Ryokan

Are there any buddhist scriptures?

Buddhist scriptures The Tipitaka (literally “three baskets”) is the collection of primary text of Theravada Buddhism preserved in the ancient Indian language of Pali. In English translation the Tipitaka cover some 20,000 printed pages. The Tipitaka is divided into three sections: The Vinaya Pitaka The collection of texts containing the code of discipline for monks and nuns, and the instructions for governance of monastic affairs. The latter includes, for example, sections on the monastic etiquette, ceremonies and the correct relationship to the “four requisites”: robe, alms-food, dwelling-place, and medicines, as well as procedures for ordination of new members and resolving […]

is buddhism a religion or a philosophy

Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy?

Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy? Buddhism can be puzzling for someone brought up within one of the great monotheistic traditions such as Christianity or Islam. Although Buddhist traditions give a place to devotion and ceremony, Buddhism has no dogmas, no single great book. It involves no worship of a god. What Buddhism does have is a mass of teachings that in other traditions would be considered to lie within the realm of philosophy or psychology. For this reason there has been much doubts as to whether Buddhism is a religion at all. Buddhism certainly does not fit into […]

What are defilements?

Defilements The untrained mind is prey to many mental states (defilements) that sully its natural radiance. These include the various forms of greed, jealousy, anger, hatred and animosity, dullness and agitation, complacency, confusion, arrogance, contempt and conceit, and blind attachment to views and beliefs. Fortunately, none of these mental states is ‘hard-wired’ into the mind; every one may be eliminated through practice of the Eightfold Path. These negative, harmful mental states are called “kilesa” in the Pali language, usually rendered in English as “defilements” In this [FAQ about Buddhism] the term “toxic mental states” has been preferred to “defilement”. The […]

How does one become a Buddhist?

Practically speaking, someone becomes a Buddhist when, having taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, they start to apply themselves to the study and application of the Buddha’s teachings in their lives. In Buddhist counties such as Thailand there have never been specific ceremonies in which people may formally affirm their devotion to Buddhism. This may be to some extent because Buddhism is not a religion based on the adoption of certain beliefs; and also partly because, there being no Buddhist proselytism, there have been few new converts. For better or worse, people have generally taken their Buddhist identity […]

What does it mean to “let go”?

The Buddha taught us to observe how we constantly create suffering for ourselves by grasping onto the body and its senses, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, emotions as being “me” or “mine”. Learning how to abandon that habit is learning how to “let go”. It is not possible through an act of will. Letting go occurs naturally when the trained mind is keen enough to perceive that there is nothing to be found in our direct experience which corresponds to the concept of “me” and “mine”. “Me” and “mine” are not, however, mere illusions; they are extremely useful social conventions, and the […]

Is it correct that Buddhism teaches us to give up all desires?

Buddhism distinguishes two kinds of desire: the first (tanha) to be abandoned and the second (chanda) to be cultivated. Tanha is the desire that arises from a basic misunderstanding of the way things are: perceiving permanence, happiness and selfhood where they do not exist. Desire for the pleasures to be had through getting, getting rid and becoming is tanha. Tanha leads to personal suffering and is the basis of almost all social ills. Chanda is the desire that arises from a correct understanding of the way things are. At its heart lies the aspiration for truth and goodness. Desire to […]

But isn’t Buddhism all about suffering?

The Buddha said that all of his teachings, traditionally numbered as 84,000, could be reduced to just two: dukkha and the end of dukkha. Suffering, in its sense of physical or mental distress, is only the coarsest expression of dukkha. The relationship between the English word “suffering” and the Pali concept of dukkha is comparable to that between bright red and color. Dukkha could also be translated as a chronic sense of lack, or a flaw or incompleteness of experience. In this sense, dukkha is experience seen as “not-Nibbana”. For this reason, the most subtle and sublime mental states are […]

Is Buddhism a pessimistic religion?

Pessimism, in its most common usage, means “a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future” and as a philosophical position “a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good”. Neither of these meanings applies to Buddhist teachings. The Buddha taught that all things arise and pass away in accordance with causes and conditions. If the causes and conditions for the worst to happen prevail in a particular situation, then the worst will […]

It is sometime said that Buddhism is a science. What does that mean?

There are parallels between Buddhist contemplative practices and the scientific method, with the rejection of blind faith and the emphasis on unbiased investigation of phenomena essential to both modes of inquiry. However, there are also differences. In its investigations science is limited to the study of that which is publicly verifiable, can be measured, and can be repeated at will. Introspective inquiries carried on by Buddhist meditators are not. Most scientists today take as basic premises for their work a number of unproven assertions that Buddhist cannot agree with. Most notable among these is the belief that the mind is […]

What is merit?

Merit (puñña) refers to the inner purification that occurs through virtuous acts of body, speech and mind. Meritorious actions elevate and ennoble the mind, and are accompanied by a sense of well-being. In Thailand the popular idiom “making merit” (tham boon) usually refers to making offerings to the monastic order. Such offerings, if given with the right motivation, may indeed be meritorious, but merit is not restricted to such acts. Generous actions are meritorious because they reduce the power of selfish attachment, and teach us the joy of giving. Keeping precepts is meritorious because it weakens the compulsion to harm […]

Meet the monk: Ajahn Sucitto

Ajahn Succito was born in London in 1949. He received bikkhu ordination in 1976 in Thailand, came to Britain in 1978 and was part of the original group established Cittaviveka under Ajahn Sumedho in 1979. Ajahn Sucitto helped establish Harnham Vihara in 1981, then Amaravati in 1984, and in 1992 became the third abbot of Cittaviveka, where he remains today.   “When you handle the present with mindfulness, the future will be conditioned by awareness”   “Samadhi arises- not of forcing the mind onto the breath but out of a relationship of ease, contentment, trust, and steadiness”   “True relationship […]

Did the Buddha possess psychic powers?

The Buddha possessed many extraordinary psychic powers. Psychic powers may (but do not always) result from intensive training of the mind, and even today, there are advanced meditators who possess such powers. The Buddha used his psychic powers sparingly, usually as a teaching aid when all other method would be ineffective, the most renowned example occurring in his meeting with the notorious murderer, Angulimala. The Buddha considered that the faith people gained from seeing ‘miracles’ usually led them away from the path of wisdom rather than towards it. For this reason, he prohibited monks with psychic powers from revealing them […]

What proof is there that Buddha existed?

-Archaeological evidence provides strong empirical proof of the Buddha as a historical figure. -Many of the monasteries and cities mentioned in the Buddha’s discourses have been located. -Buddha relics have been recovered from sited mentioned in the texts. -The independently-dated Buddhist emperor Asoka has carved and inscribed sandstone columns erected throughout his vast empire- a number of which survive to this day- the refer extensively to the Buddha. -There is much circumstantial evidence in the primary texts. -The cohesion and lack of inner contradiction in the Buddha’s discourses together with the likely detailed prescriptions for the ordering of the monastic […]

Was the Buddha a human being?

Prince Siddhartha was a human being. On the night that he realized supreme enlightenment he became a Buddha, and from that moment onwards was a human being- in the normal meaning of that term- no longer. To uninitiated eyes, the Buddha would have appeared as an immensely charismatic and commanding religious leader, one who died a normal human death at the age of eighty. Those with more developed faculties, however, were aware that no external appearance, no words, concepts or categories could come anywhere near to expressing the marvelous and undying nature of his Buddhahood. More Questions and Answers HERE […]

What does “Buddha” mean?

The word Buddha means “the awakened one”. The Buddha taught that the unenlightened human being lives in a state that may be compared to sleep or to a dream. Through the clear light of wisdom, and completely unaided, the Buddha is the one who has awakened from that dream to the true nature of existence. Guided by compassion, the Buddha is the one who has sought to share his understanding of the path to awakening with all beings who wish to follow in his footsteps.  More Questions and Answers HERE Source:  Without and Within – Ajahn Jayasaro