BuddhismBy Richard Brooks, Nicholas Iacuzzo, Michael Hamp, Michael Cobler and

Chris Naylon

Everything started with...              

Siddhartha Gautama (more commonly known as the Buddha)

His Birth

• Born in Southern Nepal to Shuddodana Gautama and his wife Mahamaya 

• Born fully awake and could also speak

• Told his mother he had come to free mankind from all suffering

• Named Siddhartha, which means "he who has attained his goals"

• Story of Asita the soothsayer

Leaving his Palace Life• Eventually, Siddhartha wants to leave

the palace and see what is outside•  Finds out about the death and suffering

that surrounds him• At age 29, he no longer be happy living

his previous life•  Leaves the palace and goes with a group

of ascetic monks to practice austerity and self-mortification

• Does not find secret to ending suffering so doubles efforts, places himself near death.

• Little girl saves him, ends his practice, and decides meditation will help him find the way to end suffering

Meditation and Teaching• Decides to sit under a fig tree (now

known as a bodhi tree) and meditate• On the full moon of May,  Siddhartha

finally understood the answer to the question of suffering and became the Buddha, which means “he who is awake.”

• Story of Mara and the temptationso Similarity to 40 days and Jesus

• Brahma persuades Buddha to teach to others

• Meets the ascetics he practiced with, explains the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to them

His Late Life and Death• His son becomes a monk, and his father a layman, but sons now

not allowed to join Buddhism without parent's permission• Wife and aunt asks to become members, first women to

be Buddhist nuns•  Buddha says all are capable of enlightenment•  Achieves enlightenment at 35• Teaches throughout northeast India for another 45 years  • Story of his death

o Again, similarity to Jesus

The Three Main Kinds of Buddhism

Theraveda, Mahayana, and Varjayana

Theravada Buddhism

• Currently prevails in:o Cambodiao Myanmaro Sri Lankao Thailand

• Literally means "way of the elders"• Relatively Conservative• Similar to early Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

• The Buddha is forever beyond the reach of humanso pased into the internal peace of the nirvana

• Strong focus on teachingso participation in the Noble Eightfold Path

especially meditation• Main goal is to enter the nirvana• Monks hold the most prominent position

o males required to serve as a monk in some regions

Mahayana Buddhism-Main adherents are located in China, Japan, and Korea-Northern branch of Buddhism-Literally means "Greater Ox Cart"-Emerged in 1st century as a liberal interpretation of Buddhism -Main focuses are meditation, Divine Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and Bodhisattvas, or enlightened saints who unselfishly delay nirvana to help others attain nirvana as well 

Mahayana Buddhism continued

-Available to all walks of life, not just monks-Strict adherents to the teachings of Buddha-Believes that one life is enough to achieve nirvana or enlightenment-Enlightenment is achieved through a normal life with some spiritual involvement-Compassion is the highest virtue-Emphasizes intuition and practice-Developed as a result of Theraveda Buddhism

Vajrayana Buddhism

• Gets its name from the Sanskrit word vajra, which represents the thunderbolt wielded by Indra, the god of war and weather.

• The principles of Vajrayana Buddhism are considered the closest to what Buddha practiced to achieve dharmakaya, or true enlightenment.

• Vajrayana is based on tantric doctrines, which may be accessed by practicing sadhanas.

• A sadhana can consist of controlled breathing, meditation, yoga, and the repetition of 

      prayers known as mantras.  

Vajrayana Buddhism (continued)

• Vajrayana does not believe in Nirvana, but believes the practicer should want to achieve pure enlightenment but also be willing to reincarnate to assist others on Earth.

• Unlike the other forms of Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism believes that pure enlightenment can be achieved in one lifetime, so it is often called the "Short Path".

Symbols, Rituals, and Teahcings (Dharma) of Buddhism

Nirvana and Samsara• Samsara

o "wheel of rebirth"o continual act of being reborno considered the ordinary realm of sufferingo people can escape the cycle of rebirth by achieving Nirvana

• Nirvanao "blowing out"o end result of spiritual perfectiono one must follow the Eightfold Patho achieved with the full understanding of Buddha's teachings

anattao can't be understood until experiencedo the end of suffering

if anything is experienced it is joyful

Cosmology

• eternal cyclical time scheme• ages of creation and destruction follow one after the other• believed that Buddism has come and gone many times in a cycle• many worlds exist• there are many heavens and many hells

o between them are the middle realms humans and animals

The Four Noble Truths

Buddha developed the Four Noble Truths while he was meditating under the Fig (bodhi) tree. They are the method to end suffering in the world. They are as follows: 1. Life means suffering and must be

understood– The origin of Suffering is attachment to the

material world– The ending of suffering is attainable in this

life– The way to end suffering is the Eightfold

Path

The Eightfold Path

The Eightfold path was created by Buddha as the method to attaining enlightenment. It is the method to ending suffering in this life, as stated in the Four noble truths. The common symbol for it is the Wheel of Life, in which each spoke respresents a different part. They are as follows in clockwise order:

The Three Marks of Existence

• summarize the changing nature of reality•  Three Marks of Existence:

o  anatta "no self" there is no ultimate reality or essence

o  anicca  "impermanence"  people are constantly changing

o  dukkha "suffering"  natural result of anatta and anicca

Dukkha• things in life are not what they should be• the experience of pain or discomfort• people will always experience unpleasant things• no pleasant things can last

o attatchement to pleasant things causes sufferingo Buddha condemned attachments even between family

• human life is naturally subject to dukkhao everyhting is finite

Karma

• moral law of cause and effect• personal identity depends entirely on karma• when a person dies their karma continues in the same path it was

o eventually bringing rebirtho the newborn person is possessed by the karma of the previous

life• karma is constantly affected by the morality of one's actions

The Five Precepts• Rules one should follow to live a moral life and

achieve good karma• Similar to the Christian Ten Commandments• Five Precepts apply to all Buddhists

o Do not take lifeo Do not take what is not giveno Do not engage in sensuous misconducto Do not use false speecho Do not drink intoxicants

• The following precepts apply only to monks and nunso Do not eat after noono Do not watch dancing or showso Do not use garlands, perfumes, or ornamentso do not use a high or soft bedo do not accept gold or silver

• Buddgist morality is based on intention

Meditation is one of the most important aspects of Buddhism, as it is used to achieve complete enlightenment (Nirvana). There are three major kinds of meditation in Buddhism:

1. Traquility meditation (Samatha)o Used to calm the mind and train it to concentrate on a specific item(kammatthana) which are usually:

1. devices (like color or light) 2. repulsive things (like a corpse) 3. recollections (such as sayings of the Buddha) 4. or virtues (like loving-kindness)

2. Insight Meditation (Vipassana)o Used in the realization of important truths in one's lifeo Considered superior to Tranquility meditationo Instead of concentration, uses mindfulness of a certain subject or itemo  2 most common methods of this meditation

Walking mindfulness - all of your being is focused on walking and your mind will not stray to other things

 Sitting meditation - similar to walking, but mindfulness is on breathing instead of on walking

Meditation

Meditation continued

3. Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta Bhavana)o  Seen as supplemental or complementary to other forms of

Meditationo  Purpose is to develop the mental habit of love for one's self

and otherso achieved through three stages

Specific pervasion - the meditator focuses on sending loving-kindness to specific people

Directional pervasion - the meditator projects feelings of loving-kindness in all geographical directions

Non-specific pervasion - radiating feelings of universal, unconditional love in everyday life

The Eight Auspiscious Symbols• Although there are many symbols in Buddhism, the

Eight Auspiscious Symbols, otherwise known in Sanskrit as "Ashtamangala" (ashta meaning eight and mangala meaning auspicious) are the most popular symbols in Buddhism.

• Each of the eight symbols is associated with the physical form of the Buddha.

The Eight Auspiscious Symbols

1.Umbrella or parasol (chhatra) 2.Golden Fish (matsya) 3.Treasure Vase (bumpa) 4.Lotus (padma) 5.Conch (shankha)6.Auspicious or Endless Knot (shrivatsa)7.Victory Banner (dhvaja)8.Dharma-Wheel (Dharmachakra)

The Eight Auspiscious Symbols

The Swastika

The Swastika is a well-know good-luck symbol from India. Unfortunately, it is too well known in the west, as the Nazis chose it as their main symbol. In Sanskrit, swastika means "conducive to well-being". In the Buddhist tradition, the swastika symbolizes the feet or footprints of the Buddha and is often used to mark the beginning of texts. Modern Tibetan Buddhism uses it as a clothing decoration. With the spread of Buddhism, it has passed into the cultures of China and Japan where it has been used to symbolize plenty, abundance, prosperity and long life.

Dimensions of Buddhism

Experiential 

• Goal of Buddhism to achieve Nirvana

 • Perfection, mysticism

 • Perfect enlightenment

 • Buddhahood

 • 4 stages of enlightenment

  

Mythic • Myths not like Christianity

 • More like stories showing the

way of life •  Monkey king

 • "I'm awake"

 • Ananda's Enlightenment

 • Go with the flow style of life

showed in the myths     

Dimensions of Buddhism

Doctrinal •  Many strong doctrines

 • Impermanence

 • Rebirth

 • Pratityasamutpada

 • Karma

 • Anatta

Ethical • Karma

 • Ethical code

 • "What goes around comes

around" • Continued into next life

Dimensions of Buddhism

Ritual•  Meditation=strong role in

Buddhism  involves special symbols=Golden Buddha

• Symbolic hand gestures (Mudras)  important.  5 main gestures           

• Prayers wheels involve reciting special Buddhist mantras, or sacred sounds?

• Four main pilgramage sites for Buddhists: Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kusinara. 4  minor pilgramage sites where the Buddha performed miracles

Social•  No generally heirarchy like in

Christianity except for Tibetan Buddhism

•  Dali Lama>Panchen Lama>lamas (general monks)>laypeople

• One of first religions to include women in monasteries

• Can achieve complete enlightenment

• Women relatively equal to men.  Buddha hesitated slighted for their protection

Dimensions of Buddhism

Material• Materialistic beliefs are believed to be wrong

 • Said it is dangerous and self-destructive

 • Increases attatchement to the natural world->more suffering

 • There are a few important idols for meditation

 • This includes a special string of 108 beads used by devout

Buddhists while meditating • Monasteries have a ban on wealth, although some get quite large

Buddhism Today

Most followers of Buddhism are in China and the surrounding countries, and few large percentages of Buddhists are outside of that

area.

Bibliography

• "Buddhist Meditation." Buddhism. ReligionFacts, n.p. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/practices/meditation.htm.

• "General Buddhist Symbols." A View on Buddhism. 3 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/general_symbols_buddhism.html.

• Boeree, Dr. George C. The Life Of Siddhartha Gautama. n.p. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/siddhartha.html.

• Hooker, Richard. "Theraveda Buddhism." World Civilizations. 1996. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/BUDDHISM/THERA.HTM.

• Hooker, Richard. "Mahayana Buddhism." World Civilizations. 1996. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/BUDDHISM/MAHAYANA.HTM.

• Kazlev, Alan M. Vajryana (Tantric Buddhism). 12 July 2004. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. <http://www.kheper.net/topics/Buddhism/Vajrayana.htm>.