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Text 2.3: The Buddha’s Key Teachings
Topic 3 Lesson 2: The Origins of Hinduism and Buddhism
BELLWORK
How is the development of Buddhism as a religion very different from the development of Hinduism?
OBJECTIVES
Identify the founder of Buddhism
Describe the central beliefs of Buddhism
Explain the popularity of Buddhism
Analyze the similarities and differences between Buddhism and Hinduism
The Buddha’s Key Teachings
Around 500 B.C.E. princes were engaged in war
across the northern plain of India
Brahmin priests acquired great power by insisting
they alone could perform the sacred rites to bring
victory in battle or ensure adequate rainfall
Reformers rejected Brahmin domination and
offered other paths to truth
Siddhartha Gautama
In the foothills of the Himalayas, a reformer
named Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism
His teachings eventually spread across Asia to
become the core beliefs of one of the world’s
most influential religions
From Boy to Buddha - Facts
Facts of Gautama’s early life are known only
through traditional stories
Born into a high ranking family about 563 B.C.E.
Was very privileged, and married young to a
beautiful woman, and had a son
The rest is mix of fact and legend
Gautama Gains Enlightenment
A prophet to predict that he someday would
become a wandering holy man based on a dream
his mother had
Gautama’s father kept him in the family’s palaces,
surrounded by comfort and luxury
Deeply disturbed at seeing human suffering for
the first time as an adult, Gautama left home to
discover “the realm of life where there is neither
suffering nor death”
Gautama Gains Enlightenment
He wandered for years, seeking answers from
scholars and holy men whose ideas failed to
satisfy him
He fasted and meditated
Eventually, he sat down to meditate under a giant
Bodhi tree, determined to stay there until he
understood the mystery of life
Gautama Gains Enlightenment
Evil spirits tempted Gautama to give up his
meditations
Then, suddenly, he believed he understood the
cause of and cure for suffering and sorrow
When he rose, he was no longer Gautama
He had become the Buddha, or “Enlightened
One.”
The Four Noble Truths
The Buddha spent the rest of his life
teaching others what he had learned
In his first sermon after reaching
enlightenment, he explained the Four Noble Truths that stand at the heart of
Buddhism
The Eightfold Path
Understand the Four Noble Truths and
committing oneself to the Eightfold Path
Next, a person had to live a moral life, avoiding
evil words and actions
Through meditation, a person might at last
achieve enlightenment
For the Buddhist, the final goal is nirvana
The Buddha saw the Eightfold Path as a middle
way between a life devoted to pleasure and one
based on harsh self-denial
He stressed moral principles such as honesty,
charity, and kindness to all living creatures
Hinduism vs. Buddhism
Buddhism, like Hinduism, grew out of the Vedic religious traditions
Both Hindus and Buddhists accepted the law of karma, dharma, and a cycle of rebirth
Ahimsa, or nonviolence, was central to both religions
Hinduism vs. Buddhism
The Buddha rejected the priests, formal rituals, and the existence of the many gods of Hinduism
Buddha urged each person to seek enlightenment through meditation
Rejected the Indian caste system as practiced at that time
Offered the hope of nirvana to all regardless of birth
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