BUDDHISM- HUMAN PERSONALITY Flashcards
(13 cards)
Skandhas?
“Heap” or “Bundle”. The five ever-changing elements that make up a human being: form, perception, sensation, mental formation and consciousness.
Nagasena and the Chariot?
A famous Buddhist story which illustrates the concepts of anatta and the Five Skandhas. A monk, Nagasena, asks a king to show him what a chariot is. When the king points to the chariot, Nagasena explains that the chariot is simply a collection of parts, nothing more. In the same way, humans are also a collection of parts, and there is no soul or self which exists separate from these parts.
Theravada?
A school of Buddhism. The word means “The Way of the Elders.”
What are the Five Skandhas?
H: Helps us understand anatta. The Five skandhas are a Theravada teaching which develops the concept of anatta, helping us understand why we think there is a self when there is not.
E: Ever changing heaps – every being is made up of ever-changing heaps of form, perception, sensation, mental formation and consciousness.
A: Attachment - attachment to the Five Skandhas causes dukkha (suffering).
P: Perceiving the reality – Perceiving the reality of the Five Skandhas helps us reduce attachment and suffering, and move closer to nirvana.
S: Self – The Five Skandhas do not combine to make a permanent self, because they are always changing. Instead, the Five Skandhas combine to create the illusion of the self.
Outline five skandhas?
Form- The physical component of beings (bodies, sense organs)
E.g. Lightwaves are received by my eye (sense organ)
Sensation- The basic data that comes from our senses, e.g. colours, shapes, sounds
E.g. Sensations of redness
Perception- When sensations are transformed into concepts and experiences
The perception that a Year 7 is holding a lolly
Mental formation- Our desires and impulses, which may cause us to act in a certain way.
The desire to steal the yummy lolly from the Y7
Consciousness- Awareness of being a thinking, feeling thing
The awareness of all these things going on
Sunyata?
“Emptiness”. The Buddhist teaching that all things are empty of independent (or “intrinsic”) existence.
Mahayana?
A school of Buddhism. The word means “The Great Vehicle.”
Heart Sutra?
The best-known, and perhaps most important Buddhist text. It sets out Buddhist teachings on sunyata.
What is Sunyata?
E: “Empty” – Sunyata means emptiness and teaches that all things are empty of independent existence.
M: Mahayana – Teachings on Sunyata come from the Mahayana tradition and tie together teachings on anatta, anicca, and dependent origination.
P: Process – Sunyata teaches that all things are in a process of arising and passing away. Nothing simply is.
T: Tied together – Sunyata teaches that all beings are tied together or interconnected, as we are dependent on other beings for our existence.
Y: You can’t see the whole picture – Sunyata reminds Buddhists that it is impossible to see the whole picture, so judgements of events are always relative.
Tathagatagarbha?
“Buddha-nature”. The belief that all beings have the nature of a Buddha or the potential to become a Buddha.
Klesha?
A negative mental state, such as ignorance or attachment. These are believed to be the cause of suffering.
Karuna?
What is Tathagatagarbha?
H: “Have Buddha-nature” - Tathagatagarbha is the Mahayana Buddhist teaching that all beings have Buddha-nature, or the potential to become a Buddha.
O: Obscured by stains – Rangjung Dorje taught that our Buddha nature is “obscured by incidental stains. When those have been removed, there is Buddhahood.”
N: Negative mental states – Kleshas, or negative mental states prevent us from realising our Buddha nature, for example, the three poisons of ignorance, greed, and hatred.
E: Explained by the analogy of the bees – This is like honey and bees. If we want to obtain the honey (nirvana), we must first use the right techniques to get of the bees (kleshas)
Y: You are already Buddha – In some schools, this teaching is interpreted to mean that all beings are already Buddha, they just do not know it yet.
