Just a little about "Buddha"

By Muluken Aseffa (Luke)


1 -The Four Nobles Truths-
The Four Noble Truths is an excerpt from the first sermon of the Buddha after his enlightenment which is commonly known as the "Benares Sermon". The Four Noble Truth is a short statement of the essentials of Buddhist teachings: The Middle Way, The Four Noble Truths, and The Eightfold Path. The first Noble Truth is concerns suffering and states that birth, death, decay, union with something unpleasant, any craving with something pleasant, and the conditions of individuality are painful. The second Noble Truth concerns the origin of suffering: it is a thirst or craving, it causes the renewal of existence and is accompanied by sensual delight seeking satisfaction here and there; it is the craving for gratification of the passions, the cravings for future life, and the cravings for success in the present life. The third Noble Truth concerns the destruction of suffering. It is the laying aside, getting rid of, being free from or harboring of these thirsts. The fourth Noble Truth concerns the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow. It is the Noble Eightfold Path. There are two extreme paths which a monk must not follow if they have given up the world. The first path concerns those things which attract passions, especially sensuality. This is viewed as a pagan way of living, unworthy, unprofitable, and fit only for the worldly-minded. The second path is considered the habitual practice of asceticism, (self denial with a principled way of life) which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.
There is, however a middle path, discovered by the Tathagata, one who has come or gone, and achieved enlightenment. The effect that The Middle Path is intended to have on Monks, and Buddhist in general is to teach them ways to open their eyes and give understanding. It follows up the more abstract of The Four Noble Truths. It offers practical guidelines to mental and moral development with the goal of freeing individuals from attachments and delusions. It leads to understanding the truth about all things, peace of mind, higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, and Nirvana. It is called the Noble Eightfold Path of right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation. These eight guidelines are reduced, and taught to the monks in the three categories of morality, wisdom, and meditation.
2-Rules of Defeat for Monks and Nuns
Buddhism highlighted the admonition to avoid defeat in the teaching of rules to live Godly, to avoid things that cause sensuality, corrupt the mind, and deprive the soul of pure actions. Examples of this would be sexual intercourse, theft, killing, and lying. “No longer in communion” refers to the commitment made to Buddha to uphold his rules, and his teachings that have been broken. It appears from the scripture that there is the perception that monks and nuns are equally likely to be defeated, and the distinction that is required for each appears to be equal, with the exception of the nuns having a few more rules than the monks.
3-Conduct of the Monk
If I were to become a Monk the areas I would consider easy to follow would be to act with kindness, to be calm and well controlled, teach the meaning of the law, not envy others, not be lazy, not be careless, be content, keep noble friends, live in charity, perfect my duties, and be full of delight. The areas I'd find most difficult to follow would be restraint in the eye, ear, nose, and tongue, meditation, grieve over what I left behind, cut off passion, restraint, and reject the bait of the world.
I believe most moral rules mentioned above, whether easy or hard to follow are instilled in every person at birth. It is our culture, morals, values, and beliefs that cause us to stray. If a person is serious about his/her faith and truly happy with where they are in their lives, he/she would follow any rule regardless of the temptations and or consequences. If any of these rules of wisdom are broken, that person is not content, something is lacking in their lives, and they are not happy with themselves.
I feel the scripture that is presented in the text would provide solace to the Japanese during this challenging time of coping with a natural disaster, death, pain, change, and uncertainty would be The Noble Eightfold Path. This is because it teaches that in life there will be suffering of, birth, death, decay, disease, separation from something pleasant, unsatisfied cravings, attachment, individuality and their cause, All of these examples listed above are unpredictable and painful in life. How disasters are handled is based on the individual's belief system. The Noble Eightfold path teaches a way of practice to stop the suffering within, to be free of ill will, to be helpful and put away the greed and distress of the world. It leads to truth about all things. If a person understands himself and his purpose for being on this earth, he also understands that his time here is short-lived and everything can be taken away at any moment.
The Eightfold Path teaches meditation and how this can lead to peace and harmony, how to remain focused on mental qualities, to be thankful for your health, and the gifts that remain in your life. One will gain the knowledge through teachings that lead to wisdom and the worldly understanding that bad things will happen and people will suffer, The Noble Truth concerning the destruction of suffering will help build people up, so they can accept tragedy and continue to move forward.