August 01, 2025 • HoRod

What Buddha Taught: A Simple Guide to His Core Wisdom

An Overview of the Origins and Branches of Buddhism

 

Buddhism originated in ancient India between the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, founded by Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakya kingdom. This sage, later known as "Shakyamuni" (meaning "the enlightened one of the Shakya clan"), was deeply moved by the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death. He renounced his royal life to embark on a spiritual quest. He first studied meditation with masters of the Samkhya school, then endured six years of extreme asceticism. Ultimately, he sat under a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya for forty-nine days and, at dawn, fully awakened to the true nature of life. This marked the beginning of his forty-five-year mission to spread the Dharma.

Over its long history, Buddhism has evolved into three major systems, giving rise to diverse paths due to regional cultural differences and varying spiritual emphases.

 

The Three Major Buddhist Systems

 

• Chinese Buddhism: Predominantly Mahayana, it developed eight major schools, such as Tiantai, Huayan, and Pure Land. Its core is the Exoteric tradition. A unique branch is Zen (Chan), which stands out with its sudden enlightenment method of "no dependence on words, pointing directly to the human mind." The Esoteric tradition (Tang-mi) that flourished during the Tang dynasty later declined and did not become mainstream.

• Tibetan Buddhism: A unique system that combines both Esoteric and Exoteric teachings. Practitioners first study Exoteric theories (like Madhyamaka and Yogacara) to build a foundation before engaging in Esoteric practices (such as deity yoga and subtle body meditations). While it has no Zen lineage, practices like Mahamudra share similarities with Zen meditation.

• Theravada Buddhism (Southern Buddhism): This system preserves the pure lineage of the Sthaviravada tradition. It is a purely Exoteric system, with no Esoteric or Zen components. It is renowned for its systematic Vipassanā (insight) meditation.

 

The Three Main Methods of Practice

 

• Exoteric Buddhism (Xianjiao): Teachings are transmitted openly through the study of scriptures, logical reasoning, and meditation. It emphasizes a gradual path to enlightenment through scriptural guidance and is open to the public, not relying on secret lineages.

• Zen Buddhism (Chanzong): A core school of Chinese Buddhism, it falls under the Exoteric umbrella but breaks free from strict scriptural adherence. It uses direct methods like koans and sudden shouts to guide practitioners to sudden enlightenment, advocating "seeing one's true nature to become a Buddha."

• Esoteric Buddhism (Mijiao): Characterized by secret transmission. Practices include rituals like empowerment (abhiseka), mantras, mudras, and mandalas. It holds that Exoteric teachings are a "causal vehicle" (a gradual path), while Esoteric teachings are a "fruition vehicle" (a direct path to Buddhahood), emphasizing the possibility of "attaining Buddhahood in this very body."

These classifications are for the benefit of beginners. The actual Buddhist systems are far more complex. While the branches differ, they all ultimately converge on the single goal of liberation.

The Core Wisdom of Shakyamuni Buddha's Enlightenment

The truths the Buddha awakened to under the Bodhi tree were not doctrines created out of thin air, but an accurate observation of the true nature of the universe and life. This section introduces the core concepts of the Four Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, the Three Marks of Existence, and the Five Aggregates.

 

I. The Four Noble Truths: The Blueprint of Dharma

 

The Four Noble Truths were the first teachings the Buddha gave after his enlightenment. They are the "master formula" of Buddhism, containing a diagnosis of the human condition (the Truth of Suffering), its cause (the Truth of the Origin of Suffering), the goal of healing (the Truth of the Cessation of Suffering), and the treatment plan (the Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering).

 

1. The Truth of Suffering (Dukkha)

 

• Core Idea: The essence of life is marked by imperfection, instability, and lack of freedom, which is called "suffering" (dukkha).

• Three Levels of Suffering:

  • The Suffering of Pain: Obvious pain (sickness, death, separation from loved ones).

  • The Suffering of Change: The deterioration of pleasure (the fullness after a delicious meal, the boredom after a passionate love affair).

  • The Suffering of Conditioning: The inherent impermanence of all things (even in moments of peace, a subtle unease remains).

• Examples: The eight kinds of suffering: birth, old age, sickness, death, separation from what you love, association with what you dislike, not getting what you want, and the five aggregates.

• Key Insight: This isn't a pessimistic view but a realistic observation. Acknowledging suffering is the first step to solving it.

2. The Truth of the Origin of Suffering (Samudaya)

 

• Core Idea: The root cause of suffering is craving (Taṇhā) and ignorance (Avijjā).

  • Craving: The desire for sensual pleasures, for existence, and for non-existence.

  • Ignorance: The lack of wisdom regarding the truth of impermanence and non-self, mistakenly identifying the five aggregates as a permanent "self."

• The Mechanism:

  • Chain of Dependent Origination: Ignorance → mental formations → consciousness → mind-and-body →...→ old age and death (the twelve links of dependent origination).

  • Karma Cycle: Craving drives karma (actions), and karma fuels the cycle of rebirth.

• Example: From the Dhammapada: "From craving springs grief, from craving springs fear; for him who is freed from craving, there is no grief, whence fear?"

• Key Insight: Suffering is not a result of fate or divine punishment, but the result of our own ignorance and craving.

3. The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Nirodha)

 

• Core Idea: By eliminating craving and ignorance, one can attain Nirvana—the complete cessation of suffering.

• Characteristics of Nirvana:

  • Stillness: The cessation of greed, hatred, and delusion.

  • Unborn: Transcending the cycle of rebirth.

  • Taintless: No longer creating karma.

• Example: From the Saṃyutta Nikāya: "The complete extinction of greed, the complete extinction of hatred, the complete extinction of delusion: this is called Nirvana."

• Key Insight: Nirvana is not a "heaven" or a state of "nothingness," but the total end of mental afflictions.

 

4. The Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering (Magga)

Core Idea: The path to eliminate suffering and attain Nirvana is the Noble Eightfold Path.

• Eightfold Path Categories:

  • Ethics (Sila): Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood.

  • Meditation (Samadhi): Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration.

  • Wisdom (Prajna): Right View, Right Intention.

• Example: From the Majjhima Nikāya: "Right view gives rise to right intention, right intention gives rise to right speech... right concentration gives rise to right liberation."

• Key Insight: The path is a practical, actionable system for spiritual development, not an abstract theory.

• The Implications of the Four Noble Truths:

  1. Buddhism is a "Science of Suffering": The Four Noble Truths are not a belief system, but a verifiable formula for ending suffering.

  2. Self-Responsibility: The cause of suffering is within oneself (the Truth of the Origin), and liberation also comes from oneself (the Truth of the Path).

  3. Unity of the Mundane and the Transcendent: It does not seek to escape reality (by acknowledging suffering) but to transcend it (by attaining Nirvana). 

II. Dependent Origination: The Foundation of Dharma

This is the key insight of the Buddha's enlightenment, revealing the fundamental law of how all phenomena—including life, feelings of joy and sorrow, and the cycle of rebirth—arise and cease: "When this is, that is. When this arises, that arises. When this is not, that is not. When this ceases, that ceases."

• 1. Breaking the Illusion of an "Independent Entity": Nothing (including "me," emotions, or matter) exists in isolation. Everything arises in dependence on a multitude of conditions.

  • Example: A tree's existence depends on a seed, soil, sunlight, and rain. If these conditions are absent, the tree ceases to exist.

• 2. Denying a "First Cause": The universe has no absolute beginning or creator. All phenomena are part of an infinite network of cause and effect, without a start or end.

  • Example: Asking "Who created the world?" is a meaningless assumption within the framework of Dependent Origination.

• Philosophical Extensions of Dependent Origination:

  • The Root of Emptiness (Śūnyatā): Dependent Origination directly leads to the concept of "no-self-nature" or emptiness: since all things arise from conditions, they have no independent, unchanging essence. As Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā states, "Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that I declare to be emptiness."

  • The Middle Way:

    • Eternalism: The belief that "I" am a permanent self.

    • Annihilationism: The belief that "I" am completely annihilated after death.

    • Dependent Origination rejects both extremes. The truth is a "similar yet continuous" stream: the stream of karma-consciousness flows like a river, arising and ceasing moment by-moment, yet continuing through cause and effect.

  • The Proof of Non-Self (Anātman): The "self" is just a temporary combination of the five aggregates under Dependent Origination. No single, enduring entity can be found that acts as a master.

  • Example: A car is made of parts. When the parts are disassembled, the "car" disappears—there is no permanent "car-entity."

• The Implications of Dependent Origination:

  • Cosmology: Rejects divine creation and random chance, pointing to a law of dependent relationships.

  • Philosophy of Life: Rejects a permanent soul, pointing to a continuous stream of karma-consciousness.

  • Epistemology: Breaks the illusion of isolated perception—the interaction of sense organs, objects, and consciousness is what creates experience.

  • Practice: Provides a practical manual for ending suffering (changing the conditions changes the outcome).

The Buddha said: "He who sees Dependent Origination sees the Dharma; he who sees the Dharma sees the Buddha."

III. The Three Marks of Existence: The Touchstone of Dharma

These are the three standards for authentic Buddhist teachings and the Buddha's summary of the truth about the universe and life:

• All Conditioned Things are Impermanent (Anicca): Everything that arises from conditions (saṃskāra) is in a constant state of flux, arising and ceasing from moment to moment. Nothing has a permanent existence.

• All Phenomena are Non-Self (Anatta): All phenomena (dharma), including matter and mind, conditioned and unconditioned, lack an independent, permanent, controlling "self" or "soul." This applies to both the individual self and the self of all phenomena.

• Nirvana is Peace and Stillness (Nirvana Śānti): The state of extinguishing all defilements (greed, hatred, and delusion) and transcending the cycle of rebirth. It is a state of ultimate stability, stillness, and liberation.

IV. The Five Aggregates: The Ultimate Analysis of "A Person" and "Existence"

1. Form Aggregate (Rūpa) - Material Phenomena

 

• Definition: The sum of all material forms, including the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind) and their derivatives (like color, sound, and smell), and the physical body and its sense organs.

• Key Points:

  • The Form Aggregate is impermanent, passive, and without awareness (e.g., the body ages, a stone has no consciousness).

  • "Form is Emptiness": Matter has no independent self-nature; it depends on conditions to exist (e.g., the body depends on food and air).

 

2. Feeling Aggregate (Vedanā) - Sensations

 

• Definition: The three types of feelings that arise when the six sense faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) make contact with external objects:

  • Pleasant feelings: (e.g., the joy of eating delicious food).

  • Unpleasant feelings: (e.g., the pain of a needle prick).

  • Neutral feelings: (e.g., the feeling of daydreaming).

• Key Points:

  • Feelings arise and cease moment-by-moment and cannot be sustained forever.

  • Ordinary people become trapped in the cycle of rebirth by clinging to pleasant feelings and rejecting unpleasant ones.

 

3. Perception Aggregate (Saṃjñā) - Cognition and Concepts

 

• Definition: The process of identifying, naming, and conceptualizing a perceived object.

• Function:

  • Recognizing an "apple" or an "enemy."

  • Forming the basis of language, symbols, and memory.

• Key Points:

  • The Perception Aggregate is the breeding ground for illusion (e.g., mistaking the combination of five aggregates for a "self").

  • Labeling leads to attachment (e.g., identifying something as "my house" and developing greed for it).

 

4. Mental Formations Aggregate (Saṃskāra) - Karmic Volitions

 

• Definition: All volitional, active mental activities, including:

  • Wholesome actions: Compassion, generosity.

  • Unwholesome actions: Greed, jealousy.

  • Neutral actions: Walking, breathing.

• Key Points:

  • This aggregate is the engine of karma ("formations" are "karma" and drive the cycle of rebirth).

  • "All formations are impermanent": All volitional actions are unstable (e.g., even a strong resolve can fade).

 

5. Consciousness Aggregate (Vijñāna) - Awareness

 

• Definition: The six types of cognitive functions (eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness).

• Function:

  • Eye-consciousness distinguishes colors, ear-consciousness distinguishes sounds, etc.

  • Mind-consciousness integrates information and produces thought and judgment.

• Key Points:

  • Consciousness depends on the sense organs and their objects (no eye, no eye-consciousness; no sound, no ear-consciousness).

  • "Consciousness is not self": Consciousness is merely a tool, not a permanent subject.

• The Implications of the Five Aggregates:

  1. How the Five Aggregates Create the Illusion of "Self": The combination of the Form Aggregate (body) and the other four aggregates (mental activities) is mistakenly perceived as a "self."

     • Example: When in pain, "I am hurt" is the misidentification of the body (form) + the sensation of pain (feeling) + the recognition of pain (perception) as a permanent "I." When angry, "I am angry" is the misidentification of the emotion (formations) + the concept of self (consciousness) as a permanent "I."

  2. The Relationship with the Three Marks of Existence:

     • Impermanence: All five aggregates are in a constant state of arising and ceasing.

     • Non-Self: No independent, unchanging "I" can be found within the five aggregates.

     • Nirvana: The state of liberation is achieved by transcending the attachment to the five aggregates.