Topics
Samsara
The first Buddhist principle is Samsara. Samsara is the Sanskrit word for this universe, or for “cyclic living”. Samsara is repeating suffering.
Samsara is created by our many negative Karma. Karma comes from the three sources – our negative thoughts, speech and actions. These three – thoughts, speech, actions – are due to our strong emotional afflictions.
Renunciation
Renunciation is an ‘intelligence’. It is the thought or certainty that ‘there is no permanent solution inside Samsara’. So, renunciation is to renounce Samsara.
Renunciation is not simply becoming a monk or a nun. It can be understood and developed even by lay people. The ‘mind of renunciation’ is the first step to properly practice Buddhism.
In other words, renunciation is the desire to remove one’s negative Karma and emotional afflictions, the sources of our pain and sufferings.
Karma
Karma is cause and effect. There are three causes – our thought, speech and action. Positive thought, speech and action result in positive effects. Negative thought, speech and action result in negative effects.
Karma is changeable. It is not ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ that cannot be changed. In Buddhism, Karma is changed through doing good actions (to produce positive future results) and confessing our past negative actions to the Buddhas (to purify past negative causes).
Karma depends on the strength of one’s motivation, understanding of the situation, and the successful occurrence of the act. For example, the strength of non-virtue accumulated through killing another person depends on the strength of one’s hatred (the motivation), knowledge of the effect of killing (understanding), and if the person successfully dies (successful occurrence).
All of our many negative Karma are mainly created through the ten non-virtues (or their opposite, the ten virtues) :
- taking life
- taking what is not given
- sexual misconduct
- lying
- sowing discord
- harsh speech
- idle gossip (or worthless chatter)
- covetousness
- ill will (or wishing harm on others)
- wrong views
Rebirth
Rebirth or Reincarnation is about continuity of mind, from one life to the next. The next birth is influenced by past negative and positive Karma from the previous births.
Rebirth means that mind has been going around endlessly in Samsara. Until one is liberated from Samsara, one will continually experience the results of one’s past positive and negative actions through rebirth.
Buddhist view on Emotions
Buddhism focuses so much on the topic of emotions, because emotions are the cause of all our happiness and misery.
In Buddhism, discussing emotions is important, because emotions control one’s mind. They bring sufferings or happiness in the present and in succeeding lives.
Merit
Merit is the Buddhist antidote to negative emotions and sufferings.
Liberation from all emotions and sufferings is the goal of Buddhism. To achieve such liberation, merit is required.
All kinds of Buddhist prayer, including prostrating, offering, confession are done to accumulate merit for oneself and others. Doing virtue and helping others, and dedicating these virtues to Great Enlightenment, are also other ways to accumulate merit.
Liberation
Liberation means freedom from Samsara, or from our emotional afflictions. It is also a mind of wisdom and omniscience. This is the goal or objective of Buddhist practice.
When we are gradually becoming more liberated, Buddha qualities will replace our ordinary Samsaric qualities. These qualities are loving-kindness, compassion, renunciation, wisdom of impermanence and non-self.
We are more liberated when our minds are more stable in the midst of positive and negative situations, we have more faith or trust in the Buddha, in the workings of cause and effect, and we can clearly see the painful nature of Samsara.
Teacher
Following the qualified teacher’s instructions turns a Samsaric, non-Buddhist mind into a non-Samsaric, Buddhist mind.
Master upon master have said that nobody has escaped Samsara through one’s own intelligence alone. All Buddhas of the past, present and future, relied, rely and will rely on a qualified teacher.