Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

• Also known as the "Doctrine of the Elders.”

• Draws its scriptural inspiration from the Tipitaka/Tripitaka or Pali Canon.

• Predominant in: Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, Laos Considered the more conservative major Buddhist tradition.

• Has also spread to the West.

Pali Canon

It is generally regarded as containing the earliest surviving record of the Buddha's teachings.

Siddhartha Gautama: The Buddha

• Born around 563 B.C.E. in Lumbini, near the Himalayan foothills.

• Son of a king and queen.

• Lived a life of luxury.

• Encountered: Old age, Illness, Death, An ascetic renouncer

• These experiences led him to question the meaning of worldly pleasures.

• He left his family and practiced severe renunciation.

• Eventually rejected extreme self-denial.

• Meditated under a tree and attained Nirvana / Enlightenment.

• Afterwards, he became known as Gautama Buddha and taught others.

Sacred Scriptures

• Preserved in the Pali language.

• Considered the most complete surviving early Buddhist canon.

• Teachings were initially passed down orally.

• Later recorded in written form.

The Three Baskets / Tipitaka / Tripitaka

• Sutta Pitaka

• Vinaya Pitaka

• Abhidhamma Pitaka

Sutta Pitaka

• Buddha's doctrinal discourses; teachings and stories.

• Discourses of Siddhartha and his disciples.

• Includes teachings, poems, stories, and accounts of previous lives.

Vinaya Pitaka

• Rules and discipline for monks and nuns.

• Rules and regulations for bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns).

• Establishes discipline within the sangha.

Abhidhamma Pitaka

• Systematic analysis of Buddhist thought.

• Contains philosophical and psychological analysis of Buddhist teachings.

Buddhism and Salvation

• Siddhartha focused primarily on ethics and self-understanding.

• People work for their salvation on their own.

• Buddhism has no place for God or a savior.

• Siddhartha did not claim to be a savior, but a guide and teacher.

• Salvation is within the individual's control.

Anatta: No Permanent Soul

• Buddhism does not teach that humans have an eternal and indestructible soul.

• Humans exist in a state of nonsoulness (anatman/anatta).

• The human existence is a composite of five aggregates (khandas).

• There is no permanent, unchanging self or soul.

Five Aggregates ( Khandas )

1. Physical form / corporeality

2. Feelings / sensations

3. Understanding / perception

4. Will/mental formation

5. Consciousness

Annica: impermanence

• Nothing is permanent in this world.

• All things change and are impermanent.

• All conditioned things are transitory and passing.

• Everything has a beginning and an end.

• Human existence is therefore subject to continuous change.

Four Noble Truths

• Dukkha

• Samodaya

• Nirodha

• Magga

Dukkha

• Suffering / unsatisfactoriness.

• Suffering is experienced throughout life: Birth, Sickness, Old age, Death.

• Attachment to things also leads to suffering.

• Separation from things we find pleasant causes suffering.

Samodaya

• Explains the cause of suffering.

• The cause is craving or desire (tanha).

• People continually thirst for: Things, Experiences, Ideas, Existence or non-existence, Sensual pleasures

Nirodha

• Cessation of suffering

• Suffering and bondage can end by eliminating craving and desire.

• By dropping the bonds of craving, one can be released from suffering.

Magga

• Path leading to the cessation of suffering.

• Directs an individual to the path leading to the termination of craving and desire.

• One must avoid: Self-indulgence, Self-torture

• This is the path of moderation or the Middle Way.

• Known as the Noble Eightfold Path.

Wisdom

• Right view and intention

• Understanding reality and developing appropriate thoughts and intentions.

Morality

• Right speech, action, and livelihood.

• Living ethically and avoiding actions that cause harm.

Meditation

• Right effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

• Training and developing the mind.

Karma

• It is a law of cause and effect.

• Virtuous actions produce good results.

• Bad deeds produce evil results.

• It influences rebirth.

Samsara

• It is the cycle of death and rebirth.

• The goal is to break the bond that keeps a person within samsara.

Law of Dependent Origination

Paticca-samuppada

• Everything is built upon a set of relations.

• Every effect has a definite cause.

• Every cause has a definite effect.

• Nothing comes into being by mere accident.

• It is a twelve-linked chain explaining how things are interconnected.

• Basic Formula: " When this is, that is; This arising, that arises; When this is not, that is not; This ceasing, that ceases."

Nirvana

• Liberation from samsara.

• Achieved when desire has been extinguished.

• No more unpleasant karma is created.

• Greed, hatred, and delusion are obliterated.

• The mind reaches perfect peace.

• Everyone is capable of attaining nirvana.

Arhat

These are what the people who have achieved nirvana called.

Sangha

• Sangha means "sharer," "association," or "assembly."

• Refers to the Buddhist order and monastic community.

• Founded by Siddhartha during the same year he attained enlightenment.

• Kondanna was the first disciple ordained into the Sangha.

• Other members of the original group included: Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, Assaji

Bhikkhus

Orgained buddhist monks.

Bhikkhunis

Ordained buddhist nuns.

Monastic Life

It includes:

• Poverty

• Chastity

• Meditation

• Study of Siddhartha's teachings

• Following the Vinaya Pitaka

Three Jewels of Buddhist Faith

• Buddha

• Dharma / Dhamma ( teachings )

• Sangha ( Buddhist Community )

Worship and Observances

• Salvation is attained through one's own action.

• Lay Buddhists offer gifts to the Buddha and the Sangha.

• Major sacred places include: Birthplace of Siddhartha, Place of Enlightenment, Place of the First Sermon, and Place of Parinirvana.

Stupas

• They are commemorative monuments that may contain sacred relics.

• They may preserve relics of the Buddha or respected members of the Sangha.

• They symbolize the Buddha's body, speech, and mind.

• Buddhists visit these as places of: Remembrance, Reverence, Meditation, and Merit-making.

Pilgrimage

It is an important Buddhist practice.

Sri Pada / Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka

It is associated with a sacred footprint.

Vesak / Vesakha / Buddha Day

• Celebrated on the full moon of May.

• Commemorates: Birth of the Buddha, Enlightenment, Parinirvana.

• Considered the holiest Buddhist celebration

Other Buddhist Celebrations

• Buddhist New Year

• Magha Puja Sangha Day

• Asalha Puja Dhamma Day

• Uposatha

• Pavarana

• Kathina

• Bodhi Day

Magha Puja

• Observed on the full moon of the third lunar month.

• Remembers the gathering of 1,250 enlightened monks around the Buddha.

• Associated with the Sangha.

Asalha Puja

• Commemorates the Buddha's first teaching.

• Known as the "turning of the wheel of Dharma."

• The first sermon was given near Benares.

• Kondanna became the first disciple to attain enlightenment.

Theravada in Sri Lanka

• Buddhism was propagated to Sri Lanka during the reign of Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C.E.

• Important monasteries: Mahavihara, Abhayagiri Vihara, and Jetavana.

Mahinda

Ashoka's son helped establish Buddhism in Ceylon.

Sanghamitta

Ashoka's daughter helped establish the order of Buddhist nuns.

Theravada: War and Violence

• Buddhism generally teaches nonviolence.

• War is regarded as evil (akusala).

• Many Buddhist monks advocate peaceful solutions to conflict.

• However, Buddhist communities have sometimes participated in political struggles or supported military action.

Women in Buddhism

• Siddhartha Gautama eventually allowed women to enter the Sangha.

• Women could become bhikkhunis (nuns).

• Buddhist teachings recognized the spiritual potential of women.

• Women could study and teach the Dhamma.

• Notable Buddhist women include: Dhammadinna, Khema, Uppalavanna.