Along the Path
Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom
are the summation of the
8-fold
path - the cure for all human suffering as detailed by
The Buddha. No
other information is required to succeed - but it is precisely it's
simplicity that makes it not entirely clear to
everyone, so Buddha gave many sermons to support his explanation. The
following is a few basic instructions and pieces of
Wisdom to help guide us along the
path.
The
Five Hindrances
Buddha described five negative mental states that impede meditation, hinder
our spiritual progress, and perpetuate suffering.
These same two lists from the same book demonstrate that it is not important
to cling to the letter of the teaching, but to the spirit of the teaching.
(1)
Sensual desire, (2) ill will, (3) sloth and torpor, 4) worry and
restlessness, and (5) confused doubt.
(1)
Greed 2) Anger 3) Idleness 4) Distraction 5) Skeptical doubt
How
to overcome the hindrances
Lust
– concentration
Ill
will – bliss
Sloth – applied thought
Agitation – happiness
Doubt – sustained thought
The Jhanas
The
nine levels of jhana are:
1.
Delightful Sensations
2. Joy
3. Contentment
4. Utter peacefulness
5. Infinity of space
6. Infinity of consciousness
7. No-thingness
8. Neither perception nor non- perception
9. Cessation
The
different kinds of people in the world
4 kinds
of people
·
Those
who because of not knowing the way
hurt themselves
·
Those
who by their actions harm others
·
Those
who cause others to suffer along with themselves.
·
Those
who do not suffer themselves and save others from suffering.
“These
people of the last category, by following the teachings of Buddha, do not give
way to greed, anger, or foolishness, but live peaceful lives of kindness and
wisdom without killing or stealing.”
3 kinds
of people
·
Those
who are like letters written in rock, they easily anger and retain their angry
thoughts for a long time.
·
Those
who are like letters written in sand, they also anger, but their angry thoughts
quickly pass away.
·
Those
who are like letters written in water, who do not retain their passing thoughts
and let abuse and gossip pass by unnoticed; their minds are always pure and
undisturbed.
3 other kinds of people
·
Those
who are proud, act rashly and are never satisfied; their natures are easy to
understand.
·
Then
there are those who are courteous and always act after consideration; their
natures are hard to understand.
·
Then
there are those who have overcome desire completely; it is impossible to
understand their natures.
“Thus
people can be classified in many different ways, but nevertheless, their natures
are hard to understand.
Only Buddha
understands them and, by His wisdom, leads them through varied teachings.” Page
90 100%.
There
are five evils in the world.
·
Cruelty
·
No
clear demarcation of what belongs to whom
·
No
clear demarcation for the behaviour between men and women.
·
There
is a tendency for people to disrespect the rights of others, to exaggerate their
own importance at the expense of others, to set bad examples of behaviour and,
being unjust in their speech, to deceive, slander and abuse others.
·
A
tendency for people to neglect their duties toward others.
They think too much of their own comfort and their own desires; they
forget the favours they have received and cause annoyance to others that often
passes into great injustice.
“People
should have more sympathy for one another; they should respect one another for
their good traits and help one another in their difficulties; but, instead, they
are selfish and hard-hearted; they despise one another for their failings and
dislike others for their advantages.
These aversions generally grow worse with time, and after a while, become
intolerable.”
Page 97-98