Buddhist Beliefs

• What are the 3 refuges?

  These are also known as the 3 Jewels as they are so important to the religion

  ●Buddha

  This is the title which means 'enlightened one' and refers to Siddhartha Gotama who founded the religion

  ●Dharma

  This is the name for the Buddha's teachings. This shows Buddhists how to behave like Buddha in order to live a good life and get closer to reaching enlightenment

  ●Sangha

  The Sangha is the community of Buddhists, anyone who belongs to the religion is part of the Sangha
• In what way can the 3 refuges be portrayed?


  The 3 refuges can be shown as a house

  The Dharma is the truth and the roof of the house. It keeps you safe and out of the attack of other elements.

  The Sangha is the community of Buddhists and is much like the walls. Much like the walls, the community surrounds Buddhists.

  The Buddha is the door, it is through the Buddha that one can enter Buddhism.
• Buddhism

  A religion founded around 2500 years ago by Siddhartha Gotama
• Buddha 


  the title given to someone who has reached enlightenment
• Ascetic


  when a person leads a simple but strict lifestyle rejecting pleasure / possesions
• Meditation


  the practice of calming and focusing the mind. It allows deep reflection on teachings and their true meaning
• The ploughing festival (Story)


  Siddhartha was taken by his father to the annual ploughing festival by his father and saw while the people were happy, the oxen ploughing the fields were not.

  The Buddha also watched as ants were eaten by a lizard who was eaten by a snake who was eaten by a bird and the Buddha established though the animals may seem happy, they all end up suffering
• The Four Sights


  The Old Man

  representing change via ageing

  The Sick Man

  representing change via illness

  The Dead Man

  representing change via permanent suffering

  The Spiritual Man
• Dependant Arising (paticcasamupada)


  All things that arise and continue are dependant upon conditions - everything that happens depends on something else

  Life is an interdependant Web of conditions to survive

  Nothing is separate from these conditions which means nothing is eternal and everything changes

  "On your own you cannot create a fame or dispute no matter how loud you shout. The closest you can get is to create an echo of your own voice."  - Dalai Lama
• Evidence for rebirth 


  Lamas and Tulkus

  most people have no idea what influence their karma has on their next life

  Tibetan Buddhists believe that their senior teachers (lamas) can choose the next life they influence

  A child that is the rebirth of a Lama is known as a Tulku

  When a Lama dies the monks seek out his tulku through dreams and visions

  Sometimes a child is tested to be sure the Lama is reborn
• What ways can you overcome suffering?


  prayer ignoring it eating journaling music doing something you like sleeping smoking/drinking/drugs/alcohol