Buddhism

Reflection Questions on Little Buddha

1. What are the significant events in the life of the Buddha. What challenged Siddhartha in his search for authenticity?

2. What do Ignatius, Black Elk, Dorothy Day and the Buddha have in common? How are they different?

3. What are some of the cultural tensions between eastern and western culture in the film? How do you think these tensions inform or influence religious belief and practice?

When Things Fall Apart

What are the three basic foundations of Buddhism?

What are the three fundamental tenants?

Why are they so important to understanding Buddhism?

Impermanence –

the goodness of reality … everything about reality is constantly evolving and

changing.

Impermanence –


changing.

It is the meaning of everything.

Impermanence –


changing.


Meeting and parting.

Impermanence –


changing.



It is a principle of harmony – when we don’t struggle against impermanence, we are in harmony with reality.

Impermanence –


changing.



It is a principle of harmony – when we don’t struggle against impermanence, we are in harmony with reality.

Our reaction to impermanence is habitual – we must become aware of the habitual patterns in response to change. Experience and let go rather than resist the change.

Suffering:

Our pain comes from holding onto things that are changing.

Suffering:


Pain is not a punishment, pleasure is not a reward.

Suffering:



When suffering arises we must recognize it as suffering. We must not repress it.

Suffering:



When suffering arises we must recognize it as suffering. We must not repress it.

• **** Experience and let go rather than getting caught in a habitual pattern of indulgence or repression that simply increases the suffering.

Egolessness : – our natural state.

Like regaining eyesight after being blind and hearing after being deaf. (Deficiency = delusion.) The ego covers up our basic goodness.



It is our unconditional being.




A state of mind that has complete confidence in the sacredness of the world.





Egolessness is an opening to emotions of thoughts rather than a closing off into our narrow selves.






Freshness, openness, delight in the here and now through our senses and mind.






Freshness, openness, delight in the here and now through our senses and mind.

It is the well-being that comes when we see an infinite pair of opposites as complementary.

What is the Middle way and why is it so important?

The Middle Way –

Staying between indulging and repressing painful situations.

The Middle Way –


•A “being with” pain and suffering without collapsing into it.

The Middle Way –



• Acknowledging what arises without judgment.

The Middle Way –



• Acknowledging what arises without judgment.

Acknowledge the reality – let the thoughts and emotions go – and return to being here.

Based upon what we have learned throughout the quarter, how would you articulate living the “middle way” in American Culture? What has to change in our understanding of the human person?

How do Choedron’s claims on suffering relate to Howell and the experience of Ignatius and Black Elk?

Do you think “egolessness” is a reasonable principle for living the spiritual life? Why or why not?

What is Maitri? How does one develop it as a way of being in the world?

Maitri – unconditional friendliness - loving kindness. Being trained in the art of gentleness and a nonjudgmental attitude.


• Pleasant or unpleasant thinking – both must be met with an unconditional friendliness.



o The practice of meditation entails opening to and relaxing with whatever arises and letting it be without choosing or picking.




o One must stop struggling against one’s thoughts and let them be.




o One must stop struggling against one’s thoughts and let them be.

o Thoughts will run around in circles if we buy into them … they are like an illusion.

Maitri – developing loving kindness and an unconditional friendship for ourselves. Practicing loving kindness towards ourselves is a way to illuminate the darkness of difficult times.


• Self-deception becomes skillfully and compassionately exposed.



• It is the taking off of our mask.




• It is the process of giving up control and letting our concepts and ideals fall apart.





• Without judgment – giving into likes and dislikes – we encourage ourselves to be here.






• Instead of struggling against confusion we meet it and relax.






• Instead of struggling against confusion we meet it and relax.

• Being able to appreciate, to look closely, being able to open our minds.

How do we embrace our basic goodness, basic wisdom, basic intelligence, in order to cease

harming ourselves and harming others?

Embracing our basic goodness, basic wisdom, basic

intelligence, in order to cease harming ourselves and harming

others.

1. Be mindful – see our desires, aggression, our jealousy and our ignorance. Don’t act upon them, just see them.



others.


2. Refrain from harm – It is the practice of not filling up a space just because there is a gap. Pause instead of filling up the space.



others.


2. Refrain from harm – It is the practice of not filling up a space just because there is a gap. Pause instead of filling up the space.

3. Become aware of the nature of our inherent restlessness and fear.

What is the connection between hope and fear?

Understanding Hope and Fear

Rewa – hope.

• Hope means that there is somewhere better to be than here – now. That there is someone better to be than me now.


Rewa – hope.


Dokpa – fear.


Rewa – hope.


Dokpa – fear.

Re-dok – hope and fear combined which is the root of our pain.


Rewa – hope.


Dokpa – fear.


• Hope and fear come from the feeling that we lack something. – they come from a sense of poverty.


Rewa – hope.


Dokpa – fear.


• Hope and fear come from the feeling that we lack something. – they come from a sense of poverty.

• We must drop the fundamental hope that there is a better me who one day will emerge.

What is Samsara?

Give an example of Samsara.

Habitual Pattern (samsara) –

Thought arises – then it escalates and then leads us into hope and fear.



• To undo our habitual patterns of mind requires that we turn around some of our most basic assumptions.




We spin off in a habitual style without even noticing that we do it.





• Before falling off into this habitual pattern, we must become aware of how we react when we are praised or criticized.





• Before falling off into this habitual pattern, we must become aware of how someone reacts when we are praised or criticized.

Instead of being swept along by pleasant of painful feelings we become aware.


This awareness undercuts the ego – pain or self-centeredness.



The trick is to enjoy without clinging or identifying with the feeling.



The trick is to enjoy without clinging or identifying with the feeling.

Let the feeling come, be aware of it and let it dissolve back into the sea.

How does one break the cycle of Samsara?


Detachment!


Detachment!

Nonattachment – letting things go. It is a desire to know – almost like a child. Wanting

to know our pleasure and our pain.

Practical approach to detachment:


Get to know these feelings



see how they hook us




what triggers them




what triggers them

how they color our perception of reality

What is hopelessness? Why is it a good thing?

What is hopelessness?

Hopelessness – not grabbing and relaxing with the groundlessness of our situation. Taking refuge in the dharma is about giving up hope of getting ground under our feet.

Why is the proper motivation for a compassionate life death and hopelessness?

Proper motivation: Death and hopelessness provide proper motivation living an insightful and compassionate life.


• No escapism.


• No escapism.

• Facing the facts.


• No escapism.


• Make friends with yourself.


• No escapism.



• Give up hope of alternatives in the present moment.


• No escapism.



• Give up hope of alternatives in the present moment.

• Have a joyful relationship with your life.

Eight Worldly Dharmas

Four pairs of opposites –

1. pleasure and pain




2. praise and criticism





3. fame and disgrace






4. gain and loss






4. gain and loss

Subjective interpretation that Causes Suffering:

Good feelings = pleasure, praise, fame and gain.

With regard to the dharmas, what causes suffering?

With regard to the dharmas, what causes suffering?

Subjective interpretation that Causes Suffering:

Good feelings = pleasure, praise, fame and gain.

Bad feelings = pain, criticism, disgrace and loss

Devaputra Mara – seeking pleasure.

Any obstacle we encounter has the potential to pull the rug out from underneath us.



In the face of pain or anxiety we strive to grasp something pleasant.




It is a description of how we are addicted to avoiding pain.




It is a description of how we are addicted to avoiding pain.

Turning a devaputra arrow into a flower is to open our hearts and look at how we try to escape.

Skandha Mara – always trying to re-create ourselves.

How we react psychologically when the rug is pulled out from under us.



Our habitual reaction based upon how things “should be” that re-creates our personality.



Our habitual reaction based upon how things “should be” that re-creates our personality.

• If we use our experience to understand how we react to re-create ourselves – the arrow becomes a flower.

Klesha Mara – using our emotions to keep ourselves dumb or asleep.


Strong emotions used to distort the situation. Rather than being with an uncomfortable feeling, we use it as a log on the bonfire of comfortable feelings.



It relativizes rationality with a brushfire of toxic feelings.




If we use our emotions and let them go rather than trying to regain our ground with them, we let them be simply a part of being alive.





When we soften towards our own emotions, we can befriend all human beings.





When we soften towards our own emotions, we can befriend all human beings.

Letting emotions be part of the given of experience and letting them go turns the arrows into flowers.

Yama Mara – the fear of death.

Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self contained and comfortable is some kind of death.



The essence of life is that it is challenging – bitter and sweet.




To be fully alive, fully awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.





To truly live is to be willing to die over and over again.





To truly live is to be willing to die over and over again.

A willingness to have our world fall a part and allowing ourselves to change (die) turns the flowers into arrows.

What is Bodhichitta ?

Bodhichitta – noble or awakened heart.


It is said to be present in all beings.



A soft spot inherent in all people.




A tenderness for life.

.





You take the pain of the world into your heart and in doing so you turn it into compassion.






In moments of vulnerability, bodhichitta is always there.






In moments of vulnerability, bodhichitta is always there.

When we release the tension between this and that – the struggle between us and them … that is when bodhichitta emerges.

What is tonglen?

Tonglen – the practice of sending and receiving that is designed to awaken bodhichitta and put us in touch with our gentle and noble

heart.


heart.

It is a practice of taking in pain and sending out pleasure.


heart.


By taking in pain and sending out pleasure, we reverse the well-established habit of doing just the opposite.


heart.



Whenever we encounter suffering in any form we must breathe it in with the intention that everyone be free of pain.


heart.



Whenever we encounter suffering in any form we must breathe it in with the intention that everyone be free of pain.

Whenever we encounter happiness in any form, the instruction is to breathe it out, send it out with the wish that everyone could feel joy.

Tonglen –

Breathe in suffering and breath out wellness.

Tonglen –


When we breathe in our armor begins to collapse because we enter into the pain in the world.

Tonglen –



When we breathe out relief and spaciousness we are also encouraging the armor to collapse because we let go of happiness rather than hold onto it tightly.

Tonglen –



When we breathe out relief and spaciousness we are also encouraging the armor to collapse because we let go of happiness rather than hold onto it tightly.

The out breath is a metaphor for opening our whole being to what truly is.

Buddhism

Spiritual

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