What is the True Nature of Existence? (audio)

Ven. Bodhi; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; Urban Dharma

A buddha is a supremely enlightened teacher like the historical Buddha Shakyamuni.

   

Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ph.D.

American Theravada Buddhist scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi once created a ten-part audio course on Buddhism called "The Buddha's Teaching: As It Is" while living in Washington Buddhist Vihara in DC.

It was 1981 and Bhante G (then president of the Buddhist Vihara Society) suggested that young Bhikkhu Bodhi record lectures so the temple could distribute them as a set.

Traveling to Kandy, Sri Lanka -- where Bhikkhu Bodhi was living as editor of the Buddhist Publication Society -- to get permission to more widely publish these teachings. Bhikkhu Bodhi gladly gave it so long as it was not-for-profit but instead a gift of Dharma. The lectures are now in the "public domain," which means anyone may copy and help distribute them.

They make the most sense when listened to in the sequence Bhikkhu Bodhi recorded and listed them as they build on one another. These are MP3 files (free download) thanks to the great work of Los Angeles' Ven. Kusala at urbandharma.com).

Our noble meditation teacher Kalyani recommends they be placed on an MP3 player and listened to throughout the day. The simple merit of giving the gift of Dharma becomes supramundane when one listens and gains insight into the Buddha's message. Special thank you Bhikkhu Bodhi for decades of remarkable English scholarship bringing the Teachings to life.

AS IT IS (audio files)

1. The Buddha - MP3 - 1:23 min - 19 MB
   
2. The Four Noble Truths - MP3 - 1:21 min - 18.6 MB
3. The True Nature of Existence - MP3 - 1:18 min - 18 MB
4. Dependent Origination - MP3 - 1:15 min - 17.2 MB
5. Rebirth and Karma - MP3 - 1:23 min - 19.1 MB
6. Nirvana - MP3 - 1:16 min - 17.5 MB
7. The Noble Eightfold Path - MP3 - 1:19 min - 18.1 MB
8. Meditation - MP3 - 1:23 min - 19 MB
9. Social Teachings of the Buddha - MP3 - 1:17 min - 17.7 MB
10. The Sangha - MP3 - 1:18 min - 17.9 MB

REVIEW
Wisdom Quarterly

1. The series begins by introducing what a buddha is and who the Buddha was.
2. Then it moves on to the core teachings, Buddhism encapsulated in the Four Ennobling Truths. ("Noble" means enlightened).
3. Reality is explained in Lecture 3.
4. Then the means of gaining liberating-insight by mindful contemplation of the 12 links of causality called Dependent Origination to explain how the present suffering is rooted in the past.
5. This leads to a discussion of rebirth and karma, essential links that reveal the true nature of disappointment (suffering or dukkha) central to the Buddha's teaching on how to bring about the end of suffering in the very life.
6. Nirvana (called nibbana in Pali) is the complete cessation of suffering. It is NOT nothingness, emptiness, or the void. It is far subtler than we will ever imagine.
7. It is brought about by cultivating the supramundane Noble Eightfold Path  of paths-and-fruits, magga-and-phala.
8. This path is one of meditation (actual practice) more than intellectual study and detached learning.
9. But self-cultivation in Buddhism also includes a sensitivity to the social dimension that critics of the ancient Theravada ("Teaching of the Buddhist Elders") school often cite as self-serving, wrongly assuming that the Buddha neglected society when in fact so much of his teachings are concerned with the betterment of a world that does not for the most part meditate.
10. Those who dedicate their lives to meditating, to preserving the Dharma, and to teaching are the Sangha, the Monastic Order. As Americans and Socially Engaged Buddhists, we tend to dismiss the Order of Nuns and Monks (and countless temporarily-ordained practitioners) as an anachronism even as they continue to be a vibrant part of Buddhism.

More from Bhikkhu Bodhi: Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (BAUS.org)

Buddhism's Ten Commandments

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

(bib-arch.org)

Buddhism, of course, does not have any "commandments." The Buddha did not reveal the Teaching and Training by commanding, coercing, or ordering anyone to follow the path to enlightenment (which also leads to other happy results in the round of rebirths*).

There are Ten Precepts one may voluntarily undertake to uphold for one's own benefit and the benefit of others, particularly during times of intensive practice. There are also Eight Precepts, which are almost exactly the same, with only one difference (yes, not two).

The merit (good karma) that results in a human rebirth is keeping the Five Precepts, which all practicing Buddhists undertake to maintain. Being a "Buddhist" means that one goes for guidance (sarana) -- almost always mistranslated as "going for refuge" -- to the Buddha, Dharma, and [accomplished] Sangha and keeps the precepts.

Although there are no commandments, there are Ten Courses of Unwholesome Action (explained in detail at AN X.206). They can be read as a kind of Buddhist Ten Commandments for those wishing to be commanded. They are called "courses" (routes, paths, corridors) because they have the karmic potency in and of themselves to lead to woeful rebirths:

1. Thou art well advised not to take the lives of living beings.
2. Thou art well advised not to take what is not given.
3. Thou art well advised not to engage in sexual misconduct.
4. Thou art well advised not to commit perjury (speak falsely when questioned as a witness).
5. Thou art well advised not to speak divisively (separating those who are united).
6. Thou art well advised not to speak harshly (offensively).
7. Thou art well advised not to speak frivolously.**
8. Thou art well advised not to covet.
9. Thou art well advised not to harbor ill-will.
10. Thou art well advised not to hold wrong-views.***

NOTES
*Other fortunate results include rebirth in heavenly realms or again in the human world. The Dharma encourages good karma that is of benefit in every kind of endeavor. In fact, it is only on account of good karma that living beings enjoy or meet with any benefits in any plane of existence. This is counter intuitive. But the benefits one experiences while engaged in wrongdoing -- for example, when stealing -- are not coming from the wrongdoing. They are coming from good karma performed in the past. Were that karma not in place, or if it gets exhausted, one is unable to have and enjoy even what one has stolen. See The Workings of Kamma (PDF) for an explanation of why this is so.

**Frivolous: chit chatting, speaking what is not timely, not factual, not good, not connected to Dharma [the doctrine or social obligations], not connected to discipline. In other words, speaking out of season, uttering speech not worth treasuring, unpleasant, unrestrained, disagreeable, and unconnected with what is truly profitable). This kind of "low speech" is commonly referred to as "animal talk" (tiracchana-katha), because it is base and drags close to the ground. Animal talk is defined as "talk about leaders and thieves, heads of state and armies, danger and war, eating and drinking, clothes [fashion] and dwellings, cosmetics and scents, relations, vehicles, neighborhoods and marketplaces, towns and districts, women and heroes, street talk, water cooler [the well] gossip, talk about the long since departed, tittle-tattle, talk about the [origin of the] world and sea, gain and loss" (AN X.69, Wisdom Quarterly translation).

***Wrong understanding includes holding such pernicious views as: "There is no result of giving, offering, or sacrificing for others. There is no fruit or ripening of good and bad actions (karma). There is no here and now [this world], no hereafter [a world to come]. There is no [special significance to things done to or for one's] mother or father. There are no spontaneously-born beings. There are no noble and virtuous recluses and brahmins who have themselves realized by direct knowledge and declared [the nature of] this world and of other worlds."

SoCal meditation center under construction

No more driving up to North Fork. Soon Southern California will have its own Goenka retreat center for free 10-day Art of Living courses. Construction of the new Dhamma Vaddhana meditation center is well under way in Joshua Tree.

In October 2009 three buildings for the women's side residences were approved by the city. Work will begin immediately on the layout, underground trenching and utilities, and the ground breaking for these buildings. On the men's side, final items are being addressed on the first two residential buildings. The solar collector tubes have been installed for heating water. Electricity and plumbing are now on and working. The third building is also moving ahead.

Buildings already completed on the site in Joshua Tree, California (dhamma.org)

The plans for the Dhamma Hall are currently being reviewed by the city. In the meantime, the development committee is pursuing pricing and bids from suppliers and subcontractors. Logistics are being worked out regarding the audio-video equipment. The kitchen/dining hall plans are also being finalized. See floor plans and renderings. What is Vipassana meditation?

Free Insight Retreats

Long and Special Meditation Course Schedules 2009/2010

(Dhamma.org) Each of the long Vipassana courses listed below have special course qualification requirements. Students who have participated in a free 10-day course must meet these special requirements in order to be considered for free admission. Application for admission to a long course must be made on special application forms available from each of the centers. All instruction is Buddhist based insight meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka. Download a form in (PDF) for return by either printout or email. Choose the correct file from the Application Form Page.

• The Americas
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• Australia and New Zealand
• East Asia
• Africa
• South Asia (India, Nepal, Sri Lanka)

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