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Buddhism
differes from other religions because (i) it does not believe in a
Creator or an Almighty God who is responsible for all our actions, (ii)
Buddhism, in actual sense, is not a religion, though people generally
call it so, because there is no belief in, recognition of, or of a
higher unseen authority, or a controlling power, but emotions and
morality connected therewith, (iii) is a moral philosophy in pursuit of
wisdom and knowledge, norms and laws, and all other things connected
therewith. (Read More)
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Buddhism
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BUDDHA
 The
historical person we know as the Buddha was an Indian prince of the
Sakya people living in North India. He renounced the right to the
throne, became a religious seeker early in his life and then after
reaching enlightenment he became a spiritual teacher. His given name was
SIDDHARTHA and his clan name was GOTAMA. He was not called the Buddha
in his early years, but acquired this designation only in his 35th year
after he attained enlightenment. (Read more) | ||||
The quantum theory of life and Buddhism
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Did Buddha die of mesenteric infarction?
 Ancient
texts weave two stories about the Lord Buddha's death. Was it planned
and willed by the Buddha, or was it food poisoning, or something else
altogether? The
Mahaparinibbana Sutta, from the Long Discourse of Pali Tipitaka, is
without doubt the most reliable source for details on the death of
Siddhattha Gotama (BCE 563-483), the Lord Buddha. (Read More) |
What is Buddhism ? The
Buddha's teaching, known to his followers as the Dhamma. The teaching
begins with the observation that human life is beset by a sense of
dissatisfaction pain or suffering and the cause for the suffering is the
self centered desires. Buddhism offers, as integral to its path, a
profound philosophy, an intricate analysis of the mind, lofty ethics and
well-tested methods of meditation. (Read More)
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DHAMMA
 The
Buddha's teaching, known to his followers as the Dhamma, is taught on
the basis of his own clear comprehension of reality, free from appeals
to divine authority and demands for unquestioning faith. Open to reason
and critical inquiry, the Dhamma calls out for personal verification.
(Read More) | |||
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How to practise Buddhism Buddhism
helps people to obtain the correct perspective on life, encourages man
to lead life with endeavour, purify the society, help develop
self-respect, self-confidence and independent character (Read More)
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From
ancient times to the present, the Dhammapada has been regarded as the
most succinct expression of the Buddha's teaching found in the Pali
Canon and the chief spiritual testament of early Buddhism.It is an
ever-fecund source of themes for sermons and discussions, a guidebook
for resolving the countless problems of everyday life, a primer for the
instruction of novices in the monasteries. Even the experienced
contemplative, withdrawn to forest hermitage or mountainside cave for a
life of meditation, can be expected to count a copy of the book among
his few material possessions. Yet the admiration the Dhammapada has
elicited has not been confined to avowed followers of Buddhism.
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SANGHA
 Sangha
is the community of those who have realized the teaching and embody it
in their lives. The word ‘Sangha’ means those who are joined together,
thus a Community. However, "Sangha" does not refer to the entire
Buddhist Community, but to the two kinds of Communities within the
larger Buddhist Society. (Read More) | |||
| Buddhism: A Way of Life | ||||
| The Four Noble Truths (
The recorded teachings of the Buddha are numerous. But all these
diverse teachings fit together into a single unifying frame, the
teaching of the Four Noble Truths. The Buddha compared the Four Noble
Truths to the footprints of an elephant. Just as the footprint of an
elephant can contain the footprints of any other animal, the footprints
of tigers, lions, dogs, cats, etc.)
The five aggregates (
Material form, Feelings, Perceptions, Mental formations, Consciousness.
These five aggregates exhaust our psychophysical existence. Any event,
any occurrence, any element in the mind-body process can be put into one
of these five aggregates. There is nothing in this whole experiential
process that lies outside them. ) The Trilogy of Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta ( The Buddha says that we have to examine our experience in order to discover its most pervasive features, the universal characteristics of phenomena, namely, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and egolessness or notself. ) |
Buddhism as a religion, philosophy,psychology and a science (
To all Buddhists the question of religion and its origin, is not a
metaphysical one. But a philosophical and an intellectual one. )
Kamma (
There is a tremendous variety among the living beings existing in the
world. People and animals are of different sorts. What is it that causes
us to take rebirth in a particular form? Does it happen through
coincidence, through accident, by chance without any reason or is there
some principle behind it? What is it that determines the form of rebirth
we take? ) Nibbana ( The Buddha's teaching reverses the common assumption that happiness can be found by satisfying our desires. ) NIRVANA ( Nirvana is a state of supreme happiness. It is life without suffering. It is the Third Noble Truth. Nirvana is achieved in life and is not something gained after death. ) |
 What is Theravada Buddhism? (Theravada
the "Doctrine of the Elders," is the name for the school of Buddhism
that draws its scriptural inspiration from the Pali Canon, or Tipitaka,
which scholars generally accept as the oldest record of the Buddha's
teachings. For many centuries, Theravada has been the predominant
religion of Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand; today Theravada Buddhists
number over 100 million worldwide )
Tipitaka - The Pali Canon
( The Tipitaka is the collection of primary Pali language texts which
form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. Together with the
ancient commentaries, they constitute the complete body of classical
Theravada texts. The Pali Canon is a vast body of literature: in English
translation the texts add up to several thousand printed pages. Most --
but not all -- of the Canon has already been published in English over
the years ) | ||
| Buddhism & Science | Buddhism & Society | |||
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Buddhism and Modern Science - Is Buddha a scientist? (
The Buddha's way of acquiring knowledge by intuition was not subject to
the limitations that stifled science and therefore unlike science the
knowledge that the Buddha acquired is complete and represents the true
reality of nature. This is confirmed by over 2500 years of experience.
For this reason the Buddha did not have any grey areas that need to be
hidden under a cloud of imaginary superhuman force. )
A QUANTUM MECHANICAL MODEL OF THE BRAIN AND CONSCIOUSNESS ( Consciousness on the other hand is neither physical nor biological. )
Buddhism: A Scientific Experimental Path (
All the time we humans have been trying to eliminate or rather suppress
the sufferings by engaging ourselves in some or the other pleasure
seeking ventures and finally landing in greater problems. )
Time and space: The Abhidhamma perspective(Since
time and space are two instances of pannatti, the foregoing
observations on the two kinds of painnatti apply to them equally. )
'life' after death (
All great saints and teachers of different faiths have in their
teaching referred to life beyond the present. It has been revealed that
when a person discards his physical body at death he gets onto his
spirit body or the astral body which is very subtle)
Rebirth (
The question of human destiny after death is probably one of the most
critical questions we can raise. Nowadays it has become fashionable to
dismiss this question as unimportant. But if we reflect on the extent to
which our views influence our action we will see that it is quite
essential to gain some understanding of the complete context in which
our lives unfold. ) Reincarnation - An investigation ( Shyaman the subject of our investigation had been Nihal in his previous birth. The consciousness that left Nihal at his death on 16th Feb’73 spent 19 months in a formless immaterial state before it got into Shyaman’s mother’s womb. ) Reincarnation is Now a Scientifically Acceptable Phenomenon ( Reincarnation may be defined as the re-embodiment of an immaterial part of a person after a short or a long interval after death, in a new body whence it proceeds to lead a new life in the new body more or less unconscious of its past existences, but containing within itself the "essence" of the results of its past lives, which experience goes to make up its new character or personality. )
Buddhism: A Scientific Experimental Path (
All the time we humans have been trying to eliminate or rather suppress
the sufferings by engaging ourselves in some or the other pleasure
seeking ventures and finally landing in greater problems. )
Introduction to Mental Culture (
Since earliest times men have recognized the vast benefits that can be
gained through mind control. While meditation was practised in Europe
over the last two thousand years, it was in India and later in China
that the techniques of mind control were fully recognized and developed.
Over a period of more than four thousand years, religious and spiritual
disciplines were centred around meditational practices, but it was the
Buddha who gave meditation a central place for gaining Enlightenment,
and final salvation. )
Meditation On The Spot (
According to the Dhammapada and its commentary, in the final existence
human beings who attain to the final stage of sainthood (Arahattamagga
and Phala) by the helped of a simple subject of meditation nature of the
things as they really are. ) Mindfulness of In and Out Breathing ( Owing to one’s resolve, one’s mindfulness will gradually go towards the nostril where the contact of breathing is perceived. This point of contact is very important. This is the sign of in and out breathing. ) |
The status of women from the Buddhist perspective ("There is no worse evil than a spoilt bad woman and no better blessing than an unspoilt good woman." - Buddha )
Poverty from the Buddhist perspective (
According to Buddhism responsibility for the alleviation of poverty
rests equally squarely on the rulers, the community as well as the
individual. ) Prosperity and Happiness The Buddhist View ( The Buddha's prescriptions for prosperity and happiness have been always laced with liberal doses of ethics. But sometimes the correlation between ethics and happiness is not very clear. ) Buddhism and Medicine (Buddhism and medicine both aim at eliminating suffering. Both systems regard the body and the mind as interdependent and inter — linked. This relationship has been illustrated with a picture of a boat and a boatman. Body is the boat, mind is the boatman. The boat cannot go anywhere without direction from the boatman, but the boatman relies on the boat in order to make his journey. Similarly, with body and mind, both are interdependent and rely on each other.) Buddhist political thinking ( Buddha refrained from making any pronouncement on the relative merits of the political systems or the political theories that existed in his time. The scattered references in the suttas help us to gain an insight into the political power, authority and duties of a temporal ruler. ) The Ten leadership Qualities (Dasa Raja Dharma) ( Learning is a necessary cause, a necessary condition. However, there are certain other essential conditions at root level which must be established, developed and made much of, for the realisation of wholesome aspirations, of wholesome objectives. A leader must acquire, develop and make much of such root conditions. ) Dasa-Raja-Dhamma: The ‘Ten Royal Virtues’ (The Buddhahas emphasised the fact that the nature of the subjects depends largely on the behaviour of their rulers. Therefore, for the good of the people at large He set out these Ten Royal Virtues - ‘Dasa-Raja-Dhamma’ to be practiced by the rulers of men.) EUTHANASIA in relation to original Theravada Buddhist thinking ( The religious, moral and social correctness of Euthanasia and its justifiability became a subject of serious inquiry and judgement. ) SUICIDE IN BUDDHISM -- POST-CANONICAL DEFLECTIONS ( it is also clear that attempted suicide, though not successfully accomplished, has to be viewed as attempted man slaughter. ) Death (The death is inevitable fact, to face That everyone who is born in this world. No remedy or cure for the death. One day, at any moment, inescapable death will come. And embrace us. Without fear we should meet) Economic Teachings of the Buddha ( The Buddha took note of the importance of economics in human life and he held that for people to be capable of personal and spiritual progress, the economic foundation has to be secure.) Buddhism & The Soldier ( Can a good Buddhist be a soldier? and can he kill for the sake of the country? ) An Extra-marital relationship - Buddhist perspective ( Buddha emphasises the value of ‘trust’ in a relationship. "Trustworthy are the highest of kinsmen’. Which means it is the trust between two people which makes them the highest of kinsmen or greatest and closest relatives. Needless to say the value of ‘trust’ in the relationship between husband and wife. ) Understanding & Managing Stress ( Buddhism puts forward a methodical plan of action for the gradual elimination of stress and the increase of happiness and understanding. Buddhism firmly believes that evil increases stress while good increases happiness. ) Should a woman tolerate a drunkard and a wife beating husband having married for better or for worse ? ( A wife must first clearly comprehend whether she has been a good wife or a bad wife. In this regard the Buddha declares that there are seven types of wives in this world. ) Journal of Buddhist Ethics |
 Sri Lanka : Buddhism - The History, The Culture, Projects and The Contacts
"Archaeologists
have recorded over 200,000 ruined Buddhist Monasteries and Temples in
Sri Lanka. Of them, over 70.000 were in the North and the East. Two
great events in the early history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka left a deep
impression and still evoke pious enthusiasm among millions of Buddhists.
The transplantation of a branch of the Bodhi tree under which
Buddhahood was attained served as an inspiration to the people who had
recently embraced the religion. The second event was the bringing of the
Buddha's tooth relic from India."
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 Buddhism - WWW Virtual Library - Sri Lanka
www.lankalibrary.com/bud.html - Cached
Buddhism
differes from other religions because (i) it does not believe in a
Creator or an Almighty God who is responsible for all our actions, (ii) Buddhism, ... |
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