What Is Buddhism?

Last Few Posts:

What Is The Highest Good?

What Is Spirituality?

What Do We Mean By Manifested Activity?

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Terms In The Audio:

• Zero: The fundamental teaching of the late Zen master Joshu Sasaki: “As the Buddha taught, zero inevitably splits into mutually opposing activities which inevitably disappear into zero.”

• Reconciling Zero: The investigation of Zero in the pursuit of Effective Zen.

• Effective Zen: The one path on Zen Mountain that gives any one individual the best chance of reaching the peak (realizing non-duality).

• Zen Mountain: The collection of all possible Zen paths.

• Highest Good: That which exists for its own sake (there is nothing greater)

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Activity:

Fundamental Activity Model - to and from zero-activity, manifested-activity inevitably arises and returns.

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Spirituality:

Zero-Spirituality - the following necessary preconditions

1. A clear understanding of the highest good.

2. A clear picture of the path to the attainment of the highest good.

3. Sufficient understanding and motivation to overcome the inevitable hurdles typically encountered while on the path.

Manifested-Spirituality - the set of activities intended in the pursuit of the highest good.

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Spirituality and Religion:

• Christianity: The set of spiritual activities where the highest good is an eternal afterlife in heaven.

• Hinduism: The set of spiritual activities where the highest good is union with Brahma.

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Buddhism:

Zero-Buddhism - the necessary preconditions for a manifested Buddhism to arise, namely:

1. A clear picture of non-duality

2. A clear path to a realization of non-duality

3. Motivation and an Understanding of the expected obstacles along the path

Manifested-Buddhism - the set of spiritual activities where the highest good is the realization of non-duality.

The Question For Next Week: What Is the Realization of Non-Duality?