1. The Buddha & His Dhamma
Extracted from Bhikkhu Bodhi’s “The Buddha and His
Dhamma”
2. Buddha
The Enlightened One, or The Awakened One, an
Enlightener
Siddhartha Gautama is the founder of the spiritual
tradition known as Buddhism
He is the Buddha
Buddha also denotes a type of person-an exemplar of
which there have been many instances in the course of
cosmic time
3. Buddhist Cosmology
Universe is without any discoverable beginning in time, no first
point, no initial moment of creation.
World systems subject to growth and decline.
Each world system consists of numerous planes of existence,
inhabited by sentient beings.
Human and animal realms
Heavenly planes (realms of celestial bliss)
Infernal planes (dark realms of pain and misery)
The beings dwelling in these realms experience unbroken process of
rebirth called samsara
Driven by beings’ ignorance and craving
Karma determines the form any rebirth takes
Nirvana: realm of perfect bliss and peace, of complete spiritual
freedom (No greed, hatred, and delusion)
4. Path from Samsara to Nirvana
Buddha rediscovered the lost path to nirvana, and taught
this path to the world at large.
All those who follow the path and attain nirvana are
called arahants (worthy ones)
Buddha’s unique role is to rediscover the Dharma
(ultimate principle of truth), establish “dispensation” or
spiritual heritage to preserve the teaching for the future
generations.
5. Bodhisattva
To qualify as a Buddha, an aspirant must prepare himself
over an inconceivably long period of time spanning
countless of lives.
During these past lives, the future Buddha is referred to
as a bodhisattva, an aspirant to the full enlightenment of
Buddhahood.
In each life, bodhisattva must train himself through
altruistic deeds and meditative effort to acquire qualities
(moral & spiritual) essential to a Buddha.
These qualities are called paramis or paramitas.
6. Paramis of Theravada Tradition
Generosity
Moral conduct
Renunciation
Wisdom
Energy
Patience
Truthfulness
Determination
Loving-Kindness
Equanimity
7. Vesak
Celebrate the Buddha as one who has striven through
countless past lives to perfect all the sublime virtues that
entitle him to teach the world the path to the highest
happiness and peace.
Celebrate his attainment of enlightenment beneath the
Bodhi Tree.
Commemorate his parinirvana or passing away
8. Sangha
Order of monks and nuns established by Buddha
Perhaps the world oldest continuous institution
9. Dharma (Teaching)
The Four Noble Truth
Life involves suffering
Suffering involves from craving
Suffering ends with the removal of craving
There is a way to the end of suffering
Roots of suffering in our minds
Craving
Ignorance
Delusions
The cure is insight into reality
10. Dharma
The Noble Eightfold Path
Right view of the basic truths of existence
Right intention to undertake the training
Right speech (ethical)
Right action (ethical)
Right livelihood (ethical)
Right effort (meditation & mental development)
Right mindfulness (meditation & mental development)
Right concentration (meditation & mental development)
11. Dharma
Methodology of the Teaching
Self-reliance (Buddha doesn’t profess to be a personal savior;
he calls himself rather a guide or teacher)
Experiential (Buddha invites inquirers to investigate his
teaching, to examine it in the light of their own reason and
intelligence)
Universal (Buddha teaching a universal message, addressed to
all human beings solely by reason of their humanity)
A code of ethics (Five Precept: abstinence from killing,
stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and the use of
intoxicating substances; Four Lofty Attitudes: loving-
kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, equanimity)
12. Buddhist Principles for Formation of Public
Policy
Global problems today: regional tensions of ethnic and
religious character, disregard for human rights, widening
gap between the rich and the poor, depletion of the
earth’s natural resources
Common root to these problems might be briefly
characterized as a stubborn insistence on placing narrow,
short-term interests above the long-range good of the
broader human community.
The source of social, economic and political suffering:
greed, hatred, and delusion.
13. Buddhist Principles for Formation of Public
Policy
From Buddhist perspective, what is needed above all else is a
new mode of perception, a universal consciousness that can
enable us to regard others as not essentially different from
oneself. That is we must outgrow the egocentric, and
ethnocentric attitudes, and instead embrace a “world-centric
ethic” which gives priority to the well-being of all.
The chief attitudes to global ethic are loving-kindness and
compassion.
The Buddha states that of all things in the world, the one with
the most powerful influence for both good and bad is the
mind.
The inescapable challenge facing us is to understand and
master ourselves. It is only by transforming ourselves that we
can transform our world in the direction of peace and amity.
