Buddhism

• Buddhism - arose in northeastern India sometime between the late 6th century and the early 4th century BCE
• Buddhism is founded by Siddhartha Gautama aka Buddha
• Buddha is a sanskrit word meaning "A person who is awake."
• Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to insight into the nature of reality.
• Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom.
• Buddha is not a name, but a title.
• What a Buddha is awake to is the true reality.
• A wise sage, Asita, told the king that Siddharta would not be the heir he so desired.
• Siddharta was soon blessed by the birth of his healthy child, Rahula.
• Prince Siddharta was 29 years old when his life changed.
• Siddharta sat in meditation beneath a Ficus tree "the Bodhi tree" until he awakened, or realized enlightenment.
• Buddhism started as early as 4th or 6th BCE when Siddharta Gautama began to spread his teachings of suffering, nirvana, and rebirth in India.
• Sacred symbols of Buddhism

  • Bodhi tree
  • The lotus
  • Dharma Chakra
• Bodhi Tree - Was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya, under which Siddhartha Gautama, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi.
• The lotus - can be analogous to how we rise from our sufferings to

  reach enlightenment, beauty, and clarity.
• Dharma Chakra - often used to represent Buddha himself.
• Dharma Chakra - has eight spokes, which represent Buddha's Eightfold path.
• SCRIPTURES: THE THREE BASKETS

  • Vinaya Pitaka
  • Sutta Pitaka
  • Abhidamma Pitaka
• Vinaya Piṭaka - “Basket of Discipline” the one that regulates monastic life and the daily affairs of monks and nuns according to rules attributed to the Buddha.
• Vinaya Piṭaka - Contains five(5) books detailing 277 monastic rules.
• Sutta Pitaka - consists of the main teaching or Dhamma. It is divided into five Nikayas or collections.
• Abhidamma Pitaka - consists of seven books called the higher or further teaching.
• Abhidamma Pitaka - This is a philosophical analysis and systematization of the teaching and seems to be the scholarly activity of the monks.
• TYPES OF BUDDHISM

  • THERAVADA BUDDHISM
  • MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
• THERAVADA BUDDHISM is prevalent in

  • Thailand
  • Myanmar
  • Cambodia
  • Laos
  • Sri Lanka
• Nirvana - A perfect state of enlightenment.
• God is rejected, Buddha, “The Awakened One”, revered above all—not as “God” but as Supreme Sage.
• Beliefs and Dogmas of Thervana Buddhism

  • Nirvana
  • No God or Deity
  • Evil
  • Salvation
  • Reincarnation
• 4 stages of enlightenment

  • Stream Enterer/ Satopanna
  • Once-returner/ Sakadagami
  • Never-returner/ Anagamin
  • Arahant
• Stream Enterer/ Satopanna - means the one who enter the stream; a person who realizes that he/she lives under an illusion and catches a glimpse of true path
• Once-returner/Sakadagami - one who has shed many of his attachments to worldly things and who will only have to be reborn once more before he can achieve nirvana.
• Never-returner/ Anagamin - one who never returns; a partially enlightened person who will not return to the human world after death, but exist among other partially enlightened beings.
• Arahant - means one who is worthy' an enlightened one who will never again be reborn.
• Practices of Buddhism

  • Meditation
  • Samatha
  • Vipassana
• Vipassana - This form of meditation is used to achieve insight into the true nature of things.
• Samatha - This is the earliest form of meditation and is not unique to Buddhism.
• Four noble truths

  • Dukkha
  • Samudaya
  • Nirodha
  • Magga
• In Hinduism and Buddhism, there is a cycle of Birth, Death, and Rebirth called Reincarnation.
• Buddha is not a name, but a title. It is a sanskrit word that means "a person who is awake.
• Nirvana - A perfect state of enlightenment. This is also called "Spiritual Bliss.