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David McGavock

How Buddhism Came to Tibet -- The History of Buddhism in Tibet - 0 views

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    "The history of Buddhism in Tibet begins with Bon. The Bon religion of Tibet was animistic and shamanistic, and elements of it live on today, to one degree or another, in Tibetan Buddhism. Although Buddhist scriptures may have made their way into Tibet centuries earlier, the history of Buddhism in Tibet effectively begins in 641 CE. In that year, King Songtsen Gampo (d. ca. 650) unified Tibet through military conquest and took two Buddhist wives, Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and Princess Wen Cheng of China. The princesses are credited with introducing their husband to Buddhism. "
David McGavock

Buddha's Four Noble Truths - Lion's Roar - 0 views

  • He gave this teaching to his first five monk-disciples at the Deer Park, now known as Saranath, near Varanasi in India.
  • In the Uttaratantra, an important Mahayana text on buddhanature, it is said: As it is necessary to diagnose the sickness, to abandon its causes, to attain the happiness of good health and to apply medicine for it;The suffering and its cause as well as its cessation and the path of (cessation)Should be recognized, abandoned, attained, and applied.
  • The Character of the World: The Noble Truth of Suffering
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  • For us, deep down in our mind, there is a habit that keeps us from seeing, let alone accepting, our own true character: the suffering, changing, impermanent and dying character of our life.
  • Buddhism first asks us not only to see the momentary and suffering character of the world, but also to have tolerance in accepting suffering as natural and not negative.
  • However, Buddhism also believes that, while the true character of the samsaric world is suffering, how the suffering character of phenomena affects us depends on our way of perceiving and feeling it.
  • three root sufferings of living beings: ordinary suffering, suffering produced by change, and the pervasive suffering of conditioning.
  • According to Buddhism, there are eight major sufferings
  • four major experiences of suffering of human life: the suffering in the process of taking birth, of old age, of sickness, and of dying and death.
  • accompanied by four secondary sufferings of human life: the sufferings of worry about facing harsh situations, about separation from loved ones and desirable things, about not achieving what one wishes, and about encountering unwanted situations.
  • Karma and Emotional Afflictions: The Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering
  • What is the noble truth of the source of suffering? It is craving [which produces] re-existence [as a being in samsara], and which is accompanied by passionate desire, and which is total delight with [or attachment to] this and that. —The Buddha
  • Every action we perform with our mind, or with body or speech inspired by mind, formulates and produces a commensurate effect on our future.
  • Tilopa instructs his disciple Naropa: Appearances [of phenomena] do not bind you [to samsara] but attachment [to them] does. So, Naropa, cut off attachment.
  • Buddhahood: The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
  • What is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering? It is the total abandonment, renunciation, purification and exhaustion of the craving [which produces] the re-existence, and which is accompanied by passionate desire, and which is total delight in this and that. It is the complete freedom from, cessation of, pacification of and termination of desire. —The Buddha
  • f nirvana is described in affirming or positive terms, since we are using conventional words connected with certain conceptual views, we will probably grasp a concept associated with them and reaffirm our usual conceptualization, and that will be wrong. If we describe nirvana in such terms as uncompounded and the cessation of passion, which are beyond the ordinary norm, there will be less danger of misleading people, and they might pause and think more.
  • According to Mahayanists, pursuing various trainings for realizing buddhahood, the true nature of our own mind, is the path.
  • Through this path we reach the perfection of training, which is the realization of the ultimate nature and the cessation of the cycle of samsara. It is not that we are achieving something new or that we are returning to a previous state. It is awakening or realizing what actually we have always been by uncovering the layer of conceptual and emotional traces.
  • The Noble Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering
  • What is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering? It is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right contemplation. —The Buddha
  • In Buddhism there are hundreds of different paths of training to reach the fully enlightened state, buddhahood. But whatever technique of training is given in the teachings, it has to be based on the view of the “four emblems” of Buddhism. If the teaching is based on and propagates these principles, whatever techniques are presented, it is the teaching of Buddhism.
  • The view of the “four emblems” of Buddhism is: all compounded phenomena are impermanent; all contaminated things are miserable; all phenomena are selfless (voidness); and nirvana, the goal, is peace.
  • The Theravada Path
  • This vehicle relies on the three divisions of scripture known as “the three baskets.”
  • vinaya, the code of moral discipline for the monks, nuns and lay devotees;
  • sutra, the discourses on various spiritual trainings; and abhidharma, the scriptures on wisdom, philosophy and psychology
  • One of the main emphases of Theravadins is on physical discipline, such as living in solitude and leading a celibate life in order to avoid the circumstances that cause emotional afflictions and evil deeds to arise in one’s mind.
  • The Mahayana Path
  • emphasis on developing great compassion—the aspiration and dedication to take responsibility for others’ happiness and to lead all beings to the attainment of buddhahood without the slightest self-interest.
  • their main emphasis is on the training of the mind. By training the pilot-like mind on the right path, they bring the vehicle-like speech and body onto the right path.
  • They do not try to avoid the sources of emotional afflictions but destroy them by using antidotes such as compassion for anger, knowledge of the impermanent character of phenomena for attachment, and the wisdom of realizing the nature of phenomena as the union of voidness and interdependent arising for ignorance.
  • the two ways of developing the enlightened mind.
  • develop the “aspiring enlightened mind.” In this training one generates love, compassion, joy and equanimity toward all beings by seeing and understanding them as one’s mother.
  • The second training is to put the “enlightened mind into practice” by following the six perfections (Skt. paramitas).
  • The Tantric Path
  • The unique character of the training of tantric Buddhism is pure perception. In it one sees and actualizes all as the buddha-realms. One sees, believes and experiences that all appearances are the Buddhas and their pure land, all sounds are the pure sound or speech of the Buddhas, and all thoughts are the wisdom mind of the Buddhas.
  • At the beginning of the tantric path, when the disciple is ready, the master initiates him or her into the training. At the time of initiation, the disciples experience the true nature, or at least glimpse the wisdom of their mind and the wisdom energies of their consciousnesses, mental events and physical elements.
  • After that the disciple goes through the training of the “two stages.”
  • development stage, one sees, visualizes and actualizes the universe as the Buddhas and their pure lands.
  • the perfection stage, by using the powers of the channels, energies and essence of one’s vajra-body, one attains and perfects the union of great bliss and voidness.
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    "Tulku Thondup on the four simple and practical statements that encompass the entire Buddhist path, the Buddha's Four Noble Truths."
David McGavock

Buddhism in a Nutshell: The Four Seals of Dharma - 0 views

  • So what is the particular view that Buddhists try to get used to? Buddhism is distinguished by four characteristics, or “seals.” Actually, if all these four seals are found in a path or a philosophy, it doesn’t matter whether you call it Buddhist or not.
  • Therefore, these four characteristics are called “the Four Seals of Dharma.” They are: All compounded things are impermanent. All emotions are painful. This is something that only Buddhists would talk about. Many religions worship things like love with celebration and songs. Buddhists think, “This is all suffering.” All phenomena are empty; they are without inherent existence. This is actually the ultimate view of Buddhism; the other three are grounded on this third seal. The fourth seal is that nirvana is beyond extremes.
  • The First Seal: All Compounded Things are Impermanent
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  • Delusion arises when we don’t acknowledge that all compounded things are impermanent.
  • realize this truth, deep down and not just intellectually
  • The Second Seal: All Emotions are Painful The Tibetan word for emotion in this context is zagche, which means “contaminated” or “stained,” in the sense of being permeated by confusion or duality.
  • how are we to understand duality?
  • It is subject and object: ourselves on the one hand and our experience on the other.
  • The dualistic mind creates a lot of expectations—a lot of hope, a lot of fear.
  • Another Buddhist way of explaining this is to say that when a big pain becomes smaller, we call it pleasure.
  • This is why Buddhists conclude that all emotions are painful. It is because they are impermanent and dualistic that they are uncertain and always accompanied by hopes and fears.
  • Buddhists define a phenomenon as something with characteristics, and as an object that is conceived by a subject.
  • To hold that an object is something external is ignorance
  • Put very simply, when we talk about emptiness, we mean that the way things appear is not the way they actually are.
  • The Three Turnings of the Wheel
  • can be summed up in a single phrase: “Mind; there is no mind; mind is luminosity.”
  • A correct understanding of emptiness leads us to see how things are related, and how we are responsible for our world.
  • When I’m talking about emptiness, everything that I’m saying has to do with this “image” emptiness. I can’t show you real emptiness but I can tell you why things don’t exist inherently.
  • The Fourth Seal: Nirvana is Beyond Extremes
  • In many philosophies or religions, the final goal is something that you can hold on to and keep. The final goal is the only thing that truly exists. But nirvana is not fabricated, so it is not something to be held on to. It is referred to as “beyond extremes.”
  • If, when you try to abandon or transform attachment to your own experiences, you don’t understand these four seals, you end up regarding the contents of your mind as the manifestations of something evil, diabolical and bad.
  • When you have a clear understanding of these four seals as the ground of your practice, you will feel comfortable no matter what happens to you. As long as you have these four as your view, nothing can go wrong. Whoever holds these four, in their heart, or in their head, and contemplates them, is a Buddhist. There is no need for such a person even to be called a Buddhist. He or she is by definition a follower of the Buddha.
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    ""Buddhism is distinguished by four characteristics, or 'seals.' If all these four seals are found in a path or a philosophy, it can be considered the path of the Buddha.""
David McGavock

The Berzin Archives - The Buddhist Archives of Dr. Alexander Berzin - Home Page - 0 views

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    "The Berzin Archives is a collection of translations and teachings by Dr. Alexander Berzin primarily on the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Covering the areas of sutra, tantra, Kalachakra, dzogchen, and mahamudra meditation, the Archives presents material from all five Tibetan traditions: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, Gelug, and Bon, as well as comparisons with Theravada Buddhism and Islam. Also featured are Tibetan astrology and medicine, Shambhala, and Buddhist history."
David McGavock

Karmapa 900 Official Website Home Page - 0 views

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    "Nine hundred years ago, amidst the snow-capped peaks of eastern Tibet, there was born a spiritual master whose compassion for beings would shape the future of Buddhism in Tibet. This great being was the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, who instituted the practice of intentionally reincarnating in a way that disciples could recognize-a practice that forms the backbone of Tibetan Buddhism as we know it today. His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, will lead the international Karma Kagyu community in Karmapa 900-a grand yearlong celebration to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the First Karmapa's birth"
Jass Brown

The pitfalls of positive thinking: a mindful perspective The pitfalls of positive think... - 0 views

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    Buddhism is a better alternative to positive thinking: Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.
Michael Tebbano

Essentials of Buddhism - core concepts - 12 views

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    Keep on sharing about buddhism... wanna hear more..thanq http://lifeofnichiren.com
Anil Tiwari

Online Buddhist Magazine - Everything you need to know about Buddha and Buddhism | Budd... - 0 views

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    An online portal for Buddhist community all over the world. Buddha Fame is created with a motive to connect all Buddhist people and followers around the globe.
dhruvthukral

Nichiren Daishonin and its buddhism - 0 views

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    Stay tuned
David McGavock

The Meaning and Use of a Mandala - 0 views

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    "The Meaning and Use of a Mandala\nAlexander Berzin, December 2003\nThe Meaning of a Mandala\n\nThe Tibetan word for "mandala," dkyil-'khor , literally means "that which encircles a center." A "center," here is a meaning, and "that which encircles it" - a mandala - is a round symbol that represents the meaning. Not all mandalas, however, are round.\n\nThere are many types of mandalas, used for various purposes in both the sutra and tantra practices of Buddhism. Let us survey some of them."
Jass Brown

Why there is no place for self-pity within Buddhism - 0 views

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    Without doubt, bad undesirable things would happen to us, in ways that cannot be prevented : such is the nature of randomness of events that is an integral way of how the Universe works.
avivajazz  jazzaviva

Tibetan Bön || Bonpo's Tradition - 2 views

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    Bön
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    I visited a seminar.. it was about how to make tibet free from china? how is it going on there? http://lifeofnichiren.com
David McGavock

Knowing This Truth is Noble - Lion's Roar - 0 views

  • Human beings experience dukkha in many forms—certain types of dukkha have to do with plain and simple suffering, while other forms of dukkha would not really be experienced as suffering at all. They appear more to us in the form of the pleasure of apparent happiness.
  • Some dukkha is avoidable and some is unavoidable, and we need to understand the difference.
  • The last two truths, the truth of the cessation of suffering and the path that leads to cessation, could be said to be noble.
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  • What is in fact noble, though, is the person who fully realizes the four truths altogether.
  • Buddhism teaches us that if we cultivate the right attitude and are able to look simply into ourselves and our perspectives, predilections, and habit patterns, we can reduce and ultimately eliminate the avoidable forms of suffering.
  • there are two parts to the solution: looking at the causes of dukkha and finding the means of reducing or stopping it.
  • We are asked to settle our mind on that which is unchanging.
  • Settling the mind on the unchanging has a calming effect on the mind generally, but it also leads to a state that allows us to relate to what is transient and ephemeral with a mental attitude born of a more enlightened view, one that does not seek permanent joy and happiness from things that are impermanent
  • The first lesson we have to learn is that samsara does not deliver all that it promises. We have to recognize that transient pleasures are simply that and nothing more.
  • It is possible not to get upset when people speak ill of us. It is possible to be free of paranoia about what others are thinking of us. When we feel loss and we grieve, we can do so without the emotions overwhelming us, opening the door to despair and depression.
  • We can also learn how not to generate further suffering by accepting the unavoidable suffering of old age, sickness, and death.
  • The first noble truth reveals to us the meaning of suffering. Painful experiences can teach us a lot.
  • It is about utilizing our painful experiences, the truth of suffering, with fortitude and dignity, and thereby making ourselves stronger and more mature.
  • We cannot digest the powerful medicine of the dharma in one dose, but as we treat ourselves in a stepwise fashion, our capacity to absorb dharma increases.
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    "The Buddhist path begins with the recognition of suffering-not just the pointed suffering of sickness, aging, or death, but the vague feeling of anxiety and dissatisfaction that underlies every moment of our lives. "
stephenmfreeman

aikido & buddhism ... blended - 0 views

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    Aikido is based on Buddhist principles; one in particular: Setsuna, the present. Every breath and moment is new and different. Aikido practice helps rid preconceived fear
sameness

Esoteric Buddhi - 0 views

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    Morsels from authentic books of Tibetan Buddhism
patrickzeis

Spiritual Gurus: Palden Gyatso | Balanced Achievement - 0 views

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    Tibetan Buddhist monk Palden Gyatso was wrongly imprisoned and tortured for 33-years by the Chinese military. Today he offers his oppressors compassion.
David McGavock

Four Noble Truths by His Holiness the Dalai Lama - 0 views

  • three categories: the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change and all-pervasive suffering.
  • Suffering of suffering refers to things such as headaches and so forth. Even animals recognize this kind of suffering and, like us, want to be free from it. Because beings have fear of and experience discomfort from these kinds of suffering, they engage in various activities to eliminate them.
  • Suffering of change refers to situations where, for example, we are sitting very comfortably relaxed and at first, everything seems all right, but after a while we lose that feeling and get restless and uncomfortable.
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  • Generally, the ultimate cause is the mind; the mind that is influenced by negative thoughts such as anger, attachment, jealousy and so forth is the main cause of birth and all such other problems.
  • the Buddha taught that the root of the three sufferings is the third: all-pervasive suffering.
  • This third, all-pervasive, suffering is under the control of karma and the disturbing mind.
  • All our suffering can be traced back to these aggregates of attachment and clinging.
  • according to the Buddhist viewpoint, that’s not the case; your consciousness will continue.
  • f you really want to get rid of all your suffering, all the difficulties you experience in your life, you have to get rid of the fundamental cause that gives rise to the aggregates that are the basis of all suffering. Killing yourself isn’t going to solve your problems.
  • investigate the cause of suffering: is there a cause or not?
  • If it is a cause that can be overcome, is it possible for us to overcome it? Thus we come to the second noble truth, the truth of the cause of suffering.
  • Thus, through investigation we find no valid support for the grasping mind but do find the support of logical reasoning for the mind that realizes that the grasping mind is invalid.
  • All-pervasive suffering is the third type of suffering. It is called all-pervasive [Tib: kyab-pa du-che kyi dug-ngäl—literally, the suffering of pervasive compounding] because it acts as the basis of the first two.
  • which is then followed by grasping at things and becoming attached to them as “mine.”4
  • Thus ultimately, the problem is this feeling of “I”
  • There’s nothing good about anger and attachment; nothing good can result from them. They may be difficult to control, but everybody can realize that there is nothing good about them. This, then, is the second noble truth.
  • the question arises whether or not these kinds of negative mind can be eliminated.
  • The truth of the cessation of suffering
  • If, upon investigation, we discover many other, valid ways of looking at things and that all these contradict, or negate, the way that the mind that grasps at true existence perceives its objects, we can say that this mind does not see reality.
  • try to determine whether the mind that grasps at things as truly findable is correct or not.
  • Middle Way schools contain many lines of reasoning for carrying out such investigation.6
  • first there’s attachment to the self,
  • When we eliminate the disturbing negative minds, the cause of all suffering, we eliminate the sufferings as well. This is liberation, or the cessation of suffering: the third noble truth.
  • path to the cessation of suffering
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    "His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave this teaching in Dharamsala, 7 October 1981. It was translated by Alexander Berzin, clarified by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, edited by Nicholas Ribush and first published in the souvenir booklet for Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre's Second Dharma Celebration, November 5-8 1982, New Delhi, India. Published in 2005 in the LYWA publication Teachings From Tibet."
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