1/BT1: Religious Figures & Sacred Texts

Where did Mahayana / Theravada Buddhism spread to?

Theravada: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka

Mahayana: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia

what was the cultural and religious mix like around the time of the Buddha's birth? what century was this?

400-300 BCE

There was a diverse variety of cultural and religious traditions presenting many different world-views at that time.

what religious culture was the Buddha born into?

what elements are notable about it?

Hindu culture

Hinduism at that time contained elements like: sadhus as holy men, Sannyasin as the last goal of Hindu life (an escape Moksha) etc.

how did the invasion of which people into the area of the Buddha affect Hindu culture?

the Aryan invasion brought a society based heavily upon strict religious and social structures

which introduced the caste system onto Hindu society.

what are the 4 categories of the caste system

Brahmins (priests)

Kshatriya (warriors)

Vaisya (skilled worker)

Sudra (unskilled labourer)

what tensions were arising around the time of the Buddha's birth?

the Kshatriya class was, with the support of many rulers, questioning and rebelling against the Brahmin priests.

what were the main arising religious groups at the time of the Buddha's birth? give a brief explanation of how they were different from each other?

Jainism - ascetic lifestyle, non-action, no harm principle

Materialists - empiricists, rejected non-provable concepts

which thinker viewed the narrative of the birth of Buddha and the Four Sights as a hagiography?

what is a quote from him about the role of a religious figure's birth story's significance to a religion?

Paul Williams

'if we could not understand the Dharma without first understanding the life-story of the Buddha' then this proves that the story would be a 'crucial preliminary to understanding what follows' (but it does not act as such).

for Paul Williams, what is of significance about the Buddha?

what he discovered, the sasanas and Dharma he implemented

what is a quote from Williams describing the purpose of a hagiography?

what is the purpose of a hagiography? why is myth considered valid then in a hagiographical reading?

it acts to provide the 'exemplary truth'

to represent what the teaching of the story is through the story and all its features.

thus, myth is valid in context of reading the hagiography in order to understand the way he was perceived by his followers

how is the person of the Buddha seen in a hagiographical sense?

what is a quote from the Vakkali Sutta supporting this?

the Buddha, hagiographically, is not a person at all but more of a principle.

'who sees the Dhamma, sees me, and who sees me, sees Dhamma'

what is a quote from Richard Gombrich about the role of religion in Buddhists' quest for salvation?

'For Buddhists, religion is what is relevant to this quest for salvation, and nothing else'

(Theravada Buddhism)

what is a summary of hagiographical interpretations of the Buddha's life?

what term did Richard Gombrich term to describe Buddhism?

the 'ontological status' of the Buddha does not point to himself as the answer but rather to the Dharma.

'soteriology' to describe Buddhism, its focus is on the quest for personal salvation, not dedication to another being'

what does Donald S.Lopez Jr say about the circulation of different interpretations of the Buddha's mythical birth stories?

there have been 'garbled versions of the life of the Buddha' circulating for centuries

what did Lopez claim about the Western interpretation of the Buddha versus the original Asian interpretation?

Western scholars had viewed Buddha as a deity to worhsip, what he calls a 'sinister twist' - in thisthey didnt recognise his hagiographical value

what are the 2 levels in which the birth narratives of the Buddha and his early life are interpreted?

hagiographical level - typical interpretation and contains mythical elements

allegorical reading - what this hagiographical portrayal reveals about the essence of Buddhist sasana.

Denise Cush quote supporting the position that the Buddha was unique as a sammasambuddha

evidence from the story supporting this

'Suffice to say, all stories indicate that the Buddha was unique'

observations of Maya's unusual conception and birth of Buddha support his enlightened/unique nature.

e.g. Buddha immediately taking seven steps and announcing that he would not be reborn again.

what is an interpretation of the birth narrative that concludes he was untainted by karmic weighting? who suggested this?

Peter Harvey: Buddha was pure and untainted by karmic weighting and in total harmony with his natural environment

quote from Peter Harvey abt Buddha's liking for simple environments indicating his enlightenment

what is the conclusion reached here

the birth of Gotama under a tree fits the pattern of other key events of his life... suggests his liking for simple .. environments where could be in harmony with all forms of life'

Gautama was entering the human realm from a higher level of para-existence after having already mastered karmic influences of the world...

The outcome of the Buddha becoming a buddha (not a great ruler as predicted) was inevitable, despite the King putting in their most efforts to prevent him from seeing the Four Sights.

How do many Buddhists interpret this today?

this tells them not about the nature of the Buddha but the sasana found here.

no one can avoid change, emotional experiences and asking questions.

despite the Kings efforts, he could not prevent the inevitable: sickness, old age, death, asking questions

how did the 4 sights affect the Buddha's pursuit of truth?

they acted as a catalyst to stimulate a search for truth pf suffering that would ultimately lead him to become enlightened.

what is a quote from Paul Williams about how the Four Sights should be read hagiographically?

'His story portrays in acute form the situation that the Buddhist claims all unenlightened people are in, whether they realise it or not'

what fundamental Buddhist teachings do the Four Sights reveal to Buddhists?

Sick man: Dukkha (suffering)

Old man: Anicca (impermanence)

Dead man: Anatta (no-self)

Holy man: there might be an answer to the problems of the suffering caused by the three marks of existence

what do the Four Sights teach to the Buddha?

Life is not what we expect and so we are dissatisfied

what does the Buddha being born under a tree imply about his nature?

it resonates with the Buddha discovering enlightenment under a tree, dying beneath a tree, etc.

his harmony with all forms of life

what is Vesak?

A celebration of Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death.

Celebrated on the full moon as that is when the Buddha was born

who was the prophet who recognised the Buddha for his enlightened self amongst the army generals who wanted him to be a king?

Asita (holy man)

what were the names of the Buddha's parents?

Queen Maya and King Suddhodana

summarise the Buddha's path to finding enlightenment and the nature of the path.

Practiced 'ehipassiko' (come and try)

He made mistakes and only discovered it through experiments.

Through luxury, then asceticism, before finding the middle way.

what implications does the historical interpretation of the Buddha's path to enlightenment (multiple attempts, trial and error) have for Buddhists?

The trial and error (ehipassiko) nature of the Buddha's path to enlightenment shows to Buddhists that they should base their faith, not on faith alone, but on personal testing, to find out for themselves if the methods work.

what is the analogy of a raft the Buddha gives to exemplify how his teachings should be used by his followers?

what does this also suggest the most important thing in Buddhism is?

the raft analogy

to cross a turbulent river, we need raft. Once built, we single-mindedly cross the river. Once across, there is no purpose in carrying the raft around with us.

This suggests the most important thing is getting to the other shore: nirvana.

how does the Buddha teach of how a Buddhist should value of certain teachings he gives?

there is a danger of craving/becoming dependent on a teaching

Buddha suggests personal experimentation

this shows the Dhamma is of equal value to the story of the life of the Buddha as neither have intrinsic value, but rather how far they lead one along the path to awakening.

what is a quote from the Buddha about how we should only believe a teaching when we have observed its positive effects for ourselves?

(only when we have observed ourselves that it leads to benefit and happiness:)

Kalama Sutra: 'then and only then enter into and abide in them'