The Five-Minute Buddhist Returns: The Five-Minute Buddhist, #3

Introduction

It’s been two years since The Five-Minute Buddhist was released, based on posts from the DailyBuddhism.com website. Since then, I’ve intermittently added to the site, updated and edited some old posts, and added a few new ones.

For the first book, I handpicked the articles and posts that I thought would be most interesting to someone considering becoming a Buddhist. This time through, I wanted to capture the fun and more random nature of the daily blog format. I briefly considered organizing and categorizing the various topics here; Beginning Buddhism, Real-World Applications, Meditation, Theory, etc. Then I rethought that. Nah. The best part of the DailyBuddhism.com website, for me anyway, was not knowing what the next topic would be. The vast majority of material on the site revolves around reader-submitted questions and comments, and not knowing what topic tomorrow brings is half the fun. So I left things alone.

The site is still active and growing, and almost all the topics that follow have a number of reader comments on the site, many of which include different answers (Dare I say better? Sometimes they are!) and suggestions to the questions. There’s a lot of value in the extra knowledge my readers have contributed.

The nearly hundred-and-fifty letters, lessons, koans, and comments that follow are roughly in the order that they appeared on the site. Some of them respond to points made one or two posts prior to them, others reference things that happened years ago. I think they’re all pretty self-explanatory, and for the subjects that were covered years ago (or in another book) there are links to the original posting. There’s a brief Buddhist Refresher section in the beginning that explains (or re-explains) the essential beliefs of Buddhism for any newbies here, and then we dive right in to the more-or-less random topics that the world throws at us.

A few brief notes about the book that follows: Most of the material herein was written between 2007 and 2009. A couple of the articles here mention the 2008 Presidential Election, and one of them contains an incident with the local weather. Despite a few of the situations being a bit dated today, the lessons involved are still worthwhile. There are a lot of Internet links to the DB site, to YouTube, and to Amazon. Keep in mind that almost all of the material that follows was written for a website/blog, and an important part of the site is the outside information that it links to. The Amazon links are there for your further reading if you’re interested, and that is the only reason they are here. There are no affiliate links; I’m not trying to peddle their books for them. As far as the links to my own site are concerned, these are mostly to articles and posts that I have already covered in another book and did not want to repeat here.

As with the original publication of these articles, if there is any topic you’d like to know more about, have something to add, or disagree with me completely, then find the topic on the website and contribute your thoughts.

--Brian Schell

The Five-Minute Buddhist

http://DailyBuddhism.com

Part I

The Basics of Buddhism

Question:

As a young soul interested in entering the path of Buddhism, what is a good way to start? I find it almost overwhelming to just start. I meditate, I practice key points of the dharma, and I live accordingly. I’ve been told I think too much, but if you could give me a sort of step-by-step start up guide, it would be a great help for the transition process.

Thanks again for all that you are and all that you continue to teach us.

Answer:

Excellent question, and one that I am asked increasingly often. We’ve moved past the really beginner stuff here on the DailyBuddhism site and newsletter, but new folks keep joining us. For the next few posts, I am going to present a series on Getting Started in Buddhism. Old-timers and long-term readers probably already know all this already, but reviewing the basics once a year isn’t going to hurt.

What is Buddhism?

Buddhism is a path of real-world practices and internal spiritual development, which leads to insight into the true nature of life. Practices such as meditation are means of changing oneself in order to develop and perfect the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The methods developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years have created an incredible array of resources for all those who wish to follow the path which ultimately culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood.

The foundation of Buddhism is the Fourfold Noble Truth:

The world is full of suffering and stress.

The cause of this suffering and stress is desire and irrational grasping.

If this desire can be removed, then suffering and stress will be ended.

Desire can be removed by following the Noble Eightfold Path:

1) Right View

2) Right Intention

3) Right Action

4) Right Speech

5) Right Livelihood

6) Right Effort

7) Right Mindfulness

8) Right Concentration

Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a god, some people do not consider it a religion, but more of a philosophy. The basic teachings of Buddhism are straightforward and practical: nothing is permanent; actions have consequences; but change is possible. Thus Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, or gender.

It also teaches practical methods such as meditation, which enable people to make use of its teachings in order to transform their lives, to be fully responsible for those lives, and to develop the desirable qualities of Wisdom and Compassion.

Buddhism began about 523 B.C.E., and the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha by name, was originally a Hindu from northern India. His birthplace, Lumpini, is now part of Nepal. The bible of Buddhism is the Tripitaka, or Three Baskets, and is formed of the Sutta (Sutras of the Buddha), Vinaya (precepts for the Sangha), and the Abhidhamma (higher teachings, or analytical writings about the higher states). The oldest extant manuscripts date to the first century B.C.E. There are various sects of Buddhism, and they all place more or less emphasis and value on written scriptures.

There are approximately 362 million Buddhists in the world. There are many different forms of Buddhism, which developed and grew as it spread from India and Nepal throughout Asia. The three main vehicles are Theravada (sometimes known as Hinayana), Mahayana and Tantrayana (also known as Vajrayana). Theravada is the oldest tradition and is practiced predominantly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, and Laos. Theravada practice has the goal of reaching the state of Nirvana, becoming an arhat, and achieving liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Mahayana predominates in Northern India, China, Japan, and Vietnam. Tantrayana predominates in Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia. Both Mahayana and Tantrayana practice is primarily to help all sentient beings reach enlightenment and in doing so achieve both Nirvana and Buddhahood. In Tantrayana additional tantric practices are used in order to achieve Buddhahood more quickly.

Who was Buddha?

The legend of Buddha’s life has been told and re-told for thousands of years. There are versions of the story that are very fanciful and magical, and others that are more down-to-Earth and realistic. Nothing was written down during the Buddha’s lifetime, so everything we know today comes to us secondhand. Don’t be too attached to the factuality of the story, as most of it is probably mythological embellishment. There is a lot of mythology involved with Buddhism, and it is completely unnecessary to believe any of it to practice Buddhism. The accuracy of the story is not really the point, but you should know the details to understand much of what has been written about Buddhism. Here is probably the most commonly told version of the tale:

Around 2500 years ago, King Shuddodana Gautama of the Shakya clan ruled in northern India. He built a great castle and ruled his people well. One night, his wife, Queen Maya, had a strange dream wherein she saw a white elephant enter her womb through the side of her chest. She soon found that she was indeed pregnant. The people of the kingdom were thrilled that there would soon be a royal heir.

Planning to have the child at her parents’ home, Maya traveled there before the birth. Legend states that on April 8th, on the way to Queen Maya’s ancestral home, she stopped to rest in a garden. Reaching for a blossoming branch in the garden, she suddenly and painlessly, had the child. Unfortunately, a few days later, Queen Maya died.

The baby was named Siddhartha, which means Every wish fulfilled, and was raised within his father’s grand castle. His father, of course, expected young Siddhartha to succeed him as King at some point in the future.

Fate, however, had other plans for Siddhartha. A wandering holy man came to the castle to see the King. He had a vision concerning the young Prince and went to tell the King. He foretold that the young boy had two possible futures, either as a great King who would rule the entire world, or as a great holy man. The King decided immediately that his son would not leave the castle and learn to be the great future King.

Young Siddhartha lived in the castle and grew up inside its protective walls, never seeing anything that would make him think of spiritual or religious things. His father was careful to remove all hints of the real suffering that accompanies this world. The Prince lived a perfectly-shielded life. His father arranged a marriage, and then Siddhartha had a son of his own. Not long after, on a parade through the city, he spotted four sights that forever changed his life.

First, he saw a sick man. He had never been sick or even seen sickness before, and it shocked him. He asked his good friend and charioteer, Will I become sick? The charioteer answered truthfully, Yes, eventually we all get sick. They continued through the city, and the Prince spotted a very old man. Never having seen an old person before, he asked, Will I grow old like that man? to which the charioteer answered similarly. Lastly, he saw a dead man being carried away in a funeral procession. Will I die? he asked, and he did not like the answer. He then saw a wandering holy man, begging for food and telling people who would listen how to be good and live in peace. This struck Siddhartha as the best way to live, so he decided to become a wandering monk.

That very night, leaving his wife and young son behind, Siddhartha abandoned the castle and went off to live in the wilderness as a wandering holy man. He met up with five other ascetic mendicants, monks who refused to eat, and spent all day in meditation and denying all worldly pleasures. For years he studied with the ascetics, and nearly starved to death in the process. After six years studying in this manner, he finally decided that he would learn no more following this path. He decided that denying the world was wrong, but that enjoying life too much, as in his younger days, was bad as well. He decided to follow a Middle Path. His friends, the other five mendicants, abandoned him, since he no longer believed as they did. They called him weak for giving up that lifestyle.

He then sat beneath a Bodhi tree and meditated. During this meditation, he was tempted in many ways to abandon his search for truth and live a life of pleasure. He rejected every temptation and continued his struggle to know. At last, he succeeded, becoming enlightened under the Bodhi tree, and the world would never be the same for him. At 35 years old, he became a Buddha, one who is awake.

He met up with his five mendicant friends. He quickly convinced them that his path was real, and they became his first followers. He traveled the countryside, teaching his ways, and word quickly spread about this man who taught the Path to Enlightenment. He soon had many thousands of followers. He was eventually reunited with his father, wife and son, and they too, became his followers.

He traveled around teaching for decades, and at around age 80, died from eating some spoiled food. He foresaw his death, but continued teaching as always until the very moment of death. He closed his eyes and in perfect peace, moved on to Nirvana. Stories about his life, his teachings, and his Path were written down and his followers continued to spread the message for the next 2500 years.

Since then, people have known him by many names: Siddhartha, Buddha, Gotama, Shakyamuni, Enlightened One, Tathagata, and many others. Not a god, just a man, but the greatest teacher of all time.

The Four Noble Truths

The First Noble Truth

The very foundation of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths. I can’t think of a better place to start than these ideas. This is really the heart of Buddhism.

The first Noble Truth is that In life there is much suffering.

Buddha later explained this to include suffering during birth, aging, illness, death, association with unpleasant people and conditions, separation from loved ones and pleasant conditions, and inability to possess what one desires. Everyone experiences these things.

Many people, hearing this most basic rule of Buddhism, immediately come to the conclusion that Buddhism is a negative thing, a depressing thing, and a real downer. This is not the case.

Buddha expanded on the idea of suffering by taking into consideration that all happiness is temporary. Everything is in fact temporary. This idea is what Buddhists call impermanence. No matter what you have, who you love, or what you do; eventually you will lose it. You will grow old and suffer; your friends and family will die. The great works you have done in your life will fade from memory. You will eventually die. You can build a stone monument that lasts three thousand years, but it too will eventually turn to dust. Yes, it’s depressing, but you have to admit that it’s true.

Buddha, coming from a background as a Hindu, took that second idea of suffering and expended it infinitely. If so much of life is suffering, then what does rebirth add to the mix? The answer is eternal suffering. Once you die and get a little relief in this life, the cycle starts over again.

Also keep in mind that when I say suffering, I am poorly translating the word Dukkha which does mean suffering, but also means imperfect and unsatisfying as well as grasping. Here is one translation of Buddha’s own explanation:

Now this is the noble truth of suffering: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.

This idea of suffering is hard to accept, because we have been raised to think of life and the world as basically a good thing. And this is true to a certain extent; we can be happy for a while, but you always know in the back of your mind that sooner or later the happiness will end. This really is some depressing and sad stuff. Fortunately, Buddha found the reason for this suffering and figured out a way to defeat it.

The Second Noble Truth

The Buddha wanted to cure the condition of suffering in the world, and he did. But just like any doctor, before he could cure the suffering, he had to diagnose the cause of the suffering.

The Second Noble Truth is the idea that There is a single cause to suffering: Attachment.

Again, all things are impermanent. No matter how much you love your car, or your dog, or your family, someday you will lose them. Or you will die yourself, and thereby lose everything you have accumulated in life.

Nothing is permanent.

Nothing.

I don’t like it, and you probably don’t like it either, but that’s tough. Attachment to things and the resultant loss of those things causes suffering. If you’ve ever lost a loved one, you know exactly what I mean. But you don’t actually have to lose someone to suffer, because you know deep down that someday you are going to lose them. That thought is always in the back of your mind; death is part of living, and we have accepted the idea.

This is a very logical idea, and if you think it through, I think you will agree. All suffering comes from attachment, or put in another way, desire. I desire a new Ferrari, but I can’t afford it. I suffer because I cannot have what I want. I’m hungry; all I have to do is go the kitchen and make a sandwich, but right now, I desire food, and that little bit of hunger is a mild form of suffering. Poor people around the world are hungry too, but they don’t have sandwiches handy; they suffer too, albeit more seriously than I do. I want to date a supermodel, but they won’t give the time of day. Maybe my sights aren’t so high, and I have a crush on the girl next door (but she hates me!); there’s more suffering.

Greed, Lust, Anger, Ignorance, and even emotions we think of as positive, such as Love are all forms of attachment or clinging. There’s no way around it; even Buddha himself got hungry and had physical needs.

What about physical pain? That’s attachment as well. You are attached to your own body, believing that this life is somehow real. Your body is not you, it’s just another temporary vessel. We’ll discuss this further another time, but your attachment to yourself is just as bad as aching with lust for a supermodel.

Think about it for yourself; don’t take my word for it. You will find that everything about essential Buddhism is completely logical when you dwell on it and analyze it a bit. Think about various forms of suffering, and see how they can be traced back to desire, attachment, or clinging of one form or another.

The Third Noble Truth

Now we know that the world is full of suffering and the cause of all of it is desire and attachment. These are important ideas to really understand and think through.

The Third Noble Truth is the idea that Suffering can be beaten.

We know from the first two Truths that everyone, everywhere is suffering in one way or another, and that all this suffering is related to attachment and desire. Doctor Buddha first identified the problem (suffering), and then he found the cause of the sickness (Attachment), so the next step was to prescribe a cure.

Yes, there is a way to beat this depressing