Buddhism

• Buddhism


  Depends on how they are identified
• Buddha


  Title meaning "the enlightened one" or "awakened one"
• Anyone can be Buddha
• Theravadins and Mahayanist


  • Acknowledge that Gautama Buddha is not the only Buddha
  • Belief in future arrival of Maitreya Buddha to usher in a golden age of Buddhism
• Theravada perspective on Buddhas


  • Buddhas are historical individuals who achieve enlightenment independently
  • The Buddha, including Gautama Buddha, is essentially human
• Mahayana perspective on Buddhas

  • Introduces the doctrines of Trikaya, where a Buddha has three bodies
  • A Buddha is not just a human being but embodies these three aspects
• Three bodies of a Buddha

  • Manifestation Body (Nirmanakaya)
  • Truth Body (Dharmakaya)
  • Bliss Body (Sambhogakaya)
• Manifestation Body (Nirmanakaya)


  Historical body appearing in space and time (Gautama Buddha is an example)
• Truth Body (Dharmakaya)


  • Represents the principle of enlightenment or Truth
  • Independent of time and space, unchanging, and the essence of Buddha nature
• Bliss Body (Sambhogakaya)


  • The aspect of the Buddha that experiences joy after achieving enlightenment
  • Celestial, cosmic, or heavenly beings not bound by space and time
• Four Passing Sights


  • Old man
  • Sick man
  • Corpse being prepared for cremation
  • Contented Ascetic
• Three Visions


  • The beautiful daughters of Mara
  • Attack of Mara's army
  • Gautama's own self
• Tripitaka (Tipitaka in Pali)


  • Earliest Buddhist teachings
  • "Tripitaka" means "three baskets"
  • Only primary or Canonical text accepted in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
• Three Pitakas or Baskets of Tripitaka


  • Discipline Basket (Vinaya Pitaka)
  • Discourse Basket or the Sayings Basket (Sutta Pitaka)
  • Special Teachings Basket (Abhidhamma Pitaka)
• Vinaya Pitaka


  Deals with rules and guidelines for monks and nuns
• Sutta Pitaka


  Consists of records of the teachings and sermons
• Abhidhamma Pitaka


  Collection of short texts: Songs and poetry, stories of Buddha and previous lives, and discussion of Buddhist doctrines based on everyday life of the Buddha
• Important Mahayana Sutras


  • Lotus Sutra
  • Heart Sutra
  • Land of Bliss Sutra
• Lotus Sutra


  Contains the teachings of the Buddha to achieve enlightenment
• Heart Sutra


  Part of a larger text, the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. (Things that need to do/ moral discipline from the Lotus Sutra to achieve enlightenment)
• Land of Bliss Sutra

  Foundational texts of Pure Land Buddhism. Describe the ideal work of Pure Land Buddhism or Land of bliss, referring to the paradise of Amitabha Buddha
• Other Important Buddhist Texts

  • Memorial Verses on the Middle Way
  • Great Stages of Enlightenment
  • Tibetan Book of the Dead
• Memorial Verses on the Middle Way

  • Written by the early Buddhist thinker Nagarjuna, who founded Mahayana school called the Madhyamika ("Middle Way")
  • Interpreting the Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom, elaborates on the concepts of emptiness
• Great Stages of Enlightenment

  • Written by the Tibetan of Vajrayana Buddhism
  • Discusses the value or ethical behavior and control of the mind in tantric practice
• Tibetan Book of the Dead


  • Written by the Tibetan of Vajrayana Buddhism
  • Discusses the stages a person goes through while undergoing the cycle of death and rebirth
• The Jewels of Buddhism

  • Buddha
  • Dharma
  • Sangha
• Buddha


  Represents "enlightenment" the main goal of Buddhism
• Dharma


  The path toward achieving the goal of Buddhism
• Sangha


  The community of Buddhist monks and nuns
• The Three Marks of Existence

  • Impermanence (Anicca)
  • No-self (Anatta)
  • Suffering (Dukkha)
• Impermanence (Anicca)


  Anything that exists is subject to change
• Contrast with Hinduism: Brahman viewed as an illusion, rejects the multiplicity of observed things as an illusion (Maya), positions Buddhism as an unorthodox Indian philosophy
• No-self (Anatta)


  • Rejects the existence of an enduring self or eternal soul
  • All things are empty of enduring selves or essences
• Five Aggregates


  • Form of matter (rupa)
  • Sensation or feeling (vedana)
  • Perception and memory (samjna)
  • Mental formations (samskara)
  • Consciousness (vijnana)
• Suffering (Dukkha)


  • Encompasses dissatisfaction, pain, and stress
  • Impermanence itself does not cause suffering; it is the attitude toward impermanence driven by ignorance
• Samsara, Karma, Nirvana


  • Samsara - the continuous cycle of birth, life, and death (Reincarnation)
  • Karma - Moral law of cause and effect, governing actions across lifetimes. Good deeds = Good Karma, Bad deeds = Bad Karma.
  • Nirvana - Freedom or liberation from samsara and suffering. Marks the end of the cycle of rebirth.
• Four Noble Truths


  • Suffering exists
  • Suffering arises from craving/desire
  • Eliminating craving eliminates suffering
  • The way to eliminate craving and consequently suffering is by following the eightfold path
• The Eightfold Path


  • Right understanding
  • Right intentions thoughts
  • Right speech
  • Right action
  • Right work/livelihood
  • Right effort
  • Right meditation (right mindfulness)
  • Right contemplation
• Three Groups of Training

  • The way of morality or good conduct
  • The way of mental development
  • The way of wisdom
• Lay Practitioners Abstain From

  • Killing and harming living beings
  • Stealing
  • Engaging in sexual misconduct
  • Lying
  • Drinking alcohol