Buddhism for beginners
- Part 2 -

Thangjam Sanjoo *

Wat - A Buddhist Temple in Bangkok, Thailand ( Pix from 2007) :: Pix - WT

2. The Four Noble Truths

The main Teaching of the Buddha focuses not on philosophical speculations about a Creator God or the origin of the universe, or on a heaven world ever after. The Teaching, instead, is centred on the down-to-earth reality of human suffering and the urgent need to find lasting relief from all forms of discontent. The Buddha gave the simile of a man shot by a poison-tipped arrow who, before he would call a doctor to treat him, demanded to know first who shot the arrow and where the arrow was made and of what and by whom and when and where ... this foolish man would surely die before his questions could be well answered. In the same way, the Buddha said, the urgent need of our existence is to find lasting relief from recurrent suffering, which robs us of happiness and leaves us in strife.

Philosophical speculations are of secondary importance and, anyway, they are best left until after one has well trained the mind in meditation to the stage where one has the ability to examine the matter clearly and find the Truth for oneself.

Thus, the central Teaching of the Buddha, around which all other teachings revolve, is the Four Noble Truths:

* That all forms of being, human and otherwise, are afflicted with suffering.

* That the cause of this suffering is craving, born of the illusion of a soul.

* That this suffering has a lasting end in the Experience of Enlightenment which is the complete letting go of the illusion of soul and all consequent desire and aversion.

* That this peaceful and blissful Enlightenment is achieved through a gradual training, a Path that is called the Middle Way or the Eightfold Path.

It would be mistaken to label this Teaching as 'pessimistic' on the grounds that it begins by centring on suffering. Rather, Buddhism is 'realistic' in that it unflinchingly faces up to the truth of life's many sufferings and it is 'optimistic' in that it shows a final end of the problem of suffering - Nirvana, Enlightenment in this very life! Those who have achieved this ultimate peace are the inspiring examples who demonstrate once and for all that Buddhism is far from pessimistic, but it is a Path to true Happiness.

3. The Middle Way or Eightfold Path

The Way to end all suffering is called the Middle Way because it avoids the two extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification. Only when the body is in reasonable comfort but not over-indulged has the mind the clarity and strength to meditate deeply and discover the Truth. This Middle Way consists of the diligent cultivation of Virtue, Meditation and Wisdom, which is explained in more detail as the Noble Eightfold Path.

* Right Understanding
* Right Thought
* Right Speech
* Right Action
* Right Livelihood
* Right Effort
* Right Mindfulness
* Right Concentration, Speech, Action and Livelihood constitute the training in Virtue or Morality.

For a practicing Buddhist it consists of maintaining the five Buddhist Precepts, which are to refrain from:
* Deliberately causing the death of any living being;
* Intentionally taking for one's own the property of another;
* Sexual misconduct, in particular adultery;
* Lying and breaking promises;
* Drinking alcohol or taking stupefying drugs which lead to lack of mindfulness.

Right Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration refer to the practice of Meditation, which purifies the mind through the experience of blissful states of inner stillness and empowers the mind to penetrate the meaning of life through profound moments of insight.

Right Understanding and Thought are the manifestation of Buddha-Wisdom which ends all suffering, transforms the personality and produces unshakeable serenity and tireless compassion.

According to the Buddha, without perfecting the practice of Virtue it is impossible to perfect Meditation, and without perfecting Meditation it is impossible to arrive at Enlightenment Wisdom. Thus the Buddhist Path is a Gradual Path, a Middle Way consisting of Virtue, Meditation and Wisdom as explained in the Noble Eightfold Path leading to happiness and liberation.

4. Karma

Karma means 'action'. The Law of Karma means that there are inescapable results of our actions. There are deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others' harm, one's own harm, or to the harm of both. Such deeds are called bad (or 'unwholesome') karma. They are usually motivated by greed, hatred or delusion. Because they bring painful results, they should not be done.

There are also deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others' well being, one's own well being, or to the well being of both. Such deeds are called good (or 'wholesome') karma. They are usually motivated by generosity, compassion or wisdom. Because they bring happy results, they should be done as often as possible.

Thus much of what one experiences is the result of one's own previous karma. When misfortune occurs, instead of blaming someone else, one can look for any fault in one's own past conduct. If a fault is found, the experience of its consequences will make one more careful in the future. When happiness occurs, instead of taking it for granted, one can look to see if it is the result of good karma. If so, the experience of its pleasant results will encourage better karma in the future.

The Buddha pointed out that no being whatsoever, divine or otherwise, has any power to stop the consequences of good and bad karma. The fact that one reaps just what one sows gives to the Buddhist a greater incentive to avoid all forms of bad karma while doing as much good karma as possible.

Though one cannot escape the results of bad karma, one can lessen their effect. A spoon of salt mixed in a glass of pure water makes the whole very salty, whereas the same spoon of salt mixed in a freshwater lake hardly changes the taste of the water. Similarly, the result of a bad karma in a person habitually doing only a small amount of good karma is painful indeed, whereas the result of the same bad karma in a person habitually doing a great deal of good karma is only mildly felt.

This natural Law of Karma becomes the force behind, and reason for, the practice of morality and compassion in our society.

5. Rebirth

The Buddha remembered clearly many of His past lives. Even today, many Buddhist monks, nuns and others also remember their past lives. Such a strong memory is a result of deep meditation. For those who remember their past life, Rebirth is an established fact which puts this life in a meaningful perspective.

The Law of Karma can only be understood in the framework of many lifetimes, because it sometimes takes this long for Karma to bear its fruit. Thus Karma and Rebirth offer a plausible explanation to the obvious inequalities of birth; why some are born into great wealth whereas others are born into pathetic poverty; why some children enter this world healthy and full-limbed whereas others enter deformed and diseased... The fruits of bad Karma are not regarded as a punishment for evil deeds but as lessons from which to learn, for example, how much better to learn about the need for generosity than to be reborn among the poor!

Rebirth takes place not only within this human realm. The Buddha pointed out that the realm of human beings is but one among many. There are many separate heavenly realms and grim lower realms, too, realms of the animals and realms of the ghosts. Not only can human beings go to any of these realms in the next life, but we can come from any of these realms into our present life. This explains a common objection against Rebirth that argues "How can there be Rebirth when there are ten times as many people alive today than there were 50 years ago?" The answer is that people alive today have come from many different realms.

Understanding that we can come and go between these different realms, gives us more respect and compassion for the beings in these realms. It is unlikely, for example, that one would exploit animals when one has seen the link of Rebirth that connects them with us.

To be continued...