Your Inner Buddha Outline

Your Inner Buddha

Thesis:

If you apply these four noble truths of the Buddha to your every day life, you will live an enriched, happier life.

Buddha‘s Ethos

1. Can you trust the Buddha?

1. The Buddha was the founder of Buddhism which is considered more of a way of life than a religion, followed by around 350 million people. Some of the basic principles are to live life peacefully, live in harmony with your society and environment, and live equally.

1. You already incorporated the Buddha’s words into your life

1. Wisdom and compassion are essential words that are paired together in the Buddha’s teachings and are used worldwide.

1st Noble Truth- Dukka

1. The truth of suffering

1. We need to accept that with life comes suffering, I know this sounds unappealing but its being realistic.

1. Dukka does not primarily mean sufferings; it can be discomfort, despair, separation and so on, anything that will leave you unhappy

1. Relevance

1. It is hard for some to understand that things cannot always run smoothly, we cannot always get what we want. And because people cannot comprehend this notion that pain is normal, people do not know how to handle pain when it comes which causes an even bigger problem.

1. Instead of shying away when things become hard, when someone you love dies, or you must relocate your lives, or you have been lied to by someone you trusted, you embrace the pain because it is a tool to learn from and it will strengthen you in the long run.

Possible Slide:

“Now this, monks, is the Noble Truth of dukkha: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha,death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha.”

— SN 56.11”

2nd Noble Truth- Samuydaya

1. The truth of the cause of suffering

1. We need to modifying our wanting and not expect others to conform to our expectation.

1. The monks believe that abandoning craving opens up the possibility of enlightenment which is why they live with such little.

1. Relevance

1. We live in a consumer society filled with wants and so called “needs” that at the end of the day we will never be fulfilled because there is always something more.

1. This craving is not confined to material objects but in desires, pleasures and indulgences. If instead of planning for you next meal the second you finish your last, or needing to spend your entire paycheck on new shoes, or want your friends to share the same beliefs you do- you need to except and be grateful instead of looking for what more you could have.

Possible Slide:
If this sticky, uncouth craving overcomes you in the world, your sorrows grow like wild grass after rain. If, in the world, you overcome this uncouth craving, hard to escape, sorrows roll off you, like water beads off a lotus.

— Dhp 335-336

3rd Noble Truth- Nirodha

1. The truth of the end of suffering

1. Suffering can be overcome and we can be happy if we don’t dwell on the past. We must live In the present

1. “This truth announces that when craving is removed suffering ceases and nirvana is attained”

1. Relevance

1. You must let go of what has confined you, or held you back. Everyone has a past but you must not let it define you or your future or you will never be happy.

1. Letting go of pain is not easy but it is essential because the more that you hold onto to a grudge or a bad memory the more it rots inside of you and this rotting will spread and destroy you. Instead of never forgiving you parent for abandoning you, or never moving on from a diseased spouse, you must let go of this negative emotion because it will only way you down and prevent future happiness.

Possible Slide:

“This is peace, this is exquisite — the stilling of all fabrications, the relinquishment of all acquisitions, the ending of craving, dispassion, cessation, Unbinding.”

— MN 64

4th Truth- Magga

1. The truth of the Path that leads us from suffering

1. The noble 8 fold path is the end to suffering. Once we discover our happiness it is the key and little tips that Buddha gives to preserve that happiness. 8 fold consists of Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

1. The chunking of the 8 fold

1. It is easier to understand the 8 fold path by chunking them together to pull out the information that is truly important. Right View and Intention are the wisdom- This means that it is essential to be aware of your surroundings and to gain insight with pure thoughts.

1. The second chunk is the Right speech, action and livelihood which is the moral conduct. This means that you must make money, speak and live ethically.

1. The third chunk is right effort, mindfulness and concentration which is the discipline. This means to develop wholesome qualities and use these qualities to be present and active in your life.

Possible Slide:

“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of dukkha: precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.”

— SN 56.11

**Don’t know why all the numbers and letters have turned into 1’s but just pretend that they are other numbers and letters**