Buddhism

outline the historical and cultural context in which Buddhism began

● Began as a branch which sprouted from hinduism

● Like hindus, Buddhists believe that there may be periods where the cosmos ceases and a new
order is created in its place, but something always exists
● Buddhism rejects the idea that people are bound to stay in the caste they were born into
● Offers a chance for development:
○ the system of reincarnation could be broken
● Began during an era that was characterised by economic plenty
● The teaching of ‘dukkha’
○ unsatisfactoriness contributed to this - Many ppl were not happy with what they had
● There was a new wave of thinking, focussing on searching within the person, rather than the
outside world to find the ‘absolute truth’
● These ‘holy men’ performed extreme fasting, not moving etc
● They all argued that the material world only produced frustration, rebirth and world weariness
but if the soul was discovered, it was possible to escape rebirths - samsara
● The buddha was able to attract a large following and institutionalised it before his death

examine the principal events of the Buddha’s life, including the enlightenment

● The term Buddha = enlightened one

● Siddhartha Gautama was an indian prince from modern day Nepal (563-483 BC)
● Siddhartha lived in luxury and never knew of suffering until he stepped outside his father’s
palace
● He saw a poor man, a sick man, a dead man and a holy man - he thought only the holy man
seemed happy
● He left his wife and son to pursue a life of holiness through ascetic practices
● At the age of 29 became a student of various ‘holy men’
● He remained frustrated at his lack of success in overcoming self doubt
● After 6 years of wandering and experimenting with teachings, Siddhartha meditated under the
Bodhi tree and achieved enlightenment
● It enabled him to be detached from all desire and affirmed the truth of the new system of
thought he developed
● Under this tree Siddhartha established the beliefs and philosophies of Buddhism

explain​ why the Buddha is the model of Buddhist life

● Source of inspiration
● The buddha is a model of one who achieved enlightenment and so shows that it is possible
● The buddha’s teachings act as a guide for other people
● Forbearance
○ He fought off spirits - had dedication to unveiling the false nature of reality and the
self
● Truth over Luxury
 ○ Prince left his father's palace - finding the truth was more imp.
● Wisdom and Insight
○ Poor, sick, dead - dedicated himself to explaining why life was bound by suffering
● Tolerance and Inclusiveness
○ His system is a tool to help, not a dogma that has to be believed

describe the early formation of the Sangha within the first five years, including Mahapajapati’s
request for a female Sangha

- Sangha = community
- Conventional sangha - community of monks and nuns only
- Noble sangha = only those who have achieved wisdom

Formation of the Sangha

- Began when buddha gave his 1st sermon to 5 hindus where he taught the 4 noble truths and
the 8 fold path
- At first the sangha only consisted of arhant disciples
- Grew from 60 to 1250 in 7 months
- The buddha didn’t travel within the rainy season and a certain king gave him a bamboo grove
for his residence and other donations enables the sangha to continue their practice
- The sanghas most imp. Task was to recite the words of buddha and agree on what he had said
- They wandered about india preaching buddha's philosophy
- In this way, the idea of monastic life developed
- The vinaya texts outline how monks and nuns should live

Mahapajapati
- Was the Buddha’s aunt and stepfather
- Raised the prince from birth
- She was eager for there to be a female order of the sangha as it did not exist yet
- She asked the buddha three times if women could join - he refused every time
- She again approached him with other women who were all looking like monks - he agreed
that there could be a female sangha
- The buddha provided a system of thought and views that was open to all not just the priests
- The idea that a woman could join an order of philosopher monks was radical, Buddhism
began to eradicate the class and sexual differences

identify the importance of the first two councils in the development of Buddhism

1st Council
- At Rajagriha after buddha died
- Contents of the buddha’s teachings were settled
- Codified most of the rules for how a monk or nun should live in the Vinaya
- Responsible for the formation of the Pali Canon (Tripitaka)

2nd Council
- Held at Vaishali 70 yrs later
 - Some monks were attacked for receiving money
- The splits in the council led to the formation of Mahayana Buddhism

The first two councils were important for the development of Buddhism as they allowed members of
the community to overcome problems that arose after the death of Buddha. He was the ultimate source
of authority, so the members of the Sangha had to agree on precisely what he said to maintain unity.
Once the teachings were compiled and authenticated, they formed a new authority for the community.

outline the unique features of:

- Buddhism is divided into 3 main groups

- The theravada is considered to be the original. - more traditional
- Mahayana - less traditional

– Theravada Buddhism

- Claim their form of teaching and monastic behaviour is the oldest

- Promote the idea of nirvana can only be achieved by those who dedicate themselves totally to
the buddha’s message
- Through personal experience, analysis, thought and meditation
- Achieving nirvana with the assistance of wise ppl. Of the sangha
- The buddha is the only person to achieve enlightenment on their own
- Arahat - someone who eliminated desire for reincarnation and achieved nirvana
- Emphasis on monks

– Mahayana Buddhism

- Began in India
- Breakaway from the original
- Changed monastic rules, adapted texts and rejected some changes made in the 1st council
- Madhyamika - middle way between. self and non-self
- Yogacara - rigourous meditation (yoga) is the most effective method for approaching the truth
of existence
- There are 10 stages along the path of becoming a bodhisattva
- Adapted chinese culture
- Promote the buddha as a teacher and transcendent being
- Driven by the personalities of bodhisattvas
- Nirvana can be achieved easily and sometimes easily achieved
- More inclusive than theravada
- Work not only for personal development but also to achieve nirvana for all beings

– Vajrayana Buddhism

- Developed in tibet
- Vajra - diamond
- Arose from mahayana thinking
 - Concentrates on accessing the real core of existence
- Prajna​ - discriminate between reality and illusion
- More spiritualised and mystical than mahayan
- Infused with elements of hinduism, animism, occultism and magic
- Emphasises experience over emptiness
- Dalai lama

• define The Three Jewels

– Buddha
- The buddha is an example of someone who has achieved enlightenment
- To some he is no more than an example, to others the buddha is recognised as a deity to
whom one can pray and ask favours
- Buddhist statues and images

– Dharma
- The dhamma is the means to achieve enlightenment (the teachings of the buddha)
- The words that buddha spoke
- Recited in ritual
- Used as a code for living and the basis of philosophy

– Sangha
- The sangha is the community journeying to achieve nirvana
- Spiritual guidance, help with meditation and advice on how to live life
- Sangha - can refer to the whole buddhist community

• describe the significance of The Four Noble Truths

- Simple plan to follow to achieve enlightenment

The Four Noble Truths
1. All is suffering (dukkha)
2. The cause of suffering is attachment to (or desire for) life ​Tanha
3. There is a way out of suffering
4. The way out is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path

1. Suffering is woven into the fabric of life

2. We are continually seeking to be satisfied - this thirst leads to disappointment

3. The cessation of Dukkha is called Nirvana

- the state of not desiring
- it is a state that can be achieved by those still alive (called arahat)

4. The eightfold path is the way to put buddhist theory to practice - it is the means to end
suffering
 - the avoidance of two extremes of desire and asceticism - known as the middle way

The Middle Way

1. Right seeing or understanding - making sure that things are seen for what they are
2. Right Thought - consider how important it is to be angry - there is no point
3. Right speaking - people should not lie - but only tell the truth for the moment - eg hiding jews
4. Right action - people should act the right way
5. Right livelihood - help the world in the work they do
6. Right effort - people should act in the best way that they can
7. Right Mindfulness - think clearly about the world, especially through meditation
8. Right concentration - sit quietly - meditate

• examine the beliefs of

– Anicca
- The absence of permanence - impermanence
- Buddhism rejects all ideas of certainty
- Not even the self is a certain unchanging entity
– Dukkha
- ‘Suffering’
- Linked to the five needs of personality
- The self depends on 1 - the material shape of the world 2 - feelings or emotions 3 - the need to
process sensory or mental objects 4 - actions by which people define themselves 5 -
discriminative consciousness
- What causes suffering is that all these are illusions
- The world is empty
- The cosmos in one, people are all one
- Individuality is a social and psychological construct
- Dukkha refers to the suffering of the self
– Anatta
- Anatta is the idea of non self or the absence of an individual self
- The mind is a constant flow of unstable mental states
- To accept anatta leads one to accept that there is nothing that separates the self from all
existence
- Individuality is a false construction

• recognise the connection between Karma and Samsara

Karma
- Natural law, the law of moral causation
- Actions and attitudes have repercussions
- The repercussions can affect people in their life now
- Explains how all beings are influenced by intentional actions that accumulate reactions
- The energies created in one life accumulate and pass into another
- It encourages good behaviour - as one hopes for a better rebirth in one’s next life
- Buddhist vegetarianism - aren’t cutting short the journey of a soul
Samsara
- The doctrine of rebirth
- Metaphorical system for the endlessness that accompanies unenlightened life
- Nirvana is the only way to break such an unending cycle
- The karmic force created continues after the body ceases to exist

• outline the importance of Nirvana in Buddhism

● The end point of all evolved souls

● Nirvana means to blow out or extinguish
● Nirvana is the extinguishment of all desire for life
● A state of nothingness, a release from samsara
● The buddha only spoke about it in a negative way
● Achieving nirvana is ceasing to exist and becoming one with the world
● Goal of buddhist - exiting samsara
● In nirvana all ignorance, desire and suffering are gone
● The term is interchangeable with enlightenment

• identify the importance of:

– Tripitaka

- The sacred text for theravada buddhism

- A collection of the buddha’s sermons
- Instructions for monastic discipline
- And a philosophical discussion of his teachings
- The texts containing buddha’s words are called sutras
- Tripitaka - three baskets - three sections of the pali canon
- Vinaya - monastic rules
- Sutta - buddha’s sermons
- Abhidhamma Pitaka - philosophical and theological discussion of the sermons

– Lotus of the Good Law

- Sacred text of Mahayana Buddhism

- Second of three works known as the threefold lotus
- Teaches that all people can reach nirvana - instead of a select few scholars and monks
- Emphasis on devotion and faith vs meditation and asceticism

– Tibetan Book of the Dead

- Vajrayana most significant text

- Read to people as they were dying
- Tells of four phases which people travel through after death
- Offers advice on how to find the heavenly realm
 - Insight into tibetan buddhist cosmology and teachings on the mind, consciousness, death and
reincarnation

• outline the principal ethical teachings in Buddhism

- Buddhist ethics do not consist of a set of rules or commandments

- Scriptures provide general guidelines for ethical behavior but few moral issues are discussed
- The Vinaya (monastic code) are aimed for monastics
- The ethics are based on the twin principles of causing no harm of any sort to living beings,
and striving for the welfare of all beings

Vinaya

- The 8fold path shows ethics are central to the lifestyle of a monk or nun
- The need to show compassion for everything they do
- The vinaya rules are designed to remove members of the sangha from situations in which
desire might arise
- Limitations on the social activity of the monk/nun
- To practise compassion towards all sentient beings

The Five Precepts

- The vinaya is for monastics whereas there are 5 precepts laid down for lay people
- It is recommended to not engage in:
1. Killing living beings
2. Taking what is not given
3. Sexual misconduct
4. Speaking falsely
5. Taking drink and drugs that confuse the mind
-

• describe the importance of ethical teachings in the life of adherents

- Buddhist ethical teachings are expressed in the five precepts and the vinaya

• outline puja as celebrated in the home

Puja - To honour

- Can be performed in the home or at the temple

- Personal devotion or ritual is called ​puja
- A way to engage the heart and all energies to purify ourselves from negativity and develop the
positive energy
- A means of experiencing the otherness of life - life free from suffering
- Expressing gratitude, devotion and acknowledgement of the Buddha and ​bodhisattvas
 - Meditation is the means of experiencing positive energy and devotion
- Personal - not considered worship
- A way of integrating the ​dhamma
- The shrine is not a place of worship but a place where meditation can focus on the higher
things of life and achieving positive energy

Buddha Shrines and Images

- Reminds one of the qualities of perfect wisdom and perfect compassion of the Buddha
- Serves to inspire
- They pay respect by:
- Folded Palms: expresses deep reverence to the triple gem
- Prostration: in front of an image of Buddha, to overcome egoistic feelings, recall
buddha’s qualities to develop respect
- Offerings to create positive energy and develop good qualities such as giving
- Offering of light - wisdom
- Offering of incense - pure moral conduct
- Offering of water - purity, clarity and calmness
- Offering of fruit - enlightenment
- Offering of flowers - impermanence of beauty

The Lotus Flower

- Represents the potential of enlightenment

- Likened to the buddha - rose out of suffering like a lotus out of muddy water