Fundamental Teachings
The word Buddha means The Awakened One, coming from the Sanskrit root budh –
'to wake'. He is a man who has woken fully, as if from a deep sleep, to discover
that suffering, like a dream, is over. The historical Buddha was however a man like
any other, but an exceptional one; what he rediscovered was a way that anyone
can walk, providing that they are so inclined.
The historical Buddha Gautama was not the first Buddha. There had been others
who had walked the way before him. He was not a god, a prophet or any kind of
supernatural being. He was, as we have seen, one who was born, lived and died a
human being. A remarkable human being, who discovered a way of achieving true
wisdom, compassion and freedom from suffering. He 'rediscovered an ancient way
to an ancient city' that had been covered up and forgotten. Through his own
efforts he was able to find the way out of suffering to liberation, and those that
have followed him have kept that way open.
The Buddha did not teach that a God created the Universe. He pointed to a great
Law or Dharma running through everything that exists. It is by living in accordance
with this Law that true Wisdom and Compassion and hence freedom from suffering
may be achieved. Suffering may only be overcome, however, by being confronted
and lived through. In the Buddha's words: 'Suffering I teach and the way out of
suffering.' Fundamental Buddhist doctrines include the following:
The Chain of Causation / The Twelve linked Chain of
Causation
This important doctrine teaches the interconnectedness of all things and in
particular the law of Karma and the mechanism by which we create a world of
suffering for ourselves and others, and the opposite; the way to live that reduces
suffering for all, and leads to liberation.
The Three Signs of Being
(1) Change (2) Suffering (3) no 'I'
The first, Change, points out the basic fact that nothing in the world is fixed or
permanent. We ourselves are not the same people, either physically, emotionally
or mentally, that we were ten years - or even ten minutes ago! Living as we do,
then, as shifting beings upon shifting sands, it is not possible for us to find lasting
security.
As regards the second Sign, we have already seen how it was the experience of
Suffering that sent the Buddha off on his great spiritual quest, though suffering is
not a very good translation of the original word, dukkha. Dukkha implies the
generally unsatisfactory and imperfect nature of life. However, it does not follow
that Buddhists believe that life is all suffering. Buddhists do believe that there is
happiness in life, but know that it does not last and that even in the most
fortunate of lives there is suffering. Happiness is subject to the law of change and
impermanence.
No-I, the third Sign, is a little more difficult.
Buddhists do not believe that there is anything everlasting or unchangeable in
human beings, no soul or self in which a stable sense of 'I' might anchor itself. The
whole idea of 'I' is in fact a basically false one that tries to set itself up in an
unstable and temporary collection of elements. Take the traditional analogy of a
cart. A cart may be broken down into its basic components -axle, wheels, shafts,
sides, etc. Then the cart is no more; all we have is a pile of components. In the
same way 'I' am made up of various elements or aggregates (khandhas): form (rupa-
khandha), feeling-sensation (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral), (vedana-khandha),
perception (sanna-khandha), volitional mental activities (sankhara-khandha), sense
consciousness (vinnana-khandha).
The Four Noble Truths
(1) The Noble Truth of Suffering (2) The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering (3)
The Noble Truth of Cessation of Suffering (4) The Noble Truth of the Way leading
to the Cessation of Suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path.
Buddhism begins with the fact of suffering. However, before we can do anything
about it, we must know its cause, which is the deeply-rooted sense of 'I' that we all
have. Because of this we are always struggling to get things that are pleasurable
and avoid things that are painful to find ease and security, and generally to
manipulate people and situations to be the way 'I' want them. And because the rest
of the world does not necessarily fit in with what I want, we often find ourselves
cutting against the general flow of things, and getting hurt and disappointed in the
process. Suffering may be therefore brought to an end by transcending this strong
sense of 'I' so that we come into greater harmony with things in general. The
means of doing this is The Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path
(1) Right View. (2) Right Thought. (3) Right Speech. (4) Right Action. (5) Right
Livelihood. (6) Right Effort (7) Right Mindfulness. (8) Right Concentration.
The Wheel is the symbol of the Dharma and is shown with eight spokes which
represent the Noble Eightfold Path. Right View is important at the start because if
we cannot see the truth of the Four Noble Truths then we can't make any sort of
beginning. Right Thought follows naturally from this. 'Right' here means in
accordance with the facts: with the way things are - which may be different from
how I would like them to be. Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action and Right
Livelihood involve moral restraint refraining from lying, stealing, committing
violent acts, and earning one's living in a way harmful to others. Moral restraint
not only helps bring about general social harmony but also helps us control and
diminish the sense of 'I'. Like a greedy child, 'I' grows big and unruly the more we
let it have its own way. Next, Right Effort is important because 'I' thrives on
idleness and wrong effort; some of the greatest criminals are the most energetic
people, so effort must be appropriate to the diminution of I, and in any case if we
are not prepared to exert ourselves we cannot hope to achieve anything at all in
either the spiritual sense nor in life. The last two steps of the Path, Right
Mindfulness or awareness and Right Concentration or absorption, represent the
first stage toward liberation from suffering. To be aware and at one with what we
are doing is fundamental to proper living, this practice takes many forms but in the
West the formal practice is called meditation. In the most basic form of Buddhist
meditation, a person sits cross-legged on a cushion on the floor or upright in a
chair. He/she quietly watches the rise and fall of the breath. If thoughts, emotions
or impulses arise, he/she just observes them come up and go like clouds in a blue
sky, without rejecting them on the one hand or being carried away into
daydreaming or restlessness on the other. It should be learnt under the guidance of
a teacher just as the Buddha too learnt meditation.
The Three Fires
(1) Desire/Thirst, (2) Anger (3) Delusion
'Your house is on fire, burns with the Three Fires; there is no dwelling in it' - thus
spoke the Buddha in his great Fire Sermon. The house he speaks of here is the
human body; the three fires that burn it are (1) Desire/Thirst, (2) Anger and (3)
Delusion. They are all kinds of energy and are called 'fires' because, untamed, they
can rage through us and hurt us and other people too! Properly calmed through
spiritual training, however, they can be transformed into the genuine warmth of
real humanity.
In General
'Not to do any evil; to cultivate good; to purify one's heart - this is the teaching of
all the Buddhas.'
Although Buddhists value highly such virtues as loving kindness, humanity, patience
and giving, perhaps they value wisdom and compassion most of all. The idea of
ahimsa or harmlessness is very closely connected with compassion. The
compassionate desire to cause no harm to all beings including animals, plants, and
the world in general. In all things Buddhism places great stress on self-reliance and
the Buddha himself told his followers not to believe without questioning, but to
test it for themselves. Buddhism is also a very practical religion and aims at
helping people to live their lives peacefully.
Buddhists also try to practice the Buddhist virtues actively in their everyday lives.
The final goal of all Buddhist practice is to bring about that same awakening that
the Buddha himself achieved through an active transformation of the heart and
passions and the letting go of I.
