[RRES MIDTERMS] BUDDHISM

Hotei

Representation of a Buddhist monk associated with luck, happiness, and wealth

Buddhism

Religion that originated in India rather than China

Enculturation

Process in which Buddhism reaches different countries and becomes expressed through their own culture

India

Place of origin of Buddhism in the 6th century BCE

6th century BCE

Period identified in the PDF as the origin of Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama

Founder of Buddhism who was born around 563 BCE in present-day Nepal

Kshatriyas

The warrior caste to which Siddhartha Gautama belonged

Prophecy

Prediction that Siddhartha would become either a great political leader or a homeless monk

Yashodhara

Princess whom Siddhartha married

Rahula

Son of Siddhartha Gautama and Yashodhara

Emptiness

Feeling Siddhartha experienced because no amount of pleasure could fill what he felt inside

Four Passing Sights

The sights of a distressed old man, ill man, dead man, and monk encountered by Siddhartha

Old man

First of the Four Passing Sights that made Siddhartha realize everyone will become old

Ill man

Second Passing Sight that showed Siddhartha that illness is not avoidable

Dead man

Third Passing Sight that made Siddhartha realize that everyone will die

Monk

Fourth Passing Sight representing that people have a spiritual quest

Realizations of Siddhartha

Understanding that life includes misery, problems, and death, not only happiness and pleasure

Great Renunciation

Siddhartha's decision to leave his luxurious life and search for the origin of suffering

Material comforts

Things that cannot protect a person from suffering and harsh realities

Self-denial

Practice that Siddhartha discovered would not lead to spiritual fulfillment

Severe asceticism

Extreme practice that did not help Siddhartha discover the cause of human suffering

Middle Way

Buddhist teaching that avoids the extremes of nothing and too much

Upanishads

Teachings prescribing the meditative approach that Siddhartha began to master

Bodh Gaya

Place in northeast India where Siddhartha meditated under a Bodhi tree

Bodhi tree

Tree under which Siddhartha meditated until reaching spiritual enlightenment

Mara

God of desire and death who tempted Siddhartha to return to palace life

Enlightenment

Spiritual awakening in which Siddhartha found an answer to suffering, aging, and death

Buddha

Title meaning “the enlightened one”

Nirvana

State associated with lack of craving, the blowing out of desire, and the end of suffering

Five Ascetics

The first students of the Buddha

Dharma

The teaching or cosmic order that Buddha decided to communicate to others

Parinirvana

State Buddha entered after overcoming the cycle of rebirth

Samsara

The cycle of rebirth that Buddha was said to have overcome

45 years

Length of time Buddha preached the Middle Way

80 years

Age at which Buddha died near Varanasi in northern India

Varanasi

Place near which Buddha died at age 80

King Ashoka

Ruler of the Mauryan Empire who renounced violence and accepted Buddha's teachings

Mauryan Empire

Empire from which King Ashoka came

35 years

Approximate length of time King Ashoka stayed in power

Missionaries

People sent by Ashoka abroad to spread Buddhist teachings

Sri Lanka

Country where ambassadors established shrines and monasteries during the spread of Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

Tradition meaning “the way of the elders”

Way of the Elders

Meaning of Theravada Buddhism

Southern Buddhism

Another name for Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

The conservative school of thought that developed from debates about the authenticity of Buddha's teachings

Mahayana Buddhism

Tradition whose name means “large vehicle” and which developed after King Ashoka died

Large Vehicle

Meaning of Mahayana Buddhism

Vajrayana

Tradition whose name means “thunderbolt or diamond vehicle”

Thunderbolt or Diamond Vehicle

Meaning of Vajrayana

Esoteric school

Characterization of Vajrayana because only a few people with specialized knowledge would understand it

Non-God

Buddhist position that does not recognize the centrality of a personal god or gods

Liberation

In Buddhism, something that is ultimately in the hands of the person

Suffering

The important matter Buddhism seeks to help people overcome

Four Noble Truths

The teachings describing suffering, its cause, its end, and the path to its end

First Noble Truth

Teaching that life is suffering

Second Noble Truth

Teaching that suffering is caused by craving

Third Noble Truth

Teaching that suffering can end through the elimination of cravings and desires

Fourth Noble Truth

Teaching that the way to eliminate cravings and desires is the Eightfold Path

Dukkha

Buddhist term for suffering, identified as the fundamental problem inherent in human existence

Second Noble Truth: Tanha

The teaching that the cause of suffering is desire that leads to attachment

Tanha

Buddhist term for desire that leads to attachment

Attachment

State in which desire becomes uncontrollable and may take the form of obsession

Sensual pleasure

One example of a desire that can lead to attachment and suffering

Spiritual desires

Desires that Theravada Buddhism teaches can also lead to attachments

Desire to be liberated

Example of a spiritual desire that can lead to attachment

Nirvana

Teaching that there is an end to suffering through freedom from desire and attachment

Blowing out

Meaning associated with Nirvana, referring to extinguishing the flames of desire

Extinguishing

Meaning of Nirvana in relation to the flames of desire

Nirvana

A condition experienced by someone who has freed himself from desire and suffering, rather than simply a post-death state

Arhant

A person who has overcome all desires and attachments

Lotus flower

Symbol of Buddhism because it grows in muddy waters yet displays beauty and stability

Eightfold path

The means used to attain liberation from attachment

Eightfold Path

Path that can lead to Nirvana by helping a person detach from human desires

Sila

Buddhist category of morality within the Eightfold Path

Morality

Meaning of sila, including right speech, right action, and right livelihood

Right Speech, right action, right livelihood

three practices under morality or sila

Samadhi

Buddhist category of concentration within the Eightfold Path

Concentration

Meaning of samadhi, including right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation

Right Effort, right mindfulness, right meditation

Practice associated with ability to resist evil under concentration or samadhi (enumerate the 3 na)

Prajna

Buddhist category of wisdom within the Eightfold Path

Wisdom

Meaning of prajna, including right belief and right aspiration

Right Belief and right aspiration

Practice included under wisdom or prajna

Right Aspiration

Practice included under wisdom or prajna

Morality, Concentration, Wisdom

The three categories used to summarize the Eightfold Path

Deer Park

Place where Buddha gave his first public teaching of the Dharma or cosmic order

Apostolic Succession

Christian concept mentioned in the notes involving replacements in the Orthodox Church

Zen Buddhism

Tradition noted in the PDF as having a lot of meditation

Tibetan Buddhism

Name associated in the PDF with Vajrayana

Incense

A cultural example in which the usual incense used in Chinese Catholic mass may become a stick

Chinese Catholic Mass

Example used to illustrate enculturation through changes in incense and clothing

Red

Clothing color used in the PDF's example of Chinese Catholic mass enculturation

White

Clothing color contrasted with red in the Chinese Catholic mass example

Tokyo

Place where the PDF notes that picturing is not allowed and shoes must be removed

Moderately disciplined lifestyle

Lifestyle Siddhartha believed was necessary to achieve balance

Balance

State Siddhartha sought between material comfort and denial of material comfort

Siddhartha Gautama's teaching

The Middle Way between self-denial and self-indulgence