Buddhist Basics

The Historical Buddha –

We are told in the scriptures that Siddhartha Gautama was born around 2600 years ago into a life of luxury in the royal family of the Sakya clan of northern India. Sages predicted that he would grow up to become a great king or a religious leader. His father decided that he should be the former and so sheltered him from the harsh realities of the world. However Siddhartha left the palace on four occasions and saw a sick man, an old man, a corpse being taken to a funeral and an ascetic monk. His charioteer told him that everyone would become sick, grow old and die; but the monk was seeking a way beyond this suffering. Feeling unhappy about this Siddhartha left his family and tried the life of a wandering monk.  He initially practiced with three well known teachers, learning much from them, but not finding what he was looking for.  He then tried extreme ascetic practices until he almost died of starvation and without finding the truth he sought. Having experienced the unsatisfactory nature of both hedonistic and austere lifestyles he decided to find a “Middle Way”, and meditated under a tree until he became an “enlightened” Buddha at the age of 34. Others asked him to teach them what he discovered, which he did ordaining some of them as nuns or monks. He continued to do this until his death aged 80.

After the death of the Buddha the religion of Buddhism grew up amongst people who wanted to follow his teachings. For centuries it was passed down as an oral tradition before the scriptures were written down. As teachers used “skillful means” to help their students and the religion passed into other countries different “schools” of Buddhism appeared. We in England are fortunate that several schools or traditions have made it to the west (such as Pure Land, Theravada, Tibetan and Zen), and there are now western teachers who can guide us. Many of the scriptures (“Suttas” or “Sutras”) and writings of Buddhist teachers of diverse traditions are available to us translated into English, as well as the written and recorded teachings of western Buddhists, often distributed on the world wide web.

The Four Noble Truths -

·        That life is impermanent and intrinsically unsatisfactory; it can involve physical and mental suffering and times of unhappiness; this is the world of Samsara.

·        That this is unsatifactoriness caused by our greed, hates and the delusion that we have an unchanging spirit or soul that makes us feel important.

·        There is an alternative state called Nirvana or enlightenment in which we can live as one with a true understanding the reality of our own nature and surroundings

·        The “route” to Nirvana is the Noble Eight Fold Path

The Eight Fold Path –

These can be understood and used in different ways depending on our level of understanding.

The Buddhist Precepts –

When we choose to become a Buddhist we can also decide to aim to keep a number of precepts. There are normally at least five precepts and the wording varies between the different Schools of Buddhism:

·        Refrain from killing

·        Refrain from stealing

·        Refrain from sexual misconduct

·        Refrain from lying

·        Refrain from becoming intoxicated

These are not rules that are forced upon us and we will not be punished by a superhuman being if we stray from them; however if we break them there will be consequences and our lives will be less tranquil. We also have to decide how we interpret the precepts for ourselves – for example we might choose to become vegetarians to avoid killing animals or become vegans to avoid stealing the milk and eggs of animals. When we are adults we have to make our own decisions and face any resulting consequences.

The scriptures – There are many scriptures available to us translated from various sources and languages; each School of Buddhism has its favourites. But we will share this cautionary one with you:

The Kalama Sutta (our wording of the story):– The Buddha visited the village of the Kalama people. They had heard that he was a wise religious teacher. They asked him whether they should believe the teachings of this or that wandering monk, all claiming that their teachings were right and others were wrong.. The Buddha’s advice was that they should be skeptical about the claims of teachers and scriptures but decide for themselves by giving each teaching a try and if from their own experience it led to a life of more suffering they should abandon it but if it made their life better then they should trust it.

This is still sound advice – if you are interested give Buddhism a try, but be aware that there are charlatans still around today offering shortcuts to enlightenment for a price; choose wisely.

Meditation – there are many forms of meditation practiced by Buddhists all of them include a mixture of mindfulness and concentration. A common form we can use is “Mindfulness of Breathing” – we choose this because whist we are alive we are breathing and so we can concentrate on it anywhere and anytime; we don’t need to be in a special room or in special circumstances.

Notes – Meditation should be used in conjunction with the Precepts (or a similar moral code). You are recommended to find a suitable teacher if you wish to practice sincerely. We recommend that you check with your medical practitioner if you have mental health problems before you try meditation. 

The Three Treasures – Buddhists show their respect  and gratitude to –

·        The Buddha – the historical Buddha and the potential in all of us to become enlightened Buddhas

·        The Dharma – the teachings of the Buddha and Buddhists that have been passed to us

·        The Sangha – the community of Buddhists that can offer us help, support and advice

* Notes –

The Hull Buddhist Group welcomes all Buddhists and recognises that members have a variety of beliefs and may choose to follow particular teachers and Schools. We are not monks, priests or enlightened Buddhas; just lay people practicing our chosen version of Buddhism. We don’t always agree.

As a group we do not follow or endorse any particular Buddhist tradition and we are not authorised by any tradition to give teaching in that tradition or offer spiritual counseling. We do recommend that you try the different traditions available in the UK and visit their temples and monasteries to find a form of Buddhism that suits your needs.

We have tried to pick out the essential elements of Buddhism (in our own words) that are common to most Schools. There are numerous other versions available and you can seek more details. The important thing to remember is that if we wish to become enlightened we must practice Buddhism.

Safeguarding – members of the group have not had a criminal record check; young people should be accompanied by a responsible adult.

 link to  Introduction to Buddhism Adult Education course notes

click here for a list of meetings