BUDDHISM & BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES

BUDDHISM & BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES

What pastoral carers need to know

MACCM.Buddhism.5/3/13.RGP.v1

Why do pastoral carers need to know about Buddhism and its Scriptures?

• Pastoral carers are expected to offer a pastoral relationship to people of any Faith or no Faith

• Some people of no Faith are interested in Buddhism as a spiritual way of life

• There are many distinct Buddhists lineages


Why do pastoral carers need to know about Buddhism and its Scriptures?

• Buddhism is the most rapidly growing Faith in Australia, especially among the youth and young adults.

• Youth and young adults are a particularly challenging group to offer pastoral care to

• Pastoral carers need to be able to explain to Christian parents and to other Christians why Buddhism is so attractive


What is Buddhism?

• A path to enlightenment• It was founded in India about 525 B.C. by

Siddhartha Gautama who achieved enlightenment at the age of 40 and then spent 45 years teaching and establishing a community of monks and nuns (sangha) to continue his work. He is known as the Buddha.


What is Buddhism?

Enlightenment means • Perfect wisdom which knows all existence

without obscuration• Perfect compassion which pervades equally to

all living beings• Perfect capacity to be able to benefit others

according to their needs


What is Buddhism?

• A particular way of understanding experience • A set of beliefs about the nature of

existence (cause and effect rather than a Creator God )• An ethical framework to live by. • Spiritual practice – a graduated path to

enlightenment


Two Buddhist traditions• Theravada (Foundational Vehicle or Doctrine

of the Elders) in Sri Lanka and S.E. Asia • The Mahayana (Great Vehicle) in China,

Mongolia. Korea, and Japan. Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) is an additional Mahayana lineage practiced in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia

(Buddhists self-identify their school similar to the way Christians self-identify their broad orientation (viz., Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox)


What distinguishes the schools of Buddhism?

• The Foundational Vehicle is representative of early Buddhist doctrine viz., the ideal of the perfected saintly sage or arhat, who attained liberation by purifying self of all defilements and desires.

• The goal of the Great Vehicle is to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Its chief religious ideal is the bodhisattva who strives to perfect generosity, morality, patience, effort, concentration, wisdom.


First Teaching of the Buddha

• The “Four Noble Truths” was the Buddha’s first teaching and is the foundation of all Buddhist practice– The truth of Suffering (3 types)– The Origin of suffering (karma and delusion)– The truth of Cessation (ignorance is root)– The truth of the Path (5 paths –

accumulation, preparation, seeing, meditation, no more learning)


Samsara, Nirvana, Enlightenment

• Samsara. Continual cycle of birth-and-death with the momentum to rebirth provided by one’s delusion and previous karma.

• Nirvana – Absence of delusion. Liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth and associated suffering.

• Enlightenment – Perfected wisdom, compassion and capacity


Buddhist understanding of experience

• The mind – that which is clear and knowing• The intrinsic nature of mind is pure. • Disturbing emotions are temporary flaws

which bring about the loss of mental peace• Freedom from suffering is achieved by

removing the disturbing emotions and obscurations


Buddhist understanding of experience

• Form – physical body• Feeling – mind which experiences feelings• Discrimination – mind which distinguishes and

comprehends objects• Compositional factors –mind that holds the

object eg intention• Consciousness – primary mind consciousness

that know the object


Buddhist belief about existenceNature of things Wrong ViewImpermanent Grasp at things as

permanentSuffering Seeing things as cause

of happiness and sufferingEmpty Grasping at permanent

independent unitary selfSelfless Believing things exist

independently and from their own side


Buddhist Precepts• Refuge – to not harm others

• 5 lay precepts – refrain from taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, taking intoxicants *

• Like Christian monks and nuns, the lives of members of Buddhist monastic orders are regulated by a large number of rules (know as the Pratimoksa)

* Note the similarities with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam


Buddhist spiritual practice• Thought transformation (cherishing others,

disciplining disturbing emotions eg attachment)• Generating faith (using images, visualizations)• Making offerings and practicing generosity• Observing morality• Prayer (Buddha’s name, mantras, sutras, pujas,

dedication)• Mind training – (hearing, contemplating,

meditating)• Confessing and Rejoicing


Buddhist Scriptures There is no one universal set of scripture

throughout all of Buddhism. Most traditions have a tripitaka (a Sanskrit word meaning “three baskets”)– The vinaya pitaka (discipline and rules for

monks and nuns) – The sutra pitaka (sermons and teachings

about the Buddha)– The abhidharma pitaka (structured

presentation of Buddhist teachings)MACCM.Buddhism.5/3/13.RGP.v1

Buddhist hermeneutics

1. StudyA practitioner’s first task is to understand the Buddha’s teachings by relying on both the written and oral lineages. Practitioners study or memorize the written texts and receive commentaries on these from qualified teachers.


Buddhist hermeneutics

2. Reflect The practitioner then uses techniques such as

debate, discussion and or analytical meditation to discover the meaning of the teaching as relevant to his or her own experience and to increase familiarity with the topic.


Buddhist hermeneutics cont’d

3. Meditation

The third stage of the process is to develop calm abiding (the ability to hold the mind single pointedly on the object of meditation) and single pointed concentration (the ability to analyze the object while holding the mind single pointedly on it.


Buddhist hermeneutics cont’d

The Mahayana practitioner has two aspirationsTo fulfill the purpose of othersTo achieve enlightenment

Listening reflecting and meditating are used to develop :

Compassion focusing on sentient beingsWisdom focusing on enlightenment


Examples of Buddhist practice• Thought transformation (cherishing others,

disciplining disturbing emotions eg attachment)• Generating faith (using images, visualizations)• Making offerings and practicing generosity• Observing morality• Prayer (Buddha’s name, mantras, sutras, pujas,

dedication)• Mind training – (hearing, contemplating,

meditating)• Confessing and Rejoicing


Spiritual Formation

Do not commit any non virtuous deeds. Collect all virtuous qualities.Completely transform your mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha

Be kind as much as possible: it is always possible. His Holiness the Dalia Lama


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BUDDHISM & BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES