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THE
FOUNDATIONS OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
THE
THREE JEWELS
1. Buddha
2. Dharma
3. Sangha
THE
THREE REFUGES
1. I take refuge in Buddha, and
I wish all sentient beings, Will awaken to the Great Path, and
make the Supreme Resolution.
2. I take refuge in Dharma, and I wish all sentient beings, Will
penetrate the sutras, their wisdom as deep as the ocean.
3. I take refuge in Sangha, and I wish all sentient beings, Will
be brought together in Great Harmony, without any obstructions at
all.
THE
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1. Suffering exists.
2. Suffering has an identifiable cause: Desire to be and to have.
3. That cause may be terminated.
4. The means by which that cause may be terminated is the Noble
Eightfold Path.
THE
THREE PILLARS
1. Sila: Morality, charity
& compassion.
2. Dhyâna: Practice & Concentration.
3. Prajna: Wisdom.
THE NOBLE EIGHT FOLD PATH
(Prajna)
1. Right understanding
2. Right thought
(Sila)
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
(Dhyâna)
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration
THE
ABSOLUTE TRUTH
Ultimate Reality. There is no
"I" or being in to be found in any phenomena (namely
the five aggregates).
THE
RELATIVE TRUTH
The conventional truth. There
is no self or being but we speak of truth conforming to the
convention.
THE
FIVE PRECEPTS
1. I will not kill
2. I will not steal
3. I will not engage in sexual misconduct
4. I will not lie
5. I will not take intoxicating beverages or drugs
THE
FOUR GREAT VOWS
1. I vow to deliver innumerable
sentient beings.
2. I vow to cut off endless vexations.
3. I vow to master limitless approaches to Dharma.
4 I vow to attain supreme Buddhahood.
THE
THREE POISONS (FIRES)
1. Greed
2. Hatred
3. Ignorance
THE
FIVE HINDRANCES
1. Sexual desire
2. Ill will
3. Sloth and torpor (laziness)
4. Restlessness and worry
5. Doubt
THE
THREE MARKS OF EXISTENCE
1. Suffering
(unsatifactoriness)
2. Impermanence
3. Not self
THE
BRAHMA VIHARAS (FOUR SUBLIME STATES)
1. Loving - kindness
2. Compassion
3. Appreciation.
4. Equanimity
SAMANTABHADRA'S
TEN GREAT VOWS
1. The first, to worship and
respect all Buddhas.
2. The second, to praise the Tathagatas.
3. The third, to cultivate the giving of offerings.
4. The fourth, to repent all karmic obstructions.
5. The fifth, to rejoice in the merits of others.
6. The sixth, to request the turning of the Dharma wheel.
7. The seventh, to request that the Buddhas dwell in the world.
8. The eighth, to always follow the Buddhas in study.
9. The ninth, to always harmonize with livings beings.
10. The tenth, to transfer all merits to all others.
All Buddhas of the past, present and future in all quarters.
All Bodhisattva Mahasattvas. Maha Prajna Paramita.
TEN
PARAMITAS (Perfections)
1. Generosity
2. Morality
3. Renunciation
4. Wisdom
5. Energy
6. Patience
7. Truthfulness
8. Determination
9. Loving-kindness
10. Equanimity
THE
FIVE AGGREGATES
1. The
Aggregate of form (matter). This includes the
body, which is analyzed in the terms of four elements (solidity,
fluidity, heat and motion) and their derivatives, which include
our five basic sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body).
2. The Aggregate of feeling or sensation.
Feeling/sensation are of three kinds: pleasant, unpleasant and
neutral, and arise out of contact between a sense organ and a
sense object. One extra sense organ comes into play here: the
mind, which apprehends mind-objects (ideas, mental images, etc.)
3.The aggregate of perception.
Perception is the faculty that actually recognizes an object
by picking up its distinctive features. Its data comes via the
interaction of the five sense organs and the mind with
appropriate objects.
4.The aggregate of mental formations.
This encompasses all the willed activities of mind, plus a
few others.
5. The aggregate of consciousness.
When a sense organ or the mind makes contact with an
appropriate object, simple awareness but not actual recognition
of that object is the function of consciousness, which arises in
dependence on that object.
DEPENDENT
ORIGINATION
Dependent Origination is the
doctrine of conditionality of all physical and physical
phenomena.
1. Ignorance gives rise to
2. Volitional action, which in turn gives rise to
3. Conditioned consciousness, which in turn gives rise to
4. Name-and-form, which in turn gives rise to
5. The six bases, i.e., the five senses and mind, which in turn
give rise to
6. Sense-impressions (Contact), which in turn give rise to
7. Feelings, which in turn give rise to
8. Desire or craving, which in turn give rise to
9. Attachment, which in turn gives rise to
10. Becoming, (the life- or rebirth process), which in turn gives
rise to
11. Birth (or rebirth), which gives rise to
12. Old age, death - grief, lamentation, illness, sorrow, and
despair.
THE
TRIKAYA DOCTRINE
1. Nirmanakaya: his
"Transformation (or Appearance) body." This
is the body in which he appears in the world for the benefit of
suffering beings. It is not a real, physical body but more a
phantom-like appearance assumed by
2. Dharmakaya: his "dharma
body," wherein he is one with the eternal dharma
that lies beyond all dualities and conceptions. There is also
3. Sambhogakaya: his "Enjoyment (or
Bliss) body." This is body that appears to
bodhisattvas in the celestial realm where they commune with the
truth of the Mahayana.
THE
TEN FETTERS
The
ten factors that bind individuals to samsaric existence
1. Belief in personality
2. Skepticism
3. Attachment to rules and rituals
4. Sensuous craving
5. Ill will
6. Craving for material existence
7. Craving for non-material existence
8. Conceit
9. Restlessness
10. Ignorance
THE
TWELVE ENTRANCES
The six sense - organs, (eye,
ear, nose, tongue, body and mind) and the six sense objects
(sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought).
THE
EIGHTEEN REALMS
The realms of the six sense -
organs, their sense - objects and their perceptions.
THE
SIX REALMS OF REBIRTH
1. Heaven
2. Diva (Asura)
3. Human
4. Animal
5. Ghost
6. Hell
THE
FOUR ELEMENTS
1. Earth (solid)
2. Water (liquid)
3. Fire (heat)
4. Wind (motion)
THE
FOUR CLINGINGS
The 4 kinds of Clinging are:
Sensuous Clings, Clinging to Views, Clinging to mere Rules and
Ritual, Clinging to the Personality - Belief
1. "What now is the Sensuous Clinging?
Whatever with regard to sensuous objects there exists of sensuous
lust, sensuous desire, sensuous attachment, sensuous passion,
sensuous deludedness, sensuous fetters: this is called sensuous
clinging.
2. "What is the Clinging to Views" 'Alms and offerings
are useless... there is no fruit and result for good and bad
deeds...': all such view and wrong conceptions are called the
clinging views.
3. "What is the Clinging to mere Rules and Ritual? The
holding firmly to the view that through mere rules and ritual one
may reach purification: this is called the clinging to mere rules
and ritual.
4. "What is the Clinging to the Personality - Belief? The 20
kinds of Ego-views with regard to the group of existence these
are called the clinging to the Personality - belief."
WARNING
TO THE ASSEMBLY
(to be contemplated towards the day's end)
This day has passed.
Our lives, too, are closing.
Like fish with little water,
Joy will not last.
Let us work with pure effort.
Work as we would were our heads aflame.
Be mindful of impermanence.
Be careful of idleness.