Where are we at? n This week (wk 12) – Buddhism n Next week (wk 13) – Islam n Week 14 (begins 2 June) last week of lectures n Week 15 (begins 9 June) no lecture, but tutes

Coherence Systems - Buddhism Not to commit evil But to do all that is good And to keep one’s thought pure - This is the teaching of all the Buddhas

Coherence Systems - Objectives On successful completion of this module, you should be able to: n identify the principal religious traditions of Australia, Asia and the Pacific, and those countries where each is practised n describe key ideas of each religious tradition included in this module

Coherence Systems - Objectives n identify the central source books or written record (if any) of each religious tradition n identify the ways in which a particular religious tradition can affect the behaviour of believers

Overview of today’s work n Discussion of Buddhist teaching by reference to the parable of the mustard seeds n Buddhist answers to our three organising questions n A note on Buddhist scriptures n The geographical spread of Buddhism and Zen Buddhism

Buddha’s Parable of the Mustard Seeds n The daughter of a poor family married, and, because she was from a poor family, she was contemptuously treated. When she gave birth to a son she was treated with respect. However, ….

Four Issues for Discussion n The image of the Buddha as a teacher n Links between Buddhism and Hinduism n The attachment of the mother to her son n Buddha’s reference to a universal law

The Buddha as Teacher n Siddartha Gautama n Born 563 BCE in North East India n His self-discipline n His enlightenment

Links Between Buddhism and Hinduism n Cremation practices n Ideas of inequality and karma

The Mother’s Feelings for Her Son n Loss and grief seem “natural” n Buddhists see death differently n Peace comes from acceptance that all things are impermanent

The Buddha’s Universal Law n The idea that change, decay and death are inevitable, that they affect everyone and everything, ushered in Buddha’s teaching of the “Four Noble Truths”

The Four Noble Truths n All life involves suffering n The cause of suffering is desire n The end of desire is the end of suffering n The end of desire may be achieved by following the “eight part path”

All life involves suffering n n All life is suffering: birth is suffering, decay is suffering, presence of objects we hate brings suffering; separation from objects we love brings suffering.

The cause of suffering is desire n n The cause of suffering is desire: we thirst for pleasure, for existence, for prosperity. All are impermanent, and clinging to them causes suffering, because they will cease, fade away.

The end of desire is the end of suffering n n The end of desire is the end of suffering: if we let our desire for pleasure, existence and prosperity go, we destroy desire and destroy suffering. If we let go our desire to have and to hold, if we can let go, just like the woman in the cremation ground, then we release ourselves from suffering.

The end of desire and the Eight Part Path n n The end of desire may be achieved by following the eight- part path: if we live right, have right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right means of livelihood, right endeavour, right memory and right meditation, then we put an end to suffering.

Living The Eight Part Path n n live right, have right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right means of livelihood, right endeavour, right memory and right meditation, then we put an end to suffering.

Buddhist Answers to the Three Organising Questions n n From What? What is the nature of the human predicament? Well, Buddha’s answer is the First Noble Truth: all life involves suffering. The world is not what it seems. It is illusory, for while it seems stable, permanent, unchanging, all things are in fact impermanent.

Buddhist Answers to the Three Organising Questions n n To What? To what do human’s aspire? The simplest answer is to end suffering, to be released from mortal existence which masks the true nature of reality. Humans aspire to the bliss of release, the bliss of emancipation.

Buddhist Answers to the Three Organising Questions n n By What? How do Buddhists achieve their goals? By following the Middle Way. By following the eight- part path. By individual action, not by prayer, not by sacrifice or ritual, but by sticking to the path, by achievement, by living right.

Buddhist Scriptures Three large categories of scriptures have been written by disciples after Buddha’s death: n Rules of conduct n Doctrine, teachings n Commentary on teachings

The Geographical Spread of Buddhism n Buddhism spread south from India to the Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia

The Geographical Spread of Buddhism n Buddhism spread north from India into the Himalayan countries, China, Korea and Japan

Zen Buddhism - One of Many “Buddhisms” n Trevor Ling argues that as Buddhism spread it changed, and that we should think of Buddhisms in the plural, not just of a single, unchanged tradition

Zen and the Lotus Flower Sermon n Zen traces its origins to the “lotus flower sermon” of the Buddha n The sermon used a lotus flower as a signifier, and one of Buddha’s disciples intuited the signified

The Lotus Flower n n the lotus rises from the darkness, from the mud, and though it lives in and from the world of mud, it rises from the mud through the water, and emerges serene, perfectly proportioned, spotless and pure, and shines in the world of light and air.

The Lotus Flower n n How can one live in the world, and not be of the world? The lotus is an image of transcendence, an idea that demonstrates the ability to bring two different worlds into coherence, into order and balance. It suggests that a proper understanding of the material world, and a proper, self-aware way of living in this world, can release us, and bring us peace even while living in this world.

Zen’s Maddening Puzzles n A long time ago a man kept a goose in a bottle. It grew larger and larger until it could not get out of the bottle; he did not want to break the bottle, nor did he wish to hurt the goose; how would you get it out?

The Goose in the Bottle n The dilemma: the koan represents people and their circumstances. To be free of the world we can abandon the world; or we can be crushed by the world. n But both of these alternatives are forms of suicide: what do we achieve by abandoning the world; what do we achieve if we allow the world to crush us?

The Way Out …. n If we re-think our rigid view of life created out of our desire for possession, then the goose is out of the bottle and the bottle is unbroken n How can we escape from the Wheel of Birth and Death? The Zen Master’s response “Who puts you under restraint?”

Zen’s Maddening Puzzles n A sound is made by the clapping of two hands. What is the sound of one hand clapping? Response: ? n How shall I escape from the Wheel of Birth and Death? Response: Who puts you under restraint?