BUDDHISM

Theravada Buddhism is the main religion of Thailand.  Its three cornerstones are Buddha, The Dharina (Law) and the Sangba (Community of Buddhists).  It originated in India and was brought to Thailand at the time when King Ramkamhaeng came to power in 1350.  His southern province was named Ayatthaya out of respect for the Rama's legendary kingdom in India.  From the mid-1300's until the mid-1400's, Theravada Buddhism flourished throughout Thailand and was valued over military advancement.  Buddhist monks are very peace-loving and live simple lives.  Their influence is felt throughout the Thai community since Thais have a great reverence for all living things and value a peaceful existence.   The original Buddha was a man of great wisdom and learning who sought the meaning of life and happiness.

Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

The First Truth:   Life Is Suffering

Buddha noted that every aspect of life is touched by pain.  Physical pain begins at the moment of birth and continues through disease, aging, loss, and death.  Each person must bear his own pain.  People also experience the mental suffering of sadness and depression that come with the unavoidable losses and disappointments of life.  Another source of chronic frustration is the inability to satisfy our limitless desires and wants.  Buddha also recognized that there is happiness to be found as well.  He spoke of  the happiness of friendship and family life, but pointed out that happiness can never be permanent.   Eventually, we experience losses, and we return to our perpetual state of suffering.  After recognizing that the world is full of injustice and pain, Buddha began his search for happiness with this first truth:  life is suffering.    Buddha set about planning the way to resolve the problem of suffering.   The first thing Buddha set about doing was finding the cause of suffering.

The Second Truth:   Desire and Ignorance Cause Suffering

Desire is the inherent trait of all living beings to seek out pleasures of the senses and to enjoy life for itself.  Yet none of the earthly pleasures which we can experience provides deep, lasting satisfaction.    People who acquire many things can never be fully satisfied.  We are but like children who seek out more and more material things and more and more pleasurable experiences who are never satisfied with the status quo.  Temporary satisfactions result in greater desires for more things and more pleasure.  This describes greed.   It is greed and desire which cause people to lead dishonest lives and can also result in criminal behavior or addictions.  Bad will and anger directed toward others results from having desire thwarted.  Desire, then, is like a tree whose branches are greed, bad will, and anger.  The tree's fruit is suffering.

Buddha realized that ignorance provided the roots out of which the tree of desire  grows.  Ignorance is the inability to see the truth about our reality.  There are many truths about the world which people are ignorant of because of the limitations of their understanding.  Modern science has demonstrated that there is much of our reality of which we are unaware.  Sounds and light waves unable to be heard or seen.  People are unaware of radio waves or ultra-violet light until they are registered on special equipment.  Hence, our world is filled with delusion and misunderstanding.  Buddha believed that we could acquire wisdom through study, careful thought, and meditation which would lead us to the Truth.   According to Buddha, we would each come to the realization that life is suffering and that the satisfaction of desire is never permanent.  The thoughtful buddhist could overcome desire and ignorance to attain happiness and enlightenment.

By getting desire and ignorance under control, Buddha ended his suffering and attained Nirvana by the age of thirty-five.    Buddha shared his wisdom to all who would listen.  He told an old story of the turtle and the fish.  The turtle lived on land as well as in the water while the fish only lived in the water.  One day, when the turtle had returned from a visit to the land, he told the fish of his experiences.  He explained that creatures walked rather than swam.  The fish refused to believe that dry land really existed because that was something beyond his own experience.  In the same way, people may not have experienced the end of suffering, but it does not mean that the end of suffering is not possible. 

The Third Truth:   The End of Suffering

The end of suffering is the final goal of   Buddha's teaching.  It can be experienced by anyone who perseveres.  To end our suffering in the here and now, we must remove  desire and ignorance from our lives.   Buddha taught that the end of suffering is supreme happiness.   Every step toward the end of suffering is accompanied by ever-increasing joy.   Those who follow the ways of Buddha live happily without greed among those who are overwhelmed by desire.  They live happily without anger among those who harbor bad will.  The more people free themselves from desire and ignorance the more happiness they will enjoy.  When they have completely overcome desire and ignorance, they will have attained the supreme happiness as experienced by Buddha.

A big part of attaining happiness is found through enlightenment.  Enlightenment reveals our best character traits of which perfect wisdom and great compassion are the most important.  With these two traits, we can help countless beings to overcome their suffering.  Happiness and enlightenment represent the end of suffering and the beginning of Nirvana. 

The Fourth Truth:   The Middle Path

As a youth, Prince Siddhartha enjoyed a hedonistic life filled with pleasures in the palace.  Eventually, he renounced his worldly life and become an ascetic.  He subjected his mind and body to the hardships and rigors of poverty.  But just before he attained Enlightenment, he realized the fruitlessness of these two extreme ways of life.  He realized that the way to happiness and Enlightenment was to lead a life that avoids the two extremes.  He described this lifestyle as the Middle Path.  People who follow the Middle Path avoid the extremes of indulging desire and of  unreasonable torture of mind and body   This is the fourth truth leading to the end of suffering.

Buddha organized all of his knowledge into a system for others to follow which is called the Noble Eightfold Path.  

The Noble Eightfold Path

Right Knowledge
Understand the Four Noble Truths

 Right Thinking
Decide to set your life on the correct path

Right Speech
Don't lie
Don't criticize others
Don't use harsh language
Don't gossip

 Right Conduct
Follow the Five Precepts 

Right Livelihood
Earn a living that does not harm living things

Right Effort
Conquer all evil thoughts
Strive to maintain good thoughts

Right Mindfulness
Become intensely aware of all the states in body, feeling, and mind

Right Concentration
Deep meditation leads to a higher state of consciousness (enlightenment)

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