to

1

• Introduction
• to
• Buddhism
• (IV)
• Dr.
  Robert LAW
• Buddhist Lodge of Laity,
  Jan. 2008

2
Dependent Origination ???

• This is, because that is This is not,
  because that is not . This comes to be , because
  that comes to be. This ceases to be , because
  that ceases to be
• He who sees Dependent Origination sees my
  teachings
• My teacher (the Buddha)s teaching is all
  about
• Dependent Origination

3
Dependent Origination

• All teachings are based on it . If a teaching
  does not accord with it , then it is not the
  teaching of the Buddha
• Impermanence is implicit in this teaching.
• Main implication we think we are an independent
  entity , but we are , in fact , not.

4
Emptiness ( Sunyata ? )

• All phenomena arises as a result of various
  factors which are constantly changing . As such ,
  all phenomena are also constantly changing and
  thus empty of an inherent self (essence)

5
What is Emptiness ?

• It is Dependent Origination that I call Emptiness
  -----------------
• Nagarjuna
• ????
• (circa 150 CE,S India )
• Emptiness, thus no-self
• Not Nihilistic

6
Eternalism and Nihilism

• The world believes in these two extremes
• Buddha--- the Middle Path
• Swing between the two extremes from day to day .

7
Karma ( Kamma) ?

• Literally means action
• In Hinduism--- ritual action
• In Buddhist --- any action by body/mind,
• i.e. thoughts also count

8

• ..anyone who murders will be subject to
  judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry
  with his brother will be subject to
  judgment..anyone who says, You fool! will be
  in danger of the fire of hell
• Gospel according to Matthew 5- 21
• Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already
  committed adultery with her in his heart
• Ibid
  5-28

9
The Law of Karma

• A law of cause/effect --- one thing leads to
  another .
• Examples of good karmic acts ( physical action
  and thoughts)--- generosity , kindness etc.
• Evil karmic acts ---- stealing , killing.

10
Karma

• Helps to explain the present situation, human
  suffering , fate, inequality in mankind .
• Predict possible outcome
• Not absolute determinism. If everything is
  pre-determined , there is no point for moral life
  
• No everything is due to karma. Buddhism accepts
  hereditary and environmental factors and nature.

11
Questions about Karma

• Where is Karma ?
• Just like fire and wind , and Internet
• Banking !
• What really is Karma? An energy force ?
• You carry nothing but your karma when you leave
  this world. ????? ,?????-- a misleading way
  of talking about Karma ?
• More like a credit card account for everyone on
  earth .

12
Karma

• Two Levels
• This life ------- experience
  retribution
• of bad deeds sooner or
  later.
• Next Life ?

13
What is Rebirth ?

• Greek ---- Man can be reborn up to 10 times. Can
  be reborn as animal or insects
• Many primitive tribes believe in people returning
  to a new body after death .
• The ethicization of karma and rebirth in more
  advanced cultures
• The Chinese idea of rebirth comes from Buddhism

14

• Sri Lanka---- Most people, monks included, devote
  themselves to acts of merit , the aim of which is
  a good rebirth in heaven or on earth
• Gombrich R ( 1971) Precept and
  Practice-Traditional Buddhism in
• the Rural Highlands of
  Ceylon , page 322
• Burma---- 2 most common reasons given for keeping
  precepts fear of hell and the precepts were
  ordained by the Buddha
• Spiro, Melford ( 1971) Buddhism and
  Society A Great Tradiiton and
• its Burmese
  Vicissitudes , page 449
  

15
Unfortunately, the Ultimate Truth is

• Nothing is really what it appears to be
• Heaven and Hell do not exist in the way that
  ordinary people perceive them
• Rebirth does not happen in the way most people
  think it happens
• If you grasp onto your ordinary perception of
  things , you will continue perpetually in a state
  of dukkha
• Robert Laws Sayings ,cira
  2007

16
Rebirth in Buddhism

• NOT an uninterrupted continuity of the entire
  personality
• Kalupahana (1995), Ethics in Early Buddhism ,
  page 105
• NOT a transmigration of a persons
  consciousness the story of a monk called Sati
  Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta ( Majjhima Nikaya ,Sutta
  38)
• But why do people have these misconceptions?
  ---craving for an eternal self

17
What the early scriptures tell us

• Every presently existing being is but one link in
  a chain of continuing existences in various forms
  from a beginningless eternity in the past on into
  an endless future eternity
• Winston King ( 1994), A Buddhist Ethic
  without Karmic Rebirth ? J of Buddhist ethics
  Vo1. , 1994.
• Caution are we trying to limit the scope of the
  ultimate inconceivable truth with our limited
  vocabulary , knowledge and experience of the
  universe ?

18
The Mud-Pool of Dharma
19
Neither the same nor different
Ven Nagasena( in The Milindapanha)

• consciousness ?

20
A most mundane question

• So if that crab is not really me , what is the
  purpose of a religious life ?
• What is there in it for ME ?
• ------ why should I sacrifice my present
  comfort and happiness for the common good ?

21

• Love your enemies , do good to those who hate
  you, bless those who curse you , pray for those
  who abuse you
  
• Gospel
  according to Luke 6. 27
• Do to others as you would have them do to you
• Gospel
  according to Luke 6. 31
  

22

• Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
  righteousness , for theirs is the kingdom of
  heaven
• Gospel according to Mathew 5-21

23
Unfortunately, the Ultimate Truth is

• Nothing is really what it appears to be
• Heaven and Hell do not exist in the way that
  ordinary people perceive them
• Rebirth does not happen in the way most people
  think it happens
• If you grasp onto your ordinary perception of
  things , you will continue perpetually in a state
  of dukkha
• Robert Laws Sayings ,cira
  2007

24

• Yes , for contemporary Buddhists.
• Emphasis on Karmic rebirth is unnecessary
• Both Buddhism and Buddhist ethics may be better
  off without Karmic-rebirth.

25

• No logical way to prove the validity of
  Karmic-rebirth
• But it makes the Universe ethically meaningful
  and Man master of his destiny

26

• The Buddha is aware that it is not easy to
  convince ordinary people of
• the validity of the doctrine of karma and
• rebirth
• and thus the need to lead a moral life.
  

27
A weak argument A weak argument needs a
good wager

• ?
• The Buddhas wager ( apart from karmic rebirth)
  to persuade his followers to lead a moral life.
• But, first, what is a wager ?

28
Blaise Pascal ( 1623-1662) famous wager to the
atheist

• If there is no God anyway,
• There is nothing to lose .
• If there is a God ,
• The benefit is infinite !
• But if there is a God and
• if you do not believe in
• Him , then.

29
The Buddhas wager( apart from an afterlife) for
one to lead a moral life

• Human birth is rare , no time must be wasted
  the sea turtle parable Mijjhima-Nikaya 3 ,1
  
• A noble disciple.endowed with blameless conduct
  of body, speech and mind.experiences happiness
  and joy.
• 
  Anguttara-Nikaya 4, 62
  
• This person who does evil will earn the
  contempt of the intelligent ones in this life
• Mijjhiam-Nikaya
  1 , 403
• And , above all , just in case there is
  some sort of after -life....

30
Concluding remarks (I) on the justification for a
moral life .

• Parable of Poisonous Gases in this room
• 3 choices
• 1. Leave the room ASAP( blind faith)
• 2. Leave after a brief consideration of the
  
• reliability of the information ( faith
• after short investigation)
• 3. Conduct your own test of the gases in this
  room,
• and end up
• Robert Law (
  1950----- ) talking to fellow
• 
  Buddhism students , 30 Nov . 2007.
• 
  

31
Happiness in Buddhism

• Every man wants to be happy , but in order to be
  so, he needs first to understand what happiness
  is ----------------JJ Rousseau
• (18th century French
  philosopher)
• So what is happiness ?

32
What is happiness ?

• Confusion with sensual pleasure
• Confusion with success, achievement , possession
  which are all transient and sources of dukkha
• .

33
What is Happiness ( Contd)

• 15 of western population show personality trait
  of true altruism.
• Psychological studies Altruistic individuals
  tend to be happy individuals
• The evolutionary basis of Altruism
• ----- of Man and Ant

34
What causes unhappiness ?

• By the age of 35 , 15 of North American have
  experienced a major depression
• Suicide accounts for 2 of all deaths world-wide
  ranking above war and murder.
• Ignorance --- unable to see the real nature of
  things
• Craving --- desire that can never be satisfied

35
Matthieu Ricard---------Officially the Happiest
Man on earth
36
What is happiness ?

• An optimal state of being with an exceptionally
  clarity of mind , loving kindness, absence of
  negative emotions, and disappearance of selfish
  whims
• ------Matthieu Ricard
• Ph D in Molecular
  Biology, Institut Pasteur
• Tibetan Monk in Nepal
• French Interpreter for
  the Dalai Lama

37
Treatment of unhappiness Learn to be happy

• Suffering is intimately linked to misapprehending
  the nature of reality
• The strategy of no-self ---- selfishness(
  self-centeredness) is a source of disruptive
  thoughts obsessive desire , hatred, jealousy.
  To attain Buddhahood for the welfare of all
  sentient beings.
• Happiness is a skill in life which must be
  learned and cultivated.

38
How to cultivate happiness

• Step 1--- understand the Dharma , Right view
  human nature has potential to perfection . Yes ,
  our mind can be transformed.
• Step 2--- Meditation ----- to develop a clear
  mind with full mindfulness and altruistic outlook
  
• Step 3 ---- Practice the Dharma and maintain a
  mind with clarity and awareness 24 hours of the
  day .

39
Learning to be Happy

• We cant all become Olympic javelin athletes, but
  we can all learn to throw the javelin and we can
  develop some ability to do so ---------------Mathi
  eu Ricard
• So, how about settling for being happy most of
  the time ?

40
Problems in cultivation

• Apparent failures in life job, wealth ,
  position in society .
• A detached zombie with no feelings ?
• Altruism and generosity being exploited ?
• --------- beware of idiotic compassion
• and kindness without wisdom.

41
Conclusion (I)

• The goal of exploration in spiritual life is to
  gain complete control of the mind
• With the elimination of hatred , greed and
  ignorance , one becomes incapable of harming
  others.
• Along the way , one becomes a happy person while
  contributing to the happiness of others.

42
Conclusions ( II ) How to do it ?

• Be generous not only with money, but
• kindness, forgiveness.
• Your loss is someone elses gain.
• Story of the Great Wall book vendor.
• Your employees .
• .

43
How to do it ( Condd)

• Accumulation of just enough wealth
• ---- have a reasonably comfortable life
• --- beyond a certain degree of wealth , the
• degree of happiness stop increasing

44
How to do it ( Contd)

• Right Livelihood
• Choose an occupation that does not
• involve cheating or justified
  cheating (as
• far as you are concerned anyway)
• Difficult in the modern world ?
• Spend time in Meditation( introspection)
• Caution about retreats ,do not get
  dependent
• on them .

45
How to do it ( Contd)

• Try to maintain a positive outlook in life 24
  hours of the day by cultivating positive emotions
  
• -------- on waking up each morning, spend
• a few minutes cultivating a
• positive frame of mind.
• -------- spend a few minutes each night
• cultivating a mood of loving-
• kindness before you sleep .

46
Namo Amitabha !

• Wishing you all a happy life for the rest of your
  years
• -And Many Happy Returns ! (?)