Samsara:
Samsara: 'round of rebirth', lit. perpetual wandering', is a name by which is
designated the sca of life ever restlessly heaving up and down, the symbol of
this continuous process of ever again and again being born, growing old,
suffering and dying. More precisely put, samsára is the unbroken
chain of the five-fold khandha-combinations, which, constantly
changing from moment to moment follow continuously one upon the other through
inconceivable periods of time. Of this samsára, a single
lifetime constitutes only a tiny and fleeting fraction; hence to be able to
comprehend the first noble truth of universal suffering, one must let one's
gaze rest upon the samsára, upon this frightful chain of
rebirths, and not merely upon one single life-time, which, of course, may be
sometimes less painful. - urbandharma.org
My Definition:
Samsara is the cycle of rebirth entraps the individual until they reach a state of awakening. In practice, Samsara is the cycle of dukkha that continues until the individual recognizes the conditions which cause dukkha and create new skillful habits. In understanding dukkha, the individual ends dukha, this in turn ends Samsara.
Bodhisattva's use dark karma in order to continue their cycle of rebirth and regeneration in order to continue to help individuals to develop skillful habits, practices, and understandings that will lead them to awakening.
My Definition:
Samsara is the cycle of rebirth entraps the individual until they reach a state of awakening. In practice, Samsara is the cycle of dukkha that continues until the individual recognizes the conditions which cause dukkha and create new skillful habits. In understanding dukkha, the individual ends dukha, this in turn ends Samsara.
Bodhisattva's use dark karma in order to continue their cycle of rebirth and regeneration in order to continue to help individuals to develop skillful habits, practices, and understandings that will lead them to awakening.
Sangha
Sangha:
(lit.: congregation), is the name for the Community of Buddhist
monks. As the third of the Three Gems or Jewels (ti-ratana, q.v.)
and the Three Refuges (ti-sarana, q.v.), i.e. Buddha, Dhamma
and Sangha, it applies to the ariya-sangha, the community of
the saints, i.e. the 4 Noble Ones (ariya-pugga, q.v.), the
Stream-winner, etc.
Urbandharma.org
My Definition:
Sangha: group of individuals with whom the Buddhist practitioner works to develop his or her awareness of conditions and causality in dukkha in order to be awakened.
Urbandharma.org
My Definition:
Sangha: group of individuals with whom the Buddhist practitioner works to develop his or her awareness of conditions and causality in dukkha in order to be awakened.
Skillful
Skillful:
based on
insight into the underlying nature of the functioning of one’s phenomenal experience. An opening of the mind toward conditions and causality that leads to awakening.
Feldman, Jay. "Buddhism, Units 2 & 7" University of Idaho, 2013.
My Definition:
Skillful: Decisions that are made while considering the conditions and causality which created the moment or experience. These decisions are "wholesome" non-harmful for the individual and will eventually lead to awakening.
Skillful: decisions or habits that avoid dukkha through consideration of conditions and interdependent co-arising.
Skillful does not mean "good" or "healthy" rather skillful means "nonharmful" to oneself or others. Skillful habits allow individuals to perceive what "really is" in moments of existence and recognize the importance of attention to moments as they occur.
Feldman, Jay. "Buddhism, Units 2 & 7" University of Idaho, 2013.
My Definition:
Skillful: Decisions that are made while considering the conditions and causality which created the moment or experience. These decisions are "wholesome" non-harmful for the individual and will eventually lead to awakening.
Skillful: decisions or habits that avoid dukkha through consideration of conditions and interdependent co-arising.
Skillful does not mean "good" or "healthy" rather skillful means "nonharmful" to oneself or others. Skillful habits allow individuals to perceive what "really is" in moments of existence and recognize the importance of attention to moments as they occur.
Sunyata (emptiness)
Sunyata: suññatá (noun): void (ness), empty (emptiness). As a doctrinal term it refers, in Theraváda, exclusively to the anattá doctrine,.i.e. the unsubstantiality of all phenomena: "Void is the world ... because it is void of a self and anything belonging to a self" , it is said: "Eye ... mind, visual objects ... mind-objects, visual consciousness ... mind-consciousness, corporeality ... consciousness, etc., are void of self and anything belonging to a self; void of permanency and of anything lasting, eternal or immutable.. They are coreless: without a core of permanency, or core of happiness or core of self." - I
urbandharma.org
My Definition:
Sunyata: sense of emptiness in that all individuals and events are created out of conditions and experiences. Without these conditions, there is no inherent foundational sense of "self" that directs the individual in actions and decisions. Humans are a product of their environment and are constantly in flux.
Sunyata is connected to Tathata (suchness). Though all beings are created from nothing, they are all interconnected through conditions (which have a basis in nothing). This prevents moralistic values of worth or value, negating suggestions of heaven and hell and supporting the individual to pay attention to the moment as it occurs as reality.
urbandharma.org
My Definition:
Sunyata: sense of emptiness in that all individuals and events are created out of conditions and experiences. Without these conditions, there is no inherent foundational sense of "self" that directs the individual in actions and decisions. Humans are a product of their environment and are constantly in flux.
Sunyata is connected to Tathata (suchness). Though all beings are created from nothing, they are all interconnected through conditions (which have a basis in nothing). This prevents moralistic values of worth or value, negating suggestions of heaven and hell and supporting the individual to pay attention to the moment as it occurs as reality.
Sympathetic Joy
Sympathetic Joy: habituated response in awakened individuals who have attained "nirvana."
Feldman, Jay. "Buddhism, Unit 5." University of Idaho, 2013.
My Definition:
Sympathetic Joy: recognizing other individuals well-being and vicariously feeling pleasure on their account.
My Journal:
Feb 26, 2013:
It is easy to feel sympathetic joy for individuals when you are not competing. I often feel envious rather than happy when an individual surpasses me on a grade or test. However, I need to recognize that through interdependent co-arising their benefit creates better conditions for myself in the future. Similarly, often their benefit is not at the detraction of my own well-being. In feeling envious, I create false stories which I associate with the test in order to explain my inadequacies. I need to lose these illusions in order to create a more wholesome relationship with other and be able to support and appreciate them fully.
March 8, 2013:
While in Vegas, I recognized sympathetic joy in many of the gamblers in the casinos. Though they were playing against one another, any sound by the machines which demonstrated a "win" created applause or cheers by the bystanders. It appeared that many individuals, despite their bad luck, wished to congratulate or support someone who is similar to them. I intend to attempt to feel this "sympathetic joy" for other individuals in my classes so that I might recognize their achievements without feeling envious.
March 20, 2013:
Of the skillful habits that develop in awakening, skillful joy appears the most unnatural to me in terms of the human race. Humans since the prehistoric era have always been in competition- is it a representative sign of a changing time in that as humans now celebrate achievements of others?
April 16, 2013:
Sympathetic joy is most strongly found in the Bodhisattvas. The Bodhisattva's give up the opportunity to be awakened through intentional use of Dark Karma in order to be reborn again. Through this process, bodhisattvas choose to experience pain and suffering so that other individuals might achieve awakening and an end to dukkha. In recognizing conditions and interdependent co-arising, individuals realize suffering; however, in this realization individuals who have awakened also realized joy in others and sympathetically feel joy as well. Sympathetic joy is a skillful practice that promotes awakening while lessening dukkha in lives.
Feldman, Jay. "Buddhism, Unit 5." University of Idaho, 2013.
My Definition:
Sympathetic Joy: recognizing other individuals well-being and vicariously feeling pleasure on their account.
My Journal:
Feb 26, 2013:
It is easy to feel sympathetic joy for individuals when you are not competing. I often feel envious rather than happy when an individual surpasses me on a grade or test. However, I need to recognize that through interdependent co-arising their benefit creates better conditions for myself in the future. Similarly, often their benefit is not at the detraction of my own well-being. In feeling envious, I create false stories which I associate with the test in order to explain my inadequacies. I need to lose these illusions in order to create a more wholesome relationship with other and be able to support and appreciate them fully.
March 8, 2013:
While in Vegas, I recognized sympathetic joy in many of the gamblers in the casinos. Though they were playing against one another, any sound by the machines which demonstrated a "win" created applause or cheers by the bystanders. It appeared that many individuals, despite their bad luck, wished to congratulate or support someone who is similar to them. I intend to attempt to feel this "sympathetic joy" for other individuals in my classes so that I might recognize their achievements without feeling envious.
March 20, 2013:
Of the skillful habits that develop in awakening, skillful joy appears the most unnatural to me in terms of the human race. Humans since the prehistoric era have always been in competition- is it a representative sign of a changing time in that as humans now celebrate achievements of others?
April 16, 2013:
Sympathetic joy is most strongly found in the Bodhisattvas. The Bodhisattva's give up the opportunity to be awakened through intentional use of Dark Karma in order to be reborn again. Through this process, bodhisattvas choose to experience pain and suffering so that other individuals might achieve awakening and an end to dukkha. In recognizing conditions and interdependent co-arising, individuals realize suffering; however, in this realization individuals who have awakened also realized joy in others and sympathetically feel joy as well. Sympathetic joy is a skillful practice that promotes awakening while lessening dukkha in lives.