Fundamental Buddhism

Fundamental Buddhism Explained Summary

Explicit explanation of Buddhism based on the Pali Canon recognized by Buddhist scholars as the oldest surviving written record of what the Buddha actually taught.

BENEFITS

• Ending Anguish, Despair, Suffering, Pain

• Peace of Mind

• Self-Realization of the Ultimate Truth

For more effective comprehension, we suggest reading slowly out loud.

Our organization promotes fundamental Buddhism to those seeking Perfect Wisdom and the permanent escape from all anguish via the realization of True Ultimate Reality, Nirvana, achievable through intense effort and dedication, here and now, even before death in this state. We do this by providing this written dialogue, free of charge, to people who are searching for THE ULTIMATE TRUTH, who will in meditation and deep concentration reflect on, test, analyze and weigh up what they have read.

Buddhism is one of the world’s great religions. The religion is based on the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as The Buddha, who lived approximately 557 B.C. to 477 B.C. The word "Buddha" means a Supremely Enlightened One or Fully Awakened One (also a Tathagata) who has won the realization of the True Permanent Absolute Reality, THE ULTIMATE TRUTH.

The fundamental Buddhism we promote is based on our extensive study and interpretation of the English translations of the Buddha’s discourses, almost 5,000 pages, translated in 16 volumes by the Pali Text Society. They are part of the Pali Canon Collection (Tipitaka), a total of 12,800 pages.

These Pali Text Society translations are available through direct purchase from the Pali Text Society. These discourses were compiled almost immediately after the Buddha’s death by the thousands of monks the Buddha established during his 45-year ministry. They were committed to writing in 29 B.C. They contain the heart of Buddhist teachings and are recognized by all Buddhist scholars as the oldest in existence. To obtain your own copies of the Pali Canon, write or e-mail for the MAIL-ORDER BOOK LIST from the Pali Text Society. Their mail and e-mail address is at the end of this summary.

For a definitive understanding of what the Buddha really taught, there is no substitute for these recognized oldest written records of what the Buddha actually said. The first 3 volumes that we heartily recommend for study are the Middle Length Sayings (Majjhima-Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaaya, Further Dialogues of the Buddha), Volumes 1, 2 and 3. These three volumes contain most of the key essentials for understanding fundamental Buddhism, for thoroughly understanding the way things truly are, and for knowing the course back to True Ultimate Reality.

The next discourse volumes are: Kindred Sayings (Sanyutta-Nikaya, Sa.myutta-Nikaaya, The Book of the Kindred Sayings) Volumes 1 to 5, then Gradual Sayings (Anguttara-Nikaya, A"nguttara-Nikaaya, The Book of the Gradual Sayings) Volumes 1 to 5, followed by Dialogues of the Buddha (Digha-Nikaya, Diigha Nikaaya, Dialogues of the Buddha) Volumes 1, 2 and 3.

These discourses uttered by the Buddha, which deal with realizing True Permanent Reality, ARE AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER to those seeking Enlightenment, for those seeking Nirvana (Nibbana), for those seeking the escape from all anguish and suffering, for those seeking the Ultimate Truth.

Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince in a kingdom around what is now the border area between India and Nepal. At the age of 29, desiring to know the path that lead to the ending of all impermanence and anguish, to ensuring his permanent well-being, he renounced everything of the world, becoming a homeless ascetic, vowing to find the way to True Ultimate Reality.

He was a Bohdisattva, which is one who goes through an intense period of development and practice in order to attain the realization of Perfect Wisdom, Total Supreme Enlightenment, Buddhahood.

At the age of 35, by way of total focus of his entire being on this single goal, he accomplished his purpose and attained the realization of Perfect Wisdom. He found the answer that lead to the complete cessation of all impermanence and anguish, that lead to reaching the other shore that is Permanent True Reality – Nirvana. He then began to teach, instruct and guide others who similarly were seeking Wisdom and Enlightenment. It is the teaching of The Buddha that is the foundation of Buddhism.

In fundamental Buddhism, the emphasis is on seeing Truth, on knowing it, and on understanding it. The emphasis is NOT on BLIND faith. The teaching of Buddhism is on "come and see" but never on come and believe. Buddhism is rational and requires personal effort, stating that by only one’s own efforts can Perfect Wisdom be realized. Each individual is responsible for his or her own emancipation from anguish and suffering.

Buddhism allows each individual to study and observe Truth internally and requires no blind faith before acceptance. Buddhism advocates no dogmas, no creeds, no rites, no ceremonies, no sacrifices, no penances, all of which must usually be accepted on blind faith. Buddhism is not a system of faith and worship but rather it is merely a Path to Supreme Enlightenment.

The Buddha referred to his teaching as simply a raft to leave this shore of suffering and impermanence, and to get to the other shore of bliss and safety, True Permanent Reality, Nirvana. Upon realization of Nirvana, the raft is no longer needed.

The Buddha referred to his teaching as the Middle Path, called this because it avoids the extremes of both self-indulgence in the world and the self-mortification of strict asceticism. The path he taught incorporates both intellectual progress plus spiritual progress with practice that reflects compassion, morality, wisdom and concentration while at the same time seeing and understanding the world of existence as it truly is.

It should be noted in this dialogue, which attempts to outline what Buddhism really is, that no coercion, no persecutions and no fanaticisms play any part in Buddhism.

Buddhism is the PATH OF ESCAPE for those seeking the permanent end here and now of all anguish. And what exactly is anguish? Anguish is birth, suffering, pain, sorrow, sickness, disease, old age, decay, death, grief, despair, poverty, evil, lamentations, woe, tribulations, misfortune, war, insanity, hunger, unfulfilled wants, unfulfilled basic needs, association with the unwanted, disassociation from the wanted, and is what is unstable and uncontrollable. Buddhism is for those who have come to see that what has been CREATED is IMPERMANENT; and that whatever is impermanent is inherently ILL. No permanent bliss or happiness is to be found in what is impermanent, only pain and peril.

The aim of living the path of the doctrine of Buddhism is to plunge into Nirvana. It has Nirvana as its goal. Nirvana is its ending. True Reality realized. The Uncreated, the Unborn, the permanent bliss of Nirvana. The Eightfold Noble Path of Buddhism is the means to this end. Eight activities – a very specific course of actions – that must be simultaneously developed to realize the goal, Nirvana.

The first part of the Eightfold Noble Path is RIGHT VIEW or RIGHT UNDERSTANDING.

This means knowing the Four Noble Truths.

• The First Noble Truth is the knowledge that ALL that has been CREATED is IMPERMANENT. And whatever is impermanent is inherently ILL. And what is impermanent and ill is SELFLESS.

• Two is the knowledge that the arising of ill is based on ignorance and it is perpetuated by the craving and intoxication for sensuality and sensations, becoming and rebecoming, delusion and ignorance.

• Three is the knowledge that the CEASING of this ill that has arisen, the stopping of all future becomings, is Nirvana. True Reality realized, freed of this ill.

• Four is the knowledge of the Eightfold Noble Path that leads to the cessation of this ill and to winning the goal: Nirvana. True Permanent State of Self, Permanent Changeless Absolute Reality ITSELF, Suchness, Perfect Wisdom.

The second part is RIGHT THINKING or RIGHT AIM. This means to aspire to attain realization of Perfect Wisdom, the Ultimate True Permanent Reality. To abstain from all evil acts of thought. To attain the total destruction of all cravings. To renounce all manifesting, all constructions, all that is "created" make-believe.

To develop dispassion, total detachment, absolute renunciation, self-surrender. To bring about the cessation of all "created" realities. To Self-Realize the Incomparable Awakening of Self. To win the freedom of Mind, the freedom through Perfect Intuitive Wisdom, the sane and immune emancipation of Will.

The third part is RIGHT SPEECH. To abstain from all lying speech, all perjurious speech, all evil abusive speech and all frivolous speech. To engage in speech and discussion that pertains to and leads to Nirvana, to what’s actually PERMANENT and REAL.

The fourth part is RIGHT ACTION. To abstain from all killing of all creatures. To abstain from all stealing. To abstain from all sensual and sexual misconduct. To abstain from all evil acts. To abstain from all forms of intoxication.

The fifth part is RIGHT LIVING. To abstain from all evil ways of living; to abstain from all evil methods of livelihood.

The sixth part is RIGHT EFFORT. To destroy all EVIL STATES OF MIND that have already arisen; to keep NEW evil states of mind FROM arising; to maintain and grow GOOD STATES OF MIND that have already arisen; and to make grow NEW good states of mind that have not yet arisen, such as loving kindness for ALL Beings, compassion and pity for ALL creatures, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

The seventh part is RIGHT MINDFULNESS. To contemplate as impermanent, ill and Selfless: Body, Feelings, Perception, Mind, Consciousness, Thought, Mental States, Mental Objects and Mental Activity. To grow revulsion for the world, seeing it for the decaying creation that it is, and to grow dispassion, total detachment, calm, tranquility, seeing that everything is not Self. To disregard all that is perceived, remaining aloof from both the pleasures as well as the pains arising from the creation of senses and sensuality.

The eighth part is RIGHT CONCENTRATION. Aloof from the world, aloof from evil states, aloof from all sensations from the senses, dwelling in solitude, seclusion, ardent, diligent, Self-resolute, develop one-pointedness of Mind through intense meditation and reflection.

To enter in, AND THEN TRANSCEND, eight higher states of consciousness that lead to increasing Intuitive Wisdom, Insight and Direct Super-Knowledge, and to destroying the addictions and cravings, and to realizing True Reality, effectively piercing the shell of ignorance and delusion. As one attains the higher states of Mind, Consciousness, the true nature of how things really are can be seen clearly, both intuitively and with supreme effort, by direct Super-Knowledge. True Reality unfolding, Self-Enlightenment of Self by Self.

The developed links of the Eightfold Noble Path are these: Purity of Moral Habit is of purpose as far as Purity of Mind; Purity of Mind is of purpose as far as Purity of View; Purity of View is of purpose as far as Purity through Crossing Over Doubt; Purity through Crossing Over Doubt is of purpose as far as Purity of Knowledge and Insight into the Path and what is NOT the Path to True Reality; Purity of Knowledge and Insight into the Path and what is NOT the Path to True Reality is of purpose as far as Purity of Knowledge and Insight into the Course, into Progress along the Path; Purity of Knowledge and Insight into the Course, into Progress along the Path is of purpose as far as Purity arising from Knowledge and Insight; Purity arising from Knowledge and Insight is of purpose as far as Nirvana realized, without any attachment remaining for what was created, impermanent, ill and without essence, Selfless.

The Seven Links of Enlightenment to cultivate begin with MINDFULNESS, contemplating body and feelings, mind and mental states, thought and ideas, ardent, clearly conscious of them and mindful of them so as to control the covetousness and dejection common in the world; followed by INVESTIGATION of the Dharma, learning and remembering the doctrine that leads to True Reality, the Uncreated; followed by ENERGY of effort; followed by ZEST; then TRANQUILITY; then CONCENTRATION; and finally EQUANIMITY.

The Five Controlling Factors are: The Power of Faith, the Power of Energy, the Power of Mindfulness, the Power of Concentration, and the Power of Insight.

The Basis of Psychic Power are the features of Desire, Energy, Thought and Investigation, together with the co-factors of Concentration and Struggle, with the focus of will: "I WILL win, attain, realize and abide in Nirvana, the Deathless, the Unborn, True Permanent Absolute Reality Realized, right here and right now." And the practice that leads to the cultivation of Psychic Power to win the goal is the Eightfold Noble Path.

The Three Controlling Faculties are:

The Consciousness that says: I shall know the unknown, the Unborn, the Uncreated, ALL of what is to be known, THE True Permanent State of Reality;

then followed by the Consciousness of Knowing;

and then followed by the Consciousness of One who HAS the knowing.

And the "knowing" by Intuitive Wisdom, Insight and Direct Knowledge is this:

The True Permanent State of Reality is Nirvana, THAT which is the Unborn, the Unmade, the Unmanifested, the Not-Made, the Unconditioned, the Truth, the Uncreated, the Unconstructed, the Not-Created, the Subtle, the Stable, the Undecaying, the Unaging, the Undying, the Deathless, the Taintless, the Peace, the Bliss, the Purity, the Excellent, the Perfection and Grandeur of Wisdom, the State of Freedom from Ill, the Release from Ill, the Nameless, the Serenity and Purity of Absolute Changeless Reality ITSELF, the Norm, the Wonderful, the Goal, the REAL.

In short, THE END – what always was, not compounded, permanent and IS with ALL that has been CREATED, compounded, impermanent and fleeting, CEASING TO BE. Existence, with its realms of sense, form and formlessness, the physical universe and all realms from the hells to the heavens ARE ALL CONSTRUCTIONS.

Fabricated artificial realities, with Self, THAT WHICH IS ABSOLUTE PERMANENT REALITY ITSELF, experiencing "vicariously" senses, sensations and sense experiences through incalculable manifested creations of Body and Mind -- "Beings" – in incalculable varieties of manifested created worlds of both materiality and immateriality – low, middle and high – realms ranging from the heavens to the hells.

But ALL that is created is impermanent, subject to decay and ending, and thus inherently a state of ill-being, and therefore Selfless, for the true nature of Absolute Reality ITSELF is not truly part of or in these manifestations, this round of playing "sand-castles" -- this vast puppet show of make-believe fiction, this delusion supported by a state of Self-Ignorance.

According to Buddhism, any "Being" that does not resolve to attain Self-Enlightenment and True Reality will continue to "reform" these constructed fabricated realities of sense desire, form and formlessness. Continuous future rebirth will be and each "life" will be good or bad, happiness or unhappiness, pleasure or pain, or a combination of the two, all according to the good or evil PAST deeds done of act, speech and thought, with MIND being the forerunner of all manifestations of constructed realities and created fabricated individual entity within such conditioned, made states of existence.

In short, a pendulum of rebirth, going back and forth continuously between hells, heavens and the physical universe, UNTIL the SELF of each "Being" decides to make an end of all manifesting, an end to living vicariously through constructions of artificial realities, to make an ESCAPE from what has been created, from what has become a tangled decayed, putrid manifested mass of suffering, pain and anguish perpetuated by craving, hatred, lust, delusion, illusion and ignorance.

The evidence of perpetuating, continuous rebirth and reforming, with future "lives" determined according to former deeds done in PAST lives, can be readily seen in the wide diversity of Beings born into this world who immediately have great good fortune or have great misfortune, EVEN THOUGH NO DEEDS OF ANY KIND HAVE YET BEEN DONE IN THEIR NEW LIFE! Think about this and then compare your "present" life to the lives of the other five billion "human" Beings in this world, and indeed to the lives of ALL the world’s different types of Beings.

The goal of Buddhism is to escape this REPEATING ILL that has arisen, this repeating rebirth and reforming, via the destruction of the "craving" for senses and sensations of the senses, for rebecoming as this or that, for delusion and for ignorance.

And if you think the world is NOT really full of despair, suffering, pain and anguish, YOU NEED TO EXAMINE CLOSELY the nature of this world you live in without the "rose-colored glasses."

Just because in this life YOUR suffering and anguish are not "too bad" you may not yet be immune from rebirth where your next life is as horrible as tens of millions of human lives are NOW this very day throughout this world.

Think of "life" and ALL THAT HAS BEEN CREATED as sort of like an addictive repeating daydream – very, very old, incalculable in age, long corrupted, perverted, debased, become tainted by decomposition.

To awake from the fantasy, the first step is for the Self to investigate, analyze and reflect on what is really going on around here, and thus see, that ALL IS IMPERMANENT, and then to see and know that what is impermanent, fleeting and subject to change is inherently ILL, ANGUISH and UNHAPPINESS.

Then, with Perfect Intuitive Wisdom, KNOW that whatever is impermanent, subject to change and therefore ill cannot be SELF IN ITS TRUE NATURE. The Self THEN must begin to look for a means of escape from this addictive daydream, this nightmarish artificial reality that has arisen that IS pain, anguish and suffering.

Has it not yet occurred to you: WHY do I, liable to birth, disease, anguish, decay, aging and death seek those things likewise liable to birth, disease, anguish, decay, aging and death, that which too is impermanent.

Would it not be to my assured permanent well-being that I, although being liable to birth because of Self, to disease, anguish, decay, aging and death, having seen the peril of what is likewise liable to birth, should instead seek Nirvana, TRUE PERMANENT ABSOLUTE REALITY, the permanent security from this CREATED manifested mass of pain, anguish and suffering.

Material shape, feelings, perception, activities and mind/consciousness are an addictive lure to perpetuating false realities within these fabricated realms of existence, these conditioned, made, artificial, temporary, transitory, fictitious states of existence. Ultimately, desire for these constructions MUST be put away in order for the permanent bliss of True Reality to be realized.

And WHAT IS SELF, True Permanent Absolute Reality? From the perspective of a constructed creation in a constructed world in a fabricated reality, a "Selfless" mind could never know the nature of the Uncreated. True Reality of Self is unfathomable, inconceivable, immutable, inscrutable, deep, boundless, unmeasurable, markless, signless, undefinable, incomprehensible.

Only Self, Supremely Awake, can know ITSELF. And the Self of a given manifested created "Being" that is FULLY awake, that is called a BUDDHA.

Now what is seen, heard, sensed, known, attained, sought after, thought out by Mind is impermanent. Perfect "CORRECT" views cannot be created from something created, a construction that is Selfless. Only True Permanent Absolute Reality, through ITS Self-Realization, Intuitive Wisdom and FULL Self-Awakened Enlightenment can KNOW.

Absolute True Reality IS Self. But since ABSOLUTE TRUE REALITY is incomprehensible, is not the view then that "this" – a manifested BEING after dying, I as this personality, this individuality -- will become permanent, lasting eternal, not liable to change, I will stand fast unto the eternal, is this not complete folly since ALL that is created and impermanent is essentially fantasy, a mental puppet show. This is why a Buddhist eliminates all false views and the vain conceit that "IN" what is CREATED and IMPERMANENT there is "anything permanent" that can truly say, "I AM, MINE, I SHALL BE and I AM THE DOER."

But… "through" what is manifested, the following can be said:

Body, feelings, perception, activities and mind/consciousness are not the Self. Self does not have body, feelings, perception, activities and mind/consciousness. Body, feelings, perception, activities and mind/consciousness are not in the Self. The Self is not in the body, feelings, perception, activities, mind/consciousness. These constructed things in fabricated fantasy realities, according to a Being who follows fundamental Buddhism, are looked at as, "These CREATED things are NOT mine, these am I not, these things are not the Self of me, and are not the Self of all Beings in all fabricated realities."

The Ten Fetters that "bind" Beings to perpetuating themselves in artificial, manufactured, fictitious realities are:

1. Notions of a permanent individual personality, soul or self
2. Attachment to wrong views, rites, rituals, dogma, superstitions
3. Doubt and confusion
4. Liking, attachment, passions, sense desires, lust, greed
5. Disliking, aversion, hatred, malice, ill will, spite
6. Lust and craving for perpetuating forms and hereafter’s of Fine Materiality
7. Lust and craving for perpetuating formlessness and hereafter’s of Immateriality
8. Wrong views of conceit plus pride and arrogance, declaring "I am the doer"
9. Excitement for constructions and perpetuating artificial realities, Self-Delusion and Self-Illusion
10. Addiction to Self-Deception and a complete state of Self-Ignorance, necessary for the ILLUSION of artificial realities and individuality to seem real, necessary for not seeing the impermanence and ill for what it is, and the pain and peril associated with these addictive, ill-conceived, conditioned, fleeting states of fabricated fictitious existence.

This comprises "the engine" that drives the continuation and repetition for each Point of View of Self.

The goal is to destroy the addictions, the cravings, that perpetuate the manifesting of constructed realities where there is the VICARIOUS experience of senses, sensations and feelings within constructed worlds within fabricated realms, all of which are impermanent, ill and Selfless. This ending of all cravings, addictions and manifesting equals Nirvana, the True Permanent State of Reality, FREED from what has arisen.

Buddhism and the Dharma (dhamma) or doctrine is the Path to ending the addictions, the craving, the becoming again and again of constructed false states of existence; and instead, attaining the goal, THE TRUE STATE OF PERMANENT REALITY. And with the realization of that true state of permanent reality, that is the end of all suffering and anguish, the ending of all rebirth, the ending of all that is created, impermanent, ill and Selfless.

All craving, all addictions, all fetters MUST ultimately be renounced, destroyed, ended, forsaken and abandoned in order to end all rebirth, to end all renewal of false manufactured realities, and to win Nirvana, the Deathless, the true permanent state THAT IS IN FACT THE ONLY TRUE REALITY.

All constructed false states of existence and all constructed creations of all elements of both materiality and immateriality, material shape, body, sense organs, internal and external sense fields, sensations, feelings, experiences, perception, activities, mind, consciousness, thought and mental states are impermanent, ill and without Self. All constructions from a Buddhist perspective are looked at as, "Not mine, these creations am I not, these are not for me the Self, the Self of me." The true nature of Self, which is not OF or IN these things is the Unborn, the Uncreated, the Deathless, THAT which is inconceivable.

"Whatsoever, anywhere, in anything that has become, manifested; is put together, constructed; is thought out and affected, mentally created; is dependent on something else, on anything else, IS IMPERMANENT. What is impermanent that is inherently unhappiness, anguish, ill. What is impermanent, unhappiness, anguish and ill that is not mine, or of me, that am I not, that is not the Self of me."

SELF IS; but this, all else, is not. What is permanent is what is real. What is impermanent is what is not real.

All "this" – everything -- is created, thought out and affected, fleeting, impermanent, and is but a Selfless fantasy, an exhausted intellection, a notion, an imagining, a state of delusion, ALL made of thought, which must inherently end in dissolution. Everything is a decomposing round of make-believe fiction. And for one who no longer has any attachment or desire for what does not exist in truth, there is no longer mental anguish or rebirth.

Things are created, they are inherently subject to decay, and then finally, they are dissolved again.

For a very long, long time each Mind, each "point of view" of Self in this round of make-believe, has been tainted by craving, by lust, by hatred, by delusion and by illusion. And by a tainted Mind, and point of view of Self, "Beings" are tainted. By Purity of Mind, and point of view of Self, Beings are made pure. Mind and each point of view of Self have been ensnared in delusion, addicted to illusion, craving the pleasures of the concept of six spheres of sense; craving individuality and continuing rebirth as this or that; craving false views that support the delusion; and craving ignorance to continue what has been created, what has arisen.

Consider this: If the cravings and fetters of a given Being – a point of view of Self – had been destroyed in the previous "expression" of a constructed reality, there would have been no becoming again, NO new rebirth, no reforming of a new body and mind and continuing point of view. And thus, there would have been no new struggle, no new suffering, pain, anguish, grief, sorrow, lamentations, despair, sickness, disease, old age, decay and death. Each Being, each point of view of Self, must resolve, sooner or later, that IT SHALL NOT BE AGAIN, AND MINE IT SHALL NOT BE. This point of view has come to closure – Nirvana.

But until "a point of view of Self" awakes, makes an end of the craving for senses, sensations and pleasures of the senses; for perpetuating continued individuality, the rebecoming again and again of point of view in these manifestations; for delusion and false views; and for ignorance; then these artificial "created" realities will continue, and the pain and anguish and suffering of them.

And while these fabricated artificial existences continue, there is the CONTINUED PERIL of future pain, anguish and suffering, of future rebirth, manifesting AGAIN within LOWER fabricated worlds of increasing anguish because of past EVIL deeds of thought, word and action.

Until a created "Being" wins Nirvana, comes to closure, winning the Deathless, then for that Being what has been CREATED will continue, each Being wayfaring among constructed worlds and realms – high, middle and low.

There will be fruition of GOOD deeds of thought, speech and action; AND ALSO there will be fruition of EVIL deeds of thought, speech and action.

There will be MERIT in deeds of giving, sacrifice, offering and of loving kindness and compassion in thought, speech and actions toward other Beings (of all types); and there will be DEMERIT in such deeds as lying, slander, gossip, abusive speech, killing, stealing, sensual and sexual misconduct, wrong views and malevolent thought, speech and actions toward other Beings (of all types).

Beings ARE the heirs of their deeds. Deeds determine karma and karma determines future births and future events. This is how things work. This is what determines the different "storylines" for each Being for each life.

And this world is, and the world beyond is. And in this world there are "Beings" who have properly traveled THE RIGHT PATH OF ESCAPE TO NIRVANA, who have won THE GOAL, who have completed "the great quest" for the ultimate truth. They have destroyed the addictions, the cravings, the delusion and illusion, and they have reached Perfection, who of themselves by Supernormal Knowledge have fully realized this world, the world beyond, and WHO SEE THE WAY THINGS TRULY ARE, and proclaim it.

In conclusion, think of Buddhism as a correct means of ESCAPE from a state of make-believe. And escape from the satisfaction of the senses and the peril of the senses. It could be thought of like this: It is like being in a DARK theatre, vicariously enjoying the "make-believe experience" of a movie – fabricated existences in a fabricated reality. But the theatre is very old, decayed, on fire and now a source of pain. The Dharma of Buddhism is the EXIT SIGN.

If you want to escape permanently the pain, anguish and suffering, and continuous cycle of rebirth, struggle, anguish, decay, dying and death, and all the future pain and peril that go with it, you follow the exit sign. Buddhism IS the sign that says: THIS IS THE WAY TO SAFETY, THIS IS THE WAY OUT OF ANGUISH. The choice of when to escape is the decision of each Being.

If you want to pursue this religion, you should reflect on what you have read – investigating, analyzing, testing and weighing up the meaning for yourself.

You should purchase the Pali Text Society translated discourse volumes, beginning with the Middle Length Sayings, for more detailed study; and you should begin the Eightfold Noble Path, a course leading to practice and concentration where Knowledge, Insight and Intuitive Wisdom WILL arise within the SELF of YOU as you progress along the Noble Path, to be maintained until you win The Goal, Nirvana, True Reality Self-Realized, freed from ill, freed from all that has become, freed from all that is created, freed from all that has arisen, freed from this state of Self-Delusion, freed from this round of make-believe fiction.

That concludes our belief of what Fundamental Buddhism is actually all about. For more teaching, you need to invest in the recommended books plus reflect, study, investigate, meditate and concentrate.

BHAVA-CHAKRA

THE WHEEL OF LIFE: BHAVA-CHAKRA

Buddhist art is intended to inspire and inform practitioners. The Wheel of life (Sanskrit : bhava-chakra, Tibetan : srid pa’ikhor lo) painting is primarily a representation of the round rebirth and the various levels of sufferings within the round. It is traditionally placed outside the sanctuary of a Buddhist temple, in a place where a person entering a temple will see it. Thus the purpose of the Wheel of Life is to remind one of death and impermanence – that death is definite, the time of death is indefinite, and at the time of death nothing helps but religious practice. In this way the Buddhist is inspired to make effort at religious practice now while the opportunity is still present. Found almost universally in the Buddhist temples of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Mongolia, the earliest example of this painting that has been found is at the Ajanta caves, dating to perhaps as early as a century before Christ. It is a marvelously informative and evocative work of art.

The story of the Wheel of Life painting is that Buddha himself designed it. At the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, one King Udayana made a present of a jeweled robe to King Bimbisara, who was unable to present to King Udayana a gift of equal value. King Bimbisara consulted with his friend the Buddha about what he could give in return and Buddha described to him a painting showing the round of rebirth that he could have painted and present to King Udayana. Buddha also gave him the following stanzas to put with the painting:

Undertaking this and leaving that,

Enter into the teaching of the Buddha.

Like an elephant in a thatch house,

Destroy the forces of the Lord of death.

Those who with thorough consciousness

Practice this disciplinary doctrine

Will forsake the wheel of birth,

Bringing suffering to an end.

It is said that when the King received the picture and studied it, he gained nirvana or the enlightment, which is freedom from the round of rebirth.

The painting shows the fierce Lord of death holding a large circular object subdivided into sections. The object is compared to a mirror, showing unenlightened beings the nature of life in the round of rebirth. The lord of Death is a symbol of impermanence and holds the upper part of the circle in his mouth to indicate that we live between the jaws of death, able to die in any moment.

fig1

The Wheel Of Life

In the center of the “Mirror” are the rooster, the snake and the pig representing desire, hatred and ignorance – the three poisons that are the root causes of all suffering.

Each of the animals holds the tail of another in its mouth indicating that each of the poisons acts to assist and further the other, but the root of these is ignorance. The next circle out represents the virtuous (the left half of the circle) and non-virtuous (the right half of the circle) actions, which arise from the three poisons. As the figure indicate, virtuous actions lead one to the higher rebirths and non-virtuous lead one to the lower rebirths. These actions (karma) in turn give rise to the various levels of suffering in cyclic existence represented in the next circle out.

This circle is subdivided into five or six sections representing the six migrations or the six states of temporary rebirth to which a sentient being may migrate while in the round of rebirth. The three upper sections show the “happy” migrations for rebirth as a worldly god, demi-god or human and the three lower sections show the “sad” migrations for rebirth as an animal, hungry ghost or hell being. Whether “happy” or “sad”, the rebirth is temporary. As we are born into this life and eventually die out of it, so sentient beings are born into each of the migrations and eventually die out that life too. Life in cyclic existence is compared to a bee in a jar, for the bee may go to the top and to the bottom and all round but, wherever it goes, it is still in the jar. So there is the saying, “ there is no place where one has not been born”. Starting with the hells, let us look briefly at each of the six places where one migrates in the round of rebirth.

There are eighteen hells in the Buddhist cosmology – eight hot hells, eight cold hells, neighboring hells and trifling hells. There are different ways of painting the Wheel of Life, a condensed way which represent only a few of the many subdivisions of the migrations and an extensive way which sections off each of the six migrations and represents every variety of rebirth. The style represented here is the condensed version, only a few of the many types of hells are actually represented. These line drawings attempt to show hot hells and the cold hells, Yama, the Lord of Death, who is the figure holding the “mirror” of the round of rebirth rules over the limitless number of sentiment beings suffering in the hells, and his workers – who may be actual external beings or beings created by one’s own karma – assure constant torment for these pitiful beings. Hell beings suffer through the longest lives of all beings in the round of rebirth and endure the worst physical torment. However, unlike the Christian idea of hell, these beings do not suffer eternally, for all the states of rebirth are temporary. The main cause of being reborn in the hells is anger.

Also represented in the hell realm is a standing black Buddha. Again, there are different styles of painting the Wheel of Life. In one style, the Buddha is represented only outside of the round of rebirth, in the upper corner of the painting. This is meant to show that enlightenment is completely different from the round of rebirth. In the style represented here, the Buddha is represented not only outside the wheel of rebirth but also in each of the six migrations. In this case the Buddha is shown offering to the unenlightened beings in that migration what will help them most to counter the plight they are in. The hell beings suffer mainly from extreme hot and cold, so Buddha is shown holding in one hand an offering of ice for the hot hell beings and in the other hand an offering of warmth for the cold hell beings.

Somewhat more fortunate than the hell beings are the hungry ghosts, who suffer during long miserable lives mainly from hunger and thirst. Hungry ghost are obstructed from getting food and water by internal obstructions such as horribly malformed bodies, by external obstructions such as being born into a place that has no food or water or into a place where even if there is nourishment, there are kept from it by guards, or by both internal and external obstructions. The main cause of being born as a hungry ghost is an action of desire such as stealing or miserliness. Here the Buddha is red and if I have it right, is shown in the posture of giving, which would indicate that the Buddha is giving nourishment to the hungry ghosts.

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More fortunate than the hungry ghosts are the animals, who are traditionally divided by the Buddhist into animals scattered about the land and animals under the surface (as of the waters). Animals suffer especially from dullness and from having their bodies used for others purposes. The main cause of being reborn as an animal is an action of ignorance or dullness or by calling others by animal’s names. Here the Buddha is green and holds a text, indicating that the animals need learning.

More fortunate than the animals and any of the sentient beings in the “sad” migrations are we humans, represented in the upper-left part of the circle. One is born into a human life on the basis of a virtuous action. Here human are shown pursuing the householders life of a farmer, traveling on horseback, treating a patient, and practicing religion in the monastery. Humans suffer mainly from birth, aging, sickness and death. In the human realm, the Buddha is yellow and is shown religious life is the way out of the frights of cyclic existence.

More fortunate than humans are demi-gods. The gods and the demi-gods share their environment wit the animals. In their lands there grows a wish-granting tree. The roots and trunk of the tree is in the land of the demi-gods (in the far left of the section) and the branches and the fruit of the tree are in the land of the gods (in the top of the section). It is the fruit, which is able to grant one’s wishes, so the demi-gods get no benefit from this tree, which grows in their land. Thus, seeing the great benefits the gods have, the demi-gods are jealous of the gods and make war against them. Now the demi-gods are greatly outclassed militarily, and the gods defeat them in the battle. So the demi-gods suffer mainly from jealous of the gods and from making war with the gods. In the land of the demi-gods the Buddha is blue and holds a flaming sword, indicating that it is the sword of wisdom that is able to cut through all suffering and victory banner reminding the demi-gods that the ultimate victory is over ignorance and suffering.

The most fortunate beings in the round of rebirth are the gods, who live long, glorious lives enjoying ambrosia of the five colors- blue, yellow, white, red and green – and “sporting” with beautiful partners. Near the end of a god’s life for seven of their god days before passing away, a god sees clairvoyantly where he or she will take rebirth. Most likely this rebirth will be into one of the hells and seeing this, the god suffers the greatest mental suffering in the round of rebirth.

The general cause of being reborn into any of the “sad” migrations is a non-virtuous action and here I have linked the three “sad” migrations with the three poisons – hell to anger or hatred, hungry ghosts to desire, and animals to dullness or ignorance. One is reborn into the “happy” migrations on the basis of a virtuous action and here I have not linked these migrations – gods, demi-gods and humans – to particular types of virtuous actions such as generosity. Still, the general cause of a fortunate rebirth is a virtuous action and one may gain a higher or lower status within the happy migrations in dependence upon the strength of the action.

Within the round of rebirth, clearly the gods have the greatest fortune, for they live long, glorious lives relatively free of misery until the end. However, the most potent of the sentiment beings are humans, for we have what is called the “rank of action”. That is, what we do in our human lifetimes has greater effect. It is much less of a non-virtue for a lion to kill a human than it is for a human to kill another human. That is because we have greater choice. Our human lives are a good mixture of pleasure and misery. So, by the Buddhist way of thinking, we have a good opportunity for religious practice and enough difficulties to remind us of why we should practice. Clearly, suffering frequently serves to induce religious practice, but too much of a bad thing is just impossible.

Whether a sentient being performs a virtuous act, which is of the type that can impel a happy migration, or a non-virtuous act, which is of the type that can impel a sad migration, that act or karma is linked to ignorance, represented by the pig in the center of the painting. Ignorance is the power-source of cyclic existence and the source of all this abundant suffering. Of course, virtuous actions are better than non-virtuous actions and the results are better too, but both are linked to ignorance. This means mainly that one is ignorant of one’s own nature and implies also that one is ignorant of the nature of things other than oneself as well. Sentient beings cycle between the extremes of permanence and nihilism believing, on the one hand., that there is a permanent self that endures and, on the other hand, that there is no self at all. In either case, the sentient being never is right. Ignorance in the Buddhist context does not mean simply not knowing something but actively believing in the opposite of what is true. The idea is not that one goes through the day making many mistakes; rather one makes the same mistake all day long. Moreover, this assessment of the self is generalized to all other things. So on the basis of a mistaken view of one’s own nature, one is drawn into virtuous and non-virtuous actions misconceiving the nature of the object of one’s hatred, of one’s desire, of one’s generosity, of one’s ethics, and so on. In this way, both virtues and non-virtues are linked to ignorance.

The outer rim symbolizing the twelve links of dependent-arising indicates how the sources of suffering – actions and afflictive emotions – produce lives within cyclic existence.

The first of the series of twelve links of dependent- arising begins at about the two o’clock position with ignorance, which is here represented as an old man who is blind and walks with a cane. That the old man is blind indicates that ignorance is blind with regard to the causes of suffering and the causes of happiness, and that he walks with a cane indicates that ignorance does not have a valid foundation. Ignorance is the main link to be removed to break the chain.

The second link of dependent-arising is action, which is called compositional action because actions serve to compose or bring about pleasurable and painful effects. Action is symbolized by the potter.

The third link in the chain of dependent-arising is consciousness, represented by a monkey leaping from window to window in a house. Ignorance motivates the second link, action and when the action is completed, it imprints a potency on the consciousness. The image of the monkey is perhaps representative of a single consciousness moving from one portal of consciousness to another – the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mental consciousnesses.

The fourth link of dependent-arising is called “name and form” which refer to the mental and physical aggregates of the person who arises in a future lifetime in dependence on the action completed in link two and registered in potency form in link three. Name and form are represented by two people in a boat.

The fifth link of dependent – arising is the six sense spheres – the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mental senses. These are represented by an empty house with several windows to “peer out”. The internal sense powers, along with the consciousnesses and the external objects such as color and shape are required for perception.

The sixth link is contact, depicted by a man and a woman kissing. “Contact” refers to the meeting or “kissing” of the sense object with the sense powers and the consciousnesses. This contact causes one to distinguish the object as pleasurable, unpleasurable or neutral.

This perception of an object as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral induces feeling, the seventh link, which is represented by a man with an arrow stuck in his eye. This is the mental factor that experiences pleasure and so on. The eye is very sensitive and even a small cut will cause great suffering, so here feeling is represented as very effective in that it drives us to have more of the pleasure or to avoid the pain.

The eight link is attachment, which is shown as a man drinking beer. Attachment increases desire, but does not supply satisfaction.

The ninth link is grasping, represented as a monkey grabbing for fruit. Like attachment, grasping is a type of desire. The difference is that grasping, grabbing at an object one desires, is stronger.

The tenth link of dependent-arising is existence, represented by a pregnant woman. “Existence” refers to a fully potentialized karma which will produce the next lifetime. It is the seed that has popped out at the end of one’s life and carries one through to the next life. Just as the pregnant woman is ready to give birth, so the karma is ready to give rise to the next lifetime.

The eleventh link is birth, depicted literally. The karma depicted as the child in the womb in the last link is now taking birth or becoming actualized.

The final link of the twelve is aging and death, again depicted literally.

Outside the wheel of rebirth (in the upper right corner), the Buddha is shown pointing to the moon, representing nirvana, indicating that there is a way out of the wheel of suffering. In Sanskrit this painting is called bhava-chakra and in Tibetan it is called srid pa’I khor lo, either of which may be more properly called “Wheel of Existence” or “Wheel of Possibilities”. It is obvious that the main part of the painting explains life in the round of rebirth; however, since the Buddha is shown pointing toward liberation – that is, life outside the round of rebirth, the painting does indeed show the wheel of life, not just life in cyclic existence.

Thus, the Wheel of life painting may be considered as a visual representation of the four noble truths, for it shows:

True Sufferings: the sufferings of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and so forth.

True Origins: the three poisons of desire, hatred, and ignorance in the center.

True Cessations: the moon of liberation, and

True Paths: the Buddha pointing the way to the moon of liberation.

Buddha is revered as the one who showed the causes of suffering and the causes of happiness. That is, he showed the nature of life in the round of rebirth and the path leading to liberation from suffering and death. The wheel of Life expresses well what the Buddhist see as the possibilities for humans and all living beings.

NVC