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Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and Literature in South Asia Week 3: Life story of the Buddha Main image of Śākyamuni Buddha within the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya, Bihar, India) Overview of Syllabus Week 1: Introduction to Buddhist Literature, Jātaka Tales Week 2: Indian Buddhist Sūtra Literature Week 3: Life story of the Buddha in Indian poetry Week 4: Indian Buddhist Poetry and Drama Week 5: Tibetan Buddhist Inspirational poetry Week 6: Buddhist Biography and Hagiography in Tibet Week 7: Modern Buddhist Biographies: the 14th Dalai Lama’s Autobiography Week 8: Buddhist-inspired fiction in the 20th century Recap from Week 2: Indian Buddhist Sūtra Literature What roles to sutta-s and sutra-s as texts play in Buddhism around the world? Sutta-s and sūtra-s in Buddhist practice • They are read or referred to for doctrinal or monastic-related content (by monks and nuns) • Recited (by both monastic and laity) as liturgy, especially for special occasions • The physical texts themselves held to be sacred! A Rizong monk seated at a special sutra stool reading Mahayana sutras outside the main prayer hall. Examples of Recitations of Sutta-s and sūtra • Karaniya metta sutta (Discourse on Loving Kindness) chanted in Pali in the Thai style of chanting by Theravada pracitioners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igHQVc1FP0o • The Heart Sūtra (chanted in Tibetan) by Mahāyāna monks in Tibetan style https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL7OYF0MiTo Sutta-s and sūtra-s are used as relics in stupa-s such as the Damekh Stupa…. Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath, (India) originally built by Ashoka in 249 BC …And the Bodhanath Stupa in Nepal, as well as in smaller stupa-s throughout South Asia Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal Small stupa-s at Shanti Stupa Ladakh, India Life story of the Buddha in Indian poetry (Through Aśvaghoṣa’s Life of the Buddha) So, what kinds of Indian “literature” existed at the time of Ashvaghosa’s works? (~1st-2nd century CE) Sanskrit treatises on poetry, such as Bhāmaha’s Ornamentation of Poetry and the first chapter of Daṇḍin’s Mirror of Poetry describe Indian Sanskrit literary genres (but only very generally) → we have to look at literary examples for classification Traditional Indian six-fold classification of “literature”(belles lettres) A. Drama (nāṭaka) – Such as Handsome Nanda B. Ornate epic (sargabandha “poetry [divided into] chapters or cantos”, also called mahākāvya “great ornate epic”) Such as Life of the Buddha C. Compositions in verse (anibaddha or muktaka “isolated stanzas”, and khaṇḍakāvya “short poems (without chapter- division) D. Mixed forms (campū) E. Biography (ākhyāyikā “report” usually dealing with living or recently deceased persons) F. Novel (kathā “fictitious story” – admitted as subsection of ākhyāyikā) --From Michael Hahn, “The Buddhist Contribution to the Indian Belles Lettres” (455–471) Buddhism’s contribution to Indian literature • Out of these various literary genres, many or almost all genres of belles lettres (formal literature) in India have its oldest specimens in Buddhist literature! • Buddhist literature also contains many genres that have not been described by the poetic theoreticians of India. How can we classify these literary genres more generally? A. Works in prose B. Verse compositions C. Mixed style The battle of Kurukshetra, folio from the Mahabharata. Examples of Buddhist contributions to Indian Lit B. Verse compositions • 1. Ornate epic (sargabandha) – 1a. Primarily poetic compositions like Buddhacarita (Acts of the Buddha), etc. – 1b. Philosophical poems like Pāramitāsamāsa or Bodhicaryāvatāra – 1c. Verse epics like the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā or the Maṇicūḍajātaka From Michael Hahn, “The Buddhist Contribution to the Indian Belles Lettres” (455–471) The Life Story of the Buddha 1. The Birth of the Bodhisattva (the Buddha) 2. Asita's visit (the great seer: foresaw the Buddha’s birth and came to see him as a baby) 3. The Bodhisattva's youth and marriage Vishal Buddha Mandir, 4. The ‘Awakening’ Bodh Gaya (India) The Life Story of the Buddha in Sanskrit poetry 5. Withdrawal from the women 6. The departure 7. The apparition of a mendicant 8. The dismissal of Chandaka 9. The practice of austerities 10. Nandabala's gift 11. The defeat of Mara 12. The Enlightenment 13. The meeting with the mendicant The trope of the 3 ‘signs’ in literary accounts of the Buddha’s life 1st sign: Sickness (the Buddha sees a sick person) 2nd sign: Old age (the Buddha sees an old person) 3rd sign: Death (the Buddha sees a corpse) (an optional 4th sign: the mendicant) The four stages of life (ashrama-s) • The First Ashrama - "Brahmacharya" or the Student Stage • The Second Ashrama - "Grihastha" or the Householder Stage • The Third Ashrama - "Vanaprastha" or the Hermit Stage • The Fourth Ashrama - "Sannyasa" or the Wandering Ascetic Stage The Buddha’s progress to ‘Awakening’ in Pali accounts The growth of the bodhisattva’s insight appears to have been based on his pre-awakening investigation of the dependent arising of duḥkha. Other discourses describe his examination of the true nature of feelings, of the four elements, of the five aggregates, of the six senses and their objects, and of the world. These passages thus highlight various aspects of Gautama’s development of insight, which in turn became facets of the comprehensive realization he attained on the night of his awakening. Gautama’s motivation in Pali Sources “Being myself subject to old age … and death, now suppose I were to search for what is free from old age … and death, for the unsurpassable peace from bondage, Nirvāṇa.”- Ariyapariyesanā-sutta, “Being myself truly subject to old age and death … suppose I were to search … for what is free from old age and death … for the unsurpassable peace from bondage, Nirvāṇa.”- Madhyama- āgama Gautama’s Marvelous Qualities in Pali Sources • Instead of compassion, the emphasis in the early discourses is on a range of other qualities of the bodhisattva • Mention several remarkable events that took place during the Buddha’s youth and after his awakening, highlighting (among other qualities) his ability to be aware of the arising, continuity and disappearance of feelings, perceptions and thoughts (“insight”). The already perfected Buddha • In some Pali texts, the Buddha’s life is filled with descriptions of his experience of various mental defilements, such as fear and sensual desire. • Later strata of both Pali and Sanskrit texts instead reflect a Buddha who is already accomplished at birth! • If he is already accomplished at birth, accomplishments had to occur in previous lives, thus his accomplishments had to be moved back to previous lifetimes in literary narratives. Compassion and the Bodhisattva ideal in Pali Buddhism • The early discourses that describe the period from ‘going forth’ to ‘awakening’ indicate that Gautama’s chief concern (motivation) was to find liberation for himself. • His compassionate concern for others appears to have arisen only as a consequence of his awakening, instead of having motivated his quest for liberation. The Bodhisattva ideal in Mahayana Buddhism • Mahayana Buddhists, like many of their Theravada counterparts accepted that the Buddha was already accomplished at birth (and thus compassion arose early in his life) • Modeled on this interpretation, in Mahayana Buddhism you find an emphasis on what is called the Bodhisattva ideal: that one should strive to attain enlightenment—not for oneself—but for others. • This compassionate motivation is sometimes called bodhi-citta (“spirit of awakening”) The Buddha’s Enlightenment Regardless of at what point precisely the Buddha is considered to be ‘accomplished’ one common emphasis in all stories surrounding the moment of the Buddha’s enlightenment is his practice of meditation Mahabodhi Temple Tree, Bodh Gaya (India) The role of meditation in Buddhism • The Buddha allegedly attained enlightenment after meditating for 40 days under what became called the ‘bodhi’ tree • In monasteries and nunneries, meditation historically has been common and remains common (though not practiced by all) • Historically meditation was not commonly practiced by many lay followers. Meditation in lay Buddhist practice has resurged in modern times due to contact with Western countries Buddhist forms of meditation • Samatha (Pali) /Shamatha (Sanskrit) “Calm” or “Calm-abiding” • Vipassana (Pali)/ Vipashyana (Sanskrit) “Insight” “Calm-abiding” meditation • Mindfulness of breath, body • Resting the mind on an ‘object’ of meditation in order to attain a sense of deep calming meditative ‘absorption’ (jhana/dhyana) Common Buddhist Objects for calm-abiding meditation • Various forms of Counting • Following the breath through the body • Locations on the body, such as the nostrils, chakra-s or channels, • ‘elements’ of the body (earth, water, fire, and air/wind) • Light sources (candles, offering lamps) • Statues or other depictions of the Buddha or of Bodhisattvas “Insight” meditation • Mindfulness of breath, body • The mind is either directed towards • Cultivating the mind, training it towards the process of “insight”. Which can be done in several ways. • For some practices, the meditator is instructed to simple be mindful of the breath and both label and deconstruct thoughts as they arise. • In other practices, the mind is encouraged to go through an analytical kind of process on various topics Common Buddhist “Insight” meditation practices • Meditating on the nature of the self; deconstructing the ‘self’ or other similar phenomena (i.e. emptiness, dependent origination, 5 aggregates etc.) •
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