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Buddhism

Buddhism Basics

  • Originated in India as an offshoot of Hinduism

  • Believes that the human condition is sick and needs a cure

  • Gautama Buddha “the enlightened one”

  • Stories of Buddha’s life were recorded centuries after his death

    • Born around 560 BCE, died around 480 BCE

    • Warrior Class; Feudal Lord (very privileged)

    • Parents made sure he never encountered any suffering

The Four Passing Sights

  • Left home to see the world in his early 20’s

    • Parents got rid of slums etc. to ensure that Buddha didn’t see anything that would distress him; didn’t work

  1. Elderly

  2. Disease

  3. Death

  4. Ascetic

    1. Someone who draws away from worldly/physical pleasures to develop spiritually

  • At age 29, Buddha left the castle and everything he knew

    • “The [Great] Going Forth”

    • left to solve old age/disease/death

  • Attempts to solve old age and death

    • Solitude

    • Extreme fasting

    • Yoga

    • Comes up with the Middle Way

The Middle Way

  • Rejection both extremes of life (sensual indulgence and asceticism)

    • Don’t live excessively or completely ignore your own needs

  • Spiritual health and physical health are united

Enlightenment

  • Sat in Lotus position under Bodhi Tree (Wisdom Tree)

  • Battled Gods, Death, Discontent, Delight, Desire

    • Each of these tempts him off the path of Enlightenment, so he has to overcome them

Stages of Enlightenment

  • 1: Can see past lives through meditation

  • 2: See death/rebirth of all things

  • 3: The Four Noble Truths are revealed

Temptation

  • Buddha was tempted to pass into Nirvana but resists

    • Nirvana: The extinction/letting go of any desires and individual self-worth

    • Buddha was compassionate and teaching

    • Described self as “awake”

Buddhism in Practice

Buddha’s Followers

  • 5 people followed him and became saints (arhats)

  • Founded Sanga

3 Jewels of Buddhism

  1. Buddha: Founded Buddhism

  2. Dharma: Teachings of Buddha, how he lived his life

    1. The universe is eternally created and destroyed (Hinduism)

      1. Were many Buddhas before and many will follow

      2. Samsara: The continuous cycle of birth and death

    2. Rejects sacrificial system to the gods/goddesses

    3. Rejects caste system and segmentation of society; allows women to have status

    4. Rejects education (barrier to entry for religion; not accessible for everyone)

      1. Wrote in Pali: the ancient language of common Indians

    5. Center of Dharma wheel = spiritual balance achieved through teachings

  3. Sangha: The community and life of person themself

Destiny

  • Discover inner realm of self to achieve Nirvana

    • Everything within and outside of self is changing

  • Accept that not everything about self is real

  • Three Marks of Existence

    • Anatta: There is no self

      • Opposite of the Hinduism

      • There is no Atman, Brahman, self, essence, ultimate reality

      • We don’t have souls, there is only the now

    • Anicca: Impermanence

      • Existence is constantly changing

      • Eg. nature of the river is flowing → you will never step in the same river twice

    • Dukka: Suffering

      • Result of other two marks

      • Suffering exists because people can’t let go/go with the flow → creates suffering for self

      • Must detach, see everything as loose and changing, don’t try to grasp

  • Karma

    • Same in Buddhism and Hinduism

    • Basic Karma rules of Buddhism:

      • What is wrong is the intention (why) of a moral act, not the outcome

Four Noble Truths

  • To live life is to experience dukka

    • Discomfort, things are not as they should be

    • The more attachment you have, the more you will suffer

    • Circumstances in live (chance), stages of growth and development, sickness, old age, all will die, unfulfilled wishes

  • Suffering is caused by tanha

    • Tanha: our personal thirsts and desires

    • Self desire, personal fulfillment — increases dukka and tanha

    • We are naturally selfish

  • Suffering can stop

  • Solution to suffering: the Eightfold Path

    • The Eightfold Path: The basic practices of Buddhism that can lead you to Nirvana

Enlightenment and Nirvana

  • Final Nirvana happens at bodily death

  • Arhat: one who is enlightened/awakened

    • If you attain it, you see that there is no self, and you are free from tanha and dukka

  • Buddhas do not need followers or models to attain Nirvana

  • Nirvana is impossible to describe

Three Ways of Buddhism

  • Theravada: The Way of the Elders

    • There are no gods or goddesses to help you

    • Buddha is the first to experience enlightenment

    • The teachings of Buddha are the most important thing

    • Nirvana is attainable by your own effort

  • Mahayana: The Great Vehicle

    • Largest sect of Buddhism

    • See Buddha as a divine savior

    • Primary teaching: foster compassion

    • Didn’t enter Nirvana immediately

    • Goal: become a bodhisatva

      • Bodhisatva: a Buddha in the making

      • Can enter Nirvana but stop short to help others

      • Extend beyond the earthly realm

      • Wait to enter Nirvana until the last blade of grass becomes enlightened

  • Vajrayana

    • Diamond sector teaching of Buddhism - harness

    • Teachings are full of energy, strength, clarity

    • Mandala: a pattern of icons/images that visually excite to enhance meditation

    • Mudras: choreographed hand movements used in ritual

    • Mantra: a sacred utterance (syllable, word, or verse) that is considered to possess mystical or spiritual efficacy

    • Rituals are important

      • Talk with gods/goddesses to achieve union with them and nirvana

    • Dalai Lama

      • Spiritual leader of Vajrayana Buddhism

      • 14th reincarnation of bodhisattva

Buddhism

Buddhism Basics

  • Originated in India as an offshoot of Hinduism

  • Believes that the human condition is sick and needs a cure

  • Gautama Buddha “the enlightened one”

  • Stories of Buddha’s life were recorded centuries after his death

    • Born around 560 BCE, died around 480 BCE

    • Warrior Class; Feudal Lord (very privileged)

    • Parents made sure he never encountered any suffering

The Four Passing Sights

  • Left home to see the world in his early 20’s

    • Parents got rid of slums etc. to ensure that Buddha didn’t see anything that would distress him; didn’t work

  1. Elderly

  2. Disease

  3. Death

  4. Ascetic

    1. Someone who draws away from worldly/physical pleasures to develop spiritually

  • At age 29, Buddha left the castle and everything he knew

    • “The [Great] Going Forth”

    • left to solve old age/disease/death

  • Attempts to solve old age and death

    • Solitude

    • Extreme fasting

    • Yoga

    • Comes up with the Middle Way

The Middle Way

  • Rejection both extremes of life (sensual indulgence and asceticism)

    • Don’t live excessively or completely ignore your own needs

  • Spiritual health and physical health are united

Enlightenment

  • Sat in Lotus position under Bodhi Tree (Wisdom Tree)

  • Battled Gods, Death, Discontent, Delight, Desire

    • Each of these tempts him off the path of Enlightenment, so he has to overcome them

Stages of Enlightenment

  • 1: Can see past lives through meditation

  • 2: See death/rebirth of all things

  • 3: The Four Noble Truths are revealed

Temptation

  • Buddha was tempted to pass into Nirvana but resists

    • Nirvana: The extinction/letting go of any desires and individual self-worth

    • Buddha was compassionate and teaching

    • Described self as “awake”

Buddhism in Practice

Buddha’s Followers

  • 5 people followed him and became saints (arhats)

  • Founded Sanga

3 Jewels of Buddhism

  1. Buddha: Founded Buddhism

  2. Dharma: Teachings of Buddha, how he lived his life

    1. The universe is eternally created and destroyed (Hinduism)

      1. Were many Buddhas before and many will follow

      2. Samsara: The continuous cycle of birth and death

    2. Rejects sacrificial system to the gods/goddesses

    3. Rejects caste system and segmentation of society; allows women to have status

    4. Rejects education (barrier to entry for religion; not accessible for everyone)

      1. Wrote in Pali: the ancient language of common Indians

    5. Center of Dharma wheel = spiritual balance achieved through teachings

  3. Sangha: The community and life of person themself

Destiny

  • Discover inner realm of self to achieve Nirvana

    • Everything within and outside of self is changing

  • Accept that not everything about self is real

  • Three Marks of Existence

    • Anatta: There is no self

      • Opposite of the Hinduism

      • There is no Atman, Brahman, self, essence, ultimate reality

      • We don’t have souls, there is only the now

    • Anicca: Impermanence

      • Existence is constantly changing

      • Eg. nature of the river is flowing → you will never step in the same river twice

    • Dukka: Suffering

      • Result of other two marks

      • Suffering exists because people can’t let go/go with the flow → creates suffering for self

      • Must detach, see everything as loose and changing, don’t try to grasp

  • Karma

    • Same in Buddhism and Hinduism

    • Basic Karma rules of Buddhism:

      • What is wrong is the intention (why) of a moral act, not the outcome

Four Noble Truths

  • To live life is to experience dukka

    • Discomfort, things are not as they should be

    • The more attachment you have, the more you will suffer

    • Circumstances in live (chance), stages of growth and development, sickness, old age, all will die, unfulfilled wishes

  • Suffering is caused by tanha

    • Tanha: our personal thirsts and desires

    • Self desire, personal fulfillment — increases dukka and tanha

    • We are naturally selfish

  • Suffering can stop

  • Solution to suffering: the Eightfold Path

    • The Eightfold Path: The basic practices of Buddhism that can lead you to Nirvana

Enlightenment and Nirvana

  • Final Nirvana happens at bodily death

  • Arhat: one who is enlightened/awakened

    • If you attain it, you see that there is no self, and you are free from tanha and dukka

  • Buddhas do not need followers or models to attain Nirvana

  • Nirvana is impossible to describe

Three Ways of Buddhism

  • Theravada: The Way of the Elders

    • There are no gods or goddesses to help you

    • Buddha is the first to experience enlightenment

    • The teachings of Buddha are the most important thing

    • Nirvana is attainable by your own effort

  • Mahayana: The Great Vehicle

    • Largest sect of Buddhism

    • See Buddha as a divine savior

    • Primary teaching: foster compassion

    • Didn’t enter Nirvana immediately

    • Goal: become a bodhisatva

      • Bodhisatva: a Buddha in the making

      • Can enter Nirvana but stop short to help others

      • Extend beyond the earthly realm

      • Wait to enter Nirvana until the last blade of grass becomes enlightened

  • Vajrayana

    • Diamond sector teaching of Buddhism - harness

    • Teachings are full of energy, strength, clarity

    • Mandala: a pattern of icons/images that visually excite to enhance meditation

    • Mudras: choreographed hand movements used in ritual

    • Mantra: a sacred utterance (syllable, word, or verse) that is considered to possess mystical or spiritual efficacy

    • Rituals are important

      • Talk with gods/goddesses to achieve union with them and nirvana

    • Dalai Lama

      • Spiritual leader of Vajrayana Buddhism

      • 14th reincarnation of bodhisattva

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