1to8 A Quick Guide to Buddha’s Teachings
C o p y b y T h i c h N h a t Ha n h / A r t c o u r t e s y o f F f f f o u n d
Table of Contents 1
The First Dharma Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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6 The Two Truths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Two Relevances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
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The Three Dharma Seals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Three Doors of Liberation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Three Bodies of Buddha. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Three Jewels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8 10 12 14 16
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18 The Four Standards of Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 The Four Reliances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 The Four Noble Truths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 The Four Immeasurable Minds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6
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The Five Remembrances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 The Five Aggregates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 The Five Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4
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The Six Paramitas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6
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The Seven Factors of Awakening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 8
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The Noble Eightfold Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0
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The First Dharma Talk:
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“Dear friends, with humans, gods, brahmans, monastics, and maras as witnesses, I tell you that if I have not experienced directly all that I have told you, I would not proclaim that I am an enlightened person, free from suffering. Because I myself have identified the path to well-being, obtained well-being, identified the path to well-being, gone to the end of the path, and realized total liberation, I now proclaim to you that I am a free person.� -The Buddha
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The Two Truths Worldly Truth (samvriti satya) mind dwells on whatever is happening in the present moment Absolute Truth (paramartha satya) we choose one object and hold onto it
The Two Relevances
1. Relevance to the Essence 2. Relevance to the Circumstance.
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3 9
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The Three Dharma(dharma Seals mudra)
. elf s ate e. ar els p e s ng t or ythi s. en e n t i c r a a n e m te th ev er ll xis ith ) imp e a a w s of e ate ity g i ce ar ter-b n (an thin p a e e s c in bst en very ) s a s to su a an E n e m h a h th g er tma g, na thin hing n Imp a i . ( e 1 b No ryt f of sel ve n d E o n ou 2. N gr e na Th va r i 3. N
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The Three Doors 1. Emptiness (shunyata) Always means empty of something
2. Signlessness (animitta) “Wherever there is a sig 4 Signs: 1. Self To see that th self, and we b 2. Person To live in har 3. Living Being To stop believ different fro 4. Life Span To realize we will never die
s of Liberation
3. Aimlessness (apranihita) gn, there is a deception, illusion.� There is nothing to do, nothing to realize, no program, (Diamond Sutra) no agenda. We meditate not to attain enlightenment, because enlightenment is already in us.
here is no separate, independent become free of the sign of self.
rmony with all other species.
ving sentient beings are om insentient beings.
e have never been born and we e.
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The Three Bodies of Buddha
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Dharmakaya: The source of enlightenment and happiness.
Sambhogakaya: The body of bliss or enjoyment
Nirmanakaya: The historical embodiment of the Buddha viewed as one of the many transformation bodies sent forth by the Dharmakaya
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the three jewels:
1. Buddha Our mindfulness 2. Dharma Great compassion, understanding, and love. 3. Sangha Our Five Aggregates working in harmony.
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The Four Standards o
of Truth (siddhanta)
1. The Worldly 2. The Person 3. Healing 4. The Absolute
. . . .
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The Four Reliances 1. We should rely on the teaching, and not the person 2. To rely only on discourses where the Buddha taught in terms of absolute truth and not on those who means are relative truth 3. We should rely on the meaning and not on the words 4. We should rely on the insight of looking deeply (j単ana) rather than on differentiation and discrimination (vij単ana)
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the Four Noble Truths
1. SUFFERING (DUKKHA) WE ALL sUFFER TO AN EXTENT. 2. CREATING SUFFERING (sAMUDAYA) THE ORIGIN, ROOTs, NATURE, cREATION OR ARIsING OF sUFFERING 3. CEssATION OF CREATING SUFFERING (NIRODHA) CREATING SUFFERING BY REFRAINING FROM DOING THE THINGs THAT MAKE Us sUFFER 4. THE EIGHTFOLD PATH (MARGA) LEADs TO REFRAINING FROM DOING THE THINGs THAT cAUsE Us TO sUFFER
The Four Immeasurable Minds
1. Maitri: The intention/capacity to offer joy and happiness 2. Karuna: The intention and capacity to relieve and and transform suffering and lighten sorrows 3. Mudita: True love always brings joy to ourselves and to the one we love 4. Upeksha: Equanamity, nonattachment, nondiscrimination, evenmindedness, or letting go
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The Five Remembrances
1. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. 2. I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having illhealth. 3. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death. 4. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. 5. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.
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The Five Aggregates (Skandhas)
1. Form (rupa) Our body, including our five sense organs and our nervous system 2. Feelings (vedana) Understanding a feeling is the beginning of its transformation 3. Perceptions (samj単a) Noticing, Naming, and conceptualizing, as well as the perceiver and the perceived 4. Mental Formations (samskara) Forty-nine mental formations (excluding feel ings and perceptions) which are stored as seeds (bijas) in our store consciousness 5. Consciousness (vij単ana) Store consciousness, at the base of everything we are, the ground of all our mental formations
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The Five Powers
Faith (shraddha) The confidence we receive when we put into practice a teaching that helps us overcome difficulties and obtain some transformation. Diligence (virya) The energy that brings joy into the practice. Mindfulness (smirti) Deep insight. Concentration (samadhi) The product of concentration, and seed of insight and faith. Insight (praj単a) The ability to look deeply and see clearly, and the understanding that results from this practice.
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TH
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1. dana paramita giving, offering, generosity 2. shila paramita precepts or mindfulness training 3. kshanti paramita inclusiveness, the capacity to receive, bear, and transform the pain inflicted on you by your enemies and also by those who love you 4. virya paramita diligence, energy, perseverance 5. dhyana paramita meditation 6. praj単a paramita wisdom, insight, understanding
PARAMITAS 37
Th e S e v e n Fa c to r s o f Awa ke n i n g: Mindful ness (sm riti)
Remembering who we are, what we are doing, and
who we are with I n v estigation of Phenomena (dhar ma-p ra vichaya)
Takes us deep ly into life and into reality
D i ligence (v irya)
Cul tiv ating the life-energy that co mes fro m
e x periencing the wonders of life Ease (prashrabd hih)
Bringing our energy from our head down to our
abdom en J o y (priti)
Com es fro m to u ching things that are refresh
ing and beau tifu l, within and ou tside of o ursel v es C oncentration (sam adhi)
The m ind as one-p ointed and still, natu ra lly
re m aining foc u sed on one object Letting Go (upeksha)
We l ov e everyone eq u ally
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The Noble Eightfold Path
R i g ht V i e w (s a mya g d r i s hti)
th e ab i lity to disti ng u ish wholesom e roots (k ushala m u la) from u nwholesom e roots - or se e ds - i n th e de pths of ou r consciousn ess
R i g ht Th i n ki n g (s a mya k s a mk a lpa) r e flects th e way th i n gs ar e.
R i g ht S p e e c h (s a mya g va c)
1. Speak i n g tr uth fu lly 2. Not speak i n g with a for k e d tong u e 3. Not speak i n g cr u e lly 4. Not exagg e rati n g or e mb e llish i ng
R i g ht A cti o n (s amya k k a r m a nta)
th e practice of touch i ng love an d pr eve nti n g har m, th e praction of nonviole nce towar d ou rse lves an d oth e rs
R i g ht Li v e li h o o d (s a mya g a j i va)
ear n i n g a livi n g without n e e di n g to transg r ess as of th e Five M i n dfu ln es Trai n i n gs a. Not deali n g i n ar ms b. I n th e slave trade c. Th e m eat trade d. Th e sale of alcohol e. Mak i n g proph eci es or telli n g fortu n es
R i g ht D i li g e n c e (s a mya k p r a d h a n a)
th e k i n d of e n e r gy that h e lps us ralize th e Noble E i g htfold Path
R i g ht M i n d f u ln e s s (s a mya k s m r iti)
th e e n e r gy that b r i n gs us back to th e pr ese nt mom e nt
R i g ht C o n c e ntr ati o n (s a mya k s a m a d h i) 1. Active Conce ntration 2. Se lective Conce ntration
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