Buddhism

Religion:

  • Legend or story of Buddha begins in the 5th Century when India was in a time of upheaval

  • 500 BCE

  • The Four Passing Sights

    • Old man crooked and toothless

    • Sick man wasting away from disease

    • A corpse being taken to cremation

    • A sannyasi or wandering holy man who renunciate all possessions and seemed to be quite at peace

  • Rich kid realizing people don’t have it like him. He renounces everything he has and goes out to the world to learn from teachers

  • Three Marks of Reality

  1. Change - life is constant flux and impermanent and a wise person accepts it

  2. No permanent identity - no existence of a permanent identity if anything, it was a repudiation of Hindu notion of timelessness and unchanging reality

  3. Suffering - a conventional life will never be fully satisfying

  • Four Noble Truths

  1. To live is to suffer

  2. Suffering comes from desire - suffering comes from wanting something you do not have and never be satisfied with what you have

  3. To end suffering, end desires - any kind of attachment will lead to inevitable suffering

  4. Release suffering is possible and can be attained by following the noble eightfold path, the ultimate goal of Buddhism is nirvana which is end of suffering, inner peace, and liberation from the limitations of the world

  • Three Branches

    • Theravada

    • Mahayana

    • Vajrayana

  • Suddhartha Guatama (the original Buddha)

    • Challenged Hindu beliefs

      • The caste system

      • The existence of a permanent self (Atman)

      • The authority of Vedic rituals

Deities:

Culture:

  • Teachings:

    • 3 general traits: Three Jewels:

      • Buddha - the thought of what an ideal human being who others should strive to be

      • Dharma - the sum total of Buddhist teaching about how to view the world and how to live properly

      • Sangha - community of monks and nuns

    • One common goal within teachings: be practical, concentrated on what is useful

  • Two questions to be answered in life:

  1. How can we minimize suffering

  2. How do we attain inner peace

  • Four countries claiming democracy with Buddhist state religions:

  1. Bhutan

  2. Cambodia

  3. Myanmar

  4. Sri Lanka

  • Compassionate, honest, and responsible society

  • Key aspects of Buddhist influence on governance

    • Ethical leadership

      • Encourage leaders to prioritize moral conduct, acting with integrity and compassion towards their people, aiming to minimize suffering and promote well-being

    • Social harmony

      • Emphasizes the importance of community harmony and resolving conflicts peacefully, leading to a focus on inclusive governance and minimizing social tensions

    • Right action and speech

      • Principles of transparency, accountability, and responsible communication in governance

    • Democratic values

      • Buddhist teachings support democratic principles like citizen participation, deliberation, and respect for popular consent

    • Focus on the common god

      • Works towards the welfare of all citizens, not just as a privileged few, prioritizing the needs of the community

  • How it manifests in practice:

    • Policy