Describe in detail what is meant by the Middle Way.
RS1 Describe in detail what is meant by the 'Middle Way'.
Siddharta Gautama was born about 563 BCE, in a garden called Lumbini, in
the foothills of the Himalayas. Siddharta was said to have been born out of
the side of his mother, Queen Maya, who died seven days later. It is said
that once he was born he immediately took seven steps towards each quarter
of heaven, and at each step up sprung a lotus flower. He then declared that
he would have no more births, and that this was his last body and that he
would 'pluck out by the roots the sorrow caused by birth and death'.
Siddharta was brought up into the Shakya Clan and lived a very rich
lifestyle. But this did not satisfy him, so he decided to go in search of
enlightenment and at the age of 19 he started to think seriously about his
life. His father tried to protect him from the real world, but Siddharta
still saw four things that changed his life:
. An old man. This showed Siddharta that everyone will get old someday.
2. A sick man. This showed Siddharta that you cannot be protected from
disease.
3. A corpse. This showed Siddharta that everyone dies.
4. A Holy man. This showed Siddharta that one has devoted himself to the
spiritual life.
When he saw the Holy man, he decided to leave and live a life of poverty.
For six years, Siddharta followed a Sadha's way of life, he nearly starved
himself to death because he worked his body and its needs so hard. One day
he went for a bathe in the River Nairanjana. When he got there, coming out
of the river was Nandabala, who was the daughter of the overseer of the
local herds. She offered him a bowl of milk-rice, and at this point
Siddharta realised that ascetics practices could never lead him to
enlightenment. He was also too weak to meditate, so he broke his fast and
accepted the milk-rice.
Siddharta was 35yrs old when he reached enlightenment and he had
experienced both wealth and poverty, but neither had given him real
satisfaction. He sat under a pipal tree and was determined not to move from
that place until he had reached enlightenment.
While he was searching for enlightenment he had to fight of temptations.
The night was divided up into four different periods in which he learnt
something new.
. (6-10pm) He is said to have gone through various stages of meditation
and to have gained knowledge of his former lives. He gained
understanding of all the past and what had led him to this point of
seeking enlightenment.
2. (10pm-2am) He understood the way in which all creatures come into
existence and pass away again. He knew that everything in the world is
constantly changing and that nothing lasts forever, however beautiful or
precious a thing is it will eventually change and disappear.
3. (2-6am) He understood all the things that keep creatures bound to the
wheel of life, which is negative feelings and cravings that make people
grasp at life, even though this brings more suffering. He also knew that
he had overcome these cravings.
4. (at 6am) With dawn he is said to have gained full enlightenment and
experienced the peace of Nirvana or Nibbana. This is when the three
'fires' (greed, hatred and ignorance) are burnt out, leaving a sense of
happiness and calm.
For a while after his enlightenment, the Buddha stayed in the area of Bodh
Gaya, meditating. He was deciding whether to keep this knowledge to
himself or go out preaching. While he was deciding this, Brahma Sahampati
(king of the Hindu Gods) begged him to go out and preach. He suggested to
the Buddha that people were like lotus flowers in lakes, some were still
growing up from the mud and some were some were already clear of the
water, but some were about to blossom. Not all were stuck in the mud of
ignorance, many were just waiting for his teaching, he felt a strong desire
to communicate to them the means by which they too could overcome
suffering and achieve peace. He wanted to explain his enlightenment to his
old meditation teachers, but they were already dead. So he set off to find
the ascetics who had left him when he gave up his fast.
The Buddha met the five ascetics in the Deer Park at Sarnath, near
Benares. He taught them the Dharma (teaching) and one by one they to
became enlightened themselves. From then on he travelled and taught the
Dharma and organised his followers. Many people left their homes to follow
the Buddha and others stayed at home but helped to provide for the
wandering teachers.
During the Buddha's lifetime there were two different kinds of followers:
. those who joined him in the wandering shramana life, but who gathered
from time to time. Gradually, they started to spend more of their time in
their meeting places, and became monks and nuns.
2. ...
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became enlightened themselves. From then on he travelled and taught the
Dharma and organised his followers. Many people left their homes to follow
the Buddha and others stayed at home but helped to provide for the
wandering teachers.
During the Buddha's lifetime there were two different kinds of followers:
. those who joined him in the wandering shramana life, but who gathered
from time to time. Gradually, they started to spend more of their time in
their meeting places, and became monks and nuns.
2. householders, who accepted his teachings, but continued with their
normal lives, and supported the travelling preachers in various ways.
They are generally known as Lay Buddhists.
The Buddha spent 45yrs travelling and teaching. He died, old and weak, of
food poisoning at Kushinara. When he died he had a very large religious
movement and became well known throughout northern India. The Buddha
was cremated, but his bones remained unburned and they were distributed
among various rulers of tribes and kingdoms, who built monuments (stupas)
over them.
The Buddha's teachings became known as 'The Middle Way' because this was
the path to enlightenment and Nirvana.
The three marks of existence are Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha. These show us
that everything comes into existence because of certain conditions and when
one of those conditions change, then it ceases to exist. So everything is
dependent upon other things to exist and that nothing exists on it's own
account.
. Anicca- all things are constantly changing; nothing is fixed. Everything
depends on conditions, which themselves can change.
2. Anatta- there is a tradition that anatta was the subject of the Buddha's
second sermon to the five ascetics, after they all achieved
enlightenment. Anatta means 'no permanent identity', or 'no separate
self'. All beings are interdependent, none can exist separately from the
others, so none of them are fixed and unchanging. When applied to human
beings it means that as conditions change, so do people. Anatta can be
more generally taken to mean that nothing has a fixed or permanent
nature.
3. Dukkha- if life is always changing, then all that we know will eventually
cease to exist. We are liable to suffer from disease, and even if we
never become ill or injured, we will eventually face certainty of old age
and death. Dukkha means 'suffering' and it refers to this general fact of
disease, old age and death, but also that the world is unsatisfactory.
That it cannot give people the permanent happiness that they seek.
The three poisons are ignorance, greed and hatred, and when you become
enlightened these three poisons disappear. They are also known as the three
fires. When you reach enlightenment these three fires are burnt out leaving
you with a sense of happiness and calmness.
Karma is the balance of accumulated sin and merit, which will determine the
future of the person's next life, and the nature of the life that they lead at
the moment. Samsara is the cycle of rebirth and when one dies they are
born again, when you become enlightened you have broken free of the
Samsara and when you die you just cease to exist. The karma that you
collect is constantly reforming, therefore the more karma you have the
quicker you are going to break free from the cycle of rebirth. Samsara can
be explained as imagining the flame of one candle and lighting another, it is
not the same flame on the second candle, but it has come about because of
the flame on the first candle.
Nirvana comes after enlightenment, it is a state of peace that happens when
the three fires of greed, ignorance and hatred are put out. Nirvana is the
point when all cravings cease and his or her actions would be done from a
selfless motion, not from craving therefore they don't lead to further
cravings.
The Four Noble Truths are the first teachings given by the Buddha to the
five ascetics in the Deer Park at Sarnath. This event is known as 'Setting in
Motion the Wheel of the Dharma'. In it the Buddha set out the problem of
life, the cause of the problem, that the problem can be overcome and the
way to achieve it. The problem here is suffering, and to overcome it, making
insight, peace and happiness. The Buddha argued that if you want to remove
suffering, you must look at the conditions that lead to it.
The Four Noble Truths are:
. All life involves suffering-it refers to a complex state of suffering,
both mental and physical, it is involved in the very nature of life. All
forms of existence are subject to suffering and there is a sense of
frustration and unhappiness with life, that nothing is ever exactly as we
might wish it to be. Suffering is called Dukkha and it refers to the third
of the 'marks of existence'
2. The origin of suffering is craving-the word for this craving is 'tanha'
and it is not the need for food and other necessities of life, nor is it the
enjoyment that comes from pleasant experiences. It is the attempt to
group all things we enjoy, to want more and more of these things. The
grasping shows that people feel a kind of inner emptiness and want to
fill it in.
3. The end of suffering (niroda)-the Buddha taught that the only way to
end suffering was to stop craving at life, but a person that feels
emotionally empty will want to grasp. The only way to stop craving is to
discover inner satisfaction and appreciate life. Buddhists do not crave
because they have learnt to enjoy life as it is and nirvana is the point
where craving ceases to exist.
4. The way that leads to the cessation of suffering-this is 'The Middle
Way' or Magga, and it is often set out in the form of eight steps. These
are not steps that a person has to take one after another, but eight
features of the Buddhists life.
The Noble Eightfold Path shows us the three aspects to the Buddhist way of
life-Wisdom (prajuna), Morality (sila) and Mental Training (samadhi). All
three of these are dealt with in 'the Noble Eightfold Path'.
. Right (or perfect)view-understanding the Four Noble Truths.
2. Right (or perfect)speech-avoiding unkind words.
3. Right (or perfect)action-avoiding violence or vanity.
4. Right (or perfect)livelihood-seeking employment that causes no harm to
others.
5. Right (or perfect)effort-using time wisely.
6. Right (or perfect)mindfulness-being compassionate.
7. Right (or perfect)concentration-mediating.
8. Right (or perfect)intentions-the decision to follow the Buddhist Path.
I will now discuss the effect of the teachings of the Noble Eightfold Path in
RS2.
RS2 Describe how the teachings of the Middle Way are
interpreted by Buddhists, how they affect their lives and
how they may facilitate the attainment of Nirvana.
The Noble Eightfold Path is 'The Middle Way' in Buddhism and you have to
follow it if you want to reach enlightenment. The Path is used to make it
easier to become enlightened and reach Nirvana. By following the Path
Buddhists' lives are changed and their points of view differ.
The first step in the Noble Eightfold path is Right (or perfect) view and
this step is about the thoughts about life that the Buddhist should have.
Using this step Buddhists learn to deepen their understanding of life, using
the Buddha's teachings to do so. People who don't think about the nature,
conditioned existence or the origin of suffering, are unlikely to progress
along the Path. Having the right view is not just about learning from a book,
but a personal view on what life is all about. Without this view, there would
be no point in Buddhists following the Path.
Using this step in everyday life Buddhists will learn how to live their lives
without suffering or craving, therefore becoming a better person. Having
the right view will help Buddhists to become enlightened.
The second step in the Path is Right (or perfect) intention and this part of
the Path is about choosing to actually follow it. This step in the path is to
do with following the path out of freedom and that you can only act on this
step if you want to reach enlightenment. Every action that people do comes
from thought and this right intention is the positive thought that a person
needs in order to make progress along the Path.
Using this step in everyday life Buddhists will learn to say positive things
and choose whether they want to reach enlightenment or not by following
the Path.
The next step in the Path is Right (or perfect) speech. Buddhists should
learn not to use four kinds of speech, which are, telling lies, causing trouble
between people by spreading gossip, speaking harshly and time-wasting
chatter. These may cause suffering to someone or yourself, so that is why
Buddhists always try to do the following things:
* Be truthful, careful and accurate in what they say.
* To speak in a kind way that promotes harmony between people.
* Be kind and gentle in their speech.
* To value silence, when there is nothing useful to say.
Using this Buddhists can learn to control what they say, so that what they
do say will not harm themselves or others. This will help them along the Path
and to become enlightened quicker.
The fourth step on the Noble Eightfold Path is Right (or perfect) action.
All Buddhists try to follow five 'precepts' which are general guidelines for
life. These five guidelines are, do not destroy life, do not steal, do not
misuse sex or over indulge the senses, do not lie (this is also part of 'right
speech') and do not cloud the mind with drugs or alcohol.
Using this step in the path Buddhists will learn to refrain from behaviour
involving things such as killing or stealing. This is why Buddhists do not eat
meat because they believe that even the breaking of an egg is destroying a
life, that is why they don't eat things such as lamb and pork because to get
to the dinner table it has been killed and that is taking a living beings life.
The fifth step in the Path is Right (or perfect) livelihood. If a person
follows the Noble Eightfold Path, its is important that they should earn a
living in a way that does not involve going against their religion. This means
that the work that they do shouldn't be of benefit to themselves and should
not harm them or others.
Applying this step to everyday lives Buddhists learn not to harm others in
the actions that they do and they learn to earn a living in a job where there
is no suffering and no one gets hurt. For example they could become a
doctor or nurse as their job would be to help people in need, they could also
become a charity worker because their job would also be to help people less
fortunate than themselves.
The next step in the Noble Eightfold Path is Right (or perfect) effort.
The right effort is used to develop a person's mind, because people are
often distracted or tempted to take the easy way out of things. The Buddha
teaches that attaining happiness and Enlightenment depends upon the
person's own efforts. Effort is the root of all achievement.
Using this Buddhists learn that they will only get somewhere if they put the
right about of effort into their lives. It shows them that no matter how
good the Buddha's teachings are, it's the fact that they have to put his
teachings into practice before they can expect to obtain the desired results
out of the Path.
The seventh step in the Path is Right (or perfect) mindfulness. This step
helps people to become more aware of themselves and everything around
them. People can't control or develop themselves if they are unaware of how
they actually feel and why they respond to life the way they do. Also
people are more likely to become lost in their own little world than to
notice what is happening to people and places around them. Buddhists
practice meditation to help them become aware in this way.
By applying this part of the Path to their lives Buddhists will become more
aware of themselves and the people and places around them and take more
care in what they do, so they don't harm other people. They will also learn
to take care in what they say, think and do, so as not to harm people or
themselves.
The final part of the Noble Eightfold Path is Right (or perfect)
concentration. This step is about meditation and Buddhists believe that
through practice of meditating their mind will become clear and calm. It
will help them to develop loving-kindness and to also help them gain an
insight into the truths of life. The ultimate goal of this process is to reach
Nirvana and to be able to do this, Buddhists meditate regularly. There are
different forms of meditation, but I will talk about the two main forms of
it and they are Samatha Meditation and Vipassana Meditation.
Samatha Meditation-in order to have control over the mind, it is helpful to
have a subject on which to focus attention. In this type of meditation the
subject is your own breath.
Vipassana Meditation-vipassana means 'insight', and this type of meditation
refers to a system of mental developments. Looking inside your mind. This
mediation helps you to enlightenment and you need to follow the Noble
Eightfold Path, Right Mindfulness, where as Samatha relates to the Right
Effort.
Meditation helps Buddhists to become enlightened and to help them to think
clearer thoughts, as it helps to clear their minds of any bad ones. It also
helps them to reach Nirvana therefore stopping their suffering and craving
and burning out the three fires.
RS3
"In your opinion, how easy do you think it would be to follow the
Middle Way as a Lay Buddhist living in the modern world?"
I think that it would quite hard for a Lay Buddhist to follow The Middle
Way in modern times because to follow the Noble Eightfold Path you need a
lot of time and effort. With the jobs Lay Buddhists will have these days
they might not have enough time to practice meditation for long periods at a
time, therefore they are unable to do a couple of the steps along the Path.
It also depends on where you come from in the world, if you are a Lay
Buddhists and you come from Asia then you would find it a lot easier to
follow the Middle Way than if you come from the Western part of the
world. This is because in Asia it is one of the main religions and some jobs in
places like China, always allow time before their employees start working to
allow them to meditate. In the western world Buddhism is not as big as
Christianity or Judaism, so nearly all jobs probably won't allow time before
their employees start to work for them to meditate.
Following the Noble Eightfold Path would be hard in modern times because
although it is a recognised religion in the western world, there are only a
handful of Buddhists places of worship compared to Churches and
Synagogues. This would make it harder for someone to become a Buddhist or
to follow the Middle Way because they may not live near a Buddhist place
of worship (temple). Although people could worship at home, they would
need a Shrine (of the Buddha), so that they can use it to help with their
meditation.
A Lay Buddhist would probably think that it isn't hard following the Path in
the modern world because they have probably done it all their life, and
they have learnt through meditation to cope with it. Although they would
find it harder than if they were living years ago when they could be Lay
Buddhists really easily. They would have difficulty but if they have been
following it all their then their not really going to have much trouble in
doing so in the modern world.
Lay Buddhists could still use the Eightfold Path in everyday use though.
They could use Right Intentions to help them only do or say things that
won't harm anybody or anything. Right Speech will help Lay Buddhists to
only say nice things and not to hurt other people in what they say. Using
Right Action will help them so that they only act positively and be kind to
all living beings. Those are just four examples of how Lay Buddhists could
use the Path in everyday life even in the modern world.
In conclusion I think that it would be hard for Lay Buddhists to follow the
Middle Way in the modern world, but I don't think that it would be
impossible. There are a lot of Lay Buddhists out there living in the modern
world that follow the Path, and even if they do find it hard they don't give
up on it. So that is why I think that it would be hard being a Lay Buddhist,
but it would be harder being one in the western world than Asia because in
the western world is not one of the main religions compared to what its like
in Asia and the Middle East.
Bibliography
Internet- www.geocities.com/Tokyo/5215/eight
www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism
www.sim.org/simnow/religions/buddhism
www.lia.net/vanloontintro
Books- Buddhism: A New Approach By Steve Clark and Mel Thompson
Other Sources- Microsoft Encarta '95
The Hutchinsons Multimedia Encyclopedia 1997
By Jonny Pomroy 10LM