Buddhism Basics

 4 Noble Truths

• Life is Suffering
• The cause of suffering is attachment
• the end of suffering is obtainable 
• There is a path to the end of suffering

8 Fold Path - Dharma 

• Right View -  see reality through the lens of the four noble truths
• Right Resolve - is to be resolved on renunciation—the wish to be freed from suffering, resolved on freedom. 
• Right Speech - to abstain from false, divisive, and harsh speech, as well as idle chatter
• Right Action - the intention of causing no harm to ourselves and others but to ensure that what we are doing physically does not cause harm to any sentient beings. This means an avoidance of killing, injuring, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
• Right Livelihood - for monastics is to live from the donations of others and never take more than one needs. For laypeople, it means to avoid any livelihood that causes suffering to others by cheating, harming, or killing them
• Right Effort - means to diligently cultivate good qualities and to abandon non-virtuous thoughts and actions.  The Buddha taught that if you want to be happy, there are certain behaviors that will help you attain that goal and others that will prevent it.
• Right Mindfulness - to remain mindful of the body, feelings, consciousness, and mental phenomena while abandoning attachment and aversion.
• Right Concentration - to remain withdrawn from our senses and focused upon the object of our meditation while we practice. By avoiding counter-productive, harmful thoughts and actions, we develop a stable mind.

Three "Main Branches" of Buddhism

• Theravada Buddhism: the oldest branch, focused on cognitive methods of enlightenment
• Pali Canon (Teachings of Buddha himself)
• Mahayana Buddhism, focused on compassion and supernatural intervention
• Sutras, came up with the "right path"
• Vajrayana Buddhism, focused on exploring esoteric and often counter-intuitive secrets to reach enlightenment
• Tantras, not everyone can find the answers - only special people 
• Tibetan Buddhism - Dhali Lama being an example of the special people 

Buddhism was born from Hinduism. 

Was popular because...

• Based on teachings of buddha but not an authoritative teaching
• does not require ritual practice
• Emphasis on individual journey and process
• Balanced way of life, living a middle way 
• strong focus on ending suffering 
• Does not endorse the Caste system...and at the time there was a LOT of suffering 

Important Practices:

• Meditation (not Buddhist specific)
• Altar Offerings
• Chants and praying
• Studying and learning from monks 

Buddhism's Karma: "Buddha’s teaching past actions do not determine current experiences. The bodily features and abilities with which one was born might have been a result of past actions, but past actions do not pre-determine the ways in which a person uses her body and abilities in this lifetime, nor do they predetermine the ways in which others treat her body and abilities"