Buddhism

Buddhism

"Buddhism is neither pessimistic nor optimistic.

If anything at all, it is realistic,

for it takes a realistic view of life and of the world.

It looks at things objectively.

It does not falsely lull you into living in a fool's paradise, nor does it frighten and agonize you with all kinds of imaginary fears and sins. It tells you exactly and objectively what you are and what the world around you is, and shows you the way to perfect freedom, peace, tranquility and happiness.

One physician may gravely exaggerate an illness and give up hope altogether.

Another may ignorantly declare that there is no illness and that no treatment is necessary, thus deceiving the patient with false consolation.

You may call the first one pessimistic and the second optimistic. Both are equally dangerous,

 But a third physician diagnoses the symptoms correctly, understands the cause and the nature of the illness, sees clearly that it can be cured and courageously administers a course of treatment, thus saving his patient.

The Buddha is like the last physician.

He is the wise and scientific doctor for the ills of the world." Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught

Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 26 centuries ago in what is now Nepal and northeastern India.

He came to be called "the Buddha," which means "awakened one," after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence.

In English, the Buddha was said to be enlightened, although in Sanskrit it is bodhi, "awakened."

In the remaining years of his life, the Buddha traveled and taught. However, he didn't teach people what he had realized when he became enlightened. Instead, he taught people how to realize enlightenment for themselves.

He taught that awakening comes through one's own direct experience, not through beliefs and dogmas.

In the centuries following the Buddha's life, Buddhism spread throughout Asia to become one of the dominant religions of the continent.

Estimates of the number of Buddhists in the world today vary widely, in part because many Asians observe more than one religion, and in part because it is hard to know how many people are practicing Buddhism in Communist nations like China.

 The most common estimate is 350 million, which makes Buddhism the fourth largest of the world's religions.

The Life of the Buddha

 What's a Buddha?

How Is Buddhism Distinctive From Other Religions?

Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the central focus of most religions is God, or gods. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment.

 Buddhism: Philosophy or Religion?

 Atheism and Devotion in Buddhism

Most religions are defined by their beliefs. But in Buddhism, merely believing in doctrines is beside the point.

The Buddha said that we should not accept doctrines just because we read them in scripture or are taught them by priests.

Instead of teaching doctrines to be memorized and believed, the Buddha taught how we can realize truth for ourselves.

The focus of Buddhism is on practice rather than belief.

The major outline of Buddhist practice is the Eightfold Path.

 What Do Buddhists Believe?

 What It Means to Practice Buddhism

 The Eightfold Path

Basic Teachings

In spite of its emphasis on free inquiry, Buddhism is not whatever you want it to be. It might best be understood as a discipline, and an exacting discipline at that. And although Buddhist teachings should not be accepted on blind faith, understanding what the Buddha taught is an important part of that discipline.

For example,

 the foundation of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths. The Truths are:

The truth of suffering (dukkha)

The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)

The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)

The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)

By themselves, the Truths don't seem like much, I realize.

 But beneath the Truths are countless layers of teachings on the nature of existence, the self, life, and death, not to mention suffering. The point is not to just "believe in" the teachings, but to explore them, understand them, and test them against one's own experience. It is the process of exploring, understanding, testing and realizing that is Buddhism.

The Four Noble Truths

Diverse Schools of Buddhism

About 2,000 years ago Buddhism divided into two major schools, called Theravada and Mahayana. For centuries,

Theravada has been the dominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar) and Laos. Mahayana is dominant in China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Korea and Vietnam. In recent years, Mahayana also has gained many followers in India. Mahayana is further divided into many sub-schools, such as Pure Land and Zen.

 Theravada Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhism

The two schools differ primarily in their understanding of a doctrine called "anatman" or "anatta." According to this doctrine, there is no "self" in the sense of a permanent, integral, autonomous being within an individual existence. Anatman is a difficult teaching to understand, but understanding it is essential to making sense of Buddhism.

Very basically, Theravada considers anatman to mean that an individual's ego or personality is a delusion. Once freed of this delusion, the individual may enjoy the bliss of Nirvana. Mahayana pushes anatman further. In Mahayana, all phenomena are void of intrinsic identity and take identity only in relation to other phenomena. There is neither reality not not-reality; only relativity. The Mahayana teaching is called shunyata, "emptiness."

Introduction

For more than 2,500 years, the religion we know today as Buddhism has been the primary inspiration behind many successful civilizations, the source of great cultural achievements and a lasting and meaningful guide to the very purpose of life for millions of people. Today, large numbers of men and women from diverse backgrounds throughout our world are following the Teachings of the Buddha. So who was the Buddha and what are His Teachings?

The Buddha

The man who was to become the Buddha was born Siddhattha Gotama around 2,600 years ago as a Prince of a small territory near what is now the Indian-Nepalese border.

Though he was raised in splendid comfort, enjoying aristocratic status, no amount of material pleasure could satisify the enquiring and philosophic nature of the young man.

 At the age of 29 he left palace and family to search for a deeper meaning in the secluded forests and remote mountains of North-East India. He studied under the wisest religious teachers and philosophers of his time, learning all they had to offer, but he found it was not enough.

He then struggled alone with the path of self- mortification, taking that practice to the extremes of asceticism, but still to no avail.

Then, at the age of 35, on the full moon night of May, he sat beneath the branches of what is now known as the Bodhi Tree, in a secluded grove by the banks of the river Neranjara, and developed his mind in deep but luminous, tranquil meditation.

Using the extraordinary clarity of such a mind with its sharp penetrative power generated by states of deep inner stillness, he turned his attention to investigate upon the hidden meanings of mind, universe and life.

Thus he gained the supreme Enlightenment experience and from that time on he was known as the Buddha.

His Enlightenment consisted of the most profound and all-embracing insight into the nature of mind and all phenomena.

This Enlightenment was not a revelation from some divine being, but a discovery made by Himself and based on the deepest level of meditation and the clearest experience of the mind. It meant that He was no longer subject to craving, ill-will and delusion but was free from their shackles, having attained the complete ending of all forms of inner suffering and acquired unshakeable peace.

The Teachings of the Buddha

Having realized the goal of Perfect Enlightenment, the Buddha spent the next 45 years teaching a Path which, when diligently followed, will take anyone regardless of race, class or gender to that same Perfect Enlightenment.

The Teachings about this Path are called the Dhamma, literally meaning

"the nature of all things"

or

"the truth underlying existence".

 It is beyond the scope of this pamphlet to present a thorough description of all of these Teachings but the following 7 topics will give you an overview of what the Buddha taught:

1. The way of Inquiry

The Buddha warned strongly against blind faith and encouraged the way of truthful inquiry. In one of His best known sermons, the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha pointed out the danger in fashioning one's beliefs merely on the following grounds: on hearsay, on tradition, because many others say it is so, on the authority of ancient scriptures, on the word of a supernatural being, or out of trust in one's teachers, elders, or priests.

Instead one maintains an open mind and thoroughly investigates one's own experience of life. When one sees for oneself that a particular view agrees with both experience and reason, and leads to the happiness of one and all, then one should accept that view and live up to it!

This principle, of course, applies to the Buddha's own Teachings. They should be considered and inquired into using the clarity of mind born of meditation.

Only when one sees these Teachings for oneself in the experience of insight, do these Teachings become one's Truth and give blissful liberation.

The traveller on the way of inquiry needs the practice of tolerance. Tolerance does not mean that one embraces every idea or view but means one doesn't get angry at what one can't accept.

Further along the journey, what one once disagreed with might later be seen to be true. So in the spirit of tolerant inquiry, here are some more of the basic Teachings as the Buddha gave them.

2. The Four Noble Truths

The main Teaching of the Buddha focuses not on philosophical speculations about a Creator God or the origin of the universe, nor on a heaven world ever after.

The Teaching, instead, is centred on the down-to- earth reality of human suffering and the urgent need to find lasting relief from all forms of discontent.

 The Buddha gave the simile of a man shot by a poison-tipped arrow who, before he would call a doctor to treat him, demanded to know first who shot the arrow and where the arrow was made and of what and by whom and when and where ... this foolish man would surely die before his questions could be well answered. In the same way, the Buddha said, the urgent need of our existence is to find lasting relief from recurrent suffering which robs us of happiness and leaves us in strife.

Philosophical speculations are of secondary importance and, anyway, they are best left until after one has well trained the mind in meditation to the stage where one has the ability to examine the matter clearly and find the Truth for oneself.

Thus, the central Teaching of the Buddha, around which all other teachings revolve is the Four Noble Truths:

1.

That all forms of being, human and otherwise, are afflicted with suffering.

2.

That the cause of this suffering is Craving, born of the illusion of a soul (see below, note 7).

3.

 That this suffering has a lasting end in the Experience of Enlightenment (Nibbana) which is the complete letting go of the illusion of soul and all consequent desire and aversion.

4.

That this peaceful and blissful Enlightenment is achieved through a gradual training, a Path which is called the Middle Way or the Eightfold Path.

It would be mistaken to label this Teaching as 'pessimistic' on the grounds that it begins by centring on suffering. Rather, Buddhism is 'realistic' in that it unflinchingly faces up to the truth of life's many sufferings and it is 'optimistic' in that it shows a final end of the problem of suffering - Nibbana, Enlightenment in this very life! Those who have achieved this ultimate peace are the inspiring examples who demonstrate once and for all that Buddhism is far from pessimistic, but it is a Path to true Happiness.

3. The Middle Way or Eightfold Path

The Way to end all suffering is called the Middle Way because it avoids the two extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification. Only when the body is in reasonable comfort but not over-indulged has the mind the clarity and strength to meditate deeply and discover the Truth.

This Middle Way consists of the diligent cultivation of Virtue, Meditation and Wisdom, which is explained in more detail as the Noble Eightfold Path.

1. Right Understanding

2. Right Thought

3. Right Speech

4. Right Action

5. Right Livelihood

6. Right Effort

7. Right Mindfulness

8. Right Concentration

Right Speech, Action and Livelihood constitute the training in Virtue or Morality. For a practising Buddhist it consists of maintaining the five Buddhist Precepts, which are to refrain from:

1.

 Deliberately causing the death of any living being;

2.

 Intentionally taking for one's own the property of another;

3.

Sexual misconduct, in particular adultery;

4.

Lying and breaking promises;

5.

Drinking alcohol or taking stupefying drugs which lead to lack of mindfulness.

Right Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration refer to the practice of Meditation, which purifies the mind through the experience of blissful states of inner stillness and empowers the mind to penetrate the meaning of life through profound moments of insight.

Right Understanding and Thought are the manifestation of Buddha-Wisdom which ends all suffering, transforms the personality and produces unshakeable serenity and tireless compassion.

According to the Buddha, without perfecting the practice of Virtue it is impossible to perfect Meditation, and without perfecting Meditation it is impossible to arrive at Enlightenment Wisdom.

 Thus the Buddhist Path is a Gradual Path, a Middle Way consisting of Virtue, Meditation and Wisdom as explained in the Noble Eightfold Path leading to happiness and liberation.

4. Kamma

Kamma means 'action'. The Law of Kamma means that there are inescapable results of our actions. There are deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others' harm, one's own harm, or to the harm of both. Such deeds are called bad (or 'unwholesome') kamma.

They are usually motivated by greed, hatred or delusion. Because they bring painful results, they should not be done.

There are also deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others' well being, one's own well being, or to the well being of both. Such deeds are called good (or 'wholesome') kamma.

They are usually motivated by generosity, compassion or wisdom. Because they bring happy results, they should be done as often as possible.

Thus much of what one experiences is the result of one's own previous kamma. When misfortune occurs, instead of blaming someone else, one can look for any fault in one's own past conduct. If a fault is found, the experience of its consequences will make one more careful in the future.

When happiness occurs, instead of taking it for granted, one can look to see if it is the result of good kamma. If so, the experience of its pleasant results will encourage more good kamma in the future.

The Buddha pointed out that no being whatsoever, divine or otherwise, has any power to stop the consequences of good and bad kamma.

The fact that one reaps just what one sows gives to the Buddhist a greater incentive to avoid all forms of bad kamma while doing as much good kamma as possible.

Though one cannot escape the results of bad kamma, one can lessen their effect. A spoon of salt mixed in a glass of pure water makes the whole very salty, whereas the same spoon of salt mixed in a freshwater lake hardly changes the taste of the water.

Similarly, the result of a bad kamma in a person habitually doing only a small amount of good kamma is painful indeed, whereas the result of the same bad kamma in a person habitually doing a great deal of good kamma is only mildly felt.

This natural Law of Kamma becomes the force behind, and reason for, the practice of morality and compassion in our society.

5. Rebirth

The Buddha remembered clearly many of His past lives. Even today, many Buddhist monks, nuns and others also remember their past lives. Such a strong memory is a result of deep meditation. For those who remember their past life, Rebirth is an established fact which puts this life in a meaningful perspective.

The Law of Kamma can only be understood in the framework of many lifetimes, because it sometimes takes this long for Kamma to bear its fruit.

Thus Kamma and Rebirth offer a plausible explanation to the obvious inequalities of birth; why some are born into great wealth whereas others are born into pathetic poverty; why some children enter this world healthy and full-limbed whereas others enter deformed and diseased...

The fruits of bad Kamma are not regarded as a punishment for evil deeds but as lessons from which to learn, for example, how much better to learn about the need for generosity than to be reborn among the poor!

Rebirth takes place not only within this human realm.

The Buddha pointed out that the realm of human beings is but one among many.

There are many separate heavenly realms and grim lower realms, too, realms of the animals and realms of the ghosts. Not only can human beings go to any of these realms in the next life, but we can come from any of these realms into our present life. This explains a common objection against Rebirth that argues

 "How can there be Rebirth when there are 10 times as many people alive today than there were 50 years ago?"

The answer is that people alive today have come from many different realms.

Understanding that we can come and go between these different realms, gives us more respect and compassion for the beings in these realms. It is unlikely, for example, that one would exploit animals when one has seen the link of Rebirth that connects them with us.

6. No Creator God

The Buddha pointed out that no God or priest nor any other kind of being has the power to interfere in the working out of someone else's Kamma.

Buddhism, therefore, teaches the individual to take full responsibility for themselves. For example, if you want to be wealthy then be trustworthy, diligent and frugal, or if you want to live in a heaven realm then always be kind to others. There is no God to ask favours from, or to put it another way, there is no corruption possible in the workings of Kamma.

Do Buddhists believe that a Supreme Being created the universe? Buddhists would first ask which universe do you mean?

This present universe, from the moment of the 'big bang' up to now, is but one among countless millions in Buddhist cosmology. The Buddha gave an estimate of the age of a single universe-cycle of around 37,000 million years which is quite plausible when compared to modern astrophysics.

 After one universe- cycle ends another begins, again and again, according to impersonal law.

A Creator God is redundant in this scheme.

No being is a Supreme Saviour, according to the Buddha, because whether God, human, animal or whatever, all are subject to the Law of Kamma. Even the Buddha had no power to save.

 He could only point out the Truth so that the wise could see it for themselves.

Everyone must take responsibility for their own future well being, and it is dangerous to give that responsibility to another.

7. The Illusion of Soul

The Buddha taught that there is no soul, no essential and permanent core to a living being. Instead, that which we call a 'living being', human or other, can be seen to be but a temporary coming together of many activities and parts - when complete it is called a 'living being', but after the parts separate and the activities cease it is not called a 'living being' anymore.

Like an advanced computer assembled of many parts and activities, only when it is complete and performs coherent tasks is it called a 'computer', but after the parts are disconnected and the activities cease it is no longer called a 'computer'.

No essential permanent core can be found which we can truly call 'the computer', just so, no essential permanent core can be found which we can call 'the soul'.

Yet Rebirth still occurs without a soul.

Consider this simile: on a Buddhist shrine one candle, burnt low, is about to expire. A monk takes a new candle and lights it from the old. The old candle dies, the new candle burns bright. What went across from the old candle to the new?

There was a causal link but no thing went across! In the same way, there was a causal link between your previous life and your present life, but no soul has gone across.

Indeed, the illusion of a soul is said by the Buddha to be the root cause of all human suffering. The illusion of 'soul' manifests as the 'Ego'. The natural unstoppable function of the Ego is to control.

Big Egos want to control the world, average Egos try to control their immediate surroundings of home, family and workplace, and almost all Egos strive to control what they take to be their own body and mind. Such control manifests as desire and aversion, it results in a lack of both inner peace and outer harmony. It is this Ego that seeks to acquire possessions, manipulate others and exploit the environment. Its aim is its own happiness but it invariably produces suffering. It craves for satisfaction but it experiences discontent. Such deep- rooted suffering cannot come to an end until one sees, through deep and powerful meditation, that the idea 'me and mine' is no more than a mirage.

These seven topics are a sample of what the Buddha taught. Now, to complete this brief sketch of Buddhism, let's look at how these Teachings are practised today.

Types of Buddhism

One could say that there is only one type of Buddhism and that is the huge collection of Teachings that were spoken by the Buddha. The original Teachings are found in the 'Pali Canon', the ancient scripture of Theravada Buddhism, which is widely accepted as the oldest reliable record of the Buddha's words. Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religion in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

Between 100 to 200 years after the passing away of the Buddha, the Sangha (the monastic community) split over the political question of 'Who runs the Sangha?' A controversy over some monastic rules was decided by a committee of Arahats (fully Enlightened monks or nuns) against the views of the majority of monks.

The disgruntled majority resented what they saw as the excessive influence of the small number of Arahats in monastery affairs. From then on, over a period of several decades, the disaffected majority partially succeeded in lowering the exalted status of the Arahat and raising in its place the ideal of the Bodhisattva (an unenlightened being training to be a Buddha).

Previously unknown scriptures, supposedly spoken by the Buddha and hidden in the dragon world, then appeared giving a philosophical justification for the superiority of the Bodhisattva over the allegedly 'selfish' Arahat.

This group of monks and nuns were first known as the 'Maha Sangha', meaning 'the great (part) of the monastic community'. Later, after impressive development, they called themselves the 'Mahayana', the 'Greater Vehicle' while quite disparagingly calling the older Theravada 'Hinayana', the 'Inferior Vehicle'. Mahayana still retains most of the original teachings of the Buddha (in the Chinese scriptures these are known as the 'Agama' and in the

Tibetan version as the 'Kangyur') but these core teachings were mostly overwhelmed by layers of expansive interpretations and wholly new ideas.

The Mahayana of China, still vibrant in Taiwan, reflects an earlier phase of this development, the Mahayana of Vietnam, Korea and Japan (mostly Zen) is a later development, and the Mahayana of Tibet and Mongolia is a much later development still.

Buddhism's relevance to the world today

Today, Buddhism continues to gain ever wider acceptance in many lands far beyond its original home.

 in Australia, many people through their own careful choice are adopting Buddhism's peaceful, compassionate and responsible ways.

The Buddhist Teaching of the Law of Kamma offers our society a just and incorruptible foundation and reason for the practice of a moral life.

 It is easy to see how a wider embracing of the Law of Kamma would lead any country towards a stronger, more caring and virtuous society.

The Teaching of Rebirth places this present short lifetime of ours in a broader perspective, giving more meaning to the vital events of birth and death.

The understanding of Rebirth removes so much of the tragedy and grief surrounding death and turns one's attention to the quality of a lifetime, rather than its mere length.

From the very beginning, the practice of meditation has been at the very heart of the Buddhist Way.

 Today, meditation grows increasingly popular as the proven benefits to both mental and physical well being become more widely known. When stress is shown to be such a major cause of human suffering, the quieting practice of meditation becomes ever more valued.

Today's world is too small and vulnerable to live angry and alone, thus the need for tolerance, love and compassion is so very important. These qualities of mind, essential for happiness are formally developed in Buddhist meditation and then diligently put into practice in everyday life.

Forgiveness and gentle tolerance, harmlessness and peaceful compassion are well known trademarks of Buddhism, they are given freely and broadly to all kinds of beings, including animals of course, and also, most importantly, to oneself. There is no place for dwelling in guilt or self-hatred in Buddhism, not even a place for feeling guilty about feeling guilty!

Teachings and practices such as these are what bring about qualities of gentle kindness and unshakeable serenity, identified with the Buddhist religion for 25 centuries and sorely needed in today's world. In all its long history, no war has ever been fought in the name of Buddhism. It is this peace and this tolerance, growing out of a profound yet reasonable philosophy, which makes Buddhism so vitally relevant to today's world

 

HISTORY OF BUDDHISM

 

BUDDHISM

  Siddartha Gautama

  Four Truths, Eightfold Path

  The spread of Buddhism

  Mahayana and Theravada

  Buddhism in east Asia

  Buddhist murals

  Printing

  The printed book

  Buddhist banners and scrolls

  New Buddhist sects in Japan

  Buddhism today

Buddhism Timeline

British Museum History of the World in 100 Objects

Timeline for today's object

 

Siddartha Gautama: c.430 BC

 

At the age of twenty-nine Siddhartha Gautama, prince of a ruling house in Nepal, abandons the luxuries of home, and the affections of a wife and a young son, to become a wandering ascetic.

He is following a pattern not uncommon in India at this time, when the rigidities of a priest-dominated Hinduism are causing many to seek a more personal religion.

Only a few years previously, in a nearby district, a young man by the name of Vardhamana has done exactly the same - with lasting results in the form of Jainism. (The conventional dates for both men, revised by modern scholarship, have been a century earlier.)

Gautama differs from Vardhamana in one crucial respect. He discovers that asceticism is almost as unsatisfactory as luxury.

 

 According to the traditional account (first written down in the 3rd century BC) Gautama follows an ascetic life for six years before deciding that a middle path between mortification and indulgence of the body will provide the best hope of achieving enlightenment.

He resolves to meditate, in moderate comfort, until he sees the light of truth. One evening he sits under a pipal tree at Buddh Gaya, a village in Bihar. By dawn he is literally buddha, an 'enlightened one'.

Like any other religious leader he begins to gather disciples. He becomes known to his followers as the Buddha.

 

 

The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path

 C 424 BC

Gautama preaches his first sermon at Sarnath, about 5 miles (8km) north of the sacred Hindu city of Varanasi. In this sermon, still a definitive text for all Buddhists, he proposes a path to enlightenment very different from the elaborate ceremonies and colourful myth attached to the Hindu deities.

Gautama's message is plain to the point of bluntness, at any rate when reduced to a simple list - as it usually is in primers on Buddhism.

He states that enlightenment can be achieved by understanding Four Noble Truths; and that the pain of life, with which the Noble Truths are concerned, can be avoided by following an Eightfold Path.

 

The four Noble Truths are that pain is inextricably part of mankind's everyday life; that our cravings of all kinds are the cause of this pain; that the way off this treadmill is to free oneself of these cravings; and that this can be achieved by following the Eightfold Path.

The Path enjoins the Buddhist to a virtuous life by urging on him the 'right' course of action in eight contexts.

Many of these are moral evils to be avoided (as in the Jewish Commandments). But the eighth step, 'Right Concentration', goes to the heart of the Buddhist ideal.

 

Right Concentration is described in Buddhist scripture as concentrating on a single object, so as to induce a special state of consciousness through deep meditation.

In this way the Buddhist hopes to achieve complete purity of thought, leading ideally to nirvana.

Nirvana means 'blowing out', as of a flame. It is common to Hinduism and Jainism as well as Buddhism. But in the two older religions it leads to moksha, release from the cycle of rebirth, total extinction. In Buddhism it is a blissful transcendent state which can be achieved either in life or after death - and which is achieved by anyone who becomes Buddha.

 

The spread of Buddhism

C 380-250 BC

By the time of his death, at about the age of eighty, the Buddha's followers are established as communities of monks in northern India.

Wandering through villages and towns with their begging bowls, eager to describe the path to the truth, they are familiar figures. But so are many other such groups, including the Jains.

The advance of the Buddhists beyond the others is largely due to the enthusiastic support of a king of the 3rd century BC. Asoka rules over much of the Indian subcontinent.

His inscriptions, carved on pillars and rocks throughout his realm, bear witness both to the spread of Buddhism and to his own benevolent support of the Buddha's principles.

 

During Asoka's reign, and with his encouragement, Buddhism spreads to south India and into Sri Lanka.

The latter has remained to this day a stronghold of the earliest form of Buddhism, known as Theravada (meaning the 'school of elders').

By the time of Asoka there is already a rival tendency within Buddhism, involving an elaboration of the Buddha's essentially simple message of personal salvation.

The difference is similar to that between Protestants and Catholics at the time of the Reformation in Christianity. Compared to the puritan standards of Theravada Buddhism, the other sect - which later becomes known as Mahayana - introduces a catholic profusion of Buddhist saints.

 

Mahayana and Theravada

Mahayana means the Great Vehicle.

 Its adherents argue that this form of Buddhism can carry a greater number of people towards the truth than Theravada Buddhism, which they dismiss as Hinayana - the little vehicle.

The main distinction is that in Theravada the Buddha is a historical figure who by his example shows the way towards nirvana; the cult is essentially a human system of self-discipline, with no trace of a god. In the younger but larger sect there is still no god, but there are a great many supernatural beings.

 

In Mahayana the historical Buddha, Gautama, becomes the latest in a long line of past Buddhas.

They exist in some place beyond this world, from which they can offer support.

Also in that place are the Bodhisattvas, who have yet to begin the final human life in which they will attain enlightenment as Buddha. They too can help mortals who show them devotion.

In Theravada the nearest approach to worship is the veneration of relics of the historical Buddha, whose hair or tooth is made the central feature of a temple. In Mahayana, with its many semi-divine figures, there is opportunity for more varied, more popular and more superstitious forms of worship. It is well suited to become what it claims to be - the greater vehicle.

 

A religion for east Asia: from the 1st century AD

Buddhism is the first of the world religions to expand from its place of origin. It does so by two distinct routes.

Theravada Buddhism is carried eastwards into southeast Asia, in an upsurge of Indian trade from the 1st century AD.

The merchants and sailors are either Buddhist or Hindu, and missionaries take advantage of the new opportunities for travel. As a result the kingdoms of southeast Asia, much influenced by the more advanced civilization of India, variously adopt Buddhist and Hindu religious practices. Which of the two prevails is often the result of the preference of a ruling dynasty. The areas which eventually choose Buddhism are Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

 Mahayana Buddhism travels by a land route. In the 2nd century AD northern India and Afghanistan are ruled by the Kushan dynasty, one of whose kings, Kanishka, is a devotee of this form of Buddhism.

 His encouragement of it has special significance, since his kingdom occupies a central position on the Silk Road - at one of its busiest times, when its caravans effectively link China with Rome.

The western influence on the Kushan region (also known as Gandhara) is seen in the famous style of sculpture which portrays Buddhist figures with the realism of Greece and Rome.

Eastwards from Gandhara the trade route is soon dignified with spectacular Buddhist centres, such as Yün-kang.

 

Buddhism is well established in China by the 2nd century AD and coexists there, with varying fortunes, alongside China's indigenous religions - Daoism and Confucianism.

By the 6th century its influence has spread through Korea to Japan. Here too it coexists, in a shifting pattern, with the earlier Japanese religion, Shinto.

The region which develops the most distinctive form of Buddhism lies between India and China, and receives its first Buddhist influences from both directions in the 7th century.

This is Tibet. It will evolve an element of Buddhism unique to itself - that of a succession of reincarnating lamas, with the Dalai Lama as the senior line.

 

In India Buddhism flourishes alongside Hinduism for many years, but from about the 8th century it declines (though Theravada Buddhism finds a lasting home in Sri Lanka).

The Mahayana version of the faith becomes gradually submerged by the older and more vigorous Hinduism.

It has perhaps been too willing to accomodate new themes, influenced by India's bustling inclination to worship everything.

A weakened Buddhism proves no match for the arrival in northern India in the 10th century of rulers professing another vigorous faith, Islam. Buddhism becomes no more than a faint devotional presence at a few classic shrines. It is the only world religion to have withered in its birthplace.

 

Buddhist Murals

5Th - 8Th Century AD

 

 Monks and pilgrims play an important part in the practice of Buddhism.

Both are attracted to caves in remote places. And the profusion of popular stories in Mahayana Buddhism (on topics such as the adventures of Buddha in his previous lives on earth) provides a rich source of material for narrative paintings on the walls of the caves.

Two places suggest more vividly than any others the vitality of Buddhist cave painting from about the 5th century AD. One is Ajanta, a site in India long forgotten until discovered in 1817.

The other is Dunhuang, one of the great oasis staging posts on the Silk Road.

 

At Ajanta there are about thirty architectural spaces cut into a steep cliff flanking a ravine. Some are viharas, or monasteries, with cells for the monks around a central hall. Others are chaityas, or meeting places, with a small central stupa as an object for worship and contemplation.

The paintings range from calm devotional images of the Buddha to lively and crowded scenes, often featuring the seductively full-breasted and narrow-waisted women more familiar in Indian sculpture than in painting.

The latest images are from the 8th century, after which the decline of Buddhism in India causes these remote and beautiful places to become gradually abandoned and then entirely forgotten.

 

Dunhuang, on one of the world's greatest trade routes, is an altogether busier place than Ajanta.

Rather than thirty caves, Dunhuang has nearly 500 - known collectively as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas.

The murals span three centuries, from the 5th to the 8th AD. The images in the earlier caves (hollowed from the soft rock, as at Ajanta) show the influence of central Asia and even India - the regions from which Buddhism travels on its way to China - but the later paintings are fully Chinese in style.

Dunhuang, unlike Ajanta, is never lost. But one particular cave is sealed against intruders. Rediscovered in 1899, this cave is found to contain fine examples of Chinese painting on silk and the world's first known printed book.

 

Printed Buddhist texts in Korea and Japan

 AD 750-768

The invention of printing is a striking achievement of Buddhists in east Asia. Korea takes the lead. The world's earliest known printed document is a sutra printed on a single sheet of paper in Korea in AD 750.

This is closely followed in Japan by a bold experiment in mass circulation (precisely the area in which printed material has the advantage over manuscript). In AD 768, in devoutly Buddhist Nara, the empress commissions a huge edition of a lucky charm or prayer. It is said that the project takes six years to complete and that the number of copies printed, for distribution to pilgrims, is a million. Many have survived.

 

The first Printed Book AD 868

The earliest known printed book is Chinese, from the end of the T'ang dynasty. Discovered in a cave at Dunhuang in 1899, it is a precisely dated document which brings the circumstances of its creation vividly to life.

It is a scroll, 16 feet long and a foot high, formed of sheets of paper glued together at their edges. The text is that of the Diamond Sutra, and the first sheet in the scroll has an added distinction. It is the world's first printed illustration, depicting an enthroned Buddha surrounded by holy attendants. In a tradition later familiar in religious art of the west, a small figure kneels and prays in the foreground. He is presumably the donor who has paid for this holy book.

 

The name of the donor, Wang Chieh, is revealed in another device which later becomes traditional in early printed books in the west. The details of publication are given in a colophon (Greek for 'finishing stroke') at the end of the text. This reveals that the scroll is a work of Buddhist piety, combined with the filial obligations of good Confucian ideals: 'Printed on 11 May 868 by Wang Chieh, for free general distribution, in order in deep reverence to perpetuate the memory of his parents.'

The printing of Wang Chieh's scroll is of a high standard, so it must have had many predecessors.

But the lucky accident of the cave at Dunhuang has given his parents a memorial more lasting than he could have imagined possible.

 

 

Buddhist banners and scrolls on silk

 from the 9TH C. AD

 

The cave discovered in 1899 at Dunhuang contains many Buddhist paintings on silk. The larger ones (mostly showing Buddha seated in paradise with attendant figures) are designed for hanging out on poles on special occasions. Some are almost two yards in height and more than a yard wide.

Narrower vertical images of dramatically painted figures from Buddhist mythology are intended as banners, to be carried in procession with silk streamers attached. Painting on silk remains a central theme of Chinese art. But this flamboyant public use of images, characteristic of Buddhism, subsequently gives way to the more discreet and private art of the Confucians.

 

New sects of Buddhism in Japan -

 12th - 13th century

 

One of Japan's most famous monuments is a vast bronze sculpture at Kamakura. Known as Daibutsu, and cast in 1252, it depicts Buddha. But this figure seated in peaceful meditation is not the historical Gautama Buddha. He is Amitabha Buddha, known and revered in Japan as Amida.

The cult of Amida, also called 'Pure Land' Buddhism, is one of several new sects in Japan, mostly arriving from China, which become naturalized during the Kamakura shogunate. It is based on a sutra in which Amida, who has achieved enlightenment as Buddha, assures all those who adore him that they can live with him for ever in a pure land - a Promise made in the Sukhavativyuha Sutra.

 

Another foreign sect of Buddhism, which the Japanese make very much their own, is known in China as Chan and in Japan as Zen (both derive from a Sanskrit word meaning 'meditation'). Zen, reaching Japan from China in the 12th century, lays great emphasis on intuition, or finding the truth within oneself, but it also stresses the importance of discipline.

It appeals to the new samurai class (several Zen masters teach sword fighting), and at periods during the shogunate it becomes almost the state religion. Zen masters encourage some of the most distinctive cultural aspects of Japanese life, including the Tea Ceremony (closely linked with the tradition of Japanese ceramics).

 

 

The most aggressive of the Buddhist sects is the only one to have its roots entirely in Japan. It follows the teaching of Nichiren, a fiery prophet who spends much of his life in exile for his criticism of the shoguns in Kamakura. They favour the rivals on whom he pours scorn, the devotees of Pure Land and Zen Buddhism.

Like Old Testament prophets, Nichiren foresees disaster befalling his misguided compatriots. The Mongol invasion of 1274 is seen by many as the fulfilment of his prophecies. His passion inspires a sect which still has a considerable following in 20th-century Japan.

 

Buddhism Today

 

Buddhism in its various forms remains the most widespread of the ancient religions in east Asia, where it numbers some 300 million adherents. The greatest concentration is in the historic lands of Theravada Buddhism - Sri Lanka and the three countries, adjacent to each other, of Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. Buddhists still practising in Mahayana regions (China, Tibet, Mongolia) have suffered greatly from the atheist creed of Communism. In Japan a majority still adheres to various forms of Buddhism.

During the 20th century the faith has also begun to spread to entirely new regions. There is now a significant minority of Buddhists in the United States and in Europe.

 

Buddhist Fasting

Nyung Nay is the fasting practice of the one-thousand armed Chenrezig. Fasting in Nyung Nay is related to the idea of curing sickness - and what we are actually talking about is the sickness of the conflicting mind poisons. Some people think that fasting is just a means for purifying the body, as in the Indian yogic system, but this is not why we fast here. We fast in order to increase our mindfulness and to learn how to deal with our own desires.

Origin of the practice - Gelongma Palmo

First of all, I want to talk about the origin of this practice, how it started, and tell you the life story of Gelongma Palmo .

She lived many centuries ago in India. She was born as a princess, daughter of the King of Uddiyâna . She contracted leprosy and became very sick. She lost her hands, and her limbs started to fall off. Unable even to bring food to her mouth, she had to eat out of the plate like an animal. She underwent tremendous pain, both physically and mentally. Thrown out of her house because nobody could bear to be near her, she was forced to live alone in a small straw hut.

She then had a vision of a great Dharma king called Indrabodhi , who told her, "You must practice and meditate on Chenrezig!" She started reciting Chenrezig's mantras. By day, she would recite "Om Mani Peme Hung" and at night, she would recite the long mantra of Chenrezig.

She then saw Manjushrî in a vision. He told her to go to a certain place, because she would very soon become like Târâ if she practiced there. In front of an image of Chenrezig that had miraculously appeared in that very special place, she made the vow not to move until she had gained realization. She began to practice while fasting, and she was extremely diligent. This is how she started the tradition of meditating on Chenrezig while fasting.

After one year, she cured herself of all her sickness, the limbs she had lost grew back and her body became cleansed and pure. Also, her realization began to increase. She developed powers over the local spirits and deities, and turned them into Dharma protectors - particularly Nâgâs , who are worldly deities associated with many things, one of which is leprosy.

Her practice reached fruition in one particular month of the year during which the effects of one's actions are said to be multiplied. On the first day of this month, she had a vision of Târâ and she immediately reached the first bhumi of realization. Târâ told her she would accomplish all the activities of the Buddhas of the past, present and future. On the eighth day of the month, she had a vision of a particular form of Chenrezig, surrounded by other deities. She received the prophecy that she would be able to help beings in the same way as Chenrezig. On the fifteenth day, which is the full moon, she finally had the realization of the thousand-armed Chenrezig, who appeared before her with all the deities of the four levels of tantra inside his body, and every pore of his skin filled with mandalas and Buddha fields. She said to Chenrezig, "I've been practicing for so long, and it is only now, after all these years, that I see you. Why have you come so late?". He answered, "I've been with you since the beginning, but you needed to be purified before you could see me."

Her body turned into a golden color, like golden light, and she achieved the qualities of a tenth level Bodhisattva .

Chenrezig was never separate from Gelongma Palmo. The most important thing to understand from these stories of great practitioners having visions of deities is that the deity is present from the very beginning, but it is only when the practitioner is pure enough that he/she can understand this. The vision of the deity means that one has woken up to what one always has been. It's nothing new, not something new coming from the outside; it is just about realizing what we really are.

It is thus from Gelongma Palmo that the Nyung Nay lineage comes. When we practice Nyung Nay, we use her as our example, as our inspiration, because she had great courage and commitment. She would often fall down unconscious while she was meditating but when she came to, she would get up and start again. She was in tremendous pain, but she cured herself completely through her devotion to Chenrezig. When we are doing Nyung Nay, we can think again and again of Gelongma Palmo and how she managed to do this practice even while she was so sick. Then we know that it is possible for us too, that we don't need to be afraid of this practice.

General description of the practice

Nyung Nay works in pairs of two days. On the first day, there is one meal, and one can drink many times. On the second day, there is no food, no drink and one remains silent. Then, on the third day, there is a last session and the fast is broken. After breakfast, it is finished.

One can do many pairs in a row, but the minimum is one pair, which means two days and one morning. Even doing only one pair is very beneficial. Eight and 108 pairs are said to be very special numbers. Eight pairs are called a "White Nyung Nay", and it is said that one will be reborn in Dewachen . But even one pair is said to close the doors to rebirths in lower realms and to purify many eons of bad karma, if we do it with a pure attitude.

A major benefit comes from the fact one does Nyung Nay in the manner of a retreat. One spends time together with others in the shrine room, doing the Nyung Nay pûja many times a day, and during the breaks, in between the sessions, one is supposed to apply a certain way of practicing and remaining mindful, in order to be involved all the time in the Chenrezig practice. Also, one takes vows during the time of the practice. For these reasons, it is an especially important practice for lay people. Normally lay people have busy lives and do not get the opportunity to practice so intensively, but here there is that opportunity.

The vows of Sojong

One of the main benefits of Nyung Nay comes from taking vows every day. Actually, the vows taken are very similar to those of a monk or nun for the time one is doing the practice. But one can keep one's hair !

One takes eight vows and one renews them every day of the Nyung Nay for twenty-four hours.

If one has these vows as the foundation of one's meditation, it will be much more beneficial. The commentary says that one person practicing for one day with these eight vows gains more benefit than one person practicing for one hundred years without them.

As they are a very important part of the Nyung Nay practice, I will explain these vows in detail.

The vows are called "Sojong" . This word has several meanings. The first syllable, "so", means "to increase all the good qualities", like nourishing, or blossoming. The second syllable, "jong", means "to purify." Actually, the fruition of the Dharma path is to become Buddha, and the Tibetan word for Buddha, which is Sangye, emphasizes these two qualities very clearly. One syllable of the word Sangye means to purify and the other means that the qualities are reaching fruition and fullness. So the Sojong vows are an important foundation in the path to Buddhahood.

The idea of vows is to make a commitment not to harm oneself and not to harm others. The vows create the right vessel for the development of compassion and wisdom. When one takes a vow in a formal way, in front of a lama or a Buddha image, and in a group, it makes a very strong impression on the mind. It is not like just casually making a decision. It generates continuous blessings in us. In fact, one is purifying the mind constantly, even when one is not aware of it consciously or even when one is asleep!

The Sojong vows are separated into three different groups.

The first group contains four vows, and is called the group of "Shîla"(Skt.) or "Tsultrim" (Tib.). "Shîla" suggests something very relaxed, very peaceful, very cool. When, on a very hot day, one goes in the shade of a tree for shelter, that's the kind of cool, relaxed feeling of "shîla". Of course, when the Dharma was translated into Tibetan, the translators had to find a different kind of word to use for this, since in Tibet coolness is not something to be desired…. it is a cold place already! So they chose the word Tsultrim "Tsultrim" means taking the example of the Buddha as one's way of life. These four vows are the "root" vows, the most important ones.

Every monk and nun has these four vows as his/her most central vows. These four root precepts are: not killing, not stealing, not lying and not having any sexual activity. A lay person practicing the Nyung Nay thus takes the total celibacy vow and becomes similar to a monk or nun for the time of this practice.

If one observes these four vows, one will become naturally peaceful and aware. These vows purify suffering, the uncomfortable and unpleasant feelings within oneself, and also we become less harmful to others. The vows help us to develop into a more suitable vessel for Bodhicitta. Shila is often called the ground of everything, since it is the essential foundation from which all the qualities of the path arise. We cannot develop proper meditation without the foundation of good conduct.

The second group is called the category of carefulness, and contains one vow: not to take any intoxicants. This includes drugs, alcohol, tobacco. When intoxicated, one loses control of the mind and one has more chance of breaking one's other vows. One will also find it very difficult to achieve what one wants to achieve and to do positive things. As we want to be in control of our own minds and actions, we take this vow to remain "the boss of our mind." Intoxication also means that we are dependant on something in order to achieve relaxation or happiness, and that is a wrong kind of happiness which only leads to more craving and dissatisfaction. It takes us further away from true Dharma, and further away from mindfulness.

The third group is called "controlling one's behavior". There are three vows in this category. The first has several sections: not to sing, dance, play music, wear ornaments, perfumes or make-up. All this together is one vow. The second is not to sit on high thrones or sleep on high, precious beds. The third is not to eat after noon. On the second day, this vow is taken as no eating or drinking at all. What is the meaning of these vows? The actions in this group that we vow not to commit are not negative in themselves. However, if we give them up, it helps us to keep very close to our practice, to stay very peaceful and relaxed. It also helps us to purify pride and conceptualization, and to pacify the other mind poisons.

These eight vows are thus classified in three groups and they are very easy to keep because we only take them for a short time: only one day.

We take them every morning and they only last twenty-four hours. Because the time is so short, we can put full effort into their observance, give them a lot of value. This is why they have such a purifying effect on us. In the Far East, many lay people take these eight vows on the full moon day. For instance, in Sri Lanka, on the moon day, some lay people wear white, to symbolize that they are taking these precepts for twenty-four hours, and they spend the whole day praying in temples. They are purifying themselves as well as accumulating merit every month in this way.

A lot of suffering comes from the fact that our mind is always wandering. These vows function like an anchor, keeping our mind in the present. They can help us to stay more mindful and aware.

There is also a whole set of additional instructions that are special guidelines for the Nyung Nay. Those I just listed are the vows, and the other instructions are called "guidelines" because they are much harder to keep! Two of them are very important. First, during Nyung Nay time, you must never walk on grass because you might kill insects. The second is, you must never travel in a car or any kind of vehicle. It's better if you can stay here or close to the centre. Usually, when we take a vow of not killing, it means we are not deliberately killing. But in Nyung Nay, we are training in compassion to such a level that we are trying to even give up accidental killing. So we do our best, we don't walk on grass, we don't drive, we try not to wear too much leather, also we must be very strict about not eating meat or any animal products. All of these guidelines are aimed at keeping us relaxed and aware and close to the practice.

 

Silence

The reasons for the silence and the fasting are as follows:

On the second day of each pair, we take the vow of total silence. This is to become more mindful. Usually, when practicing, one finds out that the conversations one has during the breaks affect the practice. Going back to the session, one's mind is still going round and round with the conversation that took place during the break. Speech is also a very easy way to create negative karma and increase the mind poisons. One Lama said that the mouth is the doorway to sin! We easily say negative or useless things, or things that hurt other people, because we find it very difficult to be mindful of our speech.

Also it is said that it is much more beneficial to recite mantras while keeping silent the rest of the time.

These are some of the reasons for keeping silence.

 

Fasting

On the second day, we don't eat or drink. It's not a kind of punishment or self-torture. The objective is to be more mindful. Here are some of the main reasons for the fasting:

The first is to remove all distractions and just focus on the practice. Milarepa , who gave up interest in food in order to concentrate on practice, is our inspiration here. We don't want to waste time on food; we just want to increase our meditation. Before Guru Rinpoche left Tibet, he gave final pieces of advice to the Tibetan people. Among other things, he said, "You are just spending all your time putting food inside your body and putting clothes on the outside. During the night, you're just ignorant and sleep. And in-between, you are talking all the time, making friends and enemies and causing the poisons to grow stronger. If you want to follow me, you have to change all that."

The Nyung Nay practice is a concentrated period of time during which we try to change that habitual way of living. Through this method, it is said that our mind could become very pure and refined. We are putting the practice at the top of our priorities, where food and entertainment are usually placed. Every time one feels hunger, one remembers the practice, one is feeling hungry because of the Nyung Nay. The whole idea is just to increase our devotion to the Nyung Nay, to Dharma practice in general. One doesn't speak, one doesn't drink, one doesn't eat - one is just totally devoted to the practice. But as it is only one day at a time, it remains gentle, it's a very progressive training.

This creates a more positive habit than the habit of just eating, drinking, talking, sleeping. Maybe the result will be that, eventually, we become more devoted to practicing and doing things that will really help us. That's the first reason.

The second reason is to learn how to deal with feelings. We are feeling hungry and thirsty, but we cannot eat or drink because we have taken the vow not to. Normally, when we feel hungry or thirsty, we just eat or drink to get rid of the unpleasant feeling. Actually, it is like this with all our feelings: as soon as some feeling arises, we do something to get rid of it. When desire manifests, we immediately find something to satisfy and fulfill it. The Buddha said that this is just running away again and again without ever reaching satisfaction, that it's like drinking salty water: the more we drink, the more thirsty we become. When one feels hungry, one eats something and feels good for a few hours, but after a while the hunger is back. This is really the way we live our lives: we are just taking pain-killers all the time without ever actually dealing with the underlying cause of suffering.

In the Nyung Nay practice, one cannot eat when feeling hungry or thirsty and one is forced to actually deal with that feeling. When hunger and thirst come, one might think, "This is going to kill me! This is really too much!" But finally, one has to realize this is only a feeling. Then one should visualize one's body as the body of Chenrezig, the union of form and emptiness. With a body of light, there can be no sickness and no hunger. The practice could become our nourishment; one could "eat the food of samadhi" - as Milarépa said, "My food is meditation." Of course, this is difficult, but we can do our best to approach this level of understanding.

This is a very important point for the practice of Nyung Nay. Many people think fasting is just a means to eliminate toxins, like in the case of Indian yogic fasting, but in this case, fasting is actually used to deal with our mind. We need to learn to stop running away from our feelings through trying to satisfy them or trying to get rid of them.

Also, of course, this whole practice is about the development of compassion. Through the fasting, we experience discomforts of the body and mind, and the instructions tell us that we should use that discomfort to develop compassion, a little bit like the idea behind tonglen practice… ie, we pray that we may, through our suffering, take on all the sufferings of others and liberate them. This is a very skilful way of transformation; as well as developing compassion towards all beings, one is developing compassion towards oneself: this is because one is transforming one's attitude to one's suffering… instead of being a problem, it is seen as a blessing though which one can spiritually develop. This is called 'taking suffering as the path', and it benefits ourselves and all beings.

There are some other rules for food in the Nyung Nay:

The food eaten on the first day is only pure food: no meat, no alcohol, no eggs, no onions and no garlic. This means that one is very careful and mindful of one's diet. This helps us to be mindful of our body, speech and mind. It also has a special relationship with the dietary rules of the kriya tantra. (see below)

One cannot stand up in the middle of the meal either. It's called "eating in one sitting." This increases one-pointedness.

And one doesn't eat anything after lunch. This reduces desire and increases the ability to meditate well. Many people who do retreats, and also many monks and nuns follow this particular rule, especially at special times of the year.

Kriya Tantra

We are currently talking about the outer level of the Nyung Nay practice, all the rules, all the things to do with body and speech.

On the outer level, we follow the rules of Kriya Tantra to which this practice belongs. There are different levels of tantra and this practice belongs to Kriya Tantra, the main feature of which is cleanliness. Everything has to be very clean. The room has to be spotlessly clean and the practitioner has to have many showers and baths. The clothes that he or she wears should be very clean. Kriya Tantra also requires pure dietary rules.

The practice also involves a lot of rituals and tormas . We pay special attention to the tormas, and also to mudrâs and to the music. Everything has to be nicely done in the outer sense.

There is no meat or blood. Even in the visualizations, there's no visualization of what we call "red offerings". All the visualizations are "white" or peaceful offerings. In other levels of tantra, some practices emphasize meat and wrathful offerings, and there's not much emphasis on cleanliness. This is because the different levels of tantra work on the mind in different ways.

 

Conclusion

Generally, we are always trying to run away from our suffering and the purpose of all these rules and regulations is for us to develop courage. The rules of the Nyung Nay practice mean that we have less ways to escape from our sufferings. We shouldn't see the rules as a punishment. but as an opportunity to face sufferings and develop courage. If we develop this strength, we will be able to face things properly in our lives as well. It will also give us the commitment to face the sufferings of others and thus develop more compassion. The less selfish we become, the more we will be able to help others.

We always have a tendency to want our practice to be very smooth. For instance, if we do a retreat, we want it to be very "nice", or when we are meditating we want to feel good. The main benefit of Nyung Nay is that it could teach us to deal with anything, to be able to go on practicing no matter what the conditions are like. This could help us to stop striving after a good experience or feeling, and instead be more able to accept whatever comes. We are learning to welcome everything

In our normal life, if we feel sick or have a headache, we don't want to practice. If we feel depressed, we just want to lie in bed, eating food and watching TV. However, when we fell like that, then that is a very important time for practising. When we do the Nyung Nay, we learn how to practice when we are feeling really uncomfortable and our body just wants to lie down or eat something. We are developing the skill and ability to practice in a hard situation.

The most difficult situation we will ever encounter is when we are actually dying. When we are dying, all the elements of our body will be dissolving and our mind will probably be filled with fear and anxiety. This is a very difficult time to apply mindfulness and think of our yidam deity or whatever practice we have been doing during our life. However, if we have done many Nyung Nays during our life, then we might have developed a skill that will help us when we are dying and enable us to practice even at this most uncomfortable time.

In fact, in the Nyung Nay text, it says, "When I die, Chenrezig will come and meet me in the Bardo ." What this really means is that, when we are dying, may we be able to remember Chenrezig and to recognize that quality of our mind. Even when our body is falling apart, when we feel sick and when we are dying, the training of Nyung Nay could enable us to find the Chenrezig as the essence of our mind.

So a very basic idea in Nyung Nay is learning to be a little bit tougher and more courageous.

The practice is very inspiring and really supports those who do it. People often say that their meditation becomes clearer thanks to the fasting. When doing many Nyung Nays in a row, one can find that one's body feels much healthier when not eating. Even some Western scientists have come to the conclusion that eating like in the Nyung Nay is actually the secret of a long life. I was in retreat doing Nyung Nay, and I read a scientific report stating that the secret of long life is fasting on alternate days! It isn't actually too difficult and it's even good for the health, so there is no need to worry!

Explanation of the Nyung-Nay Practice

 

by Gelong Thubten

SAMYE DZONG - Brussels

23 September 2000

 

As Always...

If you have any other questions I’m happy to assist you & look forward to being of service to you.

 

May the rest of your journey be peaceful and tranquil and may your angels be with you and all who surround you..

 

Thank you for reading.

Love & Light

J

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