The Theravada (Sanskrit: sthaviravada), literally "Teaching of the Elders" is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. The Theravada school is derived from the group that emerged from the group Vibhajjavada Sthaviras at the time of the Third Buddhist Council (ca. 250 BC), during the time of King Ashoka.
The Theravada promotes the doctrine of Vibhajjavada, literally "Teaching of Analysis." According to this doctrine, the right vision, insight, derived from the experience of the practitioner, critical analysis and reason, rather than blind faith, however, in the tradition of writing Thera is also important to follow the advice of the wise, the latter being, along with the assessment of their experiences, the two "test" to judge their practice.
In Theravada, the cause of human existence and suffering (dukkha) is identified in the desire (tanha), as well as other afflictions such as anger, hatred, pride, jealousy, envy, fear , passion, irritation, anxiety, distraction, etc. .. It is believed that these afflictions are habits arising from ignorance (Avijja) obscuring the minds of all unenlightened beings. Ignorance of what? Of the three samsaric truth of all phenomena, or suffering (dukkha), impermanence (anicca) and selflessness (anatta). All things are in fact characterized by suffering and dissatisfaction, even the fulfillment of our deepest desires is to be unsatisfactory, because nothing is permanent, even the tiniest molecule. All things are also not-self, no-existence last. The unenlightened beings instead take their affliction as a "self", becoming attached to them because of ignorance of the truth.
To be free from suffering and stress these afflictions shall be permanently eradicated. This is possible through the Three Training in Morality (Sila), Concentration (Samadhi) and Wisdom (Cream), and the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Noble Eightfold Path
First Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding
The Right View is the knowledge, theoretical at first, and then assimilated through practice, the 4 Noble Truths. In Mahasatipattana Sutta, one of the most important speeches of Shakyamuni Buddha in the Theravada, it is written: "And what, monks, the right understanding? Understand suffering, to understand the origin of suffering, to understand the end of suffering and understand the way that leads to extinction of suffering: this is called Right View "
According to the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Intention
Translated as "right thinking", refers primarily to the firm resolution to give up the cycle of rebirth by giving up greed, malice mental obfuscation. In May-Vibhanga Sutta is written "And what is right thought? Be firm in renunciation, freedom by bad intentions, nell'innoquità: this is called right thought. "
Third Noble Eightfold Path: right speech
This is a set of laws on language use. We must refrain from saying what is false for the benefit of themselves or others, by sowing discord, from approaching others in an aggressive or rude, silly and trivial topics from entertainment (mainly gossip). "And what is right speech? Refrain from lying, abstain from the word divide, refrain from offensive word, refrain from idle chatter: This, monks, is right speech "
Fourth Noble Eightfold Path: right action
right action, also translated as "right conduct" involves the proper way in which the Buddhist practitioner should behave in their daily lives. "And what is the right action? Refrain from taking life, from stealing, and sexual misconduct. This is called Right Action ". The fourth Noble Eightfold Path is often explained through the Five Precepts, vows that the lay Buddhist practitioner takes:
1 - Abstain from killing. Includes being the instigator of it or approve it, the incitement to suicide and abortion.
2 - Refraining from taking what that there is given
3 - Abstain from sexual misconduct, particularly sexual violence and adultery, looking at women not qualifying for the relationship as mothers, sisters or daughters under the age
4 - Refrain from lying
5 - Refraining from intoxicants (alcohol, drugs ..)
Fifth Noble Eightfold Path: Right Life
also translated as "right livelihood", is mainly based on the concept of ahimsa (nonviolence), and essentially says that we must refrain from occupations which, directly or indirectly causing harm to human. "Oh monks, a practitioner layman should not engage in five types of businesses. Which five? Arms trade, trade in human beings, flesh trade, trade in intoxicants, trade in poisons
Sixth Noble Eightfold Path: Right Effort
right effort, which involves essentially the continued effort to keep his mind free from those thoughts that may hinder the practice of the other elements of the Eightfold Path, is the mental discipline that operates in four directions: to avoid the occurrence of afflictions not yet arisen, to abandon the afflictions already arisen, bringing about the emergence of virtue not yet fate and enhance the virtues already arisen.
Seventh Noble Eightfold Path: Right Mindfulness
The right mindfulness is the practice of Vipassana which, together with the merger, is the main practice of meditation in the Theravada. It consists mainly of observation of all phenomena occurring in the body and mind, and has four objects of observation: the body, feelings, mind and dharma (in this context we refer to mental phenomena). With proper awareness, the mind is purified from its obscuring veils, seeing the true nature of things, unsatisfactory, impermanent and empty of self. With this you can reach the Liberation
Eight Noble Path: Right Concentration
The Buddha explains right concentration in terms of the fourth jhana (dhyana in Sanskrit). The base from which you can achieve jhana is generally made dall'anapanasati, concentrating on the breath. Jhana before joining a pre-stage characterized by the abandonment of the five hindrances (sensual desire, ill will, torpor, agitation, doubt). This pre-stage is an unstable state where the mind is concentrated on your object, but not as a state of full concentration (jhana), where we see a markedly different level of awareness, in which the mind does not work in ordinary sensory . In this pre-stage some meditators may experience vivid mental images very similar to dreams, or feel that your breath or your body disappears, leaving pure awareness. When these phenomena occur should not be concerned or afraid, but we must continue the meditation. When you pass this stage you pre-enter in the 4 stages of full concentration (jhana):
1 - First Jhana: at this stage is a form of bliss (made up of joy and happiness). Only the mental movements are more subtle. The ability to create evil intentions ceases.
2 - Second Jhana: at this stage the subtle mental movements cease. Remains bliss. Ceases the ability to create positive intentions
3 - Third Jhana: ceases at this stage the appearance of joyful bliss, but it is still a state of happiness
4 - Fourth Jhana: ceases happiness entering a state that is characterized neither by pleasure nor pain. It 'a state of perfect purity and equanimity. The breathing stops temporarily.
By the fourth Jhana is said to begin the acquisition of psychic powers, but this is not the purpose of meditation. The aim of achieving full merger is to strengthen and refine the mind, so that it can be run with clearly realize the nature of the phenomena.
performance levels
Through practice, students can achieve four levels of achievement that reflect their mental state:
1 - stream-entry (Sotapanna) are entered the stream of Dhamma, they destroyed the first three fetters (false view of self, doubt, attachment to rites and rituals), will not be reborn in the lower realms, and will take up to 7 lives to achieve liberation.
2 - The returned once (sakadagami) as well as having eliminated the three chains have also decreased the attachment sexual aversion. Achieve liberation at most after returning once again in the world.
3 - The Non Returning (anagami) have eliminated the five chains (false view of self, doubt, attachment to the rituals, sensual attachment, aversion), but are not yet free from attachment to jhana, a form subtle pride, agitation and ignorance. At their death will not be reborn in this world, but in a celestial world where achieving liberation
4 - The Freed (Arahant): those who have realized Nibbana, the state without a death in which the afflicted are totally stopped. Nibbana is divided in with the "residue" when the Arahant is still alive, and then the residue of the five aggregates (which can then be the substrate of forms of physical suffering, but not mental), and the "no residue" after the death.
Scriptures
The sacred scriptures of Theravada, the Pali Canon, are called the Tripitaka, as consisting of three baskets: the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka Pitaka el'Abhidhamma. The first concerns the monastic rules of conduct, the second is the set of texts dealing with the history and words of the Buddha's teachings and the last includes more philosophical, psychological and metaphysical. They are matched to the three trainings: the Vinaya morality (Sila), the Sutta the concentration (Samadhi), el'Abhidhamma to Wisdom (Panna). In the opinion of most scholars of the Abhidhamma was added later because it seems that the First Buddhist council there were only two Pitaka. In any case, the first texts were written in the first century BC, as the tradition of those times in order to transmit the teachings orally. The portion of the Sutta and Vinaya Tripitaka shows a considerable overlap with the set of texts used by non-Theravada schools that form the Chinese and Tibetan Canon. The used in the Theravada Abhidhamma but is not recognized in the Mahayana. By contrast, the Mahayana Sutras are not recognized by Theravada. In the fifth century after Christ was Buddhaghosha writing the first commentary on the Pali Canon, the Visuddhimagga (the Path of Purification).
The Theravada promotes the doctrine of Vibhajjavada, literally "Teaching of Analysis." According to this doctrine, the right vision, insight, derived from the experience of the practitioner, critical analysis and reason, rather than blind faith, however, in the tradition of writing Thera is also important to follow the advice of the wise, the latter being, along with the assessment of their experiences, the two "test" to judge their practice.
In Theravada, the cause of human existence and suffering (dukkha) is identified in the desire (tanha), as well as other afflictions such as anger, hatred, pride, jealousy, envy, fear , passion, irritation, anxiety, distraction, etc. .. It is believed that these afflictions are habits arising from ignorance (Avijja) obscuring the minds of all unenlightened beings. Ignorance of what? Of the three samsaric truth of all phenomena, or suffering (dukkha), impermanence (anicca) and selflessness (anatta). All things are in fact characterized by suffering and dissatisfaction, even the fulfillment of our deepest desires is to be unsatisfactory, because nothing is permanent, even the tiniest molecule. All things are also not-self, no-existence last. The unenlightened beings instead take their affliction as a "self", becoming attached to them because of ignorance of the truth.
To be free from suffering and stress these afflictions shall be permanently eradicated. This is possible through the Three Training in Morality (Sila), Concentration (Samadhi) and Wisdom (Cream), and the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Noble Eightfold Path
First Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding
The Right View is the knowledge, theoretical at first, and then assimilated through practice, the 4 Noble Truths. In Mahasatipattana Sutta, one of the most important speeches of Shakyamuni Buddha in the Theravada, it is written: "And what, monks, the right understanding? Understand suffering, to understand the origin of suffering, to understand the end of suffering and understand the way that leads to extinction of suffering: this is called Right View "
According to the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Intention
Translated as "right thinking", refers primarily to the firm resolution to give up the cycle of rebirth by giving up greed, malice mental obfuscation. In May-Vibhanga Sutta is written "And what is right thought? Be firm in renunciation, freedom by bad intentions, nell'innoquità: this is called right thought. "
Third Noble Eightfold Path: right speech
This is a set of laws on language use. We must refrain from saying what is false for the benefit of themselves or others, by sowing discord, from approaching others in an aggressive or rude, silly and trivial topics from entertainment (mainly gossip). "And what is right speech? Refrain from lying, abstain from the word divide, refrain from offensive word, refrain from idle chatter: This, monks, is right speech "
Fourth Noble Eightfold Path: right action
right action, also translated as "right conduct" involves the proper way in which the Buddhist practitioner should behave in their daily lives. "And what is the right action? Refrain from taking life, from stealing, and sexual misconduct. This is called Right Action ". The fourth Noble Eightfold Path is often explained through the Five Precepts, vows that the lay Buddhist practitioner takes:
1 - Abstain from killing. Includes being the instigator of it or approve it, the incitement to suicide and abortion.
2 - Refraining from taking what that there is given
3 - Abstain from sexual misconduct, particularly sexual violence and adultery, looking at women not qualifying for the relationship as mothers, sisters or daughters under the age
4 - Refrain from lying
5 - Refraining from intoxicants (alcohol, drugs ..)
Fifth Noble Eightfold Path: Right Life
also translated as "right livelihood", is mainly based on the concept of ahimsa (nonviolence), and essentially says that we must refrain from occupations which, directly or indirectly causing harm to human. "Oh monks, a practitioner layman should not engage in five types of businesses. Which five? Arms trade, trade in human beings, flesh trade, trade in intoxicants, trade in poisons
Sixth Noble Eightfold Path: Right Effort
right effort, which involves essentially the continued effort to keep his mind free from those thoughts that may hinder the practice of the other elements of the Eightfold Path, is the mental discipline that operates in four directions: to avoid the occurrence of afflictions not yet arisen, to abandon the afflictions already arisen, bringing about the emergence of virtue not yet fate and enhance the virtues already arisen.
Seventh Noble Eightfold Path: Right Mindfulness
The right mindfulness is the practice of Vipassana which, together with the merger, is the main practice of meditation in the Theravada. It consists mainly of observation of all phenomena occurring in the body and mind, and has four objects of observation: the body, feelings, mind and dharma (in this context we refer to mental phenomena). With proper awareness, the mind is purified from its obscuring veils, seeing the true nature of things, unsatisfactory, impermanent and empty of self. With this you can reach the Liberation
Eight Noble Path: Right Concentration
The Buddha explains right concentration in terms of the fourth jhana (dhyana in Sanskrit). The base from which you can achieve jhana is generally made dall'anapanasati, concentrating on the breath. Jhana before joining a pre-stage characterized by the abandonment of the five hindrances (sensual desire, ill will, torpor, agitation, doubt). This pre-stage is an unstable state where the mind is concentrated on your object, but not as a state of full concentration (jhana), where we see a markedly different level of awareness, in which the mind does not work in ordinary sensory . In this pre-stage some meditators may experience vivid mental images very similar to dreams, or feel that your breath or your body disappears, leaving pure awareness. When these phenomena occur should not be concerned or afraid, but we must continue the meditation. When you pass this stage you pre-enter in the 4 stages of full concentration (jhana):
1 - First Jhana: at this stage is a form of bliss (made up of joy and happiness). Only the mental movements are more subtle. The ability to create evil intentions ceases.
2 - Second Jhana: at this stage the subtle mental movements cease. Remains bliss. Ceases the ability to create positive intentions
3 - Third Jhana: ceases at this stage the appearance of joyful bliss, but it is still a state of happiness
4 - Fourth Jhana: ceases happiness entering a state that is characterized neither by pleasure nor pain. It 'a state of perfect purity and equanimity. The breathing stops temporarily.
By the fourth Jhana is said to begin the acquisition of psychic powers, but this is not the purpose of meditation. The aim of achieving full merger is to strengthen and refine the mind, so that it can be run with clearly realize the nature of the phenomena.
performance levels
Through practice, students can achieve four levels of achievement that reflect their mental state:
1 - stream-entry (Sotapanna) are entered the stream of Dhamma, they destroyed the first three fetters (false view of self, doubt, attachment to rites and rituals), will not be reborn in the lower realms, and will take up to 7 lives to achieve liberation.
2 - The returned once (sakadagami) as well as having eliminated the three chains have also decreased the attachment sexual aversion. Achieve liberation at most after returning once again in the world.
3 - The Non Returning (anagami) have eliminated the five chains (false view of self, doubt, attachment to the rituals, sensual attachment, aversion), but are not yet free from attachment to jhana, a form subtle pride, agitation and ignorance. At their death will not be reborn in this world, but in a celestial world where achieving liberation
4 - The Freed (Arahant): those who have realized Nibbana, the state without a death in which the afflicted are totally stopped. Nibbana is divided in with the "residue" when the Arahant is still alive, and then the residue of the five aggregates (which can then be the substrate of forms of physical suffering, but not mental), and the "no residue" after the death.
Scriptures
The sacred scriptures of Theravada, the Pali Canon, are called the Tripitaka, as consisting of three baskets: the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka Pitaka el'Abhidhamma. The first concerns the monastic rules of conduct, the second is the set of texts dealing with the history and words of the Buddha's teachings and the last includes more philosophical, psychological and metaphysical. They are matched to the three trainings: the Vinaya morality (Sila), the Sutta the concentration (Samadhi), el'Abhidhamma to Wisdom (Panna). In the opinion of most scholars of the Abhidhamma was added later because it seems that the First Buddhist council there were only two Pitaka. In any case, the first texts were written in the first century BC, as the tradition of those times in order to transmit the teachings orally. The portion of the Sutta and Vinaya Tripitaka shows a considerable overlap with the set of texts used by non-Theravada schools that form the Chinese and Tibetan Canon. The used in the Theravada Abhidhamma but is not recognized in the Mahayana. By contrast, the Mahayana Sutras are not recognized by Theravada. In the fifth century after Christ was Buddhaghosha writing the first commentary on the Pali Canon, the Visuddhimagga (the Path of Purification).
Thanks for this summary to Marco Scarinci
