The Christian &

Other World Religions

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BUDDHISM

Demographics of Buddhism~350M to 500M Buddhist

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Buddhism - Formation• Buddhism is a religion and a philosophy

encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices

• Based largely on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama – commonly known as the Buddha (Pali/Sanskrit – “the awakened one”)– Buddha lived and taught in northeastern

Indian subcontinent sometime between the 6th and 4th Centuries BCE

• Buddha’s purpose in sharing his teachings was to end suffering, achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth

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Footprint of the Buddha with harmachakra and triratna, 1st century CE, Gandhāra.

Background of Buddha (Siddhartha)

• Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepa (modern day Nepal) around 563 BCE

• He was raised in Kapilavastu, Nepal (modern day Nepal)• Shiddhartha was a prince, who’s father was King Suddhodama• An astrologer visited the young prince’s father and prophesied

that Siddhartah would become a great king or renounce the material world to become a holy man depending on whether he saw what life was like outside the palace walls

• His Father was determined he become a King, so he prevented him from ever going outside the palace walls. But at age 29, despite his Father’s efforts, Siddhartha ventured beyond the palace walls several times

– During these visits he had a series of encounters – which became “the four sights”

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Background of Buddha (Siddhartha)

• These four sightings were based on his learning of the sufferings of ordinary people:– Encountering an old man– Encountering a sick man– Encountering a corpse– Encountering a holy man who was content and at peace with the

world

• These encounters prompted Siddhartha Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a spiritual quest

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Background of Buddha (Siddhartha)

• Buddha’s first attempted an extreme ascetic life and almost starved himself to death in the process– He concluded that extreme ascetic practices such as prolonged fasting,

breath-holding, and exposure to pain brought little spiritual benefit and viewed them as self-hatred and counterproductive

• He concentrated on anapanasati meditation – now called the Middle-Way: A path of moderation between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification

• At age 35, he sat under a sacred fig tree – known as the Bodhi tree – in the town of Bodh Gaya, India and vowed not to rise before enlightenment. – Supposedly after many days, he finally awakened to the ulimate

nature of reality thereby liberating himself from the cycle of suffering and rebirth

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Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, India, where Gautama Buddha attained Nirvana under the Bodhi Tree (left)

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Background of Buddha (Siddhartha)

• Shortly after this experience, he started a monastic order and as Buddha, he spent the rest of his life traveling throughout the northeastern part of Indian subcontinent teaching the path of awakening

• Buddha died at the age of 80 in 483 BCE in Kushinagar, India• Not all scholars are in agreement about all of the details of

Buddha’s life but most are in reasonable agreement to these basic facts

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Buddhism – Development

• Developed as a branch from Hinduism• Two major branches of Buddhism

– Theravada: The school of the elders– Mahayana: The great vehicle

• Theravada is the oldest surviving branch and has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and in Southeast Asia

• Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai, and Shinnyo-en

• Vajrayana is a recognized 3rd branch but is seen by many as an offshoot of Mahayana

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Timeline: Development and propagation of Buddhist traditions (ca. 450 BCE – ca. 1300 CE)

450 BCE[172] 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE 700 CE 800 CE 1200 CE

[173]

India EarlySangha

Early Buddhist schools Mahayana Vajrayana

Sri Lanka &Southeast Asia Theravada Buddhism

Central Asia

Greco-Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Silk Road Buddhism

East Asia Chán, Tendai, Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren

Shingon

450 BCE 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE 700 CE 800 CE 1200 CE

Legend: = Theravada tradition = Mahayana

traditions = Vajrayana traditions

Expansion of Buddhism

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Expansion of Buddhism

Buddhist proselytism at the time of emperor Ashoka (260–218 BCE).1/8/2010 11WRC-MBC-NJB

Teachings of Buddhism - Foundations

• The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels:– The Buddha – Founder / a way or path to enlightenment – bliss (such as it is)– The Dharma: The Teachings– The Sangha: The Community

• Taking “refuge in the triple gem” has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist path– This distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist

• Other practices include:– Renunciation– Support of the monastic community– Meditation– Cultivation of mindfulness and wisdom– Study of scriptures– Physical exercise– Devotion and ceremony– Invocation of bodhisattvas

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Teachings of Buddhism - Karma

• Karma – The Law of Cause and Effect– Comes from the sanskrit word – action, work– In Buddhism this is the force that drives the cycle of

suffering and rebirth for each being (samsara)– Good, skillful deeds (Pali) and bad, unskillful deeds

produce “seeds” in the mind which come to fruition either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth

– The avoidance of unwholesome actions and cultivation of positive actions is called sila (Sanskrit for ethical conduct)

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Teachings of Buddhism - Salvation

In Theravada Buddhism there can be no divine salvation or forgiveness for one’s karma, since it is a purely impersonal process that is part of the make up of the universe

Some Mahayana traditions hold different viewsThe Lotus Sutra, Angulimaliya Sutra, and Nirvana Sutra claim that reciting or merely hearing texts can expunge great swaths of negative karma

Vajrayana traditions hold that recitations of mantras are a means of cutting off previous negative karma

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Teachings of Buddhism - Rebirth

• Rebirth is a process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as one of many possible forms of sentient life, each from conception to death

• Buddhism rejects the concepts of a permanent self or unchanging, eternal soul – There is NO GOD!

– There is no such thing as a self (the doctrine of anatta)– Rebirth must be understood as the continuation of a dynamic, ever-

changing process of “dependent arising” determined by the laws of cause and effect (karma) – transmigrating or incarnating from one existence to the next

• Each rebirth takes place within one of five realms (Theravadins) or six (other schools)

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Teachings of Buddhism – Realms of Rebirth

• The Realms of Rebirth are:1. Naraka beings: those who live in one of many Narakas (Hells)2. Animals: sharing some space with humans, but considered another

type of life3. Preta: sometimes sharing some space with humans, but invisible to

most people; an important variety is the hungry ghost4. Human beings: one of the realms of rebirth in which attaining

Nirvana is possible5. Auras: variously translated as lowly deities, demons, titans, antigods;

not recognized by Theravada (Mahavihara) tradition as a separate realm

6. Devas including Brahmas: various translated as gods, deities, spirits, angels, or left untranslated

• According to East Asian Tibetan Buddhism there is an intermediate state (Tibetan “Bardo”) between one life and the next

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Teachings of Buddhism – Causes of Suffering and Solution

• The Cycle of Samsara– Sentient beings crave pleasure and are averse to pain from

birth to death– Being controlled by these attitudes, they perpetuate the

cycle of conditioned existence and suffering (samsara) and produce the causes and conditions of the next rebirth after death

– Each rebirth repeats this process in an involuntary cycle, which Buddhists strive to end by eradicating these causes and conditions, applying the methods laid out in Buddhism in the Four Noble Truths and Nobel Eightfold Path

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Teachings of Buddhism – The Four Nobel Truths

• Four Nobel Truths are:1. Suffering – Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to

suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one way or another2. The Arising of Suffering – Suffering is caused by craving. This is often

expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness. Craving also has it negative aspect (i.e. one craves that a certain state of affairs not exist.)

3. End of Suffering – Suffering ends when craving ends. This is achieved by eliminating delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi)

4. The Way Leading to the End of Suffering – Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by Buddha (Eightfold Path)

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Buddhism is totally a Works Based Religion/Philosophy

The Eightfold Path(Presented in 3 Groups)

Prajna – Wisdom that purifies the mind1. Drsti (ditthi): viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be2. Samkalpa (sankappa): intention of renunciation, freedom, and

harmlessness

Sila – ethics or morality, abstention from unwholesome deeds3. Vac (vaca): speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way4. Karman (kammanta): acting in a non-harmful way5. Ajivana (ajiva): a non-harmful livelihood

Samadhi – mental discipline required to master the mind6. Vyayama (vayama): making an effort to improve7. Smrti (sati): awareness to see things for what they are with clear

consciousness, being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion

8. Samadhi (samadhi): correct meditation or concentration, explained as the first of four jhanas

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The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path.

Buddhism – Literature & Source Documents

The major documents of Buddhism are• Dhammapada

– Oral traditions first transmitted from one monk to another captured on palm leaf manuscripts located in Sri Lanka

– English versions of this document are available and called “Words of Doctrine” or “Way of Truth” or “Path of Truth”

• Other written works contain the records of conversations the Buddha had when he was teaching– Three such works are collected into a Tripitak or “Three Baskets”

• Due to the palm leaf manuscripts were kept in three woven baskets

– These are the• Sutta Pitaka – Basket of discourse, directly attributed to the Buddha• Vinaya Pitaka – Basket of Discipline, which is the oldest and smallest of the three, and contains

regulations for monastic lifestyle• Abhidhamma Pitaka – Basket of Special Doctrine, the youngest of the three , and contains

further knowledge

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Buddhism – Worship and PracticesWorship and devotion to Buddhism consists of many forms and practices depending on where you live. The following practices are somewhat standard

• Veneration of the Buddha– Most Buddhists recognize the existence of many Buddha's and are devoted to a particular one based

on where they live, the sect they belong to, and how their family was brought up – Devotions take place in a Temple or Monastery or in the home– Many devotees have a shrine of some sort in their homes with a Buddha idol that they bow to (usually

three times) and chant phrases or meditate in it’s presence• I take refuge in the Buddha• I take refuge in the Dharma (Teachings)• I take refuge in the Sangha (Community)

– Sometimes offerings of money, food, and other things are made to the Buddha

• An assembly or group of Monks who gather together are called a Sangah– Monks are ordained by taking a vow and keep monastic rules involving the Three Jewels, the Five

Precepts that prohibit drinking, lying, stealing, harming a living being, and misuse of the senses, and have to memorize over 253 rules, which they say every 2 weeks

• Dalai Lama – The world leader of Tibetan Buddhism• Arhat – a holy person who has achieved enlightenment

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Korean Buddhist Temple

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Buddhism – Meditation and ZenMeditation

• The goal of mediation is enlightenment– Meditation is believed to open the door to subtle perceptions, which can change conviction, change the

character, nourish the roots of a person’s personality– Medically, meditation is perceived to calm the emotions, strengthen the nerves, and lower blood

pressure.

• Meditation is the most important aspect of Buddhism – because the goal is enlightenment

– The Sanskrit word – Samadhi – means self-collectedness and is the highest state of mental concentration that can be achieved while still bound in the body

– Samadhi is an absolutely necessity for attaining release from the cycles of rebirth

Zen• The oldest traditional schools of Buddhism in Japan and originated in China• Teaches that the potential to achieve enlightenment is in everyone but lies dormant

because of ignorance• This potential can be awakened by a sudden breaking through the boundaries of

logical thought – which means going beyond the surface to learn the meaning of existence.

– Monks spend inordinate amounts of time meditating on a phrase called “Koan” – “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

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The Christian and the BuddhistIt is important to keep the following in mind when dealing with the Buddhist• Buddhism is an atheistic religion

– They reject the idea of a single supreme almighty God who created the world – Christianity believes there is a God who created all things - Gen 1:1; Jn. 1:1

• No Ultimate Reality – Everything is constantly changing– In Buddhism the goal is Nirvana – the end of consciousness (emptiness) which is a state of

bliss in which there is no sense of time and where all thought ceases – Christianity’s ultimate is heaven and to love, praise, and serve God

• Ephesians 5:18 – “Be filled with the Holy Spirit…” – Christianity says the God created things and people for a purpose. Ephesians 2:10

• No supreme being, no sin, no savior– The world keeps going through natural power and therefore no need for the existence of a

creator– There is no such thing as sin against a Buddha or a supreme being thus no need for any

type of salvation and no place called Hell – a place of eternal torment. • Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ was born to save his people from their sins – Matthew 1:21• Christianity teaches that there is a place of eternal punishment – John 3:16, 36; Rev. 20:11-15

• Buddhists believe in the three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) – But the Psalmist said “O Lord, my refuge, my rock, my fortress” Psa. 71:1,2,7

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The Christian and the Buddhist• The overall concept and goal of Buddhism is emptiness and achieving a

blissful state of non-existence, which some have taken to mean a state of peacefulness, through self-effort– Because the aim of Buddhism is eliminate suffering, many believe this to be a

“religion of peace”– However, Christianity states that “the heart is deceitful above all things…” Jer.

17:9– Salvation does not come through our efforts – but Jesus Christ’s death – Jn 3:16

• Christianity offers THE WAY for the burden of sin and guilt to be removed, find meaning and purpose for life, and have a hope for the future – which most people desire – and the power to live that life: The power of the Holy Spirit– At best Buddhism can only offer A WAY to “bliss” and NO POWER to live out the

principles that supposedly get one to that state

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Homework

• Homework for next time - Judaism: – Read Chapter 2 (p31) – “I have found the

Messiah”• What was your overall reaction to this account?• What were some of the experiences this man faced?• Did they help or hinder his acceptance of Jesus Christ?• How has God used this man after his conversion to

further the Kingdom of God?• How can we apply these lessons / experience in our

witnessing for Christ to those of the Jewish faith?

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References• Eckel, Malcolm David. Great World Religions: Buddhism, The Great

Courses, Religion, Chantilly, VA.: The Teaching Company, 2003.• New American Standard Bible Edition : Fourth Copyright : Copyright ©

1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 2003, QuickVerse, a division of Findex.com, Inc.

• Pollack, Robert. The Everything World’s Religions Book, Avon, MA.: Adams Media, An F+W Publications Company, 2002.

• Ridenour, Fritz. So What’s The Difference? – A look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths, and Religions and how they compare to Christianity, Ventura, CA.: Regal Books, 2001.

• Wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism: Accessed December 30, 2009.• World Religions Made Easy, John Hunt Publishing, Peabody, MA.:

Hendrickson Publishers, 1999.