Buddhism

Christianity Buddhism

Adherents 2 billion (32%) 376 million (6%)

Leading Person Jesus Siddhartha Gautama

Holy Book Bible Tripiṭaka (Sūtra Piṭaka, Vinaya Piṭaka, Abhidharma Piṭaka)

Clergy Bishops, Priests Sangha (monks)

House of Worship

Church Temple

Theology Monotheistic-Trinitarian

Non-Theist

Soteriology Passion of Christ; Baptism

Nirvana

Holidays EasterChristmasPentecost

Buddhist New Year (April)Vesak (Buddha’s birthday)Magha Puja

Fasting Lent (Advent) Full moon days & holidays

Basic Data

Basic Data

About 376 million persons are “traditional Buddhists” They have taken refuge in the Three Jewels,

those following all of the precepts of Buddhism laid down by the Buddha,)

About 1.2 billion includes "natural Buddhists" (as well as secular/nominal Buddhists) They lack specific ceremony They do not profess belief in another religion

Who is a Buddhist?

Terms

Arahant: one who achieves nirvana Anatman:  the state of nonsoulness that,

according to the Buddha, was the natural state of humanity

Dalai Lama:  Leader of Tibetan Buddhism and, until 1950, the spiritual and political ruler of Tibet

koan:  literally means, "case study"; a riddle, tale, or short statement used by Zen masters to bring students to sudden insight

Nirvana:  literally means, “cessation,” “extinction,” "blowing out," or "extinguish"; cessation of human individuality and suffering

Sangha:  Buddhist monastic order Samsar: Cycle of Rebirth; the endless

reincarnation of sentient beings

The Four Noble Truths -- 1) Life in samsara is suffering; 2) This has a cause; 3) It may be ended; 4) There is a path for ending it.

The Eight-fold Path -- Eight categories of a) social behavior, b) meditation behavior, c) attitude & belief -- the path to end suffering

Trance (dhyana [Japanese: zen]) -- The state of the mind as it truly "sees"

Selfhood: The "permanent identity" that the mind, in its ignorance, ascribes to things (and to itself)

Atman: the soul; the core of "self" erroneously ascribed to mental activity

Bodhisattva -- An enlightened being who remains in the Cycle in order to "ferry" other beings to nirvana

Pure Consciousness/Thoughts/Mind: The three levels of mental activity: an existing flow of sentience; atom-like thoughts; the intellect

Bodhi: Enlightenment; Awakening to the awareness of one's Ignorance

Prajna: Wisdom; the clear perception of the world as Emptiness

The Five "Skandhas" -- The five elements which join to form the illusory identity of a human being: 1) material form; 2) feelings; 3) perceptions; 4) impulses; 5) consciousness

Karma -- The value of mental acts (which are linked to behavior), in relation to their effect on increasing or decreasing Ignorance [for example, "selfish" acts are bad: they reinforce attachment to "self"]

Mahayana:  literally means, "the expansive way," or "the big raft"; the largest branch of Buddhism; those Buddhist which take the Boddhisattva as the ideal (the major form of Buddhism in China, Korea, and Japan)

Three “Schools” of Buddhism

Theravada:  literally means, "the tradition of the elders"; the smaller branch of Buddhism; the Buddhists which take the Arhat as the ideal (currently most popular in Southeast Asia)

Zen Buddhism:  Form of Mahayana Buddhism that teaches that the real truth about life comes from intuitive flashes of insight

Three “Schools” of Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama(Buddha)

Born in 5th Century BC (BCE) Lived 80 years Lived in the foothills of the Himalayas Son of a wealthy landowner or nobleman Named

Siddhartha = “wish-fulfiller” or “one who reaches his goal”

Gautama = family name

Early Life

“The epics embellish [Gautama’s] birth story as an immaculate conception in which a white elephant carrying a lotus flower entered his mother’s womb in her dream.” (Fisher, 130)

“He is portrayed as the reincarnation of a great being who had been born many times before and was drawn to earth once again by his compassion for all suffering beings.” (ibid.)

Buddhist Legend

Raised in the Hindu religion Raised in luxury, never needing or wanting

for anything KEY: Did not know suffering or poverty

Trained in the martial arts Married with a son (named “Rahul”=chain) Became disillusioned with riches, ease,

marriage

Important Details

At the age of 29, when he was most disillusioned “the gods arranged for him to see the ‘four sights’ that his father had tried to hide from him” (Fisher)

I. A bent over old man (old age)II. A sick person (suffering)III. A dead man (death)IV. A monk seeking eternal pleasure instead of

temporal (material, fleeting) pleasure

Four Sights Legend

Shook Siddhartha out of his lethargy, apathy and disillusionment

Showed him the impermanence of life and existence

Showed him the existence of suffering, old age, death and renunciation

Four Sights Impact

Renounced wealth Left wife and newborn son Shaved head (sign of penance, grief) Became a wandering ascetic

Homeless poverty, as a beggar Common for Hindus who seek of spiritual truth

Six years of extreme abnegation Exposure, breath retention, bed of brambles,

severe fasting

Four Sights: Result

After six years, Siddhartha concluded that neither luxury nor extreme abnegation

Both are temporal Both are temporary “fixes” and do not

provide real relief Suffering is in the mind more than in the

body Suffering is the result of “existence” and

“being” Key: escape existence and being

Conclusion: Middle Way (all things in moderation)

Middle Way

To solve “theodicy” (problem of suffering) Gautama tried meditation

Sixth lunar month, night of a full moon Underneath a Gaya tree

The bodhi Gaya Experience “Supreme Enlightenment” Recall all four previous lives Entered nirvana

Enlightenment

Gautama became the Buddha He realized that the cycle (samsar) of life

and rebirth is a cycle of suffering One merely goes from one life of suffering to

another He also realized that enlightenment was the

way to break the cycle, the way to end suffering

His new life goal: to teach this way, or path, to others

Mara (evil in human form) tried to convince him that his insights should not be taught; they were too complex and too difficult

Result of Enlightenment

Gautama spent the last 45 years of his life as a peripatetic teacher

The essence of his teaching Four Noble Truths (about suffering) Eight-fold Path (liberation from suffering)

Volunteer teacher with nothing but a begging bowl

Rahul emulated his father’s life of poverty and spiritual dedication (one of the first monks)

Later Years

Gautama’s stepmother became the first Buddhist nun Buddha at first resisted female monks, but

then gave into the request of his stepmother and 500 other women

Break from Hinduism: women may also achieve enlightenment

Gautama renounced all forms of killing Break the cycle of death for all sentient beings End suffering by living at peace with the world

Later Years

Died after eating food that accidentally contained poisonous mushrooms

Designated no successor Dharma (way of life) and self-discipline were

his “successors” His bones (relics) were taken to 10 locations

in India where temples of veneration were built Pilgrimage sites

Death