The rain did not let up at all on Friday afternoon, so we headed back to our guesthouse and I read a bit about Buddhism, which seems to have a complex history and system of beliefs. The Buddhist tradition is founded on, and inspired by, the teachings of a charismatic person who lived around 566 to 486 BC. He was born Siddharta Gautama, son of a local rajan, or chieftan, in Kapikvastri on the Indian-Nepalese border. He was a member of a privileged and wealthy family and lived comfortably. Disillusioned with his life, he left home and adopted the life of a wandering ascetic and embarked on a spiritual quest. Still not satisfied, as he sat in meditation under a tree on the banks of the Nairangana in Northern India, he had a profound experience. Called Bodhi or "awakening", he had a deep understanding of the nature of suffering, its cause and a way of stopping it.
The Lord Buddha then devoted the rest of his life to teaching the way to cease suffering. By his death at about the age of 80, he had a considerable following and a well organised community. Buddhism is a rather flexible religion and teaches that nothing is eternal and everything in the world is subject to change. Buddhism has no unique creed, no single authority, no single sacred book. It focuses on the potential of each individual seeking to attain enlightment or "nirvana". Key beliefs and values are contained in the "Four Noble Truths", which comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering and the truth of the path which leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists, it has a cause, it has an end and it has a cause to bring about its end. The notion of suffering is not intended to convey a negative world view but rather a pragmatic perspective which deals with the world as it is and attempts to rectify it. The concept of pleasure is not denied, but acknowledged as fleeting. Pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is ultimately an unquenchable thirst. The same logic belies an understanding of happiness. In the end, only aging, sickness and death are certain and unavoidable.
The Eightfold Path illustrates the moral principles in which all Buddhists should practice. It goes into detail about the basis of all Buddhist teachings: morality, meditation and wisdom. Following the Noble Eightfold Path helps a person realise that greed and selfishness cause all earthly suffering. With this new understanding, one's suffering may end...
This is the Eightfold Path:1. Right knowledge. 2. Right thinking. 3. Right speech. 4. Right conduct. 5 Right livelihood. 6. Right effort. 7. Right mindfulness. 8. Right concentration. Hmmm - not sure if I would be able to become a righteous Buddhist, as a lot of those principles seem to be unattainable for most ordinary mortals!
I mentioned earlier in my blog that family is very important in Laos. Our Lao guide, Wung, who lives in Luang Prabang with his wife and two children (it is illegal to have foreign guides in Lao so if asked, we had to pretend that Blair (tour leader) was part of the tour group) told us that the divorce rate in Lao is only 3 per cent. Whilst you go to the courts to get a divorce in the large towns and cities, in the villages, the whole family gets involved and decides whether you are allowed to get divorced. They all try to resolve your problems first, as divorce is seen as a last resort. If the family agree, the chieftain of the village grants the divorce.
If the divorce is on the grounds of adultery, the wronged party has to have proof of that - ie the couple are usually caught at it. Adultery is also a criminal offence in Lao and Wung told us that one of his boat captains who had been married for more than 10 years discovered that his 35 year old wife who worked on another boat had been having an affair with a 25 year old boat hand who worked with her. They were both sent to prison for 3 months! No wonder why divorce is not very common in Laos.
The standard of our accommodation has been varied but quite basic (mostly clean). Toilets in Laos have been a bit hit and miss - clean in the guesthouses but in some restaurants they have been absolutely filthy (who knows why, but it is not difficult to keep a toilet clean). Whilst I don't mind using the toilets, I seem to have developed a bit of a phobia about filthy toilets and dirty public transport.
And now for some etiquette. Buddhists believe that the head is the holiest part of the body, such that to touch a South East Asian on the head is considered to be a grievous insult. As I mentioned earlier in my blog, to point your feet at somebody (including a Buddha image) is considered to be an insult, as they are the lowest and dirtiest part of the body. You are expected to take your shoes off before going into temples and other people's homes. Women should never touch monks and for some reason should avoid sitting next to them on public transport. Signs of affection amongst couples are not appropriate in public places. The left hand should never be used for hand shakes, eating or to exchange money or goods (not that I have seen anyone complain when handing money over).
What I find really amusing is that whist you are expected to cover up as a women in Laos, it seems to be acceptable for monks to wander around in their orange robes with half their chest hanging out! Male logic, I guess.
The Lord Buddha then devoted the rest of his life to teaching the way to cease suffering. By his death at about the age of 80, he had a considerable following and a well organised community. Buddhism is a rather flexible religion and teaches that nothing is eternal and everything in the world is subject to change. Buddhism has no unique creed, no single authority, no single sacred book. It focuses on the potential of each individual seeking to attain enlightment or "nirvana". Key beliefs and values are contained in the "Four Noble Truths", which comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering and the truth of the path which leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists, it has a cause, it has an end and it has a cause to bring about its end. The notion of suffering is not intended to convey a negative world view but rather a pragmatic perspective which deals with the world as it is and attempts to rectify it. The concept of pleasure is not denied, but acknowledged as fleeting. Pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is ultimately an unquenchable thirst. The same logic belies an understanding of happiness. In the end, only aging, sickness and death are certain and unavoidable.
The Eightfold Path illustrates the moral principles in which all Buddhists should practice. It goes into detail about the basis of all Buddhist teachings: morality, meditation and wisdom. Following the Noble Eightfold Path helps a person realise that greed and selfishness cause all earthly suffering. With this new understanding, one's suffering may end...
This is the Eightfold Path:1. Right knowledge. 2. Right thinking. 3. Right speech. 4. Right conduct. 5 Right livelihood. 6. Right effort. 7. Right mindfulness. 8. Right concentration. Hmmm - not sure if I would be able to become a righteous Buddhist, as a lot of those principles seem to be unattainable for most ordinary mortals!
I mentioned earlier in my blog that family is very important in Laos. Our Lao guide, Wung, who lives in Luang Prabang with his wife and two children (it is illegal to have foreign guides in Lao so if asked, we had to pretend that Blair (tour leader) was part of the tour group) told us that the divorce rate in Lao is only 3 per cent. Whilst you go to the courts to get a divorce in the large towns and cities, in the villages, the whole family gets involved and decides whether you are allowed to get divorced. They all try to resolve your problems first, as divorce is seen as a last resort. If the family agree, the chieftain of the village grants the divorce.
If the divorce is on the grounds of adultery, the wronged party has to have proof of that - ie the couple are usually caught at it. Adultery is also a criminal offence in Lao and Wung told us that one of his boat captains who had been married for more than 10 years discovered that his 35 year old wife who worked on another boat had been having an affair with a 25 year old boat hand who worked with her. They were both sent to prison for 3 months! No wonder why divorce is not very common in Laos.
The standard of our accommodation has been varied but quite basic (mostly clean). Toilets in Laos have been a bit hit and miss - clean in the guesthouses but in some restaurants they have been absolutely filthy (who knows why, but it is not difficult to keep a toilet clean). Whilst I don't mind using the toilets, I seem to have developed a bit of a phobia about filthy toilets and dirty public transport.
And now for some etiquette. Buddhists believe that the head is the holiest part of the body, such that to touch a South East Asian on the head is considered to be a grievous insult. As I mentioned earlier in my blog, to point your feet at somebody (including a Buddha image) is considered to be an insult, as they are the lowest and dirtiest part of the body. You are expected to take your shoes off before going into temples and other people's homes. Women should never touch monks and for some reason should avoid sitting next to them on public transport. Signs of affection amongst couples are not appropriate in public places. The left hand should never be used for hand shakes, eating or to exchange money or goods (not that I have seen anyone complain when handing money over).
What I find really amusing is that whist you are expected to cover up as a women in Laos, it seems to be acceptable for monks to wander around in their orange robes with half their chest hanging out! Male logic, I guess.
(See photos of more buddhas taken during the trip so far).
1 comment:
Would it be true to say that Buddha's profound experience whilst sitting under a tree could be considered an outside Bodhi experience?
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