1. Nirvana (B 54-56). To what does the third noble truth refer (B 55)?  What is extinguished when one attains nirvana (B 55)?  Is a living person who has attained nirvana like a zombie?  What is such a person like (B 55, WBT 43)?  What kinds of terms and terms and phrases are used to characterize or describe what nirvana is like (B 56)?

2. Death of the Arhat (B 55-56; WBT 41-42) What did the Buddha say about what happens to an arhat or a buddha at the end of his last lifetime? 

In Theravada countries today, one finds three types of beliefs about this question:

(A) A minority of people, usually well-educated males, believe that the arhat or buddha who dies passes out of existence.  They argue that since what we call a person is really only a collection of aggregates, and all of the aggregates are conditions of dukkha within samsara, nirvana must mean the cessation of all aggregates and therefore the cessation of the person. 

(B) Many Theravada Buddhists—educated and otherwise—say that nirvana is something that we simply cannot imagine or describe from within samsara.  Tadpoles cannot imagine what it will be like to be a frog on dry land; likewise we cannot imagine nirvana from our current state. 

(C) At the popular level, many ordinary people focus on accumulating merit so as to improve their lot within samsara.  Although they accept nirvana as an ideal, they give very little thought to it.  When asked to describe it, they depict a condition of transcendent happiness and bliss. 

All three positions emphasize that "nirvana is peace," because it is like getting out of a burning house (= samsara).  When you are in a burning house, it is more important to get out than to argue about what things will be like outside.  Once one has become an arhat or a buddha, one is liberated from samsara.

3. Nirvana as Ultimate Truth (WBT 35-41).  Why does Rahula think it is so difficult to describe nirvana (WBT 35-36)?  Why does he think that "negative" terms are so often used to express it (WBT 36)?  What drawbacks does he see in the use of negative terms to describe nirvana (WBT 37-38)?  In his own estimation, is nirvana negative or positive (WBT 37-38)?  If nirvana is the Ultimate Truth or Reality, what is this reality according to Buddhism (WBT 39-40)?

4. Nirvana as the Unconditioned (WBT 40). Just as a path leading to a mountain does not cause the mountain, the fourth noble truth technically does not cause the third.  Nirvana is not caused by anything and does not act as a cause for anything else.  REALIZATION of nirvana in our minds, on the other hand, can be brought about through the causal factors along the path.

5. The Path (B 56-58, WBT 45-46).  How much of the Buddha's teaching career was spent on this one among the four noble truths (WBT 45)?  What is the eightfold path (WBT 45, B 57)?  Why is it called "the middle way" (WBT 45, B 57)?  Is the eightfold path a sequence of spiritual stages?  How do the eight items listed relate to one another (WBT 46, B 56-57)?

6. Three Trainings. (WBT 46, WBT 57-58)  The three trainings are ethics, meditation, and wisdom.  Precisely how do these relate to the eightfold noble path (WBT 57-58, WBT 46-47)?  Note that the three trainings are always presented in a specific order—ethics, meditation, and wisdom—which does not match the order in which the eightfold path is listed.

7. Ethics.  Training in ethical discipline is regarded as the foundation of the path, both for monks and nuns and for the laity. Can higher spiritual states be reached while bypassing ethical discipline (WBT 47)?

As noted above, good behavior produces merit, which leads to better circumstances in this life or future lives. 

Ultimately, the goal is to have the kind of wisdom that sees reality just as it is, but in order to do so we must have a clear and focused mind.   Imagine that the mind is a pool of water, and that the answer to the question "Who am I?" or "What is real?" can be discerned only by seeing to the bottom of the pool.  Now our minds our roiling and muddy, as we are driven this way and that by desire and hatred, attachment and aversion.

We can begin to clear our minds of gross turbulence and cloudiness by undertaking commitments not to engage in actions that cause further disturbance.  This will make it much easier to undertake training in meditation, which further refines and clarifies our minds, until they are perfectly clear and still.  Then the training in wisdom allows us to see with perfect clarity into the depths of the pool. 

Which three of the eightfold path are included under the training in ethics? (WBT 47, B 58).  Notice how each of the "rights" here involves making commitment to abstain from certain behaviors.  What specific kinds of behaviors and lifestyles should Buddhists avoid if they are keeping these commitments? (WBT 47)

8. The five precepts (B 102-106). The Buddha asked all of his followers to undertake five basic commitments:  (1) Not to kill, (2) not to steal, (3) not to misuse sex, (4) not to lie, and (5) not to take intoxicants.  They are not commandments, of course; they are more like a spiritual prescription from Doctor Buddha.  Not all Buddhists actually make these commitments, and of course those who do may not always live up to them.  Nevertheless, they are the most widely known and most ancient list of "rules to live by" in Buddhism.  Each precept has been understood in many different ways over the centuries.

9.  The first precept (B 106). "Not to kill" is always the first precept. The term ahimsa (B 106) literally means "not killing" or "not harming"; it is sometimes translated "non-violence" and it implies the sanctity of life.  How did the Buddhist and Jain emphasis on this principle change the way that other religions in India worshipped their gods (B 106)?

For Theravada monks, living by the first precept means making extraordinary efforts to avoid harming any living being.  Buddhist lay ethics also emphasizes a peaceful, non-violent approach to solving problems. Many Buddhists are vegetarian, although many are not.  There is no strict rule for all Buddhists and customs vary; in my experience, meat-eating Buddhists tend to admire and respect the practice of vegetarianism.  On the other hand, many Buddhists believe that the Buddha himself died from eating spoiled meat which was offered to him by a blacksmith.

Taking human life is a particularly grave offense because a human rebirth is such a rare and precious spiritual opportunity.  Monks who commit homicide or manslaughter—aside from any secular punishment they might receive—immediately lose their status as monks. 

10. Not to steal.  "Not to steal" means, for Theravada monks, "not taking anything that has not been donated to you".  Thus, Theravada monks do not forage for food or cultivate farms.  For lay people, "not to steal" implies a commitment not to commit fraud or economic exploitation along with avoiding more obvious types of stealing. 

11. Not to misuse sex. For monks and nuns generally, avoiding "misuse of sex" means complete celibacy.  Specifically, one cannot take any action to bring oneself or a partner to orgasm, nor can one actively or passively encourage others to take actions to bring one to orgasm.  Having sexual intercourse with another person is a grave violation and results in loss of one's status as a monk (or nun).   For lay persons, adultery is one of the main "misuses of sex;" also included is any sort of harassment or sexual exploitation of another person, even within a marriage.  The Buddha did not mention consensual premarital sex as a misuse of sex; social norms in traditional Buddhist countries vary on this issue.

12. Not to lie.  "Not to lie" can be understood broadly as a commitment not to misuse speech.  Thus, harsh speech (such as name-calling) and senseless speech (such as gossip) are also discouraged.  The Buddha taught that we should speak kindly, speak the truth, and speak about what is important.  In some contexts, such as in a strict monastery or on a meditation retreat, "right speech" might mean silence or virtual silence.   

13. Not to take intoxicants.  We should not cloud the mind with which we seek the truth.  Here is a folk story from Buddhist Nepal which expresses the Buddhist attitude about intoxicants:  A female demon appeared to a monk and said: "You must either kill this goat, or have sex with me, or else drink this bottle of liquor!"  The monk was afraid, and considered his options.  He did not want to violate the first precept by killing the goat, nor to violate the third precept and lose his status as a monk by having sexual intercourse; there seemed to be relatively little harm in drinking the liquor.  So he drank the booze.  After that, he and the demon had sex, killed the goat, and ate it.

Drugs and liquor are known and used to varying degrees by lay people in Buddhist countries. This is seen as unwholesome, but not shocking; certainly it is not as bad as wantonly harming other creatures.  There is no blanket prohibition on the use of alcoholic beverages in "non-intoxicating" moderation.  Yet, as the folk story illustrates, the harm that comes from clouding the mind is frankly recognized.    Modern Buddhist teachers such as Robert Aitken have suggested that "intoxicants" should be understood to include not only "drugs and alcohol" but anything that we use to remove ourselves from reality—for some people it might be television, for others the internet. 

14. Monastic Ethics (B 112-113).  As noted above, monastic ethics is called vinaya.   One of the "three baskets" of the Buddhist scriptures consists of vinaya texts.  Fully ordained monks must obey many rules in addition to the five precepts.  How many precepts do Theravada monks follow (B 112)?  Examples of the rules:  not to eat after 12 noon, not to attend shows, not to decorate oneself, not to sleep on soft beds, not to handle gold and silver, not to travel with or sleep in the barracks of an army, not to walk across green areas (in order to avoid killing bugs by walking off the path), not to leave liquid outside uncovered at night (in order to avoid drowning insects).  Every two weeks, the monks assemble and recite all of the precepts together.  They then publicly disclose to one another the ways in which they have failed to live up to these precepts, and recommit themselves to living by them.

The order of nuns died out in Theravada Buddhism, but still exists in Mahayana.  Nuns must take more precepts than monks, more than 300 altogether.  Many of the additional rules  seem designed to protect the nuns from sexual exploitation by outsiders.  Some of the rules effectively subordinate the order of nuns to the order of monks. 

15. Virtue and Motivation (WBT 46, B 103-105). Is there more to Buddhist moral life than following rules (B 103)?  Ideally, what should motivate a Buddhist to undertake a commitment not to kill (B 104-105)?  What virtues are mentioned in Buddhist texts? (B 105)

The Buddha, having already attained perfect enlightenment, undertook to teach others out of altruistic love: "for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world" (WBT 46).  He used precisely the same language in sending his followers out into the world; they should go forth the aim of helping others, out of compassion for them. 

The Buddha taught specific meditations for developing attitudes of love and compassion, which will be mentioned in the next unit.