RS

• The three Marks of Existence

  • Anicca (impermanence)
  • Anatta (no fixed self)
  • Dukkha (unsatisfactoriness of life, suffering)
• The human personality, in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions


  • Theravada: the Five Aggregates (skandhas) of form, sensation, perception, mental formations, consciousness
  • Mahayana: sunyata, the possibility of attaining Buddhahood and Buddha-nature
• Human destiny


  • Theravada and Mahayana traditions: Arhat (a 'perfected person') and Bodhisattva ideals
  • Buddhahood and the Pure Land
• Buddha


  A title given to someone who has achieved enlightenment ('the enlightened one' or 'awakened one')
• Siddhartha Gautama


  • The first Buddha in history to have his life and teachings recorded
• Siddhartha was born in Lumbini in Southern Nepal, close to the border with India

  Around 500 BCE
• The main religion in the area at the time was Hinduism, however there was no single Hindu tradition, more a great variety of Indian traditions and practices
• Siddhartha was born as a prince, his father was King Suddhodana Tharu, and his mother Queen Maya Devi Tharu
• Stories about Siddhartha's birth

  • The Queen had a dream that an elephant with six tusks and a head the colour of rubies came down from the highest heaven and entered her womb through her right side
  • The Buddha could immediately walk and talk after his birth. He walked seven steps and with every step he took, a lotus flower sprang up from the earth beneath his feet
• After his birth a prophecy was made that Siddhartha would become either a great king or revered holy man
• Siddhartha's life of luxury

  Siddhartha was brought up surrounded by luxury, as his father the King was keen for him to succeed as ruler
• Siddhartha was protected from, and had no experience of, pain, sadness, disappointment or suffering
• At 16 Siddhartha married his cousin, Yasodhara, and they had a son, Rahula
• The Four Sights


  • Old Age, Illness, Death, Holy Man
• The Four Sights deeply troubled Siddhartha and he was described as losing his taste for life, no longer able to enjoy the luxuries of life
• Siddhartha knew that he would not be able to find the answers within the palace, and decided to leave and begin his journey
• Siddhartha rode away from the palace, cut off his hair, swapped his rich clothes for that of a beggar, and gave all his jewellery to Channa so they could be returned to the King
• Ascetic life

  Living a simple and strict lifestyle with few pleasures or possessions
• Siddhartha's ascetic practices


  Trained in meditation, rejected anything that would give him pleasure, practised extreme self-discipline, studied with holy men, nearly starved himself to death
• Siddhartha realised that ascetic practices could never lead to full insight, and that he would only be able to reach enlightenment by living the Middle Way between the extremes of luxury and hardship
• Enlightenment


  The gaining of true knowledge about God, self or the nature of reality, usually through meditation and self-discipline; gaining freedom from the cycle of rebirth
• Siddhartha's enlightenment


  1. Sat under a peepul (fig) tree and decided he would not move until he found enlightenment

  2. Struggled with temptations to abandon his quest, in the form of a 'devil' figure called Mara
• Towards the end, Mara claimed only he had the right to sit in the place of enlightenment
• Siddhartha's enlightenment


  1. Decided meditation might be the way

  2. Sat under a peepul (fig) tree and decided he would not move until he found enlightenment

  3. Struggled with temptations to abandon his quest

  4. Stayed focussed and ignored the temptations

  5. Arrows directed at him turned to flowers before they could hit him

  6. Mara claimed only he had the right to sit in the place of enlightenment, but Siddhartha touched the ground and the earth goddess appeared to support his claim
• Siddhartha's enlightenment


  • Fear, lust, pride, or other negative emotions were overcome with a disciplined mind
• Siddhartha's three realisations during enlightenment

  1. Gained knowledge of all his previous lives

  2. Understood the repeating cycle of life, death and rebirth, and that there was no such thing as the self (anatta)

  3. Understood why suffering happens and how to overcome it
• Nibbana

  The peace when all desires are overcome, the state of enlightenment
• Buddha became enlightened and left the tree to return to the five ascetics, who became his first students and also became enlightened</b>
• Buddha's followers

  • Those who left their homes and families to wander and teach others
  • Householders who accepted his teachings but continued with their normal lives - lay Buddhists
• Enlightenment

  Not simply understanding facts, but a whole new way of seeing and relating to life, accompanied by qualities of wisdom, compassion, courage, determination and sincerity
• Dhamma


  The teachings of the Buddha, understood as truth, a path, and a universal law
• The Buddha did not invent the Dhamma, it has always existed and he became awakened to it