Buddhism

Ratnasambhava | The Five Wisdom Buddhas

The Way of Devotion
The cultivation of equality is the 'jewel' wisdom taught by this Buddha. Associated with vedana skanda Ratnasambhava is neither driven by nor averse to pleasant and unpleasant feeling and thereby leads to the attainment of Arhatship.

Verses from the Dhammapada 272

Craving for a particular future can create anxiety and distress in the present. Jenny Hall explores this connection in the light of the teachings.

The Great Awakening!

From Miraculous Birth to the Buddha's Enlightenment
We take a look at the symbolic meaning of the three temptations of Mara which led to the Buddha's final awakening.

Sitting Under the Bodhi Tree

From Miraculous Birth to The Buddha's Enlightenment.
Our story moves into its final act when the Great Bodhisattva, having now abandoned the ascetic life, makes his seat under the Tree of Awakening. It is a time of great challenges where the power of the Buddha-Heart can be realised.

Retreat to the Forest & The Five Ascetics

From miraculous birth to The Buddha's Enlightenment
Having learned all he could from his spiritual teachers the Ascetic Gautama retreats to the forest. Here he realises the middle way which is not about relinquishing 'things' but the letting-go of attachment to things, a difference that the ascetic life can conflate.

Verses from the Dhammapada 251

“There is no fire like hatred, no rushing like craving.”
The Buddha taught the delusion of a separate self as the cause of human dissatisfaction. Being a delusion, and thus insubstantial, this lack gives rise to craving to fill the void. Hatred is 'my' attempt to protect myself from this truth.

Two Teachers, Two Lineages

From Miraculous Birth to the Buddha's Enlightenment
The pre-training of the Great Bodhisattva is an important lesson for practitioners not to to just make up a personal practice. The Wisdom of tradition is the cumulative experience of those who go before us and helps make the training a more 'rounded' experience.

Verses from the Dhammapada 131

He who injures or kills another who longs for happiness will not find it
'Avoiding killing' is the 1st lay precept, mindfulness helps us in this by not turning a blind eye to ourselves and others. Understanding the life of even 'negative emotions' forms part of this precept too, as we can be too eager to 'get rid' of things 'I' don't like to be

The Great Renunciation

From Miraculous Birth to The Buddha's Enlightenment
A husband and father leaves in the dead of night, abandoning his family and his responsibilities. The Great Renunciation is a problematic part of the Buddha's life-story, it is only the Great Vow of Compassion that he took to return to share his discovery of the cause of suffering that gives it meaning. 

Four Fateful Trips Beyond the Palace

From Miraculous Birth to the Buddha's Enlightenment
The bubble of security bursts for Prince Gautama when he leaves the palace on four trips. Suffering is often the way into the spiritual life once we realise that we have been living in blind ignorance of the truth. This trauma can cast us into despair or set us upon a new path.

Life in the Palace - From Miraculous Birth to the Buddha's Enlightenment

Childhood - the 'age of innocence' - is a protected period where our identity is formed. But sooner or later this bubble is ruptured, an event that can arise due to the inner prompting of the Heart's own nature.
Series

From Miraculous Birth to the Buddha's Enlightenment | Martin Goodson

A symbolic exploration of the Buddha's life-story
These articles explore the symbolism of the mythic story of the founder of Buddhism to reveal mythic themes that reflect truths about the nature of the human condition.
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BUDDHA
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THE WAY OF DEVOTION
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