Home Prevention Abstract: Philosophical foundations of Buddhism. Ontology of Buddhism

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Abstract: Philosophical foundations of Buddhism. Ontology of Buddhism

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

International Solomons University

in religious studies

Performed:

Second year student

Faculty of Computer Science

Maleeva Tatyana

Kharkov 2010

Introduction 4

Movements of Buddhism 5

MAHAYANA 5

VAJRAYANA 6

Scriptures 7

Buddhism creed 8

Buddhism in modern world 10

Conclusion 12

References 13

IN conducting

Buddhism is a religious and philosophical doctrine that arose in India in the 6th-5th centuries BC. It is part of San Jiao, one of the three main religions of China. The founder of Buddhism is the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha, i.e. awakened or enlightened.

Buddhism arose in the northeast of India in areas of pre-Brahmin culture. Buddhism quickly spread throughout India and reached its peak at the end of the 1st millennium BC - the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. Buddhism had a great influence on Hinduism, which was being revived from Brahmanism, but was supplanted by Hinduism by the 12th century AD. practically disappeared from India. The main reason for this was the opposition of the ideas of Buddhism to the caste system sanctified by Brahmanism. At the same time, starting from the 3rd century BC, it covered Southeast and Central Asia and partly Central Asia and Siberia.

Already in the first centuries of its existence, Buddhism was divided into 18 sects, disagreements between which caused the convening of councils in Rajagriha in 447 BC, in Vaishavi in 367 BC, in Patalirutra in the 3rd century BC. and led at the beginning of our era to the division of Buddhism into two branches: Hinayana and Mahayana.

Hinayana established itself mainly in the south-eastern countries and received the name of southern Buddhism, and Mahayana - in the northern countries, received the name of northern Buddhism.

The spread of Buddhism contributed to the creation of cultural syncretic complexes, the totality of which forms the so-called Buddhist culture.

Characteristic feature Buddhism is its ethical and practical orientation. From the very beginning, Buddhism opposed not only the meaning of external forms religious life and, above all, ritualism, but also against abstract dogmatic quests, characteristic, in particular, of the Brahmanic-Vedic tradition. The problem of the existence of the individual was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism.

Today Buddhism exists in two main forms. Hinayana is common in Sri Lanka and in the countries of Southeast Asia - Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Mahayana is predominant in China, including Tibet, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. Significant numbers of Buddhists live in the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, as well as Sikkim in northern India. Much fewer Buddhists (less than 1%) live in India itself, Pakistan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Outside of Asia, several thousand Buddhists live in the United States (600 thousand), South America (160 thousand) and Europe (20 thousand). Data on the total number of Buddhists in the world (from 200 million to 500 million) differ depending on the methodology and calculation criteria. In many countries, Buddhism has been mixed with elements of other eastern religions, such as Shintoism or Taoism.

Currents of Buddhism

Currently, Buddhism is represented by a number of different movements and schools, which differ significantly from each other in doctrine and practice and, as a rule, are very far from the teachings of original Buddhism. Some researchers believe that the Theravada tradition (see Hinayana) is closest to the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha himself, but this statement is controversial.

The differences between individual Buddhist sects are much greater than between sects of Islam or Christian denominations.

The first major division in Buddhism arose early new era, when this religion became widespread and began to be influenced by local teachings and cults. During this period, two main Buddhist traditions arose: Mahayana ("Great Vehicle") and Hinayana ("Little Vehicle"). In each of these directions, under the influence of local religious traditions, many independent movements subsequently arose.

MAHAYANA

Direction of Buddhism

Mahayana translated from Sanskrit means “great vehicle”. This direction of Buddhism began to take shape at the turn of the century. e. in parallel with the formation of another tradition - Hinayana Buddhism. In general terms, the process of formation of Mahayana as an independent Buddhist movement was completed by the 5th century. n. e.

The founder of Mahayana is considered to be the Indian philosopher Nagarjuna (2nd century), who became the author of texts of one of the first religious and philosophical schools of Mahayana Buddhism - Madhyamika. After his death he was declared a bodhisattva.

The Mahayana radically revised many elements of original Buddhism. In particular, nirvana is understood not as absolute non-existence, the cessation of existence, but as a state of bliss, “due being.” Buddha is perceived not just as a person who has achieved enlightenment, but as a certain supreme being, eternally residing in nirvana, the “Body of Dharma” - the Absolute, unlimited in space and time. The historical Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautama), like other numerous Buddhas, are “transformed bodies,” manifestations of the “Dharma Body.” Mahayana Buddhism recognizes the existence of “Buddha nature” in every person, which can be realized through meditation.

A feature of Mahayana Buddhism was the recognition of a broad path of salvation - not only in monasticism, but also in the world. A characteristic element of Mahayana is also the presence of the cult of bodhisattvas - Buddhist saints who achieved liberation from the wheel of rebirth, but voluntarily abandoned nirvana in order to help other living beings in achieving salvation. The most revered of them is the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. (The Hinayana also has the concept of bodhisattva, but it is interpreted differently).

VAJRAYANA

Esoteric movement in Mahayana Buddhism

Vajrayana translated from Sanskrit means “diamond chariot”. The movement received this name because of the doctrine of perfect wisdom, which is compared to a diamond. Its facets are the five types of wisdom, the bearers of which are the five Buddhas - the hypostases of the Buddha-Absolute.

The foundations of Vajrayana teachings were formed in India in the 7th – 8th centuries. From India, the teaching spread to Tibet, where it became the dominant form of Buddhism. Vajrayana also penetrated into Japan, receiving the name "secret teaching of Shingon."

The sacred texts for Vajrayana followers are the tantras, which contain the hidden truths revealed by the Buddha. Therefore, this movement is sometimes also called Tantrayana.

Over time, many independent schools and movements arose in Mahayana Buddhism, the most significant of which is Vajrayana.

Mahayana is currently the most widespread branch of Buddhism. This direction is followed by Buddhists of Central Asia, China, Tibet, Mongolia and Japan.

scriptures

Pali Canon- in accordance with the Theravada tradition - a collection of teachings of Gautama Buddha in the Pali language, written on palm leaves at the Fourth Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka based on an orally transmitted tradition in the 1st century BC. e.

Tradition claims that soon after Buddha’s nirvana, the so-called first Buddhist “council” took place, when all the disciples of Buddha Gautama gathered and two of them, Ananda and Upali, reproduced in memory everything that the Buddha taught - the norms and rules of the monastic community, the “disciplinary charter” of the sangha (vinaya), sermons and teachings of the Buddha (sutras) and his philosophical teaching, the “super-Dharma” (Abhidhamma). This is how the Buddhist Canon arose - Tipitaka (in Sanskrit - Tripitaka), that is, the “Three Baskets” of the Teaching. The earliest version of the Canon known to us, the Pali Tipitaka, was passed down in oral tradition for several centuries, and was first written down in Lanka around 80 BC. e., that is, more than four hundred years after the Buddha's nirvana.

Tibetan canon- a multi-volume collection of Buddhist works (Ganjur Tib. bka" "gyur), to which is attached a set of commentaries (Danjur Tib. bstan "gyur).

The names Ganjur and Danjur came into Russian indirectly through the Mongolian language and have been used traditionally since the 19th century. When Tibetan words are transmitted through Western languages, the canons are called Kangyur and Tengyur, and the spellings Kanjur and Tenjur are also found.

Ganjur

The Canon of Ganjur (Tibetan “translation of [Buddha’s] words”) was compiled in the first third of the 14th century. Tradition attributes the creation of the texts to Shakyamuni Buddha. Consists of 7 sections, 108 volumes containing 84,000 teachings... Ganjur acts in two capacities: as an object of cult and as a source of dogma. The term Ganjur also has the meaning of "Direct words of the Buddha".

The sutras relating to the sayings of the Blessed One form all three sections of this Scripture, which are compiled in accordance with the subject matter: the section of discipline (vinaya) is devoted to ethics (sila); section of scripture (sutranta) - meditative concentration (samadhi); and the division of knowledge (abhidharma) - wisdom (prajna).

Danjur

The collection of Danjur contains commentaries on Ganjur; in its entirety, there are 254 volumes, about three and a half thousand texts.

Buddhism creed

The most important tenet of Buddhism is the idea of identity between being and suffering. Buddhism did not refute the doctrine of the transmigration of souls developed by Brahmanism, i.e. the belief that after death any Living being is reborn again in the form of a new living being (human, animal, deity, spirit, etc.). However, Buddhism made significant changes to the teachings of Brahmanism, if the Brahmans argued that through rituals, sacrifices and spells that were different for each class ("varna") one could achieve "good rebirths", that is, to become a Raja, a Brahman, a rich merchant, a king and etc., then Buddhism declared all reincarnation, all types of existence as inevitable misfortune and evil. That's why supreme goal For a Buddhist, there must be a complete cessation of rebirth and the achievement of nirvana, that is, non-existence.

For most people, achieving nirvana immediately, in this rebirth, is impossible. Following the path of salvation indicated by the Buddha, a living being must be reincarnated again and again. But this will be the path of ascent to the “highest wisdom”, having achieved which a being can leave the “circle of existence” and complete the chain of its rebirths. His followers consider the most significant thing in the teachings of the Buddha to be that he cognized the cause and essence of existence - suffering, revealed them to people, as well as the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, to salvation, to non-existence.

Buddhists recognize the "four noble truths" proclaimed by the Buddha. The first of them states that all existence is suffering. The second is that the cause of suffering lies in the person himself: this is his thirst for life, pleasure, power, wealth, this is attachment to life in any of its forms. The third truth declares that it is possible to end suffering: for this it is necessary to free oneself from the thirst for life, to achieve a state in which every strong feeling is absent, every desire is suppressed. Finally, the “fourth noble truth” is to specify the so-called “noble middle eightfold path” consisting of “right view, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right living, right teaching, right contemplation, right self-absorption,” commonly called meditation .

The doctrine of the "four noble truths" sets out the essence of Buddhism. All religions contrast real earthly life with immaterial, heavenly life, which supposedly begins beyond the grave. At the same time, the first is always painted with gloomy colors, declared sinful, preventing union with God, the second is declared the goal of a person’s aspirations, a reward for patiently enduring earthly torment. Buddhism in this respect is no different in principle from other religions, but it takes to its logical conclusion a critical assessment of the world in which we live. Having equated existence and suffering, Buddhism paints a particularly gloomy picture of a world in which not only everything is doomed to torment and destruction, but even any joy, strengthening the attachment of a living being to this existence, is fraught with the terrible danger of new endless rebirths filled with less terrible evil.

Man himself creates his own destiny, the form of each of his new rebirths, Buddhism teaches. The force that determines the specific characteristics of a new rebirth is called karma. Buddhism's karma is the sum of all the actions and thoughts of a being in all its previous rebirths. The doctrine of karma also existed in Brahmanism. The Brahmans also taught that karma - the law of retribution - is the driving force behind the transmigration of souls. By performing or not performing the sacrifices prescribed for a given varna, by honoring or not honoring the Brahmins, by violating or not violating numerous prohibitions, a person creates a new form of transmigration of his soul - starting from the most vile and disgusting animals and ending with kings and gods.

Buddhism accepted the “law of retribution” (karma), but gave it new content. Although everything in a person’s given life is determined by his karma, he has a certain freedom of choice in his actions, thoughts, words, and actions. According to Buddhism, this partial free will is the path to salvation. Moreover, the point is not at all in sacrifices, rituals and prohibitions, but in the behavior of the person himself. It is his actions and thoughts in this life that determine his further karma, the form of his new “reincarnation,” i.e., new suffering. But this is not enough. Buddhism, especially in the teachings of a number of its schools and directions, declared that the sensory world itself does not exist at all. He is only our illusion, the result of the activity of our sick, lost consciousness. It is this consciousness - the only real being, according to Buddhism - that, obeying the immutable law of karma, paints us a tragic picture of the sensory world full of suffering. This consciousness consists of many smallest particles - dharmas, i.e. elements of consciousness, which, developing under the influence of karma into a certain complex, create the individual consciousness of a given rebirth and, as its function, the sensory world around us. Until the dharmas are pacified, a new rebirth of this individual consciousness after the death of a given being is inevitable, the wheel of existence continues its rotation.

Buddhism in the modern world

Since its inception, Buddhism has gone through three main stages: it began as a monastic community that preached escape from reality (escapism), then it turned into a kind of religion of civilization, uniting various cultures and traditions of many Asian countries, and finally became a cultural religion, i.e. e. a religion that shapes culture, which has entered the cultural traditions of many countries and peoples in different ways. At the present stage, in Buddhism one can distinguish both the features of a sectarian religion (for example, in countries where Buddhists are forced to hide their religion, as was the case in the USSR), and the features of a civilizational religion (new international associations of Buddhists from different countries, for example, the World Brotherhood of Buddhists), and , of course, features of cultural religion (new Buddhist societies in the West).

Perhaps none of the eastern religions aroused such complex and contradictory feelings among Europeans as Buddhism. And this is quite understandable - Buddhism seemed to challenge all the basic values of Christian European civilization. It lacked the idea of a creator god and omnipotent ruler of the universe, it abandoned the concept of a soul, and there was no religious organization similar to the Christian church. And most importantly, instead of heavenly bliss and salvation, he offered believers nirvana, which was taken for complete non-existence, nothingness. It is not surprising that to a Westerner, brought up in Christian traditions, such a religion seemed paradoxical and strange. He saw in it a deviation from the very concept of religion, the example of which was, naturally, Christianity.

For some Western thinkers, the ideas of Buddhism as a religion opposite to Christianity, but equally widespread and revered in the world, have become an important tool for criticizing Western culture, the Western value system and Christianity itself.

These thinkers include primarily Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche and their followers. It was thanks to them, as well as to the founders of new synthetic religious movements, which in many ways opposed themselves to Christianity (for example, Helena Blavatsky and her associate Colonel Olcott, the founders of the Theosophical Society), at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Buddhism began to spread in the West and in Russia.

By the end of the 20th century, the West had already experienced many waves of enthusiasm for Buddhism in its various forms, and all of them left a noticeable mark on Western culture.

If at the beginning of the 20th century. Europeans read the texts of the Pali canon in the translations of the most prominent Buddhist scholars, then after the Second World War thanks to the translations of E. Conze European world became acquainted with the Mahayana sutras. Around the same time, the famous Japanese Buddhist Suzuki discovered Zen for the West, a passion for which has not passed to this day.

Buddhism has become widespread in most European countries: Buddhist organizations, centers and small groups are found in almost all countries of Western Europe, as well as in some countries of Eastern Europe. Almost all Western European countries have branches of the international Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International. The oldest Buddhist organizations in Europe are in Germany (since 1903), Great Britain (since 1907), France (since 1929). In Hamburg in 1955 the German Buddhist Union was formed, i.e. a center uniting Buddhist organizations in Germany. The Friends of Buddhism society was founded in France. The Buddhist Society of Great Britain was also considered the largest and most influential organization in Europe. In Great Britain there are also the Buddhist Mission (since 1926), the London Buddhist Vihara, the Buddhaladin Temple, the Tibetan Center and other societies (about forty in total). Many members of Buddhist societies in Europe were famous Buddhologists and preachers of Buddhism.

Tibetan Buddhism is growing in popularity these days. The high authority of the current Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India due to persecution by the Chinese authorities, has greatly contributed to the popularity of the teachings of the Gelukpa school. All this allows us to say that Buddhism, which influenced the movement of beatniks and hippies, the work of American writers such as Jerome Salinger, Jack Kerouac and others, became integral part modern Western culture.

In Russia, the influence of Buddhism for a long time was practically not felt, although its territory is inhabited by peoples professing Buddhism in the Mongolian version (Buryats, Kalmyks, Tuvans). Now, in the wake of a general religious revival, there is a revival of Buddhist activity. A Buddhist Society and a Buddhist University have been created, old Buddhist temples and monasteries (datsans) are being restored and new ones are being opened, and a large amount of Buddhist literature is being published. In both Russian capitals and in a number of other cities there are centers of several Buddhist traditions.

The most influential Buddhist organization is the World Fellowship of Buddhists, created in 1950. The literature of Buddhism is vast and includes writings in Pali, Sanskrit, hybrid Sanskrit, Sinhalese, Burmese, Khmer, Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan.

Conclusion

The emergence of Buddhism and its difficult fate are a natural result of the existence of a society in which suffering was indeed an invariable companion of life for the vast majority of people. Buddhism mystified this suffering, turned real human misfortunes into an “illusion of consciousness” and thereby directed people’s efforts towards liberation from suffering along its own channel. Moreover, the very method of getting rid of suffering, proposed by Buddhism, objectively turned out to be the support of a society in which compassion is inevitable.

Religion is a tool for a calm, carefree life, work, and happiness. An excellent tool, fine-tuned over thousands of years, which allows a person to renounce atheistic views on such complex and depressing concepts as, for example, death. By believing, a person deprives himself of unnecessary doubts and torment due to the unknown of the future, thereby gaining the opportunity to become a full-fledged member of society, i.e. having appropriate aesthetic and moral principles. Buddhism, one might say, is one of the best tools for pacifying the human soul.

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Buddhism (Bukke). Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhism in India, China, Japan... Religious and philosophical teaching that arose in India in the 6-5 centuries BC. It is part of San Jiao, one of the three main religions of China. The founder of Buddhism is the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha, i.e. awakened or enlightened.

Buddhism arose in the northeast of India in the areas of pre-Brahmin culture. Buddhism quickly spread throughout India and reached its peak at the end of the 1st millennium BC - the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. Buddhism had a great influence on Hinduism, which was being revived from Brahmanism, but was supplanted by Hinduism by the 12th century AD. practically disappeared from India. The main reason for this was the opposition of the ideas of Buddhism to the caste system sanctified by Brahmanism. At the same time, starting from the 3rd century BC, it covered Southeast and Central Asia and partially Central Asia and Siberia.

Already in the first centuries of its existence, Buddhism was divided into 18 sects. Disagreements between sects led to the convening of councils in Rajagriha in 447 BC, in Vaishavi in 367 BC, in Patalirutra in the 3rd century BC. and led at the beginning of our era to the division of Buddhism into two branches: Hinayana and Mahayana.

Hinayana established itself mainly in the southeastern countries and received the name southern buddhism, and Mahayana - in the northern countries, receiving the name northern buddhism.

Spreading Buddhism contributed to the creation of syncretic cultural complexes, the totality of which forms the so-called Buddhist culture.

The philosophical concepts of Buddhism are based on the main ideas of Brahmanism and, in part, Vedism. Buddhism has a well-developed theory of reincarnation, karma, dharma and nirvana.

Characteristic feature Buddhism is its ethical and practical orientation. From the very beginning, Buddhism opposed not only the significance of external forms of religious life and, above all, ritualism, but also against the abstract dogmatic quests characteristic, in particular, of the Brahmanical-Vedic tradition. The problem of the existence of the individual was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism.

Suffering and liberation are presented in Buddhism as various states of a single being: suffering is the state of being of the manifested, liberation is the state of the unmanifested. Both, being inseparable, appear, however, in early Buddhism as psychological reality, in developed forms of Buddhism - as a cosmic reality.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE

TAVRICHESKY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

THEM. VERNADSKY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN PHILOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN PHILOLOGY

PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BUDDHISM

Teacher: Completed

Mikitinets A.Yu. VI year student of group 67

Keshfetdinova Ruin

Simferopol 2011

INTRODUCTION

The philosophy of Buddhism is deep and original, although it is fundamentally based on general ideological principles and categories developed by theorists of ancient Indian thought even before its emergence. First of all, Buddhism denies the reality of the phenomenal world. The phenomenal world is a source of suffering; salvation from them lies in leaving this world for the world of higher reality and absolute constancy, i.e., nirvana.

In this essay we will consider the history of Buddhism and the philosophical foundations of Buddhism.

I HISTORY OF BUDDHISM

1) The emergence of Buddhism

Hinayana established itself mainly in the south-eastern countries and received the name of southern Buddhism, and Mahayana - in the northern countries, received the name of northern Buddhism.

The spread of Buddhism contributed to the creation of syncretic cultural complexes, the totality of which forms the so-called Buddhist culture.

A characteristic feature of Buddhism is its ethical and practical orientation. From the very beginning, Buddhism opposed not only the significance of external forms of religious life and, above all, ritualism, but also against the abstract dogmatic quests characteristic, in particular, of the Brahmanic-Vedic tradition. The problem of the existence of the individual was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism.

Suffering and liberation are presented in Buddhism as different states of a single being: suffering is the state of being of the manifested, liberation is the state of the unmanifested. Both, being inseparable, appear, however, in early Buddhism as a psychological reality, in developed forms of Buddhism - as a cosmic reality.

Buddhism imagines liberation, first of all, as the destruction of desires, or more precisely, the extinguishing of their passion. The Buddhist principle of the so-called middle (middle) path recommends avoiding extremes - both the attraction to sensual pleasure and the complete suppression of this attraction. In the moral and emotional sphere, the dominant concept in Buddhism is tolerance, relativity, from the standpoint of which moral precepts are not mandatory and can be violated.

In Buddhism there is no concept of responsibility and guilt as something absolute; a reflection of this is the absence in Buddhism of a clear line between the ideals of religious and secular morality and, in particular, the softening or denial of asceticism in its usual form. The moral ideal of Buddhism appears as absolute non-harm to others (ahinsa), resulting from general gentleness, kindness, and a feeling of complete contentment. IN intellectual sphere Buddhism eliminates the difference between the sensory and rational forms of cognition and establishes the practice of so-called contemplative reflection (meditation), the result of which is the experience of the integrity of being (non-distinction between internal and external), complete self-absorption. The practice of contemplative reflection thus serves not so much as a means of understanding the world, but as one of the main means of transforming the psyche and psychophysiology of the individual. As a specific method of contemplative reflection, the dhyanas, called Buddhist yoga, are especially popular. The state of perfect contentment and self-absorption, absolute independence of inner being - the positive equivalent of the extinction of desires - is liberation, or nirvana.

At the heart of Buddhism is the affirmation of the principle of personality, inseparable from the surrounding world, and the recognition of the existence of a unique psychological process, in which the world is also involved. The result of this is the absence in Buddhism of the opposition of subject and object, spirit and matter, the mixing of individual and cosmic, psychological and ontological, and at the same time emphasizing the special potential forces hidden in the integrity of this spiritual-material existence. The creative principle, the final cause of being, turns out to be the mental activity of man, which determines both the formation of the universe and its disintegration: this volitional decision“I”, understood as a kind of spiritual-physical integrity. From the non-absolute significance for Buddhism of everything that exists regardless of the subject, from the absence of creative aspirations in the individual in Buddhism, the conclusion follows, on the one hand, that God as the highest being is immanent to man and the world, on the other hand, that in Buddhism there is no need for God as creator and savior, that is, generally as an unconditionally supreme being, transcendental to this community. It also follows from this that in Buddhism there is no dualism between the divine and the non-divine, God and the world.

Having started with the denial of external religiosity, Buddhism, in the course of its development, came to its recognition. At the same time, the highest reality of Buddhism - nirvana - was identified with Buddha, who from the personification moral ideal turned into his personal embodiment, thus becoming the highest object of religious emotions. Simultaneously with the cosmic aspect of nirvana, the cosmic concept of the Buddha arose, formulated in the doctrine of trikaya. The Buddhist pantheon began to grow due to the introduction of all kinds of mythological creatures into it, one way or another assimilating with Buddhism. The cult, which covers all aspects of a Buddhist’s life, from family life to holidays, has become especially complicated in some Mahayana movements, in particular in Lamaism. Very early in Buddhism, a sangha appeared - a monastic community, from which over time a peculiar religious organization grew.

Buddhism India philosophical teaching

2) Founder of Buddhism - Guatama Buddha

The life of the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha, or Gautama Buddha, the “Light of Asia,” is quite well known. He was born in the 6th century. BC e. in the royal family in Kapilavastu (northern Bihar, at the foothills of the Himalayas) and in his youth abandoned social life. The illnesses, old age and death that he saw showed the young prince that the world was full of suffering, and the life of a wandering monk gave him the opportunity to find a path to liberation. Having become an ascetic, he tirelessly sought a solution to the question of the real source of all suffering and the ways to completely get rid of them. Buddha sought the answer from many religious teachers and in many schools of his time, subjected himself to severe ascetic tests, but nothing satisfied him. Then he decided to rely on his own strength. With an iron will, freeing his mind from disturbing thoughts and passions, he strove to uncover, through constant concentrated reflection, the secret of earthly suffering, until finally his efforts were crowned with success. Siddhartha became Buddha, or the Enlightened One. His enlightenment laid the foundations of the Buddhist religion and philosophy, which over time spread to Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Tibet, China, Japan and Korea.

Like all the great teachers of antiquity, the Buddha expressed his teachings in the form of conversations and over a long period of time, from generation to generation, they were transmitted orally from one disciple to another. The source of our knowledge of the Buddha's teachings at present is mainly the Tripitaka ("Three Baskets of Teachings"), which is said to contain the thoughts of the Buddha as transmitted by his closest disciples.

These three canonical works are called Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidharma Pitaka. The first work contains rules of conduct, the second is a collection of sermons and parables, the third poses and examines the problems of Buddhist philosophy. All three works are monuments of ancient Buddhist philosophy. They are written in Pali language.

Over time, the number of Buddha's followers increased so much that it led to their division into different schools. The most famous religious schools of Buddhism are Hinayana and Mahayana. The first established itself in the south, and its strongholds at present are Ceylon, Burma and Siam. The vast literature of this school is written in Pali. Mahayana spread mainly in the north - in Tibet, China and Japan. She presented her philosophical works in Sanskrit, thanks to which extensive Buddhist literature appeared in this language. Most of it was translated into Tibetan and Chinese languages, and in these translations it was preserved in countries where Buddhism was established. Thanks to these translations, many of the most valuable Sanskrit texts lost in India have now been discovered and restored.

Since Buddhism flourished in many countries, it acquired the national flavor of these countries and changed under the influence of the previous religion and beliefs of those converted. The religious schools of Buddhism that arose as a result were so numerous and the total mass of philosophical works in various languages was so great that the life of even a person who would combine the erudition of a linguist and the depth of thinking of a philosopher would not be enough to fully become familiar with Buddhist philosophy.

II PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BUDDHISM

The most important concept for Buddhists is the concept of dharma - it personifies the teachings of the Buddha, the highest truth that he revealed to all beings. “Dharma” literally means “support,” “that which supports.” Also, religion is Dharma in the sense that it holds people back or protects them from disasters. To a rough approximation, any sublime action of body, speech or thought can be considered as Dharma, because by such action one is already protected, or kept from all kinds of misfortunes. The practice of such actions is the practice of Dharma. The word “dharma” in Buddhism means moral virtue, primarily the moral and spiritual qualities of the Buddha, which believers should imitate. In addition, dharmas are the final elements into which, from the Buddhist point of view, the stream of existence is divided.

Everything living in the world consists of dharmas, or more precisely, of living moving dharmas. Life, in the strict sense of the word, is a manifestation of the beginningless and practically eternal agitation of dharmas, which constitutes its objective content. Understanding this and trying to calm your worrying dharmas means taking life into your own hands and thereby ultimately achieving your goal, that is, achieving Buddhahood, plunging into nirvana. But how to do that?

Any creature, including humans, is born, lives and dies. Death is the disintegration of a given complex of dharmas, birth means its restoration, but in a different one, new form. This is what the cycle of life comes down to, the cycle of endless rebirths, which, according to legend, was explained by the Buddha himself in his third sermon addressed to his disciples in Benares. The essence of the sermon is the teaching about the twelve links-nidans of the cycle of existence, the wheel of life. It all begins with the first key link - with avidya, ignorance, darkening the mind. Avidya entails actions caused by ignorance; actions give rise to habitual stereotypes of behavior, oriented towards prevailing attitudes in society. Stereotypes form a certain consciousness, in accordance with which forms and categories-names are created, which become objects of perception by the senses. Stable contacts arise between sense organs and form-categories, as a result of which feelings appear, then desires, passions, and a thirst for life. It is this thirst for life that leads to ever new rebirths, the consequence of which inevitably is old age and death of everything born.

Thus the cycle of life begins with ignorance and ends with death. It is determined by the constant agitation of dharmas. Only one who overcomes avidya can calm the troubled dharmas. Actually, this is exactly what Buddhist monks have always been doing; this is what the eight-step path of comprehending the truth and approaching nirvana was filled with and led to. The most zealous of the monks sometimes reached the highest level of holiness, and were even ranked among the holy arhats who had reached or almost reached the state of Buddha and nirvana.

2) Four Noble Truths

The Blessed One said: “These are the true sufferings, these are the true sources, these are the true suppressions, these are the true paths. Suffering must be known, its sources must be eliminated, the suppression of suffering must be accomplished, the path to liberation must be followed. Suffering should be known - then there will be no suffering left that should be known. The sources of suffering should be eliminated - then there will be no sources left to be eliminated. The suppression of suffering should be carried out - then there will be no suppression left that should be carried out. The paths must be traversed - then there will be no paths left to be traversed.”

True suffering is phenomena that stem from darkened actions and defilements and are included in the concept of the cycle of existence. True sources are the causes that produce true suffering. True suppression is a state of destruction and disappearance of suffering and true sources. True paths are special methods of achieving true suppressions.

Since true suffering arises from true sources, the sources actually precede suffering. Also, true suppressions are carried out through the passage of true paths; therefore, in fact, the paths precede the suppressions. However, the Blessed One reversed this order when he taught the Four Noble Truths, which is extremely important. After all, first a person recognizes suffering, and then he examines its causes; therefore the Buddha explained the sources of suffering after defining the suffering itself. When confidence is born in the ability to eliminate suffering, the desire to stop it arises. From here comes the desire to follow the path [to suppression]; therefore the Buddha explained the true paths after defining the true suppressions.

2.1 The cycle of existence and living beings

The cycle of existence is divided into three spheres: the world of desires, the world of forms and the world without forms. In the world of desires, beings indulge in the pleasures of the five desirable things: forms, sounds, smells, tastes and tangible objects. The world of forms consists of two parts: in the lower beings are not carried away by external pleasures, but experience the pleasure of internal contemplation. In the higher part, beings generally turn away from pleasurable feelings and experience neutral feelings. In the world of formlessness, all forms, sounds, smells, tastes and tangible objects, as well as the five senses that give pleasure in them, are absent; here only consciousness reigns, and beings experience only neutral feelings, focused and without distractions.

The essence of the expression cycle of existence is that it is a process beyond anyone’s control, occurring in accordance with darkened actions and defilements. Its essential nature is sorrow; "it creates the basis for the suffering of the present and the generation of suffering in the future. Strictly speaking, the cycle of existence is defiled psychophysical aggregates that have formed as a result of darkened actions and defilements. Since there is nothing in all three worlds that is not included in the cycle of existence, then psychophysical the totality of all beings constitutes the cycle of existence.

2.2 Reasons for the cycle of existence

There are two sources of suffering: darkened actions and defilements. Defilements are defined as peripheral factors of consciousness and are not themselves one of the six basic consciousnesses [eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind]. However, when any of the defiling factors of consciousness manifests itself, the basic consciousness [of the mind] falls under its influence, goes where the defilement leads it, and thereby “accumulates” the evil action.

There are a great many different defilements, but the main ones are [selfish] desire, malice, pride, false views, etc. Of these, the main ones are desire and malice. Anger comes from an initial attachment to oneself when something unwanted happens. Then, due to self-attachment, pride appears, and the person considers himself better than others. In the same way, when we do not know something, a false idea appears that this object does not exist.

2.3 Actions

Actions, from the point of view of their nature, are of two types: intention and implementation. Intention precedes physical or verbal acts and is a factor of consciousness that gives impetus to action. Execution is the physical or verbal action that occurs in fulfilling an intention.

From the point of view of the consequences they cause, actions are of three types: those that give merit, those that do not give merit, and those that give the unshakable. Actions that give merit result in a happy rebirth: life as humans, demigods and gods. Actions that do not give merit result in bad rebirth: life in the form of animals, hungry ghosts and martyrs of hells. Actions that give an unshakable move towards higher worlds, that is, to the world of forms and the world without forms.

All actions can be divided into physical, verbal and mental, and from the point of view of how the consequences are experienced, three types of actions can be distinguished: consequences of actions, “accumulated”. In this life, can be experienced in this same life, in the next life or in any of the subsequent rebirths.

2.4 Release

The cycle of existence is shackles, and liberation means freedom from shackles. As explained above, the causes of the cycle of existence are deluded actions and defilements. If the roots of defilements are eliminated and if new actions do not accumulate, then, since there are no longer defilements that could activate the potencies of the darkened actions preserved from the past, the causes of the cycle of existence are thereby eliminated. This means freedom from shackles. As long as there are still psychophysical aggregates produced by previous darkened actions and defilements, this is, as some say, nirvana “with a remainder.” When such aggregates no longer exist, it is nirvana “without remainder.” “Without a remainder” means that there are no psychophysical aggregates left, produced by darkened actions and defilements, but the stream of consciousness and the flow of unclouded psychophysical aggregates still exist.

By eliminating the causes, the darkened aggregates are nullified, and liberation from them results. Towards the disappearance of the suffering associated with them. This is liberation, which can be of two types: liberation, which consists simply in the destruction of all forms of suffering and their sources, and the great, unsurpassed liberation, Buddhahood. The first is the destruction of all obstacles caused by defilements [on the path of liberation from the cycle of existence], but not obstacles to the direct comprehension of all objects of knowledge. The second is the highest level, the complete destruction of both defilements and obstacles to omniscience.

3) Basics of Buddhism

3.1 Theory of interdependent existence

There is a spontaneous and universal law of causality that determines all phenomena of the spiritual and material world. This law (dharma or dhamma) operates spontaneously, without the help of a conscious leader.

According to this law, the occurrence of one particular phenomenon (cause) is accompanied by another particular phenomenon (effect). “If there is a cause, there is an effect.” The existence of everything is conditioned, that is, it has its own reason. Nothing happens by chance, without a reason. This theory is called the theory of dependent origination.

3.2 Karma theory

Karma is a person’s material activity and its consequences. It is one of the central concepts in the philosophy of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism, where it underlies the cause-and-effect series (called in this case samsara).

Different religious traditions give slightly different philosophical interpretations of the concept of karma, but the basic concept remains common. According to this concept, through the law of karma, the consequences of actions create past, present and future experiences, thus making the individual responsible for his own life and for the suffering and pleasure it brings both to himself and to those around him. The results, or “fruits of karma,” are called karma-phala. Karma is often confused with the fruits of karma, which leads to fatalism. An example of this error is statements like “This is my karma.”

In religions that accept reincarnation, the law of karma also applies to the so-called. past and future lives of the individual. It is believed that activities performed by an individual in the liberated state of moksha do not produce bad or good karma.

In the Buddhist theory of karma, this word means "intentional action" and not all action. In Buddhist terminology, karma never refers to its consequences; its consequences are known as the “fruit” or “outcome” of karma (kamma-phala or kamma-vipaka). An intention can be relatively good or bad, just as a desire can be relatively good or bad. So karma can be good or bad relatively. Good karma (kusala) produces good consequences and bad karma (akusala) produces bad consequences.

3.3 The doctrine of universal change and impermanence

The theory of the transitory nature of things also follows from the doctrine of the dependence of the origin of all things. All things are subject to change and decay. Since everything that exists is generated by certain conditions, it is eliminated with the disappearance of these conditions. Everything that has a beginning also has an end.

Many poets and philosophers have said that all living things and the world of things are transitory. The Buddha logically summarized these views in the doctrine of impermanence. His followers developed it further into the theory of momentariness (kshanika-vada), according to which everything that exists is not only conditioned and therefore impermanent, but also things are not the same even for a short period of time, existing as such for only one indivisible moment of time.

According to Buddhist ideas, the law of changeability is universal: neither man nor any other creature - animate or inanimate - is excluded from the scope of its action. Most people believe that a certain substance lives in a person, called the soul (atman), which continues to exist, despite all the changes undergone by the body, which existed before birth and will exist after death, moving from one body to another.

Conclusion

So, according to people who profess Buddhism, the phenomenal world around us and all of us as part of it are nothing more than a kind of illusion, although this illusion exists objectively. The fact is that a person perceives the world as if through the prism of his sensations, but these sensations are not the result of the subjective ideas of the individual, but a completely objective fact, a consequence of the excitement of dharmas, particles of the universe. The word “dharma” (in Pali - dhamma) in Buddhism has many meanings. It refers to the doctrine as a whole, and the Buddhist law, and, finally, the primary particles of the universe. These particles somewhat resemble the elements of the spiritual principle of purusha in the Samkhya system, but are distinguished by greater internal capacity and diversity. Among them there are dharmas of pure consciousness, sensual dharmas (rupa), i.e. associated with visual, auditory and other perceptions and sensations of a person, dharmas of the psyche that give rise to emotions, and some others. In total, there are 75-100, or even more, such dharmas in an ordinary person, according to various schools-sects of Buddhism.

LIST OF REFERENCES USED

1. “Buddhism. Four Noble Truths." M: Eksmo, 2002

Buddhism, along with Islam and Christianity, is considered a world religion. This means that it is not defined by the ethnicity of its followers. It can be confessed to any person, regardless of his race, nationality and place of residence. In this article we will briefly look at the main ideas of Buddhism.

A summary of the ideas and philosophy of Buddhism

Briefly about the history of Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the most ancient religions in the world. Its origin occurred in contrast to the then dominant Brahmanism in the middle of the first millennium BC in the northern part. In philosophy Ancient India Buddhism occupied and occupies a key place, closely intertwined with it.

If we briefly consider the emergence of Buddhism, then, according to a certain category of scientists, this phenomenon was facilitated by certain changes in the life of the Indian people. Around the middle of the 6th century BC. Indian society was hit by a cultural and economic crisis.

Those tribal and traditional ties that existed before this time began to gradually undergo changes. It is very important that it was during that period that the formation of class relations took place. Many ascetics appeared, wandering across the expanses of India, who formed their own vision of the world, which they shared with other people. Thus, in the confrontation with the foundations of that time, Buddhism also appeared, earning recognition among the people.

A large number of scientists believe that the founder of Buddhism was a real man by name Siddhartha Gautama , known as Buddha Shakyamuni . He was born in 560 BC. in the wealthy family of the king of the Shakya tribe. Since childhood, he knew neither disappointment nor need, and was surrounded by limitless luxury. And so Siddhartha lived through his youth, ignorant of the existence of illness, old age and death.

The real shock for him was that one day, while walking outside the palace, he encountered an old man, a sick man and a funeral procession. This influenced him so much that at the age of 29 he joins a group of wandering hermits. So he begins the search for the truth of existence. Gautama tries to understand the nature of human troubles and tries to find ways to eliminate them. Realizing that an endless series of reincarnations was inevitable if he did not get rid of suffering, he tried to find answers to his questions from the sages.

After spending 6 years traveling, he tested different techniques, practiced yoga, but came to the conclusion that enlightenment could not be achieved using these methods. Effective methods he considered reflections and prayers. It was while he was spending time meditating under the Bodhi tree that he experienced enlightenment, through which he found the answer to his question.

After his discovery, he spent a few more days at the site of the sudden insight, and then went to the valley. And they began to call him Buddha (“enlightened one”). There he began to preach the doctrine to people. The very first sermon took place in Benares.

Basic concepts and ideas of Buddhism

One of the main goals of Buddhism is the path to Nirvana. Nirvana is a state of awareness of one’s soul, achieved through self-denial, rejection of comfortable conditions external environment. Buddha, after spending a long time in meditation and deep reflection, mastered the method of controlling his own consciousness. In the process, he came to the conclusion that people are very attached to worldly goods and are overly concerned about the opinions of other people. Because of this human soul Not only does it not develop, but it also degrades. Having achieved nirvana, you can lose this addiction.

The essential four truths that underlie Buddhism:

There is the concept of dukkha (suffering, anger, fear, self-flagellation and other negatively colored experiences). Every person is influenced by dukkha to a greater or lesser extent.
Dukkha always has a reason that contributes to the emergence of addiction - greed, vanity, lust, etc.
You can get rid of addiction and suffering.
You can completely free yourself from dukkha thanks to the path leading to nirvana.

Buddha was of the opinion that it is necessary to adhere to the “middle path,” that is, every person must find the “golden” mean between a wealthy, satiated with luxury, and an ascetic way of life, devoid of all the benefits of humanity.

There are three main treasures in Buddhism:

Buddha - this can be either the creator of the teaching himself or his follower who has achieved enlightenment.
Dharma is the teaching itself, its foundations and principles, and what it can give to its followers.
Sangha is a community of Buddhists who adhere to the laws of this religious teaching.

To achieve all three jewels, Buddhists resort to fighting three poisons:

detachment from the truth of being and ignorance;
desires and passions that contribute to suffering;
incontinence, anger, inability to accept anything here and now.

According to the ideas of Buddhism, every person experiences both physical and mental suffering. Illness, death and even birth are suffering. But this state is unnatural, so you need to get rid of it.

Briefly about the philosophy of Buddhism

This teaching cannot be called only a religion, at the center of which is God, who created the world. Buddhism is a philosophy, the principles of which we will briefly consider below. The teaching involves helping to direct a person on the path of self-development and self-awareness.

In Buddhism there is no idea that there is an eternal soul that atones for sins. However, everything a person does and in what way will find its imprint - it will definitely return to him. This is not divine punishment. These are the consequences of all actions and thoughts that leave traces on your own karma.

Buddhism has the basic truths revealed by Buddha:

Human life is suffering. All things are impermanent and transitory. Having arisen, everything must be destroyed. Existence itself is symbolized in Buddhism as a flame consuming itself, but fire can only bring suffering.
Suffering arises from desires. Man is so attached to the material aspects of existence that he craves for life. The greater this desire, the more he will suffer.
Getting rid of suffering is possible only through getting rid of desires. Nirvana is a state, having reached which a person experiences the extinction of passions and thirst. Thanks to nirvana, a feeling of bliss arises, freedom from the transmigration of souls.
To achieve the goal of getting rid of desire, one must resort to the eightfold path of salvation. It is this path that is called the “middle”, which allows one to get rid of suffering by rejecting extremes, which consists of something in between the torture of the flesh and the indulgence of physical pleasures.

The Eightfold Path of Salvation includes:

correct understanding - the most important thing to do is to realize that the world is full of suffering and sorrow;
correct intentions - you need to take the path of limiting your passions and aspirations, the fundamental basis of which is human egoism;
correct speech - it should bring good, so you should watch your words (so that they do not exude evil);
right actions - one should do good deeds, refrain from unvirtuous actions;
the right way of life - only a decent way of life that does not harm all living things can bring a person closer to getting rid of suffering;
correct efforts - you need to tune in to goodness, drive away all evil from yourself, carefully monitoring the course of your thoughts;
correct thoughts - the most important evil comes from our own flesh, by getting rid of the desires of which we can get rid of suffering;
correct concentration - the eightfold path requires constant training and concentration.

The first two stages are called prajna and involve the stage of achieving wisdom. The next three are the regulation of morality and correct behavior (sila). The remaining three steps represent mental discipline (samadha).

Directions of Buddhism

The very first who supported the teachings of the Buddha began to gather in a secluded place while the rains were falling. Since they refused any property, they were called bhikshas - “beggars.” They shaved their heads bald, dressed in rags (mostly yellow color) and moved from place to place.

Their life was unusually ascetic. When it rained, they hid in caves. They were usually buried where they lived, and a stupa (domed-shaped crypt building) was built on the site of their graves. Their entrances were made tightly walled up and buildings for various purposes were built around the stupas.

After the death of the Buddha, a convocation of his followers took place, who canonized the teaching. But the period of greatest flowering of Buddhism can be considered the reign of Emperor Ashoka - the 3rd century. BC.

You can select three main philosophical schools of Buddhism , formed in different periods existence of the doctrine:

Hinayana. The main ideal of the direction is considered to be a monk - only he can get rid of reincarnation. There is no pantheon of saints who could intercede for a person, there are no rituals, the concept of hell and heaven, cult sculptures, icons. Everything that happens to a person is the result of his actions, thoughts and lifestyle.
Mahayana. Even a layman (if he is pious, of course), can achieve salvation just like a monk. The institution of bodhisattvas appears, who are saints who help people on the path of their salvation. The concept of heaven, a pantheon of saints, images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas also appear.
Vajrayana. It is a tantric teaching based on the principles of self-control and meditation.

So, the main idea of Buddhism is that human life is suffering and one must strive to get rid of it. This teaching continues to confidently spread across the planet, winning more and more supporters.

You might be interested in:

Introduction 2

Chapter 1 Buddhism.. 3

1.1 History of Buddhism 3

1.2 Central problem of Buddhism 4

Chapter 2. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism 6

2.1 First Noble Truth 6

2.2 Second Noble Truth 8

2.3 Third Noble Truth 10

2.4 Fourth - The Noble Truth of the Middle Way……………… 11

Chapter 3. Personality in Buddhism……………………………………………. 15

Conclusion 17

References 18

Introduction.

“A person who follows the Dharma is like

at a man who entered a dark room with fire. The darkness will part before him, and light will surround him.”

from the Buddha's teachings.

Like other religions, Buddhism promises people deliverance from the most painful aspects of human existence - suffering, adversity, passions, fear of death. However, not recognizing the immortality of the soul, not considering it something eternal and unchanging, Buddhism does not see the point in striving for eternal life in heaven, since eternal life from the point of view of Buddhism and other Indian religions is just an endless series of reincarnations, a change of bodily shells.

The purpose of this essay is to reveal the understanding of man in the philosophical system of Buddhism. This work consists of 3 chapters.

The first chapter briefly covers the history of the emergence of Buddhism and the central problem of this philosophical system.

The second chapter reveals in detail the content of the 4 noble truths, the basic principles of Buddhism.

Chapter 1. Buddhism.

History of Buddhism.

The history of Buddhism began on the day when Gautama Shakyamuni, having become Buddha, “turned the wheel of dharma,” that is, he began preaching his teachings. This happened in 543 or 525 BC. e. The 1st date is adhered to by the Buddhist tradition, the 2nd is generally accepted in science. During the life of the Buddha, his followers constituted one of the many sects, which was called the community of wanderers (parivrajika). Members of this community led a wandering life, gathering together only during the rainy season (varsha), settling either in huts they built (avasa) or in buildings and parks (aram) given to them by wealthy patrons. These buildings were called viharas; later the monastery buildings began to be called this way. Buddha preached his teachings in a relatively small area (the southern part of the province of Uttar Pradesh and the province of Bihar in modern India), mainly in the vicinity of the cities of Rajagriha, Pataliputra (Patna), Kapilavastu and in the Bodhi Gaya region, where he achieved enlightenment. Before his death, the Buddha asked the monks to remember two conditions that would guarantee the preservation of his teachings for many centuries: not to quarrel over petty and insignificant rules of discipline in the community, observing the most essential instructions, and zealously striving for enlightenment.

Buddhism is multifaceted. Buddhism can equally be called a religion, a philosophical movement, a psychotraining technique, and a teaching. Buddhism is the most peaceful religion known. There are many directions in Buddhism, dozens of sects, many differences. The principle of non-violence in Buddhism is understood much more broadly than in traditional Christianity; Buddhist teaching seeks to interrupt an unvirtuous act already at the level of intentions. Buddhism predates Christianity by at least 500 years, and Islam by 1,300 years.

1.2. The central problem of Buddhism.

The problem of the existence of the individual was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the primary focus is not on the relationship between God and man, but inner world and the problems of the person himself. Man, as a subject, is divided into thousands of fragments corresponding to past and future lives. Therefore, the entire chain of elements of “dependent origin” connects not several lives in the “cycle of births and deaths”, but the instantaneous states of one - only, this life. Buddhism views man (as well as everything that exists in the universe and the universe itself) as combinations of various energy particles - dharmas. In Buddhism, one of the most important places is occupied by the denial of the unity of personality. Each personality is represented, as mentioned above, in the form of a cluster of “changeable” forms. The Buddha said that personality consists of five elements: physicality, sensation, desire, idea and cognition. Buddhism pays special attention to the human soul, as an eternal element participating in the cycle of life (the wheel of samsara). The soul breaks up, according to the teachings of Buddha, into separate elements (skandas). In order for the same person to be incarnated in a new birth, it is necessary that the skandas be connected in the same way as they were connected in the previous incarnation. The cessation of the cycle of reincarnation, exit from the wheel of samsara, final and eternal peace - this is the main element of the interpretation of salvation in Buddhism. The soul, in the Buddhist view, is an individual consciousness that carries within itself the whole spiritual world person, is transformed in the process personal rebirths and strive for higher state- nirvana.

Man in Buddhism is neither someone's blessed invention nor the master of his own destiny. In traditional Buddhism, a person is only an involuntary executor of the universal world law - Dharma. This law does not exist for man, but is realized and comprehended precisely in him. However, it is a person who, by committing good and bad deeds, puts into action a certain ethical mechanism that underlies the universe. From the point of view of Buddhism, human life is not a priceless gift, as in Christianity, but only one of the moments in the chain of rebirths. This approach can already be seen in the “four noble truths” of Buddhism, left by its founder Buddha.

Chapter 2. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.

2.1. The first noble truth.

The first one says that there is suffering. By suffering the Buddha meant the entire existence of man. “Existence is suffering, for it contains old age, death and a thousand sufferings,” he said. One may not agree with his understanding of existence; one can say that the degree of development of society at the time of the Buddha was so low that a person really did not live, but suffered, but now everything is different. However, something in this formulation prevents us from treating it superficially. Man has not yet conquered either old age or death. Truly, all human joys, as a rule, are short-lived. Having achieved something, a person is again not satisfied, he strives further. But the next achievement doesn’t make me happy for long. And this path is endless. When we lose something or someone, we rejoice. But the more we acquire, the more opportunities we have to lose what we have accumulated. Our body is not eternal, it is subject to disease, hunger, and decay. In our youth we grow and develop, and when we cross the line of maturity, we slowly fall apart to meet death. And no one has yet escaped death. And it is no coincidence that many, unable to withstand life’s troubles and surprises, seek deliverance in the eternal peace of death. The Buddha perceives suffering as an inherent property of living matter. The native must suffer, if only because his body is penetrated by thousands of nerve cells capable of reacting to pain. The entire human being, all his aspirations and wishes are contrary to the established order of things: we want peace, but peace and life are incompatible; we strive for comfort and coziness, but this requires constant effort; and even the human body is imperfect and temporary and represents an unreliable repository for Life itself. It turns out that by the very fact of birth we are doomed to suffering. A person is born in suffering, lives in suffering, and also dies in suffering. Illness is suffering, parting with what is loved and familiar is suffering, the inability to achieve a goal is suffering... this is the main pessimistic conclusion of the Great Teacher. Buddha argued that man is not born on earth for happiness. The very fact of human birth means for a Buddhist only inclusion in the endless process of existence, where death is not the end of this process, but a transition to another form of existence of consciousness - to an intermediate existence, which inevitably precedes a new birth. Gaining the new birth has a definite temporal location. In this case, a person is compared with the entire universe, which is also born, lives and dies. This process is cyclical and each time period within this cycle has its own characteristics. A person is born because he was unable to “calm the fluctuations of dharmas” due to his own ignorance. A person is born because he feels like an individual, distinguishes himself from the world around him, and feeds his own ego. “I belong to the world of being, for I nourish existence.” The Buddha claims that while we are obliged to be born here, as long as we “nourish existence,” that is, we have not eradicated the reason for our attachment to this world. And the cause of attachment, in his opinion, is our desires. “I feed because I have desires within me.” Man needs desires. It takes honesty and courage to admit that in fact a person never finds satisfaction in his aspirations. It is unquenchable desires that are the cause of suffering. The desires themselves are caused by ignorance, that is, by a lack of wisdom and compassion. During his long life, the Buddha explained in detail the path to the elimination of desires and suffering. A person who desires nothing is the exception rather than the norm. A person can satisfy his desires only by being born on this earth; only here can someone who nourishes “feelings” exist. Having lost his body, a person is simultaneously deprived of the opportunity to fulfill and satisfy his desires. And here it doesn’t matter at all whether he can achieve these goals in earthly life; the main thing is that he has all the capabilities to do this. Therefore, Buddhists say, we belong to the world of existence. In this world he has the opportunity to know the truth, take the true path, realize his errors and, through an effort of will, calm his mind and his feelings.

2.2. Second noble truth.

The second truth states that there is a cause for suffering. The cause of suffering is the thirst for existence and possession. A person who, in his ignorance, believes that he is an individual, strives to settle down in this world as best and as comfortably as possible, however, this is an unattainable task, since no person is able to satisfy all his desires. This is precisely what causes suffering. In addition, behind any person there is a trail of consequences of his actions, called karma in the East. Karma for a Buddhist is a kind of analogue of fate for a Christian. However, karma has its own characteristics. Firstly, it is believed that a person acquires karma himself, through his own efforts. All his actions, both good and bad, entail consequences. For doing bad deeds we will suffer in the future, for doing good deeds we will receive reward. All our achievements and misfortunes in this life are due to the karma of our previous existences. Moreover, karma is not only individual, but also collective: family, national, universal karma. That is why sometimes the whole people experience common misfortunes, as well as a common uplift. It is karma that causes human suffering.

It should be noted here that only humans (according to some Buddhist thinkers - also deities and asuras) are capable of generating karma and thus being responsible for their actions. Karma determines in the new birth what existentialist philosophers call “abandonment”: the country in which a person is born (if the human form of birth is acquired), the family of birth, gender and other genetic characteristics (for example, congenital diseases), basic character traits, psychological tendencies and the like. In this life, a person again performs actions leading him to a new birth, and so on, and so on. A person burdened with karma will be forced to take birth in this world again and again. And not necessarily in the form of a person, for the Buddha more than once pointed out that being born in the form of a person is a rare merit that is difficult to obtain, but easy to lose. This cycle of birth and death is called samsara (circulation, rotation), the main characteristic of which is suffering arising from attractions and desires. Therefore, all the religions of India (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and partly even Sikhism) set as their goal liberation, that is, exit from the cycle of samsara and gaining freedom from suffering and suffering, to which samsaric existence condemns any living being. Samsara is beginningless, that is, not a single creature has had an absolutely first life; it remains in samsara from eternity. And consequently, samsaric existence is also fraught with repetition of situations and roles, painful monotony of cyclical reproducibility of the same content.

The doctrine of karma as a cause-and-effect relationship finds its in-depth development in the theory called “pratitya samutpada” (cause-dependent origin). The chain of causal origination consists of twelve links (nidan)

I. Past life(the interval between death and rebirth - antarabhava)

1. Avidya (ignorance). Ignorance (in the sense of misunderstanding and lack of feeling) of the four Noble Truths, delusion regarding one’s own nature and the nature of existence as such, determines the presence of -

2. Samskaras (forming factors, motivations, basic subconscious drives and impulses), attracting the deceased to a new experience of being, a new birth. The intermediate existence ends and a new life is conceived.

II. This life.

III.Next life.

The main meaning is that all stages of existence are causally determined, and this causality is of a purely immanent nature, leaving no room for a hidden mysterious transcendental cause (God, fate, and the like). At the same time, a living being (not only a person), drawn by its subconscious impulses and drives, turns out to be, in essence, a slave of inexorable conditioning, being not so much in an active, but in a passive position.

2.3. Third noble truth.

The first two truths are deeply pessimistic. But the Third Truth already brings hope, asserting that an end to suffering is possible. But for this, naturally, you need to know the true path to eradicate suffering. However, the Buddha's path is not a panacea; it did not promise an end to suffering in this life. The teachings of the Buddha said that during earthly life a person is only able to prepare the ground for liberation, but the very cessation of suffering, as well as the cessation of existence itself in our familiar human form, occurs only after death. But for a religious person the difference is significant. Firstly, the concept of “salvation” is viewed differently in different religions. If for a Christian salvation is securing Christ’s intercession for oneself, which guarantees a place in Paradise, then for a Buddhist salvation is a kind of spiritual suicide, dissolution of oneself in the Absolute, in Nirvana, the cessation of all existence. Secondly, the paths to achieving this salvation are radically different. A Christian completely relies on the will of God; he does not dare to rely on his own strength in an achievement beyond the power of human nature, called Salvation. God alone can give salvation, but we can prepare our soul and body to receive it. A Buddhist, on the contrary, has no right to count on the help of God or gods, for Buddha himself taught that one can achieve Nirvana only through one’s own efforts. The path of Buddhist self-improvement is incredibly difficult and requires true self-denial. Not many people can handle it. “Pure morality is like an inflated leather bag; damage it and one day it will perish.” What hope of salvation can there be? modern man, seeing the standards that the Buddha himself sets? Is there at least one person who has not sinned even once in his life? Isn’t it bitter to realize that years of practice, abstinence and moral self-improvement have gone to waste because of one single vicious act, committed, perhaps, unconsciously?

Short description

Chapter 1 Buddhism.. 3
1.1 History of Buddhism 3
1.2 Central problem of Buddhism 4

Chapter 2. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism 6
2.1 First Noble Truth 6
2.2 Second Noble Truth 8
2.3 Third Noble Truth 10
2.4 Fourth - The Noble Truth of the Middle Way……………… 11

Chapter 3. Personality in Buddhism……………………………………………. 15

Conclusion 17

References 18