Buddha

Is it necessary to join the monastic order to realize enlightenment?

Is it necessary to join the monastic order to realize enlightenment? The Sangha was established by the Buddha specifically in order to provide the optimum conditions for those men and women wishing to commit themselves wholeheartedly to his path of awakening. For this reason, the Sangha is the most supportive vocation for those truly serious about Buddhist practice. However, not everyone is suited to monastic life, and many people serious about Buddhist practice have obligations that make ordination impossible. Fortunately for those who cannot or do not wish to lead a monastic life, following the path to enlightenment as a […]

Why did the Buddha allow monks to eat meat?

Why did the Buddha allow monks to eat meat? The first and most important reason is that eating meat is not, in itself, considered blameworthy. The Buddha allowed monks to eat meat if they had not seen, heard or suspected that any living beings had been killed specifically to make the dish for them. In such a case, having made no direct contribution to the death of the creature, monks made no kamma by consuming its flesh. The Buddha neither forbade monks to practice vegetarianism, nor praise it. His teachings on food focused on the importance of eating easily digestible […]

What is the Vinaya?

What is the Vinaya? The Vinaya is the name given to the compendium of training rules, protocols, procedures and duties laid down by the Buddha for the monastic order. The Vinaya is intended to maintain harmony within amongst monastic communities and to create the optimum conditions for the practice of Dhamma by each individual monk. The heart of the Vinaya is the Patimokkha, the 227 rules which constitute the basic code of discipline. The Patimokkha is divided into a number of sections. The first consists of four expulsion offenses: sexual intercourse, stealing, killing a human being, making bogus claims of […]

Why do Buddhist monastics shave their heads?

Why do Buddhist monastics shave their heads? Hair is a major focus of the human desire to beautify the body and project a particular image in the world. Monastics shave their heads as an expression of their aspiration to renounce personal vanity. Doing so server as a reminder to themselves and others that now they have left the world. The sight of a Buddhist monastic in brown robes and shaven head is a memorable one. People seeing them may became curious or intrigued, feel uplifted, be reminded of the need to be alert and awake. Thus Buddhist monastics propagate the […]

What is the meaning of not-self?

What is the meaning of not-self? The unenlightened person assumes that there is a permanent independent entity behind our experience, and that this entity is our self, who we really are. We take for granted that this “me” is the one who sees, who thinks, who feels, who hears, who talks, who acts. The Buddha taught that this understanding of who we are is mistaken, based upon a certain fundamental misperceptions, and is the root of cause of human suffering. Buddhism teaches that far from being the solid center of experience, the sense of self is created moment by moment, […]

What does Buddhism teach about heaven and hell?

What does Buddhism teach about heaven and hell? {311} “Just as kusa grass if badly held cuts that very hand, so also, the ill-led life of a Bhikkhu drags that Bhikkhu down to niraya.” Heaven and hell are considered to be two realms of existence. Birth in one of these realms occurs as the result of volitional actions. Although the lifespan of one born into one of the realms is very long, it does ultimately come to an end. It is for this reason that the desire to be born in heaven after death is considered unwise. Heaven is a […]

What does Buddhism say about rebirth?

What does Buddhism say about rebirth? In the early hours of the night on which Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened, he found himself capable of recollecting an immense number of past lives. In the middle part of the night he found himself able to follow the wanderings of beings through different realms over many lifetimes, and thus to verify the law of kamma. These unimaginably intense experiences so undermined the deep-seated foundations of toxicity in his mind, and so enhanced the power of his contemplations, that by dawn he had become a fully enlightened Buddha. Throughout his teaching career the Buddha […]

Law of kamma

What, in a nutshell, is the law of kamma?

What, in a nutshell, is the law of kamma? The Buddha said that the essence of kamma is intention. The law of kamma (or in Sanskrit: karma) expresses the moral dimension of the law of cause and effect. Any intentional action performed through body, speech, or mind produces results consistent with that intention. Put most simply: good actions have good results; bad actions have bad results. Actions provoked by toxic mental states rooted in greed, hatred and delusion contribute to future suffering. Actions flowing from wisdom and compassion contribute to future happiness. Is everything that happens in our life meant […]

How long does it take to get enlightened?

How long does it take to get enlightened? This question may be answered with an old story: A monk is walking through the countryside. He asks an old lady sitting by the side of the road how long it will take him to get to the mountain. She ignores him. He asks her again and she ignores him again. And so for a third time. The monk assumes that the woman must be deaf. As he walks on he hears her shout out: “Seven days!” The monk return to the woman: “grandmother, I asked you this question three times and […]

How much confidence can be placed in the authenticity of the Buddhist texts?

How much confidence can be placed in the authenticity of the Buddhist texts? The oral transmission of Buddhist texts may well have been strength rather than a weakness. When texts are preserved by groups of monastics chanting them together at regular intervals, the likelihood of errors of omission or deliberate amendments is minimized. While it must be acknowledged that there can be no unshakeable evidence for the authenticity of the Buddhist texts, there are nonetheless a number of good reasons to place confidence in them. Firstly, as explained earlier there is an inner coherence and lack of contradiction in the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]