Buddhism is the collective name for the diverse philosophical, esoteric and religious beliefs that are derived from the way of liberation taught, in the 6th century B.C., by the North-Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who was called the Buddha, which means the Awakened or Enlightened One.
What we know for a fact about the historical Buddha and his original teachings is limited. We ourselves, in Advayavada Buddhism, take it for granted that the essence of his teachings are the so-called Four Noble Truths, which he allegedly disclosed, to his initial five disciples, in his very first sermon in Sarnath, near Varanasi (Benares) in India, at the age of about 35 years.
To become a Buddhist it is sufficient to repeat three times in the presence of other Buddhists that one takes refuge in the Buddha, his teachings (the dharma) and his community (the sangha), and that one undertakes to adhere to the five precepts which are applicable equally to all Buddhists world-wide.
The five fundamental Buddhist precepts are not to kill, not to steal, sexual restraint, not to lie, and refraining from alcohol and drugs.
The basic interpretation of the Four Noble Truths is (1) that human life is fraught with suffering; (2) that this suffering is caused by man's craving for and clinging to situations, things and concepts; (3) that his suffering will certainly end if and when man rids himself of this craving for and clinging to all these transient things; and (4) that the sure way to achieve this is by following the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path, when interpreted dynamically as an ongoing and fully autonomous, non-prescriptive, investigative and creative process of progressive insight reflecting in human terms overall existence advancing over time, as Advayavada Buddhism does, is that of (1) our very best comprehension or insight, followed by (2) our very best resolution or determination, (3) our very best enunciation or definition of our intention, (4) our very best disposition or attitude, (5) our very best implementation or realization, (6) our very best effort or commitment, (7) our very best observation, reflection or evaluation and self-correction, and (8) our very best meditation or concentration towards an increasingly real experience of samadhi, which brings us to (1) a yet better comprehension or insight, and so forth.
The Noble Eightfold Path in Advayavada Buddhism is fully personalized: it is firmly based on what we increasingly know about ourselves and our world, and trusting our own intentions, feelings and conscience. By following the Noble Eightfold Path continually and systematically we regain our place in totality becoming over time, breaking, as we advance along the Path, the traditional ten fetters that restrict us to Samsara.
The traditional ten fetters that restrict us to Samsaric existence are, as we understand them: (1) belief in the self, (2) scepticism regarding the Path, (3) attachment to rituals, (4) partiality for certain things, (5) prejudice against certain things, (6) clinging to physical life, (7) hope of a hereafter, (8) conceit and pride, (9) intolerance and irritability, and (10) the last remnants of our ignorance of the true nature of reality.
The Advayavada Study Plan: Advayavada Buddhism does not tell you what to believe - it is not one more oppressive ideology, but a straightforward blueprint to understand and implement the Buddha's basic teachings meant to overcome all sorrow, remorse and doubt in our own lives. Nirvana is, in Advayavada Buddhism, the total extinction of all existential suffering as a result of our complete reconciliation with reality as it truly is. We invite you to embark upon and advance along the Noble Eightfold Path according to the following practical Advayavada Study Plan (ASP) which you can start using at any time:
Week of the current year and subject:
Preliminary subjects:
01 - 14 - 27 - 40 : Impermanence (First Sign of Being).
02 - 15 - 28 - 41 : Selflessness (Second Sign of Being).
03 - 16 - 29 - 42 : Existential suffering (Third Sign of Being and First Noble Truth).
04 - 17 - 30 - 43 : Craving and its elimination (Second and Third Noble Truths).
05 - 18 - 31 - 44 : Path and Progress (Fourth Noble Truth and Fourth Sign of Being).
The Noble Eightfold Path:
06 - 19 - 32 - 45 : Our v. best comprehension (First Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
07 - 20 - 33 - 46 : Our v. best resolution (Second Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
08 - 21 - 34 - 47 : Our v. best enunciation (Third Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
09 - 22 - 35 - 48 : Our v. best disposition (Fourth Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
10 - 23 - 36 - 49 : Our v. best implementation (Fifth Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
11 - 24 - 37 - 50 : Our v. best effort (Sixth Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
12 - 25 - 38 - 51 : Our v. best observation (Seventh Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
13 - 26 - 39 - 52 : Our v. best meditation (Eighth Step on the Noble Eightfold Path).
...and so forth!
samadhi = total concentration (of the mind, cf. enstasy); non-dualistic state of consciousness in which the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object; total absortion in the object of meditation; transcendence of the relationship between mind and object; merging of subject and object; to contemplate the world without any perception of objects; suspension of judgement; satori; bodhi; rigpa; realization of the sameness of the part and the whole, of the identity of form and emptiness, of samsara and nirvana, of the immediate and the ultimate; mystic oneness; perfect attunement with wondrous overall existence; oceanic feeling; wonder, awe, rapture; essential purity; deep love and compassion; awareness of our common ground and the innocence of sex.
The purpose of the Advayavada Study Plan (ASP) is that we consider (and e.g. debate in a local group, the family circle, or with good friends) the meaning and implications of the weekly subject, not as a formal and impersonal intellectual exercise, but fully in the context of whatever we ourselves are presently doing or are concerned with, or about, such as our health, relationships, work, study, our place in society, etc. The thirteen weekly subjects are repeated four times a year and you can start right now. It's a good idea to write down the weekly subject in your pocket diary!
The Advayavada Study Plan (ASP) starts with the three conventional signs or marks or basic facts of being in traditional Buddhism: impermanence, selflessness and suffering. Impermanence refers to the unstability and transitoriness of all things including ourselves; selflessness refers to the fact that nothing has an enduring self or independent substance; and suffering refers to the existential sorrow that all non-liberated human beings are prone to.
Advayavada Buddhism's most important tenet is, however, that there is a fourth sign or mark of being implicit in the Buddha’s teaching, namely that, expressed purely in terms of human perception and experience, reality is sequential and dynamic in the sense of ever becoming better than before. What human beings experience and identify as good, right or beneficial, indeed as progress, is, in fact, that which takes place in the otherwise indifferent direction that wondrous overall existence flows in of its own accord.
To understand this important tenet, one should first come to realize most deeply, for instance through meditation on the incontestable non-duality of the world, that not the human manifestation of life (i.e. its ongoing process of re-combination, mutation, concatenate multiplication and disintegration of the expended units, and its vicissitudes and perils, even possible extinction, self-inflicted or not) is the measure of things in space and time, but the whole of infinite interdependent reality itself, which, hardly affected, if at all, by the negligible impact of mankind's doings on the overall scheme of things, will continue to become exactly as it, by definition, must.
It then becomes very clear that the Middle Way taught by the Buddha as the correct existential attitude is not meant to in the least deviate from the Dharma of the whole; that the objective of the Middle Way is, in fact, to reconnect and reconcile us with wondrous overall existence; and that the Middle Way in its dynamic Noble Eightfold Path mode must indeed be seen as an ongoing reflexion at the level of our personal lives of wondrous overall existence becoming over time. Now, as the Eightfold Path leads us towards an ever better situation, we now know that, expressed in terms of human perception and experience, existence as a whole advances over time towards better and better as well. This fact is, indeed, the fourth sign or mark of being.
The purpose of Buddhism is then obviously not to shun life in any way but to return mankind to the fold of wondrous overall existence. Buddhism must therefore be understood as a 'way of reconciliation' with the whole of existence just right as it is, i.e. as it truly is beyond our commonly limited and biased personal experience of it. The aim of Advayavada Buddhism is to help us understand this main purpose of Buddhism more clearly and to give us individually the necessary tools to become a true part of the whole, here and now.
See a few videos here.
Texts of previews:
Week 1: Hello Study Plan friends, this is to remind ourselves that our self-study subject in week 1 is the First Sign of Being, i.e. the first fact of life, which is the impermanence and changeability of all things, including us. Impermanence is certainly the most important property of everything existing, as without actual and potential change, progress and liberation would not be possible. The subject next week is the Second Sign of Being, the emptiness of all things. Have a good week!
Week 2: Hello Study Plan friends. Our self-study subject in week 2 is the Second Sign of Being, the selflessness and emptiness of all things. It is very important to understand and accept that all things, including human beings, are produced and sustained by causes and conditions and are therefore all, without exception, empty of self-nature. Nothing has an independent and lasting self, soul, or essence. The subject next week is the Third Sign of Being, which is also the First Noble Truth of Buddhism: that many people suffer. Have a good week!
Week 3: Hello again Study Plan friends. Our self-study subject in week 3 is the Third Sign of Being, or fact of life, which is also the First Noble Truth of Buddhism, which is that there is very much unnecessary suffering, dissappointment and regret, and doubt and pessimism in our wonderful world. The subjects next week are the Second and Third Noble Truths of Buddhism: the reason for all that existential distress, which is craving, and how to overcome it. Have a good week!
Week 4: Hello Study Plan friends. Our self-study subjects in week 4 are the Second and Third Noble Truths of Buddhism, which are that unenlightened humans beings are prone to existential distress because they wrongly strive after and try to hold on to things, concepts and situations, which are in fact impermanent and finite, and that it is indeed possible to liberate oneself of this senseless craving and attachment. The subjects next week are the Fourth Noble Truth of Buddhism and the Fourth Sign of Being, which are the Noble Eightfold Path and Progress. Have a good week!
Week 5: Hello Study Plan friends. Our self-study subjects in week 5 are the Fourth Noble Truth and the Fourth Sign of Being, which are the Noble Eightfold Path and Progress. The Buddha's solution to the problem of existential suffering is, as we understand it, very simple: people must eliminate their thirst or craving, which is the immediate cause of their suffering, by following an intelligent, open-ended path which is, instead, in complete harmony with the true nature of reality. The subject next week is the First Step on that Path: our best possible insight. Have a good week!
Week 6: Hello again Study Plan friends. We have finished the preliminary subjects and our self-study subject in week 6 is the important First Step on the Noble Eightfold Path, which is to say to ourselves, very clearly and honestly, what our personal situation is at this moment in time. The subject next week will be the Second Step on the Eightfold Path: our very best resolution or determination for the better. Have a good week!
Week 7: Hello again Study Plan friends. The self-study subject in week 7 is the Second Step on the Eightfold Path: fully trusting our own intentions, feelings and conscience, what is the very best decision we might take in view of our personal situation at this moment. Next week, in accordance with the Third Step as we understand it, we shall put our resolution adequately into words in order to objectify it, so that we can evaluate our efforts properly. Have a good week!
Week 8: Hello Study Plan friends. The self-study subject in week 8 is the Third Step on the Eightfold Path as we understand it: which is to put the resolution we took last week adequately into words, preferably in writing, in order to objectify it, to be able to evaluate our efforts properly. Next week's subject will be the Fourth Step on the Path: our very best frame of mind or attitude to carry out our resolution to the very best of our ability. Have a good week!
Week 9: Hello again Study Plan friends. The self-study subject in week 9 is the Fourth Step on the Noble Eightfold Path, which is to muster and adopt the very best frame of mind and attitude to carry out, to the very best of our ability, the resolution we took in the past two weeks. Next week's subject is the Fifth Step on the Path, which is to actually put our plan into practice to the very best of our ability. Have a good week!
Week 10: Hello Study Plan friends. The self-study subject in week 10 is the Fifth Step on the Noble Eightfold Path, which is, as we understand it, the implementation to the very best of our ability what each of us in the past weeks decided to do next to improve our situation further. Remember that this self-study plan is completely autonomous - nobody is telling you what to do or think. The subject next week will be to make sure that we are making our very best effort to carry out our intentions to the very best of our ability. Have a good week!
Week 11: Hello Study Plan friends. The self-study subject in week 11 is the Sixth Step on the Noble Eightfold Path as we understand it: are we making our very best effort to carry out our intentions to the very best of our ability? are we fully committed to carrying out our intentions as best as we can? Next week's subject will be the Seventh Step on the Path: our very best evaluation and self-correction of our efforts in carrying out our plan or intention. Have a good week!
Week 12: Hello again Study Plan friends. The self-study subject in week 12 is the Seventh Step on the Noble Eighfold Path: our very best evaluation and self-correction of our efforts to date in carrying out our plan or intention. Next week the subject is our very best meditation towards an increasingly real experience of Samadhi. Have a good week! (See above for a description of Samadhi.)
Week 13: Hello Study Plan friends. The self-study subject in week 13 is the last step on the Noble Eightfold Path: our very best meditation or concentration of the mind towards an increasingly real experience of Samadhi. The subject next week is again the First Sign of Being, i.e. the first fact of life, which is the impermanence and changeability of all things, including us. Impermanence is certainly the most important property of everything existing, as without actual and potential change, progress and liberation would not be possible. Have a good week!
This ASP to be repeated 4 times a year according to above scheme.
In Nederland: Gelieve uw vrijwillige bijdrage te storten op rekening 81.44.72.079 t.n.v. de Advayavada Stichting, te Amsterdam. Elk bedrag is welkom. Hartelijk dank!
From abroad: Please use the handy PayPal 'make a donation' link or instruct your bank to transfer your donation to the Advayavada Stichting, account 81.44.72.079 at the ABN-AMRO Bank, Singel 548, 1017 AZ Amsterdam (IBAN: NL83ABNA0814472079; BIC: ABNANL2A). All amounts welcome. Thank you very much!
(last modified on 8 January 2012)
