The Principles of the Buddhist Way

The Law of Impermanence
All things and events are subject to change and transformation.

Law of Contradiction
Fear and Desire are the primary emotional conditions, which when viewed from an irrational standpoint, give the appearance of two opposing states.

Desire can be reasonable or unreasonable

Reasonable
Need
Contentment
Patience
Tolerance
Shared Values
Empathy
Humility

Unreasonable
Want
Greed
Anger
Hatred
Jealousy
Selfishness
Pride

You don’t have to die to loose your life.

The Law of Impermanence and the Law of Contradiction when viewed from the standpoint of reason and experience, allow us to see the possibility of bringing about transformation within ourselves, freeing us from the effects of negative emotions and allowing us to reach the state of enlightenment through transformation of the mind.

The root of suffering is Ignorance (Maya), which means the misconception of self, which leads to Karmic reactions (negative actions)

The emphasis is on personal responsibility

Four Noble Truth’s
Suffering
The origin of suffering in delusion
Attachment,Anger,Pride,Ignorance and Wrong Views.

Types of Suffering
Pure Suffering
Suffering of Change
Pervasive Conditioning

The cessation of suffering is acheived through Love,Empathy and Compassion.

Principle of Interdependent Origination
Consciousness is the link between the objective, subjective and inter-subjective domains, the basic issue is one of ego attachment, consciousness is a process, a network of relations. The meaning of emptiness is not nothing, but an awareness of the pure interdependent nature of reality, which at its root is in a state of perfect equilibrium. There are only the interfaces between boundaries. Consciousness is more like a construct which arises out of a spectrum of complex events.

To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi:
“Detachment is not a negation of responsibility but a prerequisite for active involvement.”

The objective is to equalize your feelings in order to feel responsibility for others.

Dependent Arising
Iinterdependency of parts or aspects, and the whole (Metonymy). The Buddhist view of reality is that entities have their own existence but also depend on the mind. Their mode is separate but not their existence. The underlying reality is impermanent. Consciousness is formed and moved by the level of energy invoked by the experience of an object.

There is a universal desire for Happiness (wealth/worldly satisfaction/spirituality/enlightenment) and avoidance of Suffering (caused by ignorance/craving and hatred).

The Field of Merit
Imprints positive actions from the point of view of the Buddha, and Sentient Beings.

Buddha viewpoint Sentient Beings
Respect Kindness
Faith Generosity
Confidence Tolerance

Death
“You should not fear dying, but dying too soon.”
Death is inevitable
Death is uncertain
We face it alone

Time
Internal – only the Present
External – Past is just a memory
Future is just imagination

Ten Prohibitions

Physical
Taking Life
Stealing
Abusive sexual behaviour

Verbal
Lying
Slander
Harsh words
Idle Gossip

Mental
Covetousness
Malice
Wrong Views

Six Perfections
Giving
Ethics
Patience
Effort
Concentration
Wisdom

Meditation
Analytical- Object orientated
Settled- Without analysis
Calm Abiding- Focus at will

Training
Morality
Concentration
Wisdom

The Act of Tong Len – Giving and Receiving