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The "Three
Jewels": The Buddha, The Dharma (his Teaching), and The
Sangha (his followers)
Buddhahood and Buddha
Nature (tathagathagarbha)
The Buddha's Life Story
and the Jatakas (Narratives of his previous existences)
The Buddha's Disciples and
the Bodhisattvas
Dharma-Vinaya: What the Buddha usually called his
teaching. Composed of the Dharma (Teachings)
associated with the Venerable Ananda; and the Vinaya (Discipline),
associated with the Venerable Upali
The Dharma as a teaching which reflects universal laws
The Four Noble
Truths, which include the crucial idea that "All life
is suffering" because "Suffering is caused by
desire," and if we could control our desires we would
stop suffering
The Noble Eightfold
Path: Two for Wisdom: (1) Right View and (2) Right Intention;
Three for Ethical Conduct: (3) Right Speech, (4) Right Action, and (5) Right Livelihood; and
Three for Mental Development: (6) Right Effort, (7) Right Mindfulness, and (8) Right Concentration
Three Vehicles: (1)
Sravakas, (2) Pratyekabuddhas, and (3) Buddhas
The Tripitaka (The Pali
Canon), The Therevada, and the Sravaka/Arhat Ideal
The Mahayana Sutras, The
Mahayana, and the Bodhisattva Ideal
The Vows of the
Bodhisattva
Two Truths: The
conventional truths by which we operate in the world, and
the Absolute Truth of "that world"; important here
is the idea that sometimes we must operate according to one
kind of truth, and sometimes by the other
The "Three Marks"
of Existence: Anicca (Impermanence), Dukkha
(Suffering), and Anatta (Non-Self)
Interconnectedness
(Dependent Origination): "Indra's Net of Gems"
Emptiness (which
results from Dependent Origination, the idea that something
exists only in its relation to all other things)
The
Three Poisons: (1) greed or desire, (2) anger or hatred, and
(3) ignorance or delusion
The Trikaya, the
"Three Bodies" of the Buddha: (1) Nirmanakaya: The "Appearance Body," the Buddha's manifestation in history;
(2) Samboghakaya: The "Enjoyment Body" as the Buddha appears
to bodhisattvas in Buddha realms; and (3) Dharmakaya: The "Dharma Body," the Buddha's
transcendent qualities which are the stuff of the ultimate reality.
The Six Perfections: (1) giving or charity (practice of compassion), (2) morality, (3) patience, (4) vigor or diligence, (5) meditation, and (6)
wisdom
The balance of Wisdom and Compassion
The Three Realms: (1) The kamadhatu,
the "Desire Realm" where we live; (2) The rupadhatu,
the "Form Realm" above the Desire Realm; and (3) the arupadhatu,
the "Formless Realm" above that. The top two
realms are achieved only by those who master certain deep states
of meditative concentration
The Six Beings (and
therefore six levels) of the Desire Realm: Hell Beings, Hungry
Ghosts, Animals, Humans, Ashuras (Demigods), and Devas
(Gods).
Karma (the result of
actions) and Merit (basically, good karma)
Cause and effect
The Three Trainings: Sila
(Ethics), Samadhi (Meditation), and Panna (Wisdom); the importance of
moral behavior before the mind can be tamed and wisdom
achieved
The simplest ethical
precepts I ever heard: "Avoid Evil, Do Good, and Purify
the Heart"
The Five
Precepts: "I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from: (1) harming living beings, (2) taking things not freely given (stealing), (3) sexual misconduct, (4) false speech (lying), (5) intoxicating drinks and drugs causing carelessness."
The Eight and Ten
Precepts: For Eight, add: (6) taking untimely meals (that is,
after noon); (7) dancing, singing, music, going to see
entertainments, use of garlands, perfumes,
and personal adornment; and (8) use of high or luxurious
beds. For Ten, (7) is split in two and (10) is added, so it
reads: (6) taking untimely meals; (7) dancing, singing, music and going to see
entertainments; (8) use of garlands, perfumes and personal
adornment; (9) use of high or luxurious beds; and (10) accepting gold or silver.
The Five Skandas (Aggregates): The Body, Feelings,
Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness. Together these
make up the thing which I mistakenly call "Me."
Mindfulness:
Prerequisite to any understanding of the Dharma, it is a
lifetime's practice unto itself
Veracity: Huston
Smith's word for "seeing things as they really
are"
Upaya,
or "Skillful means"--the idea of adjusting the
means of teaching to fit the student
Various Schools: Theravada; Mahayana (Madhyamika, Yogacara);
largely Chinese schools: Ch'an (Zen); Pure Land; T'ien T'ai; Avatamsaka (Flower Garland, Ch. Hua Yen); San-lun (Three Sutra); Abidharma (Reality or Kosa); Vinaya (Discipline, Ch. Lu);
and Tibetan.
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