Drum – 22 August 2019

http://www.drum.co.za 22 AUGUST 2019 | (^59)
INTHE CLASSROOM
Tibetan
Buddhist
prayer wheelsin
Swayambhunath. Spinning
these wheels is the same as
chantinga numberofprayers
andhelpsbuildgoodkarma.
Ordinary Buddhists give
alms (food and necessities)
to monks as a form of respect
and connection to Buddhism,
not as charity.
Buddhists gather
tocelebrate the
Buddha’s birthday
atthe Jogyesa
emple in Seoul,
outh Korea, where
t’sa public holiday.
achlantern has a
emple-goer’s wish
ttached to it. Many
emples provide free
ealsand tea to all
sitors on this day.
theFourNobleTruths).
Rightintention:resistevil(byplacingservice
toothersabovetheself).
Rightspeech:don’tsayanythingthatcould
hurtothers(lies,harshwords,gossip).
Rightaction:dotherightthings(behave
peacefully,helpothers,don’thurtlivingthings).
Rightlivelihood:dousefulworkthatdoesn’t
harmothers.
Righteffort:trytofreeyourmindfromevil
(withpositivethoughts).
Rightmindfulness:beincontrolofyour
feelings,thoughtsanddeeds.
Rightconcentration:developthemental
focustoreachmindfulness.
ENLIGHTENMENT
Onceyouridyourselfofthethree
poisons(blownouttheflamesofdesire,
delusionandhatred)you’llreachnirvana.This
doesn’tmeanyoudisappearfromthephysical
worldintoaheavenlyrealmbutthatyou’ve
reachedastateofmindinwhichyoufeel
spiritualjoywithoutnegativeemotions. You
havedeepcompassionforalllivingthings.
Afterdeathapersonwho’sreachednirvana
breaksfreefromthecycleofreincarnation.
THE TEACHINGS SPREAD
After the Buddha’s death his followers
began to organise a religious movement
based on his teachings.
In the third century BC the Indian emperor
Ashoka the Great made Buddhism the state
religion. He built monasteries and sent missio-
naries to spread Buddhism throughout the known
world.
There were Buddhists in China in about 50BC
andinJapaninthesixthcenturyAD.Inthe19th
centuryChineseimmigrantsspreadBuddhismto
NorthAmericaandSouthAfrica,andJapanese
immigrantstookittoSouthAmerica.
PRACTICE
In Buddhist practice (puja), followers
chant together to show their love for
the Buddha. To thank him for his teachings they
also bring small offerings of flowers, candles,
incense and clean water to a temple, which can
take many forms such as a pagoda or stupa.
Buddhists can also practise at home. They set
aside a room in their house for a statue of the
Buddha where theymeditateorreadfromthe
Tripitaka, a collectionofsacredBuddhisttexts.
BRANCHESOF BUDDHISM
There are two main branches of Bud-
dhism: Theravada and Mahayana.
Theravada (“the teachings of the elders”) is found
especially in Southeast Asia and is seen as closer
to the original form of Buddhism. In this tradition
only monks can achieve nirvana. They also see the
Buddha as unique.
Mahayana (“the great vehicle”) spread north
through Tibet and China and has absorbed many
local traditions. In this tradition anyonecanach-
ieve enlightenment and there have beenother
BuddhasbeforeandafterSiddhartha.
Prayer flags fly
from the top of the
stupa at Swayam-
bhunath in Nepal.
Buddhists believe
the prayers written
on the flags will be
blown by the wind to
sharegoodwillwith
everyone.
Tenzin Gyatso is
the 14th Dalai Lama,
the head monk of
TibetanBuddhism.
t
B
a
t
S
it
E
te
att
te
m
vis
e
and inJapanin the sixth century AD In the 19th Tripitakaa collection of
Giving alms
(dāna) to monks
is believed to
purify the mind
of the giver.
GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
To find out more
about how the
Buddha reached
his insights, go to:
tinyurl.com/The-
Buddha-and-his-
teachings
wwwdrumcoza 22 AU
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