BUDDHISM

What’s (Not) In Your Mind? All things come at first from MIND Mind creates them, mind fulfills them Speak or act with tainted mind, You’ll drag around a cart of pain Speak or act with lucid mind And joy will follow like your shadow. The Dhammapada

The whole aim of Eastern religion is to shift self-identity from the light bulb to the light – Joseph Campbell Enlightenment

Big Questions How can we be happy? What prevents it? To Hell in a Hand Basket or Heaven on Earth? Buddhism – A Raft out of Hell? Did you know you’re my Hero’s Journey? What’s funny bout peace, love and understanding? Dr. Buddha: Dukkhalogist - 8-fold Path What’s (not) in your Mind? The Jewel’s in the What? WWBK – What would Buddha know?

Same Goal? “The only thing that is unqualifiedly good is extended vision, the enlargement of one’s understanding of the ultimate nature of things” (8). What is the nature of things? What is the state of the world? Story – “Birdsnest”

“Fire and Ice” Robert Frost Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great, And would suffice. “Fire and Ice” Robert Frost

Fear and Desire – The Only Way? “The Last Flower” Gandhi – “I know a way out of hell” Story – “Heaven and Hell” Buddha – “I teach suffering and the end of suffering”

The Three Poisons Aversion/Hatred/Fear Delusion/Ignorance Grasping/Desire Aversion/Hatred/Fear Delusion/Ignorance Cause all suffering Reflect Personality types

Buddhist View of Life A. 6 senses - Sights, Sounds, Tastes, Smells, Physical perceptions, Mental perceptions B. 6 accompanying consciousnesses – Sight and the seeing of it, etc. C. 52 feeling/thought reactions/responses (26 wise, 26 unwise) interplaying between sense experiences and consciousness

Wise and Unwise Responses to Life Unwise/Unskillful Hatred Jealousy Fear Anger etc. Wise/Skillful Love Compassion Generosity Openness Tranquility Equanimity, etc.

Two Ways of Living Unwise/Unskillful – Wandering about at the whim of every desire, impulse, emotion, like a stick in a river, moody etc. 2. Wise/Skillful/Enlightened – intentional, deliberate, skillful, wise, etc. Quick Write - Name a person from your life, from a story, or from history or news that you would describe as “enlightened” or “wise” and give specifics Repeat for someone “unenlightened” or “unwise”

Gandhi’s morning prayer Let our first act in the morning be to resolve such as this: I shall not fear anyone on earth I shall fear only that which is sacred I will not bear ill will towards anyone I shall not submit to injustice I shall conquer untruth by truth I shall conquer hatred by love And in resting in truth I shall bear all suffering And bring freedom of spirit to my own heart and all those that I touch

Others Love your enemies – Jesus Meet physical force with soul force – MLK Make me an instrument of your peace – St. Francis of Assisi Buddhist Quotes – page 3 in packet Okay, but how?

“Buddhism is a voyage across life’s river –a transport from the common sense shore of ignorance, grasping and death to the further bank of wisdom and enlightenment” (144).

Wisdom? “What is the wisdom we’ve lost in knowledge?” Socrates = poster boy for Western Wisdom – what did he know? “All I know is that I do not know” Oracle at Delphi – Know Thyself What did Buddha discover?

Goal – Mindfulness/Awareness/ Enlightenment “The more deeply we pay attention the more deeply we experience that we do not exist separate from the sunlight or the clouds or the earthworms…To the extent that we have learned to grasp and identify with this limited life, we suffer. The amount of our identification with it is our delusion, our suffering.” Jack Kornfield

Big Ideas It’s all in the MIND Consciousness/ Awareness/Mindfulness/Enlightenment Life is suffering caused by 1) Selfish Desire/ Grasping, 2) Fear/ Aversion, and 3) Ignorance/ Delusion Empty Self thru 8fold Path, Middle Way The Jewel is in the Lotus Buddha nature and the Nirvanic World

BUDDHA "What are you"? "I am Awake” "Buddha" = the Awakened, the Enlightened Siddhartha Gautama 563-483 B.C.E. Nepal/India Sakyamuni (silent sage) “Wisdom Incarnate”

The Man Who Woke Up A man “judged by hundreds of millions of people, from Ceylon [Sri Lanka] to Japan, and throughout large sections of the Asian mainland, to have exerted by his intellectual integrity, moral persuasiveness and spiritual insight, the most pervasive influence on the thought and life of the human race.” – Del Byron Schneider "The rest of us dream the dream known as the awakened state of human life"

Classic Hero’s Journey I. Prince, 4 Passing Sights, Great Going Forth – Quest, find the cause of suffering II. Finds Middle Way, Temptations Enlightenment under Bodhi Tree – finds cause and end of suffering III. Returns with a mission to preach a religion of wisdom and compassion

Four Passing Sights Journal –Mindblower old man - aging sick people - disease corpse - death monk - withdrawal "Life is subject to age and death - where is the realm of life in which there is neither?" Fleshly pleasures lose their charm, so at 29 goes into forest

The Great Going Forth Learns Raja Yoga w Hindu Gurus Tries austerity of ascetics - didn't work to bring enlightenment, but did lead him to principle of The Middle Way – like a string on an instrument

Enlightenment Sits under peepul/Bo tree (bodhi=knowledge) Gaya in NE India Vows - “Let my skin and sinews and bones become dry…. all the flesh and blood in my body dry up, but never from this seat will I stir, until I have attained the supreme and absolute wisdom.”

Temptation (like Christ’s on the eve of his ministry) 1. Kama - desire - babes 2. Mara - death - empties finite self Mara challenges his right to be there - Buddha touches the earth to bear witness Lost in rapture for 7 days, tries to get up, overcome by waves of bliss, stays 7x7 days 3. Mara appeals to reason, don't go back - "How show what can only be found, teach what can only be learned?” Buddha replies – “Some will understand.”

Mission Lives message Preaches 50 years - withdraws 6 yrs, preaches 45. 3 mos, preaches 9. 3x/day Dies c.483 B.C. at 80 Last words - "Work out your own salvation with diligence."

The Silent Sage Sakyamuni - silent sage of the Sakya Clan “One of the greatest personalities of all time” – Smith “Wisdom incarnate” - cool head/ rational (like Socrates) and warm heart of “infinite compassion”(like Francis) transforming presence - moved among kings and villagers with equal ease, took no notice of caste

The Rebel Saint Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism sprang fully formed as an Indian Protestantism against Hindu perversions 6 Common Elements of Religion that were corrupted 1.      Authority 2.      Ritual – (“People danced out their religion before they thought it out”) 3.      Speculation – metaphysics 4.      Tradition 5.      Grace 6.      Mystery What started was a religion almost entirely devoid of each of these ingredients without which we would suppose that religion could not take root.

Original Buddhism Empirical - know for yourself, validate Scientific - cause and effect experiments Practical - not speculative Therapeutic - suffering and its end Psychological – v. metaphysical - began with human problems instead of universe Egalitarian - women equal, caste breaking Individuals - Be lamps unto yourselves, work out your own salvation with diligence

Numerical too and Useful 2 Ways of Living 3 Poisons 3 Marks of Existence 3 Jewels 4 Noble Truths 4 Foundations of Mindfulness 5 Precepts 5 Skandhas 5 Hindrances 6 Senses 6 Accompanying Consciousnesses 6 Moments of Dukkha 7 Factors of Enlightenment 8 Fold Path 52 Skillful and Unskillful Responses To Life "Suffering have I explained - for this is useful“ its cause, destruction and path that leads to its destruction.

Kalama Sutta "Do not accept what you hear by report, do not accept tradition, do not accept a statement because it is found in our books, nor because it is in accord with your beliefs, not because it is the saying of your teacher. Be lamps unto yourselves. Those who either now or after I am dead, still rely upon themselves only and not look for assistance to anyone besides themselves, it is they who will reach the topmost height.“

The Four Noble Truths Buddha’s First Sermon

Dr. Buddha - Dukkhalogist Symptom: Dukkha – suffering, transitory, finite existence, life out of joint Diagnosis: Tanha – cause of suffering is desire/selfish craving based on egoism. Private fulfillment increases separateness. Tanha - always present when suffering is present, always absent when suffering is absent Prognosis: To cure Dukkha, get rid of Tanha - release from the narrow limits of self-interest into vast expanse of human life – How? Remedy/Prescription: The Eightfold Path

Mindfulness Journal Quick Writes 1. Who do you surround yourself with? List people who enlighten you, people who drag you down. 2. Write about a moment you had today when you felt Anxious, stressed, nervous, dissatisfied, wanting, etc. OR Peaceful, calm, relaxed, fulfilled, happy, etc.

More Mindfulness Journal Quickies Stop and listen – what are you aware of about yourself or your surroundings of which you weren’t aware until you paid attention? 4. What is most on your mind? 5. What are you aware of about yourself or your world at this point of your life of which you were not aware as a child?

Dukkha = life out of joint Trauma of birth Sickness Aging Fear of death Being tied to what you hate Being separated from what you love

The Remedy - The Eightfold Path intentional living, rather than pulled and pushed by impulse and circumstance series of changes designed to release the individual from ignorance, impulse and Tanha Preliminary - Begin with Right Association - yoke wild elephant to tamed

The Eightfold Path – Right… Belief – Noble Truths – make up mind, then… Intent - …Make up our hearts, dedicate Speech –3 switches control us, become aware of what our speech reveals about us, of how many times and why we deviate from truth or kindness, of motives Conduct - understand motives before trying to change behavior - how generous/selfless, follow 5 Precepts Livelihood - what occupies our time. Promote life Effort – Middle Way, slow and steady, like an ox Mindfulness – Be aware, awake, conscious Concentration - Raja Yoga regeneration - change into a new creature who experiences the world in different way.

Five Precepts Buddhist version of the Ten Commandments (2nd half) Knowing how deeply our lives intertwine, I undertake the training to abstain from: Killing living beings Taking things not given Sexual misconduct False speech Intoxicating drinks and drugs

All in your Mind? The Dhammapada: "All we are is the result of what we have thought." "All things can be mastered by mindfulness.“ “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so” – Hamlet For Buddha ignorance, not sin, is the offender - sin is prompted by fundamental ignorance of our true nature

Continuous self-awareness/examination - freedom from unconscious, robot-like existence See everything as it is - "If we maintain a steady attention to our thoughts and feelings, we perceive that they swim in and out of our awareness, and are in no way permanent parts of us…." "We should witness all things non-reactively, especially our moods and emotions, neither condemning some nor holding onto others."

Ways to practice Mindfulness Meditate on fearful and disgusting sights until they no longer bother us or repel us Pervade world with thoughts of loving kindness become aware of every action - when sleep takes over, whether breath is in or out special routine for complete withdrawal Packet page 17 and 18 Mindfulness Experiment - Speech and Action

Buddha's Insights 1. Every emotion, thought or image is accompanied by a body sensation and vice versa 2. Obsessive patterns arise in mind and these constitute misery/dukkha 3. Every mental and physical state is in flux, none is solid and enduring, even pain - each is comprised of series of discrete sensations that can suddenly change. 4. We have little control over our minds and physical sensations 5. There is nobody behind the mental/physical events No Self? No Observer? What up wit dat?

3 Marks of Existence Anicca - transitoriness/impermanence Dukkha – suffering Anatta - absence of permanent identity/soul

“All Things Must Pass” by George Harrison Sunrise doesn’t last all morning A cloudburst doesn’t last all day Seems my love has up and has left you with no warning It’s not always going to be this way All things must pass All things must pass away Sunset doesn’t last all evening A mind can blow those clouds away After all this, my love is up and must be leaving It’s not always going to be this grey

Anicca - Impermanence All Things Must Pass Regard this world: “As a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering lamp – a phantom - and a dream.” This applies to the self too – hence:

Anatta – No Soul doctrine No soul/permanent self. What gets reborn? “Bad habits” – Desire/Fear threads each life to past and future No spiritual substance/soul transmitted - but ideas, impressions, feelings, consciousness, memories Desires and dislikes influencing my mind have lineages Not bound by personal history - can break the chain through will

Karma, Tanha, Samsara, Buddha's reincarnation differed from Hindus who attribute rebirth to Karma Buddhists to Tanha - "as long as the wish to be a separate self persists, that wish would be granted. Desire is key - it is possible to step permanently out of the cycle of rebirth whenever one wished wholeheartedly to do so."

Nirvana?

Arhat who extinguishes all desires - reborn doesn't apply, not reborn doesn't apply. Response to disciple: You ought to be bewildered - this is "profound, recondite, hard to comprehend, rare, excellent, beyond dialectic, subtle, only to be understood by the wise." Supra-sonic? "blow out/extinguish" boundaries of finite self, left w/ boundless life Nirvana

Far transcends the power of words - individual awareness is eclipsed in the blazing light of total awareness like a star at sunrise "Some say the dewdrop slips into the shining sea - others prefer to think of the dewdrop opening to receive the sea itself.“ "life of the Arhat is of increasing independence from the causal order of nature“ Spiritual freedom brings largeness of life - Buddha "embodied more of reality.“ If increased freedom brings increased being, total freedom brings BEING itself.

Big Raft and Little Schism (split) btw Mahayana + Theravada Two Schools - both Yana - raft or ferry - both claim to carry people across life's shores to enlightenment Maha - great, (Mahatma - Great souled), Hina - little Mahayana - "Buddhism for the people" - Big Raft - linked to the Buddha's "Great Renunciation" Hinayana - Little Raft - Theravada - Way of the Elders - linked to teachings in text

“There Are Two Kinds of People?” 1. Are people dependent or interdependent 2. Is the universe friendly/helpful or indifferent/hostile 3. Is the best part of a human being the head or the heart? -Classicists rank thoughts above feelings, Romantics the opposite “There Are Two Kinds of People?”

Theraveda / Hinayana Mahayana Where Sri Lank, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia China, Korea, Japan, Tibet How Buddha’s vision of society: Monarchy, monastic community (Sangha), laity Grafted onto pre-existent civilizations Focus Wisdom Compassion Buddha’s Example Entering Nirvana Great Renunciation of Nirvana to preach The Ideal Arhat – holy monk who remains in Nirvana after death Bodhisattva (wisdom being) who passes up Nirvana and vows to help all beings achieve enlightenment Goal Attainment of Nirvana requires constant attention of monks, support of laity Religious practice is relevant to everyone

Bodhisattva One whose Being – (Sattva) is Illumination – (Bodhi) Focus on Buddha’s renunciation of Nirvana to teach – on his compassion Buddha as saint

Zen School of Buddhist thought and training in Japan Zen = Japanese mispronuncing of Ch’an = Chinese mispronuncing of Dhyana = Sanskrit for contemplation Special transmission outside scripture – from Buddha mind to Buddha mind – a succession of teachers Zen

Buddha holds a golden lotus – understood by none except Mahakayapa – passes down in India through 28 patriarchs and carried to China in 520 A.D. by Bodhidharma The Lotus Sermon

Words, Words, Words like stepping through Alice's looking glass - topsy-turvy wonderland Designed to break limits of normal human reason/logic, (Logic is a ladder), to blast through limitations of language – words are inadequate, Beyond words and ideas to experiences and realization (Enlightenment) = Satori

Three aspects of Zen Training 1. Zazen – seated meditation 2. Koan – logic-breaking riddles 3. Sanzen – conference with master – validates, encourages, corrects

Koan shortest one night, longest 12 years. “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Reason is limited, a ladder too short to reach to truth’s full heights and must be supported by another way of knowing Zen intends to upset the mind, unbalance it and eventually provoke revolt against limits of logic. Koan provokes, excites, exasperates and eventually exhausts the mind, reducing it to an impasse – must count on a sudden flash of insight

Satori - Enlightenment See “being’s amazingness” “each equally a manifestation of the infinite” – trees, leaves, *%#@stick Life is Beautiful Jewel is in the Lotus, (X in O) Unity of Buddha nature within w/ Nirvanic world without “widen the doors of perception so that the wonder of the Satori experience can flood the everyday world.”

Zen’s Influence on Japan Landscape painting Landscape gardening – rock gardens Martial arts Tea Ceremony Haiku

Haiku I look in a dragonfly’s eye And see the mountains Over my shoulder   The flower I saw Drift back to the branch Was a butterfly

Conduits Exp. of oneness with all, bliss thru self-emptying, transformative experience of seeing world differently “The Art of Attention” Kobe, Curt, Caddyshack, Karate Kid “Love, and do what you will” – St. Augustine If you can’t find enlightenment in doing the dishes…

Tibetan Buddhism Mandala

Nirvana in single life-use all hum. energies Sounds, sights, motion can distract, but it doesn’t follow that they must. Channel physical energies into currents that carry spirit forward instead of derailing it. Mantras – convert noise and distracting chatter into holy formulae Mudras – choreographed hand gestures Mandalas – treat the eyes to icons whose holy beauty draws the beholder in their direction  

Prayer Flags Mantra Om Mane Padme Hung The Jewel is in the Lotus Also a form of the name for the Bodhisattva of compassion

The Dalai Lama Bodhisattva – not pope or god-king Incarnates compassion Uninterrupted current of spiritual influence – “As rainforests are to the earth’s atmosphere, someone has said, so are the Tibetan people to the human spirit in this time of its planetary ordeal” (144). The Dalai Lama

The Three Jewels (Vows) I take refuge in the Buddha I take refuge in the Dharma (8-fold path) I take refuge in the Sangha (community of Buddhists)

The Crossing After reaching the other shore – leave raft, 5 precepts, 8fold path, dukkha, karma, nirvana – all vital to those crossing, but lose relevance to those who have arrived as a raft does on land. World is an activity of Nirvana itself – not the slightest distinction exists between them good and evil disappear Earth is the lotus land, this body is Buddha’s Bodhisattva’s vow not to enter Nirvana “until the grass itself be enlightened.” River connects the banks, rather than divides them Buddhism prominent in all Asian lands except India, which subsumed it, Buddhism sank back into the stream

Thich Nhat Hanh Vietnamese Zen Monk Nominated by MLK in 1967 for Nobel Peace Prize for work rebuilding villages destroyed in Vietnam War