Right effort is closely associated with right mindfulness. The practice of mindfulness is important in Buddhism. The Buddha said that mindfulness is the one way to achieve the end of suffering. Mindfulness can be developed by being constantly aware of four particular aspects. There are the application of mindfulness with regard to the body (body postures, breathing and so forth), feelings (whether pleasant, unpleasant or neutral); mind (whether the mind is greedy or not, angry, dispersed or deluded or not); and mind objects (whether there are mental hindrances to concentration, the Four Noble Truths, and so on). Mindfulness is essential even in our daily life in which we act in full awareness of our actions, feelings and thoughts as well as that of our environment. The mind should always be clear and attentive rather than distracted and clouded.
This is the path for leading a religious life without going to extremes. An outstanding aspect of the Buddha’s Teaching is the adoption of the Eightfold Path as a noble way of life. Another name for the Eightfold Path is the Middle Path. The Buddha advised His followers to follow this Path so as to avoid the extremes of sensual pleasures and self-mortification. The Middle Path is a righteous way of life which does not advocate the acceptance of decrees given by someone outside oneself. A person practices the Middle Path, the guide for moral conduct, not out of fear of any super-natural agency, but out of the intrinsic value in following such an action. He chooses this self-imposed discipline for a definite end in view: self-purification. The Middle Path is a planned course of inward culture and progress. A person can make real progress in righteousness and insight by following this path, and not by engaging in external worship and prayers. According to the Buddha, anyone who lives in accordance with the Dharma will be guided and protected by that very law. When a person lives according to Dharma, he will also be living in harmony with the universal law. Every Buddhist is encouraged to mould his life according to the Noble Eightfold Path as taught by the Buddha. He who adjusts his life according to this noble way of living will be free from miseries and calamities both in this lifetime and hereafter. He will also be able to develop this mind by restraining from evil and observing morality.
According to the Buddhist rules, monks should possess three robes: a large, a medium and a small. The small one, made of five stripes of cloth, known as Five-strip Robe in China, is for doing manual and cleaning work. The medium one, made of seven pieces of cloth, commonly called Seven-strip Robe in China, is the normal form of dress.
No, they were recited and recorded by his disciples after the Buddha’s death. In the year of the Buddha’s Parinibbana, his five hundred disciples headed by Ven. Mahakassapa held an assembly at Saptaparna Cave near Rajagaha to compile and edit the Buddha’s teachings for posterity. At the assembly Ven. Ananda recited the Suttas preached by the Buddha, Ven. Upali recited the Vinaya established by the Buddha, and Ven. Mahakassapa recited, and latter supplemented, the Abhidamma which is an exposition and study of the Buddhist creeds. The Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidamma comprise Tipitaka. The word Pitaka originally meant basket for containing things. The compilation of Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidamma into Tipitaka is something like the designation of Jing (classics), Shi (history), Zi (academic schools) and Ji (miscellany) as the “Four Treatures” in China. This Buddhist school council was termed the First Samgiti. Samgiti is generally rendered as “Jieji” in Chinese, while its original meaning in Sanskrit or Pali is “sangha meeting”. The ancient Chinese translators used the word “Jieji” to mean “recital”, which implies both the collection of Dhamma, and the assembly of people. The Tipitaka was not written down at that time, so it was passed on by oral recital. (From Essentials of Buddhism: Questions and Answers)
Next, I will talk about the theory of the empty nature (sunnata) of all dhammas, which follows from the notion of Dependent Origination. It holds that all dhammas are simply the cooperation of relative causes and conditions. Therefore, there is no substance in them. In other words, all dhammas are nothing but the phenomena of cooperation of causes and conditions. Apart from phenomena there is no noumenon as their dominator. When I said previously that “There is no ego within all dhammas”, I was speaking of the absence of “self” (atta) of human beings. And now I add the absence of self of all dhammas. The former is to deny self in human beings, and prove “non-substantiality in beings”, while the latter is to deny the self in dhammas, and prove “non-substantiality in dhammas”. (From Essentials of Buddhism: Questions and Answers)
For the interest of human beings, it is necessary for a bodhisatta to study extensively and to be well informed. Buddhism requires bodhisatta aspirants to learn the Five Vidya (S. vijja, meaning knowledge), these are: ⑴ Sabda-vidya, viz. phonology and philogy; ⑵ Silpakarma-vidya, viz. all technology, techniques, crafts, arithmetic, calendar, etc.; ⑶ Cikitsa-vidya, viz. medical science and pharmacology; ⑷ Hetu-vidya, viz. logic; ⑸ Adhyatma-vidya, viz. Buddhist studies. The five vidyas must be mastered by scholars. “To be broadly erudite, and sincerely compassionate” is the requirement for bodhisattahood. Mahayana Buddhism particularly calls for learning whatever is difficult to learn, and all that should be learned. (From Essentials of Buddhism: Questions and Answers)
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