The Eight-fold Path
The Fourth Truth - the Middle Path

Wisdom (Prajña):

Morality (Shila):

Meditation (Samadhi):

Sources:

Samyutta Nikaya 35-200
Darukkhanda-sutta
Bul-gyo Seong-jeon, 138
Goddard: Buddhist Bible, 33
Snelling: Buddhist Handbook, 46

The Law of the Twelve Causes
(The 12 Nirdanas ~~ "paticca-samutpada")
"The Twelve-link Chain of Causation or Dependent Origination
each link of which gives rise to the following one."
Lotus Sutra, Chapter VII, p. 158

I. Because of ignorance ("avida"), the notion of the person as an individual arises as something different from the principle of unity and sameness or primal unity, also known as "enlightenment." This becomes divided into thinking, thinker and discriminated thoughts and from these come the formations (actions) of karma.

II. Because of these Karma forms ("samsara"), the principle of consciousness appears.

III. Because of the principle of consciousness ("vijnana"), thought and form appear.

IV. Because of mentality and body ("nama-rupa"), the six sense minds and organs appear.

V. Because of the six entrances ("shadayatana"), sensations and perceptions arise.

VI. Because of sensations and perceptions ("spasha"), feelings and discriminations arise.

VII. Because of feelings and discriminations, ("vedana"), thirst, craving and desire arise.

VIII. Because of thirst, craving and desire ("trishna"), grasping and clinging appear.

IX. Because of grasping and clinging ("upadana"), conception takes place.

X. Because of conception ("bhava"), the continuing process of existence -- birth -- goes on.

XI. Because of birth, the continuing process of existence ("jeti"), which includes growth, sickness, old age, decay and death take place.

XII. Because of sickness, old age and death (jana-marana), sorrow, lamentation, suffering and distress occur. -- Thus arises the whole mass of suffering.

Adapted from Dwight Goodard (ed.), A Buddhist Bible, Boston: Beacon Press, 1938. 645 f.

The Four Vows

Ordinary beings are innumerable . . . I vow to liberate them all!

Defilements are endless . . . I vow to eliminate them all from my mind!

The Buddha's teachings are unlimited . . . I vow to learn them all!

The ways of enlightenment are supreme . . . I vow to achieve them all!

Another way of saying the same thing:

I vow to liberate all ordinary beings!

I vow to eliminate all defilements from my mind!

I vow to embrace every teaching of my self nature!

I vow to achieve the way of enlightenment!

The Five Precepts
The first five lay vows of Buddhism (Kwan Um School version)

1. I vow to abstain from taking life.

2. I vow to abstain from taking things not given.

3. I vow to abstain from lying.

4. I vow to abstain from misconduct done in lust.

5. I vow to abstain from intoxicants, taken to induce heedlessness.

The Heart Sutra
(Prajnaparamilta)
Om namo Bhagavatayai Arya-Prajnaparamitayai!
- Bless the beautiful Perfection of Wisdom! -

Koan-se-eum Bosal was in the practice of transcendental wisdom -- in the deep course of wisdom which has gone beyond.

(S)he looked down from on high and saw but five essences of sentient beings -- form, sensation, perception, volition and conciousness -- which, in their own being, were empty.

"Here, O Sariputra, Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form;
Form does not differ from Emptiness, Emptiness does not differ from Form;
- whatever is Empty, that is Form, whatever is Form, that is Empty!

The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness!

O Sariputra, all Dharmas are marked with Emptiness:
- they have no beginning and no end;
- they are neither imperfect nor perfect, neither deficient nor complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra, in emptiness, the five essences of sentient beings do not exist: there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no voalition, no conciousness.

- There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body and no mind.

- There are no forms, sounds, smells, tastes. There are no touchables or objects of the mind, no sight organs, no hearing organs, no smelling organs, no taste organs and no mind consciousness element.

- There is no ignorance or extinction of ignorance, no decay and death, nor extinction of decay and death.


There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path, no cognition, no attainment, nor anything to attain.

There is nothing to accomplish and so Bodhisattvas can rely on the Perfection of Wisdom without trouble.

Being without trouble, they are not afraid.

Having overcome everything upsetting, they attain Nirvana.

All buddhas who appear in the three periods, fully awaken to the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.

Therefore, one should know the Perfection of Wisdom is the great mantra. It is the unequaled mantra, the destroyer of suffering.

Because of this truth, listen to the mantra:

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Para Samgate Bodhisvaha!
Gone, Gone, Gone beyond, Gone utterly beyond. Oh, what an Awakening!

Iti prajnaparamita-hridayam samptam.
This completes the Heart of Perfect Wisdom

NB: Koan-se-eum Bosal is the Korean name for the Sanskrit Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Chinese Quan Yin and Vietnamese Quan The Am

This translation © 2000 Seo Re, Geo Sa-nim