BUDDHISM

WHAT IS BUDDHISM?  Buddhism is a nontheistic religion that includes a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Guatama, who is commonly known as the Buddha, meaning “the awakened one”

BELIEFS OF BUDDHISM  All living beings have the same basic wish to be happy and avoid suffering in their lives, but not many people understand what causes the happiness and suffering. They are opposites of each other so if something causes real happiness, it will not lead to suffering.  Happiness and suffering are states of mind so the cause cannot be found outside of the mind. Money is often thought of as the most essential and desired thing to enjoy our lives. However, money is also one of the biggest causes of problem and stress.

INNER PEACE  Buddhists believe the real source of happiness is inner peace, if our mind is at peace, we will always be happy despite what happens externally.  Inner peace=training the mind through a spiritual practice to get rid of the negative and conflicted state of mind. Permanent inner peace is the achievement of Nirvana which equals eternal happiness throughout life on earth and the after life.

WHO IS BUDDHA?  Buddha means “the awakened one” this defines a person as being completely free from the faults and mental obstructions in ones mind. Buddha knows everything.  The birth of Buddha: Siddhartha Guatama was born into a very royal family. His birth was unlike anything else and came with predictions on how he might grow up to be. Siddhartha was so smart and skilled that he knew 64 different languages along with each alphabet. There was no need for him to study, yet he loved to learn and help others to learn. One day he left the palace walls and came across old people, sick people, and even a corpse. He had never seen this suffering and came to the realization that everyone experiences sufferings of birth, sickness, aging, and death and reincarnation meant the continuing cycle of suffering. He decided to leave the palace to be alone in the forest to meditate until he reached enlightenment.

ENLIGHTENMENT  Siddhartha trained in complete meditation for 6 years. At one point, he became tempted by Devaputra Mara, the chief of all demons. Devaputra Mara sent demons and evil upon Siddhartha to try and distract him. However, Siddhartha resisted and fell into deeper concentration. The chief of demons even tried to lure him away with beautiful women, but that still led him to meditate deeper and deeper. Finally, Siddhartha became Buddha and overcame complete enlightenment by resisting all external temptations.

PRACTICES  One of the practices of Buddhism is called, Dharma which means “protection”. This was taught to protect us from the suffering and problems of the world. The desired result was to eliminate ignorance in the mind. This was the supreme method for improving the quality of human life. Without the inner peace that Dharma teaches us to have, we cannot have outer peace

REINCARNATION AND KARMA  The body and mind are viewed as separate entities. The belief is, when you die the body perishes, but the mind remains unbroken after death. Reincarnation is the belief that after death, our souls can begin a new life in a new body. It is believe that if you can obtain good karma, you will be reincarnated into a better life and a better body than you had before.  The law of Karma is individually for each person. You can either be pretty or ugly. You can have a happy disposition or a sour disposition. Karma means action and refers to the action of our body, words, and mind. These actions leave results that rise to their own effect. Good actions sow seeds of future happiness and bad actions sow the seeds of future suffering. The suffering is created by our own individual karma.

HOW TO MEDITATE  The purpose of meditating is to make our mind calm and peaceful, free from worry and discomfort  Peacefulness equals happiness so the process of meditation trains a purer and purer form of happiness, fluctuations of the mood of a situation comes from being too closely involved in external situations. Clinging to a new partner and being upset when things do not work out is an example of being too externally invested.  The inner space and clarity of meditation will help us to relax and control our own minds

ART AND HOLY PLACES  The Kadampa Buddhist Temple is a special holy place where we can receive blessings and impacts in our mind to find deeper inner peace for ourselves.  Representation of a pure land  Blessed statues to honor Buddha and worship  4 holy sites to visit that connect with the history and creation of Buddhism  Lumbini : Nepal Bodhgaya : Bihar, India Sarnath : Uttar Pradesh, India Kushinagar : Uttar Pradesh, India

NIRVANA  Nirvana is the state of bliss or peacefulness that can be achieved in life or entered into at the time of death. The primary aim for Buddhism is to break free of the wheel of samsara and reach the level of Nirvana. It is the freedom from whatever binds you, Nirvana sets you free. The cycle of rebirth and death is no longer needed.