An Introduction to Buddhism

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An Introduction to Buddhism

• To do no evil
• To cultivate good
• To purify one's mind
• This is the teaching of the Buddhas.
• --The Dhammapada

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The Buddha's World
http//webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/ganges.html
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Buddhism and China

• Legend has it that the Chinese Emperor Ming Ti
  had a dream which led him to send his agents down
  the Silk Road -- the ancient trade route between
  China and the west -- to discover its meaning. 
  The agents returned with a picture of the Buddha
  and a copy of the Sutra in 42 Sections.  This
  Sutra would, in 67 ad, be the first of many to be
  translated into Chinese.
• The first Buddhist community in China is thought
  to be one in Loyang, established by "foreigners"
  around 150 ad, in the Han dynasty. Only 100 years
  later, there emerges a native Chinese Sangha. 
  And during the Period of Disunity (or Era of the
  Warring States, 220 to 589 ad), the number of
  Buddhist monks and nuns increase to as many as
  two million!  Apparently, the uncertain times and
  the misery of the lower classes were fertile
  ground for the monastic traditions of Buddhism.

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Buddhism and China cont.

• Buddhism did not come to a land innocent of
  religion and philosophy, of course.  China, in
  fact, had three main competing streams of
  thought  Confucianism, Taoism, and folk
  religion.  Confucianisim is essentially a
  moral-political philosophy, involving a complex
  guide to human relationships.  Taoism is a
  life-philosophy involving a return to simpler and
  more "natural" ways of being.  And the folk
  religion -- or, should we say, religions --
  consisted of rich mythologies, superstitions,
  astrology, reading of entrails, magic, folk
  medicine, and so on.  (Please understand that I
  am simplifying here  Certainly Confucianism and
  Taoism are as sophisticated as Buddhism!)
• Although these various streams sometimes competed
  with each other and with Buddhism, they also fed
  each other, enriched each other, and intertwined
  with each other.  Over time, the Mahayana of
  India became the Mahayana of China and, later, of
  Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

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Buddhism Japan

• Again, we begin with the legendary  A delegation
  arrived from Korea with gifts for the Emperor of
  Japan in 538 ad., including a bronze Buddha and
  various Sutras.  Unfortunately a plague led the
  Emperor to believe that the traditional gods of
  Japan were annoyed, so he had the gifts thrown
  into a canal!  But the imperial court on the
  600's, in their constant effort to be as
  sophisticated as the courts of their
  distinguished neighbors, the Chinese, continued
  to be drawn to Buddhism.
• Although starting as a religion of the upper
  classes, in the 900's, Pure Land entered the
  picture as the favorite of the peasant and
  working classes.  And in the 1200's, Ch'an,
  relabeled Zen, came into Japan, where it was
  enthusiastically adopted by, among others, the
  warrior class or Samurai.
• Zen was introduced into Japan by two particularly
  talented monks who had gone to China for their
  educations  Eisai (1141-1215) brought Lin-chi
  (J Rinzai) Ch'an, with its koans and
  occasionally outrageous antics  Dogen
  (1200-1253) brought the more sedate Ts'ao-tung
  (J Soto) Ch'an.  In addition, Dogen is
  particularly admired for his massive treatise,
  the Shobogenzo.

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Buddhism Japan cont.

• Ch'an has always had an artistic side to it.  In
  China and elsewhere, a certain simple, elegant
  style of writing and drawing developed among the
  monks.  In Japan, this became an even more
  influential aspect of Zen.  We have, for example,
  the poetry, calligraphy, and paintings of various
  monks -- Bankei (1622-1698), Basho (1644-1694),
  Hakuin (1685-1768), and Ryokan (1758-1831) --
  which have become internationally beloved.
• One last Japanese innovation is usually
  attributed to a somewhat unorthodox monk named
  Nichiren (1222-1282).  Having been trained in the
  Tendai or White Lotus tradition, he came to
  believe that the Lotus Sutra carried all that was
  necessary for Buddhist life.  More than that, he
  believed that even the name of the Sutra was
  enough!  So he encouraged his students to chant
  this mantra  Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, which means
  "homage to the Lotus Sutra."  This practice alone
  would ensure enlightenment in this life.  In
  fact, he insisted, all other forms of Buddhism
  were of little worth.  Needless to say, this was
  not appreciated by the Buddhist powers of the
  day.  He spent the rest of his life in relative
  isolation.  The Nichiren School nevertheless
  proved to be one of the most successful forms of
  Buddhism on the planet!

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Buddhism The West

• It was in the latter half of the 1800's that
  Buddhism first came to be known in the west.  The
  great European colonial empires brought the
  ancient cultures of India and China back to the
  attention of the intellectuals of Europe. 
  Scholars began to learn Asian languages and
  translate Asian texts.  Adventurers explored
  previously shut-off places and recorded the
  cultures.  Religious enthusiasts enjoyed the
  exotic and mystical tone of the Asian traditions.
  
• In England, for example, societies sprang up for
  devotees of "orientalia," such as T. W. Rhys
  Davids' Pali Text Society and T. Christmas
  Humphreys' Buddhist Society.  Books were
  published, such as Sir Edwin Arnold's epic poem
  The Light of Asia (1879).  And the first western
  monks began to make themselves know, such as
  Allan Bennett, perhaps the very first, who took
  the name Ananda Metteya.  In Germany and France
  as well, Buddhism was the rage.
• In the United States, there was a similar flurry
  of interest.  First of all, thousands of Chinese
  immigrants were coming to the west coast in the
  late 1800's, many to provide cheap labor for the
  railroads and other expanding industries.  Also,
  on the east coast, intellectuals were reading
  about Buddhism in books by Europeans.  One
  example was  Henry Thoreau, who, among other
  things, translated a French translation of a
  Buddhist Sutra into English.

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Buddhism The West cont.

• A renewal of interest came during World War II,
  during which many Asian Buddhists -- such as the
  Zen author D. T. Suzuki -- came to England and
  the U.S., and many European Buddhists -- such as
  the Zen author Alan Watts -- came to the U.S.  As
  these examples suggest, Zen Buddhism was
  particularly popular, especially in the U.S.,
  where it became enmeshed in the Beatnik artistic
  and literary movement as "beat Zen."
• One by one, European and Americans who studied in
  Asia returned with their knowledge and founded
  monasteries and societies, Asian masters came to
  Europe and America to found monasteries, and the
  Asian immigrant populations from China, Japan,
  Vietnam and elsewhere, quietly continued their
  Buddhist practices.
• Today, it is believed that there are more than
  300 million Buddhists in the world, including at
  least a quarter million in Europe, and a half
  million each in North and South America.  I say
  "at least" because other estimates go as high as
  three million in the U.S. alone!  Whatever the
  numbers may be, Buddhism is the fourth largest
  religion in the world, after Christianity, Islam,
  and Hinduism.  And, although it has suffered
  considerable setbacks over the centuries, it
  seems to be attracting more and more people, as a
  religion or a philosophy of life.

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The Basics of Buddhist Wisdom

• The Four Noble Truths
• 1. Life is suffering
• 2. Suffering is due to attachment
• 3. Attachment can be overcome
• 4. There is a path for accomplishing this.

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The Eightfold Path

• 1. Right view is the true understanding of the
  four noble truths.
• 2. Right aspiration is the true desire to free
  oneself from attachment, ignorance, and
  hatefulness.
• These two are referred to as prajña, or wisdom.
• 3. Right speech involves abstaining from lying,
  gossiping, or hurtful talk.
• 4. Right action involves abstaining from hurtful
  behaviors, such as killing, stealing, and
  careless sex.
• 5. Right livelihood means making your living in
  such a way as to avoid dishonesty and hurting
  others, including animals.
• These three are refered to as shila, or morality.
  
• 6. Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself
  in regards to the content of one's mind Bad
  qualities should be abandoned and prevented from
  arising again Good qualities should be enacted
  and nurtured.
• 7. Right mindfulness is the focusing of one's
  attention on one's body, feelings, thoughts, and
  consciousness in such a way as to overcome
  craving, hatred, and ignorance.
• 8. Right concentration is meditating in such a
  way as to progressively realize a true
  understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and
  non-separateness.
• The last three are known as samadhi, or
  meditation.

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Some simple instructions for living a happy life,
courtesy of the Buddha

• Here are three brief sutras, which I have
  edited even further, that show how the idea of
  rebirth contributes to our compassion for others,
  as well as giving us a little comfort for
  ourselves.Duggata Sutta -- The hard-times
  sutraWhen you see someone who has fallen on
  hard times,overwhelmed with hard times, you
  should conclude 'We, too, have experienced just
  this sort of thing in the course of that long,
  long time.' Sukhita Sutta -- The happy sutra
  When you see someone who is happy
  well-provided in life, youshould conclude 'We,
  too, have experienced just this sort of thing in
  the course of that long, long time.'  Mata
  Sutta -- The mother sutraA being who has not
  been your mother at one time in the past is not
  easy to find... A being who has not been your
  father... your brother... your sister... your
  son... your daughter at one time in the past is
  not easy tofind.

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• Wishing In gladness and in safety,
• May all beings be at ease.
• -- The Metta Sutta

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Resources

• Snelling, John (1991). The Buddhist Handbook. 
  Rochester, VT Inner Traditions.
• The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and
  Religion (1994). Boston Shambhala.
• The Encyclopaedia Britannica CD (1998). Chicago 
  
• Encyclopedia Britannica.
• The History of Buddhism. 1999. Dr. C. George
  Boeree. Shippensburg University. October 22,
  2007. http//webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro.
  html.