Transcript Making Sense of Ch`an

Introduction to
Buddhism
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(III)
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Dr. Robert C L Law
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Buddhist Lodge of Laity
January, 2008.
Vajrayana 金剛乘
• Vajra—the thunderbolt of Indra ,
transformed into a diamond scepter.
• Emphasis on visualization , symbols and
ritual .
• Visualization : perceive having the body,
speech , and mind of a deity
• Symbols and rituals ---- help to cut one
loose from ordinary perception to see the
true nature of things.
• Fully developed in Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayana ( Cont’d)
• “The proper way is to develop faith”
• Complete Faith ( after due investigation);
Faith in the inconceivable truth :
Faith in the lineage, vajrayana path,
and the Vajra master.
• Such complete faith in the Vajra master
(Guru) –terrifying and claustrophobic ?
Like Islam?
Vajrayana ( Cont’d II)
• Tantric Rituals--- psychological empowerment?
• Initiation rituals ---- Unorthodox
breaking of orthodox perception
drinking impure things, sex with consort
• Problem with faulty Guru
Three Dharma Seals (三法印)
• Dukkha 苦
• Impermanence 無常
• No-self 無我
Impermanence 無常
• Nothing is the same from one moment to
another .
• All objects of our perception
• Not pessimistic --- no change would be
possible without it .
• Should not be a source of suffering – rather,
it is wanting things to be permanent that
causes suffering
No-self ( Non-self)無我
• The most difficult concept in Buddhism
• What is the self ?
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Hindu ------ An Essence , goal --- to
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be one with Brahman
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Soul -----Greek Soul
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Christian Soul
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Chinese Soul ?
Buddhist concept of a person
• Five Aggregates ( skandhas)五蘊 :
• form
色 --- body, sense organs
• feelings 受 ---- pleasant , unpleasant , neutral
• perceptions 想 – conceptualizing
• mental formation 行 --- fear etc (51 categories)
• consciousness 識 ---- stored consciousness ,
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the matrix with seeds in it.
• None of the above is permanent, so where is the
self ?
• Craving for a permanent soul is a source of
suffering
No-self ( Cont’d)
• Traditional thinking hard to change
• Difficult to understand and accept
• Apparent contradiction with other
teachings.
• As a strategy to alleviate suffering ?
• Need intense meditation to transform one’s
mind
Problem with No-self .
• If no-self , who attains enlightenment ?
• If no-self , who goes into the next life ?
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The story of Sati
• The story of Vacchagota
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In spite of these…………..
• The Alaya consciousness阿賴耶識
• Apparent “Re-incarnation” in Tibetan
Buddhism .
A most vexing question
• How it is possible to have rebirth
without a self ?
• Buddhist monks have struggled with this problem
for over 2000 years.
• One must understand the principle of
Dependent Origination 緣起法
Dependent Origination 緣起法
• “ This is, because that is ; This is not, because that
is not . This comes to be , because that comes to
be. This ceases to be , because that ceases to be”
• “ He who sees Dependent Origination sees my
teachings “
• “ My teacher (the Buddha)’s teaching is all about
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Dependent Origination”
Dependent Origination
• All teachings are based on it . If a teaching
is not in accord with it , then it is not the
teaching of the Buddha
• Impermanence is implicit in this teaching.
• Main implication : we think we are an
independent entity , but we are , in fact ,
not.
The Twelve Links of D O
• Ignorance 無明
• Volitional action 行
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Consciousness 識
Mind/Body 名
Six senses/objects 六入
Contact 觸
Feeling 受
Craving 愛
Grasping 取
Coming to be 有
• Birth 生
• Old Age/Decay 老死
No linear , all inter-related
The T L of D O ( Cont’d)
• Not always 12 links .
• Some overlap , e.g. ignorance and volition exist in
consciousness ; the six senses are already in the
body/mind .
• Thus sometimes the Buddha teaches 9 links ,
sometime 10 links ( omitting ignorance and
volition)
• Not linear , all interrelated, all are causes and
effects at the same time.
• Not used to explain birth and death .
• Dependent
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Origination
• Your health and the
• farmers in China
Dependent Origination
• Pollution
• Greenhouse
• Effect
Dependent Origination ( Cont’d)
• - More examples :
• - people in this room
- your children.
Dependent Origination ( Cont’d)
• Sariputta : It is so clear and easy to
understand
• Buddha : Don’t say that . It is through not
being able to comprehend Dependent
Origination , that people are entangled like
a ball of cotton, and not being able to see
the Truth ………….
Dependent Origination ( Cont’d)
• May not be easy to accept :
Child labour in India ?
A dead miner in the diamond mine in
Africa?
How about a mugger in Hong Kong ?
Dependent Origination ( Cont’d)
• A butterfly flaps its wings in Africa……
• Thich Nhat Hanh : We are all inter-beings
, we are all inter-are”
• One must understand this concept in order
to understand the Buddhist idea of Karma
and Re-birth
Importance of Dependent
Origination
• Helps to explain all phenomena in this
world.
• Help one to understand Kamma and Rebirth
.