Ethics

• Siddhartha Gautama


  One who has achieved his aim, Gautama was his clan name
• Sakyamuni


  The sage of the Sakyas
• His early life in the palace

  1. Raised as a Hindu

  2. Assumed he would succeed his father

  3. Predicted to become either a universal monarch or a monk

  4. Raised in a state of luxury
• His four journeys/visions


  1. Disturbed by seeing an elderly, helpless, frail man

  2. Saw a thin and depressed man suffering from diseases

  3. Saw a grieving family carrying a corpse

  4. Saw a religious person begging for money
• Seeking the solution to human suffering

  1. Tried meditation but it could not extend forever

  2. Joined a group of students of Brahmanism and practised breath control and fasted intensely

  3. Realised neither extreme mortification nor hedonism would lead to enlightenment

  4. Pursued a "Middle Way"
• Attaining enlightenment


  1. Developed the ability to recall events of his previous reincarnation

  2. Was able to see the good and bad deeds that led to subsequent reincarnations

  3. Had progressed beyond "spiritual defilements"

  4. Attained Nirvana
• Nirvana


  A state of liberation and freedom from suffering
• After his enlightenment


  1. Assumed the title of the Lord Buddha

  2. Preached his first sermon containing his teachings

  3. His five followers accepted his teachings and became monks
• The Buddha's later life

  1. Wandered around Northeast India for decades

  2. Had thousands of followers and reached a large public following

  3. Established an order of monks and nuns

  4. His health began to fail in his late 70s

  5. Died because of natural causes
• Dharma


  His teachings
• Vinaya


  His code of rules for monks and nuns
• Tripitaka


  The collection of the Buddha's teachings in written form
• Sutras


  Discourses, commentaries and traditions
• Budai


  Also known as the "Laughing Buddha", depicted as Maitreya (the future Buddha)
• Important Buddhist holy days


  • Buddhist New Year
  • Vesak or Visakah Puja (Buddha Day)
  • Mangha Puja Day (Fourfold Assembly)
  • Asalha Puja Day (Dhamma Day)
  • Uposatha (Observance Day)
  • Kathina Ceremony (Robe Offering Ceremony)
  • Anapanasati Day
  • Abhidhamma Day
• Morality


  Preliminary stage on the path to attain Buddhahood, necessary condition though not sufficient, leads to wisdom, essential for enlightenment
• The five Buddhist precepts

  • Do not kill
  • Do not steal
  • Do not indulge in sexual misconduct
  • Do not lie
  • Do not take any intoxicant
• The eight precepts


  • Do not kill
  • Do not steal
  • Do not indulge in sexual misconduct
  • Do not lie
  • Do not take any intoxicant
  • To refrain from taking food after midday
  • To abstain from indulging in any pleasurable activities as well as materialistic
• Different branches of Buddhism

  • Theravada
  • Mahayana
  • Tibetan
• The three jewels


  • The Buddha
  • The Dharma (the teachings)
  • The Sangha (the community)
• Hinduism has no specific origin or founder
• Sanatana Dharma


  The eternal teaching
• Hinduism is a complex tradition with numerous interrelated religions, doctrines and practices
• Samsara


  The cycle of rebirth
• Karma


  The universal law of cause and effect
• Sacred days of Hinduism


  • Holi
  • Diwali
  • Maha Shivaratri (Shiva Ratri)
• Dharma


  Good conduct, enhances life, attains prosperity and fame, here and hereafter
• Ethics


  The science of conduct, the study of what is right or good, shows how human beings should behave, contains systematised principles on which a man should act
• Ethics, spirituality and religion

  Ethics is the cornerstone of Vedanta (God realisation), strong pillar on which the edifice of Bhakti Yoga rests, yogic students must be strictly ethical
• Benefits of the practice of ethics include being a gateway to religion, leading a moral or virtuous life to attain freedom and perfection, living in harmony, keeping your conscience ever clean, not deviating from the Dharma of righteousness
• Ethical codes in Hinduism - Yamas (self-restraint or proper conducts)

  • Non-injury
  • Truthfulness
  • Non-stealing
  • Sexual purity
  • Patience
  • Steadfastness
  • Compassion
  • Honesty
  • Moderate diet
  • Purity
• Ethical codes in Hinduism - Niyamas (religious observances or practices)


  • Modesty
  • Contentment
  • Charity
  • Faith
  • Worship the Lord
  • Scriptual listening
  • Cognition
  • Sacred vows
  • Incantation
  • Austerity
• Foundational principles of Hindu ethics

  There is one all-pervading Atman, the innermost soul of all beings, pure consciousness, the world is nothing but your own self
• Indicators of right and wrong

  • That which gives elevation, joy and peace to the mind is right, that which brings depression, pain and restlessness is wrong
  • That which helps your spiritual evolution is right, that which obstructs and hinders it is wrong
  • That which leads to unity of self
• Branches of Hinduism


  • Shaiva (the God Shiva)
  • Vaishnava (the God Vishnu)
  • Shakta (Goddess)
  • Smarta (understand the ultimate form of the divine to be abstract and all encompassing, Brahma)