AMDG
Mr. Haardt - World's Wisdom Traditions
The Religions of India: Hinduism & Buddhism Final Synthesis
"Is salvation obtained through action or through meditation?""Through neither. Salvation comes from seeing." "Seeing what?"
"That the gold necklace you wish to acquire is hanging round your neck. That the snake you are so frightened of is only a rope on the ground."
Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don't know it, are asleep. They're born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. – Anthony de Mello, S.J. (1931-1987)
I wanted to introduce this final synthesis with a quote from a famous Jesuit priest who was from India, Father Anthony de Mello, as a nod to our Jesuit tradition and to the country that brought forth the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Fordham University runs the De Mello Spirituality Center in his honor. He weaved Asian insights, as an Indian Jesuit, into his Christian spirituality.
Both the Buddhist and Hindu traditions claim that we are already awake, we are already divine, we just do not realize this. Thus, the Yoga Path and the 8-Fold Path are two ways of helping us to cultivate this realization of what we already are.
Here is your assignment: - Namaste
1) I would like you to do a sitting meditation or Shavasana (corpse pose) for 10 minutes. It makes sense to do what the Buddha and Hindu sages prescribed.
2) Next, I would like you to focus on the central teaching of the Buddhist tradition, the Four Noble Truths, and the central teaching of Hinduism, Atman is Brahman, we are divine and are simply unaware of it. With these 2 teachings in mind, show how the Buddhist teaching helps to clarify and explain the Hindu teaching that we are in fact divine. Since the Buddha was a Hindu, it makes sense to see the Buddhist teaching in the context of the Hindu view of the human person.
- Explain clearly the 4 Noble Truths and how the Buddha clarifies and refines what keeps us from seeing that Atman is Brahman.
- Next, describe how these Truths show up in your own life. Where and when do you experience dukkha, tanha and the release from tanha, dukkha, which the Buddhists name nirvana - the blowing out/extinguishing of tanha and thus dukkha. Hindus call this moksha - liberation. Please use your Mindwatch here, our readings & discussions in class, field trips, anything that helps you make sense of the 4 Noble Truths.
- Include 1 specific path from the 8-Fold Path (wise intention, speech, action, mindfulness, etc...) and/or 1 specific yoga, that helps explain how tanha and dukkha can be let go of. Please look over the Yogas and 8-Fold Path to decide which one to focus on.
(Feel free to use Adyashanti (Zen teacher who wrote Live the Way you Meditate) , Pema Chodron, Zinn, Smith, Novak, in class videos, our discussions in class and Ajahn Sumedho's link on the web page.)
3) You must include at least 3-5 references from any of the above sources. Please cite these in parentheses or as endnotes, so the references are clear to me. Sumedho's 3 Kinds of desire is a good starting point.
4) This essay-reflection needs to be typed, 1 1/2 spaced, 700-1050 words (2-3 pages). Unless you write really clear and succint, I anticipate most of you will need 3 pgs - 900-1050 words. If you can do it in 700 words, go for it!
5) Please incorporate your Mindwatch & any additional insights from Sumedho, if you need clarification.
http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm - Ajahn Sumedho's link to the 4 Noble Truths, also on main page. Use it as you need it.
6) Staple Hindu-Buddhist Final Synthesis Rubric on the back of the essay with your name written on top!
Please put the Word Count at the top of the page on the front of your essay.
Please attach your MindWatch entries to the back of the essay.
-Namaste
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Below is for your review, to help you get started synthesizing.
A Buddhist Introduction
“For me this is a very tempting idea, just to go off and live alone and not have to deal with the problems of society. However, while the Buddha was thinking this way, Brahma Sahampati, the creator deity in Hinduism, came to the Buddha and convinced him that he should go and teach. Brahma Sahampati persuaded the Buddha that there were beings who would understand, beings who had only a little dust in their eyes. So the Buddha’s teaching was aimed toward those with only a little dust in their eyes - I’m sure he did not think it would become a mass, popular movement.” – Ajahn Sumedho
“I teach suffering and the end of suffering” – the historical Buddha
4 Noble Truths
- “The Noble Truth of suffering.” Life is dukkha – incapable of being satisfied, awry, suffering.
- “The Noble Truth of the origin of suffering.” Dukkha arises because of tanha – craving, unwholesome desire, wanting things to be different than they are…
- Kama-tanha – desire for sense-pleasure
- Bhava-tanha – desire to become, grasping, clinging
- Vibhava-tanha – desire to get rid of, aversion, rejecting
- “The Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering.” Dukkha can be ceased/seen through by ceasing tanha
- “The Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering.” The path to liberation, awakening, happens naturally as we follow the Noble Eight-Fold Path.
Noble Eight-Fold Path
- Wise Understanding/View
- Wise Intention/Aspiration
These two represent Wisdom (panna). Also referred to as the head/intellect center.
- Wise Speech
- Wise Action
- Wise Livelihood
These three represent Morality (sila) and these flow out of panna – Wisdom…seeing and understanding correctly and clear/pure intention. These are also referred to as the body center, we talk, act and work with our entire bodily presence, hands, feet, head, heart, etc…
- Wise Effort
- Wise Concentration
- Wise Mindfulness
These three represent Concentration (samadhi) and this helps purify our hearts and leads us back to where we began, Wise Understanding/View, Wise Intention, and we continue to awaken more fully to the truth of who we are. These are referred to as the heart center, thus we integrate all three, head, body and heart.