Buddhism exists on the eightfold path. Eightfold Path of Buddha

The Noble Eightfold Path- in Buddhism the essence of the fourth Noble Truth.
"The Noble Eightfold Path" divided into 3 sections:

I. Wisdom- which is sometimes translated as “recognition” (or “discrimination”) at the very beginning of the Path indicates the direction to reality through conceptual understanding. Wisdom is necessary to develop the quality of penetrating understanding into the true nature of things. In the final stage, when the mind is developed by the practices of morality and concentration, and with the gradual emergence of Right Knowledge, wisdom will lead to supramundane Right View and Right Intent.

True understanding (true view)

True aspiration (true determination)

II. Moral- In order for the mind to be united in concentration, it is necessary to refrain from negative actions with body and speech, so that they do not become instruments of defilement. Moral behavior is the original means of purifying the mind.

True speech

True activity (true behavior)

True livelihood (true way of life)

III.Concentration- Samadhi is literally translated as “concentration.” This state of mind is achieved through meditative practice, which calms and brings the mind into unity. This is necessary for the development of true wisdom, which comes through direct experience, direct knowledge (not intellectual, in the form of concepts and ideas).

« Without knowledge there is no meditation; without meditation there is no knowledge; and one who has both knowledge and meditation is close to reality."(Buddha)

True effort

True awareness (true direction of thought)

True concentration (true concentration)

I. Wisdom
1. True view
Since ignorance with its consequences - delusions about oneself and the world - is the root cause of our suffering, it is natural that for moral improvement one must first of all have a true view. True view is true understanding of the four noble truths. Only knowledge of these truths, and not any theoretical reflections about nature and oneself, helps, according to the teachings of the Buddha, moral improvement, leading us to the goal of our life - nirvana.

2. True Determination
Mere knowledge of the truths would be useless without the determination to transform life in accordance with them. A morally improving person is required to renounce everything earthly (attachment to the world), renounce bad intentions and enmity towards others. These three conditions are the basis of true determination.

II. Moral
3. True speech
True determination should not remain just a religious desire, but must be translated into action. True determination must first of all be able to direct and control our speech. The result will be true speech - abstinence from lies, slander, cruel words and frivolous
conversations.

4. True behavior
True determination, not limited to producing true speech, must finally translate into true action, good behavior. True behavior therefore consists in renouncing untrue actions - destroying living beings, stealing, satisfying evil desires.

5. True way of life
The true way of life is that, rejecting bad speech and bad actions, one should earn a living in an honest way. The necessity of this rule follows from the fact that to maintain life one cannot resort to illicit means - one must work concentratedly in accordance with good determination. A person should refrain, for example, from trading in living beings, people and animals, from trading in weapons (however, Buddhism does not prohibit lay people from serving in the army, since the army is seen as a means of protecting living beings in case of aggression, while the trade in arms provokes conflicts and creates prerequisites for them), from the distribution of alcohol and drugs, from prostitution and any professions associated with deception (fortune telling, fortune telling, drawing up horoscopes, etc.). The true way of life also lies in the renunciation of excesses, in being satisfied with what is necessary and not seeking wealth and luxury. Only by understanding what is necessary and sufficient can one get rid of envy and many other passions and suffering associated with them.

III. Concentration
6. True effort
When a person tries to change his life, guided by true views, determination, speech, behavior and lifestyle, he is constantly seduced from the true path by both old harmful ideas that are deeply rooted in him and new ideas that are constantly acquired. Continuous improvement is impossible without a constant desire to free yourself from the burden of old bad thoughts, without fighting against their appearance. Since the mind cannot remain empty, one must constantly strive to fill it with good ideas, trying to fix them in the mind. This four-way constant effort is called true. It indicates that even someone who has gone far along the path of salvation is not immune from the risk of slipping, and it is too early for him to celebrate a complete moral victory.

7. True direction of thought
The need for constant vigilance is a further development of the rule according to which the seeker must constantly remember what has already been learned. He must constantly consider the body as a body, the sensation as a sensation, the mind as the mind, the state of consciousness as a state of consciousness. He should not think about all this: “this is me” or “this is mine.” This advice sounds about the same as the suggestion to think of a shovel as a shovel. But no matter how funny it may seem, it is still not always easy to perceive things as they really are. It is more difficult to practice this line of thought when false ideas about the body, etc., have taken such deep roots that our behavior based on these false concepts has become subconscious. If we direct our thoughts untruthfully, then we behave as if the body, mind, sensations and mental states are something permanent and always valuable. From here comes a feeling of attachment to them, regret about their loss, and we become dependent on them and unhappy. But thinking about the frail, transitory and disgusting nature of our feelings of attachment helps us free ourselves from this feeling, as well as from regret over the loss of earthly things. This liberation is necessary for the constant concentration of thought on the truth.

In the Digga Nikaya, Sutta 22, the Buddha gives very detailed instructions on how to practice such meditation. For example, when considering the body, one must remember and think that it is only a combination of the four elements (earth, water, fire and air), that it is filled with all types of disgusting matter: meat, bones, skin, entrails, sewage, bile, phlegm , blood, fat, etc. In a cemetery you can see how a dead body decomposes, is devoured by dogs and vultures, and then, gradually mixing with the elements of matter, disappears. Thanks to such intense meditation, he can remember what the body is: how perishable and transitory it is! “He will give up all false feelings and attachment to the body: his own body and the body of others.” By simply intensifying reflection on the senses, the mind and harmful states of consciousness, a person is freed from attachment to earthly things and sadness over their loss. The final result of this four-way intense reflection will be detachment from all objects that have tied a person to the world.

8. True concentration
He who successfully leads his life according to these rules and with their help frees himself from all passions and evil thoughts, is worthy to go step by step through the four stages of deeper and deeper concentration, which gradually lead him to the final goal of a long and difficult path - to ending suffering.

The seeker concentrates his pure and calm mind on understanding and exploring the truths. At this first stage of deep contemplation, he enjoys the joy of pure thinking and the peace of detachment from earthly things.

When such concentration is achieved, faith in the fourfold truth dispels all doubt, and the need for reasoning and research disappears. Thus arises the second stage of concentration, which is the joy, peace and inner calm generated by increased equanimity of reflection. This is the stage of consciousness, joy and peace.

At the next stage, an attempt is made to move to a state of indifference, that is, the ability to renounce even the joy of concentration. This is how the third, higher stage of concentration arises, when the seeker experiences complete equanimity and is freed from the sense of corporeality. But he is still aware of this liberation and equanimity, although he is indifferent to the joy of concentration.

Finally, the seeker tries to get rid of even this consciousness of liberation and equanimity and all the feelings of joy and inspiration that he previously experienced. Thus, he rises to the fourth stage of concentration - into a state of perfect equanimity, indifference and self-control, without suffering and without liberation. Thus, he achieves the desired goal - the end of all suffering. At this stage the seeker achieves arhatship, or nirvana (Potthapada Sutta). Thus comes perfect wisdom and perfect righteousness.

The Eightfold Noble Path in Buddhism is one of the teachings of the Buddha. It involves cleansing the soul and body from suffering. Buddha himself walked this road in his time, and now it is an example for inheritance, which monks and ordinary lay people look up to. By stepping on it, people achieve insight and real awareness of the nature of all things, get rid of three vicious qualities of character: ignorance, thirst and anger. A person needs to master eight rules, which is why the path is called eightfold. Its symbol is a steering wheel, which has the same number of branches, each of which symbolizes one of the truths (more about). The person is presented as the captain of a ship, following a pious route towards his goal.

Correct Behavior

It lies in the deeds and actions of a person, his attitude towards other people. It should not bring harm to society as a whole and its individual members. There are five mandatory commandments that every layman must adhere to. This is abstinence from adultery and debauchery, drunkenness, lying, theft and theft and murder. By observing them, a person gains harmony at all levels of life: karmic, contemplative, psychological and even social. Moral discipline is the basis for other steps leading to wisdom.

Right way of life

The Eightfold Path also provides for this rule, which states: one should give up a profession that causes harm to any living being. That is, it is strictly prohibited:

Trade animals and people. Engage in or cover up prostitution.
Manufacture, order, transport, sell or use weapons. At the same time, military service is permitted, since it is associated with protection from external aggression, maintaining peace in one’s land and protecting family and friends.
Work in meat departments, on farms where livestock is cut.
Production and trade in drugs, alcohol and other intoxicating drugs.
Work the purpose of which is deception and fraud, the accumulation of gold and money through criminal means.

A correct lifestyle also includes avoiding the accumulation of cash reserves, excessive luxury and wealth. Only in this case can one get rid of envious people and their hatred, as well as the suffering associated with them, which is provided for by the Eightfold Path and its main canons.

Right Awareness

This refers to continuous work on one’s inner world, curbing wicked desires, and controlling bad deeds. Vigilance and mindfulness, turning away from craving and worry towards peace is the path followed by all Buddhist monks. At the same time, the mind must be clear and calm, assessing the internal state and directing energy in the right pious direction.

Correct speech

Of course, this is abstaining from coarse, indecent words. The Eightfold Path is impossible without refusing to spread slander and rumors, stupidity and insults. You cannot sow discord among people, which leads to enmity and hatred. The correct speech instead is as follows:

It is necessary to speak soft and kind words, to be polite and sensitive.
You can't be an empty talker. Each phrase must be presented at the right moment, carrying a semantic load.
Tell the truth, present the truth.

This is the only way to find inner harmony and take the path of virtue. Correct speech is important not only in dialogues with others, but also in internal monologues.

The Right Effort

All your efforts should be aimed at observing the basic rules that the Buddha preaches. The Eightfold Path is difficult, so diligence and will will help you not to stumble and continue to walk on your chosen path. Confidence is also important in this matter, which fuels the effort and gives it a new impetus. You can develop willpower through special exercises, refusing to eat, for example. Only by curbing physical desires can you work on your inner peace.

Correct Concentration

This is meditation. Every person who sets foot on the Eightfold Path must learn to concentrate. Throwing aside all worldly problems, immersing himself in himself - only in this way can a layman achieve self-control, contemplation, analysis, and, as a result, freedom. Meditation in Buddhism is a very important thing, which will allow a person to open up, rise above his carnal needs and gain complete peace of mind, calmness and independence.

Right View

This is an understanding of the law of kamma, the ability to draw a parallel between the cause of an action and its consequence. This is constant learning, knowledge of the Eightfold Path and. The latter are as follows:

The truth about suffering. They are the eternal companions of any living creature. No matter where we are, no matter how we live, suffering still lurks. Helpless old age and death are encountered at every step and encounters with them cannot be avoided. Unpleasant situations and pain accompany a person throughout his life.
Causes of suffering. The main ones are the desires and passions of living beings. Satisfaction goes in parallel with dissatisfaction, receiving something pleasant comes with disappointment. Having received what they want, people usually get fed up with it or lose it. And having not received it, they suffer from the inability to comprehend it.
The ability to end suffering. This truth shows a state freed from any unpleasant sensations and pain, physical and mental. “Nibbana” is what the Buddha called him.
The path to ending suffering. To achieve “nibbana”, to find harmony, happiness, balance and well-being, you need to choose the Eightfold Path and follow it until the end of your days.

This right view is one of the fundamental foundations of your path to nirvana. Having refused and managed to overcome worldly passions, a person becomes taller and stronger, reaching the pinnacle of spiritual development.

Right Intention

Even while still in infancy, a person must strive for this path. Parents, true Buddhists, are obliged to raise their children in such a spirit that they do not go astray from the right path. By instilling in them kindness towards people and animals, politeness, nobility and honesty, you give your kids a start in life. Having matured, a Buddhist no longer sees any other path, and continues to follow the right one, developing and improving all the good qualities of character.

Every person who chooses the Eightfold Path must make seven donations. In this case, it is not necessary to have wealth and money, because the tribute presented by you does not depend on a bank deposit and the availability of gold reserves. These donations are:

Physical. It lies in work and labor. Its highest form is self-sacrifice.
Spiritual. Kindness, sensitivity and attention towards others.
Sacrifice of the eyes - a meek, modest and affectionate look.
A soft face means a sincere smile.
Words - to be sympathetic to others, to be able to calm people down, to guide them on the true path.
Sacrifice of place - to be able to sacrifice one’s neighbor in everything and always.
A sacrifice of a home is to give a place to stay for the night to someone who requires it.

All these simple truths should be observed in a spiral: moving from the simpler to the more complex, while observing the canons of the already mastered stages and embodying them in every act of your life. The Eightfold Path and its rules make every person more kind, caring, sympathetic, conscientious, responsible, honest, and humble. His actions make the world a better place. And he himself is on the path to improvement, which, as we know, has no limit.

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Eightfold Path of Buddha

Sangharakshita

Dennis Lingwood

Arya from ancient Indian means “noble”, from it the adjective Aryan (not only noble but also holy)

1. Samyag-drishti - perfect vision. (correct understanding is not correct)

There are 3 types of suffering:

Real (toothache...)

Potential (from what brings pleasure but we can lose)

Metaphysical (nothing earthly or worldly can give a person complete satisfaction)

The emptiness of the conditioned does not contain those qualities that are not conditioned. (The conditioned does not satisfy us completely, not permanently, not really)

Vesak is a celebration of Buddha's attainment of enlightenment.

Shraddha is translated as faith.

In Buddhism, faith and devotion are focused on 3 values:

Buddha the Enlightened Teacher

Dharma teaching on the path to enlightenment

Sangha is a community of students who have embarked on the path of enlightenment.

If a loved one feels bad, then love turns into compassion.

Maitra - love

Hospitality - water for drinking, washing feet, flower garland, candles that smolder, incense for the body, food, music.

Reception of honored guests.

2. Samyag-samkalpa - perfect emotions.

3. Samyag-vacha - perfect speech.

(true in the full sense)

Sydney Smith: "Macaulay is recovering. He has moments of silence."

4. Samyag-karmante - perfect action

Transformation of activity under the influence of perfect vision.

Actions from the best side of you.

5. Teaching about the method of making money.

Dharma means truth, justice, reality.

Raja is a king Thus, the ideal of Dharmaraja is to rule with justice.

Ashoka is a general.

Following your true calling

Needs and requests are different things.

Sangha-spiritual community

The 6th aspect of the path which in Sanskrit is called samyag-vyayama - perfect effort.

Spiritual athletics are not for the spiritually weak

For a perfect effort, it is important to be honest with yourself.

“the gift of seeing yourself as others see you”

Buddhist dogmatics. Picture of the world.

Cosmogony. There is a vast and beginningless state in which impulses periodically arise, generating an active nature consisting of mental (purusha) and physical (prakriti) principles. It is from this active nature that living and nonliving forms and structures are formed. Some of them can exist indefinitely, but they also disappear over time, plunging into the unmanifested active nature, and in their place new forms and structures arise, and so on ad infinitum. Each space has an area of concentration of psychic energy, identified, as mentioned above, with some higher being (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Adi-buddha, etc.), which can manifest itself in various images and which determines the fate of all beings , located in its space. Any higher being and its space are only part of active nature.

Cosmology. In the spatial model of Buddhism, the highest psychic substance is the so-called cosmic body of the Buddha (Adi-buddha), which is characterized by cosmic activity generated by the compassion of this everywhere existing body for living beings doomed to suffering in samsaric existence. This invisible cosmic substance can manifest and materialize in our world both in the images of Buddhas - contemplation, and in the form of any being. Buddhas come to this world in order to help people overcome their egocentrism, the sources of which are pride and vanity (the symbol is a red rooster), ignorance and omnivorousness (a black pig), malice and deceit (a green snake). All beings, including humans and deities, reside at levels of existence corresponding to their consciousness. Thus, the lowest level, or hell, is reserved for beings engulfed in all-consuming passion. The next, higher level is inhabited by animals, birds, fish, insects and other creatures whose minds are suppressed by instincts. At the third level there are preta spirits who have huge bodies and very small mouths and throats, so they cannot get enough and get drunk. The fourth level of existence is occupied by angry creatures - demons. The fifth level is where people stay. The next five or six levels are devoted to celestials: gods, deities, mythical creatures.

Thus, we are dealing with a certain organized space, representing a hierarchical pyramid of levels of existence from the inhabitants of hell to translucent Brahma creatures. Such space can be considered by believers both as a physical reality and as a scale of the intellectual state of the mind. Thus, beings of the four lower levels essentially do not have a mind, which is suppressed by passions, instincts, hatred, and desires. Beings of higher levels are reasonable in their actions, but if the life expectancy of celestial beings is calculated in millennia and they do not need anything, then a person who lives less than a century and fights for his survival is forced to constantly think about the consequences of his actions, since in case of unseemly acts he karma worsens and he is in danger of being reborn at one of the lower levels.

The doctrine of the soul.

According to the tradition originating in the Abhidhamma literature, what is generally considered to be a person consists of:

a) “pure consciousness” (citta or vijnana)

b) mental phenomena in abstraction from consciousness (chaitta)

c) “sensual” in abstraction from consciousness (rupa)

d) forces that intertwine and form previous categories in

specific combinations, configurations (sanskar, chetana)

Buddhist texts indicate that Buddha more than once said that there is no soul. It does not exist as a kind of independent spiritual entity that temporarily inhabits the material body of a person and leaves it after death, so that, according to the law of transmigration of souls, it again finds another material prison.

However, Buddhism did not and does not deny the individual “consciousness”, which “carries within itself” the entire spiritual world of a person, is transformed in the process of personal rebirth and should strive to calm down in nirvana.

According to the doctrine of drachmas, the "stream of conscious life" of the individual is ultimately the product of the "world soul", an unknowable super-being.

Attitude to earthly life.

Some researchers do not agree with this: “What has faded and gone out in nirvana? The thirst for life, the passionate desire for existence and pleasure have faded away; delusions and seductions and their sensations and desires have faded away; the flickering light of the base self, the transitory individuality has gone out.”

Unlike the monks, the laity were given a simple code of ethics, the Pancha Shila (Five Precepts), which boiled down to the following:

1.Refrain from killing.

2.Refrain from stealing.

3. Refrain from fornication.

4. Refrain from lying.

5.Abstain from stimulating drinks.

In addition to these commandments, the “upasakas” had to maintain loyalty to the Buddha, his teaching and order.

Buddha's Teachings.

According to the teachings of the Buddha, life is a gift of nature, and the priceless gift of nature is consciousness, therefore it is a pity for a person who, because of his ignorance, spends his life overcoming difficulties and circumstances created by himself, in the pursuit of excessive material wealth. An ignorant person, whose mind is as if in hibernation, has envious eyes; ears tuned only to sounds conditioned by his ignorance; tongue, nose, body, craving pleasant sensations; a thought poisoned by envy, i.e. the whole life of a person with an unawakened consciousness is wretched and limited. The Buddha taught that in samsaric existence there is dissatisfaction and suffering generated by the vice of lust and delusion, which draw a person into the whirlwind of existence, or into the “wheel of life” (bhavacakra).

The "wheel of life", as explained by the Buddha, is driven by ignorance, which obscures man's true mind. Due to ignorance (avidya), moral and immoral actions (sankhara) arise, as a result of which an ordinary consciousness (vinyanana) is formed, oriented towards traditional values and attitudes. Consciousness identifies names and forms (nama-rupa) in the surrounding world, they become objects for six organs (salayatana): eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, thoughts; these organs come into contact (passe) with forms and names. As a result of contact, feelings arise (vedana), feelings give rise to desires (tanha), desires become the cause of greed (upadana), greed leads to rebirth (jati). The inevitable result of birth is old age (jara) and death (marana). In other words, a person is doomed to spin in the “wheel of life” until he turns to the teachings of the Buddha.

The Buddha began preaching his teachings with the “four noble truths”: about suffering and the cause of suffering; about eliminating the cause of suffering and about the path to ending suffering. According to the first truth, the entire existence of man is suffering, dissatisfaction, disappointment. Even the happy moments of his life ultimately lead to suffering, since they involve “separation from the pleasant.” Although suffering is universal, it is not the original and inevitable state of man, since it has its own cause - the desire or thirst for pleasure, which underlies the attachment of people to existence in this world. This is the second noble truth.

The pessimism of the first two noble truths is overcome by the next two. The third truth says that the cause of suffering, since it is generated by man himself, is subject to his will and can be eliminated by him: to put an end to suffering, one must stop experiencing desires.

How to achieve this is explained in the fourth truth of the Noble Eightfold Path: “This Eightfold Path is: Right Views, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Efforts, Right Awareness, and Right Concentration.”

Thus, the Buddha pointed out the existence of the eightfold, or middle path, which leads a person out of the “wheel of life”. This path includes 3 main components: a culture of behavior (right thought, word action), a culture of meditation (right awareness and concentration) and a culture of wisdom (right views).

A culture of behavior is the five basic commandments.

The culture of meditation is a system of exercises leading to the achievement of inner peace, detachment from the world and curbing passions.

The culture of wisdom is the knowledge of the four noble truths.

In Buddhism, three concepts are most developed:

o the concept of the “wheel of life” driven by the law of dependent origination;

o the concept of the eightfold or middle path;

o the concept of Nirvana, or entry into the cosmic body of the Buddha.

All three concepts are directly related to the transformation of human consciousness, with the transition from corpuscular logical thinking to wave imaginative thinking, the latter developing in the process of meditation (samadhi, vipassana, dhyana, yoga).

Samsaric existence, as a rule, is identified with a muddy stream, polluted by passions, lusts, vanity, hatred and other feelings and selfish desires. In this flow there are whirlpools (domestic, social, economic, political, etc.) that pull a person to the very bottom of samsaric existence, where egoism reaches an exaggerated concentration, manifested in the fact that a person is ready to kill, steal, cheat for the sake of accumulating wealth and achieving power . Such a person divides everything into “mine” and “not mine.” As a result, he gradually loses his human traits and turns into an immoral, amoral, rude animal.

The path indicated by the Buddha leads a person out of the impurities of samsaric existence into brighter and purer streams, and as he moves upward, the human organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, thought - begin to see, feel, sense, comprehend the immensity of nature, its beauty and life-giving power, filling a person with faith and energy to continue his movement towards higher levels of enlightenment. The energy of enlightened consciousness (bodhi) fills a person with benevolence towards all forms of existence, makes him calm, benevolent, independent not only in thoughts and deeds, but also from karmic influence; the latter state is identified with nirvana. Nobel Peace Laureate the Dalai Lama explains the essence of nirvana this way: “Samsara means the dependence of a being on karma, delusions and circumstances, created by it and aggravated by it. Nirvana is liberation from dependence on karma, delusions and their consequences. The lowest state of nirvana is characterized by the absence of dissatisfaction and suffering. The highest state is Mahaparinirvana - this is the state of Buddhas, free from all moral and mental impurities, whose worldview merges with all existence."

Cult. The functions of the cult are easy to understand based on the picture of the Buddhist world creation. Buddhas materialize in the cosmic body from time to time, each of them creates its own space, in the space of a particular Buddha a Buddhist community arises - the sangha, which is called the “incomparable field of merit in this world,” and the sangha field consists of many local Buddhist communities that stay more often only in monasteries. The above worldviews are broken down into informative blocks, which are symbolically embodied in religious objects. For example, cosmological blocks of information are in stupas and mandalas; cosmographic - in the layout of monasteries and temple complexes; meditative - in diagrams and yantras, in statues and images of Buddha, Bodhisattvas, mythical creatures, etc. The totality of such objects forms the cult system of Buddhism.

History of the origin of Buddhism.

During the life of the Buddha, his followers constituted one of the many sects, which was called the community of wanderers. Immediately after the death of the Buddha, the disciples accompanying him (500 people) held the first Sangiti (recitation from memory), at which they recalled all the details from the Teacher’s life and approved the disciplinary rules (Vinnaya) and a set of sayings of the Buddha (Sutra), including more than 80 thousand .statements. More than a hundred years have passed. Small Buddhist communities already existed in large areas of India. From time to time, disputes flared up between these communities about who better understood the teachings of the Buddha. The monks gathered for the second Sangiti in the city of Vaishali, at which the sangha split into two directions. One direction was represented by the Theravada school, which was joined by monks who considered it obligatory to preserve every word, gesture, and episode from the life of Gotama. This is why followers of Theravada, or Southern Buddhism, attach such importance to the periodic meetings of learned monks (Sangiti), at which all the details of the life and teachings of Gotama are restored. The last Sangeethi, the sixth in a row, was held in 1954-1956. in Mandalay (Myanmar). Another direction was represented by monks who considered the true path to be knowledge of the cosmic nature of the Buddhas, including Prince Gotama. Later, this direction received the name “Mahayana” (“Great Way”), it is also known as Northern Buddhism.

Creation of Buddhist canonical literature in Pali and Sanskrit in the first centuries CE. was a qualitatively new stage in the spread of Buddhism: Buddhist communities began to be created on a vast territory from the Caspian Sea to the Pacific Ocean, from Yakutia to Indonesia. In the 5th century AD such comprehensive treatises as the Visuddhimagga in Pali and the Abhidharmakosha in Sanskrit appeared, in which the cosmogonic, cosmological and cosmographic ideas of Buddhists were first set out.

In the same 5th century. Buddhism found a second home when the monk Kumarajiva, a native of Xinyajiang, and his disciples translated Buddhist sutras into Chinese, as a result of which the teachings of the Buddha became popular first among the enlightened nobility, and then as Buddhism syncretized with Taoism among the people. During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), a period of prosperity for Buddhism began: hermitages appeared throughout the country, purely Chinese schools of Buddhism arose: Tiantai, Jingtu, Huayan, Chan, etc. The cult of the goddess Guan-yin was formed as the embodiment of the most compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, thanks to whom the Buddhist religion deeply penetrated the people, and the ideology of Buddhism influenced the philosophy, ethics, literature and art of China. In the 5th century, Buddhism from China spread to Korea and in the 6th century to Japan. A few decades later, various schools and sects of Buddhism appeared on the Japanese islands, on the basis of which many cults emerged, including the exotic tea ceremony, ikebana, etc. The ties between Chinese and Indian civilizations noticeably revived, and the intensity of cultural mutual influence increased.

In the 5th-7th centuries. important changes were noted in the religions of India. The religious and philosophical ideas of Buddhism were gradually absorbed into numerous religious systems adapted to the caste system of Indian society and collectively known as orthodox Hinduism.

A complex fusion of ideas associated with the cults of Vishnu, Shiva and his wife Parvati, Buddhism and bhakti (all-consuming love for God), gave birth to a new religion in Northern India - Tantrism, which later divided into Indian and Buddhist versions of Tantrism; the latter penetrated into Tibet and became the basis of a new branch of Buddhism - Vajrayana, known as Lamaism. In the 8th century, a tantric school was created in Beijing, after training in which the Japanese monk Kukai created the Shingog tantric school in his country at the beginning of the 9th century.

By the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. Buddhism lost its mass support in India, surviving in the form of separate sects and schools that fit into the caste structure of Indian society. However, by that time it had become widespread outside India, not so much because of the philosophical richness of its doctrines and literature, but because of the established national cults that embodied the ideas of accumulating and transferring religious merit for the sake of improving karma and future rebirths. A believer receives religious merit in numerous ways: by touching or paying tribute to stupas, texts, statues, icons, the Bodhi tree, Buddhist symbols, but he especially receives a lot of merit from giving food, clothing, shelter, and medicine to monks. It is believed that religious merit can improve the karma of a person, family, clan, nation, organization, state if they take care of the sangha and create conditions for the prosperity of Buddhism.

Three branches of Buddhism.

Theravada. The teaching, which later received the name “Theravada,” took shape two centuries after the death of the Buddha. The term "Theravada" is derived from two words: "thera" (in the Pali language this is the name of the eldest in the community or the most respected Buddhist monk) and "vada" - teaching. The Theravadins strive to preserve the principles of Buddhism without the changes that have accumulated gradually over more than two and a half thousand years of the existence of the religion.

Mahayana. In the first centuries of the new era, a new direction in Buddhism began to take shape, which its followers themselves called Mahayana. In the Mahayana, the very attitude towards Enlightenment changes. If previously the goal was individual liberation - achieving the state of arahant through one’s own efforts, and Buddha acted only as a teacher who showed the path, but was not able to influence the process of spiritual growth, now the need to help others in the name of universal salvation has acquired the greatest importance. Anyone entering the Mahayana path is required to take the Bodhisattva vows - an oath to remain in samsara and not go to nirvana until all sentient beings are saved.

Vajrayana. In the middle of the first millennium AD, a new direction of Buddhism was formed in India, which received several names at once. The most famous among them is Vajrayana. Another name is Tantra.

Spread of Buddhism.

Currently, Buddhism exists in Naples, Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Tibet, China, Japan and the islands of Java and Sumatra.

In all these countries Buddhism has more or less deviated from its primitive, pure form and even absorbed completely alien elements. So, for example, in Tibet (where Buddhism is called Lamaism), the population of the Mongolian tribe, very poorly cultural and completely original, understood and reworked Buddhism in their own way.

In Lamaism there is an extensive hierarchy of sacred persons possessing divine dignity. The cult developed strongly in Lamaism. Travelers to Yahassa talk about a huge number of monasteries, church bells, images, relics, fasting, worship, and many rituals.

In China, Buddhism also adopted a richly developed cult, just like in Japan.

In such a distorted form and adapted to the understanding of the uncultured masses, Buddhism has many followers and in terms of their number (over 300 million) is considered the first religion in the world.

In modern times, attempts have been made to revive Buddhism in the cultural classes of European society. These attempts were partially successful, and under the name of neo-Buddhism there is still a religious and philosophical movement that has its followers on the continent, in England, and in America.

But this trend cannot have global significance. Buddhism has outlived all its main principles, and humanity, in the person of its leaders and prophets, already sees further than Buddhism saw.

Over the two and a half millennia of its existence, Buddhism has created not only religious ideas and philosophy, but also culture, art, an educational system - in other words, a highly developed civilization. According to one famous researcher, if we try to survey this religion as if from a bird’s eye view, we will see a motley “patchwork quilt” of directions, schools, trends, religious movements and organizations spread out in front of us. And yet, this “blanket” has been warming the souls of millions of followers of Buddhism around the world for thousands of years.

Buddhism has absorbed many diverse traditions of the peoples of those countries that fell into its sphere of influence, and also determined the way of life and thoughts of millions of people in these countries.

Buddhism was and remains a religion that takes different forms depending on where it spreads. Chinese Buddhism is a religion that speaks to believers in the language of Chinese culture and national ideas about the most important values of life. Japanese Buddhism is a synthesis of Buddhist ideas, Shinto mythology, Japanese culture, etc. This ability to blend harmoniously into the surrounding cultural landscape clearly sets Buddhism apart from other world religions. Because of this, the Buddha's followers were often reproached for their tendency to compromise. But it was precisely the ability to adapt that allowed Buddhism to absorb a huge number of local beliefs, cults, folk rituals, cultures, ideologies, literary and artistic traditions throughout the entire geographical space, which was under its influence for several centuries.

Many followers were attracted to Buddhism precisely because it did not require a radical change in their way of life and habits, including the abandonment of rituals dedicated to local gods. A Buddhist may simultaneously practice Hinduism, Taoism, Shintoism, or any other “local” religion, so it is quite difficult to determine the number of Buddhists in the world. Currently, there are approximately one million Buddhist monks and nuns alone. The exact number of lay people - followers of Buddhism - is simply impossible to determine.

Buddhism is a religion founded by Gautama Buddha (6th century BC). All Buddhists revere Buddha as the founder of the spiritual tradition that bears his name. In almost all areas of Buddhism there are monastic orders, whose members act as teachers and clergy for the laity. Beyond these commonalities, however, the many strands of modern Buddhism exhibit diversity in both belief and religious practice. In its classical form (Theravada, “school of elders,” or Hinayana, “lesser vehicle”) Buddhism is primarily philosophy and ethics. The goal of believers is to achieve nirvana, a blissful state of insight and liberation from the shackles of one’s self, the world and the endless circle of births, deaths and new births in a chain of new lives. A state of spiritual perfection is achieved through humility, generosity, mercy, abstinence from violence and self-control. The branch of Buddhism known as Mahayana (“great vehicle”) is characterized by the veneration of a pantheon of divine Buddhas and future Buddhas. In other forms of Buddhism, ideas about a whole hierarchy of demons are common. Some varieties of Mahayana Buddhism promise true paradise for believers. A number of schools emphasize faith rather than works. There is a type of Buddhism that seeks to lead the adherent to a paradoxical, intuitive, non-rational comprehension of the “true reality.”

In India, Buddhism flourished until about 500 AD. Then it gradually fell into decline, was absorbed by Hinduism, and by the 11th century. almost completely disappeared. By that time, Buddhism had spread and gained influence in other countries of Central and East Asia, where it remains viable to this day. Today Buddhism exists in two main forms. Hinayana is common in Sri Lanka and in the countries of Southeast Asia - Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Mahayana is predominant in China, including Tibet, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. Significant numbers of Buddhists live in the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, as well as in Sikkim in northern India. Much fewer Buddhists (less than 1%) live in India itself, Pakistan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Outside of Asia, several thousand Buddhists live in the United States (600 thousand), South America (160 thousand) and Europe (20 thousand). Data on the total number of Buddhists in the world (from 200 million to 500 million) differ depending on the methodology and calculation criteria. In many countries, Buddhism has been mixed with elements of other eastern religions, such as Shintoism or Taoism.

Gautama Buddha (6th-5th centuries BC)

Life of Buddha

The founder of Buddhism is Buddha (“Enlightened One”). At birth, the Buddha was given the name Siddhartha, and the name of his clan or family was Gautama. The biography of Siddhartha Gautama is known only as presented by his followers. These traditional accounts, initially transmitted orally, were not written down until several centuries after his death. The most famous tales about the life of Buddha are included in the Jataka collection, compiled around the 2nd century. BC in the Pali language (one of the most ancient Central Indian languages).

Siddhartha was born in Kapilavastu, in the southern part of what is now Nepal, around the 6th century. BC His father Shuddhodhana, the head of the noble Shakya clan, belonged to the warrior caste. According to legend, at the birth of a child, his parents were predicted that he would become either a great Ruler or a Teacher of the Universe. The father, firmly determined that his son should be his heir, took all measures to ensure that his son did not see either the signs or the suffering of the world. As a result, Siddhartha spent his youth in luxury, as befitted a rich young man. He married his cousin Yashodhara, winning her in a competition of agility and strength (swayamvara), in which he put all other participants to shame. Being a man prone to reflection, he soon tired of an idle life and turned to religion. At the age of 29, despite the efforts of his father, he nevertheless saw four signs that were to determine his fate. For the first time in his life, he saw old age (a decrepit old man), then illness (a man exhausted by illness), death (a dead body) and true serenity (a wandering mendicant monk). In reality, the people Siddhartha saw were gods who took on this appearance in order to help Siddhartha become a Buddha. Siddhartha was at first very sad, but soon realized that the first three signs indicate the constant presence of suffering in the world. The suffering seemed all the more terrible to him because, according to the beliefs of that time, after death a person was doomed to be born again. Therefore, there was no end to suffering; it was eternal. In the fourth sign, in the serene inner joy of a mendicant monk, Siddhartha saw his future destiny.

Even the happy news of the birth of his son did not make him happy, and one night he left the palace and rode off on his faithful horse Kanthaka. Siddhartha took off his expensive clothes, changed into a monk's dress and soon settled as a hermit in the forest. He then joined five ascetics in the hope that mortification would lead him to insight and peace. After six years of the strictest asceticism, without getting any closer to his goal, Siddhartha parted with the ascetics and began to lead a more moderate lifestyle.

One day, Siddhartha Gautama, who was already thirty-five years old, sat down under a large bo tree (a type of fig tree) near the town of Gaya in eastern India and vowed that he would not move from his place until he solved the riddle of suffering. For forty-nine days he sat under the tree. Friendly gods and spirits fled from him when the tempter Mara, the Buddhist devil, approached. Day after day, Siddhartha resisted various temptations. Mara summoned his demons and unleashed a tornado, flood and earthquake on the meditating Gautama. He ordered his daughters - Desire, Pleasure and Passion - to seduce Gautama with erotic dances. When Mara demanded that Siddhartha provide evidence of his kindness and mercy, Gautama touched the ground with his hand, and the earth said: “I am his witness.”

In the end, Mara and his demons fled, and on the morning of the 49th day, Siddhartha Gautama learned the truth, solved the riddle of suffering and understood what a person must do to overcome it. Fully enlightened, he achieved the utmost detachment from the world (nirvana), which means the cessation of suffering.

He spent another 49 days in meditation under a tree, and then went to the Deer Park near Benares, where he found five ascetics with whom he lived in the forest. Buddha gave his first sermon to them. Soon the Buddha acquired many followers, the most beloved of whom was his cousin Ananda, and organized a community (sangha), essentially a monastic order (bhikkhus - “beggars”). The Buddha instructed dedicated followers in liberation from suffering and achieving nirvana, and the laity in a moral lifestyle. The Buddha traveled widely, returning home briefly to convert his own family and courtiers. Over time, he began to be called Bhagavan (“Lord”), Tathagatha (“Thus come” or “Thus gone”) and Shakyamuni (“Sage of the Shakya family”).

There is a legend that Devadatta, Buddha's cousin, plotting out of jealousy to kill Buddha, released a mad elephant onto the path along which he was supposed to pass. Buddha gently stopped the elephant, which knelt before him. In the 80th year of his life, Buddha did not refuse pork, which the layman Chanda the blacksmith treated him to, and soon died.

Pre-Buddhist teachings. The era in which Buddha lived was a time of great religious ferment. By the 6th century. BC polytheistic veneration of the deified forces of nature, inherited from the era of the Aryan conquest of India (1500-800 BC), took shape in sacrificial rites performed by Brahmin priests. The cult was based on two collections of sacred literature compiled by priests: the Vedas, collections of ancient hymns, chants and liturgical texts, and the Brahmanas, collections of instructions for performing rituals. Later, the ideas contained in the hymns and interpretations were supplemented by the belief in reincarnation, samsara and karma.

Among the followers of the Vedic religion were Brahman priests who believed that since the gods and all other beings are manifestations of a single supreme reality (Brahman), then only union with this reality can bring liberation. Their thoughts are reflected in later Vedic literature (Upanishads, 7-6 centuries BC). Other teachers, rejecting the authority of the Vedas, proposed other paths and methods. Some (Ajivakas and Jains) emphasized asceticism and mortification, others insisted on the adoption of a special doctrine, the adherence to which was supposed to ensure spiritual liberation.

The Buddha's teaching, distinguished by its depth and high morality, was a protest against Vedic formalism. Rejecting the authority of both the Vedas and the Brahmanical priesthood, the Buddha proclaimed a new path of liberation. Its essence is outlined in his sermon The Turning of the Wheel of Doctrine (Dhammacakkhappavattana). This is the “middle way” between the extremes of ascetic asceticism (which seemed pointless to him) and the satisfaction of sensual desires (equally useless). Essentially, this path is to understand the “four noble truths” and live according to them.

I. The Noble Truth of Suffering. Suffering is inherent in life itself, it consists in birth, old age, illness and death, in connection with the unpleasant, in separation from the pleasant; in failure to achieve what is desired, in short, in everything connected with existence.

II. The Noble Truth about the Cause of Suffering. The cause of suffering is craving, which leads to rebirth and is accompanied by joy and delight, exultation in the pleasures found here and there. This is the thirst for lust, the thirst for existence and non-existence.

III. The Noble Truth of the End of Suffering. The cessation of suffering is the cessation of desires through renunciation of them, gradual liberation from their power.

IV. The Noble Truth of the Path to the End of Suffering. The path to the cessation of suffering is the Eightfold Path of Rightness, namely Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindset, Right Concentration. Progress along this path leads to the disappearance of desires and liberation from suffering.

The teachings of the Buddha differ from the Vedic tradition, which is based on rituals of sacrifice to the gods of nature. Here the fulcrum is no longer dependence on the actions of the priests, but internal liberation through the right way of thinking, right behavior and spiritual discipline. The teachings of the Buddha are also opposed to the Brahmanism of the Upanishads. The authors of the Upanishads, the seers, abandoned the belief in material sacrifices. However, they retained the idea of the Self (Atman) as an unchanging, eternal entity. They saw the path to liberation from the power of ignorance and rebirth in the merging of all finite “I”s into the universal “I” (Atman, which is Brahman). Gautama, on the contrary, was deeply concerned with the practical problem of man's liberation through moral and spiritual purification and opposed the idea of an unchanging essence of the Self. In this sense, he proclaimed “Not-I” (An-Atman). What is commonly called “I” is a collection of constantly changing physical and mental components. Everything is in process, and therefore capable of improving itself through right thoughts and right actions. Every action has consequences. Recognizing this “law of karma”, the changeable Self can, by making right efforts, escape the urge to do evil deeds and the retribution for other deeds in the form of suffering and the continuous cycle of birth and death. For a follower who has achieved perfection (arahat), the result of his efforts will be nirvana, a state of serene insight, dispassion and wisdom, deliverance from further births and the sorrow of existence.

The life of Buddha and the beginning of the formation of the teaching.

In the northwest of the kingdom of Koshali, between the Nepalese foothills of the Himalayas and the middle course of the Ranti River, on the eastern bank of the insignificant river Rohini, a tributary of the Ranti, there is the small kingdom of Kapilivastu with the main city of the same name. This insignificant kingdom was owned by the Shakya family, who emigrated here from the Indus deltas in ancient times. The Shakya kings, whose pride became proverbial, even counted among their ancestors one sage named Gotama. From him they took their family name Gautama.

In the second half of the 6th century BC. In this blessed corner of the globe, King Shuddhodana, famous for his justice, ruled.

The first, main wife of Shuddhodana had extraordinary physical beauty and outstanding moral and mental qualities. For her beauty she was nicknamed Maya, which means “ghost”, “illusion”.

In 623 BC. Maya gave birth to a son, the child was given the name Sirvatasiddhartha, abbreviated as Siddhartha, which means “perfect in all things.”

At his birth, one hermit named Asita predicted that the newborn would have a high destiny in the future to be the ruler of the whole world if he chose secular life, or the “perfect, great” Buddha if he renounced the world. Asita made this prediction based on the 32 main signs he found on the body of a newborn, according to popular views, of a great man.

Asita's prediction made a strong impression on Siddhartha's parents and served as a source of anxiety and worry for the ambitious soul Suddhodana. Siddhartha's mother died seven days after the birth of her son.

Very fabulous information has been preserved about Siddhartha’s childhood. The boy's childhood years were spent among the freedom of his native fields, where he often gave himself up to early thoughts under the shade of a jambu tree, at the same time he was surrounded by fabulous luxury, which is now very difficult to imagine.

When childhood passed, the young prince began to be taught various arts and sciences; he quickly learned everything he was taught. Siddhartha lived in magnificent palaces in the company of his peers, the sons of the most noble families of the country.

When Siddhartha was sixteen years old, his father decided to marry him and chose the daughter of the appanage Shaki prince Soprabuddha, the beautiful Yasodhira, as his wife. In addition to her, Siddhartha subsequently had 2 more wives and several concubines from the girls, dancers and musicians who were at his court. Surrounded by loving wives and devoted courtiers, Siddhartha lived in his luxurious palaces, indulging in all kinds of pleasures and pleasures, until he was 29 years old.

In the 29th year of his life, the prince experienced a sharp moral change, due to which he decided to stop his old way of life and surrender to a new one.

When this moral crisis occurred in him, and what reasons prompted him to make this decision, cannot be reliably determined. Buddhist legends explain this decision as follows: King Shuddhodana, fearing that the prince would actually become a hermit, tried to keep his son away from everything that could instill in him the idea of misfortunes and disasters filling this world. The prince lived until he was 29 years old in complete ignorance of evil and sadness, of death and suffering, and even of old age and illness. But one day he accidentally met a sick old man, thin, with protruding veins, with missing teeth, all the old man’s limbs were trembling, and from weakness he could barely speak. This meeting made a strong impression on Siddhartha - all the beauty of the nature surrounding him lost all meaning for him. Soon he saw a funeral procession. When they explained to him the meaning of these incomprehensible phenomena of illness and death and told him that illness and death are the lot of every humanity and do not spare anyone, he exclaimed: “How unhappy people are! Is there really no way to stop suffering and death forever! The prince saw that in this best of worlds not everything is as wonderful as it had seemed to him until now. He became convinced of the insignificance of the pleasures of youth and the joys of life, deceptive and fleeting, he saw the vanity of all the fun and pleasures that he so passionately indulged in, and left them. He began to think about the evil that fills the world, about the unfortunate fate of man, subject to illness, old age and death.

Siddhartha decided to leave his palaces, his wives, his son, who had just been born to him, and retire into solitude in order to think about the causes of the evil that confuses people, and to find a means, if not to destroy this evil, then at least to soften it. This decision could not please either the king or the entire proud Shakya family, who treated the hermits with extreme disdain and contempt and did not respect them at all. The king tried by all means available to him to deviate Siddhartha from his decision, but the prince remained adamant.

This is how Buddhist legends tell about Siddhartha’s spiritual crisis. And indeed, it is quite possible that the monotony of an inactive life and satiety with pleasures aroused in the prince’s richly gifted nature a desire to disrupt this life, aroused in him a thirst for struggle in order to achieve higher goals. The boundless kindness and sincere compassion for man, which is evidenced by the entire teaching of Siddhartha, could also serve as incentives to leave secular life. He, of course, was clearly aware of the impossibility of achieving the desired goals amid the bustle of worldly life and giving nothing but fatigue and pleasure, and therefore made the decision, as required by the concepts of that time, to break all kinship and family ties and in solitude to find the desired fulfillment of cherished aspirations.

Whatever the reasons that prompted the prince to decide to devote himself to serving humanity, it was given to him, of course, not without a difficult moral struggle. Worldly life presented so many attractive things to him that it was not easy to renounce it once and for all - he had to leave power, authority, honor, fame, wealth, love - everything that makes a person’s life beautiful, and change this calm existence to the harsh and ascetic life of a hermit; but be that as it may, Siddhartha parted forever with his former position and became a hermit.

He exchanged his royal attire with the beggar he met, leaving for himself only a yellow hunting cloak, and cut his long hair (a sign of high and noble birth).

Siddhartha decided to go to the city of Rajagriha, because... I heard about hermits who lived near this city and were famous for their wisdom. Arriving here, he joined the society of free laborers under the name of the ascetic Gautama. Under the guidance of workers, he diligently began to exhaust his body with cruel tortures, with the greatest patience he endured the heat of tropical nights, storms and rains, hunger and thirst, and in general everything that was prescribed by the rules of asceticism for the mortification of the flesh, but, in the end, he saw that everything these tortures do not bring him any closer to his desired goal. He left the society of arbitrary workers and moved to the contemplatives, followers of Sankhya philosophy. Their efforts were aimed at achieving dispassion: they thought that they would achieve perfection by accustoming the soul to solid and serene peace.

Under their leadership, the prince gradually began to master the method of improving them; he went through all the degrees of the symbolic ladder of mystical contemplations, with the help of which he pacified his spirit, learned to free it from sensory disturbances and thoughts, protect it from the influence of external impressions and create unshakable peace in it.

Siddhartha spent whole days in inactivity, plunging with pleasure into the dreamy world, and he loved this activity so much that he did not leave it throughout his entire life.

But the teaching of the contemplatives did not satisfy Siddharha; he could not agree with the main principle of their teaching, that the soul of the contemplator, ascending through the degrees of contemplation, remains unchanged.

He headed to the south of Magadha and settled in the vicinity of the city of Gai, in the forest. Here, in complete solitude, he began to indulge in the contemplation he loved so much with greater passion.

In one of these introspective moments, Siddhartha finally found a solution to all the questions that tormented his mind and conscience, a solution that he had been looking for in vain until now. He found a way out of suffering. There is nothing surprising in this instant resolution of the questions that tormented Gautama: people are gifted with a sensitive and receptive nature, with a highly developed imagination. They are capable of experiencing this kind of sensation and, under the influence of strong moral or mental excitement or shock, under the influence of a thought that suddenly illuminates them during this excitement, they come to a solution to the questions that occupied their mind, and find answers to these questions7. Siddharha-Gautama had an extremely sensitive and receptive nature and an ardent imagination; a hermit’s life could only develop these qualities in him, and it is quite possible that during one of the strong mental ecstasies an idea appeared in his brain, which at once illuminated, as it seemed to him, all that , which until that time was dark and unclear for him. From that moment on, Siddhartha-Gautama became Buddha, i.e. enlightened, and over time his enthusiastic admirers combined in him all the perfect moral, mental and physical qualities that can be allowed in a person. The newly-minted Buddha himself did not think so highly of himself, but was convinced of the truth and solidity of the revealed truths and hoped that with their help he would be able to eradicate the prejudices and misconceptions of people. Having thoroughly examined the idea that illuminated him, Shakyamuni developed his own view of both philosophy and asceticism, and compiled a new teaching that was significantly different from the philosophical and religious systems that existed under him.

The essence of the Buddha's teachings.

“Don't take what I say for granted. Just try to absorb my words to see if what I say actually makes sense. If my words make no sense, throw them away! If it makes sense, take what was said into account!” - Buddha constantly repeated8.

The Buddha divided his teaching into three parts: theory or dogma, morality or asceticism, and practice or contemplation. In its essence, the teachings of the Buddha were actually a logical conclusion from the teachings of the Brahmins and the Sankhya philosophy that emerged from Brahmanism. His teaching is also imbued with the idea, common to all Hindus and not alien to all people in general at certain moments of mental state, about the insignificance of life and that humanity is doomed to suffering.9 Buddha only developed this idea more deeply and applied it to everything that had any form of existence. His entire teaching is focused primarily on this one feeling of the insignificance of life and the desire to free himself from it - with it he appears to preach his teaching and with it he dies.

Buddha outlined his credo in the so-called Benarean Sermon (like the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ). It is famous for the fact that it contains a transition from the religious egoism of the Brahmins to compassion for the downtrodden.

Buddha completely denied the Brahminical center of being, the world soul, Brahma10

he realized that the essence of the existence of the Brahmins is nothing more than an abstract idea, emptiness, and that in fact there are only fractional phenomena that do not have any stability, subject to eternal change. They say that Buddha allegedly deliberately avoided questions about the universe, about the soul and its relationship with the body. Questions about whether the world is eternal or not, whether it is finite or infinite, whether the soul is identical with the body or different from it, whether the one who knows the truth is immortal or not, Buddha was aware of, but considered it useless. The founder of Buddhism focused all his attention on liberation from the suffering that fills the world11. In his sermons, the Buddha criticizes both Brahmanism (addiction to a rich and prosperous life) and Jainism (asceticism). Buddha advocates the middle path.

Lack of constancy in world and earthly life is one of the maxims of the Buddha’s teachings and, in his opinion, is the greatest of all evils - this is “the fire that devours the whole world.”

His words, when he touched upon this maxim, are striking in their hopelessness and bitter, sad tone. Buddha says: “What is complex must sooner or later disintegrate, what is born must die. Phenomena disappear one after another, the past, present and future are destroyed, everything is transitory, the law of destruction is over everything. A fast river flows and does not return, the sun continually makes its way, a person moves from a previous life to the present, and no forces are able to return his past life. In the morning we see an object, but by evening we no longer find it. Why chase illusory happiness?..."

But death does not free a person from the world of suffering and gradual change - he is again reborn to a new life and dies again, and so the wheel of rebirth rotates endlessly, and from this cycle there is only one refuge and protection - nirvana. The word “nirvana” comes from the verb “nirva” - to blow out, extinguish (fire) - and means as an adjective “disappeared”, “died”, “ceased”, and as a noun - “disappearance”, “cessation of existence”, “ satisfaction", "eternal peace" and, finally, "nirvana as salvation from rebirth"12. Nirvana is moksha (deliverance, liberation from something, avoidance of danger, final salvation of the soul), which is achieved during life. Thus, the otherworldly moksha, as it were, became thisworldly. Reaching the state of nirvana is not easy. The one who has achieved it is called an arhat (in Sanskrit13 “arhat” is deserving, worthy, respected person, celebrity). Buddhism corrects the concept of a brahman - this is precisely the one who has achieved the state of nirvana, an arhat14.

Buddhism says a lot about nirvana, but rather vaguely and allegorically. The attainment of nirvana is higher than the attainment of heaven; it is a state of superhuman pleasure. Nirvana is causeless - there is a cause for achieving nirvana, but there is no cause for nirvana to arise. Nirvana is also causeless, like space. She is from the century. It was not created by anyone and is not conditioned by anything. Nirvana cannot be perceived by sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch. Nirvana is seen only by “a righteous disciple walking along the right path with a pure mind, with sublimity and integrity, without obstacles, free from sensual pleasures...”15 Anyone who wants to free themselves from the world of suffering should strive for Nirvana; All a person’s thoughts should be directed towards her - she is the desired goal for all people. “Nirvana is the water of life, quenching the thirst of desires, it is a hospital that cures all kinds of suffering”16

So, the Buddha, having come to the conviction that all existence is suffering, taught that in order to destroy suffering, existence itself must be destroyed, destroyed to the ground, “extinguished in nirvana.”

But how could this state of perfect peace be achieved? Knowledge of the four high truths discovered by the Buddha and which lay at the basis of his teaching.

The first truth: life is suffering: “birth is suffering, old age is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering, separation from something pleasant is suffering, not getting something you want is suffering”17

...

Wisdom

Right View

Correct view initially implies knowledge of the four noble truths, after which the adept must comprehend other fundamentals of the teaching; they must be “experienced within” in order to realize the motives of his behavior.

Right Intention

The adept is required to establish himself in a stubborn determination to follow the Buddhist path, which will lead him to freedom and bliss. Following this path, cultivate benevolence and friendliness within, showing an active interest in the world around you.

Moral

Correct speech

Correct speech includes the rejection of lies, obscene and cynical words, immodest and stupid behavior, the spread of lies and rumors leading to discord. According to the Mahasatipatthana Sutra, right speech means:

Some sutras explain this in much more detail.

Correct Behavior

It is extremely important for a follower of Buddhism to distance himself from murder, recklessness and vicious behavior. The worldly are required to observe five commandments: do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, and abstain from sensuality and intoxication. By adhering to them, a person will achieve harmony on various levels - social, psychological and karmic. By practicing moral discipline, a person lays the foundation for practices of further degrees, in contemplation and wisdom. With further advancement, the moral taboos necessary to curb depraved acts at the beginning of the path develop into the need to take into account the feelings and experiences of surrounding living beings.

Although this degree is associated with physical activity, it is regarded from the ethical side of life. According to the Mahasatipatthana Sutra, it covers three aspects:

It is explained in more detail in other sutras.

Right way of life

Initially, this means abstaining from professional activities that bring suffering to living beings. Work takes up most of your time, so in order to find peace within you need to have an income consistent with Buddhist values. Refusal to work in the following areas is required:

The correct lifestyle includes abstinence from excess and luxury, only in this way is it possible to avoid envy and passions, and subsequent suffering.

Spiritual discipline

The following degrees are practiced by monks in their psychological practices.

Right Diligence (Effort)

Right diligence consists in the desire to focus forces and achieve states that promote awakening: self-awareness, effort, concentration, discrimination dharm*, joy, peace.

Dharma, dhamma(Sanskrit: धर्म dharma IAST, Pali: धम्म dhamma IAST) - an Indian philosophical and religious term, in one aspect - a set of established norms and rules, compliance with which is necessary to maintain cosmic order. The concept of dharma is difficult to find an equivalent. Literally translated as "that which holds or supports" (from the Sanskrit root dhar - "to support"). In another aspect, “dharma” refers to indivisible units of existence (for example, in Buddhism). Also, depending on the context, dharma can mean “moral principles”, “religious duty”, “universal law of existence”, etc. Wikipedia

In the Sachchavibhanga and Vibhanga suttas of the Pali Buddhist canon it is explained as follows:

And what, monks, is right effort? Here, monks, a Monk generates a desire for non-arising, non-arising, bad, not good states (of the mind). He makes an effort, generates zeal, directs his mind towards it, tries.

It generates a desire to discard the bad, not good states that have arisen. He makes an effort, generates zeal, directs his mind towards it, tries.

It generates a desire for the emergence of good states that have not arisen. He makes an effort, generates zeal, directs his mind towards it, tries.

It generates a desire to maintain the good states that have arisen, to ensure their non-extinction, increase, growth, and implementation through development. He makes an effort, generates zeal, directs his mind towards it, tries. This is called right effort.

Right Attention

Right attention (smriti) consists of awareness of one's own body, sensations, mind and mental objects with the goal of achieving “continuous awareness.” Applying an objective view of the world, without personal judgment. By calming the consciousness and removing passions and emotional disturbances, as well as contemplation in order to strengthen positive and eliminate negative states of consciousness.

The practice of the Buddha consists of the fact that the Buddha did not seek to suppress various images, feelings and thoughts within himself, but “simply sat, observing his feelings and thoughts, how they arise and form random patterns.” As a consequence, he gradually saw himself as “an accumulation of physical and mental states,” impermanent and interdependent on each other; saw that the cause of the physical state is the action of desire, and desire is the surface layer of the “ego”, which is “the idea of one’s own “I”.”

Having studied the ego more closely, the Buddha saw it as the consequences of karma, observing action as consequences from the past. Contemplating this stream stretching from the past, Buddha realized that one stream gives rise to another, and so on without end. Having seen the entire chain of causes, the Buddha came to the realization that suffering and unrest occur due to desires emanating from the “ego” and this can only be stopped by destroying the illusions of egoism.

Correct Concentration

Correct concentration consists of deep meditation or dhyana*, as well as improving concentration and leading to the achievement of maximum contemplation or achievement samadhi*, so until complete freedom.

At this stage, the basic teaching of the Zen school is built.

Dhyana(Sanskrit ध्यान, dhyāna IAST, “contemplation”, “vision with the mind”, “intuitive vision”, “meditation”, “concentration”, “reflection”) - contemplation, “special concentration of consciousness on the object of contemplation”, “a strict special term , similarly understood in all the spiritual traditions of India, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism." In all Indian religions, dhyana leads to “calmation of consciousness”, and subsequently to a complete stop for some time of any mental activity. Wikipedia

Samadhi(Sanskrit समाधि, samādhi IAST, “integrity, unification; implementation, completion; composure; perfection”) - in Hindu and Buddhist meditative practices - a state in which the very idea of one’s own individuality (but not consciousness) disappears and the unity of the perceiver and the perceived arises . Samadhi is that state of enlightenment achieved by meditation, which is expressed in calmness of consciousness, the removal of contradictions between the internal and external worlds (subject and object), the merging of individual consciousness as a microcosm with the cosmic absolute as a macrocosm. Samadhi is the last step of the eightfold path (the Noble Eight Stage Path), leading a person close to nirvana.. Wikipedia

Breathing practices

Practices related to breathing, when the adept is completely absorbed in this action, seem to involve the body, but are used for awareness. There are other ways to develop mindfulness of your body - as methods of contemplation.

It is important not to divide feelings into favorable ones, and quite the opposite, as well as uncertain ones - it is necessary to objectively look at all types in relation to feelings. Look at whether he is self-interested, may be experiencing hatred for something, is gloomy or in joy, absent-minded or extremely attentive, etc. It is necessary to clearly understand all the movements of consciousness, where they come from and how they go away.

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Buddhism exists on the eightfold path. Eightfold Path of Buddha

Correct Behavior

Right way of life

Right Awareness

Correct speech

The Right Effort

Correct Concentration

Right View

Right Intention

Submitting your good work to the knowledge base is easy. Use the form below

Similar documents

Wisdom

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Right Intention

Moral

Correct speech

Correct Behavior

Right way of life

Spiritual discipline

Right Diligence (Effort)

Right Attention

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Breathing practices

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