The Dharma The Buddha’s Enlightenment led to the formation of the Dharma: Enlightenment was a result of meditation and during his meditation, Sakyamuni saw the following:

Previous lives as animals of all kinds Rebirths in infinite times Deeds of beings affect their rebirths: Karma Karma arises from craving and ignorance Chain of Causation occurs: dependent origination

Wheel of Life What were all types of lives that the Buddha claimed he had seen? Three Spheres: Sphere of Formlessness Sphere of Pure Form Sphere of Sense-desires Six Realms or Six Paths Gods Asuras (demi-gods,Titans) Humans Ghosts Animals Hell Gods Asuras Humans Ghosts Animals Hell

Buddhist World Systems: Physical Universe: formed by the interaction of the 5 elements earth, water, fire, air, space world systems emerge and undergo cycles of evolution Formation: come into being Growth: endure for a period of time Decay: slow disintegration Perishing: destruction and extinction

these world cycles are kalpas: small, medium, and large Small kalpa: 16 million years, kalpa 336 million years, mahakalpa 1.3 billion years human lives and lives of other beings undergo the same cycles: samsara Six paths/realms in which beings inhabited and into which beings would be reborn

Wheel of Life

Good/Bad Karma Good, positive karma Bad, negative karma: Good Deeds: Based on good intentions, good motivations, and right actions non-attachment benevolence understanding Bad, negative karma: Bad deeds motivated by greed, hatred, and delusion (three poisons)

Karma and Rebirth Karma and Rebirth What is karma? Moral deeds what determines circumstance of future rebirth The sufferings that beset humans The happiness that humans enjoy, despite its transient nature Karma is interconnected with rebirth and reincarnation Good, positive karma leads to good rebirth, enlightenment Good, positive karma comes from right actions performed with good (right) intentions Right intentions, right actions are constituent elements of the Four Noble Truths

How Karma Functions? Some expositions of how karma functions: Each act/deed one performs is like planting a karmic seed Some karmic seeds may bear fruit soon, while others may be preserved prior to bearing fruit (maturation of the karmic act), which may occur for aeons in the future Some deeds create individual experiences An individual performs a causative deed (creates a karmic seed) , which bears an effect (fruit) or consequence of the deed Other deeds create an environment Some have both a primary effect and a residual effect A murderer reborn in hell may have a short life when eventually reborn as a human Good or bad deeds are closely related to centanā (volition or intention)

The Four Noble Truths The First: The Truth of Suffering The Second: The Truth of Arising The Third: The Truth of Cessation The Fourth: The Truth of the Path

The Truth of Suffering (Duhkha) birth, sickness, old age, death, pain, grief, sorrow, lamentation, despair—three categories Suffering due to biological causes (physical) association with what is unpleasant Suffering due to change (psychological and emotional) dissociation from what is pleasant; Inability to get what one wants; happiness cannot endure Things are impermanent and constantly changing Suffering due to aggregation Everything will fall apart and become component parts of the integral things the five factors of individuality are suffering

Ātman (self) or Anātman (no self) Five Factors (Five Aggregates) Body or form (sè) Feelings (sensation kind) (shòu) Perceptions or Cognitions (xiăng) Mental formations (character traits and disposition) (xíng) Consciousness or sentiency (shì)

The Truth of Arising (trşnā) The thirst or craving gives rise to rebirth, which is bound up with passionate delight and which seeks fresh pleasure in the form of perverted desires (things of an excessive, selfish, or morbid nature):

The cause of suffering include the following: Greed (rāga, Chin. 貪 tān ) Hatred (dvesa, Chin. 嗔 chēn ) Delusion (moha, Chin. 癡 chī ) These are regarded as major components of craving Other craving includes the thirst as follows:

thirst for sensual pleasure (five senses) desire to experience pleasant tastes, sensations, odors, sights thirst for existence desire to possess desire to have new possessions, new experiences in lives thirst for non-existence desire to destroy desire to negate, deny, and reject the unpleasant and the unwelcome self-denying, self-negating, self-harming self-destruction

The Truth of Cessation the utter cessation of that craving the withdrawal from it the renouncing of it the rejection of it liberation from it non-attachment to it Remove craving by cultivating positive states of mind and undergoing a spiritual transformation

The Truth of the Path (mārga) Known as “middle way”, the Path leads to the cessation of suffering and the transition from samsara to [final] nirvana The Eightfold Path: Wisdom: right view (understanding), right resolve Morality: right speech, right action, right livelihood Meditation: right effort, right mindfulness, right meditation

Right View and Right Resolve Believe in karma Respect parents and religious teachers Pursue spiritual progress Right resolve: Develop right attitudes: cut desires, nurture friendliness and compassion Know contentment, free from sensual desires, abandon hatred, abstain from harming others

Right speech, action, livelihood Not telling lies, avoid “divisive” and harsh speech, frivolous talk (e.g., gossip, idle chatter) Right action: Abstain from wrongful conduct such as killing, stealing, …. Right livelihood: Engage in an occupation which causes no harm to others, whether humans or animals (e.g., be honest, no cheating, don’t get involved in trade in weapons. drugs…

Right effort and right mindfulness Develop one’s mind in a wholesome way by practicing mindfulness and meditation Transform one’s mind by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones Right mindfulness: develop awareness of Interconnectedness of body, feelings, mood, and thoughts Eliminate “five hindrances” Desire for sensual pleasure, ill-will, sloth and drowsiness, worry and agitation, and nagging doubts

Right meditation Concentrating the mind through meditational exercises to Develop clarity and mental calm Reach a state of self-integration Attain awakening and self-transformation or enlightenment