The Buddha's Teaching As It Is

The Buddha's Teaching As It Is - an introductory Buddhism course, in English.

Ten lectures composed and spoken by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, an American Buddhist

monk (Theravada) born in New York City in 1944 (native speaker of English). He was

ordained in Sri Lanka in 1972 and studied Buddhism in Sri Lanka and India from 1972 to

1977. After residing and teaching at the Washington DC Buddhist Vihara and the

Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) in Sri Lanka he is now (2003) resident at the Bodhi

Monastery in New Jersey USA. He is also a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and

Science. These audio recordings Copyright by Buddhist Vihara Society - Washington

DC. Reproduced with permission. May not be copied or redistributed for profit.

1(a) The Buddha - Introduction.

1(b) Life of The Buddha

2(a) The four Noble Truths - the Dhamma

(The Buddha's teaching; truth behind the teaching; the path)

2(b) Dukkha (unsatisfactoriness, suffering)

3(a) The True Nature of Existence –

Full path of Understanding, Five aggregates of Clinging

3(b) Three Characteristics of Existence - Impermanence, Unsatisfactoriness, Selflessness

4(a) Dependent Arising (paticca samuppada) –

Essence of the Dhamma; structural principal

4(b) Dependent Arising – The twelve factors; cessation of the round

5(a) Rebirth and Kamma.

Question of life after death, rebirth without a self, Kamma general treatment

5(b)Rebirth and Kamma.

Kamma & its Effects, Rebirth Process, Practical implications of Kamma doctrine

6(a)Nibbana (Nirvana) –

Elimination of craving; types of Dhammas; Nibbana in the Suttas

6(b)Nibbana (Nirvana) – Description in the Suttas; the experience of the Arahat

7(a)The Noble Eightfold Path - place of the Path; the middle way; the factors

7(b)The Noble Eightfold Path –

Threefold grouping of Path factors; two types of Path

8(a)Meditation - Types of Buddhist meditation, Three levels of defilement, Approaches

to meditation, Preliminaries to meditation practice, The development of serenity

(Samatha bhavana)

8(b)Meditation - Five jhana factors, Development of insight (Vipassana bhavana), Four

Supramundane paths and fruits, Practical directions for mindfulness of breathing

9(a)The Social Dimension of the Buddha's Teaching - Social context of the Dhamma,

Foundations of Buddhist social thought, Economic teachings

9(b)The Social Dimension of the Buddha's Teaching - Economic, Social, Political

teachings

10(a)The Sangha -

Community of noble disciples, the monastic order, general aspects of monastic life

10(b)The Sangha – ceremonies & observances of monastic life, the two monastic

vocations, the place of nuns in Buddhism