Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
1. Where can we find the most complete and authoritative bibliography of Buddhism in South Africa?
See http://www.globalbuddhism.org/Bibliography%20-%20Buddhism%20in%20South%20Africa.htm, and
written by no less an authority than Michel Clasquin!
2. The Buddhist Retreat centre in Ixopo runs an HIV/AIDS community care and
support programme. What is it called?
4. In what year did the Bronkhorstspruit Town Council donate land for the building
of the Nan Hua temple?
1992. See http://www.nanhua.co.za/history.htm
Read the part in the study guide about the noble truths taking the form
of a traditional medical diagnosis. This already gives us an insight into
the nature of Buddhism. Its single most important statement of
doctrine lays no claim to divine inspiration. Theres no fire, no poetry in
it. It is a dry, factual assessment of the situation, its causes and what
can be done about it. If you are not convinced, read the shahaadah,
the most important doctrinal statement in Islam, on page 346 of the
textbook. Truly, there are more ways than one of being religious!
Do not get caught up with memorising the Eightfold path in the order
you find it on page 120. Yes, there is a good chance of an 8-point
question there. See the remarks in the Guide.
The 3 marks of existence are NOT a separate teaching from the noble
truths. They are a different way of expressing the same essential
Buddhist insight. Please read the guide on this section.
OK, so we have now examined two major Buddhist doctrines and it
seems that Buddhists are obsessed with suffering! The concept
reappears in the noble truths and in the marks of existence. In fact,
Buddhism does not deny that there is such a thing as happiness (the
Pali term is sukha). Of course it exists. But for how long? Buddhism
denies that any pleasure can last forever.
Think about that. If pleasure cannot last forever, then there cannot be
a doctrine of everlasting life after death. That is the bad news. The
good news is that if nothing lasts forever, then suffering can also come
to an end.
In a way, the three marks supply the last missing piece of the puzzle
that helps us to make sense of the four noble truths. In the noble
truths, it is still not quite clear why craving should cause suffering. But
now it becomes clear: We are craving after things that are always
going to slip away into impermanence. Our cravings can never be fully
satisfied.
Lets put that into proper South African terms. I drive a BMW (Johannes
Kerkorrel fans can start humming Ons ry n BMW at this point). I
love that car. I take it to be cleaned every week. I take it for services
even more often than is really necessary.
Then, one day, I arrive home and there is a big dent in my BMW.
Somebody backed into it. I am outraged. I scream and shout and make
threats against this unknown person. And just to show that I cannot be
trifled with, I take the car to a dealer and trade it in on a Mercedes.
At this point, Buddhism would ask Why? Why have you subsumed
your personality into a lifeless piece of metal? Surely you realise that
fifty, a hundred, a thousand years from now that car will be a worthless
pile of rust?
This is not to say, necessarily, that we should not drive nice cars. But
that it is unhealthy to tie our self-image, our sense of self-worth, to
something that is not going to last anyway.
This is the point at which Buddhism breaks away from all other
religions. Other religions will agree up to here, but will then say,
Rather put your trust in something that is permanent. Like God and/or
the human soul.
The uniqueness of Buddhism is that when it says everything is
impermanent it allows NO exceptions. No, there is no permanent
human soul. No, there is no permanent God. Everything changes.
When it has changed enough, the original thing no longer exists.
Everything is impermanent.
The rest of the chapter follows from this central philosophical point.
Human beings are said to consist of five factors. Not a soul to be found
among them. Why? Because of the 3 marks of existence.
Karma. Is there a concept more completely misunderstood by nonAsians? It is not a synonym for fate or destiny. In fact, if anything,
it is the opposite.
The way I think, speak and act can become a habit. If I am muddled in
my thinking, I slowly but surely become a muddle-headed person. If I
often act aggressively, then that agression becomes a feedback loop. I
act aggressively and I become a more aggressive person. Because I am
an aggressive person now, it is easier to act aggressively. This is
karma. There is nothing mysterious about it. Conventionally we speak
of good karma and bad karma. But that is not truly a distinction in
nature. There is only karma. If you cultivate a mind that revels in pain
and suffering, you will be reborn in a hell-world (Buddhism has several
to choose from: hot hells, cold hells, hells of solitude, hells of crowding,
you name it). This is not a punishment. Hell is simply where you fit
best. It is your natural habitat. You will suffer, but you will not object to
being there. The same goes for those whose karma leads them to be
reborn in heavenly worlds. It is not a reward. It is the natural
consequence of who you are.
Lets try another example. A dog is born as a dog, because that is the
kind of existence that best suits the karma of the being that may have
been something else before. A dog does not object to being a dog. He
lives out his doggy life as best he can. And most likely, when he dies,
he will come back as a dog once again.
But once we realise that this is how we became what we now are, it is
possible, little by little to examine what is going on inside our heads
and change it around. Do you remember Dr Phil on the Oprah show
asking people Well, hows that working out for you? Now you ask that
question of yourself.
This ability to question our existence, according to Buddhism, is unique
to human beings. We stand halfway between the gods and the devils,
both of which are too caught up with their long lives to bother with
spiritual advancement. Human existence is rare and precious, and it is
only in a human life that we start to question the meaning of it all. Only
in a human lifetime is it possible to become enlightened, to become a
Buddha.
Read the paragraph on Buddhism and God on p 124 of the textbook.
Please make sure that you understand it thoroughly. There are a lot of
gods in Buddhism, but compared to the gods of other religions,
Buddhist gods suffer from a serious handicap. They are not immortal.
As a result, nobody in the Buddhist world takes them seriously. Having
a relationship with a god is like having a powerful friend in the
provincial legislature. He is useful for getting your zoning application
approved, and maybe he can fix up your problem with the tax man.
But he does not know anything about the deepest meaning of life.
In fact, if you lead a truly moral, exemplary life, your karma may lead
you to be reborn as a god! It might be fun, living for a billion years and
having mortals down on the planet worship you. But eventually,
according to Buddhism, even a god grows old and dies. Then, all the
good karma having been exhausted, you drop back to a human or
animal life. And it just goes on and on and on.
In the western world, people come across the idea of reincarnation and
regard it as a blessing. Yea, we dont have to die, not completely! In
Asia, where people have been living with the concept a bit longer, they
react like Oh no, not again! And so, the ideal in Buddhism (as in
Hinduism) is to break out of the cycle completely. Nirvana means never
being reborn again.
This may sound to you like a complicated way of committing suicide.
But Buddhists dont see it like that.
Perhaps an analogy will help you understand why Buddhists always
talk about Nirvana in the negative. Let us suppose that we are all little
tadpoles swimming around in a pond. One day, a frog jumps into the
water and tells us about a remarkable place called "land". We ply him
with questions.
UNIT 12
If you understand Unit 11 thoroughly, then Unit 12 should be no
problem. For the most part it is swot-able material.
12.1.1.1 This sounds like a reversal of what we said about Buddhism
and God in the previous unit. But lets examine it a little bit closer:
Anyone who lives an exceptionally virtuous life can end up reborn in a
heavenly world, remember? What Mahayanma did here was to add a
little wrinkle to the existing series of stories of the Buddhas former
lives. They said that in the life immediately before the last one, he was
residing in a heavenly world, then looked down on Earth and was filled
with compassion for the suffering beings on that planet. He then
decided to take his final birth here, where it would be of most use.
This story would have been news to the Theravada Buddhists (and
most likely to the Buddha himself!). But it would not have been out of
character. Remember that the Buddha could have chosen to disappear