Basics

I'm a lay practitioner of Buddhism, so I lay no claim to knowledge of what the Buddha intended or considered to be the pillars of Buddhism as a whole. From a lay perspective, it is actual practice that is of overarching importance to me. If I can't practice, then all the knowledge in the world is of little import. What supports, informs, and helps me to put Buddhism into practice? It seems to me that these are the pillars of Buddhist Practice:

The Three Gems
The Four Noble Truths
The Eightfold Path
The Five Precepts

Living Buddhism requires all four. While there are many many expansions to these four pillars that help us in our practice, such as the Five Mindfulness Trainings, it seems to me that everything starts here and grows out of these four pillars of understanding.

By accepting and understanding the Three Gems and the Four Noble Truths and then following the Eightfold Path and the Five Precepts, we can find the Middle Way.

The Three Gems

I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dharma; I take refuge in the Sangha

First we thank the Buddha for having found the way to Enlightenment and for sharing that knowledge with us, which helps us to remember our true nature. We are mindful of our original nature; "remember your face before your parents were born."

Then we look to and rely on the Buddha's teachings to help us on our path. Dharma also means "the true nature of things", so we are also being mindful of the way things really are, and in the mindfulness, we remember what it is to "just be".

Finally, we look to the Sangha - our community - for support in our practice. We are mindful of the Sangha and the Sangha is also mindful of us, so that we support and are supported by the community in harmony and awareness.

A teaching from Thich Nhat Hanh on The Three Gems

The Four Noble Truths

1. There is suffering

Change is an inescapable part of life. People whose friendship and love we value drift away. Children grow up and go out. We lose jobs or take new jobs. Our bodies begin to fail us. It's unavoidable - life is change; suffering is PART, but only part, of life.

2. There is a cause of suffering

We often experience change as something to be feared and avoided. Change happens, regardless of our fears or feelings. Will-we, nill-we, the one thing we can be sure of in life is that things will change. Because it can be so difficult to accept change, or to accept that a desired change is not under our control, we suffer under the lash of our wish for things to be other than they are. We struggle against the things we don't want and to reach the things we think we have to have, like an animal in a trap ready to gnaw a leg off if only things would change. We suffer because we are ruled by our cravings and attachments.

3. There can be an end to suffering

Life is not suffering; but suffering is part of life. Because change is inevitable, even suffering need not last. If we can learn to have a calm mind we can keep peace in our hearts even when things change around us. We can stop beating ourselves with the lash of our own desire to have or to avoid and accept life with hope and equanimity. We do not have to be enslaved by our feelings of need. We can learn to let go of craving and attachment. Doing so does not mean that we cannot care for others - only that we do not EXPECT or DEMAND that they behave in the ways that we desire or crave. We can learn to let go of our expectations and demands, and when we do so, we also let go of the power they have to bring us suffering.

4. There is a path out of suffering (the Eightfold Path)

The Buddha spent many years trying to find the way to end suffering. Because he succeeded in this quest, he was able to share with us his insights into ending suffering. He called this the Eightfold Path.

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The Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path is a set of guidelines - not rules or commandments, but ideas. If put into practice, these guidelines can help to lead us out of the confusion and darkness caused by our suffering to find that our suffering does, indeed, have an end. Following the Eightfold Path will not end the existence of suffering, but it will serve to allow us to find the way out when suffering comes to us. As long as we are alive, there will be times when suffering comes. But by remembering and following the Eightfold Path, even when we are in the midst of our suffering, we can remember that this, too, shall end. The Eightfold Path is like a road in a dark wood and our understanding of it is the lantern that lights the way so we can find our way out of the darkness.

The Noble Eightfold Path is based on these three paramitas ("perfections"):

समाधि	Samadhi	Mastery over your own mind
	Sila	Ethics - the ability to avoid unwholesome or counterproductive physical or verbal actions
प्रज्ञा	Prajna	Wisdom, which will purify the mind

There are 8 precepts that grow out of the three paramitas:

1. Right understanding

Seeing the world as it is and not as we wish it were or as we think/believe it SHOULD be.

2. Right intention

Committing oneself to ethical self-improvement by resisting the craving for the world to be as we wish it were; to get angry or avoid unpleasant realities; and aspiring to acquire compassion while resisting the pull toward cruelty and violence.

3. Right speech

To speak in truthful but non-harmful ways. The aspiration to speak truly is never an excuse for cruelty - be guided by compassion. Avoid false speech, lies, or deceitful ways of communicating (that is, saying things that while not strictly untrue are nevertheless in their entirety intended to deceive or fool the listener in some way). Avoid gossip, slander, or the malicious use of words, even if they might be true. There are ways to tell the truth compassionately - strive to find these ways. Avoid speaking in ways that are calculated to offend or hurt others; strive to avoid such speech even by accident. Speak from a position of truthfulness, compassion, friendship, warmth and gentleness.

4. Right action

behave in ways that are compassionate and supportive not only of others, but also of yourself. We ourselves also deserve compassionate treatment - when we castigate ourselves for our mistakes, it does not put us in a good position to show compassion to others. Abstain from blaming, demanding or taking what is not freely given, dishonesty, deceit, or otherwise offering harm to sentient beings, including ourselves. Aspire to honesty, and to behave in a kind, compassionate, respectful manner to all beings - including ourselves.

5. Right livelihood

Living in the real world as we do, and accepting the nonpermanent nature of all things, we understand that we must support ourselves and our families, providing for bodily needs as well as the spiritual. Right livelihood means finding a way to do this within the framework of the Buddhist precepts. Material needs must be met, but do so in non-harmful ways. Avoid professions that cause direct harm to others, such as trafficking in human beings (pimping, slave trade, the exploitation of workers) or selling weapons or drugs. Aspire to find a way not only to avoid adding to the suffering of the world, but also to reduce it. Donate time to organizations or causes that provide direct aid, or find ways to shift your actual profession to something that is more focused on improving the lot of others.

6. Right effort

Put the precepts into action. When negative thoughts arise, be aware of them, accept them; take positive steps to repudiate and reject existing negative states of mind, such as self or other hatred or contempt; redirect the energy that might otherwise be misspent on the sustenance of negative states of mind to create and support the positive states of mind, such as compassion. To this end, be aware of the four foundations of mindfulness, which encompass awareness and acceptance of body, emotion (both postive and negative), thoughts and cognitive orientations, and what goes on around us. Take action to improve yourself spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

7. Right mindfulness

being aware of and present in the moment. Most of us are at the mercy of our "monkey minds" - the ceaseless chatter of regrets, needs, desires, and the long list of things we want/need/should accomplish. While we are actively engaged in other pursuits, our inner dialogue runs on about what we haven't done yet, should do soon, shouldn't have done yesterday, etc. Effectively we are not present while we are actually living our own lives, and may complete an activity with little awareness of what we have just done, let alone the implications for others of our actions. Do you actually remember washing the dishes or doing the laundry OUTSIDE of the blur of thoughts running through your head while you were doing it? It may seem trivial or even undesireable to "be present" for seemingly mundane tasks and chores, but the truth is that this is a habitual way of being that interferes with our ability not only to perceive our actions while doing "boring" tasks such as dishwashing, but also when we are interacting with loved ones, friends, and others. Often we miss important cues and words from our loved ones because we were rehearsing what we would say next or imagining what we should have said 5 minutes ago instead of actually attending to the person in front of us Right Now. Thus, we often perceive the words and actions of others through an obscuring net created of our own expectations, hopes and fears, rather than being able to see, attend to, and react with the person as he or she is, right now, in front of us.

8. Right concentration

develop the ability to "pay attention" to the here and now. Develop an understanding of what it means to be "mindful" - rooted in the here and now and not at the mercy of expectations and desires, whether our own or those of others; develop the ability to live in the present moment. Mindfulness meditation is a prime mechanism for developing and maintaining Right Concentration. Learn to identify and reject, non-judgmentally, both desire and aversion, as both are mechanisms for attempting to avoid seeing and living in reality.

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The Five Precepts

These are the basic rules of conduct for Buddhists. They are not orders or commandments; they are guidelines to help us keep to the path. The 5 Mindfulness Trainings are an elaboration of these 5 basic precepts. Basically they're very golden-rulish. The precepts are:

1. Avoid killing
2. Avoid stealing or cheating others
3. Avoid sexual misconduct
4. Avoid false speech
5. Avoid intoxicants/intoxication
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See this article for a discussion and explanation of each of the five precepts.