Buddhism in a
nutshell (draft) by Peter Morrell
https://www.philomag.de/artikel/zhao-tingyang-die-weltgeschichte-hat-noch-nicht-begonnen
Peter Morell: http://www.homeoint.org/morrell/buddhism/index.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13RVPgIv5xA
https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/
„Om man padme hum“
= Juwel in the Lotus.
“The Buddha encouraged his followers to be sceptical - ”As the wise test
gold by burning, cutting and rubbing it, so, bhikshus, should you accept my
words only after
testing them, and not merely out of respect for me”. So, he gave us the
liberty to investigate. I respect all the major religious traditions, but this
advice is unique to Buddhism. It encourages questioning and using our human
brains to the full.
Dead.x
[T.Online]
Buddhismus und Hinduismus: ewiger
Zyklus der Wiedergeburt
Die Vorstellungen zum Tod sind in
einigen Strömungen des Buddhismus und Hinduismus sehr ähnlich. Beide Religionen
gehen davon aus, dass das Leben nicht beschränkt ist. Geburt und Tod sind
demnach keine Grenzen des Lebens, vielmehr besteht es aus vielen Wiedergeburten,
die sich aneinander reihen.
Für die Gläubigen geht mit dem Tod
des Körpers nur eine Epoche zu Ende und nach einer Ruhepause kommt die
Wiedergeburt. Entscheidend für die Wiedergeburt ist das Karma, das man im
früheren Leben gesammelt hat. Positive und negative Taten nehmen Einfluss
darauf, wie man wiedergeboren wird.
Wird der Mensch eines Tages erleuchtet, wird er aus dem ewigen Kreislauf der Wiedergeburt befreit – für einige Buddhisten ist dieser ewige Kreislauf eine schlechte Vorstellung. Sie hoffen deshalb auf die Erlösung, die sie im Moksha oder Nirwana zu finden glauben. Dabei bedeutet dieses finale Stadium nicht etwa Unsterblichkeit, sondern Erlöschen. Es gibt jedoch auch andere Strömungen des Buddhismus, die nicht an diese Form der Wiedergeburt glauben.
It is perfectly possible to compress the entire practice and
understanding of Buddhism into a very small compass of words, or into a
nutshell. And to attempt this is a very worthwhile exercise.
“This task has always been one of the concerns of high lamas giving
public teachings, so as to give a short address that contains sufficient depth
for the advanced student
to appreciate, but also containing a simple overview for the less
advanced - profundity combined with lucidity.
Apart from trying to 'do good, avoid
evil and purify the mind'
[Dharmapada]
Certainly the primary activities of the Buddhist life, then briefly, to gain
a full and true understanding of Buddhism, replete with powerful insights, one
needs above all else,
to gain a very deep grasp of impermanence and then to combine this with
the stillness of meditation. Those two need to be cooked long together. Once impermanence
is fully sgrasped, and peace obtained, it must be crowned with the glory of
compassion for all living beings, just as if they were our own dear mothers.
This is not easily followed.
The dear and tender, fragile preciousness of all living beings is only
truly appreciated in the light of impermanence or once impermanence has been
fully grasped. It is best to see this against the vast immensity, and the
painful, raging melting-pot of the inexorable disintegratedness of samsara,
which is a raging furnace of change, a ruthless and all-consuming continuum of
flux, change, decay, disappointment and loss. Against such a raging maelstrom,
containing as it does the inevitable nature of death, the fragile nature of
each life form stands out as so precious and tender. Once the preciousness of
each life is drawn against the terrifying background of samsara's cargo of pain
and loss, that will inevitably be delivered, then this view generates the deep
compassion one needs: a true sense of the great preciousness of all life.
Thus, in summary, Buddhism combines the wisdom of emptiness with the
utter joy of compassion, set in the stillness of an empty meditating mind.
Contemplating regularly along these lines brings great mental bliss and pliancy
and one attempts thereby to transform feelings of unhappiness into states of
greater joy.
This sequence of meditation on impermanence and emptiness and then
realisation of compassion is also the sequence followed by the Buddha himself
in his enlightenment experience. It was his realisation of emptiness that gave
rise to, or laid the foundation for, his subsequent realisation of deep
compassion. After his Enlightenment, which can be regarded as his realisation
of the emptiness of all existence, the true nature of samsara, he subsequently
realised the supreme power of compassion, which is regard for the preciousness
of all life. He thus came to blend both views by realising that all events can
be seen as aspects of bliss and emptiness.
The love and compassion we generate for all living things must
constantly be measured against their certain death, and the disappointment and
suffering that samsara will inevitably inflict upon them. Repeated
contemplation of this deepens and reinforces one's sense of compassion Thus,
emptiness and compassion really do feed and reinforce each other as topics of
meditation.
By continually mingling in this way the contemplation of suffering and
impermanence with contemplation of compassion for living things, one gradually
deepens and extends one's feelings of great love for all living beings, on the
one side, and deepens one's realisation of the pervasive emptiness of all
created things, on the other side.
I try to observe all people in terms of their suffering state, because
this reinforces my feeling of love for them. It deeply reinforces a sense of
compassion for them.
I try to especially love them for their faults and impurities, just as
they are in their innate suchness. I try to tune into and feel the suffering
that they feel, their sadness, their pain, their loneliness, their fears, their
hurt, their unhappinesses - because to do so refines my sense of compassion,
and leads to an appreciation both of emptiness and compassion together. Each
person can be observed as a focal point for the interplay of emptiness and
suffering. This is in fact a very difficult perception to grasp. It is indeed
genuinely very hard for most people to regard their pain as a blend of bliss
and emptiness!
Yet, the suffering of each living being is and can eventually be seen as
an aspect of bliss and emptiness, for 'form is emptiness; emptiness is form'
[Heart Sutra]. Thinking along these lines is very fertile and one realises that
each individual is a slightly different blend of forms of suffering, some
mostly desire, others mostly hate, some mostly fear, others mostly loneliness,
depression or despair. However, it is not a purpose of Buddhism to stand in
judgement over people, to condemn them for the suffering they endure in
samsara. But it is a purpose of Buddhism to study suffering, and to attune to
these facts of our lives, to understand them and to use them in religious
practice to refine our own good qualities, like compassion, love, forgiveness
and acceptance, as well as to contemplate these unpleasant aspects of life as
'cocktails' of bliss and emptiness.
Therefore, we might say that deep scrutiny of our lives and the
suffering it contains, as well as the suffering of others, not only inspires us
to feel deeper compassion for them, it can also be employed as a meditation in
its own right, leading to deeper understanding of emptiness, which is
undoubtedly the most advanced and difficult Buddhist teaching.
A Buddhist View of Suffering.x
Buddhism is pretty centrally concerned with suffering. It never really
stops studying the suffering of oneself and that of other people. These form a
central focus of the religion, its practice and its philosophy. One is
encouraged to explore what suffering is, the various forms it comes in and their
root causes. Though they can all be reduced
to attractions and aversions based upon the illusion of a real self,
which desires certain things and is averse to others, yet this is not
immediately obvious or a point easily grasped:
"And the people, who hide themselves
behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too
late, when they pass away."
[George Harrison, Within you without
you, 1967]
We live much of our lives in an entangling spider’s web of these desires
and aversions. Buddhism aims at the demolition of the self, the creation of
subtle mindfulness,
bliss, great compassion and moderation and gentleness. These must be
cultivated within a general atmosphere of subduing the passions, subduing the
desires and aversions
and of cultivating reflection and a caring attitude to all life.
The Theravada tradition primarily emphasises ethical conduct,
mindfulness and self-restraint, which aim at achieving enlightenment, probably
after many future lifetimes.
The Mahayana tradition primarily emphasises the attainment not just of
enlightenment, but also of full Buddhahood. This subtle difference means
training not just to gain insights and personal release from Samsara, but also
to actually become a Buddha, a fully enlightened being who compassionately
helps others through their lives to attain wisdom and realisation. In the
Mahayana, the emphasis is upon becoming a bodhisattva, which is a Buddha-to-be
who strives for the enlightenment of others ahead of his
or her own.
The Tantrayana comprises Mahayana paths that aim to achieve full
Buddhahood in this lifetime.
In the Mahayana Zen tradition, the rather ruthless destruction of the
self through reflection, passivity and self-denial is the fruit of a life of
great discipline, simplicity and focus. In this way, it aims to achieve
perfection of mind control and ethics through the exhaustive realisation of
emptiness and mental stillness:
"The farther one travels
The less one knows."
[George Harrison, The Inner Light, 1969]
All other aspects of human life, and even Buddhist scriptures, are
deliberately reduced to a stark minimum. The meat of the Zen life is
unrelenting confrontation with one’s own psychological shortcomings:
"We're just two lost souls swimming in a
fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears."
[Pink Floyd Wish you were here,
1975]
The Tibetan tradition strives for the attainment of selflessness through
practising extraordinary compassion and by putting the suffering of others
before one’s own to develop the very special, selfless love of a Buddha as well
as his wisdom. This strives to develop these two key aspects of Buddhahood
together, side-by-side. Mindfulness and meditation also play a prominent role.
Ritual, visualisations, rote learning of scriptures and engaging in debates on
the finer points of doctrine are also used to maximum effect arousing religious
feeling and a thorough understanding of emptiness.
It is true to say that Buddhism begins and ends in the study of
suffering. This lies at its root just as it lies at the root of life itself. We
are born into suffering - "like a dog without a bone, into this life we’re
thrown" [The Doors] – and we all must die and experience pain and loss.
Obviously, we also experience great joy as well, but suffering seems to be a
dominating influence of all life and in our lives. Buddhism concerns itself
very much with the study of suffering in all its forms, what it is, how it
arises and how its causes might be cut, overpowered or transformed into a
life-plan that minimises suffering coming into being, by cutting off its causes
within one’s life, attitudes and behaviour. In this way, a ‘new life’ can be
forged when effort and determination are harnessed to the task. Real change and
real improvement are only possible when great effort is made at the right
tasks. Such are the schools and paths of Buddhism. It is thus a religion of
self-transformation and self-improvement, through application of continuous
effort:
"Try to realise it's all within yourself
No one else can make you change."
[Within you without you, George
Harrison, 1967]
Because Buddhism is a religion primarily involved with suffering, so it
especially identifies with the working classes who are burdened with ‘failure
in life’ and the suffering of delay, lack of progression, frustration and
poverty, etc. Buddhism therefore identifies to some degree with all poor and
suffering people like that, as it makes a central study of such figures. It
identifies as a subject of its own study, therefore, with the grosser forms of
human suffering, which are predominantly found in the lower social strata of
society. This is not to say that rich and privileged people do not experience
suffering, or even those happy people who happen to be enjoying life now. They
also suffer to some extent.
In any case, there are subtle and pervasive forms of suffering and
impure states of mind even for rich and happy people. They also suffer losses,
disappointments and frustrations. They are also burdened with jealousy,
avarice, fear and desire. Yet, suffering is predominantly confined to the poor
and lower classes compared with the rich. One of the defining features of
working people is that they suffer more than average setbacks and disappointments
in their lives. They therefore form a good subject of study for Buddhists.
Their position in society gives one a justifiable sympathy towards them, and
one is predisposed to empathise with their suffering, even if a strict Buddhist
might contend that their suffering is the ripening of their own bad karma [is
their ‘own fault’] or that it is illusory in the deeper sense of it being an
aspect of a non-existent self that is a mental construct.
It can truthfully be said in Buddhism that meditation and mindfulness on
their own may not achieve selflessness, because employed alone these forces do
not directly counteract the ego. The ego must be tackled; it must be subdued
and diminished if true realisation is to occur:
"When you've seen beyond yourself then you
may find
Peace of mind is waiting there."
[George Harrison, Within you without
you, 1967]
For example, one can engage in meditation and mindfulness for years,
know all the great teachings by heart, and yet still remain innately arrogant. This
is because our sense of self is so persistent and so hard to dislodge. In some
of us, the self becomes too solid and we identify with this mind, this body and
the details of this life too tightly. We are then very reluctant to let these
elements go, to loosen their grip and let ego melt away:
"I built my prison stone by stone
how many useless knots I tied
I dug the pitfalls in my path
how many useless tears I cried."
[Robin Williamson, Cutting the
Strings, 1970]
If we rely on these matters so much then our sense of self is very
powerful; if, however, we loosen our sense of identification with our body, our
mind and our position in life, making them slightly more distant and less
important, that is being non-attached to them, then the sense of self becomes
correspondingly diminished. But awareness then brightens and joy and compassion
actually become possible:
"You give all your brightness
away and it only makes you brighter."
[You get brighter every day, Mike
Heron, 1967]
It seems one cherishes others to the degree that one no longer
over-cherishes the self:
"You never enjoy the world aright
Till the sea itself floweth
In your veins and you are clothed
With the heavens and crowned with the
stars."
[Thomas Traherne]
This is the correct application of non-attachment and mindfulness as
spiritual antidotes of egotism. Whether through emptiness or compassion, or
patience, or giving, somehow or other one must release the grip of the ego in
order to achieve great realisations. There simply is no other way.
It is the resistance the ego puts up against the realisation of
selflessness and emptiness that prevents us from gaining good insight. This
resistance can be enormous in those who have habituated a very solid
identification of their current consciousness and life situation with the
bright and empty awareness that underpins all life and flows through all
things:
"And to see you're really only very small
And life flows within you and without
you."
[Within you without you, George
Harrison, 1967]
Ego is terrified of its own extinction above all else. That which flows
through all things cannot be destroyed, thus no fear need arise.
When these ideas become fully absorbed and appreciated, it then becomes
possible to understand why Buddha was called the Subduer, the World Conqueror,
the Tathagata, the One-Gone-Thus, the World Honoured One, the Great Sage of
India, World Teacher and the One Gone to Bliss [Sugata] for truly when ego is
destroyed and a joyful and compassionate selflessness has emerged, then mind
has truly merged into bliss, which is Buddhahood.
Strive to be
"not attached to the pleasures of mundane
existence
"craving cyclic existence thoroughly binds
the embodied."
"Emphasis on the appearances of this life
is reversed."
"If you think again and again
About deeds and their inevitable effects
And the sufferings of cyclic existence,"
"generation of a complete aspiration to
highest enlightenment," which is the same as "the supreme altruistic
intention to become enlightened."
"Have entered into the iron cage of
apprehending self (inherent existence),"
"the realisation of emptiness," which
is "the cause and effect of all phenomena."
from Tsong Kha pa, Three Principle
Aspects of the Path
11 Pearls of Wisdom From the 14th Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama, a monk and the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism.
Today’s current Dalai Lama is the 14th Dalai Lama, and known
worldwide for spreading a message of compassion and tolerance.
Below are a few of my favorit quotes from the 14th Dalai
Lama. My hope is that they bring you a little extra peace today.
1. “In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.”
2. “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace
with ourselves.”
3. “Sleep is the best meditation.”
4. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to
be happy, practice compassion.”
5. “We all have to live together, so we might as well live together
happily.”
6. “Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.”
7. “Disagreement is something normal.”
8. “In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive
vision.”
9. “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”
10. “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own
actions.”
11. “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”
ZEIT-ONLINE
[Katrin Zeug/Melina Grundmann]
Menschen, die meditieren, haben eine höhere Dichte bestimmter Nervenzellen
Eine Möglichkeit, die Selbstwahrnehmung zu lernen, bietet die Achtsamkeitsmeditation. Sie folgt der buddhistischen Tradition. »Meditation nimmt der emotionalen Erregung die Spitze, sodass man nicht wie eine Reiz-Reaktions-Maschine in automatische Verhaltensmuster rutscht«, sagt der Psychologe Ulrich Ott , der die Wirkung der Meditation am Bender Institute of Neuroimaging der Universität Gießen erforscht. Ruhe ein Mensch mehr in sich, könne er gelassener in ein unangenehmes Gespräch gehen. Er lasse sich dann gar nicht erst provozieren oder verunsichern.
Außerdem schärfe das mentale Training die Aufmerksamkeit. Meditierende lernen, ihre Gedanken zu beobachten und zu stoppen, bevor sie schlechte Gefühle auslösen.
»Es entsteht eine Lücke, in der ich mich fragen kann: Was nehme ich wahr, und wie will ich darauf reagieren?«
Hirnstudien weisen darauf hin: Menschen, die seit Langem meditieren, weisen eine höhere Dichte an Nervenzellen im orbitofrontalen Kortex auf, einer Region oberhalb
der Augenhöhlen, die mit dem Umlernen emotionaler Reaktionen in Verbindung gebracht wird.
Welche Rolle die eigene Haltung in Extremsituationen spielt, hat Ott mithilfe von Experimenten untersucht, bei denen er Probanden Stromschläge verabreichte. »Wer sie mit Gleichmut registrierte, ertrug sie viel besser als jemand, der sich in Erwartungsängste hineinsteigerte«, sagt der Psychologe. Auf emotional schwierige Situationen sei das gut übertragbar.
Martina Aßmann kann das bestätigen, sie meditiert seit vier Jahren regelmäßig, vor allem in der U-Bahn. Die 49-jährige Hamburgerin möchte ihre Ungeduld überwinden, die ihr selbst und ihren Mitmenschen oft das Leben schwer macht. »Wenn die U-Bahn mal länger im Tunnel steht oder jemand langatmig und umständlich erzählt, ist das für mich kaum zu ertragen«, sagt Aßmann. »Manchmal könnte ich dann an die Decke gehen.« Einmal ist sie sogar im Urlaub ausgerastet, weil das Ferienhaus bei ihrer Ankunft noch nicht frei war. »Wie eine Furie habe ich die Frau von der Zimmervermittlung angebrüllt«, erzählt sie. Der Tag ist ihr in schmerzhafter Erinnerung geblieben.
Heute würde ihr das vermutlich nicht so leicht passieren, dank der Meditation hat sie ihre Ungeduld besser im Griff. Zwar fährt sie immer noch nicht gern U-Bahn.
»Aber ich kann mich jetzt bewusst für diesen Moment entscheiden und ihn ertragen.« Wird ihre Geduld heute strapaziert, beobachtet sie sich selbst. »Da drückt was im
Bauch, nimmt mir den Atem, verspannt meinen Nacken«, erklärt Aßmann. Negative Gedanken kann sie jetzt einfach weiterziehen lassen. »Ach, jetzt bist du wieder ungeduldig, denke ich dann und versuche mir das auch selbst zu verzeihen.«
Manchmal konzentriert sie sich beim Meditieren auch bewusst auf liebevolle Gefühle anderen Menschen gegenüber. »Ich kann mich seitdem besser in andere hineinversetzen und mich von ihnen berühren lassen«, sagt Aßmann.
Bewiesen ist es bislang nicht, aber erste Studien deuten darauf hin, dass Menschen mit viel Meditationspraxis mitfühlender sind. Forscher der University of Wisconsin etwa zeichneten die Hirnaktivität von buddhistischen Mönchen und Laien auf, während diese affektive Geräusche etwa das Lachen eines Babys oder die Stimme einer traurigen Frau – hörten. Bei den Mönchen waren jene Hirnregionen, die Wissenschaftler mit Mitgefühl in Verbindung bringen, deutlich aktiver. »Sie waren offenbar besser dazu in der Lage, die Emotionen in sich selbst nachzuvollziehen«, sagt Ulrich Ott.
Ob auch Erwachsene, die zuvor nicht meditiert haben, durch ein mehrwöchiges mentales Training mehr Mitgefühl erlernen können, untersuchen derzeit Tania Singer und ihre Kollegen am Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften in Leipzig. Erste Befunde, die jedoch noch nicht publiziert sind, deuten stark darauf hin.
Wie gut Meditation geeignet ist, den Umgang mit Emotionen zu verändern und ob sie dafür ausreicht, hängt von der Person und ihrem Problem ab. »Sie ist ein guter Einstieg, aber mehrere Werkzeuge zu beherrschen ist besser«, sagt Matthias Berking. Manchen Menschen lägen kognitiv-analytische Strategien eher. So könne etwa ein Manager, der es gewohnt sei, täglich eine Vielzahl von Problemen zu lösen, lernen, negative Emotionen ebenfalls als Problem zu definieren. Wie bei anderen Problemen gehe es dann darum, die Emotion erst einmal genau zu beschreiben und die Auslöser zu analysieren. Dann gelte es, eine konkrete und realistische Ziel-Emotion zu finden und Ideen zu sammeln, wie diese sich bewusst auslösen lasse. Andere Menschen müssen Veränderungen durch Taten schaffen: Wer Angst vor etwas habe oder unter starken Schamgefühlen leide, müsse sich langfristig mit solchen Situationen selbst konfrontieren, um korrigierende Erfahrungen zu sammeln, sagt Berking.
Die Wirkung von Selbsthilfe ist wissenschaftlich kaum untersucht
Die Angebote auf dem freien Markt sind zahlreich, aber nicht immer wissenschaftlich fundiert. Wer keine Therapie benötigt, sondern vergleichsweise kleine Probleme hat, hat es daher schwer, sich zu orientieren. Anders als bei Psychotherapien sind die Wirkungen von Selbsthilfeseminaren äußerst selten Gegenstand wissenschaftlicher Studien. »Das ist ein Problem«, sagt Matthias Berking, »es muss aber nicht heißen, dass diese Angebote schlecht sind.« Wer nicht allein auf Mundpropaganda vertrauen will, dem rät er, sich an einen zugelassenen psychologischen Psychotherapeuten zu wenden. »Die sind in der Regel sehr gut ausgebildet. Auch wer keine Therapie möchte, kann sich von ihnen hilfreiche Bücher empfehlen lassen.« Für besonders aussichtsreich hält er Ansätze, die sich an der kognitiven Verhaltenstherapie orientieren: »Die Verhaltenstherapie hat sich von Anfang an durch den Fokus auf messbare Erfolge definiert.«
Der Hirnforscher Gerhard Roth findet es vor allem wichtig, die Sache nicht allein anzugehen: »Man braucht eine Rückmeldung von außen, sonst betrügt man sich nur selbst.« Einen Therapeuten oder Coach brauche man dafür aber nicht gleich. Auch ein guter Freund könne bei der Umsetzung des eigenen Trainingsplans helfen.
Welchen Weg man auch wählt: Er kostet Mühe. Kurse, die schnelle Erfolge versprechen, sieht Roth kritisch: »Ein teures Wochenende, und am Montag ist man ein neuer Mensch – das ist unmöglich.« Nur durch stetes Training lässt sich das Gehirn umstrukturieren. Jemand, der depressiv sei, so Berking, müsse entsprechende Übungen regelmäßig und bestenfalls bis ans Ende seines Lebens machen, damit die Hirnstrukturen, die auf das limbische System wirken, sich nicht wieder zurückbilden. Es ist wichtig, diesen »Muskel« im Alltag zu trainieren – etwa durch kleine Rituale. Auch wenn das oft anstrengend und langweilig ist.
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum