Lesson 3:

History, Core
Teachings,
Fundamental
Beliefs, Practices
ad Related Issues
of Theravada
Buddhism
Background on
Theravada Buddhism

 The oldest lasting school initiated

by adherents taught directly by
Buddha himself.
 One of the three major factions of
Buddhism is Known as the
“Doctrine of the Elders”.
 Theravada Buddhism is conceived
to be the most ascetic monastic
training.
Theravada Buddhist Temple:
Wat Thai of Los Angeles
 Largest central Thai Theravada Buddhist
Temple in the United States.
 Temple endures as a honor to Thai
architecture
 Serves a figured 40,000 Thais.

Monks at Wat Thai:

 Are staffs of the Theravada part of
Buddhism
 Are very reserved
 Hold purely what Buddha taught
 Have altered no teachings fixed down by
Buddha.
Buddha's Life and Teachings
 Siddhartha (The Buddha) was the son of a prince and
was born into a life of deluxe. His aunt helped take
care of him because Just after a few days he was
born his mother had died
 His father desired him to be a king and warrior, he
never desired him to dissimilar to him. To prevent him
from being brought out to the suffering which was
bumping outside the palace, His father kept him
locked within the walls of the palace.
 One day he(Siddhartha) decided to refuse his father
and leave the palace walls where he was brought out
to suffering.
Buddha's Life and Teachings
 Siddhartha was traveled by vivid benevolence once
brought out to the suffering he found. How can
suffering be depreciated, and how anyone can find
and preserve peace within are the two key questions
which became his plight.
 this involvement not only aided to figure out whom
The Buddha would turn to but also aided him to alter
the way of enduring and comprehending the world.
 The teaching methods of Buddha are like himself al
of they are practical. They head back to his
involvement with suffering.
Buddha's Life and Teachings

 He desired to focus on how we can criticize

suffering for others and ourselves as well.

 These issues are not only Buddha’s intellective

solutions but these are also testimonials of a
general way of living.

 In order for it to be fruitful ,Buddhism is not a

object which is originated but it is something
which has to be experienced.
Theravada's Origin
 Around 100 BCE Originated from a schisms group
that began in India around 100 BCE

 Became prominent in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia

 Also known as Southern Buddhism

 Estimated current followers = 124,000,000

 Often labeled the “Hinayana” or “Lesser Vehicle”

 Theravada claims to trace their lineage to the

original followers of the Buddha
Theravada's Canonical Writings
 A aggregation of Buddha’s teachings written in the Pali language.

 Divided into:
• the Buddha’s sermons,
• the monastic rules, and
• philosophical enumeration of the Buddha’s teaching.

 Theravada doctrine is developed on the distinction between samsara and nirvana.

Theravada's Ultimate Goal:
“To escape samsara and enter nirvana”
 Accomplished by attaining the position of an
arhat, a pure saint expelled from the samsara
cycle and will to be born-again.

 Theraveda is generally considered to be tight

monastic custom; however, ordinary person
can participate by:
• Providing material back up to the monk
which develops positive karma
• Meditation
• Adopting basic honorable principles of the
Buddha’s teachings
Unique Practices & Traditions
 Theravada meditation practices:
• Samantha: makes an individual skillful in the
concentration of mind
• Vipassana: allows one to see through the veil of
ignorance

 Four Noble Truths

• Dukkha (suffering)
• The cause of Dukkha
• The cessation of Dukkha
• The path of practice leading to the cessation of
Dukkha
Unique Practices & Traditions
 The Eightfold route and the exercise of Dhamma.
Buddhists advanced by the following s phases of
development:
1. Discernment
2. Virtue
3. Concentration
4. Awakening

 A individual must live his or her life in mitigation

and recall to follow the set principle that Buddha
has set forth.
 Buddhism is the crucial pursuit of happiness.
 Hope and positive believing are the outcome of
Buddhist practices.
 Following all the phases which Buddha has set
forth will assist in the ultimate exemption of
suffering.
Conclusion
 Theravada Buddhism, encouraged by a repudiation of
the worldly, householder mode of life in order to turn
free from the consequent suffering.

 The aim to get away from suffering (the perpetual cycle

of birth and death, craving, anger, and other afflicting
states) and to find out the real peace of the state of
brain that is free. I
 Vispassana and Samanatha are the two kinds of
meditation exercised by Theraveda Buddhists for
access reality with the brain.
Conclusion

 The Buddha instructs that the remedy to suffering is

compassion.

 Once truth is snatched, using many meditational

exercises, compassion can bloom.

 Compassion is a individual’s capability to understand

with other person or oneself , and behave according to
the most prominent needed of a situation.
Conclusion

 The instructs are meant to be a path to show

compassion in believed, word, and action, to terminate
suffering.

 Not conceiving the fruits of his comprehension and

the big scale of people Buddha affected, a individual
is capable of that similar level of compassion which
permits him or her to assist terminate suffering
within and without.