12-2 Q4 Buddhism

• Siddhartha Gautama


  He was born as a prince in 624BC in a place called Lumbini, which was originally in northern India but is now part of Nepal. 'Shakya' is the name of the royal family into which he was born, and 'Muni' means 'Able One'.
• Siddhartha Gautama's life

  1. In his early years he lived as a prince in the royal palace

  2. When he was 29 years old he retired to the forest where he followed a life of meditation

  3. After six years he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India

  4. He was subsequently requested to teach others the path to enlightenment
• Buddhism arose in those parts of India wherein the Vedic forms of religious knowledge were predominant, so we cannot deny the fact that Hinduism and Jainism has similarities to each other
• Growth of Buddhism after Buddha's death

  1. The monks made steps to preserve the teachings of Buddha by chanting them during communal meetings and recording them

  2. The monks also organised and set monastic rules (pratimoksa) for the believers
• The decline of Buddhism

  • The rise of the Turks who by this time were already a staunch Muslim
  • The challenge of syncretism (the mixing of religious ideas and practices together with one dominant religious system incorporating certain features of another religious system)
• Spread of Buddhism to Sri Lanka

  1. King Ashoka sent emissaries including his own son Mahinda to encourage the neighboring kingdom to Buddhism

  2. The Sinhalese King Tissa accepted the religion and endowed it with royal patronage
• Spread of Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia


  1. Theravada Buddhism made further inroads eastward from north India and arrived in mainland Southeast Asia at around the 1st century CE

  2. It influenced the different kingdoms: Angkor (Cambodia), Aytthaya (Thailand), Champa (Vietnam), and Mon and Pagan (Myanmar)
• Tripitaka (Tipitaka in Pali)


  The earliest collection of Buddhist writings, initially composed orally but written down by the third century BCE. It is a large collection, running 45 volumes in one modern edition. Tripitaka is the sole canonical text in Theravada Buddhism.
• Tripitaka contents


  • Discipline Basket (Vinaya Pitaka) - rules and guidelines for living the monastic life of the sangha
  • Discourse Basket (Sutra Pitaka) - records of the Buddha's teachings and sermons
  • Special Teachings (Abhidharma Pitaka) - miscellaneous collection of short writings
• Mahayana Sutras


  Mahayana Buddhism reveres the Tripitaka as a holy text, and adding to it a total of 2184 sacred writings. Most of these writings go under the name of Sutra. The Sutras were put into writing between the second century BCE and the second century CE, during the time the split between Theravada and Mahayana developed.
• Lotus Sutra


  The most important Sutra in Mahayana Buddhism. It depicts a sermon by the Buddha to the assembled Bodhisattvas, Buddha's and other beings in which he teaches the basis of Mahayana Buddhism and emphasizes the goal of becoming a Bodhisattva.
• Vajrayana Buddhist texts


  • Tripitaka
  • Mahayana Sutras, especially those concerning Wisdom
  • Writings of Nagarjuna and his followers
  • Tantric texts
  • Commentaries on the above
• Great Stages of Enlightenment

  A text by Tsongkhapa that deals with the importance of ethical behavior and control of the mind as prerequisites to engaging in tantric practice.
• Tibetan Book of the Dead


  A text that sets out the stages a person goes through while dying, at death, while dead, and then as they are being prepared for rebirth and then finally rebirth itself.
• Place of worship in Buddhism

  Temple. Buddhists normally worship barefoot by sitting on the floor facing an image of Buddha.
• It is quite inaccurate to say that Buddhists worship the Buddha as god. The Buddha himself made it clear that he is not a god and that the individual is solely responsible for his/her own enlightenment through the Buddha's teachings.
• Buddhism's belief about gods


  Gods exist and Buddhists encourage respecting them, but they are not to be worshipped. Human beings are slightly more privileged than gods because the human realm provides the best conditions for achieving enlightenment.
• The Triple Gem


  • 1) Buddha - the inspiration from Siddhartha Gautama, the teacher who led his disciples to enlightenment. Taking refuge in Buddha means placing faith in his teachings as a way to liberate oneself from suffering.
  • 2) Dhamma - the teachings of Buddha. The duty of the believer is to put the teachings into practice to attain enlightenment.
  • 3) Sangha - the monastic order founded by the Buddha. Ordained men and women give their whole lives to attain enlightenment and help others in the path of their own liberation from suffering.
• The Five Precepts (Panca Sila)


  • Abstain from destroying living beings (killing)
  • Abstain from taking not given (stealing)
  • Abstain from sexual misconduct
  • Abstain from false speech (lying)
  • Abstain from anything that causes intoxication or heedlessness (getting drunk or using illegal drugs)
• The Four Noble Truths

  1. Life is suffering
  2. There is suffering because there is desire
  3. In order to get rid of suffering, one has to get rid of desire
  4. There is a path that leads from suffering
• The Eightfold Path


  • Right View

  2. Right Thought

  3. Right Speech

  4. Right Action

  5. Right Livelihood

  6. Right Effort

  7. Right Mindfulness

  8. Right Concentration
• Theravada Buddhism


  Meaning the "teaching of the elders", claims to be the oldest living tradition because it follows more closely the teachings and monastic conduct during the Buddha's time. Their collection of sacred writings is called the Pali Canon, written in the Pali language, a language spoken by Buddha himself.
• Theravada Buddhist beliefs


  • The ideal conditions for achieving enlightenment are found in the monastic life. Monks go out of their monastery towards villages or city streets after morning or during alms rounds to collect food using their begging bowls in exchange for an offering, and the monks would usually chant a blessing for the donor. After the lunch hour, monks would do meditation, study Pali scriptures or other Buddhist literature or engage in works in the monastery.
• Right Mindfulness


  Samma-sati, Learning to be attentive to the present moment
• Right Concentration


  Samma-samadhi, Training the mind to be focused and calm
• Theravada


  Meaning the "teaching of the elders", claims to be the oldest living tradition because it follows more closely the teachings and monastic conduct during the Buddha's time. Their collection of sacred writings called the Pali Canon, it is written in the Pali language, a language spoken by Buddha himself.
• Theravada Buddhist


  • Believe that the ideal conditions for achieving enlightenment are found in the monastic life
  • Teach that the Buddha himself embraced monasticism as a way of life and established the Order of the Monks
  • According to the Vinaya (monastic rules of conduct), monks go out of their monastery towards villages or city streets after morning or during alms rounds to collect food using their begging bowls in exchange for an offering the monks would usually chant a blessing for the donor
  • After the lunch hour, monks would do meditation, study Pali scriptures or other Buddhist literature or engage in works in the monastery or community where they by
  • Revere arhats (or arahants) those ascetics who want to leave the world and follow the path of liberation
  • Achieving enlightenment in here is solely task of each individual, while others are able to inspire the seeker in his quest, the individual's meditation practice alone is the guarantee to achieve nibbana
• Mahayana


  • Alludes being a "Greater Vehicle" because enlightenment may be attained by all together
  • At around 1st century CE, a monk named Nagarjuna provided a systematic philosophical articulation of Buddhist doctrine that later become the basis of Mahayana teaching
  • Nagarjuna expressed his philosophical understanding about enlightenment through sunya (emptiness)
  • This explanation has led Mahayana forms of meditation to emphasize the superfluous character of all thoughts and concepts
  • The task of meditation is to reach the point of emptiness, where all thoughts are recognized as fleeting and impermanent
  • Mahayana monks do not go on alms rounds, although the monastery usually accepts food donations
  • The lay people who follow this path need not to be a fully vegetarian, they can eat meat usually in Buddhist holidays
  • They have managed to preserve the bhikkhuni order as an institution
  • Have a concept of bodhisattva ideal, it refers to beings who have already achieved enlightenment during their lifetime and are ready to enter into nibbana however these beings vowed to delay their entry into nibbana and help other things to attain it first
  • A Buddhist must seek enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and not just for themselves
• Vajrayana


  • It is practiced in Tibet
  • King Songtsan declared it as the national religion of the kingdom of Tibet
  • The distinctive feature of the Vajrayana School is the mixture of shamanistic practices from the Bon religion (indigenous religion of Tibet), Tantric practices from Indian Yoga practice, and Dhamma principles from suttas
  • They have been accepting the Bon Deities as their "lesser gods" that serve as guardian along the path of enlightenment
  • Medicine Buddha, who is depicted in a blue body and holding a medicine bowl
  • Taras or female bodhisattvas/ wife of Avalokitesvara prescribed a rituals that aim to hasten the journey toward enlightenment
  • Claims to provide means to hasten the journey to enlightenment within a single lifetime and to achieve the end of the wheel of birth and rebirth (samsara)
• Umbrella


  Can protect people from the different elements, like the sun or the rain. In this context, a parasol or umbrella can mean protection from suffering and harmful forces. It can also mean the enjoyment of the cool shade it provides.
• The Two Fish


  In older times, the two fish were drawn to symbolize the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers. It has, through interpretation, come to mean luck and fortune. It also means the courage and fearlessness to face the ocean of sufferings and to be able to swim freely like fish through water.
• The Banner of Victory


  Represents how Buddha won over the demon Mara. This demon, in Buddhism, is synonymous to passion, lust and pride. The Banner of Victory is used to remind people that one must win over their own pride, lust and passions to be able to reach enlightenment.
• The Vase


  A vase can be filled with many different things. The vase, in Buddhism, can mean the showering of health, wealth, prosperity and all the good things that come with enlightenment.
• The Dharma Wheel


  Also called the dharma chakra or the dhamma chakka and is often used to represent Buddha himself. It has also universally become the symbol for Buddhism. The dharma wheel has eight spokes, which represent Buddha's Eightfold Path.
• The Footprint Of The Buddha

  The footprint of the Buddha is an imprint of Gautama Buddha's one or both feet. There are two forms: natural, as found in stone or rock, and those made artificially. Many of the "natural" ones, of course, are acknowledged not to be actual footprints of the Buddha, but replicas or representations of them, which can be considered cetiya (Buddhist relics) and also an early aniconic and symbolic representation of the Buddha.
• Swastika


  In the Buddhist tradition, the swastika symbolizes the feet or footprints of the Buddha and is often used to mark the beginning of texts. Modern Tibetan Buddhism uses it as a clothing decoration. With the spread of Buddhism, it has passed into the iconography of China and Japan where it has been used to denote plurality, abundance, prosperity and long life.
• Kāṣāya


  The robes of fully ordained Buddhist monks and nuns, named after a brown or saffron dye. In Sanskrit and Pali, these robes are also given the more general term cīvara, which references the robes without regard to color.
• Buddhist prayer beads


  Also called malas, are a traditional tool used to count the number of times a mantras is recited, breaths while meditating, counting prostrations, or the repetitions of a Buddha's name. They are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions and therefore the term "Buddhist rosary" also appears.
• Buddhist New Year


  Celebrated for three days from the first full moon day in April. In Mahayana countries the new year starts on the first full moon day in January. However, the Buddhist New Year depends on the country of origin or ethnic background of the people.
• Vesak


  Buddha's Birthday is known as Vesak or Visakah Puja (Buddha's Birthday Celebrations). Vesak is the major Buddhist festival of the year as it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the one day, the first full moon day in May, except in a leap year when the festival is held in June.