Buddhism

 

Original Goodness/Noble Soul

 

Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom,

the Lovely, the Holy!

 

 

Bibliography

 

 

Buddhism:

Its essence and development

by Edward Conze, 1959

 

Buddhism Wisdom Books

Containing

The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra 

Translated and Explained

by Edward Conze, 1972

 

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

Compiled and edited by W. Y. Evans-Wentz, 1960

 

What the Buddha Taught

by Walpola Rahula, 1962

 

The Secret Oral Teaching in Tibetan Buddhist Sects

by Alexandra David-Neel and Lama Yongden, 1967

 

A Buddhist Bible

edited by Dwight Goddard

Introduction by Huston Smith, 1970

 

The Way of the White Clouds:

 A Buddhist Pilgrim in Tibet

by Lama Anagarika Govinda, 1970

 

Magic and Mystery in Tibet

by Alexandra David-Neel, 1971

 

Buddhist Wisdom Books

 Containing

The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra

Translated and Explained

by Edward Conze, 1972

 

The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet 

A practical guide to the theory, purpose,

and techniques of Tantric meditation

by John Blofeld, 1972

 

Psycho-cosmic Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa

by Lama Anagarika Govinda, 1976

 

The Flower of Chinese Buddhism

by Daisaku Ikeda

translated by Burton Watson, 1986

 

Rebel Buddha

On the Road to Freedom

by Dzogchen Ponlop, 1993/2010

 

Thoughts without a Thinker

Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective

by Mark Epstein, M.D.

Fordward by the Dalai Lama, 1995

 

A Path with Heart

A Guide through the Peirls of Spiritual Life

by Jack Kornfield, 1993

 

Whever You Go, There You Are

Mindfullness Meditation in Everyday Life

 by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., 2005

 

Meditation for Beginners

 by Jack Kornfield, 2008

 

The Wise Heart

A Guide to the Universal Teachings

of Buddhist Psychology

by Jack Kornfield, 2009

 

Bring Home the Dharma

Awkeing Right Where You Are

by Jack Korfield, 2012

 

Mindfulness for Beginners

Reclaiming the Present Moment and Your Life

by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., 2012

 

A Lamp in the Darkness

Illuminating the Path Through Difficult Times

by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., 2014

 

The Art of Noticing

by Ellen J. Langer, 2014

 

Los Angeles Times

Sunday, November 26, 2017

OP-ED Page A23

Mindfulness is not just a wellness fad

It may be tempting to dismiss 'mindfulness culture.' 

But nearly four decades of research have shown

there are wide-ranging benefits to mindfulness itself.

 By Ellen Langer

 

 

 

The heart of the Buddha's teaching lies in the Four Noble Truths

which he expounded in his very first sremon

to his old colleagues, the five ascetics, at Isipatana near Benares.

 

The Four Noble Truths

 

The First Noble Truth: Dukkha

 

The First Noble Truth is generaly translated as "The Noble Truth of Suffering", and

is interpreted to mean that life according to Buddhism is nothing but suffering and pain.

 

The Second Noble Truth:

Samudaya: 'The Arising of Dukkha'

 

The Second Noble Truth is that of the arising or origin of dukkha.

The most popular and well-known definition of the Second Truth

as found in innumerable places in the original texts runs as follows:

'It is this "thrist" (craving) which produces re-existenence and re-becoming,

and which is bound up with passionate greed, and which finds fresh delight now here and now there, namely, (1) thrist for sense-pleasures, (2) thirst for existence and becoming

and (3) thirst for non-existence (self-annihilation.

It is this 'thirst', desire, greed, craving, manifesting itself in various ways,

that gives rise to all forms of suffering and the continuity of beings.

 

The Third Noble Truth:

Nirodha: 'The Cessation of Dukkha'

 

The Third Noble Truth is that there is emancipation, liberation,

freedon from suffering, from the continuity of dukkha.

This is called the Noble Truth of the Cessation of dukkha, which is Nirvana.

To eliminate dukkha completely one has to eliminate the main root of dukkha,

which is 'thirst', as we saw earlier. Therefore Nirvana is known also by the term

Tanhakkaya 'Extinction of Thirst'.

 

The Fourth Noble Truth:

Magga: 'The Path'

 

The Fourth Noble Truth is that the Way leading to the Cessation of Dukkha,

This is known as the 'Middle Path', because it avoids two extrems:

one extreme being the search for happiness through the pleasures of the senses, which is 'low, common, unprofitable and the way of the ordinary people';

the other being the search for happiness trrough self-mortification

in different forms of asceticism, which is 'painful, unworthy and unprofitable'.

 

This Middle Path is generally referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path, because

it is composed of eight categories or divisions: namely,

 

The Noble Eightfold Path

 

1. Right Understanding

2. Right Thought

3. Right Speech

4. Right Action

5. Right Livelihood

6. Right Effort

7. Right Mindfulness

8. Right Concentration

 

Practically the whole teaching of the Buddha, to which he devoted himself during 45 years,

deals in some way or other with this Path.

 

These eight factors aim at promoting and perfecting the three essentials

of Buddhist training and discipline:

(a) Ethical Conduct (Sila), (b) Mental Discipline (Samadhi) and (c) Wisdom (Panna).

 

Meditation is in Buddhism easily the chief means of salvation.

The stress is throughout far less on "doing something" by overt action,

than on contemplation and mental discipline.

What one aims at is the control of mental processes by meditating on them.

 

The Four Jannas or Holy Stages

 

1. Compassion

2. Joy

3. Peace

4. Equanimity

 

Buddhist Meditation

 

Bare Attention

A period of silent attention to mind and body.

 Note the physical sensations of the in and out breath. 

Buddhist meditation takes the untrained, everyday mind

as its natural starting point, and it requires the development

of one particular attentional posture of naked, or bare, attention

 

Defined as:

"The clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception."  

Bare attention takes this unexamined mind and opens it up by observing the mind, emotions, and body the way they are. It is the fundamendal tenet of Buddhist psychology that this kind of attention is, in itsetf, healing

 

Concentration

In the Eightfold Path, the Buddha spoke specifically about cultivating two particular kinds of attention: concentration and mindfulness. They are not the same. Traditionally, concentration is taught first. By repeatedly returning one's attention to a central object of awareness---a word, a sound, a sensation, a visual image, or an idea---feelings of tranquility are generated in mind and body. The chattering, discursive mind is quieted, and the experiences of delight begin to unfold.

 

Mindfulness

The Buddha taught that one must not escape into the concentrated absorption of the tranquil mind but rather contemplate what he called the "Four Founations of Mindfulness," particularly the body, the feelings, the mind, and the thoughts and emotions, which he called "mental objects" or "mental factors." Like bare attention, mindfulness means being aware of exactly what is happing in the mind and body as it is occurring: what it reveals is how much of a flux we are in at all times.

 

Mindfulness

To be more present; Moment to moment awareness.

 

 

  

Zen Buddhism

Zen Flesh Zen Bones

A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings

Compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki, 1957/85

 

Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics

by R. H. Blyth, 1960

 

A History of Zen Buddhism

by Heinrich Dumoulin, S. J.

 Translated from the German

by Paul Peachey, 1963

 

Manual of Zen Buddhism

by D. T. Suzuki, 1960

 

Essays in Zen Buddhism: First Series

by D. T. Suzuki, 1961

 

An Introduction to Zen Buddhism

by D. T. Suzuki, 1964

 

The Field of Zen

by D. T. Suzuki, 1969

 

What is Zen?

by D. T. Suzuki, 1971

 

Zen and Japanese Culture

by Daisetz T. Suzuki, 1971

 

Zen in the Art of Archery

by Eugen Herrigel, 1971

 

The Method of Zen

by Eugen Herrigel, 1974

 

The Three Pillars of Zen:

 Teaching Practice Enlightenment

Compiled and Edited

by Philip Kapleau, 1972 

 

The Sound of the One Hand:

 281 Zen Koans with Answers

 Translated with a Commentary

by Yoel Hoffmann, 1975

 

Zen Mind Beginner's Mind

by Shunryu Suzuki, 1976

 

Zen in the Art of Flower Arrangement

by Gustie L. Herrigel, 1979

 

Zen and Zen Classics Volume Five

by R. H. Blyth, 1979

 

Zen Enlightenment:

 Origins and Meaning

by Heinrich Dumoulin, 1985 

 

The True Dharma Eye

Zen Master's Dogen's

Three Hundred Koans

with Commentary and Verse

by John Daido Loori

Translated by

Kazuaki Tanahashi and John Daido Loori, 2005

 

 

Buddhist Meditation

 

Bare Attention

A period of silent attention to mind and body.

 Note the physical sensations of the in and out breath. 

Buddhist meditation takes the untrained, everyday mind

as its natural starting point, and it requires the development

of one particular attentional posture of naked, or bare, attention

 

Defined as:

"The clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception."  

Bare attention takes this unexamined mind and opens it up by observing the mind, emotions, and body the way they are. It is the fundamendal tenet of Buddhist psychology that this kind of attention is, in itsetf, healing

 

Concentration

In the Eightfold Path, the Buddha spoke specifically about cultivating two particular kinds of attention: concentration and mindfulness. They are not the same. Traditionally, concentration is taught first. By repeatedly returning one's attention to a central object of awareness---a word, a sound, a sensation, a visual image, or an idea---feelings of tranquility are generated in mind and body. The chattering, discursive mind is quieted, and the experiences of delight begin to unfold.

 

Mindfulness

The Buddha taught that one must not escape into the concentrated absorption of the tranquil mind but rather contemplate what he called the "Four Founations of Mindfulness," particularly the body, the feelings, the mind, and the thoughts and emotions, which he called "mental objects" or "mental factors." Like bare attention, mindfulness means being aware of exactly what is happing in the mind and body as it is occurring: what it reveals is how much of a flux we are in at all times.

 

Mindfulness

To be more present; Moment to moment awareness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 10/19/22