Buddhism

I am awake

Siddhrtha

483 BC)

Gautama (approx 563 BC

Siddhartha he who achieves his aim

Son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maha Maya of
Nepal
If he remained with the world, he would unify India and

become Universal King

If he forsook the world,he would become a world redeemer

Lived the life of luxury as a prince (kshatriya caste)

Shielded from religion and human suffering to help
him become a great king
Married at 16 to Yasodhara; had son Rahula
Age 29 left the palace to meet his people
His father removed the sick, old, dying, and infirm from
sight

Buddhism

The Four Passing Sights

One day Siddhartha passed an old man
Decrepit, broken-toothed, gray-haired, crooked, and
trembling
Learned the fact of old age

Second day encountered a diseased man

Learned the fact of suffering
Third day encountered a corpse
Learned the fact of death

Life is subject to age and death. Where is the

realm of life in which there is neither age nor
death
Fourth day met a monk
Learned the life of withdrawal from the world

Buddhism

The

Great Departure

Left his palace, wife, and son in the middle of the

night on horseback
Changed clothes, shaved his head
Spent next 6 years in solitude as a forest-dweller
Sought out Hindu masters to teach him philosophy
Learned all the yogis could teach him

Joined band of aesthetics

Almost died of starvation

The Middle Way

Sat under the Bo Tree vowing not to rise without
enlightenment

Buddhism

Enlightenment
Under the Bo Tree, he was tempted by the Evil One
First with desire (3 voluptuous women)
Second with death (hurricanes, rains, and flaming rocks)
Third challenged his right to not pass into Nirvana
Earth responded I bear you witness

Siddhartha experienced the Great Awakening, was

lost in rapture for 49 days, and arose the Buddha
Tempted one last time with reason. Who will
understand the truth as profound as that which the
Buddha had laid hold of?
Almost succeeded, but Buddha responded There will be
some who will understand.

Buddhism

Buddha

aspects
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

preached religion devoid of six

Devoid
Devoid
Devoid
Devoid
Devoid
Devoid

Personal

of
of
of
of
of
of

Authority (institution and individual)

ritual
speculation
tradition
grace
the supernatural

experience is the test of truth

Buddhism

Noble Truths

1. Life is dukkha (suffering)

2. Dukkha is caused by Tanha (desire)

Desire for private fulfillment

3. To overcome dukkha one must eliminate

tanha

selflessness is freedom

4. The cure to overcoming tanha is the

Eightfold Path

Buddhism

The Eightfold Path

1. Right view (all things suffer)
2. Right intention (renunciation, goodwill,
nonviolence)
3. Right speech (lies, slander, offensive words, idle
talk)
4. Right action (no theft, no promiscuity, do no
harm)
5. Right livelihood (profession w/o weapons, living
beings, the dead, intoxicants)
6. Right effort (prevent and abandon vice; arouse
and maintain virtue)
7. Right mindfulness (clear perception of body,
feeling, mind, and phenomenon)
8. Right concentration (meditation)

Buddhism

Nirvana
Nirvana means "to extinguish,"
a state of bliss or peace, and this state may be
experienced in life, or it may be entered into at death
oneness with the Absolute
ENLIGHTENMENT
Buddha is not a deity; not God; not divine
Refutation

of the existence of a creator has

been seen as a key point in distinguishing
Buddhist from non-Buddhist views

Buddhism

Three

Rafts for Crossing the River

1. Theravda -the way of the elders

relatively conservative, and generally closest to early
Buddhism
Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand
over 100 million worldwide
Enlightenment is individual

2. Mahayana -the great vehicle

Bhutan, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Vietnam, Nepal,
Taiwan, Mongolia
Unlike Theravada, Mahayana is for the masses
Buddha as divine saviour (prayer and devotion)
Bodhisattva those who have attained enlightenment but
refuse Nirvana until all sentient beings are awake

Buddhism

3. Vajrayna or Tibetan Buddhism

-mystics
Nirvana can be achieved in this lifetime
Dalai Lama - the spiritual and political leader of the
Tibetan people

Buddhism

Texts
Buddhism has no single central text that is universally
referred to by all traditions
Pli Tipitaka (central to Theravda Buddhism)
Vinaya Pitaka - disciplinary rules for the Buddhist monks
and nuns, and explanations of why and how these rules
were instituted
Sutta Pitaka - the teaching of Gautama Buddha.
Abhidhamma Pitaka - explanation of the Gautama
Buddha's teachings.

Mahayana sutras

the Buddha's deeper, more advanced doctrines, reserved for

those who follow the bodhisattva path
Approx 600 sutras designed for different types of persons
and different levels of spiritual understanding
For the Theravadins, the Mahayana sutras are works of
poetic fiction, not the words of the Buddha

Buddhism