The central concept of Buddhist philosophy is suffering. Written sources of Buddhist philosophy

Buddhist philosophy- a system of rationally based views on the world, man and knowledge, developed within the framework different directions and schools of Buddhism. Buddhist philosophy operates in the same problematic field as Brahmanical speculation, while trying to rethink it in its own terms; The philosophical reality created by Buddhist theorists, in turn, has a significant influence on the development of Brahmanical thought and largely determines the appearance of Brahmanical philosophical systems. The most important role in the development of Buddhist philosophy was played by the Hinayana schools of Vaibhashika and Sautrantika and the Mahayana Madhyamika and Yogacara.

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Beginning of Buddhist philosophy

If we interpret early Buddhist philosophy as an operational tool for instructing intellectuals of that time on the Buddhist path of salvation, then the “beginning” of Buddhist philosophy will coincide with the emergence of Buddhism itself, and the history of Buddhist philosophy, starting with the teachings of the Buddha, will be further divided into different stages according to with the development of teaching. The first stage, which Lysenko calls pre-system due to the situational nature of the content of the philosophical instructions of the founder of Buddhism, the fragments containing the philosophical component of two texts of the Pali canon correspond - Vinaya-Pitaka and Sutta-Pitaka, the second stage - systemic- correspond to the Abhidhamma Pitaka and commentaries to it. The last of the stages is closely adjacent to the next stage in the development of Buddhist philosophy, associated with the emergence of different schools.

Fundamentals of Buddhist Philosophy

Main article: The Doctrine of Universal Change and Impermanence

Buddhism affirms the principle of “anitya”, according to which everything that exists is dynamic and subject to change, including man. Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta in their work “Ancient Indian Philosophy” write:

The theory of the transitory nature of things also follows from the doctrine of the dependence of the origin of all things. All things, the Buddha tirelessly taught, are subject to change and decay. Since everything that exists is generated by certain conditions, it is eliminated with the disappearance of these conditions. Everything that has a beginning also has an end.

Co-emergence theory

Variability, which is inherent in everything that exists, does not mean chaos, since it is subject to the law of the interdependent arising of dharmas (pratitya-samutpada). Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta write in Ancient Indian Philosophy:

There is a spontaneous and universal law of causality that determines all phenomena of the spiritual and material world. This law (dharma or dhamma) operates spontaneously, without the help of a conscious leader.

According to this law, the occurrence of one particular phenomenon (cause) is accompanied by another particular phenomenon (effect). “If there is a cause, there is an effect.” The existence of everything is conditioned, that is, it has its own reason. Nothing happens by chance, without a reason.

Theory of the non-existence of the soul

The theory of the non-existence of the soul, or anatmavada, is one of the main provisions of Buddhist philosophy and its central point is the denial of the absolute, imperishable “I”, the denial of Atman. This position was one of the main disagreements between Buddhism and Brahmanism and was disputed in numerous philosophical debates held at the courts of Indian kings [ ] . Nagarjuna and his followers were considered the recognized master of debate.

Schools of Buddhist philosophy

Madhyamika

Madhyamaka, or madhyamika- one of the two main (along with Yogacara) philosophical directions of Mahayana Buddhism. At the center of almost all controversy in Buddhist ontology has been the question of the reality of dharmas. Madhyamaka proves that it is impossible to assert either the reality or the unreality of dharmas: both solutions lead to logical contradictions. The most important text of Madhyamaka and Mahayana in general, which in a compact form sets out the doctrine of the emptiness of dharmas and the absence of any contradictions, is the “Heart Sutra of Prajna Paramita”.

Yogacara

In accordance with the views of Yogacara, only vijnana (cognition, consciousness) is true, and all phenomena (dharmas) and the external world beyond consciousness are false, unreal. Only the knowing subject is real. This position distinguishes Yogacara from Madhyamaka. At the same time, several levels of consciousness are distinguished, while absolute, unceasing consciousness is determined - alaya-vijnana- “treasury consciousness”, which launches and coordinates all other levels. In classical Yogacara, alaya-vijnana is not a spiritual substance, as in the European subjective Mahayanist Yogacarina. In addition, they were “representationalists,” that is, while recognizing the objective existence of the external world, they rejected the teachings of the Vaibhashiks about the complete correspondence of the images of the world reflected in our consciousness with real things, considering the objective content of consciousness as ideas, representations, real things that may not coincide with the things of the “world in itself.”

Vaibhashika

Name Vaibhashika originated from the treatise Mahavibhasha ("Great Commentary") written by the thinker Parshva (it currently survives only in Chinese translation). Other name - sarvastivada(from the Sanskrit words sarva - “everything” and asti - “is”), is due to the fact that its representatives taught that everything (that is, all dharmas, sarva dharma) is real; all dharmas (past, present and future) are real, and nothing is more real than dharmas. This school also argued that dharmas have a real ontological status (dravya sat), being at the same time conventional units of the language for describing psychophysical experience, that is, again, dharmas (prajnyapti sat).

Representatives of this school were primarily concerned with the classification and description of dharmas in the context of the religious doctrine of Buddhism. They were also epistemological realists, that is, they not only recognized the real existence of the external world outside the perceiving consciousness, but also asserted its complete adequacy to the world perceived by living beings and included in their consciousness as the objective side of their experience.

BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY is a system of rationally based views on the world, man and knowledge, developed within the framework of different directions and schools of Buddhism. The leading role in the development of Buddhist philosophy was played by two Hinayana schools - Vaibhashika and Sautrantika and two Mahayana schools - Madhyamika and Yogacara.

TEACHING ABOUT THE WORLD AND MAN. Philosophical essence The sermons of the founder of Buddhism was to affirm the dependence of the world on man, as well as the dynamic and changeable (anitya) nature of everything that exists, including man. Buddha believed that a person does not consist of a body and an unchanging soul (anatma-vada), as in Brahmanism, but of five groups (skandhas) of elements - dharmas, which form the phenomena of the physical and mental. Nevertheless, universal variability does not mean chaos, since it is subject to the law of the dependent arising of dharmas (pratitya-samutpada). This is the picture of the world from which the Buddha derives his four noble truths; universal variability causes suffering for all living things (first truth); suffering has its own cause - desire (second truth); this cause can be eliminated (third truth); there is an eightfold path to the elimination of suffering (the fourth truth).

After the death of the Buddha, through the efforts of his followers, the Buddhist canon Tripitaka (Pali Tipitaka) was created, the oldest version of which was preserved in the Thera Vada school (the teaching of the elders). From the Theravada point of view, everything we observe, and we ourselves, is a stream of instantly flashing elements of existence - dharmas, which replace each other so quickly that it seems to us that we and the things around us are unchanged. In Theravada, the ideal of the arhat is cultivated - a perfect saint who has eradicated all the weaknesses of human nature; the importance of the practice of meditation is emphasized, therefore classifications of personality types and meditation methods corresponding to each type play a large role in it.

Philosophical ideas The Vaibhashika and Sautrantika schools are reflected in the Abhidharmakosha, a text created in the 4th century. n. e. Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu, who later converted to Mahayana. The basic idea of ​​Vaibhashika is that all dharmas - past, present and future - exist, but in different forms(the dharmas of the present are manifested, the dharmas of the past and future are unmanifested). Therefore, dharmas do not actually arise or disappear, but only pass from one stage of existence to another. All of them are divided into composed, constantly in “excitement” and filling the observable world, and uncomposed, “calmed” (primarily nirvana). Samsara (empirical existence) and nirvana (liberation from rebirth) are mutually exclusive: while the dharmas are in “unrest”, nirvana will not come, and, on the contrary, when their “excitement” ceases, the world of samsara will simply disappear. If samsara is the state of the whole world, then nirvana is the state of only a person. And the only way to it is to eradicate in oneself the false opinion about “selfhood”, the unchanging “I”, which passes during rebirth from body to body. A Buddhist must look at himself and the world around him not as “I” and the world, or, in philosophical language, subject and object, but as an impersonal flow of elements. Representatives of the Sautrantika school believed that only the dharmas of the present exist, the dharmas of the past and the future are unreal. Nirvana is not some special state, but the simple absence of samsara. Mahayana philosophy, associated with the names of Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Chandrakirti, Shantarakshita, etc., continues to develop Buddhist teachings about nirvana and samsara. If in the previous schools, which the Mahayanists united with the concept of Hinayana - “the narrow path”, the main thing was the opposition of these concepts, here they are practically identified. Since every being is capable of spiritual improvement, it means that everyone has “Buddha nature” and it must be discovered. Thus, nirvana, understood as the realization of “Buddha nature,” is implicit in samsara. Mahayana goes further than Hinayana in the question of the absence of a soul, or self, in everything that exists. The world and everything contained in it, including dharma, are deprived of their own support, depend on each other, and therefore are relative, empty (shunya). Therefore, suffering is explained by the lack of meaning and value in this world, while nirvana is associated with the comprehension of its true basis - emptiness (shunyata) and with the understanding that any teaching about it is untrue. Mahayana philosophers emphasize that all concepts are relative, including relativity itself, therefore at the highest stages of meditation one should abandon concepts in general and comprehend the world purely intuitively.

In Vajrayana, a fundamentally new attitude towards man is developed - the subject of enlightenment. If in other areas of Buddhism the human body was assessed mainly negatively, because it was considered a symbol of the passions that keep a person in samsara, then Tantrism places the body at the center of its religious practice, seeing in it a potential carrier of higher spirituality. The realization of the vajra in the human body is a real combination of the absolute (nirvana) and the relative (samsara). During a special ritual, the presence of Buddha nature in a person is revealed. By performing ritual gestures (mudras), the adept realizes the Buddha nature in his own body; by pronouncing sacred incantations (mantras), he realizes the Buddha nature in speech; and by contemplating the deity depicted on the mandala (the sacred diagram or diagram of the universe), he realizes the Buddha nature in his own mind and, as it were, becomes a Buddha “in the flesh.” Thus the ritual transforms human personality into Buddha and everything human becomes sacred.

V. G. Lysenko

New philosophical encyclopedia. In four volumes. / Institute of Philosophy RAS. Scientific ed. advice: V.S. Stepin, A.A. Guseinov, G.Yu. Semigin. M., Mysl, 2010, vol. I, A - D, p. 321-322.

Today we will have an incredibly useful, and I would even say “enlightening” topic, as we will talk about the main ideas, essence, philosophy and basic principles of Buddhism, as well as the main goal, meaning and life philosophy Buddhist teachings, as one of the most advanced both intellectually, morally and spiritual sense– religious teachings on the planet.

Naturally, as the Portal of Training and Self-Development, today in such important topic, (since the religion Buddhism is one of the three main world religions along with Christianity and Islam, and currently has more than a billion adherents and followers) we will not adhere to book phrases or “religious concerns” of any of the religions, and in order to avoid “ bias" we will analyze specifically and essentially, everything that can help this religion in real life.

Therefore, after reading this text, you will know many times more about the principles of practical rather than book Buddhism than many practicing Buddhists know.

Purpose of Buddhism

Actually, it is liberation from the suffering of worldly life, and most importantly, from the illusions of this world, that is the goal of Buddhism.

This goal is understandable and justified, because suffering is the most unpleasant feeling that exists for us. Probably no one would want to consciously begin to suffer, since everyone wants to be happy. But at the same time, as practice shows, all people suffer in one way or another, but at the same time they think that they can still be constantly in a state of happiness.

And the most a big problem is that people constantly do what they consider necessary in order to become happy, but it is precisely because of these same actions that they become unhappy.

That is, this is an incredible paradox of ordinary people on planet earth. These people are unhappy precisely because of the actions they take to be happy.

Who is Buddha and what did he want?

Actually, Buddha wanted to use his ancient teachings to explain why people suffer, and how to avoid this suffering as much as possible in order to remain happy even in such conditions, and most importantly, how to get rid of these strange illusions of our mortal world.

At all word Buddha by and large means "awakening" And liberating from the shackles of illusion. By the way, it is not strange that the Slavs understand it, since Vedic knowledge in India, according to the legends of the Hindus and Slavs themselves, was brought by the Aryans, our ancestors.

So Buddhism is essentially based precisely on Slavic Vedas(from the word to know, knowledge), therefore it also very much resembles most Slavic teachings and has a very similar essence.

How many Buddhas are there?

And that is why any person awakened from sleep, and even more so, a real “awakened” spiritual teacher can be called Buddha. And in fact, in Buddhism alone there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of “official” Buddhas.

So to say that Buddha is just one “brilliant” and holy person is a big misconception.

After all, at least “Prince Gautama”, to whom modern official Buddhism gave common noun“Buddha” personally insisted that absolutely anyone can become a Buddha. And the ancient texts say that there are actually many thousands or more Buddhas.

And moreover, “Buddha” Gautama gave personal and direct instructions not to worship him under any circumstances, just as Jesus gave the same personal and direct instructions not to worship icons and any man-made images.

Which was successfully ignored by both Buddhists and Christians. And this is understandable, since the nature of “ordinary unenlightened people” requires worship of something or someone. And therefore " ordinary people“living in illusion” worship, as long as they don’t take responsibility for their “self-development” upon themselves personally.

It is also very significant that in essence, in Buddhism there is no God at all, since the highest value is rather self-development and coming to an understanding of the true essence of things (towards enlightenment). Although the existence of God is not denied. Just like man of sense— the “enlightened one” should not think that God is a “grandfather with a beard” sitting in the sky.

God in Buddhism is more of an understanding an ordinary person“Divine energy” and the original harmonious design of this world, as well as a very serious support for a mortal to break out of the illusions of this ever-changing world.

What do people suffer from?

And besides, the essence of Buddhism boils down to the fact that a person simply needs to understand how to stop suffering and free himself from illusions and delusions, then he will automatically become a Buddha and enlightened one.

And in family life and even worse. At first we get very used to our mother and father, but the state, separating them from their care, sends us to kindergarten or school. Then, starting from school, we begin to meet with representatives of the opposite sex, but even here we are faced with almost complete disappointments.

Most often, even if we find “our ideal soul mate,” then literally after a couple of months, or even days, we begin to understand that in fact, she is not as ideal as it seemed before.

Passionate love passes very quickly, women very quickly begin to nag their men and at the same time very quickly lose their external beauty. In retaliation, men start drinking, disappearing from friends, or even cheating. Which, in turn, again brings women even greater suffering and disappointment with the laws and essence of this cruel world.

Philosophy of Buddhism

And I haven’t even mentioned depression, illness, accidents, war, deaths of loved ones and the like. What can I say, in principle, we all know why people suffer in this world.

But we just don’t know how to avoid these sufferings, and it is the philosophy of Buddhism, as a religious and philosophical teaching, that will help us understand this.

So, the practical philosophy of Buddhism insists that all misfortunes and suffering of a person arise from his wrong and unmoral behavior. From his too much attachment to the material objects of this world, from his excessive and often incorrect value judgments, as well as from an overly strong desire to achieve something.

Causes of human suffering in Buddhism

Accordingly, the main and most difficult attachments, and the causes of suffering for a person, and one might even say the 10 commandments of Buddhism (there are real 10 commandments of this teaching, but they all relate to correct behavior, and not all of Buddhism as a whole), which can be deduced from them, I personally could name:

My Nine Precepts of Buddhism

Attachment to the fruits of your labor and expectation of return.

Attachment to material objects and money.

Attachment to your body and your qualities.

Attachment to pleasures and food.

Attachment to other people.

A strong desire to achieve and receive something.

Reluctance to take the middle path.

And of course bad and incorrect human behavior.

The essence of Buddhism

Actually, everything is so simple, in my opinion, the essence of Buddhism is that by getting rid of literally this minimum ten wrong habits and negative aspects of one’s personality, a person essentially becomes holy and happy, in general, regardless of external circumstances.

And so, let's try to analyze all “my ten commandments of Buddhism” and understand exactly how they harm and make our lives unhappy.

1. Don't get attached to the results of your work

This is a very simple commandment, however, in itself it reflects almost the entire essence of Buddhism.

The fact is that in order to become happy, a person should not do something good and expect return praise, and even more so, be upset if he does not receive it.

A person should receive happiness from the fact that he has done a good deed, because good deeds are wonderful, especially if he is 100% sure that they are good.

After all, remember, we most often get upset when we have done a good deed, but we were not thanked for it, or even, on the contrary, punished, then we often stop doing good deeds. So Buddhism and Vedic knowledge assures that this is a great misconception.

By doing selfless good deeds and not expecting anything in return, which, by the way, is also the ideal of Christianity, sooner or later we still receive a tenfold return on this investment of strength, kindness and love in other people. And we become happy.

Examples of practical and everyday Buddhism

Moreover, this commandment works in all areas human life, from studying at school to running an international business, we can say that this is practical Buddhism and the application of its principles in everyday life.

After all, when we study at school, if we stop studying as soon as we understand that the subject we are studying does not get into our heads as it should. In the end, we will never master this subject and will remain poor students until we graduate from school. And if we study this subject selflessly, regardless of whether we succeed or not, then literally in a few months we will begin to understand it no worse than excellent students. Here's the secret to becoming a genius.

But both in business and in family relationships, this is no less important, because if the director of a company gets upset at the first unsuccessful deal and closes the company, and most importantly gives up, then he will never become rich.

On the contrary, most of the super businessmen of this world were completely ruined down to a penny 2-3 times and even remained in debt, but literally after a couple of years, they tried again and on the 2-3-4 or even the 5th time they became fabulously rich.

Also in the family, if at the first problem you start to give up and get divorced, then by definition you will never have any family happiness. In family and in love, on the contrary, self-sacrifice and the ability to do good deeds for a long time without expecting praise should be valued, then in the end you will quickly begin to live in happy family, which 99.9% of modern people who do not live by this principle do not have.

In general, this principle states “do what is right and what is necessary, without expecting anything in return, and come what may”.

1. Do not become attached to material objects, objects and money

It is even easier to observe this second basic principle of Buddhist philosophy, and it brings even more grief and suffering to people who do not observe it.

It's simple, all objects of the material world are of an impermanent nature. That is, they come and go very quickly. Therefore, if we begin to “love very much” some material object, then when it disappears from our life we ​​will suffer greatly.

For example, if you bought a new car for a lot of money, then if there is any accident, or even a scratch on the upholstery of this car, you will suffer great suffering.

Remember your experience, because the most unpleasant moments in your life are associated precisely with the loss or breakage of your “favorite thing.” We are so often upset when we lose our favorite mobile phone or a significant amount of money for us, we tear our favorite dress or jewelry when it breaks Appliances etc.

Accordingly, the less we become attached to these things, albeit valuable and very dear to us, the happier our life becomes. Moreover, it is not necessary not to have them, things just came and things went, this ideal attitude to the life of a conscious person, and even more so a sage.

1. Don't get attached to your body and your achievements

The fact is that even attachment to one’s beauty, good memory, vision, white teeth, slender figure, and so on, is also attachment.

After all, if a woman becomes very attached to her beauty, then when she gets old, she will suffer very much. If she suddenly gets fat, she will suffer even more, she will even suffer if she breaks off her favorite nail.

Also, everything else in our body and all our qualities that are transitory and passing away, strength, memory and everything else will leave us with age, as they say, God gave and God took back. You shouldn’t blame him for this, because all these are just lessons for us, so that we understand that everything on Earth is perishable and we shouldn’t get attached to it. Well, whoever does not learn this lesson is doomed to eternal suffering.

1. Attachment to pleasures and food

Everything is quite simple here, the philosophy of Buddhism says that you can very easily become fed up with the type of pleasure you love. For example, if you eat 2 kilograms of red caviar every day, then in a month, or even faster, you will already be sick of it.

Moreover, you can also become fed up with material things, because if you give a child one toy, he will value it very much, if you give him a truckload of toys, he will generally lose interest in us, he will simply save them in boxes or give them away to other children, but true love for He will never have toys again.

Also in the family, if you exploit and constantly maximize the pleasure from another person, then he, and even you, will quickly get tired of it. This will lead to illness, depression and ultimately family breakdown.

Food is also no less an attachment, and should be treated as calmly as possible. After all, if you have an attachment to any food product, then it becomes a drug for you, that is, without receiving it you begin to suffer very much.

That is why Buddhists most often do not eat meat, do not drink alcohol, do not take drugs or other stimulants, since all of them cause attachment and lead to suffering from their absence.

Although in fact, the Buddha argued that an enlightened person can eat and drink anything, so a real Buddhist is more of a kind of “don’t care.” In principle, he can do whatever he wants if he learns not to get attached to it, that is, in essence he will become an ideal person.

1. Don't get attached to other people

And of course, the most difficult thing is not to get attached to other people. After all, if we have a couple, then we cannot even imagine ourselves without it, and often do not leave it even a step. This seems logical, but we don’t understand that it is our increased attention that ultimately pushes our loved ones away from us.

The terrible and at the same time fair law of relationships says that “the less we become attached to ourselves and try to force our partner to ourselves, the more he himself becomes attached to us.”

And it’s a fact that those people who are destined for you by fate will never leave you, and those who were given to you only for experience will leave you, even if you handcuff them to a radiator. But exactly family relationships most often they give rise to the greatest suffering in our lives.

Basic principles of Buddhism

After all, as the Buddha said, in essence, any attachment to the material and worldly is suffering. Because nothing material is eternal. And Buddhists themselves love to spend hours gardening in rocks or drawing very complex mandalas from colored sand, and then immediately destroy them, after sometimes several days of labor, training not attachment to objects, but love for the labor process itself, which, by the way, is lacking in most ordinary people.

Therefore, the basic principle of Buddhism is that one can only become attached to God. After all, in essence, God will never give you up, will never die, and he is always next to you, no matter where you are at the moment, and perhaps even inside you.

Moreover, as Vedic knowledge says, who we love most in this life is who you will become in the next. That is, men are most often born women in the next life and vice versa, precisely because of their attachments, but the saddest thing is if a woman has already degenerated and decided to love cats and dogs instead of people, as with living people happy relationship she is not able to build.

Ideal of Buddhism

Naturally, people who are so unhappy even in life are eventually born after death in the body of the objects of their love, so that they understand that everything is not as wonderful as it seems at first glance. Therefore, according to Buddhists, loving God or truth in old age is much more preferable than cats and dogs.

And in general, ideally, according to Buddhism, a person should always follow exactly the path that he likes most, and also engage in the work that brings maximum pleasure, and not the one that brings the most money. After all, he will feel best if he is happy and the whole Universe will help him along this path.

And if he exchanges happiness for money and starts doing something he doesn’t like, then this money will definitely not bring him any happiness, and perhaps he will be robbed or it will simply depreciate, but in any case, having sold his love for money, he will definitely not get happiness from money .

Therefore, the ideal of Buddhism is precisely a person who chooses his life paths, work, purpose and loved ones, only with an open heart and love, and that’s all material goods will be attached to the right choice. But behind the wrong choice there will only be sadness, pain and disappointment, even if at first it seems that this path is much more tempting and popular.

What are value judgments?

Further, there is another problem in Buddhism, this is the problem and the Buddhist principle of value judgments. In Christianity it is formulated by the phrase “Judge not, and you will not be judged”. Naturally, neither Buddhists nor Christians, in general, understand the meaning of this phrase.

But almost no one knows what the principle of value judgments in Buddhism is and how it works. In fact, a “value judgment” is any strong negative or even positive assessment of the actions of others, and sometimes even of any current events.

In general, in practice, if a girl says that she hates alcoholics, then in 90% of cases her husband will be a chronic drunkard, and if not her husband, then her son or father, or even she herself will begin to drink alcohol with them after some time. bottle.

This is stated in Russian popular saying“don’t swear off scrip and prison,” because the person who shouts loudest that he will never become poor, in just a few years, ironically, will lose his income, and the one who shouted that there are only degenerate people in prison, then very soon he will will try in his own skin whether this is really so.

1. Do not evaluate critically and do not judge others strictly.

In general, from this strange pattern of the modern world, which does not even need to be proven, because if you rummage through your experience and find a bunch of examples of this, it turns out that a reasonable person should never give anything at all an unambiguously positive or negative assessment . Then he will avoid many troubles in life and very painful lessons from fate.

Yes, positive judgments are also bad, because by saying that the rich are very happy, you can become an unhappy rich disabled person, and make sure that in reality not all rich people are happy.

Therefore, an ideal Buddhist, observing the essence of Buddhism, gives a minimum of assessments to others, and as Jesus said, “he does not judge, therefore God does not judge him for these same deeds.” That is, in essence, when a person condemns another, he receives approximately 50% of the problems of the person whom he condemned, even just in his thoughts.

1. A strong desire to get something

Well, it’s quite simple, according to one of the laws of the universe, too desire to get something leads to the opposite result, or to the result that the person wanted, but his “cherished dream” does not bring him pleasure.

That is, if you really want a new, very expensive car, then you will most likely save for it for a very long time, while denying yourself everything, then it will often break down and take away the remaining money from you, so that you will not be able to drive it , and then this car will get into an accident or simply rot in your barn without an engine. In any case, there will be a minimum of happiness from such a car.

Therefore, the basic principle of Buddhism and its philosophy states that things and people should be treated with care and concern, but it is undesirable to want to receive them until you lose consciousness.

Again, remembering the words of a great poet than you more for a woman If you show that you need her more air, the more difficult it will be for you to get her, and when you finally get her, she will become a huge stone on your neck. She will exploit you, and then simply abandon you, or she herself will end up unhappy.

Such a wonderful punishment awaits people who passionately desire to receive something valuable, are ready to make any sacrifice for this, and overestimate the benefits and qualities.

Therefore, a good Buddhist simply does what he needs and what he should, but what he gets is a thing or a person is not so important, because fate is wiser, and it simply will not allow a good person to get something that will destroy him, so why strive so passionately for it to his own detriment ? If you don't trust God to have the best in store for you, then you deserve the worst. Everything is simple here.

1. We must take the middle path

Well, we come to one of the main postulates and essence of Buddhism, this is, of course, the middle path. That is, the ideal person should not go to too great extremes, otherwise, after great fun, he will face the same great suffering.

A rich person should not try to earn hundreds of billions that he cannot even spend at the cost of his health. A child should not try to eat a bucket of ice cream, and a lover should not try to get to know all the girls in his city. After all, all excesses ultimately do not lead to happiness, but on the contrary promise only suffering.

Therefore, a sage and a Buddhist always follows the middle path, trying not to do too little, but also not to do too much, where this is clearly not required.

1. We must live righteously, not do evil deeds and observe moral standards

Well, the very last of my Buddhist commandments consists precisely of the duties of behavior and moral standards.

10 Buddhist precepts on morality

The real Buddhist commandments are still the same:

1. Don't kill;
2. Don't steal;
3. Do not commit adultery;
4. Do not lie or slander the innocent;
5. Do not use intoxicating substances;
6. Don't gossip;
7. Do not exalt yourself and do not humiliate others;
8. Do not skimp if in front of those in need;
9. Do not hold a grudge or provoke it;

But as you understand, a real Buddhist, who knows all of the above in detail, as well as how it actually works, would not even think of doing bad things. Since he knows that for bad deeds negative karma awaits him, which will complicate him as much as possible happy life, and will also tie him to those people whom he has done wrong.

That is why I said at the beginning that a person who understands the philosophy and true essence of Buddhism knows what the problem is of his own failures and suffering and the problems of the people around him, so he can live his life much more correctly and, accordingly, happily, without violating the laws of the Universe and Divine principles, and perhaps having received this desired “enlightenment”.

Basic idea of ​​Buddhism

Well, this is where I will finish today’s story about the philosophy and basic ideas of Buddhism, it may have turned out a little chaotic, but in fact, after reading this text to the end, you will begin to understand the basic principles and ideas of Buddhism many times better than most of those who consider themselves Buddhists.

And I will end with the statement of the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Hueneng, about the essence and essence of Buddhist teachings: I tell you: “Seek refuge within yourself.” Buddha is within you, because Buddha means awakened, and awakening can only happen from within. Dharma is within you, for Dharma means righteousness, and you can only find righteousness within yourself. And Sangha is inside you, for Sangha is purity, and you can find purity only in yourself.

That is why I urge you, rather not to a lot of book knowledge, but more to its specific application in practice, which is why today I gave you maximum amount living examples and options for applying the basic ideas of Buddhism in real everyday life to achieve happiness.

Well, of course, the Basic ideas, essence and philosophical principles of Buddhism as a religion and teaching is a very broad topic, so within the framework of this article it was not possible to tell everything that is necessary, but on our Training and Self-Development Portal you can find a large number of articles about this wonderful and wise religion.

And also, if you noticed, I mainly wrote today about what not to do, but read what a Buddhist should do separately. I also advise you to read her one attempt to explain the difference between them and the monasteries of other religions. And of course it would also be nice to know, and

BC, in the middle of the 1st millennium, as a counterweight to the prevailing Brahmanism, Buddhism arose in the northern part of India, which is still considered one of the most ancient ideologies in the world. Taking a major position in philosophy, Buddhism originates from the sermon of the Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautama) about the four sublime truths that were revealed to him at the moment of Enlightenment. Buddha, which is translated from Sanskrit as enlightened one.

At first, Buddhism was a doctrine, ideology and philosophy, only later it became a religion. In a rational system of well-founded views on the world around us, on man and knowledge, lies Buddhist philosophy, which has developed within the framework of different directions and schools of Buddhism. The course of events that shaped the philosophy of Buddhism and the philosophy of Brahmanism differed in the way of speculation.

The Brahmanistic worldview was guided by the age-old power of religiosity and mythopoetic traditions, which developed a special concept of way of life and thinking. The philosophy of Buddhism, on the other hand, determines the nature of human consciousness and psyche during the accumulation of acquired knowledge. The founder of Buddhism reasonably explains the subtle and deep morality that comprehended him at the moment of Enlightenment, transforming the consciousness of people and changing the structure of their psyche to work in a new order of salvation or liberation. Buddhist philosophy is based on three principles:

1. Anitya or theory of all-round transformation and instability

Everything that exists is subject to modification and dynamism. “All things are subject to change and decomposition; everything that exists is created by special conditions, disappearing with their elimination. Everything that has a beginning also has an end,” said Buddha;

2. Pratitya-samutpada or the theory of interdependent arising

The variability inherent in everything that exists is not chaos, because it is subject to the rule of the interdependent emergence of dharma. A single and instinctive rule of connection determines all events in the spiritual and material worlds. Without the support of a conscious leader, Dharma acts intuitively. The emerging root cause accompanies the effect. Everything that exists is predetermined and has a reason. Nothing happens without a reason;

3. Anatmavada or the theory of non-existence of the soul

The state of denial of the absolute higher Self or Atman. The Buddha does not deny the indivisibility of an identical substance (soul) in a person and a single series of flows of situations. The ongoing flow of situations is life, depending on previous conditions that give rise to subsequent states. The formation of vital unity is most often interpreted as a burning lamp throughout the night, because its flame is subject to the conditions of the moment of burning. The soul, in this theory, is replaced by a continuous stream of consciousness. In this situation, the transmigration of souls into other bodies does not exist.

Ideas of Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni was not the Creator or God, he was an ordinary person who found the opportunity to understand life - the source of external and internal difficulties. Having overcome his own difficulties and limitations, he realized an effective opportunity to help other people, becoming a Buddha - completely Enlightened. He proved by his example that any person can achieve Enlightenment, because he has the abilities, capabilities and factors that allow transformation to take place - the “Buddha nature” predominates in everyone.

Everyone has a mind, a capacity for understanding and knowledge; has a heart and a gift for showing feelings towards others. Everyone is gifted with communication and energy, that is, the ability to act. While teaching people individual systems and methods, the Buddha understood that people are not identical and are characterized by different inclinations, and therefore did not put forward any one dogmatic teaching. Stimulated people to accept faith and test it through their own experience.

Buddhism contains the idea of ​​equality of all people in terms of having the same opportunities. In Buddhism there is no idea of ​​​​the kingdom of an infinite soul that atones for sins, but a person’s actions will certainly return, causing karma, but not divine punishment. Human actions are the result of thoughts and actions.

The Supreme Head, Guru of all Gurus and spiritual mentor of all Buddhists in the world today is the Dalai Lama. According to him, the path to happiness lies through three stages: knowledge, humility and creation. Everyone has the will to choose what is closest to them. Lama chose two paths: knowledge and creation. Buddhism tells people about themselves, causing true interest, exciting the consciousness and mind, helping a person find harmony with himself and being the shortest route to comprehend one's own existence.

Despite this, not everyone is given the opportunity to understand and achieve full knowledge; only those who see the root of their failures will be able to perceive the highest plan of the Universe. The desire to establish contact between oneself and the Universe, asking the question “Who are we and where did we come from?” gives people the opportunity and strength for self-improvement. The main and primary ideas of Buddhism are:

• The world is a deep ocean of suffering and sorrow that surrounds us everywhere;
• The basis of suffering lies in man's selfish desires;
• Internal work on oneself, getting rid of desires and selfishness - allows you to achieve Enlightenment and liberation from suffering or Nirvana - bliss and freedom of thought, which are the primary source of all troubles.

Every person is given the opportunity to fulfill simple rules leading to happiness, but in the modern world it is difficult to follow, because there are many temptations that weaken our will. Most adherents of Buddhism leave their homes and go to monasteries, ridding themselves of thoughts of temptation. This is the true, but difficult path to understanding the meaning and achieving nirvana.

Buddhist doctrine - truths and foundations

There are basic concepts of the Buddhist faith:

• Karma is a fundamental principle that explains the causes and consequences of events that happen to a person. "What goes around comes around";
• Incarnation is the rule of rebirth of one living being into another. This rule differs from the “transmigration of souls”, since it does not recognize the existence of a permanent soul, like. Karma passes from one living being to another.
• The Four Noble Truths formulated by Shakyamuni.

Achieving Nirvana is one of the basic goals of Buddhism. Nirvana is highest degree awareness, achieved by renouncing oneself and comfortable conditions. After long meditations and deep reflection, the Buddha realized self-control over consciousness, which led him to the conclusion about human attachments to worldly goods and excessive concern about the opinions of other people.

In this regard, the human soul ceases to improve and begins to degrade, but only the achievement of nirvana will help to escape from “slave” behavior. There is a circle of basic beliefs that serve as the basics of Buddhist teachings. These basic considerations contain 4 noble axioms:

1. About suffering. Every person is influenced to one degree or another by Dukhi - negative thoughts, anger, fears and suffering;
2. The root cause of suffering. Dukhi has a cause that contributes to the emergence of dependence on greed, weakness of will, lust and other destructive desires;
3. About self-elimination of the root causes of suffering. Everyone is given a chance to get rid of Dukkha;
4. About the path of liberation. Complete liberation from Dukkha lies on the path to Nirvana.

The first truth says that a person exists in suffering, dissatisfaction, disappointment, and happy moments, in the future, also lead to suffering. Suffering or torment is a reason, in the form of a great desire to master something, lying in attachment to people and people to the existing world.

The meaning of the first two axioms is overcome by the next two, where they talk about the generation of reasons for suffering and their subordination to human will - to interrupt the vicious circle of suffering and disappointment, it is necessary to give up desires. The key to getting rid of the causes of suffering is found in the fourth axiom, which is confirmed in the eightfold noble path. “The good eightfold path is right views, intentions, speech, error-free actions, lifestyle, right effort, awareness and concentration.” The Eightfold Path has three main components:

• a culture of behavior (unerring thoughts, words and actions), including the commandments: do not kill, do not steal, do not lie and do not commit adultery; and virtues; generosity, good behavior, humility and purification;
• culture of meditation (conscious concentration) - a set of exercises aimed at achieving inner peace, detachment from the world and pacification of passions;
• culture of wisdom (right views) – knowledge of the 4 noble truths.

Of all the noble axioms, the Eightfold Path forms the Buddhist philosophy. But not a single religion in the world recognizes the possibility of a person becoming a god-like being through his own efforts. You should not rush to extremes, but by maintaining the “middle path” or the “golden” mean of the spiritual and material worlds, you can get closer to God.

A Brief History of the Origin of Buddhism

In philosophy Ancient India, Buddhism, which allows one to comprehend Zen, is and has been in a leading position in society. Considering briefly the origin of Buddhism, we note that its emergence was facilitated by changes in life situation people of India. Approximately, in the middle of the sixth century BC, society was affected by economic and cultural crises. The generally accepted customs that existed before the emergence of the new religion underwent transformation.

The most important fact was that class relations in society were being formed at that time. The appearance of ascetics who formed their own vision of the world contributed to the emergence of Buddhism, which opposed the traditions of the past. Prince Siddhartha Gautama, born into the family of a wealthy ruler of the Shakya tribe, in 560 BC, was the future founder of Buddhism. The rich prince, from childhood to youth I did not feel disappointment and need, I was surrounded by luxury, being unaware of the existence of illness, old age and death.

One day, while walking outside the palace, the prince encountered a real shock: old, sick people and a funeral procession. The sight he saw had such a strong influence on Siddhartha that at the young age of 29 he joined the wandering hermits. Since then, he began to search for the truth of existence, trying to understand the nature of human problems, looking for ways to eliminate them. In search of answers to questions of interest from the sages, he realized that an endless string of reincarnations is inevitable if one does not free oneself from suffering in the present incarnation.

During his 6 year pilgrimages, Gautama tried various techniques and yoga practices, moving on to other ways to achieve Enlightenment. The way that worked was to think and daily prayers. In a moment of reflection famous tree Bodhi, he achieved Enlightenment and found the long-awaited answers to his questions. For several days he remained in one place, after this and unexpected understanding. Then, going to the valley of the Ganges River, he received the name “Enlightened One” and began to preach the teachings to people, starting from the city of Varanasi in northeast India.

TEACHING ABOUT THE WORLD AND MAN. The philosophical essence of the sermons of the founder of Buddhism was the affirmation of the dependence of the world on man, as well as the dynamic and changeable (anitya) nature of everything that exists, including man. Buddha believed that a person does not consist of a body and an unchanging soul (anatma-vada), as in Brahmanism, but from five groups ( skandha ) elements – dharm , shaping physical and mental phenomena. Nevertheless, universal variability does not mean chaos, since it is subject to the law of the interdependent arising of dharmas ( Pratitya-samutpada ). This is the picture of the world from which Buddha derives his four noble truths : universal variability causes suffering for all living things (first truth); suffering has its own cause - desire (second truth); this cause can be eliminated (third truth); exists eightfold path to the elimination of suffering (fourth truth).

After the death of Buddha, through the efforts of his followers, the Buddhist canon was created Tripitaka (Pali Tipitaka), the oldest version of which is preserved in the school Theravada (teaching of the elders). With t.zr. Theravada, everything that we observe, and we ourselves, is a stream of instantly flashing elements of existence - dharmas, which replace each other so quickly that it seems to us that we and the things around us are unchanged. In Theravada, the ideal is cultivated arhata – the perfect saint, who has eradicated all the weaknesses of human nature, emphasizes the importance of the practice of meditation, therefore, classifications of personality types and meditation methods corresponding to each type play a large role in it.

The philosophical ideas of the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika schools are reflected in "Abhidharmakoshe" , text created in the 4th century. AD Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu , who later converted to Mahayana. The basic idea of ​​Vaibhashika is that all dharmas - past, present and future - exist, but in different forms (the dharmas of the present are manifested, the dharmas of the past and future are unmanifested). Therefore, dharmas do not actually arise or disappear, but only pass from one stage of existence to another. All of them are divided into composed, constantly in “excitement” and filling the observable world, and uncomposed, “calmed” (primarily nirvana ).Samsara (empirical existence) and nirvana (liberation from rebirth) are mutually exclusive: while the dharmas are in “unrest,” nirvana will not come, and, on the contrary, when their “excitement” ceases, the world of samsara will simply disappear. If samsara is the state of the whole world, then nirvana is the state of only a person. And the only way to it is to eradicate in oneself the false opinion about “selfhood”, the unchanging “I”, which passes during rebirth from body to body. A Buddhist must look at himself and the world around him not as “I” and the world, or, in philosophical language, subject and object, but as an impersonal flow of elements. Representatives of the Sautrantika school believed that only the dharmas of the present exist, the dharmas of the past and the future are unreal. Nirvana is not some special state, but the simple absence of samsara.

Mahayana philosophy related to names Nagarjuna , Vasubandhu, Chandrakirti , Shantarakshita and others, continues to develop Buddhist teachings about nirvana and samsara. If in the previous schools, which the Mahayanists united with the concept of Hinayana - “narrow path”, the main thing was the opposition of these concepts, here they are practically identified. Since every being is capable of spiritual improvement, it means that everyone has “Buddha nature” and it must be discovered. Thus, nirvana, understood as the realization of “Buddha nature,” is latently contained in samsara. Mahayana goes further than Hinayana in the question of the absence of a soul, or self, in everything that exists. The world and everything contained in it, including dharma, are deprived of their own support, depend on each other, and therefore are relative, empty (shunya). Therefore, suffering is explained by the lack of meaning and value in this world, while nirvana is associated with the comprehension of its true basis - emptiness ( sunyata ) and with the understanding that any teaching about him is untrue. Mahayana philosophers emphasize that all concepts are relative, including relativity itself, therefore at the highest stages of meditation one should abandon concepts in general and comprehend the world purely intuitively.

IN Vajrayana a fundamentally new attitude towards man—the subject of enlightenment—is developed. If in other areas of Buddhism the human body was assessed mainly negatively, because was considered a symbol of the passions that keep a person in samsara, then tantrism puts the body at the center of his religious practice, seeing in it a potential carrier of higher spirituality. The realization of the vajra in the human body is a real combination of the absolute (nirvana) and the relative (samsara). During a special ritual, the presence of Buddha nature in a person is revealed. By performing ritual gestures (mudras), the adept realizes the Buddha nature in his own body; by pronouncing sacred incantations (mantras), he realizes the Buddha nature in speech; and by contemplating the deity depicted on the mandala (the sacred diagram or diagram of the universe), he realizes the Buddha nature in his own mind and, as it were, becomes a Buddha “in the flesh.” Thus, the ritual transforms the human personality into a Buddha and everything human becomes sacred.

V.G.Lysenko

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE AND LOGIC. The doctrine of knowledge (pramana-vada), including logic, began to be developed in Buddhism relatively late, in the 6th–7th centuries, through the efforts of outstanding Indian thinkers Dignaghi And Dharmakirti . Before them, in early Buddhism, knowledge was viewed not as the result of cognitive activity, but as a means of achieving liberation from suffering. This is not rational knowledge, but mystical enlightenment (prajna), reminiscent of the enlightenment (bodhi) of the Buddha. Subsequently, a large fund of epistemological ideas and concepts put forward by Nagarjuna was formed in the schools of Buddhism, Asanga and his brother Vasubandhu, but there were no systematic theories of knowledge and logic. A significant contribution to the development of Buddhist epistemology and logic was also made by Dharmottara (9th century).

The mentioned thinkers based their theory of knowledge on the ontological division previously accepted in Brahman schools of two areas of reality: the lower (samvritti-sat) and the higher (paramartha-sat), considering them as two independent areas of knowledge, each of which corresponds to its own truth: the lower (samvritti -satya) and highest (paramartha-satya). For Buddhists, the highest truth is dharma (in all the meanings given to it at that time - ontological, psychological, ethical), leading to supreme reality– the flow of dharmas, calming in nirvana; it is comprehended through the practice of yoga, concentration, changing states of consciousness. The lowest truth is the result of cognition of the empirical world in the course of special cognitive procedures, also called instruments of reliable knowledge, sensory perception and inference, interpreted by Buddhists and how logical operation, and how thinking in general. The consequence of this idea of ​​the process of cognition of the world was the development within the framework of Buddhist epistemology of logic, which never had the status of an independent and purely formal discipline, like the European one. Buddhists described the cognitive situation in two ways: in terms of ultimate reality and in terms of empirical reality. In the first case, they said that at the moment of sensory cognition there is an outbreak of a certain complex of dharmas, including a chain of elements constructing an object and a chain of dharmas constructing a subject. These two chains are connected by the law of dependent arising, so some of them flare up together with others: for example, the dharma of color, the dharma of the organ of vision and the dharma of pure consciousness, flaring up together, create what is called the sensation of color. The dharma of consciousness is always supported by the object and the perceptive faculty.

The transformation of sensation into sensory knowledge (into a perceptual judgment) has been described in different ways in schools of Buddhism. The Yogacaras (to which Dignaga and Dharmakirti belonged) believed that sensory knowledge is the result of an external projection of ideas of consciousness, namely the variety of it that forms the basis of personality ( adayavijnana ). Sautrantikas believed that a reverse process takes place: it is not the ideas of consciousness that are projected outward, but external reality that generates ideas-copies of things in the consciousness. The Vaibhashiks argued that sensory knowledge is not expressed in the ideas of objects that make up the content of consciousness, but the contents of consciousness at the moment of sensory perception constitute the directly sensory qualities of the perceived objects themselves. The concept of inference, adjacent to the concept of perception, contains epistemological and logical components, because, on the one hand, it provides a philosophical explanation of the intellectual processes that take place during the acquisition of inferential knowledge, on the other hand, it equips with the means of formal logical analysis of reasoning, used not only in the process knowledge, but also in religious and philosophical polemics. In addition to the above-mentioned concept of inference, the logical part of Buddhist epistemology contains in implicit form a theory of judgments, a classification of logical errors ( dosha ), including polemical errors, the theory of meanings of linguistic expressions ( apoha-vada ) and the theory of argumentation and polemics (vada-nyaya, tarka-nyaya).

Speaking about inference as thinking in general, Buddhists noted that the knowledge obtained with its help has nothing to do with reality; everything that is communicated to us by thinking about the phenomenal world is illusory, “constructed” according to special laws of reason. The main known property of intellectual constructions is, according to Dharmakirti, their ability to be expressed in words. Inferential knowledge was understood as the result of intellectual processing of information received in perception: it follows the perception of the logical attribute of an object and the justification of the inextricable connection between the object and its logical attribute.

The core of the Buddhist teaching on inference was three concepts. The first is about dividing inference into “for oneself” and “for another” depending on its purpose and structure (inference “for oneself” is a means of knowing an object by its sign, it contains two statements and is similar to an enthymeme in Western logic: “ There is fire on the mountain, because there is smoke”; the conclusion “for others” is a means of argumentation, it consists of three statements: “There is fire on the mountain, because there is smoke there, like in a hearth”). The second was the concept of the tripartite middle term, according to which the middle term of the conclusion had to be distributed in the minor premise; must always be present where there are major and minor terms; be absent where the named terms are absent. The third was the classification of inferences depending on the varieties of the middle term into “based on causation,” “based on identity,” and “negative inferences,” for which Buddhists counted 11 modes.

Of extreme interest is the theory of meanings developed by Buddhists (apoha-vada), which substantiates the purely relative or negative meaning of all names and sayings. It is interesting because it solves the problem of representing in language the content of thinking about the world of things, which in Western logic received a satisfactory solution only in the 19th century. In alo-ha-vada it is stated that words do not tell us anything about reality (dharmas) and carry information about physical world in a certain way: they, firstly, fix a certain state of affairs established through thinking in the world of sensory things, which is constantly changing. Therefore, words designate things and situations only relatively. Secondly, when we name a thing or assert something about a thing in a statement, then at the same time we deny everything that is not the named thing (i.e., by saying A, we deny ˥A), and that which is not inherent in this thing (by saying “S is P”, we at the same time deny that “S is ˥P”.

Literature:

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2. Lysenko V.G. Early Buddhist philosophy. - In the book: Lysenko V.G..,Terentyev A.A.,Shokhin V.K. Early Buddhist philosophy. Philosophy of Dhainism. M., 1994;

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