Buddhism | A Path to Personal Freedom

Every major religious and philosophical system has within an inner and outer teaching.  Buddhism is no different.  Buddhism has an outer teaching for those who want to live a better life.  Inner teaching offer a perfected life. Original Date  August…

Every major religious and philosophical system has within an inner and outer teaching.  Buddhism is no different.  Buddhism has an outer teaching for those who want to live a better life.  Inner teaching offer a perfected life.

Original Date  August 17 2021

Last Update: August 17 2021

 

Dedication

A special thanks goes to Bhikkhu Soma.  We offer to him our sincerest appreciation and gratitude.
‘Soma Thera was a genuine monk. He observed the Vinaya rules with absolute strictness, never permitting himself  infringement,
His standards were the highest. His life was a shining example to others, Bhikkhus and lay-folk alike.  This poem sings a mere fraction of his thoughts.

 

Out of the womb of sightless night
Rang out a word of healing strong,
And put to flight the evil throng
That stood betwixt the eye and light.

 

Introduction

I First Stanza

Virtue, concentration,
Wisdom and the peerless freedom:
To these verities awoke Buddhahood or
Illustrious Gautama.

II. Introduction

Oh Student:
You must first know learn and practice the following:

Virtue means restraint
Concentration means non-distractedness
Wisdom means comprehension
Freedom means freedom from bondage.
Peerless means canker-free.
Awoke means realized and understood through wisdom.
Attainment of Nirvana means the loss of worldly pain and suffering
Illustrious means blessed

These verities’ means the four noble verities

Buddha a title for someone who is awake, and has attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out the dharma.

Through this attainment one finds their true fame. It comes not from outside but from within. You are a reflection of your inner truth.

Of Freedom there are Five Kinds:

1. Freedom of suppression; that is the passions (Meditation 1)
2. Freedom of parts; this the freedom from errors of views due to suppression through concentration to the next phase of penetration.
3. Freedom of eradication; is the destruction of the fetters (chains) that hold you rigid. It is the discovery of the supramundane path and its application in the student.
4. Freedom of tranquility; it is represented by the happy individual who has discovered his fruit and enjoys it.
5. freedom of emancipation: it is the choice of departure without residue of being. It is the attainment of liberation or the necessity of rebirth.

 

Wisdom concentration and freedom are difficult due to the indiscriminate listening of others.
The truth come from:

1. Listening to the self through concentration and contemplation.
2. Listening to a perfected teacher.

 

The Laws of detachment are to be learned and applied. Only in this way can a person attain freedom.

There are three groups within the path of freedom.
1. The group of virtue
A. It is Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood

2. The group of concentration
A. It is Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration

3. The group of wisdom
A. It is Right Understanding, Right Thought

 

THE THREE TRAININGS AND HIGHER TRAINING

A man who acknowledges the Path of Freedom should be versed in the triple training: the training of the higher virtue, the training of the higher thought, and the training of the higher wisdom.

1. Virtue is the training of the higher virtue;

A.  Penetration Virtue
B.  Commoner Virtue
C.  Ariyan Virtue

2. Concentration is the training of the higher thought and is the training of thought;

A.  It is concentration pertaining to (the) form (plane) and the formless plane.
B.  Indicated concentration is concentration of higher thought.
C.  Concentration partaking of penetration and concentration of the Path wisdom is the training of the higher concentration.

3. Wisdom is the training of the higher wisdom;

A.  Worldly knowledge is called the training of wisdom.
B.  The four truths, (enlightenment) factors’ knowledge and the knowledge of the Path-—these are called the training of the higher wisdom.

 

The training has three levels

1. Training in the Basics
2. Training in the Advanced
3. Training in the Elite and the loss of need to train.

 

The Purities are then Developed
The three kinds of training leads to purity:

There are three Purities
1. Purity of Virtue: is purity of virtue. Virtue cleanses away the impurities caused through transgression of precepts. It is the purification of Virtue.
Virtue removes the impurities of demeritorious action.

2. Purity of Thought: is concentration is purity of thought.
Concentration cleanses away the encompassing impurities-—this is called the purification of the mind.
Concentration removes the encompassing impurities.

3. Purity of Views: purifies wisdom. Wisdom removes the impurities of ignorance—this is called the purification of views.
Wisdom removes the impurities of the existing but not being manifested.

 

The Types of Good on the Path

There are three kinds of good:
1. Initial Good is virtue.

During this phase of good the man is passionate and energetic.
He attains to the stage of non-retrogression as his virtue creates joyfulness; which creates buoyancy; which causes his body to be thrilled; and causes a life that is happy which creates a mind that can be ease.

2. Medial Good is concentration.

And this Good through concentration allows a man understands things as they.

3. Final Good is Understanding to wisdom.

It is the understanding of things as they are to disgust: and then separating from passion to freeing himself and then knowing truth so that he can consciously walk it. This is the science of the Path of Freedom as taught through the lens of Buddhism. It is the path of freedom and thus the Path of the Triple Good.

 

THE THREE KINDS OF HAPPINESS

We spoke about the training and practice of virtue leading to happiness on the Path of Freedom, thee are three types of happiness that a man may obtain.

1. The happiness of the fault-free life.
2. The happiness of tranquility through the application of wisdom.
3. The happiness of Enlightenment.

Each of these happiness is the natural growth and fruit of the previous attainment.  He acquires the happiness of the fault-free through virtue; he acquires the happiness of tranquility through concentration of thinking; and he acquires the happiness of Enlightenment through experience and knowledge to wisdom. Thus a man acquires and through practice steadies the three kinds of happiness.

 

PERFECTION OF THE MIDDLE WAY

After a man acknowledges the Path of Freedom, he attains to the perfection of the middle way rejecting the two extremes through the concentration of the thoughts through penetration. Through the focus of his virtue, concentration and wisdom he removes the attachment to diverse sense-desires and instead arouses within himself the joy of fault-freedom.

Through the focus of concentration he removes the weariness of the body. His tranquility increases joy and bliss. And fertilizes the soil for better knowledge and wisdom. It is through his wisdom he understands the four noble truths and reaches the middle way and deeply cherishes the happiness of Enlightenment. He is no longer attracted to the extremes, thus attains to the perfection of the middle way, and equanimity.

He is now troding the Path of Freedom, and using virtue he transcends the way to states of regression; through concentration he transcends the sense plane; and through wisdom he transcends all latencies.

 

There are three attainments on the Path of Freedom

When the man fully continues practice of virtue with minimal practice of virtue and little practice of concentration and wisdom, he will reach the stage of the entrant in the stream of the Path of Freedom and will be in the status of the Once Returned.

If he practices virtue and concentration to the fullest and then practices a minimum of wisdom, then he will reach the stage of the Non Return

If he practices virtue, concentration and wisdom the fullest extent, he will reach the peerless freedom of the Consummate One. This is where all students must strive for.

A Passing Thought

jhdna, arise in a single moment; that as the qualities of the Buddha are unfathomable or else owing to reflection on his numerous qualities appand (fixed meditation) is not attained, and only upacdra (access-concentration) is reached.

 

Final Thoughts

These are the steps and phases to gaining The Path of Freedom. It is easy to perform and perfect and it is easy not to do. It is only the desire for Virtue that initiates the process down the Path. Such is the Science of Buddhism. The Path to the Enlightened One who lights the flame of the Path of Freedom.

 

We hope to see you in class!

Thank you Pixabay for the image.

Thank you for Reading!

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Copyright 2019-2024 Sabrina Renee Lemire