INTRODUCTION TO

BUDDHISM
RLGN 1322: Eastern Traditions
Origins
• Around the 6th century BCE, there was some debate in
India
• The Brahmins married, had families, and performed
sacrifices
• The ascetics remained celibate and advocated non-
violence (no animal sacrifice!)
• The other major difference that developed between these
two groups was that the Brahmins placed a high degree of
emphasis on deities and their role as intermediaries
whereas ascetics did not
Asceticism
• The ascetic group did not interact with the divine and
placed very little emphasis on
• They argued that liberation could really only come from
self-motivation and study instead of from devotional
practices directed toward a deity
• Teachers were viewed simply as guides to illuminate the
path but the student had to travel it themselves without
any help from the divine
Commonalities
• This is the environment out of which Buddhism emerged
and the tradition demonstrates a variety of similarities with
Hindu asceticism
• For example, the cycle of samsara, the idea of karma,
and the goal of moksha is common to Hinduism AND
Buddhism
• But other philosophies create clear distinctions between
the two - like the doctrine of impermanence
Founding Figure: The Buddha
• The “founding figure” of this tradition was known as
Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni Buddha
• Buddhas are enlightened beings lend their assistance to
others as a teacher and guide but they are NOT
considered to be divine beings in early Buddhism
• The actual dates of the Siddhartha Gautama’s life are
unclear but it is generally assumed that he was born some
time in the 6th century
Siddhartha’s Miraculous Birth
• The queen of the royal family that the Buddha is born into
is sitting in a garden grove one day and a white elephant
appears to her
• The elephant enters the queen’s body through the side
and becomes an embryo of the Buddha
• Once she realizes that she is pregnant, the queen starts
to travel back to her home city but on the way she gives
birth
• Several miraculous occurrences that take place: The tree
lowers its branch to assist her; flowers appear out of
nowhere; and a stream of water pours from the sky which
washes the baby
Siddhartha’s Early Life
• After the child is born and presented to the king, there is a
naming ceremony during which several Brahmin priests
make predictions about the child’s future
• The king is told that his child will either become a great
political and military leader if he ‘stays in the world’ but if
he ‘departs the world’ he will become a great spiritual
master – a Buddha
• The king of course wishes that the first prediction will
come true so he shelters his son from all unpleasant
things in life and keeps him within the palace walls
Turning Point
• Siddhartha grows up living a life of luxury and not
experiencing any type of suffering – he marries and has a
son (Rahula = fetter)
• When he turns 30, he goes for a chariot ride and he sees
what become known as the 4 Sights: a sick man, an old
man, a dead man, and a wondering ascetic
• Great Departure: He returns to the palace and he decides
to leave his home, his family and all his wealth for a life of
austerity and meditation
Spiritual Quest
• He wanders in search of a spiritual teachers – he studies
with several and he masters all levels of yogic philosophy
and meditative practice
• At this point, he and five other students embark on a
journey of extreme asceticism – the eat nothing and drink
no more than a small sip of water every day
• Over 6 years he does this and becomes so malnourished
that he falls unconscious but he is protected by the spirit
world and does not succumb to death
Enlightenment
• Comes to realize that neither asceticism nor luxury didn’t
lead to fulfillment = The Middle Way
• Sits under a Bodhi tree and experiences a vision
• Mara = an ‘evil’ spirit that tries to interfere with the
Buddha’s enlightenment (ie. sexual desire, material
possessions, physical force) but the Buddha has Truth
• The entire narrative is symbolic of the impurities and
falsities that dwell within the mind and these must be
shattered in order to attain the highest level of spiritual
awakening
Realizations
• Previous teachers were wrong: Goal is supreme
consciousness/awareness not unconsciousness
• A perfect understanding of karma and the cycle of
samsara
• Formulation of the Four Noble Truths
• At this point he reaches nirvana – the ultimate bliss state
Spread of the Buddha’s Teachings
• The Buddha comes to the conclusion that this process is
something that can be taught to others and he goes to the
Deer Park in Varanasi
• He delivers his first sermon in this spot and teaches his
former colleagues about the Middle Way
• He continues to travel and teach for several decades and
at the age of 80, he falls ill and dies but at the moment of
death he experiences a state called parinirvana – where
all suffering ends and he reaches the perfection of
happiness
• Three Gems: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
Three Marks of Existence
• The Buddha also taught something referred to as the
three marks of existence which characterize all human
life: suffering, impermanence, and anatman
• Suffering: This is reflected in the 4 Noble Truths
• Impermanence: Nothing in our existence or experience
as human beings is forever
• Anatman: The Buddha reject the idea of a permanent
soul or atman (no self)
Cycle of Samsara
• Instead of a linear understanding of time, Samsara
(‘endless wandering’) is a cyclical process of birth, death,
and re-birth
• There are periods of evolution and decline (which are
considered to be natural) and Buddhist philosophy
suggests that our moral action is what contributes to
these periods of decline
• This cycle of Samsara can continue on indefinitely until a
person achieves spiritual enlightenment and attains the
ultimate bliss state of nirvana
Karma Part I
• Law of Karma is not a reward/punishment system dictated
by a deity; rather, it is a natural law or a self-governing law
that just IS
• There is a personal responsibility for one’s fate – you are
in charge of your karmic acquisition based on your
thoughts, behaviours, and actions
• Karma is innately related to moral action – humans have
free will and the ability to act in a way that they wish and
by freely choosing moral action, this directly affects one’s
re-birth
Karma Part II
• Karma is carried through the cycle of Samsara – in other
words, it sticks with you in the next life or embodied form
• BUT not everything is determined by karma (ie. if you get
the flu, it’s not necessarily as a result of ‘bad karma’ but it
can be attributed to natural causes)
• Karma can also be stored or ‘built up’ (ie. karmic merit)
• Monastics acquire karmic merit through meditation, study,
etc. while the laity acquire karmic merit through ritual and
by serving the monastic community
• BUT merit is earned when the action is done without self-
interest or self-advancement
Realms of Re-birth
• Wheel of life depicts the 6 realms (check page 34)
• The aim of re-birth is to attain one of the following forms:
human, titan, or god
• “Bad re-births” come as animals, ghosts, or in hell
• If we think of these realms as an apartment block, the aim
to acquire good karma in order to achieve a higher birth
(ie. take the elevator up to a higher floor) but if a person
behaves in an immoral fashion, the elevator goes down to
a realm of worse re-birth in the next life
Reincarnation with No Soul
• What travels through the cycle of Samsara then if there is
no permanent soul or atman?
• Instead he argued that a person is made up of 5
skandhas or complexes
• They are the physical body, sensation, perception, mental
formation, and consciousness
• But none of these components form an eternal substance
like the Hindu conception of a soul or atman
4 Noble Truths
• #1 - Suffering is inherent in life (whether through sickness
or death and it can also be physical or psychological)
• #2 - Suffering is caused by desire or craving
• #3 - Suffering will end when a person’s desires and
cravings cease
• #4 - It is possible to end desire (and therefore suffering)
through following the 8-fold path
• *Important Consideration: Dukkha is often translated as
suffering but this formulation refers to feeling unfulfilled or
a continual dissatisfaction in life (more than just physical
or emotional pain and suffering)
8-Fold Path
• This path consists of a way to live one’s life through the
following means: right understanding (of the 4 noble
truths), right thought (no hatred, desire, cruelty, etc.), right
speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness, and right meditation
• This is a system or formula that is supposed to help guide
a person to attaining spiritual enlightenment through
action, thought, and practice
Interconnectedness & Causality
• The Buddha also taught that everything in existence is
somehow connected to everything else (ie. similar to the
idea that all action has consequences like karmic law)
• He formulated a philosophy called the Doctrine of
Dependent Origination, which asserted that all things
arise as a result of other factors and will cause changes in
other things
• The Principle of Causality gives us the sense there is
continuity in the configuration of time but each moment is
different than the last
Conclusion
• Key concepts: Samsara, Karma, Anatman,
Impermanence, Dukkha
• Aim: Escape Samsara in order to cease all forms of
existential suffering

• Next power point: Nirvana, Meditation, Mayahana

Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism