Key Buddhist Concepts And Buddhist Life Flashcards
The five moral precepts - Panche Sila
I undertake to abstain from harming
I undertake to abstain from taking anything that is not given
I undertake to abstain from misusing the senses
I undertake to abstain from misuse of speech
I undertake to abstain from taking any substance that clouds the mind
The five monastic precepts - Dasa Sila
I undertake to abstain from eating after midday
I undertake to abstain from dancing and singing
I undertake to abstain from using perfume or garlands
I undertake to abstain from sleeping on comfortable beds
I undertake to abstain from handling money
Uposatha Days
‘Observance days’ which take place every full moon day and half moon day
Monks and nuns chant the Patimokkha
Lay Buddhists observe the the first 3 monastic precepts
The three marks of existence
Dukkha
Anicca
Anatta
Dukkha
Dukkha-dukkha: ordinary pain and suffering caused by injury, illness and death
Viparinama-dukkha: suffering caused by impermanence, even the things that make us very happy do not last
Sankhara-dukkha: suffering caused by the contingent nature of life itself
The parable of the mustard seed - story of Kisagotami
Kisa Gotami married very young and gave birth to a son
Her son tripped and fell one day and lay there motionless
Was sent to the Buddha by an elder
“you need to obtain this mustard seed from a house in the city where no one has died, and where no one has ever lost a loved one.”
Kisa Gotami’s mind finally began to realise that she wasn’t alone or unusual in losing a child
Anicca
The idea that everything is dependent on causes and conditions, and therefore everything changes
Anicca causes dukkha as people are constantly trying to hold on to the things that make them happy and struggle to accept when things change
Anatta
Just as things are impermanent, so too is the self
This is where Buddhism is different from the Indian religion of its origins
The Buddha argued that humans are simply the coming together of the skandhas, all of which are changing
5 grasping skandhas
Form – the material, physical part
Sensations – the information from our senses
Perceptions – ability to interpret sense information
Intention/Will – our mental actions and thoughts
Consciousness – our awareness linked to our senses
Nagasena and the chariot
The components of a chariot could be used in a different combination to make other things such as a cart, but there is no separate component called a ‘chariot’ and none of the components on their own is a ‘chariot’.
Instead, the word ‘chariot’ is a label to describe the parts put together in a particular order to perform a certain function.
This is how the word ‘self’ is used – to describe the components of a human being put together in a particular order at a particular time.
Rebirth - candle analogy
Rebecoming and rebirth can be thought of as a line of candles.
Even within one candle, the flame that we light at one time is not the same as the flame we see a few minutes later as it constantly changes.
The flame of craving and desire from one candle causes the next candle to be lit, but the candles are not the same.
The flame of each candle is dependent on the one before and is caused by it, but is not identical to it.
Karma
Thinking of a bad action generates bad karma, but letting that thought go and not spending energy thinking about it has more positive results.
Karma is not the same as ‘fate’, as, while the results of certain thoughts or actions are inevitable, a person can take control of their thoughts and actions, and therefore can influence their own ‘destiny’.
Dhammapada chapter 1 – the Pairs
Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
The parable of the poisoned arrow - undetermined questions
If a man was shot by a poisoned arrow, but refused to allow a doctor to cure him until he knew who shot the arrow, what it was made from, what type of poison it was and all the details about it, such a man would die before he received the answers.
The questions the man was asking were not relevant to his immediate situation and therefore it was dangerous for him to waste time seeking answers.
Theravada Buddhism
Believed the Shakyamuni Buddha was of the greatest importance
Want to be the same as him - role model for humans
