Buddhism

Which religion did Buddhism emerge from and when?

It emerged from Brahmanism approximately 2500 years ago

What religion would Brahmanism later emerge as?

Classical Hinduism

Translate ‘atman’

The soul

Translate ‘samsara’

Rebirth/reincarnation

What were the two other names that the Buddha was known by?

Siddhartha Gautama, and Prince Shakyamuni

What is the year of Buddha’s birth and death (his life)?

563 - 483 BCE

Translate ‘nirvana’

No desire

When and where did Buddhism first appear?

5th to 6th century BCE in North-East India

Which two broad branches did Buddhism separate into?

Theravada and Mahayana

What characterises the era in which Buddhism originated during? How was this different to the previous era?

It developed during an era of economic plenty. The previous era had consisted of tribal societies and small kingdoms which led to the emergence of a large centralised state, bureaucracy, an organised army, and urbanisation. During this time, the 4 classes of Hindu society were beginning to emerge.

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Define ‘shramanas’

Holy men, ascetics, spiritual guides

Was the Buddha a shramana?

Yes

What is the rise of the shramanas and the Buddhist movement attributed to?

The significant socio-economic changes that occurred the century before, and continued during, the Buddha’s life

Define ‘dukkha’

Unsatisfactoriness

What texts is the life of Siddhartha Gautama recorded in and when were they written?

The Mahavastu (The Great Event) and the Buddhacarita (The Acts of the Buddha). They were written hundreds of years after the Buddha lived

What is the Jataka?

Tales of the Buddha in his former existences. The stories detail incidents and events in the previous lives of the Buddha. They act as parables

What do the myths say that Siddhartha Gautama’s mother dreamt before he was born?

That a white elephant entered her side at his birth

How do the Buddhist texts describe the birth of Siddhartha Gautama?

It is described that Siddhartha’s mother had a painless birth standing up and that the baby was born from her side. Many gods gathered to witness the event and laid him on the ground to bathe him in a miraculous shower of water. The ground trembled and then the baby stood up and took 7 step, looked around, and declared himself to be the ‘chief of the world’ and that this was his last birth

What happened after Siddhartha Gautama’s birth that predicted his future?

A wise and holy man appeared at the palace and predicted that Siddhartha would either be a great king or a great religious leader

What did Siddhartha’s father (the king) do after the prediction from the holy man?

His father did not want him to become a religious leader so he kept the Prince locked up in the palace living a life of luxury

How old was Siddhartha Gautama when he left the palace?

29 years old

What did Siddhartha Gautama see when he left the palace?

The Four Sights:


1. An old man
2. A sick man
3. A corpse
4. A smiling ascetic

What did Siddhartha conclude from The Four Sights?

All life contains suffering. Ageing, sickness, and death challenge all of us

What life did Siddhartha begin to lead after witnessing The Four Sights

He followed the teachings of holy men and denied his body of all desires (asceticism)

After 6 years of asceticism, what did Siddhartha conclude?

He was dissatisfied with asceticism due to its extreme difficulty and pointlessness. Instead, he proposed the ‘middle way’

What is the ‘middle way’/’middle path’

To lead a life between extreme lavishness and luxury and extreme deprivation and asceticism

Where did Siddhartha go to achieve enlightenment?

He can to Bodh Gaya where he sat beneath a Bodhi tree in a deer park

What did Siddhartha do to achieve enlightenment?

He vowed to sit beneath the Bodhi tree and meditate until the answers to the illusion of life were apparent to him. Once he eventually realised this, he reached enlightenment and became the Buddha

Define ‘Buddha’

‘The awakened one’ or ‘the enlightened one’

Where did the Buddha go after achieving enlightenment?

He travelled to Benares

What did the Buddha do once he reached Benares?

He ordained 5 monks and then preached his famous sermon ‘The Turning of the Wheel of the Law’

What did the Buddha say in the sermon ‘The Turning of the Wheel of the Law’?

He introduced the Four Noble Truths and the importance of no-self

How did the Buddha spend his life after enlightenment?

He spent time dealing with elites, he visited small villages, he preached the dharma, he gained financial and material compensation from people of all classes of society, he likely oversaw the establishment of the first monasteries

What was the original Sangha?

The numerous disciples (monks and nuns) that assembled around the Buddha

What did all of the monks initially do?

They wandered and taught the Buddhist dharma and converted people

What was the most vital job of the Sangha?

To recount the words of the Buddha and come to an agreement on what they recalled hearing him say.

What were the earliest discussions and texts created for in Buddhism?

To guide the nuns and monks on how they should conduct their lives

What is the name of the early texts and discussions that express how monks and nuns should conduct their lives?

The Vinaya

What is the difference between ‘Sangha’ and ‘sangha’

‘Sangha’ refers to the monastic community, whereas ‘sangha’ refers to the wider Buddhist community

Who was Mahapajapati?

The Buddha’s aunt and stepmother

What did Mahapajapati ask the Buddha 3 times?

She asked for there to be a female order of the Sangha

Why did the Buddha initially refuse Mahapajapati’s request for a female Sangha?

He was most likely concerned for their safety, travelling alone around India

Why did the Buddha eventually grant Mahapajapati’s request for there to be a female Sangha?

The Buddha’s cousin Ananda intervened

What were the two first councils that led to development in Buddhism?

The council at Rajgir and the council at Vaishali

Describe the council at Rajgir

The contents of the Dharma were settled and most of the rules for how a monk or nun should live were codified in the Vinaya tests. It was also responsible for the formation of the Pali Canon (Tripitaka)

Describe the council at Vaishali

There were many disputes and schisms evident at this council relating to the interpretation of how monks should conduct themselves. There were also arguments about monkish conduct which suggests a split out of the Hinayana and Mahayana schools of Buddhism

Describe Theravada Buddhism

* first school of Buddhism
* most orthodox
* Nirvana can only be achieved by those who dedicate themselves totally to the Buddha’s message
* only male monks can reach enlightenment
* rejects concepts of gods, spirits, and mystical influences

Describe Mahayana Buddhism

* The Buddha is treated as a transcendent, god-like figure
* early Mahayanists criticise Theravada
* emphasises the Bodhisattva (a figure whose path to Nirvana requires them to help others escape from samsara and to help them with samsara), the emptiness of all phenomena, and that all humans posses the potentiality for buddhahood

Describe Vajrayana Buddhism

* emphasises the idea of prajna (the wise ability to discriminate between the world of reality and illusion)
* enlightenment is achieved under the guidance of gurus (people who have achieved high levels of meditation and understanding)
* focuses on mudras (bodily postures), mantras (spiritual sounds or mystical phases), and mandalas (spiritual maps of the various realms of the Buddhas)
* the Right hand path (mudras, mantras, mandalas)
* the Left hand path (the worship of shaktis/goddesses)

What are the Three Jewels?

The three elements Central to Buddhism

List the Three Jewels

1. Buddha
2. Dharma
3. Sangha

Describe Buddha as one of the Three Jewels

Recognised as the one who has given humans the means to achieve enlightenment. He is the founder of the Sangha and created the central teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path of Perfection

What symbol is the Buddha recognised by?

By footprints which are a reminder that he had once walked the earth, as well as stupas, large burial mounds

What symbol is the Buddha represented by?

A statue

Describe the Dharma as one of the Three Jewels

The teachings of the Lord Buddha and the lived experience of Buddhism throughout the ages

Describe the sangha as one of the Three Jewels

Refers to the entire Buddhist community; laypeople, monks and nuns all together

What is the significance of the Four Noble Truths?

They are the plan for people to achieve enlightenment

List the Four Noble Truths

1. All life is suffering (Dukkha)
2. The cause of suffering is attachment (or desire)
3. There is always a way out of suffering
4. A way out is to follow the Noble Eightfold path

What is anicca?

The idea of impermanence

What is Dukkha?

Suffering

What is Anatta?

The absence of an individual self. Nothing separates the self from every other part of existence

What is samsara?

The concept of reincarnatiion

What is karma?

Natural law, and one of natural causation. Actions and attitudes have repurcussions

What does karma encourage?

Good behaviour and sympathy with other forms of life

What is the link between samsara and karma?

Karmic force generated becomes evident in the next life

What is the importance of Nirvana?

It is the end point for all evolved souls and could be considered heaven

What does the Tripitaka/Pali Canon consist of?

“The Three Baskets”:

* Sutta Pitaka
* Vinaya Pitaka
* Abhidhamma Pitaka

What is the Sutta Pitaka?

The sermons of the Buddha

What is the Vinaya Pitaka?

Rules regulating the behaviour of monks and biographical data about the Buddha

What is the Abhidhamma Pitaka?

It discusses the basic elements of existence and other metaphysical material

What is the Lotus of the Good Law?

The second of three works known as the Threefold Lotus. Teaches that all people can reach a state of enlightenment. Within the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha appears to trick unenlightened people out of a state of ignorance by upayakausalya (“skillful means”)

What is the Tibetan book of the Dead?

Details the means by which a Buddhist can help determine his next rebirth. It is a collection of funeral liturgies and descriptions of funerary rituals pertaining in part to any intermediate state between death and rebirth. The intermediate state is considered dangerous because the soul was wandering

What do the principal ethical teachings in Buddhism consist of?

The Five Precepts and the Vinaya

List The Five Precepts

Abstain from:

* killing living things
* taking what is not given
* engaging in sexual misconduct
* speaking falsely
* taking drugs or drinks that affect the mind

What is the purpose of the Vinaya?

It is a framework for monastic life (e.g. do not eat after midday, cannot handle silver or gold (money))

What is the importance of ethical teachings in the life of adherents?

They are guidelines on how to reach enlightenment and proper monastic life

What is puja?

A personal devotion or ritual, not the same as worship. It is seen as a way to engage the heart and all energies to purify oneself from negativity and develop positive energy. It is a habitual routine that involves meditation and may consist of a small shrine

What do flowers symbolise?

Buddha’s enlightenment

What do oil lamps symbolise?

The removal of ignorance. They can also acquire good karma and prevent evil influences from entering their house

What are the two different meditation techniques?

Vispassana (insight) to attain wisdom and Samatha (calm) to achieve calmness and concentration which raises the perception of the person meditating