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+ | ====== What is Theravada Buddhism? ====== | ||
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+ | <div # | ||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | Theravada (pronounced — more or less — " | ||
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+ | ===== Many Buddhisms, One Dhamma-vinaya ===== | ||
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+ | The [[en: | ||
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+ | As the Dhamma continued its spread across India after the Buddha' | ||
+ | ((A third major branch of Buddhism emerged much later (ca. 8th century CE) in India:// | ||
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+ | ===== Pali: The Language of Theravada Buddhism ===== | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | The language of the Theravada canonical texts is Pali (lit., " | ||
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+ | After the Buddha' | ||
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+ | Pali was originally a spoken language with no alphabet of its own. It wasn't until about [[history# | ||
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+ | No one can prove that the Tipitaka contains any of the words actually uttered by the historical Buddha. Practicing Buddhists have never found this problematic. Unlike the scriptures of many of the world' | ||
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+ | ===== A Brief Summary of the Buddha' | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | === The Four Noble Truths === | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | Shortly [[history# | ||
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+ | -- // | ||
+ | -- [[: | ||
+ | -- [[: | ||
+ | -- [[: | ||
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+ | Because of our [[: | ||
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+ | The Buddha discovered that gaining release from samsara requires assigning to each of the Noble Truths a specific task: the first Noble Truth is to be // | ||
+ | 040908 jtb: What, exactly, is the relationship between Nibbana and NT3? AG says there are basically two interpretations: | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | === The Eightfold Path and the Practice of Dhamma === | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | Because the roots of ignorance are so intimately entwined with the fabric of the psyche, the unawakened mind is capable of deceiving itself with breathtaking ingenuity. The solution therefore requires more than simply being kind, loving, and mindful in the present moment. The practitioner must equip him- or herself with the expertise to use a range of tools to outwit, outlast, and eventually uproot the mind's unskillful tendencies. For example, the practice of [[: | ||
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+ | The good qualities that emerge and mature from these practices not only smooth the way for the journey to Nibbana; over time they have the effect of transforming the practitioner into a more generous, loving, compassionate, | ||
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+ | === Discernment (pañña) === | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | The Eightfold Path is best understood as a collection of personal qualities to be developed, rather than as a sequence of steps along a linear path. The development of right view and right resolve (the factors classically identified with wisdom and discernment) facilitates the development of right speech, action, and livelihood (the factors identified with virtue). As virtue develops so do the factors identified with concentration (right effort, mindfulness, | ||
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+ | The long journey to Awakening begins in earnest with the first tentative stirrings of right view — the discernment by which one recognizes the validity of the four Noble Truths and the principle of kamma. One begins to see that one's future well-being is neither predestined by fate, nor left to the whims of a divine being or random chance. The responsibility for one's happiness rests squarely on one's own shoulders. Seeing this, one's spiritual aims become suddenly clear: to relinquish the habitual unskillful tendencies of the mind in favor of skillful ones. As this right resolve grows stronger, so does the heartfelt desire to live a morally upright life, to choose one's actions with care. | ||
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+ | At this point many followers make the inward commitment to take the Buddha' | ||
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+ | === Virtue (sila) === | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | Right view and right resolve continue to mature through the development of the path factors associated with [[: | ||
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+ | === Concentration (samadhi) === | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | Having gained a foothold in the purification of one's outward behavior through the practice of //sila,// the essential groundwork has been laid for delving into the most subtle and transformative aspect of the path: meditation and the development of // | ||
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+ | Right mindfulness and right concentration are developed in tandem through // | ||
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+ | <WRAP centeralign> | ||
+ | === Awakening === | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | This first enlightenment experience, known as [[: | ||
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+ | But full Awakening is still a long way off. As the practitioner presses on with renewed diligence, he or she passes through two more significant landmarks: once-returning // | ||
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+ | <WRAP indent> | ||
+ | "Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done! There is nothing further for the sake of this world." | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | The arahant lives out the remainder of his or her life inwardly enjoying the bliss of Nibbana, secure at last from the possibility of any future rebirth. When the arahant' | ||
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+ | <WRAP centeralign> | ||
+ | ===== "The serious pursuit of happiness" | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | Buddhism is sometimes naively criticized as a " | ||
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+ | The Buddha based his teachings on a frank assessment of our plight as humans: there is unsatisfactoriness and suffering in the world. No one can argue this fact. Dukkha lurks behind even the highest forms of worldly pleasure and joy, for, sooner or later, as surely as night follows day, that happiness must come to an end. Were the Buddha' | ||
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+ | ===== Theravada Comes West ===== | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | Until the [[history# | ||
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+ | The turn of the 21< | ||
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+ | Spiritual teachings of every description inundate the media and the marketplace today. Many of today' | ||
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+ | Fortunately the Buddha left us with some simple guidelines to help us navigate through this bewildering flood. Whenever you find yourself questioning the authenticity of a particular teaching, heed well the Buddha' | ||
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+ | <WRAP indent> | ||
+ | "[The teachings that promote] the qualities of which you may know, 'These qualities lead to passion, not to dispassion; to being fettered, not to being unfettered; to accumulating, | ||
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+ | [As for the teachings that promote] the qualities of which you may know, 'These qualities lead to dispassion, not to passion; to being unfettered, not to being fettered; to shedding, not to accumulating; | ||
+ | "</ | ||
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+ | The truest test of these teachings, of course, is whether they yield the promised results in the crucible of your own heart. The Buddha presents the challenge; the rest is up to you. | ||
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+ | It is impossible to reconcile these divergent views from studying the texts alone; any doubts about the roles of samatha and vipassana are best resolved through the actual practice of meditation. | ||
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+ | </ | ||
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+ | [[#top| Go to the top ]] | ||
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+ | **Provenance**: | ||
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+ | Prepared by jtb for Access to Insight. | ||
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+ | This Zugang zur Einsicht edition is [[en: | ||
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+ | Translations, | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | <WRAP box> | ||
+ | <WRAP justify> | ||
+ | **Scope of this Dhamma-Gift**: | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
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+ | <WRAP box> | ||
+ | <WRAP justify> | ||
+ | **How to cite this document (one suggested style)**: “What is Theravada Buddhism? | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <WRAP centeralign> | ||
+ | [[en: | ||
+ | </ | ||