Our Cosmic Ancestry in the Stars by Chandra Wickramasinghe Ph.D

Author:Chandra Wickramasinghe, Ph.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ancient Mysteries
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2019-03-04T16:00:00+00:00

Right Understanding

Right Thought

Right Speech

Right Action

Right Livelihood

Right Effort

Right Mindfulness

Right Concentration

This code of conduct is not fundamentally different from the biblical Ten Commandments, but it exists without the context of belief in an almighty god. In its place, the belief in the law of karma gives an incentive to be kind and virtuous because all our actions have a bearing on our future destiny.

After Buddha’s death, a monastic tradition developed that preserves and spreads his teachings. Buddhism as a social movement can be seen as a great equalizer and more specifically as a rebellion against the rigid Hindu caste system that had prevailed in India for thousands of years. Buddha’s message of universal love and compassion for all life has resonated down the centuries and been a great civilizing force for humanity. In contrast to earlier religions that deferred ultimate judgment and all creative power to an all-powerful deity, Buddha’s message was to take charge of your own lives and your destiny. In this sense Buddhism was a self-help religion. Through the process of mindfulness and meditation each of us could effectively interrogate the external universe and unravel its deepest secrets. Each of us is fully capable of reaching a mental state not far removed from Buddha’s enlightenment or awakening.

Although the primary aim of Buddha’s quest was to understand the cause of suffering, Buddhist scriptures are far more exhaustive in their scope. They include expositions of human psychology as well as of cosmology. Of particular relevance in the context of the present book is a passage in the Paranibbana Sutra, the Buddha’s last words to his disciple Ananda:

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