BUDDHIST CONCEPTS

Some Basic Buddhist Concepts 

There are about 500 schools of Buddhism. Although there is general agreement about Buddhist concepts, there are different names for concepts. So before sharing the concepts, it is useful to know that the following terms are from the Theravada tradition. Theravada means 'teaching of the elders.' 

The kind of meditation I teach is called Insight Meditation or Vipassana. The word Vipassana is Pali, the language of the earliest Buddhist scriptures, and comes from two roots -- 'vi' means 'in a special way' and passana means seeing or perceiving. So insight meditation is cultivating the mind to see the world around us in a special way, a clearer way of really perceiving the nature of reality. In English this way of seeing is called mindfulness.

Four Noble Truths 
1. There is suffering in life.
2. We can find the root of our suffering, identify its causes within ourselves and how 
through our habitual patterns we create and enforce it. 
3. We can be liberated from suffering by providing patient spacious attention to 
our experience, both pleasant and unpleasant. 
4. The means of liberation is The Eightfold Path. 

The Eightfold Path is the tool we can use to understand the root of our suffering and transform it. On our first encounter with the idea of there being ‘right’ views, speech, etc., we may bristle. We don’t want to be forced into a particular way of speaking or thinking. We want to speak authentically and think for ourselves. But in fact they are not rules of behavior but useful tools to explore the cause of our suffering. For example, if we are gossiping about someone and begin to feel badly, we can look to the Eightfold Path and see that it is in having done the opposite of ‘right’ or ‘wise’ speech that we created suffering. Quite naturally through the greater spaciousness of meditative practice, our increased awareness helps us to live more fully in the moment, able to sense the onset of suffering and see its cause, so that we live with more wisdom and compassion.

The eight are divided into three categories of Wisdom, Morality and Concentration.

WISDOM (Paññā)

Wise View 
• Understanding that any point of view is only that: a single point among many 
possible views; and that perception is veiled with projections and therefore 
subjective. 
• Seeing into the causes of suffering: what we have ingested into our minds to 
bring about suffering? 
• Distinguishing wholesome roots or seeds from unwholesome ones. 
• Trying to see the whole picture in any situation, trying to see what contributes to 
other people’s behavior before reacting. 
• Deeply understanding the Four Noble Truths and seeing clearly the path of 
transformation.

Wise Thought 
- Reflecting the way things are rather than creating stories around it. 
- Staying in touch with the body through the breath, allowing the mind-body to be 
whole. 
- Achieved through the following four practices: 
- Question any thought that comes up – “Is this true?” “How do I know this is 
true?” 
- When doing an activity, ask yourself “What am I doing?” to bring attention 
back to the activity, which in turn enriches the experience by being fully 
present for it. (Could also simply note, “eating”, “driving”, “listening”, etc. or by 
saying “In the precious moment, I am …”) 
- Recognize the thinking that arises out of habit, embrace it as an old friend but 
be aware of it. Eventually, with loving attention, it will lose its dominance. - Sense into your own desire to bring happiness to others. This is cultivating 
‘Mind of Love’ or Bodhichitta.

MORALITY (Sīla)

Wise Speech 
- Mindful of its impact on others, and the power of words to cause suffering or 
bring joy and inspiration 
- Speaking only the truth but only in a way that can be understood by the other. 
- Arises from right thinking and right mindfulness 
- Understanding that if we talk harshly to ourselves in our thoughts, we will speak 
harshly to others, even if we are not aware of it. 
- Arises out of deep compassionate listening

Wise Action
- Not harming any living being, protecting life 
- Generosity and loving kindness, giving time, energy & resources 
- Respecting property of others 
- Helping to bring about justice and well being 
- Sexual responsibility to maintain integrity and well being of individuals, couples, 
families and society. 
- Responsible eating, drinking and consuming; avoiding ingesting toxins of all 
kinds.


Wise Livelihood
- Work that doesn’t cause suffering to ourselves our others 
- Doing nothing that would put others in the position of harmful livelihood (i.e. 
eating meat causes another to slaughter.) 
- Being mindful in our work, especially in our relations with others. 
- If possible, helping to create right livelihood jobs for others. 

CONCENTRATION (Samādhi)

Wise Mindfulness 
- Being present, able to experience deeply 
- Nourishing the object of your attention 
- Relieving the suffering of others 
- Having insight and understanding 
- Allowing transformation and healing


Wise Effort 
Practicing without forcing, competing or setting a goal. Tuning oneself like a guitar, 
whose strings must be neither too tight nor too loose to play well. The Middle Way.
Wise Concentration
The practice of staying fully present, refining that focus to a fine point of stillness in the here and now and letting go of all else. 

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The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana)
Vipassana meditation practice is based in developing a direct path to realization through:

• Awareness of the body, especially physical sensation
• Awareness of feeling tones
• Awareness of mental phenomena, thoughts and emotions
• Awareness of Dharma, truth or laws of experience

Regular practice leads to the understanding that none of these define us. This shifts our relationship to them, allows us to hold them in an easeful and open way. This is liberation.

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The Five Precepts 
Precepts are vows taken by Buddhist monks and nuns. These five are also taken by retreatants at the beginning of a retreat. They are: 
1. To protect life and do no harm to self or others. 
2. To take only what is freely given. 
3. To protect relationships and to avoid sexual misconduct. 
4. To speak truthfully and kindly. 
5. To protect the clarity of mind by avoiding intoxicants. 

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The Three Refuges 
We can take refuge in these three supportive aspects that form the basis of Buddhist life: 
The Buddha, both the historical Buddha and the story of his awakening as an   
inspiration and shining light to our own potential, and our Buddha nature that resides in each of us. 
The Dharma, the teachings and insights. 
The Sangha, the community whose like-minded intention supports us in our practice.

Taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha gives a feeling of being fully supported in our intention to be fully present and kind. __________________

The Four Bramaviharas 
Bramavihara is a Pali word meaning ‘heavenly abode.’ An abode is a dwelling place, in this case a dwelling place for our consciousness, or a state of being. 
The four bramaviharas are ‘heavenly’ because they are states of well being. In these 
states of being, we are able to see beyond the illusionary boundaries that seem to divide us, and we can feel ourselves held in the embrace of a loving awareness. 
The four brahmaviharas are: Metta which means lovingkindness, Karuna, compassion, Mudita, sympathetic joy and Upekka, equilibrium.  
Many who have practiced some meditation are familiar with the term metta, but may not know the others. And this is fine, because the meditative practice of metta ultimately produces the other three states. They are the rich fruit of practice. 

____________________ The Three Marks or Characteristics
Fundamental understandings that Buddhist practitioners come to through insight:
Anicca - all formations are impermanent, including our bodies, our relationships and everything we care about
Dukkha - the unskillful means with which we deal with the uncomfortable truth of impermanence -- grasping, clinging, pushing away or ignoring.
Anatta - the liberating understanding that none of this is who we are

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There are many more concepts in Buddhism and there are many useful books to explore them all. But Buddhism is first and foremost experiential, so it is recommended that a budding Buddhist spend more time on the cushion meditating and less time in reading ‘about’ Buddhism.