SOCPHILO handouts under Sir Manuel"bong" Ocaña

1. BUDDHISM
LIFE
PHILOSOPHY
HISTORY
&
ENLIGHTENMENT
Sir Ocaña,
Cas – university of the cordilleras

2. AN INTRODUCTION TO
BUDDHISM
An Introduction to Buddhism
To do no evil;
To cultivate good;
To purify one's mind:
This is the teaching of the Buddhas.
--The Dhammapada

3. INTRODUCTION
• The Buddha was born Siddhartha
Gautama, a prince of the Sakya
tribe of Nepal in Lombini, at
approximately 563 BC.
• When he was 29 yrs. old, he left the
comforts of his home to seek the
meaning of the suffering he saw
around him.

4. INTRODUCTION
 On the full moon of May, with the
rising of the morning star,
Siddhartha Gautama became the
Buddha, the enlightened one.

5. INTRODUCTION
 For 45 years more he taught people
the path or Dharma he had realized
in that moment.
 Many followed him until at 80 yrs
old he died.
 His last words were:

6. INTRODUCTION
Impermanent are all created things;
Strive on with awareness.
-Siddharta Gautama
Buddha

8. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
An astrologer visited the young Siddhartha
Gautama’s, father—King Śuddhodana—and
prophesied that Siddhartha would either
1. become a great king
2. or renounce the material world to become a
holy man,
If and only if he sees what life was like outside the
palace walls.

9. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 Śuddhodana was determined to
see his son become a king so he
prevented him from leaving the
palace grounds.

10. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 But at age 29, despite his father's
efforts, Siddhartha ventured beyond
the palace several times. In a
series of encounters—known in
Buddhist literature as the four
sights.

11. 4 sights
 Buddha encountered:
 an old man,
 a sick man,
 a corpse and, finally,
 an ascetic holy man,
These experiences prompted
Gautama to abandon royal life and
take up a spiritual quest.

12. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 Realization: SUFFERING!
 He studied with famous teachers
but he failed to look for an answer
to his questions.
 He continued his quest.

13. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 He next attempted an extreme
asceticism* (see next slide), which
was a religious pursuit common
among the Shramanas, but this
kind of practice did not end his
sufferings rather it made him suffer
more.

14. Asceticism**
 The belief that we can achieve
holiness by bringing pain to our
bodies.
 Focusing on the spiritual as the
physical/matter is the root of evil.

15. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 He was so hungry so he accepted
food from a young girl, and he
decided to devote himself to
anapanasati meditation.
 Middle Way ( madhyamā-pratipd): a
path of moderation between the
extremes of self-indulgence and
self-mortification.

16. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 At the age of 35, he famously sat in
meditation under a Bodhi tree— in
the town of Bodh Gava, India, and
vowed not to rise before achieving
enlightenment.

17. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 After many days, he finally liberated
himself from the cycle of suffering
and rebirth, and arose as a fully
enlightened being.

18. THE ENLIGHTENMENT
 “It is obviously difficult, therefore, to write
a biography of the Buddha that will meet
modern criteria, because we have very
little information that can be considered
historically sound... [but] we can be
reasonably confident Siddhatta Gotama
did indeed exist and that his disciples
preserved the memory of his life and
teachings as well as they could “
(Armstrong, 2004)
 Armstrong, Karen (September 28, 2004).
Buddha. Penguin Press. p. xii.

19. BASIC BUDDHIST CONCEPTS
 4 NOBLE TRUTHS
1. Life is suffering;
2. Suffering is due to attachment;
3. Attachment can be overcome;
4. There is a path for accomplishing
this.

20. 4 NOBLE TRUTHS
1.LIFE IS SUFFERING (Dukkha)
Imperfect, stressful, or filled with
anguish.
a. Anitya -- the fact that all things
are impermanent, including living
things like ourselves.

21. 4 NOBLE TRUTHS
 b. Anatman
-- literally, "no soul". Anatman
means that all things are
interconnected and interdependent,
so that no thing -- including
ourselves -- has a separate
existence.

22. 4 NOBLE TRUTHS
2. Suffering is due to attachment
(Trishna)
- desire, clinging, greed, craving, or
lust. Because we and the world are
imperfect, impermanent, and not
separate, we are forever "clinging"
to things, and etc.

23. 4 NOBLE TRUTHS
 Dvesha, which means avoidance
or hatred. Hatred is its own kind of
clinging.
 Avidya, ignorance or the refusal to
see. Not fully understanding the
impermanence of things is what
leads us to cling in the first place.

24. 4 NOBLE TRUTHS
3. The overcoming of attachment:
nirvana.
It literally means "blowing out," it
refers to the letting go of clinging,
hatred, and ignorance, and the full
acceptance of imperfection,
impermanence, and
interconnectedness

25. 4 NOBLE TRUTHS
4. And then there is the path, called
dharma. Buddha called it the
middle way, which is understood as
meaning the middle way.
No competion only MODERATION.

26. The Eightfold Path
1. Right view is the true
understanding of the four noble
truths.

27. The Eightfold Path
2. Right aspiration is the true desire
to free oneself from attachment,
ignorance, and hatefulness.
(The 1ST AND 2ND are referred to as
prajña, or wisdom.)

28. The Eightfold Path
3. Right speech involves abstaining
from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.

29. The Eightfold Path
4. Right action involves abstaining
from hurtful behaviors, such as
killing, stealing, and careless sex.

30. The Eightfold Path
5. Right livelihood means making
your living in such a way as to
avoid dishonesty and hurting
others, including animals.
These three are referred to as shila,
or morality.

31. The Eightfold Path
6. Right effort is a matter of exerting
oneself in regards to the content of
one's mind: Bad qualities should be
abandoned and prevented from
arising again; Good qualities should
be enacted and nurtured.

32. The Eightfold Path
7. Right mindfulness is the focusing
of one's attention on one's body,
feelings, thoughts, and
consciousness in such a way as to
overcome craving, hatred, and
ignorance.

33. The Eightfold Path
8. Right concentration is meditating
in such a way as to progressively
realize a true understanding of
imperfection, impermanence, and
non-separateness.
The last three are known as
samadhi, or meditation.

34. 5 SKANDHAS
 The Skandhas
 Skandhas or aggregates are the
parts of the self. (amassed,
summative)

35.  Sometimes they are called the
aggregates of attachment, which
bring about suffering. Just like a
car is nothing more than the sum of
its parts, so we are nothing more
than the sum of our parts.

36.  There is no atman, meaning soul,
self, or ego, holding the pieces
together. Nevertheless, just like the
car can run despite being nothing
but a collection of pieces, so we
can live as a person.

37. 5 SKANDHAS
1. The First Skandha: Form (Rupa)
 Rupa is form or matter; something
material that can be sensed. In
early Buddhist literature, rupa
includes the Four Great Elements
(solidity, fluidity, heat, and motion)
and their.

38.  These derivatives are the first five
faculties listed above (eye, ear,
nose, tongue, body) and the first
five derivatives corresponding
objects (visible form, sound, odor,
taste, tangible things).

39. 5 SKANDHAS
 2. The Second Skandha: Sensation
(Vedana)
 Vedana is physical or mental sensation
that we experience through contact of
the six faculties with the external world.
In other words, it is the sensation
experienced through the contact of eye
with visible form, ear with sound, nose
with odor, tongue with taste, body with
tangible things, mind (manas) with ideas
or thoughts.

40.  Pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral
feelings, coming out of contact
between sense organs and objects,
plus out of the contact between
mind (manas) and mental objects
(ideas, images...).

41. 5 SKANDHAS
3. The Third Skandha: Perception
(Samjna, or in Pali, Sanna)
 Samjna is the faculty that
recognizes. Most of what we call
thinking fits into the aggregate of
samjna.

42.  Recognition of objects -- form,
sound, smell, taste, bodily
impressions, mental objects.

43.  The word "samjna" means
"knowledge that puts together." It is
the capacity to conceptualize and
recognize things by associating
them with other things. For
example, we recognize shoes as
shoes because we associate them
with our previous experience with
shoes.

44. 5 SKANDHAS
4. The Fourth Skandha: Mental
Formation (Samskara, or in Pali,
Sankhara)
All volitional actions, good and bad, are
included in the aggregate of mental
formations. The aggregate of mental
formations is associated with karma,
because volitional acts create karma.
Samskara also contains latent karma
that conditions our attitudes and
predilections. Biases and prejudices
belong to this skandha, as do interests
and attractions.

45.  Volition, attention, discrimination,
joy, happiness, equanimity, resolve,
exertion, compulsion,
concentration, etc.

46. 5 SKANDHAS
5. The Fifth Skandha: Consciousness
(Vijnana, or in Pali, Vinnana)
Vijnana is a reaction that has one of
the six faculties as its basis and
one of the six corresponding
phenomena as its object. For
example, aural consciousness --
hearing -- has the ear as its basis
and a sound as its object. Mental
consciousness has the mind
(manas) as its basis and an idea or
thought as its object.

47.  Awareness prior to recognition --
seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
kinesthesia, ideation.

48.  The four vices:
1. The destruction of life
2. Stealing
3. Sexual misconduct
4. Lying

49.  The four things which lead to evil:
1. Desire, meaning greed, lust,
clinging
2. Anger and hatred
3. Ignorance
4. Fear and anxiety

50.  The six ways one dissipates ones
wealth:
1. Drinking and drugs
2. Carousing late at night
3. Wasting away your time at
shows
4. Gambling
5. Keeping bad company
6. Laziness

51. Friendship
A Good Friend:
1. is always ready to help you
2. is steady and loyal
3. provides good advice
4. is sympathetic

52. FRIENDSHIP
There are four types that are not
really your friends, but will make
your life miserable in the long run:
1. The leech who appropriates
your possessions
2. The bull-shitter who manipulates
you
3. The boot-licker who flatters you
4. The party-animal who
encourages you to do the same

53. BUDDHIST MORALITY
The Pancha Shila,, or five moral precepts:
The Pancha Shila or five moral precepts:
1. Avoid killing, or harming any living thing.
1. Avoid killing, or harming any living thing.
2. Avoid stealing -- taking what is not yours
2. Avoid stealing -- taking what is not yours
to take.
to take.
3. Avoid sexual irresponsibility, which for
3. Avoid sexual irresponsibility, which for
monks and nuns means celibacy.
monks and nuns means celibacy.
4. Avoid lying, or any hurtful speech.
4. Avoid lying, or any hurtful speech.
5. Avoid alcohol and drugs which diminish
5. Avoid alcohol and drugs which diminish
clarity of consciousness.
clarity of consciousness.

54. Karma and Rebirth
 The wheel of life, or "samsara", is
an ancient symbol that has the
same meaning in Buddhism and
Hinduism. It is symbolises the cycle
of birth, life, and death. When one
revolution of the wheel is
completed, life begins again with
rebirth.

55. What is karma?
 Karma is a Sanskrit word that
literally means "action". The word is
used to refer to volitional acts as
well as the fruits or consequences
that arise from these acts. The idea
of karma had existed in ancient
Indian philosophy before the time of
Siddhartha Gautama, and it
became an important element of
Buddhist philosophy.

56. What is karma?
 the law of karma describes the
connection between actions and
the resulting forces, as follows:
wholesome actions lead to
wholesome states while
unwholesome actions lead to
unwholesome states, individually as
well as collectively.

57. The ethical dimension.
 if one generates bad karma by
hurting or killing sentient beings,
one will have to endure the
negative consequences of these
deeds in this or another lifetime.
Similarly, if one generates good
karma by observing the precepts,
positive consequences will follow
inevitably.

58.  The karma of past, present, and
future events are connected by the
law of cause and effect.
 There is no higher instance, no
judgement, no divine intervention,
and no gods that steer man's
destiny, but only the law of karma
itself, which works on a universal
scale.

59. Rebirth.
 Buddhists hold that the retributive
process of karma can span more
than one lifetime. Rebirth has
always been an important tenet in
Buddhism; and it is often referred to
as walking the wheel of life
(samsara). It is the process of being
born over and over again in
different times and different
situations, possibly for many
thousand times.

60.  Only the extinguishment of all
karma leads to Nirvana

61. BUDDHIST MORALITY

 5 MONASTIC PRECEPTS:
5 MONASTIC PRECEPTS:
6. One simple meal a day, before
6. One simple meal a day, before
noon.
noon.
7. Avoid frivolous entertainments.
7. Avoid frivolous entertainments.
8. Avoid self-adornment.
8. Avoid self-adornment.
9. Use a simple bed and seat.
9. Use a simple bed and seat.
10. Avoid the use of money.
10. Avoid the use of money.

62. BUDDHIST MORALITY

 The Paramita
The Paramita
The Perfections or Virtues -- noble
The Perfections or Virtues -- noble
qualities that we should all strive to
qualities that we should all strive to
achieve. Here are two versions:
achieve. Here are two versions:
1. Generosity (P: dana)
1. Generosity (P: dana)
2. Moral discipline (P: sila)
2. Moral discipline (P: sila)
3. Patience and tolerance (P: khanti)
3. Patience and tolerance (P: khanti)
4. Wisdom or (full-) consciousness
4. Wisdom or (full-) consciousness
(P: pañña)
(P: pañña)
5. Energy (P: viriya)
5. Energy (P: viriya)
6. Renunciation (P: nekkhamma)
6. Renunciation (P: nekkhamma)
7. Truthfulness (P: sacca)
7. Truthfulness (P: sacca)
8. Determination (P: adhitthana)
8. Determination (P: adhitthana)
9. Loving kindness (P: metta)
9. Loving kindness (P: metta)
10. Equanimity (P: upekkha)
10. Equanimity (P: upekkha)

63. BUDDHIST MORALITY
 The Brahma Vihara The four "sublime states"
to which we all should aspire. They are the
great signs of the Bodhisattva, who vows to
remain in samsara -- this world of pain and
sorrow -- until all creation can be brought into
the state of Nirvana together.
 1. Maitri is caring, loving kindness displayed to
all you meet.
 2. Karuna is compassion or mercy, the
kindness shown to those who suffer.
 3. Mudita is sympathetic joy, being happy for
others, without a trace of envy.
 4. Upeksa is equanimity or peacefulness, the
ability to accept the ups and downs of life with
equal dispassion.

64. Sigalovada Sutta
 The Sigalovada Sutta
 This Sutra is a record of the words of the
Buddha to Sigalo, a young middle class
man, who was on his way to worship the
six directions, east, west, north, south,
up, and down. His father had died and
asked him to worship in this very ancient
fashion in remembrance of him. The
Buddha, wishing this ritual to have more
meaning for the young man, advised him
in detail about how to live a good life as
a layman. He phrased himself, as he
apparently so often did, using lists, and
begins by warning him against many of
the evils of the layman's life.

65. Buddhist Symbols
 Lotus Flower
Padma - Symbol of Purity. Can be
of any colour except blue.

66. Buddhist Symbols
 Dharmachakra
The wheel of the law. The eight
spokes represent the eightfold path.

67. Buddhist Symbols
 Stupa
The stupa is a symbolic grave
monument where relics or the
ashes of a holy monk are kept. It
also symbolises the universe

68. Buddhist Symbols
 Triratana
The three jewels - the Buddha, the
Dhamma, and the Sangha.

69. Buddhist Symbols
 Chattra
A parasol - protection against all
evil; high rank.

70. Buddhist Symbols
 Dhvaja
Banner - the victory of the Buddha's
teachings.

71. Buddhist Symbols
 Deer
The deer -usually in pairs-
symbolises the first sermon of the
Buddha which was held in the deer
park of Benares.

72. Buddhist Symbols
 Naga
The snake king. Vestige of pre-
Buddhist fertility rituals and
protector of the Buddha and the
Dhamma.

73. MUDRAS
 Mudras Images of the Buddha were
produced from the fifth century
onwards. The sacred nature of the
representation is reflected in the
artistic goal of creating an aura of
equanimity, perfection, and
holiness.

74. MUDRAS
 The most important of these
characteristics are perhaps the
mudras, or hand gestures, of the
Buddha. These well-defined
gestures have a fixed meaning
throughout all styles and periods of
Buddha images.

75. MUDRAS
 Bhumisparsa Mudra (Humility)
Touching the earth as Gautama
did, to invoke the earth as witness
to the truth of his words.

76. MUDRAS
 Varada Mudra (Blessings)
Fulfilment of all wishes; the gesture
of charity.

77. mudras
 Dhyana Mudra (Balance)
The gesture of absolute balance, of
meditation. The hands are relaxed
in the lap, and the tips of the
thumbs and fingers touch each
other. When depicted with a
begging bowl this is a sign of the
head of an order.

78. mudras
 Abhaya Mudra (Security)
Gesture of reassurance, blessing,
and protection. "Do not fear."

79. MUDRAS
 Dharmachakra Mudra (Teaching)
The gesture of teaching. The hands
are held level with the heart, the
thumbs and index fingers form
circles.
 COOPERATIVE LEARNING

80. MUDRAS
 Vitarka Mudra (arguments)
Intellectual argument, discussion.
The circle formed by the thumb and
index finger is the sign of the Wheel
of Law.

81. mudras
 Tarjani Mudra (Threat)
Threat, warning. The extended
index finger is pointed at the
opponent.

82. MUDRAS
 Namaskara Mudra (Respect)
Gesture of greeting, prayer, and
adoration. Buddhas no longer make
this gesture because they do not
have to show devotion to anything.

83. MUDRAS
 Jnana Mudra (Self-Learning)
Teaching. The hand is held at chest
level and the thumb and index
finger again form the Wheel of Law.

84. MUDRAS
 Karana Mudra (exorcism)
Gesture with which demons are
expelled.

85. MUDRAS
Ksepana Mudra (immortality)
Two hands together in the gesture of
'sprinkling' the nectar of immortality.

86. Uttarabodhi Mudra (Enlightenment)
Two hands placed together above the
head with the index fingers together
and the other fingers intertwined. The
gesture of supreme enlightenment.

87. References:
 Snelling, John (1991). The Buddhist
Handbook. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions.
 Rahula, Walpola (1959). What the Buddha
Taught. NY: Grove Press.
 Gard, Richard (1962). Buddhism. NY:
George Braziller.
 The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy
and Religion (1994). Boston: Shambhala.
 The Encyclopaedia Britannica CD (1998).
Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica.
 Buswell, Robert E. (ed.) (2003). Encyclopedia
of Buddhism. MacMillan Reference Books.
ISBN 978-0028657189.
 Coogan, Michael D. (ed.) (2003). The Illustrated
Guide to World Religions. Oxford University
Press. ISBN 1-84483-125-6.

88. References
 Gombrich, Richard F. (1988; 6th reprint,
2002). Theravāda Buddhism: A Social
History from Ancient Benares to Modern
Colombo (London: Routledge).
 Harvey, Peter (1990). An Introduction to
Buddhism: Teachings, History and
Practices. Cambridge University Press.
 Gunaratana, Bhante Henepola (2002).
Mindfulness in Plain English. Wisdom
Publications.
 Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang. Introduction to
Buddhism: An Explanation of the
Buddhist Way of Life, Tharpa
Publications (2nd. ed., 2001, US ed.
2008)

89. References
Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). The
Oxford Handbook of Global Religions.
Oxford Handbooks in Religion and
Theology. Oxford University Press.
 Keown, Damien and Charles S Prebish
(eds.) (2004). Encyclopedia of Buddhism
(London: Routledge).
 Kohn, Michael H. (trans.) (1991). The
Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and
Zen. Shambhala.
 Buddhism Interpreted by Buddhists,
Ronald Press, New York, 1956; reprinted
by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi; distributed
by Wisdom Books

90. References
 Nattier, Jan (2003). A Few Good Men:
The Bodhisattva Path according to The
Inquiry of Ugra (Ugrapariprccha).
University of Hawai'i Press.
 Rahula, Walpola (1974). What the
Buddha Taught. Grove Press.
 Ranjini. Jewels of the Doctrine. Sri
Satguru Publications.
 Smith, Huston; Phillip Novak (2003).
Buddhism: A Concise Introduction.
HarperSanFrancisco.
 Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2001). Refuge: An
Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha (3rd ed., rev.).

91. References
 Thich Nhat Hanh (1974), The Heart of
the Buddha's Teaching, Broadway
Books
 Thurman, Robert A. F. (translator)
(1976). Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti:
Mahayana Scripture. Pennsylvania State
University Press.
 Yin Shun, Yeung H. Wing (translator)
(1998). The Way to Buddhahood:
Instructions from a Modern Chinese
Master. Wisdom Publications.