1. Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple 加拿大佛教會 湛山精舍 禪修學佛入門 Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation 2011/10/15

2. Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple ná mó fó tuó 南 無 佛 陀 Namo Buddha ná mó dá mó 南 無 達 摩 Namo Dharma ná mó sēng qié 南 無 僧 伽 Namo Sangha

3. Buddhist Practice and Cultivation 1 Take refuge in the Three Treasures of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. 皈依佛法僧(三寶) 2 Earnestly cultivate the Three Perfections of Morality, Calmness, and Wisdom. 勤修戒定慧(三學) 3 Shed the Three Poisons of Greed, Anger and Delusion. 息滅貪瞋癡(三毒) 4 Purify the Three Karmas of Action, Speech and Thought. 清淨身口意(三業)

5. The cultivation of tranquility is one way by which we can attain enlightenment – Practice appreciating.

6. The cultivation of tranquility is one way by which we can discover our Buddha nature – Practice serving.

8. Free of defilements – greed, hatred, delusion, jealousy, resentment, etc.

9. Elimination of judgmental thoughts.

10. Unification of the mind on the object of meditation.

12. Eliminate the concept of obtaining supernormal powers.

13. Find suitable companions.

14. Find a good Dharma master.

17. May my love one be free from enmity

18. (Recite Heart sutra)

19. May my love one be free from mental suffering

20. (Recite Heart sutra)

21. May my love one be free from physical suffering.

22. (Recite Heart sutra)

24. Giving without expectation of special treatment.

25. Offering Loving Kindness Speech sincerely.

26. Acting beneficially with wisdom.

28. One just radiates as one walks along the path.

30. Relax from head to toe and toe to head, side to side, part by part, from external to internal.

31. Make a resolution to put away all maters for the period of meditation.

32. All matters must be put aside including random thoughts.

33. Keep the mind relax and peaceful.

35. The body is as if it is not there at all.

36. Proceed to giving metta to oneself first and then your love one.

37. Each thought aroused is as if it is a very small, subtle, soft bubble out of the mind – increasing tranquility.

39. Meaning of some terms 1. Shastra (treatise) Commentary on Buddha’s teachings. Consists of short verses and the author’s commentary on each verse. 2. Dharmas Objects of the mind Can be physical, physiological or psychological.

40. Meaning of Some Terms 3. Cause and Effect As you sow, so shall you reap. Under sufficient conditions, a cause will give rise to an effect. 4. Emptiness Is not the same as nothingness. Anything that is the result of causes and conditions is empty in self-nature.

41. Basic Teachings 1. Dependent Arising --- the universal law All persons and Dharmas arise depending on causes and conditions which in turn depend on other causes and conditions. They cannot exist on their own. They are interdependent and affect each other.

42. Basic Teachings 2. Emptiness --- the ultimate truth All persons and dharmas that are dependently arisen are empty in self-nature. Because persons and dharmas are dependent and impermanent, they are non-selves. In other words they have no self-nature or they have empty self-nature. They do exist. But their existence is temporary because they are changing instant by instant.

43. Basic Teachings 3. Names --- the convention truth Names are just dependent designations. In our conventional world, names are designated to the ever-changing effects which arise from the ever-changing causes and conditions. But they are necessary in our everyday life for communication purposes.

44. Basic Teachings 4. The Middle Way The middle way means the right view i.e. Seeing things as they really are. Avoiding the extremes. The “Eight Negations” is a verse from “The Treatise of The Middle Way”: No birth and no death, No permanence and no annihilation, No sameness and no difference, No coming and no going. The Eight Negations show that: Dharmas are all dependent arising. Non duality is Emptiness.

45. Background History In the 2nd century, there were many schools in India. While many believed that dharmas were real, some believed in annihilation. In order to clarify Buddha’s original meaning, Nagarjuna wrote many commentaries, among them the two text books “The Treatise of the Middle Way” and “The Twelve Gates Treatise”. Later, his disciple Aryadeva wrote “The One Hundred Verses Treatise”

46. Background History In the 5th century, Kumarajiva translated these three treatises into Chinese. In the 6th century, Chi-tsang wrote more commentaries and founded this school—the Three Treatise School. The school faded out in the 9th century when the Mind-Only School flourished.

47. Importance Though the school has declined, its teaching on the Middle Way laid the foundation for all subsequent Mahayana schools. Many people agree that Nagarjuna was the most important person after Buddha himself and call him the father of all the 8 Mahayana schools. Except the Mind-Only school, all other 7 schools recognize him as their patriarch.

48. Presentation Schedule October 15 - Three Sastra School by Grace Lau + Meditation Practice by Tom October 22 – Iconology by Edward Malek + Meditation Practice by Tom October 29 - Wutaishan Video Footages by Moshay Allen + Meditation Practice by Tom November 5 - The white lotus sutra by Dennis A.Yap + Meditation Practice by Tom Nov. 12 - The white lotus sutra by Dennis A.Yap + Meditation Practice by Tom Nov. 19 - The white lotus sutra by Dennis A.Yap + Meditation Practice by Tom Nov. 26 - The white lotus sutra by Dennis A.Yap + Meditation Practice by Tom

49. Questions and Comments 討論 www.ChamShanTemple.org www.shengguangshi.blogspot.com ShengguangShi@hotmail.com Shengguang Shi 釋聖光 Tom Cheung 張相棠 Kam Cheung 張仁勤 Dennis A. Yap 葉普智