Buddhist Association of Canada

Cham Shan Temple

Introduction to
Buddhism and Meditation
2011/03/26

Updated Mar 2010

Buddhist Association of Canada

Cham Shan Temple

n m f tu

Namo Buddha
n m d m

Namo Dharma
n m sng
qi

Namo Sangha

Updated Mar 2010

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Meditation

Towards a
Liberated and
Enlightened Life

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Buddhist Practice and

Cultivation in Four Lines
1 Take refuge in the Three Treasures of the
Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
2 Earnestly cultivate the Three Perfections of
Morality, Calmness, and Wisdom.
3 Shed the Three Poisons of Greed, Anger and
Delusion.
4 Purify the Three Karmas of Action, Speech
and Thought.

Basic Terms
5 aggregates (skandhas)
4 elements
6 sense organs, 6 sense objects, 6 sense consciousness
12 links of causation (nidna)
4 noble truths and 8 fold path
6 paramitas
4 persuasions
3 / 5 vehicles
10 realms

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Walking Meditation
1. Being mindful on Steps, Breathing,
Counting or Smiling.
2. Choosing an object of attention
3. Using a phrase or mantra as an object of
attantion e.g. Namo Amituofo
4. Walking to feel appreciation
5. Walking to find peace
6. Walking to experience miracle
7. Walking to see Four Noble Truths
8. Walking to understand suffering
9. Walking to cultivate compassion
10. Walking to exercise compassion like an
enlightened one

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Buddhist Association of Canada

Sitting Meditation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Regulating Body, Breathing and Mind

Counting breaths
Following breaths
Focusing on one point
Sustained attention on the present
moment Dont let your mind fall into
the future (expectations) or the past
(experiences).
6. Silent awareness of the present moment
Stop inner commentaries, judgements.
7. Letting go of diversity, desires,
experiences, commentaries by focusing
on breathing.
8. Count your breaths from 1-10, 10 times.

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The Four Noble Truths

I.

The Noble Truth of Suffering

II. The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering

III. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
IV. The Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering

I. The Noble Truth of Suffering (Dukkha)

All humans experience:

Birth
Old Age
Sickness
Death

II. The Noble Truth of the Origin of

Suffering
The second noble truth is the truth of the origin or
cause of suffering, and here the Buddha states that
craving is the origin of suffering.
This craving can be understood as the cause of
suffering at two different levels, one psychological,

III. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

If craving is the cause of suffering, then the way to
eliminate suffering is to eliminate craving.
The cessation of suffering is Nirvana
Two levels: Psychological & Existential

IV. The Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering

Prescribes how the cure can be accomplished.
The overcoming of tanha (craving & attachment) ,
the way out of our captivity is
through the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path:
Right view, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood,
Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration

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The Noble Eightfold Path

Wisdom: Right View and Right Intention are the wisdom path. Right
View is not about believing in doctrine, but in perceiving the true nature
of ourselves and the world around us. Right Intention refers to the energy
and commitment one needs to be fully engaged in Buddhist practice.
Ethical Conduct: Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood are
the ethical conduct path. This calls us to take care in our speech, our
actions, and our daily lives to do no harm to others and to cultivate
wholesomeness in ourselves. This part of the path ties into the Precepts.
Mental Discipline: Through Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right
Concentration we develop the mental discipline to cut through delusion.
Many schools of Buddhism encourage seekers to meditate to achieve
clarity and focus of mind.

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1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Chapters Nine and Ten

Four Great Mountains in China

Match the followings in pairs:

Wu Tai Shan Kshitagarbha
Jiu Hua Shan
Avalokitesvara
Pu Tuo Shan Samantabhadra
Emei Shan
Manjusri
What are these Bodhisattvas representing
in Buddhism?
Which mountain is the most popular
wayplace for Chinese and Tebetan
Buddhists practicing together?
Where is Buddhas Sarira kept in Wu Tai
Shan?
Which mountain is famous in having
corporeal bodies of monks and nuns?
Why did a Japanese monk build a temple
at Putuo Shan?
What are the key senic sites at Emei
Shan?

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Chan Master Wu Xia

The Corporeal Body Hall houses the skeleton

of Monk Wu Xia has been well preserved for
more than 350 years. Wu Xia once wrote
sutras with a mixture of gold powder and his
own blood in a cave of Mt. Jiuhua during
Ming Dynasty. After hard practice of sutras
for a hundred year in Mt.
Jiuhua, Wu Xia passed away at the age of
126. His body was found in the cave three
years after his death. Monks on the mountain
believed Wu Xia was the reincarnation of
Bodhisattva. From then on, Buddhist
believers have been keen to visit the mountain
to pay homage to the monk.

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Chan Master Wu Xia

28

16 23 124

1624

1626
,

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Questions and
Comments
www.ChamShanTemple.org
www.shengguangshi.blogspot.com
ShengguangShi@hotmail.com
Shengguang Shi
Tom Cheung
Kam Cheung
Dennis Yap

2006 Buddhist Association of Canada

Buddhist Association of Canada

2006 Buddhist Association of Canada