Today in our “Topics” class, Dusty asked where he could read more about the Brahminic tradition, especially about the concept developed in the Upanishads of the atman—the individual soul, essential and eternal—and the brahman—the universal soul, also essential and eternal but infinite in extension as well, imbuing all things with its essence. I recommended the Penguin anthology of the Upanishads, which is, in fact, a good book, with a readable introduction and relatively graceful translations of some very difficult texts. A better choice, though, would probably be translations of most of the same texts by Patrick Olivelle in the Oxford World Classics series; Olivelle is very good, and it’s possible to read his translation and forget that it’s a translation. The introductory material is extensive and informative, and the notes are clear, helpful, and unobtrusive.

If you want a very fine and astoundingly concise overview of the entire spiritual tradition in which both the Upanishadic texts and the Buddha’s teachings had their origin, I can’t recommend too highly Sue Hamilton’s Indian Philosophy: a Very Short Introduction. It’s also from Oxford, one of a relatively new series of Very Short Introductions, and from what I’ve read (Hamilton’s volume, plus Michael Cook’s Very Short Introduction to the Koran), the series is impressive: cogent, well-edited, and pocketable.

I’ve just received copies of Michael Carruthers’ Very Short Introduction to the Buddha, and Damien Keown’s Very Short Introduction to Buddhism. I’ll report on them in a week or so.

In our second class in the Teachings of the Buddha, we’ll start with the sketch of the Buddha’s early life, leading up to his Enlightenment, which we didn’t have time to cover in the first class. The sutta we’ll then read and discuss is the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta - the Discourse Turning the Wheel of the Law. That is the first teaching that the newly enlightened Buddha delivered, and it represents the core of his teaching; all that he taught through the next 45 years expand on the central ideas presented here.

An aspiring young British philologist, a number of years ago, published a paper in an academic journal purporting to prove that Gotama Siddhata of the Sakyan clan, the person who Awakened to become the Buddha, could not, based on a number of esoteric points, have delivered the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. The paper caused a minor stir in buddhological circles, and a prominent Thai monk was asked what he thought of the notion that the person he knew as the Buddha could not have delivered the teaching that serves as the foundation for all Buddhist thought and practice. He chuckled and responded, “Well, whoever delivered that teaching, that was the Buddha.”

In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the Buddha enumerates the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path leading to an end to suffering. I’ve also posted a precís of Bhikkhu Bodhi’s book on the Eightfold Path, for those of you who can make the time to read it.

I’ve posted my teaching notes from last Wednesday’s first class. In the future classes, I’ll make an effort to produce something with a little more narrative structure, and to get that posted in advance of our class; if I can’t do that (which, given the work load I’ve taken on, is likely to be the case on any given week), I’ll do what I’ve done here, and post the slightly cleaned-up outline of my teaching notes a day or so after the class; in either event, it should save you the trouble of taking detailed notes (if you’re the sort inclined to take notes).

In Wednesday’s class, we covered about half of the material in the teaching notes. In next week’s class, we’ll cover the rest, and get a start on our discussion of the material listed in the course syllabus as the topic for Class 2, the Buddha’s Dhamma - essentially, how the world works and how our lives unfold within the world. In preparation for Wednesday’s class, it would be a good idea to read the Buddha’s first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta - the Discourse Turning the Wheel of the Dhamma - in which he laid out, in very telegraphic form, the foundational ideas that he was to spend the next 45 years elaborating upon. Also, I’ve posted a brief essay on the Buddha’s early life, leading up to his Enlightenment, which should supplement some of the material we covered in the first class and other material we will cover in the next class.

I enjoyed the class Wednesday; I appreciate the attention you gave me, and I thought your questions were perceptive and important. I think this is going to be fun. As we get into the course, the amount of time I spend talking should diminish, and the amount of time we have for questions and discussion should increase. I’m looking forward to that, and I hope that you are as well.

If you have additional questions, second thoughts, comments you’d like to make, please use the Comments feature of the blog software - just click on “Comments” below. I’ll pay attention to any comments you make, and if you have a question, I’ll do my best to answer it. I’ve also installed a discussion forum on this website, which I’m still working to configure properly. When I’ve done that, I’ll make sure that everyone for whom I have an email address has an account. I may also set up a mail list for this course, mainly to let you know when I’ve posted something to the blog which I think you should read before the next class.

A very detailed outline of my teaching notes for class 2 is on the web. On Wednesday, we’ll finish up the stuff we didn’t get to in the first class and begin on the second class. By the end of class 3, we should be back on track. One thing to note about the posted outlines: they are actual outlines, and the little black arrow to the left of a topic line is clickable; if it’s pointing right, it can be expanded by clicking on it, and you will see everything under that line. If it’s pointing down and you click on it, you will see just the topic line.

Have fun.

I’ve put up a map of the section of India in which the Buddha lived and taught; it includes many of the place names we will be referring to throughout both courses, and we’ll be referring to it frequently. I’m hoping that the projector in the room will deliver a useable image; if not, I’ll print copies of the map to pass out. If you have a color printer, you might try printing a copy of the web page and bring it to class with you.

In the first class in the course The Teachings of the Buddha, we’ll hear the teachings that the Buddha delivered in the village of Kesaputta to the people of the Kalama clan, in which he emphasized the vital importance of examining all teachings and all teachers very closely and carefully, and determining which are honest and true by relating what is taught to one’s direct experience. The passage we will hear is posted. Also posted is a brief essay covering the material I’ll be talking about in the second half of the class, in which I will introduce the historical Buddha and give a quick overview of his life, leading to the experience of enlightenment that he had when he was 35 years old.

The syllabi for the two classes I’ll be teaching at OLLI in the Spring quarter are now posted:

• Course 2405: The Teachings of the Buddha
• Course 2606: Important Topics in Mainstream Buddhism

The syllabus for either course is subject to change in the course of the quarter. If either changes significantly, I will update the posted description.

The Discourse on How Things Progress

For one who is dwells in virtue, bhikkhus, for one who has made a habit of virtue, there is no need to make a deliberate decision, “May the absence of remorse arise in me!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that absence of remorse arises in one who lives virtuously.

For one free of remorse, bhikkhus there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May gladness arise in me!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that one who is free from remorse is glad to be where he is.

For one who is glad to be where she is, bhikkhus, there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May joy arise in me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who is glad at heart is full of joy.

For one filled with joy, there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May serenity arise within me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that who is joyful will abide in serenity.

For one who is serene, there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May happiness arise within me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who experiences serenity will also be happy.

For one who is happy, there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May my mind be concentrated!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that the mind of a happy person will be concentrated.

For one whose mind is concentrated, there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May I know the world and see it with fresh vision!”; it is according to the Dhamma that a concentrated mind will know and see the world with fresh vision.

For one who knows and sees the world with fresh vision, there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May disenchantment and dispassion arise within me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who knows and sees the world with fresh vision will become disenchanted with this world and lose all passion for the pleasures it offers.

For one who is disenchanted and dispassionate, bhikkhus, there is no need to make a deliberate decision: “May I be free; may I experience enlightenment!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that one who is no longer enchanted or consumed with passion for worldly pleasures will be liberated and experience enlightenment.

Thus, bhikkhus, disenchantment and dispassion have freedom and enlightenment as their benefit and reward; fresh vision of the world as it really is has disenchantment and dispassion as its benefit and reward; concentration of mind has a fresh vision of the world as its benefit and reward; happiness has a concentrated mind as its benefit and reward; serenity has happiness as its benefit and reward; joy has serenity as its benefit and reward; gladness has joy as its benefit and reward; absence of remorse has gladness as its benefit and reward; and the habit of virtue has the absence of remorse as benefit and reward.

In that way, bhikkhus, each of those qualities is integrated with all the others, and each quality brings the next to perfection, so that one progresses from this daily round to the unconditioned realm beyond appearances.