BuddhismBuddhism

What is Buddhism?What is Buddhism?

• Buddhism is a major world religion, or in a better sense, philosophy.

• It is the 4th largest religion of the world, and has about 300,000,000 people living by it.

• It explains the purpose of life, injustices and inequality around the world.

• It also helps people by providing a way of life that will lead to true happiness.

BuddhismBuddhism

• An Ethic of Compassion for all

• An Ethic of renunciation for monks

• An Ethic of reincarnation for lay persons

The History of BuddhismThe History of Buddhism

• It was all started by Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakya clan, a prince in Lumbini, 2500 years ago.

• He was very unhappy in his royal life, so he set off on a 6 year journey, exploring other religions.

• After his long journey and much meditation he was finally “enlightened”.

• He found the middle path, the key to human happiness. For the rest of his life he wandered Asia, preaching his new religion.

The Four Noble TruthsThe Four Noble Truths

• The Four Noble Truths deal with– The inevitability

of suffering– The sources of

suffering– The elimination

of suffering– The paths to the

elimination of suffering

Two Ways of Reducing SufferingTwo Ways of Reducing Suffering

• Suffering arises from a discrepancy between desire and actuality– change the actual

world--Western technology

– change the desire, extinguish the individual self--Buddhism

What Did Buddha Teach?What Did Buddha Teach?• He taught the 4 Noble

truths which sum up Buddhism religion.

• He also taught the noble eight fold path.

• He taught to lead a moral life, be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions and to develop wisdom and understanding.

• He also taught the 5 precepts.

What are the Four Noble Truths?What are the Four Noble Truths?

• The first was that life is suffering• You can’t live without death, frustration, etc.

• The second is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion

• Getting what you want doesn’t guarantee happiness, it deprives you of it

• The third is that suffering can be overcome, and true happiness attained

• If we stop craving useless things, and live each day at a time (not living in the future) we will be happy and free.

• The fourth is that the Noble eight fold path leads to the end of all suffering

The Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path

• It taught 8 simple rules:• To have a right

understanding• To have right thoughts• To use right speech• To do right actions • To deal with right

livelihood• To give a right effort• To have a right

mindfulness• To use the right

meditation

The Noble Eightfold Path ExplainedThe Noble Eightfold Path Explained

• right views; Wisdom Prajna• right intention; Wisdom Prajna• right speech; Wisdom Prajna• right action; Morality Sila• right livelihood; Morality Sila• right effort; Morality Sila• right mindfulness Concentration

Samadhi• right concentration Concentration Samadhi

The 5 preceptsThe 5 precepts

• Do not take the life of anything living

• Do not take anything not freely given

• Abstain from sensual overindulgence

• Refrain from untrue speech

• Avoid intoxication• Do not lose mindfulness

• This is the moral code of the Buddhists

ReincarnationReincarnation• Personal self moves

through the wheel of existence like a flame being passed from one candle to another.

• Karma: each individual action helps to set free or bind us to the personal self.

• Moral commandments are generated by demands of karma.

CompassionCompassion

• Theravada Buddhism stresses an ethic of self-renunciation, self-purification, detachment – mostly in Southeast Asia.

• Mahayana Buddhism stresses an ethics of compassion for all living things – mostly in East Asia.