Buddhism originated in India five hundred to six hundred BCE before Jesus Christ walked the earth. Siddhartha Gautama was born to a royal family on the Indo-Nepal border in India. Dissatisfied with his worldly life, he gave away all his belongings at the age of 29 and searched for enlightenment through his abandonment of basic needs. At the age of 35, he undertook the forty-day fasting in a secluded area on the banks of the river under the branches of a “Bodhi” tree and engaged his mind in deep but tranquil meditation. After 40 days he considered the hidden meaning of mind, universe and life. During his search, he gained supreme enlightenment, an immersion in peace and an end to suffering, from that moment on, he was known as the “Buddha”. This enlightenment was not a revelation from
some divine essence, but a discovery made by "himself", which was based on a deeper level of meditation and a pure experience of the mind. After enlightenment, he did not experience the effects of passion, lust, anger, and delusion. He experienced oneness and merged with the powers of the universe. Having realised the goal of enlightenment, the “Buddha” spent his remaining 45 years of life teaching the path of enlightenment. The teachings about his path are called “Dharma” literally meaning “the nature of all things” or “the truth underlying existence”. Lord Buddha” is considered one of the incarnations (avatar) of “Lord Vishnu”. Spreading through much of Asia, the traditional practices and philosophies became redefined and regionally distinct. Many Buddhist practices were simply absorbed into the tolerant Hindu faith as the result it was later subsumed into Hinduism. Buddhism embodies various traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices, mainly based on the original teachings and interpreted philosophies attributed to the Buddha. All Buddhist traditions share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of birth and death, either by the attainment of nirvana or through the path of Buddha. Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the path to their liberation placing priority on certain Buddhist texts and their specific teachings and practices. Buddha warned strongly against accepting things at face value and discouraged blind faith. He encouraged the way of truthful inquiry in one of his best sermons. In Kesamutti Sutta (also known as Kalama Sutta), Buddha points out the danger in predicting one’s beliefs merely on hearsay, tradition, popularity, the authority of ancient scriptures, on the words of a supernatural being, out of trust in one’s teachers, elders or priests. The Buddha believed that one should maintain an open mind and thoroughly investigate your own experience of life. When you find that a particular view fits the experience and logic and leads to the happiness of all, you must accept that view and live. A devotee on the way to the investigation should practice forbearance and it does not mean that one adopts every idea or view. One might not be indignant that somebody can’t accept and agree with our views. When you get annoyed, you are allowing your ego to stand between you and the truth. Moreover, anger no longer allows us to hear, what to accept, and what to understand, anger stands in the way. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely at liberating conscious beings from suffering. The basic teachings of the Buddha, the core of Buddhism, are the three universal truths, the four noble truths, and the eight great paths.
The Three Universal Truths:
1. The first truth is that energy cannot be created or destroyed; Rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another. Nothing is lost in the universe and matter turns into energy, and again energy turns into matter and vice versa. The old solar
system disintegrates and turns into cosmic energy.
2. Everything is continuously changing and it is like a flowing river. It is sometimes flowing slowly and sometimes swiftly facing all the hindrances. Something unexpected happens when we feel safe. Now we can watch the earth from outer space and understand and study planets, stars, solar systems and galaxies which was not possible earlier.
3. Law of cause and effect, according to the Buddha, is the third universal truth that continuous change is caused by this law. The law of cause and effect is called action (karma) which means action driven by Cetana. If we do not deserve it, nothing will happen to us. Whether what we earn is good or bad, we get exactly what we want. What we are now is due to things we have done in the past. Constructive views, words and activities produce optimistic effects in the lives of individuals, leading to gladness.
The Four Noble Truths:
The main teachings of Buddha do not focus on or speculate about a “Creator God” or Supreme Being, the origin of the universe and life after death. Even Buddha does not possess the power to save us with blessings. Buddha is a guide and holds that it is dangerous to give that responsibility to another. Since our universe is only one among countless in Buddhist cosmology. After one universe cycle ends another begins, again and
again, according to impersonal law, hence a “Creator God” is redundant in Buddhism. The prime goal is to eliminate sorrow and misery. Our immediate aim is to find peace from miseries and sorrows, only then we can start focusing on enlightenment. It is a very difficult task for those who are starved, attached to desires and controlled by sensual pleasures to seek enlightenment. Philosophical speculations are of secondary importance and a well-trained mind in meditation can examine the matter clearly and find the truth for
ourselves. The central teachings of Buddha around which all other teachings resolve are the four noble truths. The first teaching is that all forms of being, human or otherwise are afflicted by sorrows and miseries or Dukkha. Secondly, the cause of suffering is the craving born of the illusion of the soul or the non-self or Anatta. Furthermore, it is unaware of the true transient nature of reality or anicca. Thirdly all these miseries have a lasting end in
the experience of enlightenment. Consequently, all the illusion, desires and aversion will vanish. The fourth is the delightful and blissful state attained through the middle way or eightfold path. Buddhism systematically analyses the truth of suffering in our life through meditation and following the path of enlightenment in this life, not the next life.
The Noble Eightfold Path:
It is also called the middle way path because it avoids two extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification. Only when the body is emotionally comfortable, but not overly enjoyable will the mind have the clarity and power to meditate deeply and discover the truth. The middle way consists of assiduous cultivation of virtue, wisdom and meditation.
Accordingly, these eight paths are right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Without virtue, it is impossible to perfect meditation consequently, without perfecting Meditation it is impossible to attain enlightenment which is the purest form of wisdom. Therefore, the Buddhist path is gradual, a middle way consisting of virtue, meditation and wisdom explained in the noble eightfold path leading to happiness and moksha or liberation.
Non-virtuous actions:
Besides these virtuous actions, there are ten non-virtuous actions which are to be avoided
at three levels. These are at the level of body, speech and mind. At the body level killing,
stealing and sexual misconduct are prohibited. By words, we must avoid lying to others
by hiding the actual facts. Discriminatory speeches that cause division and division among human beings should not be allowed. At the speech level idle gossip is to be avoided. At the mind level sensual cravings, attachment to things, aversion and hatred to none. We must clear our delusions and must cultivate crystal clear thoughts. The law of karma implies that we cannot escape the results of our actions of bad karma. Furthermore, there are deeds of the body, speech and mind that bring well-being to yourself, to others or both are called good karma. Motivated by kindness, sympathy and insight will bring happy results. Accordingly, much of what one experiences in our life is the result of one’s thoughts and actions and the karma generated. This places the responsibility for one’s life squarely on the shoulders of the person living it. So you reap what you sow. Meanwhile, this gives a greater incentive to avoid all forms of bad karma, which is a similar view in Hinduism. Nonetheless, by doing as much as good karma possible, we can lessen the effects of bad karma. One analogy for this is if a spoon of salt mixed in a glass of pure water makes the whole very salty. The same spoon of salt mixed in a freshwater pond hardly changes the taste of water likewise, the same is true with karma. In the same way, when we create our lives with gallons and gallons of kindness and goodness, a few drops of salty bad karma are not going to spoil the mix. The accumulation of one’s bad deeds will result in an ocean of tragedy and pain in the end. The better a person does, the less impact a bad deed will have on her life. The Buddha recognizes that as human beings we are all going to commit mistakes. We must focus on our strengths and balance the good with the bad. This natural law of karma is the force behind morality in our society. If we eliminate the idea of “self” and that we are all “one” and essentially recognize that “I do to you” is “I do to me”. Hence it is possible when we transfer merit. Moreover, a person accumulates merit not only through intentions and moral living but also can gain merits from others by exchanging goods and services such as charity and welfare or “Dana” to the poor, patients, monks, nuns, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society.
There are major 6 types of Buddhist Meditations:
1. Zen Meditation,
2. Samatha Meditation,
3. Metta Bhavana Meditation,
4. Dzogchen Meditation,
5.Anapanasati Meditation,
6. Vipassana Meditation.