Heart of Buddhist Teaching

Good evening everyone I’m going to do a talk now called the heart of Buddhist teaching part of Buddhist teaching so Buddhism as we know it started with sedata gotama who came to be known as the Buddha and the word Buddha just means enlightened the voice of the silence

Which was translated by HP blasi says Luke inward Thou Art Buddha it means that we are all Buddha or enlightened we just have to wake up and realize it Plato stated that all learning is merely recollection just remembering what we already know so sedata was born approximately 2,500 years ago in

Nepal now it’s traditionally said that he was born in India but I think a lot of research shows that he was actually born in Nepal just over the border which a bit controversial and he was born into a life of luxury as a prince his father was King

Sodana and his mother Queen Maya he grew up in India which at the time was dominated by the Hindu religion he had many Hindu beliefs including the idea of samsara the wheel of life and death which was a basic Hindu teaching also reincarnation and Karma but Hinduism had a strict cast

System as well and Buddhism teaches the equality of all beings of all living things according to Legends Queen Maya had a dream in which she learned she would give birth to a child who would be a holy man he had given the name sidar because it means perfect

Fulfillment after sidat was born a prophecy for told that he would be a great ruler or a holy man shortly after this his mother died the king wanted him to be a great ruler rather than a holy man so he shielded his son from seeing any pain or

Suffering sedata lived a life of luxury in a palace the king made sure his son had everything in this Palace so he wouldn’t want to leave and wouldn’t question anything but sedata grew up to become a curring and kind person when he was 16 years old he married his cousin Yas

Sadara and had a son rahula sedata wondered about the world around him and wanted to see what was outside the palace with his Chariot driver Chana he left the palace secretly on a trip to the city and saw what had become known as the four sites so sedata saw four things he had

Never seen before he was Disturbed and didn’t really understand what he was seeing so the first site was an old man sedata had never seen anyone old before and questioned his Chariot d Chana he asked CH about what he was looking at Channer explained that when people get older they start to physically

Decline the second site was illness when sedata saw an ill person by the side of the road he was upset as he had never seen anyone who was Ill before Channer explained that during their lives people do get ill still the third site was a dead person being carried Channer explained that

Everyone dies eventually the fourth site was a holy man walking through the street this person made sedata curious as the holy man look very calm and Serene and untroubled so sedata wanted to find out why people suffer and though it might be possible to end this suffering he decided that he

Would leave the palace and his family behind to go into the world and try to find some answers to the problem he gave up all his possessions and luxurious lifestyle to try to understand more about suffering it seem strange to me that that he abandoned his wife and child but

Of course they were fully protected and taken care of and later both became his devoted followers he spent some time as an aesthetic living a harsh life in the forest but then realized that it was not the way it was just as harmful to True spiritual progress as living a life of

Luxury so he decided on the middle way between and above the two and devised the four noble truths which are there is suffering there is a cause of suffering there is an end to suffering and the way out is the Eightfold Path known as the eight-fold path which is Right View

Right intention right speech right livelihood right action right effort right mindfulness and right concentration now there’s a link strong link between Buddhism and theosophy because in gal Sri Lanka on May 25th 1880 HP blaty and Colonel alcot took pancil that is they were forly acknowledged as Buddhists in his old diary leaves volume

Two Colonel alot writes that we had previously declared ourselves to be Buddhists long before in America both privately and publicly so that this was but a formal information about previous professions later on he hads I can say that if Buddhism contained a single doctrine that we were compelled to

Accept we would not have taken pancel our Buddhism was that of the master adep gotama Buddha which was identical with the wisdom religion of the Arian upanishads and the soul of all the ancient world faiths so why did HPB HP blaty and colel Alcott Proclaim themselves to be Buddhists to

Understand this we have to look at the theosophical Masters who gave us the teachings in the Mahatma letters to AP Senate Master KH one of the theosophical Masters says that the Chiefs want a Brotherhood of humanity a real Universal fraternity starting they had on several occasions proclaimed themselves to be followers of

The Buddha what one of the Chiefs just mentioned known to us as the Mahan stated in a letter that we the devoted followers of that Spirit incarnate of absolute self-sacrifice of philanthropy Divine kindness as of all the highest virtues available on this Earth of Sorrow the man of men gotama Buddha should ever

Allow the theosophical society to represent the embodiment of selfishness The Refuge of the few with no thought in them for the many is a strange idea my brothers so go Buddha was born around 621 BC and was just one in a long line of Buddhas he was part of a spiritual

Lineage that goes back millions of years so we mustn’t think of the Buddha as an isolated individual but one of a long line of Buddhas appearing at certain times in our history I do do a talk on this it’s somewhere on my YouTube channel uh and go into much more detail

But it would take up too much time and I just be repeating so it is clear that the theosophical society was started to continue the work of the Buddha in the sense that it is to follow and should follow the path of compassion that the Buddhas taught very little was understood during

Hpb’s hp’s life regarding Buddhism no times have changed and there are many more Buddhist scriptures translated by actual practitioners not just intellectuals as they were in Victorian times and the translations are much more accurate and infused with spirit in Victorian times it was mainly uh intellectuals Scholars and uh

Orientalists who who translated who had not much interest in Buddhism they just translated the dead letter so it was Laing the spirit that we we have with someone who’s a genuine practitioner of of Buddhism so the only book at that time that contained such a spirit was the

Voice of the silence mentioned earlier and translated by HP lovas and this book introduced the concept of the bod sappa to the west and taught the path of compassion and the means to reach it by following the parameter path and this was nothing new it had been known in the

East for centuries but HP latki was one of the first if not the first to bring it to the attention of the West it is accepted that the parameter path is the one followed by those who wish to tread the bodis ATA path of compassion in contrast to the

Self-centered pra Buddha path and these parameters are listed in the voice of the silence as qualities that we should try to to develop which would help us on the on the path though they’re not put forward as dogmas they’re just um samples guidelines so the first is Danna the key

Of Charity and love Immortal the second is Sheila the key of Harmony in word and act the the key that counterbalances the cause and the effect and leaves no further room for keric Action the third is kanteti patient Suite that not can ruffle the fourth is varaga indifference

To pleasure and to pain illusion conquered truth alone perceived the fifth is Viria The Dauntless energy that fights its way to the superal truth out of the Meer of Lies terrestrial six is Diana whose Golden Gate once opened leads the narel the Nel being a saint or an old man an adep

Leads the Nel towards the realm of sa Eternal and its ceaseless contemplation and the seventh is prna the key to which makes of a man a god creating him a bodh SATA son of the dianis and Jan is are very Advanced Spiritual Beings on higher levels than the

Human and there’s a book called The Way of the bodh SATA by shantia and it’s a very indepth explanation of how we should live the compassionate Life by looking at the six parameters in a perfection in order and and trying to practice them in this it

Is said that we should even be careful not to slum doors or move furniture heavily or raise our voice for any reason whatsoever on the surface this may seem very Tri trivial compared with many other things that he says in the book but in fact it is showing respect for

Life on all levels of being and the development of awareness of the feelings of others and how even simple acts can affect them for good or for bad so our word words should be gentle and helpful to show how essential it is to be mindful of even trivial things

There’s a story of the Zen pupil who went to his master for instruction it was raining that day and the master asked the pupil on what side of the door he left his umbrella on entering as he had forgotten the master sent him away and told him to return

When he had developed Awareness on all levels of being so the real essence of Budd Buddhist teaching is beyond words and images if we read scriptures such as the diamond Sutra or the heart Sutra this becomes very clear in Zen there are what is known known as

K these are riddles or saying that cannot be solved using the logical mind they are meant to show that the lower mind the lower aspects of our mind are inadequate to experience true spirituality so we need to go beyond in the voice of the silence it states that

The mind is the great Slayer of the real Let the disciple slay the Slayer meaning meaning that the intellectual mind will kill out the spontaneous realization of the truth but even the truth is just a conceptual view a famous story is told about the Buddha a Buddha go when Buddha was on

Vulture Peak he twirled a flower before the assembly everyone was silent only mahaka smiled Buddha said I have the eye treasury of the true teaching the heart of Nirvana the true form of of nor form and the ineffable G gate of Tera it is a special transmission

Outside the teaching I know entrusted to Maha casapa so M Maha casapa was one of the Buddha’s Chief disciples and he was the only one that got the message intuitively so he passed on the the teaching to him and it was passed on from many many Indian teachers and then into China

So this is an idea very much in tune with Zen Buddhist teaching the word zen means the same as the Sanskrit word Diana and the Chinese word chan all meaning simply meditation she said that all the Buddha’s teachings are both exoteric and esoteric depending upon the consciousness of the one who is studying

Them the same can be applied to theosophical teaching and to any other spiritual teaching Eastern or Western we only understand according to our level of Consciousness so in a way the esoteric or hidden teaching is actually hidden in plain sight even the theosophical Masters say that most if not all of

Their teachings are incommunicable until we reach a certain level of Consciousness which we need to understand them the voice of the silence again says the two schools of Budd of Buddha’s Doctrine the esoteric and the exoteric are respectively called the heart and the eye Doctrine bod Dharma is

A great spiritual teacher from India call them in China from Once the names reach Tibet the tmen TSU n men which are the esoteric and the K men which are the exoteric school it is so named because it is the teaching which emanated from go Buddha’s heart whereas the I Doctrine

Was the work of of his head or brain the heart Doctrine is also called the Seal of Truth or the true seal a symbol found on the heading of almost all esoteric works this seal of the heart was passed on from teacher to teacher as in all things the true

Esoteric or esoteric teaching can never be put into words we have to find it in our own Hearts words are just pointers they’re essential at times it’s like walking over the Moors trying to get to a certain destination it’s essential to follow the sign post or it would become totally

Lost but the actual walking has to be done by each one of us individually but we do need the S poost other otherwise we might get completely lost so there are s poost on the path of theosophy and Buddhism and any other spiritual path that we choose to

Follow the law of Sutra is one of my favorite Buddhist scriptures it’s mainly about the Buddha predicting that his disciples will attain buddhahood and stating what their names will be and what planet they will be on and what kind of uh envir they will they will

Create but it’s a way of saying that we all have this Buddha nature or Christ Consciousness or chrishna Consciousness or the do or or whatever ultimately all names will fade away it was also one of the first sutras to predict buddhahood for female disciples until then Buddhism have been very

Patriarchal so the outer frame doesn’t matter we all have the same life force the same Consciousness The Same Spirit so if on this planet we need to love each other and we do need to we have to start seeing ourselves as Spiritual Beings and seeing others as

The same the same Consciousness as each other and all the kingdoms of nature Elementals minerals plants animals and into the D or Angelic Realms of being politics religion philosophy all tend to promote separateness in general we need to come together beyond all this as truly human beings and to be human we

Need to be Humane not ruled by animalistic instincts but by a divine inspiration of course we have to live in the world but we need to get our priorities right too much intellectuality will block out the light of the spirit it’ll make the person seem very idite but the fact is

That it is only beyond the intellect that truth can be realized by direct experience it’s something we can’t put into words it’s the Buddhist teaching of the raft you need a raft to cross the river but once on the other side you need to leave it behind as it will

Just become a burden so the Wrath can be said to be the intellect essential for a while in certain stages of our journey but eventually to be left behind it is written in the diamond Sutra thus shall ye think of this fleeting World a bubble in a stream a

Flash of lightning in a summer clo a flickering lamp a phantom and a dream so to look at things in perspective is important when we look at others we need to try to develop the eye of love to see beyond the outer mask and realize that

Inwardly we are all the same it’s not easy given the state of the world at the moment and things that are going on terrible things are happening and the attempts to divide us all and to turn us into canes and Ables but to those who are able awake or

Awakening it is a practice that should be attempted as it is a way to purify the mind and to develop Clear Vision and to see Humanity as it truly is instead of how we have been indoctrinated to see it it is a beautiful world if we can just raise ourselves above the

Materialistic emanations of a society based upon misconceptions of what it is to be truly human and the complete unawareness of human solidarity AMA Buddha was inspired by compassion a suffering humanity and that was his Guiding Light in giving out the teachings his inspiration if you look at them as

Exoteric teachings they seem rather dry and intellectual but if we can get to the essence then they become illuminated illumined HP blasi writes every human being is born with the rudiment of that inner sense called intuition which may be developed into what the Scottish know as Second Sight

All the great philosophers who like platinus ory and amamus employed this faculty and they taught the doctrine there’s a faculty of the human mind writes amus which is superior to all that which is born or begotten through it we are unable to attain Union with the superior intelligences to being transported

Beyond scenes of this world and to partaking the higher life and peculiar powers of the Heavenly ones were there no inner sight or intuition the Jews would never have had their Bible nor the Christians Jesus what both Moses and Jesus gave to the world was the fruit of their intuitions or

Illumination what the subsequent elders and teachers allowed the world to understand was dogmatic misrepresentations too often blasphemy end of quote so religions that promote separateness and intolerance have drifted a long way from the inspiration of the ones who initiated it even though they never intended to found a

Religion the the teachers never intended to found religions it’s people that did that after after afterwards and then added rules regulations rituals dogmas um to it the original teachers just came to help us to awaken to our true H nature and live under the guidance of our higher

Self H paty again writes it is not violence that can ever ensure bread and comfort for all nor is the kingdom of peace and love of mutual help and charity and food for all to be conquered by a cold reasoning diplomatic diplomatic policy it is only by the close brotherly

Union of men and women’s selves of sole solidarity of the growth and development of that feeling which makes one suffer when one thinks of the suffering of others the reign of justice and equality for all can ever be inaugurated this is the first of the three fundamental objects for which the

Theosophical society was established and call the universal Brotherhood of humanity regardless of race Creed sex cast or color Buddhism is the most peaceful of all religions there are many schools of Buddhism some of them devotional and some like Zen teaching teach us to try and get us to leave images and words

Behind I’ve always been more attracted to Zen I was into Zen Buddhism before I joined the theosophical society theosophy seems to be more attracted to Tibetan Buddhism but I found this to be too much based upon images and rituals in the outer sense at least Chan Buddhism was introduced into

China by the Indian monk mentioned earlier bodh Dharma Buddhism was already there but not the Chan or zenti bod Dharma met the emperor Wu who told him that he had built Buddhist temples and translated scriptures from IND Indian the Chinese wo asked bod Dharma what his Merit would

Be for doing this and bod Dharma replied none whatsoever he was saying that just doing external things like that doesn’t necessarily make one more spiritual and also boasting just boosts the ego which we are trying to transcend Chan Buddhism moved into Japan and became zen zen has become from the

Basis of poetry art music and the construction of Gardens and temples in Japan as well as a spiritual way of life it belongs to the Mahayana school which means the great vehicle because it is concerned with the enlightenment of humanity whereas the hinana or small vehicle also known as the terada is a

Path that teaches a path suited to the individual in both cases meditation is of great importance B Dharma says our nature is the mind and the mind is our nature this nature is the same as the mind of all Buddhas Buddhas of the past and future only transmit this mind Beyond this mind

There’s no Buddha anywhere but deluded people don’t realize realize that their own mind is the Buddha they keep searching outside they never stop invoking Buddhas or worshiping Buddhas and wondering where is the Buddha don’t IND indulge in such Illusions just know your mind beyond your mind there’s no other Buddha the

Sutras say everything that has formed is an illusion they also say wherever you are there’s a Buddha your mind is a Buddha don’t use her Buddha to worship her Buddha don’t use a Buddha to worship a Buddha and um as then teacher ban says we don’t have to become Buddha we just

Have to remain Buddha remember the words from the voice of the silence look inward Thou Art Buddha so budh Dharma is saying that the journey is an inner one the mind is the key in one sense it is it is the great Slayer of the real but if it becomes

Illuminated By the Light of the spirit it is the gateway to Enlightenment we can do that we can make it Enlighten um there’s a saying in in the East manasa tasa which means the illumined Mind illumined by the intuition and by meditation by listening to beautiful music and

Looking at nature it all helps um reading beautiful words thinking beautiful thoughts doing beautiful Deeds it all helps to illuminate the mind the real heart of Buddhism as said is compassion the desire to end suffering that is the reason that the Buddhist started on his journey he saw suffering

In the four sights and also the holy man who was Serene and calm and he knew then there was a way to end suffering and he would find it for the sake of all beings one of my favorite Buddhist prayers is the golden link prayer we are Link in amida’s Golden

Chain of Love That stretches around the world we will keep our link bright and strong we will be kind and gentle to every living thing and protect all who are weaker than ourselves we will think pure and beautiful thoughts say pure and beautiful words and do pure and beautiful

Deeds May every Link in abid’s Chain of Love be bright and strong and may we all attain perfect peace amida is a Buddha of infinite light and symbolic of our divine nature our Inner Light Of Love in the theosophical glossery H people of writes about karma when I say karma I’m it’s

Different than karma in India we the K A R M A is often pronounced kma to distinguish it from kma which is k a m i a k m a and which is um usually thought of as desire as in the karma sutra for example but that’s because

Um but people ofi gives another definition which before the word and concept became degraded she says karma is the first conscious all embracing desire for Universal good love and for all that lives and feels needs help and kindness the first feeling of infinite tender compassion and mercy that arose in the

Consciousness of the creative one force as soon as it came into to life and being as array from the absolute karma is preeminently the Divine desire of creating happiness and love so what a beautiful concept that is I think that’s the first thing that came into being and it filters through all the

Planes of being and comes into our hearts as love as pure love for all things not sensual love that’s what it became degraded into pure Divine love that desire to end suffering to bring peace love and harmony to to the world as Z saying is no mud no

Lotus so we have to use life’s experiences seemingly good or bad to help us in our way it’s all a matter of having the right attitude to life and its ups and downs and growing in the light of the spiritual Sun that is shining in each one of us behind our often Misty

Minds more Myst the Mystic it would seem tick Nan the Vietnamese Den teacher made a statement that we should all regard ourselves as flowers and that we grow by being watered with love we should look at this world is a wonderful garden how we grow spiritually is to love one

Another you know sunflow has turned towards the light towards the Sun so we should always turn towards the light towards the spiritual Sun in whatever way we can so this seemingly simple statement has a profound meaning and it’s typical of the totally practical advice that tick nutan gave out nothing technical to

Baffle the mind just straight to the point it’s like Kiss k i SS which which stands for keep it spiritually simple it’s all about practicing living the life that’s what all that matters say no one who truly follows the teachings of the Buddha would ever entertain the use of violence or the

Teachings of Jesus for all that matter the true teachings the fact is that most people have drifted away from any real belief in their religions and give just lip service to what is written in the scriptures they become protective towards the counterfeit religion and oppose any other ways of thought which

Leads to violence so Christianity becomes a sort of anti-christianity and the same may be applied to Islam Buddhism in essence is the most peaceful of all religions as said but still as its limitations in an exoteric sense so some beautiful words from the voice of the silence

Are let thy Soul lend its ear to every Cry of pain like as the Lotus burs its heart to drink the morning sun let no the fierce Sun Dry one tear of pain before thyself has wiped it from the sufferer’s eye but let each burning human tear drop

On thy heart and there remain nor ever brush it off until the pain that caused it is removed we can of course admire such words well they’re meant to awaken awaken in us a certain experience to be lived not just remain beautiful words on paper to discuss

Intellectually in his book the Buddha of infinite light DT Suzuki explains the teachings of the shin School of Buddhism in Japan he writes about a certain class of devotees named mayin mayin May means wonderful po means fragrance and nin means person signifying someone who manifests the wonderful fragrance of

Spirituality and these people are not intellectuals some of them are are actual illiterate but they are sincere kindhearted and compassionate and that’s all that matters there was one man who learned at a temple in Kyoto 200 miles away way was on fire it was once a

Temple he had attended and was close to his heart so he took a large carpet soaked it in water and shook it in the direction of the temple now to our minds this was rather a pointless act and seems rather foolish but he was motivated by compassion and was spontaneously led to do

Something he knew that um he couldn’t do anything he was 200 miles away but because of compassion he felt he had to do something anything um to try and help this kind of act transcends logical reasoning and is difficult for us to understand but as I said it was a spontaneous

Reaction so the heart of Buddhist teaching then is an Awakening to our true being realizing that beyond the M or Illusion of life we live in a transcendental Divine Life ban the Japanese then teacher who I mentioned earlier calls it The Unborn Buddha mind and says as I was as I’ve

Said earlier that we don’t need to become Buddhas you just have to remain Buddhas but here people have asked you points out that Buddhism is the closest religion to theosophy but theosophy is different because it points to the essence of all religions not just one so it’s in that sense it’s on higher

Level but the teachings are identical as the teachings of um you know teachings of Islam in Sufism and Christianity and nosism and Hinduism and viantis are all identical still we can learn so much about gentleness compassion and love from experiencing the heart of Buddhist teaching so thank you very much for

Listening hope you enjoyed it and maybe got something from it hopefully all I have to say is Om Shanti Shanti Shanti peace peace peace peace on Earth and Good Will to all beings which we need in the world today and the teaching of the Buddhism can help us towards that and

The teachings of theosophy any teaching that teaches compassion love and understanding is what we need and is sely needed in the world today not intellectual distractions just getting to the heart of things and spreading love peace and Harmony in this troubled world thank you very much namaste

source