BDG Feature: The Rise of Lay Leadership in American Won Buddhism

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📖 Propagating the Bodhisattva Ethic of Compassion for People and the Planet (A free, 307-page thesis from 2019)

Tags: #ClimateChange #Modern #Sangha #China #CaliBuddhist
https://buddhistuniversity.net/content/booklets/humanistic-buddhism-and-climate-change_zimmerman-liu-teresa

This week's newsletter: https://listmonk.bodhiberlin.org/archive/2026-w12

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Dharma

This is a main concept in many Indian religions. It comes from the Sanskrit dhr-, meaning ‘to hold, to support.’ Referring to the law that sustains things. In its most used sense, dharma refers to a person’s moral responsibilities or duties.

In Hinduism, dharma denotes behavior considered to be in accord with Rta (the order & custom that make life & the universe possible). This includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues, & ethics to form the “righteous way of living.” Dharma is believed to have trans-temporal validity & is 1 of the Purusartha.

In the Hindu tradition, Dharma isn’t a “1 size fits all” kind of deal. Often it’s divided into 2 primary categories:

• Sanatana Dharma (The Eternal Way)
  • This refers to the absolute, universal duties that apply to everyone.
• Varnashrama Dharma (Specific Duty)
  • This is where history & culture get complex. It suggests that your specific duty is determined by your stage in life (ashrama) & your role in society (varna).

Much of Indian epic literature, like the Mahabharata, focuses on “Dharma Yuddha” (a righteous war). The Bhagavad Gita is essentially a 700-verse philosophical crisis where the warrior Arjuna must decide between his familial affection & his Kshatriya (warrior) dharma.

In Buddhism, dharma (in Pali: dhamma) refers to the teachings of THE Buddha & to the true nature of reality. The Dharma is the “truth” that the Buddha realized under the Bodhi tree. It is symbolized by the Dharmachakra (the 8-Spoked Wheel), representing the Noble 8-Fold Path.

In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for specific “phenomena” & the ultimate truth. In a technical sense, “dharmas” refer to the fundamental building blocks of experience. It’s the 2nd of the “Triple Gem” (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) that a practitioner looks to for liberation from suffering (dukkha).

In Jainism, dharma refers to the teachings of Tirthankara (Jina) & the body of doctrine of purification & moral transformation. Jainism agrees that Dharma involves virtue (specifically the “10 Virtues,” like forgiveness & humility), & it also defines Dharma as a substance called Dharmastikaya. This is the principle of motion. Just as water lets fish swim, Dharma is the medium that lets souls & matter move through the universe.

In Sikhism, dharma indicates the path of righteousness, proper religious practices, & performing moral duties.

The antonym (opposite) of dharma is adharma (“not dharma”). In common usage, adharma means that which is against nature, immoral, unethical, wrong, or unlawful. In Buddhism, dharma integrates the teachings & doctrines of the founder of Buddhism, the Buddha.

In the mid-20th century, an inscription of the Indian Mauryan Emperor Asoka from the year 258 BCE was found in Afghanistan, the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription. This rock inscription contains Greek & Aramaic texts.

After a bloody conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka was struck by/with remorse. He converted to Buddhism & replaced the policy of Dig-vijaya (conquest by force) with Dharma-vijaya (conquest by piety). He carved “Dharma Edicts” onto massive stone pillars & rocks throughout the Indian subcontinent.

They weren’t just religious texts. They were also administrative orders promoting religious tolerance, animal welfare, & the planting of medicinal herbs.

The evolving literature of Hinduism links dharma to 2 other important ideals: Rta & Maya. Rta, in the Vedas, is the truth, & cosmic principle which regulates & coordinates the operation of the universe & everything within it. Maya, in the Rig-veda & later literature, means illusion, fraud, deception, magic that misleads & creates disorder. Thus is contrary to reality, laws, & rules that establish order, predictability & harmony.

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This week's newsletter: https://listmonk.bodhiberlin.org/archive/2026-w11

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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:

AN 5.156 Tatiyasaddhammasammosasutta: The Decline of the True Teaching (3rd)

“Mendicants, these five things lead to the decline and disappearance of the true teaching.…”

Read the sutta
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BDG Feature: Centering Sangha: A Five-Part Series on Organizational Development for Buddhist Communities (Part 1)

🔗 Read more: https://tinyurl.com/dp6zavpn

#Buddhism #BuddhistCommunities #CommunityDevelopment #Sangha #Shakyamuni #Buddha #BuddhistThought #Spirituality

This week's newsletter: https://listmonk.bodhiberlin.org/archive/2026-w10

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Theravada Buddhism

Theravada is Buddhism’s oldest existing “school.” Theravada Buddhism emerged from the Sthavira Nikaya. One of the early schools that formed after the 1st schisms in the Buddhist community (the Sangha) roughly 200-300 years after THE Buddha’s death.

The “school’s” followers, called Theravadins (Anglicized from Pali theravadi) have presented their version of the Buddha’s teaching or Dhammain the Pali Canon for over 2 millennia. As of 2010, Theravada with 36% Buddhists belonging to Theravada, compared to 53% of Mahayana Buddhism.

In the 3rd century BCE, the Indian Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism. He sent his son, Mahinda, to Sri Lanka. From Sri Lanka, Theravada spread across Southeast Asia. Today, it’s dominant religion in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, & Laos.

Unlike Mahayana Buddhism (which often used Sanskrit), Theravada preserved its scriptures in Pali, a Middle Indo-Aryan language closely related to what THE Buddha likely spoke.

The Pali Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pali, which serves as the school’s sacred language & lingua franca. Lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups of people who don’t share a native language or dialect, particularly when it’s a 3rd language that’s distinct from both of the speakers’ native language.

In contrast to Mahayana & Vajrayana, Theravada tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine (pariyatti) & monastic discipline (vinaya). One element of this conservatism is the fact that Theravada rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which showed up circa 1st century BCE onwards).

Therefore, Theravada, generally, doesn’t recognize the existence of many Buddhas & bodhisattva believed by the Mahayana “school,” because they aren’t found in their scriptures. The Theravada path is often described as analytical (Vibhajjavada). It focuses on the individual’s effort to gain liberation without the aid of gods or divine intervention.

Theravada is the official religion of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, & Cambodia. It’s the main dominant Buddhist sect in Laos & Thailand. There are pockets of followers around the world.

In Theravada, the ultimate spiritual goal is to become an Arahant. An Arahant is a “perfected person” who has attained Nirvana & will not be reborn. This differs from the Mahayana “Bodhisattva” idea, which focuses on delaying one’s own Nirvana to save all sentient beings.

Theravada meditation focuses, intensely on realizing these 3 truths:

• Anicca (Impermanence):
  • Everything is in a state of flux.
• Dukkha (Suffering/Unsatisfactoriness):
  • Attachment to changing things causes pain.
• Anatta (Non-self):
  • There’s no permanent unchanging soul or “I.”

The 4 Noble Truths serve as the “medical diagnosis” of the human condition:

• The reality of suffering.
• The cause of suffering (craving/attachment).
• The cessation of suffering (Nirvana).
• The path to the cessation (The 8-Fold Path).

One of the most distinct features of Theravada culture is the symbiotic relationship between the Sangha (monks) & the Laity (laypeople). Monks are the “field of merit.” They live by the Vinaya (227 rules of discipline), renouncing money, sex, & evening meals to focus entirely on meditation & study.

Laypeople provide food, robes, & medicine to the monks. In return, they receive spiritual guidance & “make merit” (punna), which ensures a better rebirth in the next life.

In Theravada, Buddhaghosa is the “school’s” greatest scholar. If the Buddha provided the medicine, then Buddhaghosa wrote the 1,000-page Manuel on how to use it. Buddhaghosa was a Brahmin from India. He traveled to Sri Lanka to translate the Sinhalese commentaries back into Pali.

The Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) is Buddhaghosa’s magnum opus. It’s categorized meditation into 40 different “objects” (such as breath, loving-kindness, or even the decomposition of bodies) to suit different personality types.

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BDG Feature: Connected, Yet Untethered: Rediscovering Sangha

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