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Buddha Talks

Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (lit. 'the awakened one'), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained nirvana at Bodh Gayā in what is now India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana ("final release from conditioned existence").

According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His core teachings are summarised in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes ethical training and kindness toward others, and meditative practices such as sense restraint, mindfulness, dhyana (meditation proper). Another key element of his teachings are the concepts of the five skandhas and dependent origination, describing how all dharmas (both mental states and concrete 'things') come into being, and cease to be, depending on other dharmas, lacking an existence on their own (svabhava).

While in the Nikayas, he frequently refers to himself as the Tathāgata; the earliest attestation of the title Buddha is from the 3rd century BCE, meaning 'Awakened One' or 'Enlightened One'. His teachings were compiled by the Buddhist community in the Vinaya, his codes for monastic practice, and the Sutta Piṭaka, a compilation of teachings based on his discourses. These were passed down in Middle Indo-Aryan dialects through an oral tradition. Later generations composed additional texts, such as systematic treatises known as Abhidharma, biographies of the Buddha, collections of stories about his past lives known as Jataka tales, and additional discourses, i.e., the Mahāyāna sūtras.

Buddhism evolved into a variety of traditions and practices, represented by Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, and spread beyond the Indian subcontinent. While Buddhism declined in India, and mostly disappeared after the 8th century CE due to a lack of popular and economic support, Buddhism has grown more prominent in Southeast and East Asia.

From The Buddha on Wikipedia

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Beyond Self: The Essence of Enlightenment

Buddha

Illness as a Path to Enlightenment

Buddha, Enlightenment, Meditation
Mount Madonna Center

Embracing Suffering: A Bodhisattva's Path

Serial: RA-01669

HSA

Sat eve - Sun am

Buddha, Bodhisattva, Suffering
Mount Madonna Center

Embracing Emptiness, Understanding Interdependence

Emptiness, Time, Buddha

Restful Balance in Spiritual Harmony

Pain, Practice, Buddha

Conditions Shape Reality's Illusion

Buddha, Time, Name

Awakening Through Interconnected Reality

Practice, Buddha, Work

Upright in Anxious Liberation

Buddha, Practice, Concentration

Embracing Reality: Nagarjuna's Middle Way

Buddha, Time, Love

Intimacy Beyond Ego Boundaries

Separation, Buddha, Intimacy

Perfection of Wisdom

Buddha, Bodhisattva, Time
3

Perfection of Wisdom

Bodhisattva, Buddha, Practice
3

Abhidharma Kosa

Mindfulness, Consciousness, Buddha
Winter

Perfection of Wisdom

Buddha, Time, Faith
1

Perfection of Wisdom

Emptiness, Bodhisattva, Buddha
3

Perfection of Wisdom

Bodhisattva, Buddha, Mahayana
3

Perfection of Wisdom

Buddha, Desire, Karma
1

Path to Enlightenment Through Circles

Time, Work, Buddha

Mahayana Abhidharma

Buddha, Mahayana, Abhidharma
Green Gulch Farm

Paths to Enlightenment Through Consciousness

Time, Practice, Buddha
Feb 11

Beyond Duality: Walking the Middle Way

Serial: RA-00791

Wednesday dharma talk

Buddha, Precepts, Practice
Jul 01

Universal Balance in Zen Practice

Love, Delusion, Buddha
Apr 25

Zen Path: Embracing Enlightenment Within

Buddha, Study, Yoga
Nov 19

Silent Seeds of Zen Wisdom

Buddha, Bodhisattva, Time
Jul 22

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