3. A Glimpse at Buddhism
Key features of Buddhism:
1. The concept of cause effects & karma/kamma.
2. Dhamma/Dharma (the teachings of Buddhism and the realities of laws of nature).
3. The eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth... (sunsara/sansara).
4. The existence/acceptance of afterlife, Heavens, hells, spirit worlds...
5. The concept of impermanence, suffering and non-self.
6. The causes binding one to the eternal cycle of sunsara and techniques/path of breaking away.
7. Practise of virtues, refraining from evils, practise of meditation and eradication of ignorance.
8. The peaceful abiding of NIBBHANA (Enlightenment by way of eradicating ignorance).
9. Buddhist practices, traditions and festivities.
10. Terms and concepts of Buddhism.
11. Of Thoughts/Intentions Sankhara and Karma.
1. The concept of cause effects & karma/kamma.
Buddhism states that all and everything one "observes" are rooted in cause effects. All and everything in this universe are the effects of causes. The causes sustains the effects, the removal of the cause(s) eliminates the effect(s).
Example: A tree being the effect of a seed, sunlight, the nutrients etc., the removal of it's cause(s) will remove the effect (the existence of the tree).
Associated with cause effects are karma. Karma refers to the effects of the causes of our intentional (mindful) thoughts, actions etc. Good/positive karma (cause/s) will bring pleasant, desirable effects. Bad/negative karma (cause/s) will bring unpleasant, undesirable effects. Buddhism associates karma, to describe why no two individuals are ever born alike. Even identical twins, though their genes being very much alike, would have unique, distinct characteristics. As each would have a unique "soul" associated with him/her. Thus the karma each has brought along would be distinct and unique. Thus even though being genetically very much equal, even identical twins would exhibit unique characteristics and would undergo varied life experiences.
Note: So if one has the "smart idea" of cloning one's self to create more of "I", realise, that the clone, even though having your genes, will not be "inhabited" by your "soul"... Thus it/he/she would look like you but will not be you
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10.15 Chain of dependent origination (twelve nidanas -Pali: pratitya samutpada)
1. Ignorance (Pali: avijja)
2. Mental fermentations/volitions (Pali: sankhara Sanskrit: sanskara)
3. Status conscience (Pali: vinyana)
4. "Name" and "Form" (Pali: nama rupa)
5. The six senses (Pali: salayathana)
6. Contact (Pali: phassa)
7. Feelings (Pali: vedana)
8. Cravings/longings/desires (Pali: tanha)
9. Clinging to (Pali: upadana)
10. Generation of factors for rebirth (Pali: bhava)
11. Birth (Pali: jati)
12. All the sufferings
1, 2: Due to ignorance (of underlying realities of existence) we process/ferment what comes to our mind.
2, 3: This processing/fermentation causes karma to form and mould the status conscience (vinyana).
3. Status conscience (Pali: vinyana)
4: The functioning/existence of the status conscience has a close association with regards to sustaining life (one's existence). "Name" and "Form" describes the non-material and material components of one's existence. "Name" are the constituents one's mind, conscience... "Form" (material) are the constituents of the body (made of solids, liquids, gasses...).
5: The six sense bases of perception are composed of "Name" (the mind/vinyana...components) and "Form" (the solids, liquids, gasses... components).
6, 7: When the six sense bases of perception comes in contact with entities (ex. eye with external world, nose with fragrances,... mind with thoughts/memories...), they generate feelings (in the mind).
7, 8: Next we generate/get desires for these feelings.
8, 9: These desires makes one "cling onto" them (wanting more...).
9, 10: This clinging causes the generation of causations/factors (karma) that causes/leads/drags one into future births, so that such accumulated karma can take effect, can materialise... (The generation of sankhara /karma due to attachments, desires, longings, cravings... or due to the aversions, angers, hates... generated during the cause of such quests/pursuits... will lead one through eternal sunsara resulting in the generation of yet further causations/karma, requiring further... Thus bonding one into this eternal journey...)
11, 12: Then once one gets into a birth, one undergoes/endures all the sufferings associated with such...
But again due to our ignorance, we fail to realise the underlying nature/reality of existence. Thus veiled and shadowed by ignorance, we keep on generating the mental fermentations/volitions that keeps one further bonded to sunsara... And the cycle continues for ever and ever onto perpetuity... Thus breaking away from this cycle leads to its cessation (cessation of the perpetual wandering).
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