乾县铁佛寺移动版

It sometimes  happens that two  people,  quite  independently  of each  other,  make exactly the same discovery.  A good example of this was the discovery of evolution. In 1858, just before he published his famous book The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin found that another man, Alfred Russell Wallace, had conceived the idea of evolution just as he had done.  Darwin and Wallace  had  not copied each other’s

ideas;  rather,  by  studying  the  same   phenomena  they   had  come  to  the  same conclusion about them. So even  if  Hindu  and  Buddhist  ideas  about  kamma  and rebirth were  identical, which they are  not, this would  not  necessarily  be  proof of copying. The truth is that through the insights they developed in meditation Hindu sages got vague ideas about kamma and rebirth which the Buddha later expounded more fully and more accurately.

2. BASIC BUDDHIST CONCEPTS

QUESTION: What are the main teachings of the Buddha?

ANSWER: All of the many teachings of the Buddha center on the Four Noble Truths just as the rim and spokes of a wheel center on the hub. They are called 'Four' because there are four of them. They are called 'Noble' because they ennoble one who  understands them  and they  are called  'Truths'  because,  corresponding with reality, they are true.

QUESTION: What is the First Noble Truth?

ANSWER: The first  Noble Truth  is that  life  is  suffering. To  live  is to  suffer.  It  is impossible to live without experiencing some kind of pain or distress. We have to endure  physical  suffering  like  sickness,  injury,  tiredness,  old  age  and  eventually death and we have to endure psychological suffering like loneliness, frustrations, fear, embarrassment, disappointment, anger, etc.

QUESTION: Isn't this a bit pessimistic?

ANSWER: The dictionary defines pessimism as 'the habit of thinking that whatever will happen will be bad,' or ‘the belief that evil is more powerful than good.' Buddhism teaches neither of these ideas. Nor does it deny that happiness exists. It simply says that to live is to experience physical and psychological suffering which is a statement so true and so obvious that it cannot be denied. Buddhism starts with an experience, an irrefutable fact, a thing that all know, that all have experienced and that all are anxious  to  avoid.  Thus,  Buddhism  starts  by  going  straight  to  the  core  of  every individual human beings' concern - suffering and how to avoid it.

QUESTION: What is the Second Noble Truth?

ANSWER: The Second Noble Truth is that craving causes all suffering. When we look at psychological suffering, it is easy to see how it is caused by craving. When we want something but are unable to get it, we feel disappointed or frustrated. When we expect someone to live up to our expectations and they do not, we feel letdown and angry. When we want others to like us and they don't, we feel hurt. Even when we want something and are able to get it, this does not often lead to happiness because it is not long before we feel bored with that thing, lose interest in it and commence to want something else. Put simply, the Second Noble Truth says that getting  what  you  want  does   not  guarantee   happiness.  Rather  than  constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness. (责任编辑：admin)