Transcript Death and Birth

Brief Introduction to SEA
Buddhist Ethics and Practices
Life after Enlightenment
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Seven weeks
Two Young Girls offer Ricemilk
First sermon—middle way
45 years of teaching and walking (suttas,
abhidhamma)
Dies in Kapilavastu (backwater, bad pork)
Cremation and lamp
Be a lamp onto yourselves
Spread of relics in eight directions
Spread
 Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkhim,China, Afghanistan and Pakistan,
Iran, Turkey, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Burma, Indonesia, Cambodia,
Thailand, Laos, Vietnam
 His message spread fast among women and men for a few reasons:
 1. Jetovimutti and Pannavimutti
 2. Any caste could take up path including women
 3. King Asoka
 4. Narrative literature
 5. The story of the Buddha itself was inspiring
 Disease, break-up of families, money economy and travel at that
period in the region
 Soteriology (Nirvana—next week)
Dharma
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The Middle Path
Transcending context
there are some basic
“truths” (Dhamma)
which Buddhists hold as
the basis for developing
awareness of yourself
and others.
The 4 Truths
First Noble Truth
• Sabbam Idam Dukkham
(The First Noble Truth: All
“This” is Suffering)
• You perception causes
yourself and others to suffer
because you are ignorant of
Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha
• Anicca (Impermanence):
Stars, Seasons, Mountains,
Lives, Thoughts
Anicca
Anicca (Impermanence): Stars, Seasons
Mountains, live, thoughts, ideologies
Anatta
• Anatta (Non-Self/NonSubstance): Self, Family,
Culture, Religion,
Nation, Ideology.
• The false belief in the
existence of one true
self or soul divides you
from others.
Dukkha
• Dukkha (Pain): Physical,
Psychological,
Existential Trauma
• Think you should be
happy all the time.
• Your life comes before
other lives.
Second Noble Truth
• Dukkham Samudayam (The
Second Noble Truth: The
Cause of Suffering)
• Desire and craving (Tanha):
for happiness, for revenge,
for success, for peace, for
power, even for nirvana,
• Desire is selfish, divides you
from others, creates false
belief that there is a “self”
and an “other”
Third-Dukkham Nirodham
• Dukkham Nirodham
(The Third Noble Truth:
Nirvana)
• Stop “selfish” desire
• Realize anicca, anatta,
dukkha
Fourth-Maggam
• Maggam (The Fourth Noble
Truth: The Eightfold Noble
Path)
• Sila (Precepts)
– right speech
– right action
– right livelihood
• Samadhi (Concentration)
– right awareness
– right concentration
– right effort
• Panna (Wisdom)
– right view
– right wisdom
Wisdom=Radical Selflessness
• Right wisdom: Dwelling in
the Four Mansions
• Metta (Compassion): Dalai
Lama)
• Karuna (Warmth): Kisa
Gotami
• Upekkha (Indifference): The
Monk and the Maggots
• Mudita (Joy in another’s
Joy): The Novice and the
Samurai
Sila
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5, 8, 10, 227, 243, 311
Every sila precept
Abuse of Speech: untruth, but also belittling,
gossip, condescending, even edifying
Abuse of Possessions: stealing, but also
hoarding, exploitation, slavery, wasting, allowing
others to be poor
Abuse of Violence: do not kill, but also not not
allow others to die violently, not working for
peace, professions that promote or allow
murder, pollution, physical abuse, devaluing
others’ lives, as well as not caring and
comforting
Abuse of intoxicants: also not being
“responsible,”
Abuse of sex: not just rape, but also abusing
others through sexuality (fashion, pornography,
body image, selfish sexual conquests, etc.)