DHARMIC RELIGIONS

93%

75%
69%
the Pali Canon.

At the of 16, Suddhodana
arranged Siddhartha's
marriage to a beautiful &
refined young woman,
Yasodhara (also
Siddhartha's cousin), who
later giver birth to their son
Rahula.
Siddhartha spent 29 years as a
prince in Kapilavastu and he
began to develop a keen sense
of discontent. As he felt
constant emptiness despite
living a life of luxury and ease,
he sought answers to his
questions by leaving his
comfortable abode without the
knowledge or approval of his
family. He left his wife, child,
and social status as he began to
search for truth and liberation.
 Siddhartha's venture outside the comfort of
the palace led him to encounter four
suffering people that eventually transformed
his outlook on life (Brown 1975). The four
encounters or the “Four Signs” that
occured made him realize the inevitability
of misery in people's lives.
 All these distressing manifestations convinced him that wordly &
material possessions could not satisfy one's need. Taking his finest
horse, he rode off into the night. He cut his hair & beard, & sent
them back with the horse through his charioteer (Hopte 1983).
Ultimately, he renounced the members of his caste despite his
father's resistance & he resolved to become a mendicant, a beggar of
alms. Also known as the “ Great Renunciation”,he lived as an
ascetic with homeless existence (Bowker 1997).He went to the forest
& clothed himself in the yellow robes of hermit ( Brown 1975 ).
 Siddhartha practiced asceticism in search of a way to escape
suffering. Far with drawn from his accustomed environment,
he lived at the outskirts of society & associated himself with
religious masters, such as Alara Kalama & Uddaka
Ramaputta (Skilton 1994). As he became dissatisfied with their
teachings, however he went on his own way to subject himself
to inexorable asceticism through self-mortification & fasting
that reached a point of living on a single grain per day (Toula-
Breysse 2001; Hopte 1983.)
 Seated beneath a pipal tree now known as the bo or
bodhi tree,near the Indian village of Bodh Gaya in Bihar,
Siddhartha finally obtained his enlightenment after years
of searching as he passed the four stages of meditative
trance or dhyana/ jhana. Buddhist legend recounts his
triumph over the devil Mara who personified evil forces
that torment the human kind, including greed, hatred,
ignorance, jealousy, and doubt.
 (bhikkhus) (bhikkhunis).

Parajika Pali
Pacittiya Pali Mahavagga
Cullavagga
Parivara Pali
 Abhidhamma Pitaka,

composed
Dhamma-Sangani
(The Book of the Treatises), (Point of

Dhatu Katha
 SEXUAL
MISCONDUCT
A short formula for this principle can be read in four lines
as:When this is, that is; This arising, that arises;When this
is not,that is not;This ceasing,that ceases.
 “sharer"

“bhikkus"
“bhikkunis".
Most festivals celebrated in the Buddhist tradition
are frequently happy occasions. Lay people proceed
to the monasteries and offer food to the sangha as
they meditate & listen to the sermons. Most Buddhist
celebrations are held to commemorate important
events in the life of Siddhartha. Apart from Buddhist
New Year, other celebrations include Magha Puja Day
(Sangha Day), Asalha Puja Day ( Dhamma Day),
Uposatha (Observance Day), Pavarana Day, Kathina
Day, & Bodhi Day (Enlightenment Day).
Theravada is the more conservative
subdivision of Buddhism than
Mahayana. Thus, it is closer to the
fundamental teachings of
Siddhartha. Sri Lanka,Myanmar, &
Thailand are predominantly
Theravada Buddhists.
 The subdivisions of Theravada
that existed during the early
history of Sri Lanka can be traced
from the three monasteries of
Mahavihara, Abhayagiri vihara, &
Jetavana.
The Mahavihara or
“Great
Monastery” of
Anuradhapura was
founded by the
King Devanampiya
Tissa who ruled
between 307 B.C.E
to 267 B.C.E.
Another major
monastery in Sri
Lanka was the
Abhayagiri vihara
where an ancient
stupa still stands
today.
The Abhayagiri
Dagaba was
estbalished by the
King Valagamba
between 89 B.C.E &
77 B.C.E.
Lastly, Jetavana is
another popular
monastery founded
by the King
Mahasena who ruled
between 277 B.C.E.
and 304 C.E. The
layout of the
Jetavana monastery
is similar to the
Abhayagiri vihara
though smaller
dimensions.