諸行無常 Shogyoumujo
Nothing is Permanent
“Right Now” is the only thing in existence
past no longer exists, and future does not exist yet
Buddha himself was a prince, who was married and enjoyed all earthly desires before he went on the journey of enlightenment. Buddha never preached he was god or a saviour.
Buddha actually means “an enlightened person”. He actually emphasised that he was just an ordinary man.
Basic Buddhism Teachings
三法印
Sanbouin
Three Marks of Existence/Three Dharma Seals/Three Truths
• 諸行無常 Shogyoumujo – Nothing is Permanent – “Right Now” is the only thing in existence – past no longer exists, and future does not exist yet.
• 諸法無我 Shohoumuga – Nothing is Independent – everything is interdependent and connected.
• 涅槃寂静 Nehanjyakujyou – Nehan/Nirvana is a state of mind that is free from all earthly desires and completely peaceful and calm - Peace of Mind can be attained by understanding Shogyoumujo and Shohoumuga.
Fourth Seal (Adding Fourth Seal to 三法印Sanbouin makes it四法印 Shihouin)
• 一切皆苦 Issaikaiku – Everything becomes suffering without understanding Shogyoumujo and Shogyoumuga – All suffering derive within ourselves due to such things as 煩悩Bonno - earthly desires 執着shuujaku – unhealthy attachment, and 渇愛 Katsuai – greed, unsatisfied cravings.
四諦 Shitai
4 noble truths for enlightenment
Buddhism has a fundamental teaching called 四諦 Shitai – 4 noble truths for enlightenment. “Tai” refers to “truth” which is the enlightenment.
4 noble truths include the following:
苦諦Kutai: The truth of suffering – Life is 苦Ku - suffering. There are many inevitable sufferings in our lives.
苦Ku - sufferings include 生sei -suffering of being born, 老oi -suffering of aging, 病yamai - suffering of illness, 死shi - suffering of dying, 愛別離苦 Aibetsuriku suffering of being separated from loved ones (e.g. by death), 怨憎会苦 Onzoueku - suffering of living with those you dislike, 求不得苦 Gufutokuku - suffering of not being able to possess what you want, 五蘊盛苦Goonjyoku - suffering from body and mind.
集諦 Jittai: The truth of the origin of suffering – All suffering derive within ourselves due to such things as 煩悩Bonno - earthly desires 執着shuujaku – unhealthy attachment and 渇愛 Katsuai – greed, unsatisfied cravings.
滅諦 Mettai: The truth of non-suffering, the state of enlightenment free from suffering – it can be achieved by anyone.
道諦 Doutai: The truth of the path to non-suffering, 八正道 Hasshoudou - Noble Eightfold Path will lead to enlightenment.
八正道 Hasshoudou - Noble Eightfold Path
It is a fundamental teachings of Buddhism which guide us to live righteously towards self-actualisation and ultimately, enlightenment. It is an instruction on how to free self from sufferings – thus, to live happily.
正見Shoken – Right seeing/perception/view. Objectively seeing the world without distortion. Seeing the truth based on Buddhist wisdom.
正思濰 Shoushiyui—Right thinking/intention . Thinking without selfishness, greed, anger, hatred, or complaints, and making right judgement based on good morality.
正語 Shougo— Right words/speech. Always speaking the truth without lies. Refraining from gossips and bad mouthing. Using loving and kind words only.
正業 Shougou—Right acts. Refrain from morally wrong acts including unnecessary or cruel killing, stealing, and immoral sexual conducts. Having good manners. Be involved with community service.
正命 Shoumyou—Right living. Make living honestly and through working diligently. Have a good living routine, eat healthily and look after own well-being.
正精進 Shoushoujin—Right efforts. Always try to be righteous in everything you do. Strive to refrain from bad conducts, being mindful of own thoughts and conducts so to prevent any bad conducts. Make constant effort to strive to do good.
正念 Shounen—Right mindfulness. Always be mindful of the Noble Eightfold Paths and other Buddha’s teachings in all you do. Strive to be free from judgement, pride, greed and other negative thoughts which lead to 雑念Zatsunen－distractive thinking or 妄想Mousou - delusional and distorted thinking. Discover authentic self, and do not be influenced by delusional thoughts.
正定 Shoujyou—Right concentration/meditation - Practice Zazen meditation and strive to always seek the truth, free from judgement or ego.
念Nen Mindfulness
Mindfulness as widely perceived in the Western society seems to be about attention, non-judgemental and objective awareness, and acceptance of, and focus on ‘here and now’. Mindfulness is also often used as a synonym to , or at least, deeply associated with Mindfulness meditation.
There are now many research findings that report benefits of mindfulness practice and mindfulness meditation.
Serotonin is a chemical that has a wide variety of functions in the human body. It is sometimes called the happy chemical, because it contributes to feeling of wellbeing and happiness. It is mainly found in the brain, bowels, and in blood.
Mindfulness practice and meditation are said to increase serotonin which can lead to:
• Stress reduction
• Encouragement of calm mind
• Relaxation
• Better sleep
• Better concentration
• Improved performance
The origin of Mindfulness is 念Nen which is a concept deriving from Buddhist teaching called 正念 Shounen—Right mindfulness.
While the Western understanding and utility of Mindfulness is NOT wrong, it has lost its connection to the original form and spiritual meaning.
Within Buddhism, Mindfulness or Mindfulness meditation is not just a practice or a tool that can be used alone.
Mindfulness is a part of the Buddhism’s
八正道 Hasshoudou - Noble Eightfold Path— a guide to a righteous way of living a person is meant to abide by according to Buddhism.
無 Mu Nothingness
The goal of Zazen meditation is to reach the state of 無 Mu. It translates to the state of “absolute nothingness”. It is a state of calmness, free from sufferings caused by 煩悩 Bonno – all earthly desire, 執着shuujaku – unhealthy attachment and 渇愛 Katsuai – greed, unsatisfied cravings - which can cause 雑念Zatsunen－distractive thinking or 妄想Mousou - delusional and distorted thinking.
It is not “emptiness”. Buddhism teaches us against having dualist thinking of opposites such as empty and full, good and evil and light and dark. We can only experience this moment right now. What is passed is the past, and what is coming is the future. Our reality is a transient reality. Buddhist teaches that a “mind”, or “consciousness” only exists for this very moment in constantly moving time. Having an “empty” mind implies that it can be “full”. Not just mind or consciousness, nothing can really be a perpetual, permanent existence in ever moving time. Everything is everchanging with the flow of time and there is no absolute truth in this world as the truth can only be determined based on everyone’s perception, filtered by ego, thoughts, expectations, attitudes, and values. Such thoughts, again, is transient with no permanent substance. “Absolute nothingness” is an unwavering state of mind that cannot be washed over by the flow of time or place, free from worldly thoughts or ego – it is about rediscovering our true authentic nature, 仏性 Busshou - Buddha nature.
The “absolute nothingness” state does not mean “mindless” state either. Rather, it is a state of mindfulness without 雑念Zatsunen – distractive worldly thoughts, free from expectations, attitudes, beliefs and values which are inherently distorted through our ego and own perceptions of the world. When we achieve “absolute mindfulness”, we can re-discover our authentic self – Buddha nature.
Zen Buddhist monks engage with meditation and prolonged fasting, in the midst of nature, away from the society, in attempt to reach this state of “absolute nothingness”. Dharma - the monk that spread Zen Buddhism from India to China originally is said to have meditated for 9 years. At the end of 9 years, his legs had festered and broken off from meditating for such a long time. It is unrealistic for us to strive to be free from all earthly desires like Zen Buddhist monks. However, we can practice mindfulness and at least get close to the state of “absolute nothingness”.
Zazen meditation is one way to reach “nothingness” state, if not “absolute nothingness”. Zazen meditation encourages us to be mindful of our own earthly desires, worldly thoughts and distorted perception, expectations, attitudes, and values. It is not about denying or ignoring our thoughts. We are encouraged to mindfully observe our thoughts and ego, acknowledge, accept and let go.
Whatever we feel that may be painful,
Whatever we may have done that was wrong and causing guilts,
Whatever regrets we may have,
Whatever cravings we have that are unfulfilled,
All the good, the bad and the ugly,
All the pain, distress and suffering,
All the fear, confusion and sadness,
Whatever it was, no longer exists.
Whatever will be, does not exist yet.
Remember 諸行無常 Shogyoumujo – Nothing is Permanent – “Right Now” is the only thing in existence.
You must fully be present to experience the memory of whatever it is that is causing you the suffering.
Be mindful and use all senses – hear it, see it, feel it, smell it, taste it.
Let the thoughts and emotion flow freely and observe them without judgement or denial. Embrace and accept all thoughts and emotions with unconditional love, then let go.
Have gratitude and respect.
Always be kind and have unconditional love and compassion for all, including self.
Remember 諸法無我 Shohoumuga – Nothing is Independent – everything is interdependent and connected.
Forgive everyone – as forgiving someone is also forgiving self.
Visualise loving light surrounding you. Visualise yourself as a part of the universe and feel the connectedness with all. Extend the loving light to all that dwell on this Universe. Let go of own agenda, judgement and attachment to what you believe is “right”. Let go of your own “wants”.
Once you truly let go, there should be nothing but pure love left.
If you have difficulty letting go with loving thoughts, then continue with self-inquiry.
What is the attachment?
What is the cause of the suffering?
Why do you have a particular attachment?
Usually, motivators for unhealthy attachments are pleasure or pain.
You are attached to something because you THINK it gives you pleasure, or it helps you from avoiding pain. Is it the truth?
Break it down.
What is your cause of your unhealthy attachment?
Continue until you are able to accept and let go your attachment with loving thoughts.
All is how it should be. Love is always the answer. Kindness is mandatory.
This will bring clarity and peace.
仏性 Busshou ‐Buddha nature
Zen Buddhism believes that we are all born with the 仏性 Busshou ‐Buddha nature – a perfectly pure existence.
Yes, we were born perfect.
Some of the other Buddhism schools do not share this idea of Buddha nature.
In Zen Buddhism, this pure existence is our true nature and it is thought that not only human, but nature and animals all have this Buddha nature.
Our earthly desires and worldly thoughts cause sufferings and taint the Buddha nature. It is about discovering our true authentic self.
State of “absolute nothingness is a state where we are free from all sufferings that earthly desires bring upon us.