Crash course on buddhism?

Question

Can someone give me a crash course on buddhism? Stuff like

Who is the savior
what are the buddhist scriptures called
what kind of human behavior are they focused on

just the important stuff

Answer 1

The Buddisht scriptures are the sayings of the Buddha and depending on the Buddhist school, there are various books written by lamas throughout the ages. The main books are:

* The Vinaya Pitaka, containing disciplinary rules for the Sanghas of Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as a range of other texts including explanations of why and how rules were instituted, supporting material, and doctrinal clarification.
* The Sūtra Pitaka (Pāli: Sutta Pitaka), contains the actual discourses of the Buddha.
* The Abhidharma Pitaka (Pāli: Abhidhamma Pitaka) contains commentaries or systematic expositions of the Buddha's teachings.

The goal is to reach Nirvana, a state of enlightment. It is mainly focused on improving one's behaviour, feelings, emotions, thoughts and deeds.

Answer 2

Buddhism has no "savior" per se. The Buddha we generally refer to was a human prince Siddhartha, who wanted an answering to suffering and decided he was going to plunk himself down and find an answer for as long as it took. Through various types of trying (Hindu ascetism, etc.) he finally realized that there was a "middle way" and eventually achieved what he sought... and became "The Buddha" or "Awakened One".

You already had good answer about the teachings of the Buddha. In the Tibetan Gelugpa lineage, there are many sutras and many commentaries on the sutras... so we lump it into the "kangyur" and "tengyur".

Focus is on developing altruism and wisdom in order to attain "enlightenment" which means, basically, seeing things as they truly are. Meditation, the various cultural things like incense, robes and hats, statues are all just TOOLS in order to help you along the way. Don't sweat the cultural "trappings" so much as looking for (if you wish) a tradition that you can wrap your mind around. ALL "vehicles" of Buddhism, Mahayana (Zen, Chan, Tibetan, etc.) and Hinayana (Theravadin, mostly found in places like Vietnam, Sri Lanka, etc) teach the basics of the Buddha, the only differences is the amount of logic applied as you work your way into the later years after the Buddha's death. Gelugpa lineage is the earliest (youngest) lineage on the earth.

Key to determining if a teacher is teaching TRUE BUDDHISM are these 4 things ONLY:

1. Must teach that all things are impermanent and nothing, substance or concept is permanent.

2. All emotions bring pain and suffering (incorrect view) and no emotion is inherently pleasurable.

3. All phenomena are illusory and empty (i.e. lack inherent existence, or needs causes and conditions to come into existence) including matter, thoughts, emotions, etc.

4. Enlightenment is beyond concepts... not some blissed out state of mind, heaven or otherwise... instead it's a release from the delusional thinking that causes suffering.

Any teacher mixing and matching anything into Buddhism that takes you away from these 4 is NOT NOT NOT Buddhism. Examine well before taking a teacher and joining a group.

_()_

Answer 3

You are your own savior (the Buddha is a teacher, not a god). The scriptures are called the Dharma. They focus on enlightenment and release from reincarnation.

Answer 4

Buddhism is a philosophy, non-theistic religion.

Answer 5

The Teachings of the Buddha
Having realized the goal of Perfect Enlightenment, the Buddha spent the next 45 years teaching a Path which, when diligently followed, will take anyone regardless of race, class or gender to that same Perfect Enlightenment. The Teachings about this Path are called the Dhamma, literally meaning the nature of all things or the truth underlying existence. It is beyond the scope of this article to present a thorough description of all of these Teachings but the following 7 topics will give you an overview of what the Buddha taught:

1. The Way of Inquiry
The Buddha warned strongly against blind faith and encouraged the way of truthful inquiry. In one of His best known sermons, the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha pointed out the danger in fashioning one's beliefs merely on the following grounds: on hearsay, on tradition, because many others say it is so, on the authority of ancient scriptures, on the word of a supernatural being, or out of trust in one's teachers, elders, or priests. Instead one maintains an open mind and thoroughly investigates one's own experience of life. When one sees for oneself that a particular view agrees with both experience and reason, and leads to the happiness of one and all, then one should accept that view and live up to it!

This principle, of course, applies to the Buddha's own Teachings. They should be considered and inquired into using the clarity of mind born of meditation. Only when one sees these Teachings for oneself in the experience of insight, do these Teachings become one's own Truth and give blissful liberation.

The traveller on the way of inquiry needs the practice of tolerance. Tolerance does not mean that one embraces every idea or view but means one doesn't get angry at what one can't accept.

Further along the journey, what one once disagreed with might later be seen to be true. So in the spirit of tolerant inquiry, here are some more of the basic Teachings as the Buddha gave them.

2. The Four Noble Truths
The main Teaching of the Buddha focuses not on philosophical speculations about a Creator God or the origin of the universe or on a heaven world ever after. The Teaching, instead, is centred on the down-to-earth reality of human suffering and the urgent need to find lasting relief from all forms of discontent. The Buddha gave the simile of a man shot by a poison-tipped arrow who, before he would call a doctor to treat him, demanded to know first who shot the arrow and where the arrow was made and of what and by whom and when and where. This foolish man would surely die before his questions could be well answered. In the same way, the Buddha said, the urgent need of our existence is to find lasting relief from recurrent suffering which robs us of happiness and leaves us in strife. Philosophical speculations are of secondary importance and, anyway, they are best left until after one has well trained the mind in meditation to the stage where one has the ability to examine the matter clearly and find the Truth for oneself.

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

That all forms of being, human and otherwise, are afflicted with suffering.
That the cause of this suffering is Craving, born of the illusion of a soul (see below, note 7).
That this suffering has a lasting end in the Experience of Enlightenment (Nibbana) which is the complete letting go of the illusion of soul and all consequent desire and aversion.
That this peaceful and blissful Enlightenment is achieved through a gradual training, a Path that is called the Middle Way or the Eightfold Path.

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

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

Right Understanding
Right Thought
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
Right Speech, Action and Livelihood constitute the training in Virtue or Morality. For a practising Buddhist it consists of maintaining the five Buddhist Precepts, which are to refrain from:

Deliberately causing the death of any living being
Intentionally taking for one's own the property of another
Sexual misconduct, in particular adultery
Lying, breaking promises and harsh speech
Drinking alcohol or taking stupefying drugs which lead to lack of mindfulness
Right Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration refer to the practice of Meditation, which purifies the mind through the experience of blissful states of inner stillness and empowers the mind to penetrate the meaning of life through profound moments of insight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rebirth takes place not only within this human realm. The Buddha pointed out that the realm of human beings is but one among many. There are many separate heavenly realms and grim lower realms too, realms of the animals and realms of the ghosts. Not only can human beings go to any of these realms in the next life, but also we can come from any of these realms into our present life. This explains a common objection against Rebirth that argues "How can there be Rebirth when there are 10 times as many people alive today than there were 50 years ago?" The answer is that people alive today have come from many different realms.

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

6. No Creator God
The Buddha pointed out that no God or priest nor any other kind of being has the power to interfere in the working out of someone else's Kamma. Buddhism, therefore, teaches the individual to take full responsibility for themselves. For example, if you want to be wealthy then be trustworthy, diligent and frugal, or if you want to live in a heaven realm then always be kind to others. There is no God to ask favours from, or to put it another way, there is no corruption possible in the workings of Kamma.

Do Buddhists believe that a Supreme Being created the universe? Buddhists would first ask which universe do you mean? This present universe, from the moment of the 'big bang' up to now, is but one among countless millions in Buddhist cosmology. The Buddha gave an estimate of the age of a single universe-cycle of around 37,000 million years, which is quite plausible when compared to modern astrophysics. After one universe-cycle ends another begins, again and again, according to impersonal law. A Creator God is redundant in this scheme.

No being is a Supreme Saviour, according to the Buddha, because whether God, human, animal or whatever, all are subject to the Law of Kamma. Even the Buddha had no power to save. He could only point out the Truth so that the wise could see it for themselves. Everyone must take responsibility for their own future well being, and it is dangerous to give that responsibility to another.

7. The Illusion of Soul
The Buddha taught that there is no soul, no essential and permanent core to a living being. Instead, that which we call a 'living being', human or other, can be seen to be but a temporary coming together of many activities and parts - when complete it is called a 'living being', but after the parts separate and the activities cease it is not called a 'living being' any more. Like an advanced computer assembled of many parts and activities, only when it is complete and performs coherent tasks is it called a 'computer', but after the parts are disconnected and the activities cease it is no longer called a `computer'. No essential permanent core can be found which we can truly call 'the computer'; just so, no essential permanent core can be found which we can call 'the soul'.

Yet Rebirth still occurs without a soul. Consider this simile: on a Buddhist shrine one candle, burnt low, is about to expire. A monk takes a new candle and lights it from the old. The old candle dies, the new candle burns bright. What went across from the old candle to the new? There was a causal link but no thing went across! In the same way, there was a causal link between your previous life and your present life, but no soul has gone across.

Indeed, the illusion of a soul is said by the Buddha to be the root cause of all human suffering. The illusion of 'soul' manifests as the 'Ego'. The natural unstoppable function of the Ego is to control. Big Egos want to control the world, average Egos try to control their immediate surroundings of home, family and workplace, and almost all Egos strive to control what they take to be their own body and mind. Such control manifests as desire and aversion, it results in a lack of both inner peace and outer harmony. It is this Ego that seeks to acquire possessions, manipulate others and exploit the environment. Its aim is its own happiness but it invariably produces suffering. It craves for satisfaction but it experiences discontent. Such deep rooted suffering cannot come to an end until one sees, through deep and powerful meditation, that the idea 'me and mine' is no more than a mirage.