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Write a comparative study of Buddhism and Christianity.Your paper must describe and analyze the major
similarities and differences between the two religions you choose to investigate.
Make sure that your paper is detailed, clear, well-organized, and logically coherent. Imagine that you are
writing to people who do not know anything about your topic but who are interested in learning what you
are writing about. Your job is to inform them appropriately, in depth and in detail, on the basis of your
knowledge of your subject. Make sure that you explain clearly all important terms and concepts.
there are seven typical components of a
religious belief-system or world-view:(1) The nature, origins, and destiny of the cosmos (cosmology)
(2) God, the gods, or other divine/supernatural beings (theology)
(3) Human nature and the human condition/predicament (anthropology)
(4) Salvation, redemption, deliverance, or liberation from the human condition/predicament (soteriology)
(5) Right conduct (morality and ritual)
(6) The final destiny of all things (eschatology)
(7) The nature and membership of the religious community (ecclesiology)
Every religion has something to say on these seven subjects. In your paper, you must compare and contrast
the two religions you select under the foregoing seven headings (as applicable).
Sources: Your paper must be based on and should contain appropriate citations to the two chapters in Smith
on the religions you have selected and to ONE primary source selection from the Online Anthology on EACH
of the TWO religions you are comparing.
Buddhism and Christianity
? Smith, Chapters 3 and 8 Supporting quotations: Support your analysis with at least six (6) relevant and substantial quotations from
your sources, two from the Smith text two from one of your primary source selections from the Online
Anthology, and two from the other of your Online Anthology selections. (A “substantial” quotation is at
least 50 words long.)
4. Works cited and citations: Include a list of Works Cited at the end of your paper, and include correct page
sources: Huston smith the world’s religions ONLINE ANTHOLOGY NOTES on Buddhism
The Middle Path
There are two extremes to be avoided by one who has renounced the world: (1) immersion in sensual pleasures,
which is pathetic, low, vulgar, dishonorable, and which leads to no true fulfillment; and (2) excessive self-denial and selfmortification, which is painful and dishonorable, and which leads to no true fulfillment.
Avoiding these two extremes, a Tathagata [enlightened one] discovers a Middle Path, which opens the eyes, which
bestows understanding, and which leads to peace of mind, to wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvana. And what is that
Middle Path? It is the Noble Eightfold Path, namely, Right Views, Right Intent, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right
Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. This is the Middle Path . . . .
A Tathagata [enlightened one], does not seek salvation in austerities, but neither does he immerse himself in
worldly pleasures, nor does he live in abundance and luxury. He follows the Middle Path. You can’t become spiritually
purified by abstaining from fish or meat, nor from going naked, nor from shaving the head, nor from wearing matted hair, nor
from dressing in a rough garment, nor from covering yourself with dirt, nor from sacrificing to the gods. What you need is to
become free from delusion. Similarly, you can’t achieve spiritual purity through reading the Vedas [the sacred scriptures of
Hinduism], nor through making offerings to priests, nor through sacrifices to the gods, nor through self-mortification . . . , nor
through many penances performed for the sake of immortality. What you need is to be come free from delusion.
It isn’t eating meat that makes us unclean. It is anger, drunkenness, obstinacy, bigotry, deception, envy, selfpraise, disparaging others, arrogance, and evil intentions . . . .
He who practices extreme self-denial and self-mortification experiences a suffering that produces confusion and
sickly thoughts in his mind. This is not conducive even to worldly knowledge. Much less does it lead to victory over the
senses! He who fills his lamp with water will not escape the darkness, and he who tries to light a fire with soggy wood will fail.
How can anyone become free from self by leading a wretched life of self-mortification? That is not the way to quench the
fires of lust or the passion for pleasure. He who has extinguished the ego is free form lust; he desires neither worldly nor
heavenly pleasures. For such a one the satisfaction of natural needs does not defile him. Practicing moderation, he eats and
drinks in accordance with the actual needs of the body.
It is true that sensuality is debilitating. The immoderate and self-indulgent man is a slave to his passions, and pleasureseeking is degrading and vulgar. However, to satisfy the necessities of life is not evil. To keep the body in good health is a duty, for
otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom and keep our mind strong and clear. Water surrounds the lotus-flower, but
does not wet its petals . . . .
The Four Noble Truths (1) Now this is the Noble Truth of Suffering [dukkha]: Birth is suffering, aging and deterioration is suffering, disease
is suffering, death is suffering. The presence of hateful objects is suffering; the absence of lovable objects is suffering; not getting what we desire [that is, getting what we don’t want and not getting what we do want] is suffering. To put it briefly, the
fivefold clinging [attachment] to existence [through the body, sensation, consciousness, perception, and volition ? the five
skandhas or components of human personhood] is suffering.
(2) And this is the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering: The cause is selfish craving [tanha, “thirst,” “desire”],
which leads to rebirth and which is accompanied by lust for pleasure, seeking satisfaction now here, now there. This selfish
craving takes three main forms: (a) craving for pleasure, (b) craving for [continued] existence, and (c) craving for the
cessation of existence.
1
(3) And this is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering: Suffering ceases with the complete cessation of
selfish craving ? a cessation which consists in the absence of every passion [Nirvana, “no passion,” the “blowing out” of
tanha]. Suffering ceases with the laying aside of, the giving up of, the letting go of, the being free from, the rejection of, and
the dwelling no longer upon this selfish craving.
(4) And this is the Noble Truth of the Path that Leads to the Cessation of Suffering [and thence to Nirvana]: It is the
Noble Eightfold Path, that is to say, Right Views, Right Intent, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Teachings from Buddhist Scriptures on the Four Noble Truths
2 Digha Nikaya 16
It is through not understanding, not penetrating, the Four Noble Truths that we go around and around on the cycle
of birth-and-death . . . . But by understanding these . . . Noble Truths, the craving for becoming is extinguished, becoming
itself is destroyed, and there is no more rebirth.
The Noble Truth of Suffering
Samyutta Nikaya 56.11
This is the Noble Truth of Suffering: Birth is suffering, aging and deterioration is suffering, disease is suffering,
death is suffering. The presence of hateful objects is suffering; the absence of lovable objects is suffering; not getting what
we desire [that is, getting what we don’t want and not getting what we do want] is suffering. To put it briefly, the fivefold
clinging [attachment] to existence [through the body, sensation, consciousness, perception, and volition ? the five skandhas
or components of human personhood] is suffering.
Majjhima Nikaya 3.248-252
What, now, is birth? The birth of beings belonging to this or that order of beings, their being born, their conception
and issuing into existence, the appearance of dispositions, the arising of sense-activity: this is called birth.
And what is decay? The decay of beings belonging to this or that order of beings; their becoming old, ill, frail, grayhaired, and wrinkled; the failing of their vitality; the wearing out of their minds and bodies: this is called decay. And what is death? The departing and vanishing of beings out of this or that order of beings; their destruction,
disappearance . . . ; the completion of their life-period; the dissolution of the mind and body; the discarding of the body: this is
called death.
And what is sorrow? The sorrow arising through this or that loss or misfortune, worrying, being alarmed, inward
sadness, inward woe: this is called sorrow.
And what is lamentation? Whatsoever through this or that loss or misfortune makes us wail and lament or puts us
into a state of woe: this is called lamentation.
And what is pain? Bodily pain and unpleasantness; painful and unpleasant feelings produced by bodily
impressions; any bad feeling: this is called pain.
And what is grief? Mental pain and suffering; any distress of the mind: this is called grief.
And what is despair? Distress caused by this or that loss or misfortune; any tribulation of heart or mind;
desperation: this is called despair.
And what is the suffering of not getting what one desires? To beings subject to birth, decay, death, grief,
lamentation, pain, misery, and so forth, there comes the desire not to be subject to those evils but to escape them: “O, that
we were not subject to these things! O, that these things were not before us!” But escape is not possible through mere
desiring; and not to get what one desires is suffering.
And what, in brief, is the fivefold clinging [attachment] to existence? It is embodiment (corporeality), sensation,
consciousness, perception, and volition.
The Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering
Samyutta Nikaya 56.11
And this is the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering: The cause is selfish craving [tanha, “thirst,” “desire”], which
leads to rebirth and which is accompanied by lust for pleasure, seeking satisfaction now here, now there. This selfish craving
takes three main forms: (a) craving for pleasure, (b) craving for [continued] existence, and (c) craving for the cessation of
existence.
Dhammapada 338, 335-336
If you fall victim to this foul and oppressive craving, your sorrows increase like wild grass after rain. If you conquer
this foul and oppressive craving, your sorrows will roll off you, like beads of water off a lotus plant . . . . If its root remains undamaged and strong, a tree, even if cut, will grow again. Similarly, if craving is not rooted out of your existence, your
suffering returns again and again.
The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
Samyutta Nikaya 56.11
And this is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering: Suffering ceases with the complete cessation of selfish
craving ? a cessation which consists in the absence of every passion [Nirvana, “no passion,” the “blowing out” of tanha].
Suffering ceases with the laying aside of, the giving up of, the letting go of, the being free from, the rejection of, and the
dwelling no longer upon this selfish craving.
Samyutta Nikaya 12.23
The cessation of selfish craving can be achieved only by one who knows and sees . . . , not by one who does not
know and does not see . . . . But knows what and sees what? The nature, origin, and extinction of form [corporeality], and of sensation, and of consciousness, and of perception, and of volition . . . . The ending of these constructions comes to one
who knows in this way and sees in this way.
However, there are preconditions for knowledge and release, namely, dispassion, disenchantment, insight, vision
of things as they really are, concentration, serenity, rapture, joy, conviction. Suffering, birth, becoming, clinging, craving,
feeling, contact, corporeality, consciousness, etc., also have a precondition, namely, ignorance . . . . [All] the fabrications of
unenlightened existence have ignorance as their foundation and cause . . . .
Anguttara Nikaya 10.92 [the chain of interdependent causation]
There is a means by which a disciple of the Buddha can see the connections between things: When this is, that is.
From the arising of this comes the arising of that. When this isn’t, that isn’t. From the cessation of this comes the cessation of
that.
Thus, we see that ignorance gives rise to the fabrications of finite existence; such fabrications produce
consciousness; consciousness gives rise to name-and-form [psycho-physical existence]; name-and-form lead to sensation,
which results in and from contact with the world; contact with the world gives rise to feeling; from feeling comes craving, and
craving leads to clinging; clinging causes becoming; becoming results in birth; and from birth, there follow inevitably old age
and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair. Such is the origination of the entire mass of suffering.
Now, when ignorance ceases, there are no more fabrications of existence; the non-arising of such fabrications
results in no more consciousness; the cessation of consciousness leads to the cessation of name-and-form [psycho-physical
existence]; the cessation of name-and-form leads to the non-arising of sensation, which results in the non-arising of contact
with the world; the non-arising of contact with the world results in the non-arising of feeling; from the non-arising of feeling,
the non-arising of craving follows, and the non-arising of craving produces no clinging; without clinging, there is no becoming;
without becoming, there is no birth; and with the cessation of birth, there follows the cessation of old age and death, sorrow,
lamentation, pain, distress, and despair. Such is the process that results in the cessation of the entire mass of suffering.
The Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering
Samyutta Nikaya 56.11 And this is the Noble Truth of the Path that Leads to the Cessation of Suffering [and thence to Nirvana]: It is the
Noble Eightfold Path, that is to say, Right Views, Right Intent, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Right Views
Digha Nikaya 22
And what are right views? Knowledge with regard to suffering, knowledge with regard to the origination of suffering,
knowledge with regard to the cessation of suffering, knowledge with regard to the path that leads to the cessation of
suffering: This is what is meant by right views.
Majjhima Nikaya 2
Some people get swept away in a blizzard of abstract questions and speculations: Have I lived past lives? Have I
not lived past lives? What was I in my past lives? How did I fare in my past lives? What shall I be in my future lives? Or shall I
not have any future lives? Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going? [“I,” “I,” “I”!]
This leads to puzzling over numerous theories and hypothetical possibilities: I have a self. I have no self. It is
through self that I experience self. It is through self that I understand that there is no self. It is through no-self that I perceive
self. This very self of mine ? the knower, the actor, the one who will be rewarded or punished for his good and bad actions ? is a constant, unchanging, everlasting, eternal being that lives forever.In this way, many people become trapped in a thicket, a wilderness, a morass, a snake-pit, a prison of views. Thus,
they are not freed from birth, aging, and death, nor from sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair. They are not freed
from suffering.
However, those who attend to the Four Noble Truths develop right views: Knowledge with regard to suffering,
knowledge with regard to the origination of suffering, knowledge with regard to the cessation of suffering, knowledge with
regard to the path that leads to the cessation of suffering. One who attends in this way to the Four Noble Truths is released
from selfhood, from doubt, and from grasping at precepts and abstract concepts.
Samyutta Nikaya 12.15
By and large . . . , this cosmos is grounded in the polarity of existence and non-existence. But when one
understands the cosmos as it actually is, then the concepts of “non-existence” and “existence” do not arise.
By and large . . . , this cosmos is in bondage to attachments, clingings, and fixations of consciousness. But a
Buddha does not get bogged down in these attachments, clingings, and fixations of consciousness; nor is he focused on “my
self.” He has no uncertainty or doubt that, when there is arising, only suffering is arising; and that when there is passing
away, it is suffering that is passing away. He has right views.
Right Intent
Samyutta Nikaya 45.8
And what is right intent? It is being intent on freedom from sensuality, on freedom from ill-will, on freedom from
doing harm: This is called right intent.
Right Speech
Samyutta Nikaya 45.8
And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, and from idle chatter:
This is called right speech.
Samyutta Nikaya 3.3
Speak only what neither torments yourself nor does harm to others . . . . Speak meaningfully and usefully . . . .
Anguttara Nikaya 10.99 A disciple of the Buddha abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, is firm and reliable, and is no deceiver.
He abstains from divisive speech. He does not use what he has heard to break people apart from one another. He seeks to
reconcile those who have broken apart and to cement those who have united. He loves and serves concord and speaks
things that create or sustain concord. He abstains from abusive speech. His words are soothing to the ear and affectionate;
they go to the heart; they are polite, appealing, and pleasing to people in general. He abstains from idle chatter. He speaks
at the right time; he speaks what is factual and true, what is in accordance with the teaching and discipline of
the Buddha . . . .
Majjhima Nikaya 61
Whenever you prepare to speak, you should ask, “Will this verbal act lead to self-harm, or to the harm of others, or
to both? Will it have painful consequences?” If, on reflection, you know that your speaking will lead to self-harm, or to the
harm of others, or to both, or if you know that it will have painful consequences for anyone, then you should not speak. If, on
reflection, you know that your speaking will not cause harm or produce painful consequences for anyone, or if you know that
your speaking will do good and produce happy consequences, then you are free to spSamyutta Nikaya 45.8
And what is right conduct? Abstaining from taking life, from stealing, and from sexual intercourse [or impurity]. This
is called right conduct.
Anguttara Nikaya 10.99
Having renounced the world and following the Buddhist monastic life, the bhikkhu
1
abstains from the taking of life.
He lays down his club and his sword. He is kind and compassionate, serving the welfare of all living beings. He abstains from
taking what is not given to him. He takes only what is given, accepts only what is given, lives not by stealing but by means
that are morally pure. He lives a celibate life, apart, refraining from sexual intercourse.
Anguttara Nikaya 10.176
The lay follower of the Buddhist way of life must abstain from [the taking of life, from stealing, and from] sexual
immorality, misconduct, and impropriety . . . .
Right Livelihood
Samyutta Nikaya 45.8
And what is right livelihood? This is where a disciple, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going
with right livelihood: This is called right livelihood.
Anguttara Nikaya 5.177
These following five trades . . . [are prohibited]: (1) manufacturing or trading in weapons, (2) trading in living beings
[slave-trading and prostitution], (3) trading in meat, (4) trading in intoxicants, and (5) trading in poisons.
2
Right Effort
Samyutta Nikaya 45.8
And what . . . is right effort? It is (1) preventing evil and unwholesome states of mind from arising; (2) getting rid of
such states of mind that may already exist; (3) bringing about good and wholesome states of mind; and (4) developing and
perfecting good and wholesome states of mind that are already present: This form of meditation is called right effort.
Right Mindfulness
Samyutta Nikaya 45.8
And what . . . is right mindfulness? (1) This is where a practitioner remains focused on the body in and of itself ?
dedicated, aware, and mindful ? putting away greed and distress with reference to the world. (2) He remains focused on
feelings in and of themselves ? dedicated, aware, and mindful ? putting away greed and distress with reference to the
world. (3) He remains focused on the mind in and of itself ? dedicated, aware, and mindful ? putting away greed and distress with reference to the world. (4) He remains focused on mental operations in and of themselves ? dedicated, aware,
and mindful ? putting away greed and distress with reference to the world: This . . . [form of meditation] is called right
mindfulness.
Samyutta Nikaya 47.20
Suppose that a large crowd of people comes thronging together, shouting, “The beauty queen! The beauty queen!”
And suppose that the beauty queen is excellent at singing and dancing so that an even greater crowd comes thronging,
shouting, “The beauty queen is singing! The beauty queen is dancing!” Then a man comes along, desiring life and shrinking
from death, desiring pleasure and repelled by pain. They say to him, “Now look here, you must take this bowl filled to the
brim with oil and carry it on your head through the great crowd. A soldier with a sword will follow right behind you and if you
spill even a drop of oil, he will cut your head off right on the spot.”
Will that man allow himself to be distracted by the crowd or by the beauty queen’s singing and dancing? Will he
remove his attention from the bowl of oil? By no means! He will concentrate fully on the bowl and on his own walking . . . .
The bowl of oil stands for mindfulness immersed in the body. Thus you should train yourself to develop
mindfulness immersed in the body, to pursue it, to make it your vehicle, to make it your abode. You should practice it,
acquaint yourself with it fully, and proceed with it properly and with diligence.
Right Concentration
Samyutta Nikaya 45.8
And what . . . is right concentration? (1) The practitioner, withdrawn from sensual pleasures and detached from all
negative states of mind, enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture and pleasure resulting from detachment, accompanied
by directed thought and evaluation. (2) With the cessation of directed thought and evaluation, he enters and remains in the
second jhana: rapture and pleasure born of one-pointed concentration, accompanied by internal calm and peace of mind. (3)
With the fading of rapture, he remains in a state of equanimity ? mindful, fully aware, physically sensitive to pleasure; he
enters and remains in the third jhana: cessation of all passions and prejudices, accompanied by a continued sense of joy. (4)
With the cessation of both pleasure and pain, he enters and remains in the fourth jhana: total tranquility and equanimity,
accompanied by complete awareness. This [form of meditation] is called right concentration. Anguttara Nikaya 4.41
These are the four levels of right concentration: (1) The level of concentration that leads to a pleasant abiding in
the here and now. [This level is described in the preceding paragraph from the Samutta Nikaya 45.8.]
(2) The level of concentration that leads to the attainment of knowledge and vision: This is where the practitioner
has a well-fixed perception of daylight at any hour of the day. Daytime, for him, is the same as nighttime, and nighttime is the
same as daytime. By means of an awareness open and unhampered, he develops an illumined mind . . . .
(3) The level of concentration that leads to mindfulness and alertness: This is where the practitioner is aware of
feelings as they arise, as they persist, and as they subside. He is aware of perceptions as they arise, as they persist, and as
they subside. He is aware of thoughts as they arise, as they persist, as they subside . . . .
(4) The level of concentration that leads to the ending of the fivefold clinging [attachment] to existence [through the
body, sensation, consciousness, perception, and volition ? the five skandhas or components of human personhood]: This is
where the practitioner remains focused on the arising and subsiding of the five components: Such is form [corporeality], such
is its origination, such is its subsiding. Such is feeling . . . . Such is perception . . . . Such are processes . . . . Such is
consciousness, such is its origination, such is its subsiding Transitoriness and impermanence (anicca)
Whether Buddhas arise . . . or whether Buddhas do not arise, it remains a fact and a fixed and necessary
characteristic of existence that all things are transitory and impermanent. A Buddha discovers and masters this fact, and
when he has discovered and mastered it, he broadcasts, teaches, publishes, proclaims, and discloses it, and he explains it in
minute detail, making it clear that all things are transitory and impermanent.
Suffering (dukkha)
Whether Buddhas arise . . . or whether Buddhas do not arise, it remains a fact and a fixed and necessary
characteristic of existence that all things are subject to suffering. A Buddha discovers and masters this fact, and when he has
discovered and mastered it, he broadcasts, teaches, publishes, proclaims, and discloses it, and he explains it in minute
detail, making it clear that all things are subject to suffering.
No-self (anatta)
Whether Buddhas arise . . . or whether Buddhas do not arise, it remains a fact and a fixed and necessary
characteristic of being that there is no such thing as ego or self [a substantial, permanent self-nature]. A Buddha discovers
and masters this fact, and when he has discovered and mastered it, he broadcasts, teaches, publishes, proclaims, and
discloses it, and he explains it in minute detail, making it clear that there is no such thing as ego or self.
The Three Marks of Existence and Nirvana
2
The Buddha teaches that all things are transient and impermanent, that all things are subject to suffering, that
there is no such thing as ego or self. How, then, can there be Nirvana, a state of eternal bliss?
To this question, the Buddha has answered as follows: There is . . . an uncreated state where there is neither
earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air; neither infinity of space nor infinity of consciousness, nor nothingness, nor perception nor
non-perception; neither this world nor another world; neither sun nor moon. In that state, there is neither coming nor going
nor stasis; neither passing away (death) nor arising (birth). In that state there is no stability, no foundation, no change. It is
eternal. It never originates, and it never passes away. There is the end of suffering
The dependent being wavers. The independent being does not waver. No wavering ? tranquility. Tranquility ? no
desire. No desire ? no coming or going. No coming or going ? no passing away or arising. No passing away or arising ?
no here, no there, no in-between. There is the end of suffering.
It is hard to understand this. The truth is not easily grasped. Craving is overthrown by knowledge. For one who
sees, there is nothing. Nirvana is unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unfabricated. Were there not this unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, and
unfabricated, there would be no liberation from the world that is born, originated, created, and fabricated. But since there is
an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, and unfabricated, there is liberation from the world that is born, originated, created, and
fabricated. The Fire Sermon1
On one occasion, when the Buddha was living at Gaya . . . , together with a thousand of his disciples, he
addressed the bhikkhus as follows:
Bhikkhus, all is aflame. And what is the all that is aflame? The eye is aflame. Forms seen are aflame. Eyeconsciousness is aflame. Eye-contact is aflame. Whatever arises on contact with the eye ? whether experienced as
pleasure, or as pain, or as neither pleasure nor pain ? that also is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion,
with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, with aging and death, with sorrow, with
lamentation, with pain, with distress, and with despair.
The ear is aflame. Sounds heard are aflame. Ear-consciousness is aflame. Ear-contact is aflame. Whatever arises
on contact with the ear ? whether experienced as pleasure, or as pain, or as neither pleasure nor pain ? that also is aflame.
Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth,
with aging and death, with sorrow, with lamentation, with pain, with distress, and with despair.
The nose is aflame; odors are aflame . . . . The tongue is aflame; flavors are aflame . . . . The body is aflame;
bodily sensations are aflame . . . . The mind is aflame; ideas are aflame . . . . They are all aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame
with the fire of passion, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, with aging and death, with
sorrow, with lamentation, with pain, with distress, and with despair.
When the true disciple sees thus, he becomes disenchanted with the eye . . . , disenchanted with the ear . . . ,
disenchanted with the nose . . . , disenchanted with the tongue . . . , disenchanted with the body . . . , and disenchanted with
the mind . . . . Whatever arises ? whether experienced as pleasure, or as pain, or as neither pleasure nor pain ? with that
also he becomes disenchanted.
With disenchantment, the disciple becomes dispassionate. Dispassionate, he experiences liberation . . . . He
understands that the cycle of birth-death-rebirth is ended; he has lived a holy life; he has transcended . . . .
Discourse on Dependent Origination2
. . . And what is dependent origination? Ignorance gives rise to fabrications. Fabrications give rise to consciousness. Consciousness gives rise to name-and-form [psycho-physical existence]. Name-and-form give rise to the six
sense faculties. The six sense faculties give rise to contact with the world. Contact with the world gives rise to feeling.
Feeling gives rise to craving. Craving gives rise to clinging. Clinging gives rise to the impulse toward becoming. The impulse
toward becoming gives rise to birth. Birth inevitably gives rise to aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and
despair. This is how the entire mass of suffering originates.
Now what are aging and death? Aging is decrepitude, brokenness, graying, wrinkling, dissipation of the life-force,
weakening of the mental faculties. Death is deceasing, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, dying, completion of
one’s lifetime, break up of the aggregates of personhood, casting off of the body, interruption of the life-force.
And what is birth? It is taking on a new life, descent back into this world, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of
the aggregates of personhood, and acquisition of the sense faculties.
And what is becoming? There are three types of becoming: sensual becoming, bodily becoming, and psychological
becoming . . . .And what is clinging? There are four types of clinging: sensual clinging, clinging to views, clinging to precepts and
practices, and clinging to the idea of self . . . .
And what is craving? There are six classes of craving: craving for forms [physical things], craving for sounds,
craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for tactile sensations, and craving for ideas . . . .
And what is feeling? There are six classes of feeling: feeling stimulated by eye-contact, feeling stimulated by earcontact, feeling stimulated by nose-contact, feeling stimulated by tongue-contact, feeling stimulated by bodily-contact, and
feeling stimulated by the intellect . . . .
And what is contact? There are six classes of contact: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact,
bodily-contact, and intellectual-contact . . . .
And what are the six sense faculties? They are the faculty of seeing (vision), the faculty of hearing (audition), the
faculty of smelling (olfaction), the faculty of tasting (gustation), the faculty of touching (tactility), and the faculty of thinking
(intellection) . . . .
And what are name-and-form? Name [psychical existence] refers to feeling, perception, intention, contact, and
attention. Form [physical existence] refers to the four physical elements [fire, water, earth, and air] . . . .
And what is consciousness? There are six types of consciousness: visual-consciousness, auditory-consciousness,
olfactory-consciousness, gustatory-consciousness, tactile-consciousness, and intellectual-consciousness . . . .
And what are fabrications? There are three kinds of fabrications: bodily fabrications, verbal fabrications, and mental
fabrications . . . .
And what is ignorance? It is not knowing the pervasiveness and inevitability of suffering, not knowing how suffering
originates, not knowing how the cessation of suffering can be brought about, and not knowing the path that leads to the
cessation of suffering. Now, with the cessation of ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications. With the cessation of fabrications comes
the cessation of consciousness. With the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-and-form. With the
cessation of name-and-form comes the cessation of the six sense faculties. With the cessation of the six sense faculties
comes the cessation of contact. With the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling. With the cessation of feeling
comes the cessation of craving. With the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging. With the cessation of clinging
comes the cessation of becoming. With the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. With the cessation of birth
comes the cessation of aging and death, of sorrow, of lamentation, of pain, of distress, and of despair. This is how the entire
mass of suffering ceases.
Name and Form1
[With regard to] . . . the nature of human existence . . . , [what is] the relationship of Name and Form [the
psychological and the physical dimensions of human nature]? Every human being consists of Name and Form [“mind” and
body]. Under “Name” [mind, consciousness], there are three non-corporeal functions: sensation, perception, and volition.
Under “Form” [body, corporeality], there are four elements: earth, water, fire, and air (the gaseous element). These four
elements constitute a man’s bodily form, being held together so that this machine [the body] moves like a puppet. How are
Name and Form related, and how do they function together? Life is transitory. Living is dying. Just as a chariot-wheel rolls only at one point of the tire and rests only at one point
? in the same way, the life of a living being lasts only for the period of one thought. As soon as that thought has ceased, the
living being ceases existing. As has been said, “A past thought has lived, but it does not live [now], nor will it live [in the
future]. A future thought will live, but it has not lived [in the past], nor does it live [in the present]. A present thought lives
[now], but it has not lived [in the past], nor will it live [in the future].”
We must understand how Name and Form interact. Name has no power of its own; it cannot move itself, either to
eat, or to drink, or to utter sounds, or in any other way. Form, too, has no self-moving power or ability. It has no desire to eat,
or to drink, or to utter sounds, or to do anything else. However, Form moves when it is supported by Name, and Name
moves when it is supported by Form. When Name desires to eat, or to drink, or to utter sounds, or to do anything else, then
Form eats, drinks, utters sounds, etc.
Once there were two men. One was blind from birth, and the other was a cripple. They both wanted to go traveling.
The blind man said to the cripple, “Look: I am able to walk, but I can’t see.” And the cripple replied, “Listen: I can see, but I
can’t walk.” So the blind man, pleased and delighted, took the cripple upon his shoulders; and the cripple, sitting on the blind
man’s shoulders, directed him, saying: “Go to the right; go to the left.” Here, the blind man is without power of his own; he
cannot move without support from outside himself. The cripple also has no power of his own; he also needs support from
outside himself. Yet when they mutually support one another, it is not impossible for them to travel. In exactly the same way,
Name is without power of its own, and cannot move itself, nor perform this or that action. Form also is without power of its
own, and cannot move itself, nor perform this or that action. But when they mutually support one another, it is not impossible
for them to rise up and move on.
Now, Name and Form are just fabrications of finite existence; and when they cease to exist in this world, they do
not “go” anywhere else in the universe. After they have ceased to be here, they do not go on existing anywhere else. When
someone plays a lute, the music produced does not arise out of a pre-existing storehouse of sound; and when the music
ceases, it does not “go” anywhere. It just stops. It does not go on existing anywhere. It is, indeed, nowhere. Having not
existed previously, the music came into existence because of the character of the lute and the operations of the lute-player;
and after existing for a time, it passed away. Similarly, all forms being, both corporeal and non-corporeal, come into
existence after having previously been non-existent; and having then existed for a time, they all subsequently pass away.
There is no self dwelling within Name and Form. The interactions between Name and Form produce what we call a
human being. Just as the word “chariot” is but a general expression for axle, wheels, the chariot-body, and other constituents
arranged in a certain way, so a human being is the appearance of elements conjoined in a certain configuration. Just as the
chariot has no self, so a human being has no self.
This is a certain and absolute truth: there is no self in addition to the constituent parts of a human being. “Self” is
just a name for a certain configuration of Name and Form. In reality, there is no ego-substance, no self.
Here is a seeming paradox: there is a road to travel on, and there is traveling going on; but there is no traveler.
There are deeds being done, but there is no doer. There is a blowing of the air, but there is no wind that does the blowing.
Self is an illusion; it is as hollow as the plantain tree and as empty as water bubbles in a brook.
Since there is no self, there is no transmigration of a self. However, there are deeds and their continuing effects.
There is karma and rebirth; there is reincarnation. This follows from the law of cause and effect. Just as a wax impression
reproduces the configurations of a seal, so the thoughts, characters, and aspirations of men living now are transferred to and
impressed upon future lives. Both good and bad deeds of those living now continue to have consequences and recompense
in future lives . . . .
The body is a configuration of perishable organs. It is subject to decay; and we should care for it as if it were
wound; we should supply its needs without loving or being attached to it. The body is like a machine. There is no self or soul
in it that makes it walk or act. It is just the interaction of Name and Form that cause this machine to work . . . . Just as
machines are designed to work by ropes; so the action of the human body is directed by a system of psychophysical pulleys . . .
THOMAS ? KEMPIS
(1380-1471 AD)
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST1
book one first chapter, the fifth chapter, The Sixth Chapter ? Unbridled Affections,The Seventh Chapter ? Avoiding False Hope and Pride,The Twelfth Chapter ? The Value of Adversity, The Twenty-Second Chapter ? Thoughts on the Misery of Man,The Twenty-Third Chapter ? Thoughts on Death,The Twenty-Fourth Chapter ? Judgment and the Punishment of Sin, BOOK TWO ? THE INTERIOR LIFE The First Chapter ? Meditation, The Fourth Chapter ? Purity of Mind and Unity of Purpose, The Seventh Chapter ? Loving Jesus Above All Things,The Eighth Chapter ? The Intimate Friendship of Jesus, The Eleventh Chapter BOOK THREE ? INTERNAL CONSOLATION ? Few Love the Cross of Jesus, The First Chapter ? The Inward Conversation of Christ with the Faithful Soul, The Second Chapter ? Truth Speaks Inwardly Without the Sound of Words
The Disciple, The Third Chapter ? Listen Humbly to the Words of God. Many Do Not Heed Them
The Voice of Christ The Ninth Chapter ? All Things should be Referred to God as their Last End
The Voice of Christ,The Tenth Chapter ? To Despise the World and Serve God is Sweet The Thirteenth Chapter ? The Obedience of One Humbly Subject to the Example of Jesus Christ
The Voice of Christ The Seventeenth Chapter ? All Our Care is to Be Placed in God
The Voice of Christ The Twenty-first Chapter ? Above All Goods and All Gifts We Must Rest in God The Twenty-Third Chapter ? Four Things Which Bring Great Peace The Thirty-Third Chapter ? Restlessness of Soul ? Directing Our Final Intention Toward God The Thirty-Seventh Chapter ? Pure and Entire Resignation of Self to Obtain Freedom of Heart The Forty-Ninth Chapter ? The Desire of Eternal Life;
the Great Rewards Promised to Those Who Struggle The Fifty-Sixth Chapter ? We Ought to Deny Ourselves and Imitate Christ
Through Bearing the Cross The Fifty-Ninth Chapter ? All Hope and Trust Are to Be Fixed In God Alone
Also the World’s of religions by huston smith chapter 3 and 8
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