Key Buddhist Practices Flashcards
Dana - selfless giving
Starting point for lay Buddhists, taught by the Buddha when he first gained enlightenment
Way to combat the three poisons, particularly greed
Links to anatta (no-self) and the idea of letting go of self and selfishness
Giving to the monastic sangha
By giving to monks and nuns, Buddhists gain more than they give because they support the maintenance of the dhamma
Monks and nuns set an example of how to live, giving back to the lay community
Giving alms is believed to lead to a better rebirth
Giving to the wider community
Contributing towards printing books for free distribution or supporting Buddhist websites
Volunteering for the local sangha
Manchester Buddhist Centre
Punya - merit
Performing good actions with the right intentions
Most Buddhists want to direct the merit or good consequences from their worship out to others in the world to avoid selfishness
Gaining and transferring merit
In Theravada tradition, this can involve transferring the merit to those who are reborn in less fortunate realms such as the pretas (hungry ghosts) to help them to a better rebirth
A boy who becomes a novice or monk will share the merit with his mother, who will also gain merit from giving up her son and from her joy in his becoming part of the monastic sangha.
The three jewels - refuges
The Buddha
The Dhamma
The Sangha
Taking refuge in the Buddha
Trusting the historical person and to be grateful for his explanation of the dhamma
It also involves recognising the possibility of your own enlightenment and seeing in him an example of how human beings can escape suffering
Taking refuge in the Dhamma
Exploring the teachings of the Buddha, not just blindly following them. Only through proper understanding will Buddhists move towards enlightenment
The Buddha and the Dhamma are intimately linked. The Buddha said, ‘He who sees me sees the dhamma, he who sees the dhamma sees me.’
Taking refuge in the sangha
Sharing your spiritual journey with the Buddhist community
When the Buddha died, the Sangha were the guardians of the dhamma as the Buddha made clear that he would have no successor.
The Buddha said ‘be a lamp unto yourselves’ showing that the Sangha had to guide each other to enlightenment
Going for refuge in Theravada Buddhism
Forms part of the regular practice of chanting and helps Buddhists to reflect on the qualities of each ‘jewel’.
Going for refuge in Mahayana Buddhism
Different branches emphasise different Buddhas, for example in Pure Land Buddhism, the Buddha refuge focuses on Amitabha (Amida), in Zen Buddhism, the focus is on the Buddha-nature within all people.
Heritage Buddhists
Not really how the Buddha seemed to want people to practice. In Buddhism people are supposed to reflect carefully on the symbolism of the teachings and how they can be applied to everyday life, not just follow blindly
Convert Buddhists
Going for refuge is the first step to conversion
Signifies a change from a more mundane life to one which has spirituality at its heart. It is a commitment to look beyond the small boundaries of human life to a path based on unchanging spiritual principles and truths.
4 types of meditation
Samatha - calmness meditation
Metta Bhavana - lovingkindness meditation
Vipassina - insight meditation
Zazen - sitting meditation
Benefits of samatha meditation
Heightened powers of concentration
Mind is no longer taken over by doubts, fears and worries
Benefits of Vipassina meditation
Makes a Buddhist aware of the noble truths and marks of existence
Develops compassion
Samatha
Selecting an object to meditate on – usually the breath but sometimes a mantra (chant) or everyday object. The aim is to become engrossed in the object of meditation until you can no longer be distracted by either the outside world or thoughts that arise in your own mind.
Metta Bhavana
Develops 4 bramhaviharas
Vipassina
Separate out their experiences into categories of body, feelings, moods and thoughts. Beginning with the body, they may concentrate on breathing and focus on every minor bodily sensation without responding to it, thereby breaking the habit of stimulus and response.
Zazen
Sitting in a focused and mindful way and using intuition to understand that nibbana is here and now. The meditator is not trying to think.
Influence of the ‘Bon’ religion on Tibetan Buddhism
Focused on spirit-essences within a person and their close relationship to various deities
Teachers who brought it looked for a from of Buddhism that would fit in well with existing beliefs and practices
Moments of transition in life are charged with spiritual potential
Life after death - Tibetan Buddhism
Believe in ‘tulkus’
People are reincarnations of specific enlightened beings e.g. a guru or lama
Mantras
Recited in order to visualise celestial bodhisattva figures
Develop the spiritual qualities they represent
Om mani padme hum
Mantra associated with Avalokiteshvara
Six syllables are associated with the six perfections or the six realms of rebirth
Reflects the compassion of Avalokiteshvara
Use of mantras
May use prayer beads to count the repetitions
Activate the power of the mantra and generate karmic fruitfulness by using prayer wheels
Written on prayer flags - wind spreads compassion
Mudras
Symbolic hand gestures which evoke certain aspects of enlightenment
Buddhist art often entails a deity or Bodhisattva figure performing a specific mudra
In Vajrayana practice they work in three levels - body, speech and mind
Making mudras
Represents the mental state the Buddhist aims to create - giving the body a physical focus assisting the mind in meditation
Mandala
Used to portray the heavenly realm or ‘Pure Land’
The complexity of the symbol represents the complexity of the dhamma
The practitioner visualises themselves entering the mandala
Mandala - punya
A sand mandala is able to channel punya towards those who view it and the environment
Coloured sand is dispersed into flowing water as a way of spreading the punya generated
Form of meditation allowing them to contemplate these key ideas
The modern mindfulness movement
Originated in the 60s where people were experimenting with a range of ‘Eastern’ meditation techniques
Jon Kabat Zinn studied Buddhist teachings and found that these transformed their lives
He tried to link techniques from Buddhism with modern science to create a more secular form of mindfulness
Purpose of the mindfulness movement
We need to consider the health of the mind as well as the body
Reduce human suffering and promote wellbeing
Mindfulness in healthcare
Mindfulness based stress reduction
Proven to reduce the recurrence rate of depression by 40-50%
Reduces stress hormone levels, chronic pain, anxiety
Teachers from the Triratna order train NHS professionals
Mindfulness in schools
A way to develop more resilient individuals who can cope better with the modern world
Increased grades and more pro social behaviour
Reduces indications of depression, anxiety and stress among secondary age pupils
Mindfulness in businesses
A way of helping workers manage stress
Enhances performance and wellbeing
Leads to more productive workers
Mindfulness as a business
Big companies have embraced mindfulness training - Google, LinkedIn, Ford
McMindfulness
order of interbeing
dedicated themselves to mindfulness, ethical behaviour, and compassionate action
observed the 14 precepts of engaged Buddhism (mindfulness trainings)
14 mindfulness trainings
openness
non-attachment to views
freedom of thought
awareness of suffering
compassionate, healthy living
taking care of anger
dwelling happily in the present moment
true community and communication
truthful and loving speech
protecting and nourishing the sangha
right livelihood
reverence for life
generosity
right conduct
developments of socially engaged Buddhism
using media to get their message across
TNH set up the Plum Village to develop the order of interbeing
Buddhist women’s organisation
Buddhist peace fellowship
wanted to bring a Buddhist perspective into the global peace movement
draws on Buddhist teachings of non-violence
campaigns to protect the environment, end war and violence
Joanne Macy
everything is interconnected
she combines many key Buddhist beliefs about the nature of reality with the imperative this places on us as humans to act to change the suffering cause by the Industrial Growth Society
Sakyadhita
international Buddhist Women’s association
improves opportunities for women in education, health etc
provides training in conflict resolution
wants to change the roles of women
