eightfold path
within Wisdom,
Morality and
Meditation.
Auditory
 Discuss
the
meaning of Right
Intention, Speech,
Action and
Livelihood. Be
able to explain
practical examples
of each.
WISDOM: RIGHT INTENTION
 All
about the motivation for an action, not
the consequences. To avoid choices
influenced by the 3 Root Poisons of
ignorance, craving and hatred.
 Skilful
(kusala) intentions are ones which:
 Resist desire
 Show good will
 Act on that good will
MORALITY: RIGHT SPEECH
 Ties
into realms as a distinction from
animal realm.
 Buddha




taught (through speech) to avoid:
False speech (lying)
Using words as weapons against others
e.g backstabbing and slander
Hurtful, impolite or rude words
Gossip, chatter and ‘empty words’ which
waste time and misuse the power of
speech
MORALITY: RIGHT ACTION
 You
cannot attain enlightenment by sitting
about and meditating... You would be
wasting an opportunity for a positive rebirth.
 The
Buddha encouraged honourable and
honest conduct and taught you should avoid:
 Harming living things (link with
compassion)
 Taking what is not given
 Sexual misconduct
 Gambling
MORALITY: RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
 Living
in a skilful way: honestly, legally
and peacefully, while causing no harm.
Avoid:
 Working in weapons
 Buying and selling living beings
 Working with death (meat industry)
 Working with poisons and intoxicants
 Most
importantly is that you choose a
profession that does not break any of the
Five Precepts.
BREAK
Auditory/Visual

Make a colour-coded
mindmap that
explains Right
Intention, Speech,
Action and Livelihood.
Be sure to add two
examples of each in
practice (you should
have to discuss it).
Kinesthetic
 Skim
read pp. 129130. Then split
into a group of 5 be
able to explain one
of them in depth
without using the
book or your notes
as a reference.
BUDDHIST ETHICS
 Ethics
is about how
we behave in
everyday life.
 For
Buddhists ethical
behaviour ultimately
depends on the mind
and not on the body.
Even so the Buddha
gave advice on what
is harmful and
should be avoided.
BUDDHIST ETHICS
 Buddhist
rules are
never however,
dogmatic or rigid. It is
accepted that everyone
will do their best and
there is a general
atmosphere of moral
tolerance.
 We
can divide
Buddhist ethics into
guidelines for lay
people and guidelines
for monks and nuns.
BUDDHIST ETHICS



You become a Buddhist by taking the Three
Refuges: wee bit of explanation please...
The main commitment is to refrain from harming
others and non-violence: ahimsa.
In this world hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
Dhammapada 5
In other religions there is God whose is feared
and sends commands. In Buddhism there is
kamma: wee bit more explanation please...
LAY MORALITY

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
As well as taking the Three Refuges, lay people
can choose to take one or several of the Five
Precepts. These are the basic moral guidelines
that underpin the Buddhist way of life. Here’s
the ‘negative’ version (‘positive’ on p.130):
Do not take life
Do not take what is not given
Do not distort fact
Refrain from misuse of the senses
Refrain from self-intoxication through
alcohol or drugs
THE FIVE PRECEPTS
1.
Preserve life and cause no harm

2.
Practise being generous and giving

3.
Economical with truth and white lies. Unthinking responses.
Responsibility for the feelings of others

5.
Includes wasting/stealing time. Economic inequality and
exploitation.
Speak truthfully and listen carefully

4.
Including animals, even insects. Meat eating down to
practicality. Martial arts link. Anti-war protesting.
Generally interpreted to mean sex, but it’s not all about this.
To do with any way that may cause harm to someone else.
About attachment generally. Women: p.134
Refrain from self-intoxication through alcohol or
drugs

Discouraged as they cloud the mind and impair judgement.
GIGO.
BREAK
Kinesthetic/Auditory

Get into 5 stations
and perform a minicarousel (you’ll need
10 people). Imagine
you were a Buddhist:
how easy would you
find it to follow this
precept? Have the
stationary person take
a note of your
responses.
Visual
 Make
a list of the
additional precepts
that monks and
nuns have to
follow. Be able to
explain them using
the notes you
make.
MONASTIC MORALITY

As well as the Five Precepts which all Buddhists are expected to
keep, Buddhist monks and nuns have these additional rules to
follow:

To abstain from taking untimely meals


To abstain from dancing, music, singing and watching
mime(!)


Think anatta
To abstain from the use of high seats


Generally taken to mean entertainment seen as a waste of time
To abstain from using perfumes and personal
adornment


No eating after midday, although they can drink. No alcohol and
care taken over what is put into body
Relates to comfort
To abstain from handling money

Corrupting effect
MONASTIC MORALITY


A fully ordained monk in the
Therevada tradition takes 227
precepts like not preaching to
women alone or taking care of
sick monks.
If a monk has infringed on a
rule they are expected to
confess publicly to the
community that is supporting
them (as they are clearly not a
good role model or bring good
kamma). The senior monks
give punishments according to
the Buddha’s teachings.
MONASTIC MORALITY

1.
2.
3.
4.
There are only some cases where a monk
can be expelled from the monastic order
and asked to disrobe:
sexual intercourse
serious theft
murder
making false claims about supernatural
powers
MONASTIC MORALITY – for the girls



During Buddha’s day women were socially and
politically inferior so he took a radical step by
accepting women at all into the monastics.
Nuns have more rules than monks which
emphasises the fact that monks, no matter how
young, outrank nuns. Perhaps having these
additional rules was the only way to deal with
the social beliefs of the time…
Check out the daily life of monks and nuns on
p.138
BREAK
Visual/Kinesthetic
 Make
up gestures
and a list that will
help you to
remember the lay
and monastic
precepts. Be able
to display this to
the class.
Auditory
 Listen
carefully to
the story of the
burning house.
Be able to tell it
again to the rest of
the class. What do
you think it
means?
ETHICS – MAHAYANA TRADITION


The principles for Mahayana
ethics are basically the same
as for Therevada.
The key difference is
bodhichitta: the realisation
of ultimate wisdom (of
shunyata or emptiness) and
limitless compassion (to
bring all beings to
enlightenment) which gives
rise to the altruistic path of
the bodhisattva.
ETHICS – MAHAYANA TRADITION
 Ethical
actions are
those free from any
notion of someone
who is acting and
someone else who is
benefitting.
 Possible
only
through
understanding
anatta.
ETHICS – MAHAYANA TRADITION




Skillful means or upaya.
What is morally correct will depend on the
bodhisattva always to know the right thing to do
based on compassion and wisdom.
The story of the burning house.
A bodhisattva is not necessarily constrained by
the ethical guidelines of Buddhism we’ve so far
described e.g. baby Hitler
BODHISATTVA AND ARHAT IDEALS


THEREVADA ARHAT
Meaning ‘worthy one’
Has attained nibbana and
release from samsara
MAHAYANA BODHISATTVA
 Motivated by bodhichitta to liberate both themselves
and all others from suffering




Pride, restlessness,
ignorance and craving have
been destroyed as motives
for moral actions
Follow the 227 precepts
strictly
Main motivation is ahimsa:
to cause no harm


Can deliberately choose
rebirth to this end
Some considered to be present
in Sambhogakaya form and
are objects of prayer
Upaya (skilful means): can
use their compassion and
wisdom to ‘override’
traditional values
BREAK
Auditory/Visual

Split into 2 groups. Within
your group appoint one
person as a ‘scribe’ and the
other as the ‘voice’. Make
two posters for display in
the class titled ‘Therevada
Ethics’ and ‘Mahayana
Ethics’. Be sure to mention
the Arhat and Bodhisattva
ideals. Ask about the
‘scribe’ and ‘voice’ rules.
Kinesthetic

Get into 5 pairs. Work
together to produce a
short presentation for the
class about Buddhist
Ethics relating to:





Abortion
Vegetarianism
Cloning
The Purpose of
Punishment
Capital Punishment
BUDDHIST ETHICS IN PRACTICE

ABORTION

VEGETARIANISM

CLONING

THE PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
THE WEEK(S) AHEAD
MONDAY: COMPLETE MEDITATION AND
WORSHIP; LOOK OVER DHAMMAPADA FOR
GOOD QUOTES. ALL NOTES RETURNED.
 TUESDAY: EXAM APPROACHES
 WEDNESDAY: EXAM APPROACHES
 THURSDAY: ‘VISIT FROM A BUDDHIST’ /
EXAM APPROACHES
 MONDAY: NAB


Homework: check out this site http://www.sgiuk.org/ this is the type of Buddhism practised by
our Buddhist visitor. Bring in 3 questions you
would like to ask her.
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP
“It is better to conquer yourself than
to win a thousand battles.”
Dhammapada 103
 One
of the means to use in achieving
nibbana although even the enlightened
continue to meditate.
 The
Buddha gained nibbana while
meditating: stilling the mind while trying
to perceive reality.
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP
 Not
an end in itself, just one of the means
Buddhists use to attain enlightenment; to
understand meditation you must try it; there
are many varieties; there were seven benefits
according to Buddha pp.114-115
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP: SAMATHA
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP: SAMATHA


Samatha meditation: ‘tranquility meditation’ and is
about cultivating stillness and awareness. Leads to
peace of mind and ‘calm abiding’- allows busy
thoughts to settle.
First step is mindfulness- of body, of feelings, of
sensations and of mind. Breathing meditation then
develops onto candles, pictures etc.
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP: SAMATHA
 You
progress through the jhanas (stages) of
consciousness but it does not lead to
liberation from samsara on its own.
 Buddhists
things:
will tend to meditate on four
Metta- loving kindness. A genuine wish that
everyone should be happy.
 Karuna- compassion. Genuine wish to free all
beings from suffering.
 Mudita- joy and rejoicing at the happiness of
others.
 Upekkha- equanimity, the loving of all beings
equally.

MEDITATION AND WORSHIP: VIPASSANA
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP: VIPASSANA
 Vipassana
meditation: ‘insight meditation’
and is about developing understanding into
the reality of the human condition.
 Aim
is to develop insight into the very
nature of things, ultimately leading to
wisdom and realisation of the ultimate
truth of Nibbana.
 Uses
intelligence and observation and
analysis skills to bring a deeper level of
understanding.
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP: VIPASSANA


General area for focus is 4 Noble Truths and Three
Marks of Existence. The mind is trained to see
impermanence and suffering and non-self: the Dhamma
becomes personal and related to experience.
It is important that there is guidance from experienced
meditation teacher.
BREAK
Auditory/Visual



Split into A/V pairs.
Visual task: Using one piece
of A4 make a representation
of Samatha and Vipassana
meditation.
Auditory task: Be able to
explain all the features of
the representation.
Kinesthetic

Use your notes and the
book to research what
the differences are
between Therevada and
Mahayana meditation
and worship. Make a
note of 3 key differences.
(Hint: tathagatagarbha
and upaya)
THEREVADA / MAHAYANA
MEDITATION AND WORSHIP
THEREVADA



Rarely involves more
than recitation of
Dhamma and
meditation.
Lay Buddhists will also
give offerings to statues
of the Buddha.
Simplistic and focus on
Buddha.
MAHAYANA



More elaborate, colourful
and varied.
Can include chanting,
ritual and other means to
achieve nibbana.
Includes Bodhisattvas
and may include folklore
and local traditions.
THEREVADA/MAHAYANA ON
MEDITATION: THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES
1.
Tathagatagarbha- buddha nature.
THEREVADA/MAHAYANA ON
MEDITATION: THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES
1.
Tathagatagarbha- buddha nature.
Every being has the potential to
enlightenment. As a result, meditation
is described as a way of revealing the
qualities one already has. This could be
realised at any time.
THEREVADA/MAHAYANA ON
MEDITATION: THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES
2.
Skilful means (upaya).
THEREVADA/MAHAYANA ON
MEDITATION: THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES
2.
Skilful means (upaya).
Purpose of meditation is to awaken
buddhahood thus any method that does
is considered skillful. Thích Quảng Đức
was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk
who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon
road intersection on 11 June 1963. He was
protesting against the persecution of Buddhists
by South Vietnam's administration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IId55YArfxM
THEREVADA/MAHAYANA ON
MEDITATION: THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES
3.
The last characteristic that is different to
Therevada is the relationship between
student and teacher.
THEREVADA/MAHAYANA ON
MEDITATION: THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES
3.
The last characteristic that is different to
Therevada is the relationship between
student and teacher.
The teacher has a on-to-one relationship
and gives advice according to needs.
Often the teacher is seen to be able to do
this wordlessly e.g. of shoelace.
This relationship is seen as lying at the
heart of Mahayana Buddhism.
BREAK
Visual/Kinesthetic
 Make
up gestures
to explain 4 main
differences
between
Therevada and
Mahayana
approaches to
meditation and
worship.
Auditory
 Using
your notes
and book to help,
discuss Zen and
Tibetan Buddhism.
Be able to give an
introduction to
each to the class.
MAHAYANA MEDITATION: ZEN



The ultimate truth is beyond
words so an intellectual study of
the Dhamma is often a
hindrance.
Zen stresses the importance of
mind to mind transmission.
Rinzai Zen- sudden approachbased on shock or surprise, often
zen koans cannot be understood
with a rational mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=to3ObP0PBqU
MAHAYANA MEDITATION: ZEN

Soto Zen- gradual approach- intense daily meditation.
Zazen sitting position, often staring at blank wall,
sitting mindfully. Walking meditation can be used to
increase an understanding of sensation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pllQ_-ZxEA
MAHAYANA MEDITATION: ZEN
 Meditation
and martial arts: Zen archery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA2Enemz
Bpk&feature=channel
 When
I eat, I eat, when I sleep, I sleep’.
MAHAYANA MEDITATION: ZEN
 Tea
ceremony
lasting several
hours- total peace
and calm.
 Zen
gardensharmony created.
 Zen
walking:
http://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
QdO1vZJgUu0&f
eature=related
The Waves at Kanagawa. Hokusai
MAHAYANA MEDITATION: TIBETAN
 Devotion
an important
role to Buddhas,
Boddhisattvas and
Lamas. Lamas transmit
highest wisdom.
 We
have buddha nature
again the task is to
uncover it. It can be
approached gradually
and also more directly.
MAHAYANA MEDITATION: TIBETAN
 Direct
link with Lama who uses gestures or
words to offer wisdom. However Tibetan
Buddhists stress that unless the mind is
completely open, you will not be able to learn
the Dhamma.
MAHAYANA MEDITATION: TIBETAN
 Mantras
are sacred words of power- recitation
is used to tune in to bodhisattvas presence or
qualities. Prayer flags, visualisation and
singing bowls are also used.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hncJzoAiA
w
 “There
is so much effort spent on external
matters, like space travel. But there is still
quite a big area of inner space left to
explore. And it’s not so expensive!”
(Dalai Lama 1987)
REMINDER ON WORSHIP: NO GOD(S)




Buddha was a man to be honoured and revered,
but not in the same way as the Christian
understanding of Jesus.
The meaning of Refuge in the Buddha is
important.
Buddha warned about being too attached to
ritual or idolising anything(!).
Now check out ‘Buddhist Shrines’ on pp.150-151
THE MEANS (6) SUB-TOPICS
 The
Noble Eightfold Path — focus on Right
Intention, Right Speech, Right Action and
Right Livelihood; the Threefold Way.
 Ethics
— the Five Precepts in principle and
practice; the Bodhisattva and Arhat ideals.
 Meditation
and worship — purpose and
practice.
 (The
differences in Theravada and Mahayana
practice should be addressed).
DHAMMAPADA 273-289

pp.154-157
BENEFITS OF MEDITATION FOR NON-BUDDHISTS
 Meditation
and stroke.
 Wards
reduces the chances of heart attack
off stress-related conditions.
 Activity
in prefrontal lobes- positive emotions
and moods… not as flustered, shocked or angry.
 New
Scientist: ‘Scientists have evidence to show
that Buddhists really are happier and calmer
than other people.’
WORLD
RELIGION:
BUDDHISM
END OF COURSE