İnanç Dosyası 20 | Buddhism 2

All living causes suffering. And suffering is brought about by desire and yearning.  Freedom from suffering can be achieved by renouncing all desire. 

The Noble Eightfold Path:

1. Right view is understanding the Four Noble Truths.
2. Right thought is free from lust, ill will, cruelty, and untruthfulness. 
3. Right speech is abstaining from lying, tale bearing, and harsh language.
4. Right action is abstaining from killing, stealing and sexual misconduct.
5. Right livelihood is earning a living in a way not harmful to any living thing.
6. Right effort is to avoid evil thoughts and overcome them, to arouse good thoughts and maintain them.
7. Right mindfulness is to pay attention to every state of the body, feeling, mind.
8. Right concentration is concentration on a single object so as to induce certain special states of consciousness in deep meditation.

Laos – Luang Prabang.

Four Noble Truths:

1. Pain or Suffering: such as birth, old age, illness, death, living with someone you dislike, being apart from a loved one, not having the things you want; in short, clinging to existence is pain.
2. Cause of Pain: pain derives from a thirst of ownership and claiming possession. This thirst springs from the ignorance that convinces you there is an inner self (atman) and that possessing material goods brings happiness; the craving for existence.
3. The Cessation of Pain: release and detachment from that craving. The important thing to rid oneself of this thirst. Buddhism avows that it is possible to be delivered from pain, that it is possible to achieve Nirvana, the state of enlightenment, by renouncing every kind of dependence, greed and hatred, and by extinguishing all illusions. Nirvana is freedom, happiness and unconditional finality. No matter in which class of society, every human being can achieve this state.
4. The Path that Leads to the Cessation of Pain: to facilitate achieving Nirvana there is what is known as the Noble Eightfold Path.
   
   

Cambodia–Siem Reap.  Angkor,Bayon Temple.

Cambodia – Phnom Penh

Buddhist doctrine has no room for sacrificial ritual and priestly intervention.  In actual practice, especially in Mahayana, and to some extent in Hinayana, there is little to distinguish a monk from a priest. Hinayana Buddhism has never produced a rigid hierarchy.  But many Mahayana sects have developed a hierarchical sacerdotalism.  

The three basic tenets which priests or monks follow are poverty, chastity and inner calm. They own no property. They carry only a begging bowl, a brooch, rosary beads, a razor for shaving the head and a piece of cloth for filtering water. Buddhist priests filter their drinking water so that they do not inadvertently swallow an insect or kill a living creature. They obtain their food by begging.

The colours of the robes of the ordained members of the Buddhist monk hood may vary, depending on the sect of Buddhism. Two robes are worn: inside the monastery, he wears one robe, leaving one shoulder and arm uncovered; outside, he will usually wear his outer robe to cover both shoulders. Monks originally made their robes by sewing together pieces of cloth.  Even if a monk were given a good length of cloth, it had to be cut into pieces and then sewn together. Monks are free to travel from one temple to another at will. The wats (temples) are open to anyone who wishes to retire to them.