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 consciousness and reason, 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.

Each person is given the opportunity to follow simple rules leading to happiness, but in modern world this 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 true, but hard way to the knowledge of meaning and the achievement of nirvana.

Buddhist doctrine - truths and foundations

There are basic concepts of Buddhist doctrine:

• 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.
• Four noble truths, formulated by Shakyamuni.

Achieving Nirvana is one of the basic goals of Buddhism. Nirvana is the highest degree of awareness achieved through renunciation of 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. Briefly examining the origins of Buddhism, we note that its emergence was facilitated by changes in the life situation of the 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 adolescence, did not feel disappointment or need, 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 an impact on Siddhartha strong influence 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 6 years of pilgrimages, Gautama tried various techniques and practices of yoga, moving on to other ways to achieve Enlightenment. The way that worked was through reflection and daily prayer. At the moment of reflection under the famous Bodhi tree, 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.

Many people have heard about one of the world religions - Buddhism. Its basics are taught even in schools, but in order to know the true meaning and philosophy of this teaching, it is necessary to go deeper.

Chief leader and spiritual guide all Buddhists in the world - the Dalai Lama says that there are three paths to happiness: knowledge, humility or creation. Everyone is free to choose what is closest to them. The great Lama himself chose a symbiosis of two paths: knowledge and creation. He is the greatest diplomat on this planet, who fights for the rights of people and proposes to negotiate to achieve understanding throughout the entire Earth.

Philosophy of Buddhism

Buddha - in the original translation means "enlightened one." This religion is based on real story one simple person who was able to achieve enlightenment. Initially, Buddhism was a doctrine and philosophy, and only then it became a religion. Buddhism appeared about 2500-3000 years ago.

Siddhartha Gautama was the name of one happy man who lived comfortably and idly, but soon felt that he was missing something. He knew that people like him shouldn't have problems, but they still caught up with him. He began to look for the causes of disappointment and came to the conclusion that a person’s whole life is struggle and suffering - deep, spiritual and higher suffering.

After spending a lot of time with the sages and living alone for a long time, he began to tell people that he had learned the truth. He shared his knowledge with people, and they accepted it. So the idea grew into a teaching, and the teaching into a mass religion. There are now almost half a billion Buddhists in the world. This religion is considered the most humane.

Ideas of Buddhism

The Dalai Lama says that Buddhism helps a person to live in harmony with himself. This is the shortest path to understanding one’s existence, despite the fact that not everyone in this world can achieve this knowledge. Success awaits only those who can find out the reason for their failures, as well as those who try to understand the highest plan of the Universe. Trying to figure out who we are and where we come from gives people strength to move forward. The philosophy of Buddhism does not intersect with the philosophies of other religions, because it is multifaceted and absolutely transparent.

Main ideas of Buddhism read:

• the world is an ocean of sorrow and suffering that will always be around us;
• the cause of all suffering is the selfish desires of each individual person;
• In order to achieve enlightenment and get rid of suffering, we must first get rid of the desires and selfishness within us. Many skeptics say that this condition is equivalent to death. In Buddhism it is called nirvana and represents bliss, freedom of thought, liberation;
• you need to monitor your thoughts, which are the root cause of any troubles, your words, which lead to actions, and deeds.

Everyone can do simple rules leading to happiness. This is quite difficult in the modern world, because there are too many temptations that weaken our will. Each of us can do this, but not everyone tries one hundred percent. Many Buddhists go to monasteries to rid themselves of thoughts of temptation. It's difficult but Right way to knowledge of the meaning of life and the achievement of nirvana.

Buddhists live according to the laws of the Universe, which tell about the energy of thoughts and actions. This is very simple to understand, but, again, difficult to implement, because control of thoughts in information world almost impossible. All that remains is to use the help of meditation and strengthen your willpower. This is the essence of Buddhism - it consists of finding the path and knowing the truths. Be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and

11.10.2016 05:33

Everyone wants to be rich, because money gives us freedom. You can do whatever you want...

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 in the intellectual, moral and spiritual sense - religious teachings on the planet.

Naturally, as a Portal of Learning and Self-Development, today on such an important topic (since the religion of 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 zabobons”, not one of the religions, and in order to avoid “bias”, we will specifically and essentially analyze everything that a given religion can help 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

Moreover, the Teachings and Instructions of the Buddha are in fact such advanced teachings that by truly understanding the philosophy and essence of Buddhism, a trained person can literally achieve instant “enlightenment.” Or at least, fully understand the cause of your suffering and the suffering of all loved ones in life and, naturally, find out how you can get rid of them in order to start living a truly happy and successful life.

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 biggest problem is that people constantly do what they think is 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.

And this, at least, is a huge misconception, constantly doing one thing, always getting the opposite result. And moreover, we still don’t stop doing the things we do, even though we clearly understand that most often they lead to the completely opposite result.

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 the Slavic Vedas (from the word vedat, knowledge), so it also very much resembles most Slavic teachings and has a very similar essence.

How many Buddhas are there?

Actually, the root of the word Buddha is the common Slavic word “Wake up”. That is, a real Buddha is essentially any person who helps specific people and the entire society to “awaken” from sleep and from stupid misconceptions.

And that is why any person who has 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 a minimum, “Prince Gautama,” to whom modern official Buddhism gave the common name “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. Simply, as a reasonable person - an “enlightened one” should not think that God is a “grandfather with a beard” sitting in the sky.

God in Buddhism is more of an ordinary person's understanding of "Divine Energy" and the original harmonious design of this world, and also 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.

But how then can you stop suffering? Because as people we understand that this is practically impossible. After all, something is constantly changing in the world. For example, as soon as we get used to kindergarten, we are immediately taken to school, as soon as we get used to school, we are taken to college, or life forces us to go to work. At work, we are also not allowed to relax, every now and then various crises occur, then we are kicked out, then we are promoted again.

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 the philosophy of Buddhism, as a religious and philosophical teaching.

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 of them can output, I personally could say:

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 his 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, expect return praise addressed to him, 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 a 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 the items material world are of an unstable 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 new car for a lot of money, then in case of 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, we tear our favorite dress or jewelry, when household appliances break, 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 is the ideal attitude to the life of a conscious person, and especially 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 He will never have access to 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.”

That is, if you do not tie a person to you, then, as if by magic, he becomes attached to us. That’s why Pushkin said “the more we love a woman, the less she likes us.” Accordingly, the basic principle of Buddhist philosophy explains to us the secret of happy family relationships.

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 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 very process of labor, which, by the way, is lacking in most ordinary people. of 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 all material benefits 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 one very much 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 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 you in a barn without a motor. 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, and what he receives is not so important, because fate is wiser, and to a good person she simply won’t let him get what will destroy him, so why strive for it so passionately 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 his happy life as much as possible, and will also tie him to those people whom he did bad.

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, so today I have given you the maximum number of living examples and options for applying the basic ideas of Buddhism in real everyday life to find 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

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Introduction

buddhism religion philosophy sacred

The philosophy of Buddhism is a system of rationally based views on the world, man and knowledge, which has developed within the framework of different directions and schools of Buddhism.

A characteristic feature of Buddhism is its ethical and practical orientation. From the very beginning, Buddhism opposed not only the meaning external forms religious life and above all ritualism, but also against abstract dogmatic quests characteristic, in particular, of the Brahmanic-Vedic tradition. The problem of the existence of the individual was put forward as a central problem in Buddhism.

The core of Buddhism is the Buddha's preaching of the Four Noble Truths. All the constructions of Buddhism are devoted to the explanation and development of these provisions and, in particular, to the idea of ​​personal autonomy contained in them.

The moral ideal of Buddhism appears as absolute non-harm to others (ahinsa), resulting from general gentleness, kindness, and a sense of complete contentment. In the intellectual sphere of Buddhism, the distinction between the sensory and rational forms of knowledge is eliminated and the practice of so-called contemplative reflection (meditation) is established, the result of which is the experience of the integrity of being and complete self-absorption.

The question of the perception of Buddhism in Russia is also of undoubted relevance. This is due to the increased interest in the problem of dialogue of cultures in recent decades. Globalizations modern life and culture, awareness of other values ​​forces us to take a different look at the interaction of cultures and civilizations.

1. The emergence of Buddhism

Buddhism originated in the middle of the first millennium BC in northern India as a movement in opposition to Brahmanism, which was dominant at that time. In the middle of the 6th century. BC. Indian society was experiencing a socio-economic and cultural crisis. The clan organization and traditional ties were disintegrating, and class relations were emerging. At this time, there were a large number of wandering ascetics in India, they offered their vision of the world. Their opposition to the existing order aroused the sympathy of the people. Among the teachings of this kind was Buddhism, which acquired the greatest influence in society.

Most researchers believe that the founder of Buddhism was a real person. He was the son of the head of the Shakya tribe, born in 560. BC. in northeast India. Legend has it that the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, after a carefree and happy youth, acutely felt the frailty and hopelessness of life, the horror of the idea of ​​​​an endless series of reincarnations. He left home in order to communicate with the sages to find the answer to the question: how can a person be freed from suffering. The prince traveled for seven years and one day, while he was sitting under the Bodhi tree, an insight descended on him. He found the answer to his question. The name Buddha means "enlightened one." Shocked by his discovery, he sat under this tree for several days, and then went down to the valley, to the people to whom he began to preach a new teaching. He preached his first sermon in Benares. At first, five of his former students joined him, who left him when he abandoned asceticism. Subsequently, he gained many followers. His ideas were close to many. For 40 years he preached in North and Central India.

2. Fundamentals of Buddhist philosophy

· 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.

· Theory of interdependent emergence

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

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 non-existence of the soul

The theory of the non-existence of the soul, or anatmavamda, is one of the main provisions of Buddhist philosophy and its central point is the negation of the absolute, imperishable “I”, the negation 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.

2.1 Buddha's teachings

Like other religions, Buddhism promises people deliverance from the most painful aspects of human existence - suffering, adversity, passions, fear of death.

Buddhism teaches that under the influence of a person's actions, his existence gradually changes. By doing badly, he reaps illness, poverty, humiliation. By doing well one tastes joy and peace. This is the law of karma (modal giving), which determines a person’s fate in samsara (cyclical existence, the “cycle” of births, deaths and rebirths).

This law constitutes the mechanism of samsara, which is called bhavacakra - “wheel of life”. Any living being is locked inside the “wheel of life” with its endless chain of rebirths. Anger, ignorance and lust do not give him the opportunity to escape from the “wheel of life.” Bhavacakra consists of 12 nidanas - links, interconnected causes that give rise to a continuous stream of lives: ignorance causes the appearance of karmic impulses; they form individual consciousness; consciousness determines the nature of a person’s physical and mental appearance: this in turn contributes to the formation of the six senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste and the perceiving mind. The perception of the surrounding world gives rise to feeling itself; then desire, in turn, gives rise to attachment to what a person feels and thinks about. Attachment leads to entry into existence, the consequence of which is birth. And every birth inevitably leads to old age and death.

This is the cycle of existence in the world of samsara: every thought, every word and deed leaves its own karmic trace, which leads a person to the next incarnation. The goal of a Buddhist is to live in such a way as to leave as few karmic traces as possible. This means that he should not depend on desires and attachment to objects of desire.

“Those who have no pleasant and unpleasant have no bonds”; “From attachment comes sadness, from attachment comes fear, whoever frees himself from attachment has no sadness, where does fear come from?”

Buddhism sees the highest goal of life in liberation from karma and exit from the circle of samsara. This state of a person who has achieved liberation is called nirvana in Buddhism.

Nirvana is the extinction of ordinary desires and passions. This is not death, but life, only in a different quality, the life of a completely liberated spirit.

Buddhism is neither a monotheistic nor a polytheistic religion. Buddha does not deny the existence of gods and other supernatural beings (demons, spirits, creatures of hell, etc.), but believes that they are also subject to the action of karma and, despite their supernatural powers, cannot go beyond the boundaries of the continuous circle. rebirths. Only a person is able to “take the path” and, by consistently changing himself, eradicate the cause of rebirth and achieve nirvana. To be freed from rebirth, gods and other beings will have to be born in human form. Only among people can the highest spiritual beings appear: Buddhas - people who have achieved Enlightenment, and bodhisattvas - those who postpone going to nirvana in order to help other beings.

But Buddhas cannot, like the gods of other religions, create the world or control the elements; they generally cannot punish sinners or reward the righteous. Buddhism emphasizes that a person's destiny depends only on his own efforts in tireless conscious work on himself. Therefore, the Dhammapada says: “Canal builders release water, archers subjugate an arrow, carpenters subjugate wood, sages humble themselves.

2.2 Truths of Buddhism

The fundamental truths revealed by the Buddha were as follows:

· The whole life of a person- suffering. This truth is based on the recognition of the impermanence and transitory nature of all things. Everything arises to be destroyed. Existence is devoid of substance, it devours itself, which is why in Buddhism it is designated as a flame. And only sorrow and suffering can be taken out of the flame.

· Cause of suffering- our desire. Suffering arises because man is attached to life, he craves existence. Since existence is filled with sorrow, suffering will exist as long as a person craves life.

To get rid of suffering, you need to get rid of desire. This is possible only as a result of achieving nirvana, which in Buddhism is understood as the extinction of passions, the cessation of thirst. Isn't this at the same time the cessation of life? Buddhism avoids answering this question directly. Only negative judgments are made about nirvana: it is neither desire nor consciousness, neither life nor death. This is a state in which one is freed from the transmigration of souls. In later Buddhism, nirvana is understood as bliss consisting of freedom and spirituality.

· To get rid of desire, one must follow the eightfold path of salvation. It is the definition of these steps on the path to nirvana that is fundamental in the teachings of the Buddha, which is called the middle path, which allows one to avoid two extremes: indulging in sensual pleasures and torturing the flesh. This teaching is called the eightfold path of salvation because it indicates eight states, mastering which a person can achieve purification of the mind, tranquility and intuition.

These are the states:

1. correct understanding: one should believe the Buddha that the world is full of sorrow and suffering;

2. correct intentions: you should firmly determine your path, limit your passions and aspirations;

3. correct speech: you should watch your words so that they do not lead to evil - speech should be truthful and benevolent;

4. right actions: one should avoid unvirtuous actions, restrain oneself and do good deeds;

5. correct lifestyle: one should lead a worthy life, without causing harm to living things;

6. correct efforts: you should monitor the direction of your thoughts, drive away everything evil and tune in to the good;

7. correct thoughts: it should be understood that evil comes from our flesh;

8. correct concentration: one should constantly and patiently train, achieve the ability to concentrate, contemplate, go deeper in search of truth.

The first two steps mean the achievement of wisdom or prajna. The next three are moral behavior - sewed. And finally, the last three are mental discipline or samadha.

However, these states cannot be understood as steps of a ladder that a person masters gradually. Everything is interconnected here. Moral behavior is necessary to achieve wisdom, and without mental discipline we cannot develop moral behavior. He who acts compassionately is wise; he who acts wisely is compassionate. Such behavior is impossible without mental discipline.

In general, we can say that Buddhism brought a personal aspect to religion that was not previously present in the Eastern worldview: the assertion that salvation is possible only through personal determination and willingness to act in a certain direction. In addition, Buddhism quite clearly shows the idea of ​​the need for compassion for all living beings - an idea that is most fully embodied in Mahayana Buddhism.

2.3 Sacred literature

The teachings of Buddhism are set out in a number of canonical collections, the central place among which is occupied by the Pali canon “Ti-Pitaka” or “Tripitaka”, which means “three baskets”. Buddhist texts were originally written on palm leaves, which were placed in baskets. The canon is written in Pali. In pronunciation, Pali is related to Sanskrit as Italian is to Latin. The canon consists of three parts.

Vinaya Pitaka, contains ethical teaching, as well as information about discipline and ceremonial; this includes 227 rules by which monks must live;

The Sutta Pitaka contains the teachings of the Buddha and popular Buddhist literature, including the Dhammapada, which means "the path of truth" (an anthology of Buddhist parables), and the Jataka, a collection of stories about the previous lives of the Buddha;

Abidhamma Pitaka contains metaphysical ideas of Buddhism, philosophical texts that set out the Buddhist understanding of life.

The listed books from all areas of Buddhism are especially recognized as Hinayana. Other branches of Buddhism have their own sacred sources.

Mahayana followers consider the Prajnaparalshta Sutra (teachings on perfect wisdom) to be their sacred book. It is considered a revelation of the Buddha himself. Because it was extremely difficult to understand, the Buddha's contemporaries deposited it in the Palace of the Serpents in the middle world, and when the time was right to reveal these teachings to people, the great Buddhist thinker Nagarajuna brought them back to the world of men.

The Mahayana sacred books are written in Sanskrit. They include mythological and philosophical subjects. The individual parts of these books are the Diamond Sutra, the Heart Sutra and the Lotus Sutra.

An important feature of the Mahayana sacred books is that Siddharha Gautama is not considered the only Buddha: there were others before him and there will be others after him. Of great importance is the doctrine developed in these books about the bodhisattva (body - enlightened, sattva - essence) - a being who is ready to transition to nirvana, but delays this transition in order to help others. The most revered body is Avalokiteshvara.

2.4 Buddhist view of the world

“An important feature of the Buddhist concept of the world is the indissoluble fusion in it of the features of the real, that is, prompted by direct observation, correctly recorded by human creation, with ideas, attitudes, beings and processes generated by religious fantasy. This merging is so complete that one could speak here of the identity of the natural and the supernatural, if the latter were not always the main and determining factor for a Buddhist.”

The world of samsara in Buddhism is a continuous flow of births, deaths and rebirths, arising, destruction and re-emergence. It involves everything living and nonliving at all levels of existence.

Unlike other world religions, the number of worlds in Buddhism is almost infinite. Buddhist texts say that there are more than drops in the ocean and grains of sand in the Ganges. Each world has its own land, ocean, air, many heavens where gods live, and levels of hell inhabited by demons, evil spirits and other creatures. At the center of the world stands the enormous Mount Meru, surrounded by seven mountain ranges. Above it are the heavens of three spheres, Gods, people and other beings who act solely to satisfy their own desires, live in kamadhatu - the “sphere of desires”, divided into 11 levels. All beings inhabiting this sphere are subject to the law of karma and therefore, when their merits are exhausted, they can lose their nature in subsequent incarnations. Being in the form of a god or a person is just as temporary as being in any other form. In the realm of rupadhatu - the “world of form” - there are those who practice meditation on 16 levels. Above it is placed arupa - dhatu - “the world without form”, the sphere of pure consciousness that cannot be described. However, according to this ancient cosmological scheme, there are three main levels - the world of Brahma, the world of gods and demigods subject to the law of karma, and the world of the god Mara, who personifies death and various temptations to which man is exposed. Mara's influence extends to the earth and many underground worlds, hellish regions.

Marys are not eternal. Each of them arises, develops and collapses during one mahakalpa: its duration is billions of earthly years. It, in turn, is divided into 4 periods (kalpas). Not every kalpa becomes happy, but only the one in which the Buddha appears. According to Buddhist legends, a thousand Buddhas will appear in the current kalpa. Buddhist texts also name the six Buddhas who lived in the human world before Shanyamuni. However, the most popular among Buddhists is Maitreya - the Buddha whose coming is expected in the future.

It is also very important that from the Buddhist position (especially clearly formed in the writings of the Yogagars) “the entire sensory world, the world of continuous changes, suffering, is invented by the sick consciousness of each individual, a consciousness burdened with the sins of previous existences. Those. the entire amount of suffering experienced by an individual is only a product of his own actions committed in previous rebirths, that is, an illusion. However, the very experience of suffering is so acutely felt that it forces Buddhists to consider this “illusion” with all attention and care, because without this it is impossible to reveal the causes of suffering, to find ways to eliminate the causes, and thereby get rid of suffering, from all types of existence.”

3. Buddhism in Russia

The sociocultural space of Russia has historically been formed as a multi-confessional, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural formation with a Eurasian character. Eurasianism can be considered not only as a geopolitical project, but also as a certain paradigm for understanding Russia, as a conceptual image of its sociocultural space, suggesting that Russia is a synthesis of Western and eastern origins. An important property of the cultural space of Russia is dialogism, which involves not only peaceful coexistence different peoples, religions and civilizations, but also the possibility of their dialogical interaction.

Buddhism, along with other traditional religions, contributed to the emergence of Russia as Eurasian in character. Understanding the place of Buddhism in the cultural space of our country undoubtedly contributes to self-understanding of the dual civilizational status of Russia and Eurasia. The very presence of Buddhism in Russia as a kind of third force is an important factor of unity Russian state, since a bipolar state is more dangerous for unity than a polycentric state.

During historical development In Russia, three main and independent centers of Buddhist culture emerged: Kalmyk in the Lower Volga region, Buryat in Transbaikalia and Tuvan in the Sayan Mountains. The last two centers, due to their geographical proximity, can be combined into one - the South Siberian area of ​​Buddhism, to which, with reservations, can be attributed the confessional space of the Altai Mountains, where Buddhism is gradually beginning to be perceived as a traditional religion.

In Buddhism, as in pragmatism, every demand for truth is necessarily associated with specific circumstances, and the theoretical significance of an idea is measured by its practical use: its real application. At the same time, Buddhist pragmatism is most clearly manifested in crisis, transitional periods of development: society (during the spread of Buddhism; at the beginning of the 20th century, in the era of globalization). This feature of Buddhism contributed to the fact that it quite easily and harmoniously fit into the sociocultural space of Russia, even going beyond its limits; its traditional existence.

Another significant feature of Mahayana Buddhism, which has become widespread in Russia, is recognition; ideas of unity of absolute and relative (nirvana and samsara, singular and plural, relative and absolute truths). Moreover, the understanding that everything conceptual and expressible in words belongs to the realm of relative truth, which is plural in nature, contributed to both the pragmatism and tolerance of Buddhism.

One of the reasons for the harmonious inclusion of Buddhism in Russia was its proximity to Orthodoxy. Similarities between the two religions can be found both on the external (institutional-cult) and internal (religious-philosophical, esoteric) levels. At the religious and philosophical level, similarities can be found in the principle of the trinity of deity, the absence of an insurmountable barrier between man and the absolute, the presence of a negative approach to the definition of the absolute, and the existence of similar practices of contemplation. In addition, the Mongolian peoples had the experience of peaceful coexistence of Buddhism with Nestorian Christianity, which left its mark on their culture and mentality. Buddhism became widespread among Kalmyks, Buryats and Tuvans because it turned out to be spiritually and socially in demand. The establishment of Buddhism here happened almost painlessly, since Buddhism, due to its inherent pragmatism and tolerance, did not destroy, but adapted the previous cult system for its own purposes. In these regions, a kind of syncretism has developed, characterized by relatively peaceful coexistence within the framework of the Buddhist tradition of cults of Buddhist and pre-Buddhist origin. Buddhism contributed to ethnic consolidation and played an important role in the formation of a common national identity.

Buddhist peoples, being part of Russia, actively became involved in the achievements of Russian and Western culture, primarily in the Russian language, literature, and art. An important role in the formation of the Eurasian substrate in the Kalmyk and Buryat cultures was played by the attribution of part of the Kalmyks and Buryats to the Cossacks. Buddhist themes have found quite a noticeable reflection in Russian philosophy, which, of course, contributed to the creation of prerequisites for a full dialogue of cultures, an understanding of the idea of ​​​​the plurality of civilizations, and increased interest in Eastern philosophy.

The long existence of peoples professing Buddhism in Russia could not but stimulate interest in Buddhism and the desire to comprehend its religious, philosophical and sociocultural aspects. Depending on the attitude towards Buddhism in Russian philosophical thought, three traditions can be distinguished: critical, liberal and complementary.

Characteristic of the critical tendency was that its representatives assessed the Buddhist religion clearly negatively. This tradition consisted of two opposing directions public life Russia - revolutionary socialist and orthodox Orthodox.

Representatives of the liberal tradition, despite criticism of Buddhism, recognized its historical role in world history and saw positive aspects in Buddhism.

The complementary tendency united those thinkers whose attitude towards Buddhism was generally positive. A special role in the history of the complementary tradition was played by Russian cosmists, who highly valued Buddhist wisdom. In general, Buddhism had a significant influence on the formation of the worldview of a number of famous Russian thinkers, who made a significant contribution to overcoming Eurocentrism in public consciousness; which contributed to strengthening the Eurasian character of the sociocultural space of Russia.

An important trend in the development of the modern sociocultural space of Russia is the mobility of the population. As a result of this, the number of Buddhists who have left the areas of traditional distribution of Buddhism is growing, i.e. settled “in the diaspora”. The reason for population migration is both the difficult socio-economic situation in Buddhist regions and the global process of globalization. At the same time, the main centers of Buddhist migration were: big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the difficult conditions of a foreign cultural environment, Buddhism acts as an important consolidating factor. Therefore, it is quite natural that the Buddhist associations of the “diaspora” are closely connected with ethnic communities. The cohesion and activity of ethnic Buddhist communities makes them quite noticeable subjects of the confessional space. The uniqueness of the situation is given by their contact and interaction with neophyte communities, which is actively spreading modern form Buddhism.

Conclusion

To summarize, we must say about the enormous importance of studying this topic. After all, Buddhism is a religion that covers about a quarter of the world's population, and also occupies the minds of a large number of Westerners.

Buddhism provides quite reasonable answers to questions that other world religions have not bothered to answer. He gives the common man hope that his fate is in his hands. And most importantly, it not only gives hope, but explains in accessible language, lays out step by step the path to salvation, difficult but true.

Buddhism justifies the inevitability of the death of all things and thereby denies its value for humans. The possibility of improvement in the field of human consciousness is affirmed; Buddhism views this process as overcoming all human desires, passions, and feelings. It uses widely emotional means impact on consciousness, skillfully applies especially tenacious folk legends and traditions, resorts to life examples and comparisons, putting them at the service of his teaching artistic creativity and creating an impressive cult following.

And of course, we must not forget about the enormous contribution of Buddhism to culture, science, history, medicine and the spiritual world of people.

Kochetov believes that “the peacefulness of many supporters of Buddhism......can play a certain role in the modern world in the fight against the threat of a new super-destructive war”

Bibliography

1. Lysenko V.G., Terentyev A.A., Shokhin V.K. Early Buddhist philosophy. Philosophy of Jainism. - M.: “Eastern Literature”, 1994. - 383 p. - ISBN 5-02-017770-9.

2. Pyatigorsky A.M. Introduction to the study of Buddhist philosophy (nineteen seminars) / ed. K.R. Kobrina. - M.: New Literary Review, 2007. - 288 p. - ISBN 978-5-86793-546-7.

3. Pyatigorsky A.M. Lectures on Buddhist philosophy // Continuous conversation. - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2004. - P. 38-102. - 432 s. - ISBN 5-352-00899-1.

4. Torchinov E.A. Introduction to Buddhology: a course of lectures - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg Philosophical Society, 2000 - 304 pp. - ISBN 5-93597-019-8.

5. Kochetov A.N. Buddhism. - M., 1983, p. 73

6. Kochetov A.N. Buddhism. - M., 1983, p. 73

7. Kochetov A.N. Buddhism. - M., 1983, p. 176

8. Ulanov. M.S. Buddhism in the social space of Russia: abstract and dissertation. doctor. philosopher. Sci. - Rostov-on-Don 2010

9. Encyclopedia for children. T6. Part, 1, Religions of the world - 3rd ed., revised. And additional - M.: Avanta+, 1999, p. 590.

10. Encyclopedia for children. T6. Part, 1, Religions of the world - 3rd ed., revised. And additional - M.: Avanta+, 1999, p. 591.

11. Philosophy of Buddhism [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://bibliofond.ru/view.aspx? id=18151 (Date of access: 11/12/15).

12. Journal “Traditional Medicine”, Moscow, 1992 2. Kochetov A.I. Buddhism. M., Politizdat, 1970. 3. RadheBerme “Paradoxes of the Spiritual Plan”, Moscow, 1996 4. Kryvelev I.A. History of religions. T.2 M., “Thought”, 1988. 5. Alexander Men. History of religion. M., 1994

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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 (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.

The philosophical ideas of 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 - the eradication of 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 This means that everyone has “Buddha nature” in everyone 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. Realization of the vajra in human body there is a real combination of the absolute (nirvana) and the relative (samsara). During special ritual the presence of Buddha nature in man is revealed. By performing ritual gestures (mudras), the adept realizes own body Buddha nature; 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

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.