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The teachings of the Buddha have inspired spiritual seekers, moralists, philosophers, and artists for thousands of years. They have guided innumerable persons to peace, selflessness, and creative introspection, providing them with durable defenses against the seductions of selfishness and the illusions of imagination, and leading them to energetic and joyful appreciation of human life.
Built up through millennia by the exertions of countless practitioners and benefactors, the Middle Way of Shakyamuni and his followers has blossomed into a bountiful resource for the human mind and for all the sentient beings illuminated by consciousness.
This Summary of Buddhadharma is an unusually concise survey of a vast intellectual endeavor. It attempts to provide readers unfamiliar with Buddhist philosophy with a careful and thorough introduction to most of the major Buddhist doctrines, theories, and practices that have evolved since the fundamental teachings were first articulated by Shakyamuni Buddha in the 6th century BCE. A Summary of Buddha dharma is a convenient condensation of Buddhist wisdom into a very short text, supplemented by a brief but powerful appendix illustrating the authentic heart of the tradition as expressed both in scriptures and in the profound teachings of realized masters, ancient and contemporary.
Summary of Buddha Dharma, Michael S. Wolf, Worldwinds Communications, Paperback, 2015, pages, $10.00
Michael S. Wolf was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1948. He attended Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee), Stanford University, and Louisiana State University Law School. He has practiced law in Louisiana and other American jurisdictions since 1973. His earliest spiritual training consisted of Catholicism, eventually supplemented by the Christian Yoga of J.-M. Dechanet, the Joyous Cosmology of Alan Watts, and the Fourth Way of G. I. Gurdjieff. Since the early 1970s Wolf has been a student of buddhadharma, drawing his main influences from the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and from the Soto Zen tradition of Japanese and Chinese Buddhism. His main dharma teacher is Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery, located in Woodstock, New York. Wolf resides in Baton Rouge with his wife, Lessie Johnson. They have a grown daughter, and they are trying to age gracefully as Wolf pursues literary and legal projects and carries on a long-running campaign for civic and ideological reform.
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Part One |
1 |
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| Buddhadharma |
3 |
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| The Five Skandhas |
4 |
| The Eight Consciousnesses |
4 |
| The Two Truths |
6 |
| The Three Jewels |
7 |
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The Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel |
8 |
The First Turning of the Dharma Wheel: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path |
9 |
Samsara and Nirvana |
11 |
| Right Understanding: Emptiness, Dependent Origination, Karma, and Selflessness |
11 |
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Right Intention |
15 |
Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livlihood |
16 |
Right Effort |
19 |
Right Mindfulness |
20 |
Right Meditation |
22 |
The Unity of the Dharma Path |
24 |
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Part 2 |
27 |
The Second Turning of the Dharma Wheel: Universal Emptiness and the Bodhisattva Ideal |
29 |
The Bodhisattva Ideal |
33 |
Bodhichitta: the Unity of Emptiness and Compassion |
36 |
The Four Immeasurables |
38 |
The Three Kayas of the Buddha |
39 |
Bodhichitta in Action: The Six Perfections |
42 |
The Perfection of Generosity |
44 |
The Perfection of Morality |
45 |
The Perfection of Patience |
46 |
The Perfection of Diligence |
49 |
The Perfection of Meditation |
50 |
The Perfection of Wisdom |
53 |
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Part Three |
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The Third Turning of the Dharma Wheel: Buddha Nature and Immanent Wisdom |
63 |
Buddha Nature |
63 |
Experiencing Buddha Nature |
70 |
The Three Roots |
74 |
Tantric Methods |
79 |
Mantra |
81 |
Creation and Completion |
82 |
Mandala |
84 |
Tantric Yoga |
86 |
The Mandala of the Five Buddhas |
91 |
| Coemergence of Mind and Appearances |
97 |
Wise and Skillful Living: the Middle Way |
104 |
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Appendix |
113 |
1. The Bodhisattva Vow
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117 |
2. A Verse of Soen Nakagawa Roshi
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119 |
3. A Verse from the Diamond Sutra
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119 |
4. The Dharma of Mahamudra According to Mairipa as Told by Marpa
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120 |
5. A Verse of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
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121 |
6. The Last Words of Shakyamuni Buddha
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122 |
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Notes on the Illustrations |
125 |
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