Taoism and Zen Buddhism
This page I will attempt to explore subjects and build my knowledge. I do practice some chinese martial arts at a beginning level, and some of the relation to buddhism will be from that approach.
Zen Buddhism seeks to eliminate abstract constructs, by using mindful and no-thought meditation to observe unhindered reality, and also through experiences of life . When applied to gender, such boundaries are destroyed. And one can dwell naturally in all realms of such socially created genders. In a state of wuji, or entire balance.
Taoism and Confucianism
The Taiji is the infinite, or the principle that embodies all potential things including all possible time and space. This is seen as the perpetual cycle of yin and yang, as reflected in the taijitu, which is simply referred to as the "yin-yang" in the West. Taiji is itself part of a progression similar to yin and yang. "Existence," the Taiji, arose from "non-existence," or Wuji, the "Great Emptiness."
Non-Self, Impernanence, and Suffering.
In Buddhist philosophy, anatta (Pāli) or anātman (Sanskrit) refers to "non-self" or "absence of separate self".[1] One scholar describes it as "meaning non-selfhood, the absence of limiting self-identity in people and things."[2] Its opposite is atta (Pāli) or ātman (Sanskrit), the idea of a subjective Soul or Self which survives rebirth and which the Buddha explicitly rejects.
What is normally thought of as the "self" is in fact an agglomeration of constantly changing physical and mental constituents ("skandhas"). This concept has, from early times, been controversial amongst Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike and remains so to this day[3]. In the Pali suttas and the related āgamas (referred to collectively below the nikayas) the Buddha repeatedly emphasizes not only that the five skandhas of living being are "not-self", but that clinging to them as if they were an immutable self or soul (ātman) gives rise to unhappiness.
Another understanding of anatta (as enunciated by the Buddha in the Mahayana "Tathagatagarbha" scriptures) insists that the five "skandhas" (impermanent constituent elements of the mundane body and mind of each being) are indeed "not the Self", since they inevitably mutate, but that, in contrast, the eternal buddha nature deep within each being is the supramundane True Self—although this realisation is only fully gained on reaching awakening ("bodhi").
Anatta, along with dukkha (suffering/unease) and anicca (impermanence), is one of the three dharma seals, which, according to Buddhism, characterise all phenomena.
Five Skandhas
Buddhist doctrine describes five aggregates:[2]
- "form" or "matter"[3] (Skt., Pāli rūpa, Tib. gzugs):
external and internal matter. Externally, rupa is the physical world. Internally, rupa includes the material body and the physical sense organs.[4] - "sensation" or "feeling" (Skt., Pāli vedanā, Tib. tshor-ba):
sensing an object[5] as either pleasant or unpleasant or neutral.[6][7] - "perception" or "cognition" (Skt. samjñā, Pāli saññā, Tib. 'du-shes):
registers whether an object is recognized or not (for instance, the sound of a bell or the shape of a tree). - "mental formations" or "volition" (Skt. "vāsanā" or samskāra, Pāli saṅkhāra, Tib. 'du-byed) :
all types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, compulsions, and decisions triggered by an object.[8] - "consciousness" (Skt. vijñāna, Pāli viññāṇa[9], Tib. rnam-par-shes-pa):
- Samsara:
It is through the five skandhas that the world (samsara) is experienced, and nothing is experienced apart from the five skandhas.
- Three Characteristics:
It is through the five skandhas that impermanence (anicca) is experienced, that suffering (duhkha) arises, and that "non-self" (anatta or anatman) can be realized.
| aggregate | external sense base | internal sense base | ultimate reality |
| form | visible form, sound, smell, taste, touch | eye, ear, nose, tongue, body | 28 material phenomena |
| mental objects (dhamma) | |||
| sensation | 52 mental factors | ||
| perception | |||
| formation | |||
| Nibbāna | |||
| conscious- ness (vinnana) | mind (mana) | conscious- ness (citta) |
- Four Paramatthas:
The Abhidhamma and post-canonical Pali texts create a meta-scheme for the Sutta Pitaka's conceptions of aggregates, sense bases and elements.[43] This meta-scheme is known as the four paramatthas or four ultimate realities:- consciousness
- mental factors
- material phenomena
- Nibbāna
- The mapping between the aggregates, the sense bases (see next entry) and the ultimate realities is represented in the chart to the right. [44]
- Twelve Sense Bases:
- The first five external sense bases (that is, the sense objects of visible form, sound, smell, taste and touch) are part of the form aggregate and the mental sense object (that is, mental objects) overlap the first four aggregates (form, feeling, perception and formation).
- The first five internal sense bases (that is, the sense organs of eye, ear, nose, tongue and body) are also part of the form aggregate and the mental sense organ (mind) is comparable to the aggregate of consciousness.
- While the benefit of meditating on the aggregates is overcoming wrong views of the self (since the self is typically identified with one or more of the aggregates), the benefit of meditation on the six sense bases is to overcome craving (through restraint and insight into sense objects that lead to contact, feeling and subsequent craving).[45]
- Twelve Nidanas / Dependent Origination:
The Twelve Nidanas describe twelve phenomenal links by which suffering is perpetuated between and within lives. Embedded within this model, four of the five aggregates are explicitly mentioned in the following sequence: mental formations (saṅkhāra) condition consciousness (viññāṇa) which conditions name-and-form (nāma-rūpa)[19] which conditions the precursors (saḷāyatana, phassa) to sensations (vedanā) which in turn condition craving (taṇhā) and clinging (upādāna) which ultimately lead to the "entire mass of suffering" (kevalassa dukkhakkhandha).[46] Overlaying this chain of conditioning on top of "The Five Aggregates" diagram at the top of this article, the interplay between the five-aggregates model of immediate causation and the twelve-nidana model of requisite conditioning becomes evident, for instance, underlining the seminal role that mental formations have in both the origination and cessation of suffering.[47][48]
- Eighteen Dhatus:[49]
The eighteen dhatus function through the five aggregates. The eighteen dhatus can be arranged into six triads, where each triad is composed of a sense organ, a sense object and sense consciousness. In regards to the aggregates:[50]- The first five sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) are derivates of form. The sixth sense organ (mind) is part of consciousness.
- The first five sense objects (visible forms, sound, smell, taste, touch) are also derivatives of form. The sixth sense object (mental object) includes form, sensation, perception and mental formations.
- The six sense consciousness are the basis for consciousness.
Middle Way
An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way which was discovered by the Buddha prior to his enlightenment (bodhi). The Middle Way or Middle Path has several definitions:
- It is often described as the practice of non-extremism; a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and opposing self-mortification.
- It also refers to taking a middle ground between certain metaphysical views, e.g. that things ultimately either exist or do not exist.[36]
- An explanation of the state of nirvana and perfect enlightenment where all dualities fuse and cease to exist as separate entities (see Seongcheol).
The Four Noble Truths
According to the scriptures, the Buddha taught that in life there exists Dukkha, which is in essence sorrow/suffering, that is caused by desire and it can be brought to cessation by following the Noble Eightfold Path (Sanskrit: Āryāṣṭāṅgamārgaḥ , Pāli: Ariyo Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo). This teaching is called, in the interpretation of many scholars and Buddhists, the Catvāry Āryasatyāni (Pali: Cattāri Ariyasaccāni), or the "Four Noble Truths".
- There is suffering
- There is a cause of suffering — craving
- There is the cessation of suffering
- There is a way leading to the cessation of suffering — the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path
Main article: Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to the cessation of suffering, the fourth part of the Four Noble Truths. This is divided into three sections: Śīla (which concerns wholesome physical actions), Samadhi (which concerns the meditative concentration of the mind) and Prajñā (which concerns spiritual insight into the true nature of all things).
Śīla is morality—abstaining from unwholesome deeds of body and speech. Within the division of sila are three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:
- Right Speech—One speaks in a non hurtful, not exaggerated, truthful way (samyag-vāc, sammā-vācā)
- Right Actions—Wholesome action, avoiding action that would do harm (samyak-karmānta, sammā-kammanta)
- Right Livelihood—One's way of livelihood does not harm in any way oneself or others; directly or indirectly (samyag-ājīva, sammā-ājīva)
Samadhi is developing mastery over one’s own mind. Within this division are another three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:
- Right Effort/Exercise—One makes an effort to improve (samyag-vyāyāma, sammā-vāyāma)
- Right Mindfulness/Awareness—Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness (samyak-smṛti, sammā-sati)
- Right Concentration/Meditation—Being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion. (samyak-samādhi, sammā-samādhi)
Prajñā is the wisdom which purifies the mind. Within this division fall two more parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:
- Right Understanding—Understanding reality as it is, not just as it appears to be. (samyag-dṛṣṭi, sammā-diṭṭhi)
- Right Thoughts—Change in the pattern of thinking. (samyak-saṃkalpa, sammā-saṅkappa)
The word samyak means "perfect". There are a number of ways to interpret the Eightfold Path. On one hand, the Eightfold Path is spoken of as being a progressive series of stages through which the practitioner moves, the culmination of one leading to the beginning of another, whereas others see the states of the 'Path' as requiring simultaneous development. It is also common to categorize the Eightfold Path into prajñā (Pāli paññā, wisdom), śīla (Pāli sīla, virtuous behavior) and samādhi (concentration).
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