Buddhism for Beginners

By Prof. Robert Stewart

In his 7th book, Stewart delivers an exegesis on Buddhism, using The Dhammapada (“Path to Eternal Truth”) which are the verbatim words or declarations of Gautama Siddhartha Buddha, himself. Any doctrine other than this and the books of his rules (codes of conduct), are blasphemous and should be shunned for this reason.

Consequently, if you are new to Buddhism, you will receive the original, verbatim declarations of Gautama Buddha which are the foundation of his undefiled Theravada Buddhism which means “School of the Elders.” I wish you the best in your quest to attain Enlightenment – Transcendence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Prof. Robert Stewart
• Release date: May 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215054642

Prof. Robert Stewart

Prof. Robert Stewart is a retired clandestine operative who was recruited, while a student at U.C. Berkeley, into a special program for humans with Paranormal gifts. His fields of expertise are child extraction from cults, world religions, science, and the Occult. Musician was his deep cover or camouflage life.Prof. Robert Stewart is a multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, piano, flute, drum, vocals, etc.), composer, and producer. His two major label albums (“The Force” and “In the Gutta”) were for Quincy Jones and Qwest/Warner Bros. records. He is known for his unique – personal sound and remarkably inventive improvisations declares Los Angeles Times journalist Bill Kohlhaase, as the lead tenor saxophonist on the Pulitzer Prize winning “Blood on the Fields” by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, and as the protegé of saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Jazz critic Jason Ankeny declared Stewart to be one of the most impressive jazz saxophonists to emerge at the end of the 20th century. Drummer Billy Higgins refers to Stewart as "perhaps the most important young artist to come along in decades

Book preview

Buddhism For Beginners

Prof. Robert Stewart Ph.D

Publish Drive - V.F. Walker

Copyright © 2023 Prof. Robert Stewart

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 9798395878588

Cover design by: Esther O.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Preface

CHAPTER 1 - THE TWIN VERSES

CHAPTER 2 - EARNESTNESS

CHAPTER 3 - THOUGHT

CHAPTER 4 - FLOWERS

CHAPTER 5 – THE FOOL

CHAPTER 6 - THE WISE MAN (PANDITA)

CHAPTER 7 - THE VENERABLE (ARHAT)

CHAPTER 8 - THE THOUSANDS

CHAPTER 9 - EVIL

CHAPTER 10 - PUNISHMENT

CHAPTER 11 - OLD AGE

CHAPTER 12 - SELF

CHAPTER 13 - THE WORLD

CHAPTER 14 - THE BUDDHA (THE AWAKENED)

CHAPTER 15 - HAPPINESS

CHAPTER 16 - PLEASURE

CHAPTER 17 - ANGER

CHAPTER 18 - IMPURITY

CHAPTER 19- THE JUST

CHAPTER 20 - THE WAY

CHAPTER 21 - MISCELLANEOUS.

CHAPTER 22 - THE DOWNWARD COURSE

CHAPTER 23 - THE ELEPHANT

CHAPTER 24 – THRIST

CHAPTER 25 - THE BHIKSHU (MENDICANT)

CHAPTER 26 - THE BRÂHMANA (ARHAT)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

About The Author

Books By This Author

Introduction

      Who Was Buddha

Buddha, born with the name Siddhartha Gautama, was a teacher, philosopher and spiritual leader who is considered the founder of Buddhism. He lived and taught in the region around the border of modern-day Nepal and India sometime between the 6th to 4th century B.C.

DHAMMAPADA – BUDDHISM

The name Buddha means one who is awakened or the enlightened one. While scholars agree that Buddha did in fact exist, the specific dates and events of his life are still debated.

According to the most widely known story of his life, after experimenting with different teachings for years, and finding none of them acceptable, Siddhartha Gautama spent a fateful night in deep meditation beneath a tree. During his meditation, all of the answers he had been seeking became clear, and he achieved full awareness, thereby becoming Buddha.

Early Life

Buddha was born in the 6th century B.C., or possibly as early as 624 B.C., according to some scholars. Other researchers believe he was born later, even as late as 448 B.C. And some Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha lived from 563 B.C. to 483 B.C.

But virtually all scholars believe Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini in present-day Nepal. He belonged to a large clan called the Shakyas.

In 2013, archaeologists working in Lumbini found evidence of a tree shrine that predated other Buddhist shrines by some 300 years, providing new evidence that Buddha was probably born in the 6th century B.C.

Siddhartha Gautama

Siddhartha (he who achieves his aim) Gautama grew up the son of a ruler of the Shakya clan. His mother died seven days after giving birth.

A holy man, however, prophesied great things for the young Siddhartha: He would either be a great king or military leader or he would be a great spiritual leader.

To protect his son from the miseries and suffering of the world, Siddhartha's father raised him in opulence in a palace built just for the boy and sheltered him from knowledge of religion, human hardship and the outside world.

According to legend, he married at the age of 16 and had a son soon thereafter, but Siddhartha's life of worldly seclusion continued for another 13 years.

Siddhartha in the Real World

The prince reached adulthood with little experience of the world outside the palace walls, but one day he ventured out with a charioteer and was quickly confronted with the realities of human frailty: He saw a very old man, and Siddhartha's charioteer explained that all people grow old.

Questions about all he had not experienced led him to take more journeys of exploration, and on these subsequent trips he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse and an ascetic. The charioteer explained that the ascetic had renounced the world to seek release from the human fear of death and suffering.

Siddhartha was overcome by these sights, and the next day, at age 29, he left his kingdom, his wife and his son to follow a more spiritual path, determined to find a way to relieve the universal suffering that he now understood to be one of the defining traits of humanity.

The Ascetic Life

For the next six years, Siddhartha lived an ascetic life, studying and meditating using the words of various religious teachers as his guide.

He practiced his new way of life with a group of five ascetics, and his dedication to his quest was so stunning that the five ascetics became Siddhartha's followers. When answers to his questions did not appear, however, he redoubled his efforts, enduring pain, fasting nearly to starvation and refusing water.

Whatever he tried, Siddhartha could not reach the level of insight he sought, until one day when a young girl offered him a bowl of rice. As he accepted it, he suddenly realized that corporeal austerity was not the means to achieve inner liberation, and that living under harsh physical constraints was not helping him achieve spiritual release.

So he had his rice, drank water and bathed in the river. The five ascetics decided that Siddhartha had given up the ascetic life and would now follow the ways of the flesh, and they promptly left him.

The Buddha Emerges

That night, Siddhartha sat alone under the Bodhi tree, vowing to not get up until the truths he sought came to him, and he meditated until the sun came up the next day. He remained there for several days, purifying his mind, seeing his entire life, and previous lives, in his thoughts.

During this time, he had to overcome the threats of Mara, an evil demon, who challenged his right to become the Buddha. When Mara attempted to claim the enlightened state as his own, Siddhartha touched his hand to the ground and asked the Earth to bear witness to his enlightenment, which it did, banishing Mara.

And soon a picture began to form in his mind of all that occurred in the universe, and Siddhartha finally saw the answer to the questions of suffering that he had been seeking for