Introduction to Theravada Buddhism - At the UQ Buddhist Society
​
The Buddha’s teachings are collectively practised as Buddhism. While some may call Buddhism a religion, others may call it a philosophy. Both these concepts are not necessarily accurate.
The word “Religion” is explained in the Little Oxford English Dictionary, as, “a super human controlling power, especially in a personal God or gods entitled to obedience or a system of faith and worship.” The Buddha however was not a God and did not command faith and worship. Buddhism encourages and cultivates a questioning mind. Therefore, it may not be appropriate to label Buddhism as a religion.
​
Now let us look at the concept of philosophy. Philosophy deals predominantly with theory and knowledge. It is not concerned about practice. Whilst Buddhism has philosophical roots, it also puts special emphasis on practice and realisation. Therefore, another way of viewing Buddhism is “a way of life,” it is not a system confined by sets of rules nor is there a requirement for blind belief. This way of life has been practised for over 2560 years, shared so generously to benefit people living thousands of kilometres from where it originated.
​
Buddha was a normal human being. He was conceived, born, lived and died following the same life-cycle common to all human beings. His point of difference was his highly developed mental acuity to understand human nature and to communicate his beliefs in a wholesome and worldly manner. He did not necessarily discover any new ways of living, It was what was happening in the world, but unnoticed by human beings. He exposed these facts and wanted his disciples to learn them and get enlightened about the factual phenomena and simply explained these ways in a commonly acceptable way. His teachings help us understand each other as human beings and accept the differences that set us apart. These teachings are aimed at uniting us in searching for inner calmness and peace by accepting things for what they are.
​
​
​
​
During the times of the Buddha, very few people had a grasp of the written form of language. As a result, teachings were recited and learnt by-heart in the cycle of teacher to pupil and then teacher to pupil. This was until the written form was introduced. During the Buddha's life, monks were encouraged to memorise, chant, and discuss his discourses (and some from a few, highly realised monks) - in a tradition in which oral memory was considered more reliable than the written record.
​
The first of the three is Suttra or Sutta which literally means “method”. These “methods” often describe the manner in which aspects of Dhamma should be practised. These Suttas are discourses by the Buddha or his learned disciples which were subsequently approved by the Buddha. Each sutta was conceived through great consideration to help groups of disciples from diverse backgrounds. Upon delivery of a sutta, the presiding audience were allowed to question the meaning of the sutta and discuss their own beliefs in order to gain a deeper understanding.
​
Abhidhamma is the complete teaching of the Buddha that has been organised in stages which introduce the very basic concepts of Buddhist practice through to complex ideas that may be practised depending on the understanding of the Buddhist practitioner. Each progressive stage of development contains information related its content as well as how the content from all sections interact with each other in real-life. Abhidhamma deals with ultimate truths, expounds ultimate truths and investigates Mind and Matter and relationships between them.
​
At one end of the spectrum, a lay person chooses to incorporate some basic Buddhist precepts into her/his daily practice. At the other end of the spectrum, Vinaya describes a set of recommendations set-up by the Buddha to help the Sangha community that is the Buddhist nuns and monks such as myself to be able to devote our whole life to understanding, cultivating and sharing the Buddha’s teach As a Bhikkhu there are 227 such recommendations, whilst Bhikkhunis have 304 guiding recommendations to observe.
Now that I have provided you with a basic understanding of how Buddha’s teachings are organised and distributed. I would like to speak briefly about some of his basic teachings.
​
As human beings, we have the capacity to experience a range of powerful emotions. Some emotions are addictive and lead to short-term pleasures; these emotions include greed, hatred and delusion. To understand and therefore sidestep such driving powers we have to practice the opposite of these ways of life.
​
That is why Buddha advocated Dhana – Generosity, Seela – Morality and Bhavana – Meditation or the cultivation of the mind. By incorporating these practices into our daily lives, we achieve Seela, Samadhi and Panna; that is Morality, Concentration and Wisdom. Let it be known that wisdom is not the pure absorption of factual knowledge. It is the ability to understand the true nature of the five aggregates taught by the Buddha. He wanted us to understand the impermanence of life and actions and what caused us to suffer.
Buddha’s teachings were always tailored to the intended audience, be it an individual or a group. His teachings promoted a deep reckoning of the sources of our pain. It is this deeper understanding about these causes that enable us to change the course of our lives and thoughts. Before you begin this course, you have to ask yourself what made you come here.
​
Are you here because you believe practising Buddhism will make you a happier person, provide you with more peace or make you a wiser person? Do you want to understand yourself and your emotions and what drives these? What do you want to gain from these sessions?
​
Using your inquisitive mind, try to find use of his teachings in your daily life The idea is to harness your existing knowledge and to enhance this by tweaking your thoughts and behaviours, however slightly, until they become common practice or habit. Buddhism will allow you to develop skills in controlling your mind, your window into your world.
As you can see Buddhism can become as complex and deep or simple as you wish to make of it. It is a way of life that you can embrace at your own pace and level of understanding. The more you understand, the more at peace you will feel in this life. What a gift this is.
​
Ven. Sudhamma