Buddhism basics
"Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good." The Buddha
Buddhism is expansive in what it teaches. I know it can seem overwhelming and reading up about it can lead you down a lot of rabbit holes and pages full of text. That why I thought I would try to write, briefly, some of the key teachings made by the Buddha.
The four noble truths
After reaching enlightenment, the Buddha gave his first sermon. It was about the origin of suffering and what we know today as the four noble truths.
The first noble truth is the truth of suffering
Life can be hard and scary. We have a lot of suffering from the day we are born to the day we die. Ultimately, an unenlightened life is suffering.
The Pali word for suffering is Dukkha, which doesn't translate well into English. The most common translation is suffering. A few other words that could describe Dukkha would be unsatisfactory or difficulty.
The cause of suffering
The insistent need for more, desiring for things to be different ultimately gives us dissatisfaction causing our pain and suffering
There is an end to suffering
To end are suffering, we need to become enlightened through liberation of the mind
The path to the end of suffering
By following the eightfold path, we can discover a way to end our dissatisfaction with life
The eightfold path
Following the eightfold path can lead to a more liberated and enlightened life which will ease suffering. The path is normally depicted as a wheel. If you take one spoke out, the entire thing collapses. So for one to work we need the others.
Right View/understanding- Seeing the world with an unobstructed view. Seeing it as it truly is not how we want it to be.
Right Intent- Be ready to follow the path following what the heart wants, recognising we need compassion for all and are all equal in life.
Right Speech- Using voice for the good of others and refraining from being harmful with words whether it be written, spoken or any other form of communication. Only say what is true and necessary.
Right Action- Doing what is right and ethical for the good of ourselves and others. This encompasses the five precepts.
Right livelihood- Earning your money from a way in which does not harm others.
Right effort- putting enough into being on the right path. Balancing out the bad with good qualities.
Right Mindfulness- Being in the moment and experiencing it.Being aware of your thoughts, feelings. Also recognising others thoughts and feelings.
Right concentration- Concentrating on one object single focused. Discipline the mind to see reality as it is. Normally through meditation.
The five precepts
The precepts are a moral guideline not a set of rules that you must obey so please don't think they are the seven sins like in Christianity; they are not
Refrain from taking life- Kill nothing that is a sentient being.
Refrain from taking what is not freely given- Don't steal be it money, time, etc
Refrain from Sexual Misconduct- This would include sex with minors, adultery, rape, etc
Refrain from wrong speech- Stop lying, gossiping and only say what is true and harmless without negative intent
Refrain from Intoxicants that cloud the mind- Don't do drugs, drink to excess etc as this will hinder your path to enlightenment causing your mind to be clouded and un-free
The five hindrances
The Buddha taught that there are 5 things that can distract/ hinder you during your meditation and day-to-day mindfulness practices. They are called the 5 hindrances.
Sensual desire- The five senses from touch, hear, see to taste can cause us to get distracted in practice.
The way to stop this is through realising these cravings are temporary. These desires along with life is impermanent.
Ill will- holding anger against someone causing you to lose concentration on anything but that anger. The anger is usually caused by pride, jealousy or resentment.
The way to stop this hindrance is through compassion towards everyone.
Laziness/ Sloth- Not caring and being lazy can cause us to not want to practice. The best way to overcome this is by waking up by any means you find fit, i.e. splashing water on your face or opening a window.
Restlessness/ anxiousness- Being anxious makes the mind jump from thought to thought causing us to overthink and not be in a calm state of mind.
To overcome this, we need to bring yourself back to the moment by either doing a calming breath technique or a breath meditation or body scan bringing yourself into the moment.
Doubt- Thinking we can't do this or we are doing it wrong distracts us.
If in doubt research and deepen the reasons you are doing your practice. Ask your teacher, read books get advice online etc
The three poisons/ delusions
These three things make us suffer. They are the root cause and if not contained will cause us to suffer even more. They are deeply embedded into us and we need to flesh them out Once we understand these poisons we can try to stop them causing us so much harm We have to power to end these poisons through dharma.
Greed- Causes us to desire and have a one mindset towards that aim. By desiring so deeply we don't care who we hurt, including ourselves along the way. We attach ourselves to an unachievable goal believing our happiness relies on that goal and this makes us suffer.
Hatred- Ultimately hatred makes us dislike something because of hidden thoughts and emotions. We try to make it about us and them. This duality, us and them, does not exist. We mask our discomfort and blame it on others, and this is unhealthy.
Delusion- Seeing things clearly is important. By making things fit our perfect picture, we are being delusional. We need to understand reality as it is not how we want it to be. We end up ignoring the genuine nature of the world from thinking we are detached and not interconnected. We think we are not reliant on others when we are. By ignoring the world how it is we are creating false happiness by looking outside, not within.