Buddhism

A “ Nontheistic” Religion
Buddhism
 Siddharta Gautama- known as the Buddha, meaning the Enlightened One, the Awakened One or the One Who Knows

 He is also called Buddha Sakyamuni because he hailed from the Shakyan people who resided in the Northern parts of
India and Nepal.

Buddhist looks to the Buddha’s teachings in order to attain enlightenment but does not worship him 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.

Buddhism stands different from the majority of world religions because of its status as a “ nontheistic religion”.

 Buddhist Spiritual Canon- a list of books that define matters of doctrine and discipline. Most of these books contain
discourses between the Buddha and his disciples called SUTTAS (or sutras in Sanskrit). Canon also contains codes of
monastic conduct, commentaries, and stories about the Buddha and his disciples.

 Three Major Schools in Buddhism(Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana)

 Pali Canon- oldest canon, was written in the language that is close to the actual one used by the Buddha himself. Also
called the Tripitaka ( “The Three Baskets” .It is also the authoritative list of books adopted by the Theravada
School. It contains the Sutta-pitaka (sayings of the Buddha), Vinaya Pitaka (monastic rules of conduct), and the
Abhidhamma –pitaka (various philosophical writings)

 Mahayana School- has its own set of authoritative writings, which was sometimes similar to the Pali Canon, but with
additional body of authoritative literature from other sources. One main difference with the Pali Canon is the use of
Sanskrit in some of the works, which proves that they were intended for a broader audience who did not understand
the Pali language.
 Chinese Canon (Ta-ts’ang-ching)- was produced in the province of Szechuan during the 10th century C.E.
 Mahayana canon is divided into Agamas (similar to Pali Canon’s nikayas),vinayas (rules of monastic conduct), and the Abidhamma
(philosophical writings)
 Vajrayana school- has the most recent body of scriptural texts, which were translated to Tibetan.
 Tibetan Canon is divided into two:1. Kanjur- believed to be the words of the Buddha himself, 2. Tanjur- believed to be elaborations of the
Buddha’s teachings.
 Triple Gem- Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha….These three are the basis of “ taking refuge”-is a profession of one’s faith and an intention to put
oneself under another’s protection.
 The Triple Gem
 Buddha- refers to the inspiration from Siddharta Gautama. Taking refuge in Buddha means that the believer places his/ her faith in
Buddha’s teaching as a way to liberate oneself from suffering in this world.
 Dhamma- refers to the teaching of Buddha. Dharma means truth.
 Sangha- refers to the monastic order founded by the Buddha. Sangha preserves the teachings, and passes them on to future generations.

 THE FIVE PRECEPTS (Panca Sila)

 1.I take the precept to abstain from destroying living beings. ( killing)
 2. I take the precept to abstain from taking things not given. (stealing)
 3. I take the precept to abstain from sexual misconduct.
 4. I take the precept to abstain from false speech (lying).
 5. I take the precept to abstain from anything that causes intoxication or heedlessness (getting drunk or using illegal drugs.)
The Four Noble Truths
 1. Life is Suffering (Dukkha)
 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 path that leads from suffering (the eightfold path).
In Buddha’s first sermon, he explained that the way to enlightenment is to avoid two extremes:
1. Too much indulgence in one’s desires, which would dampen spiritual interest
2. Too much asceticism, which would destroy the body.

THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH

1. Right View- awareness of the law of Karma and the Four Noble Truths
2. Right Thought-avoiding thought of anger, greed, and illicit desire
3. Right Speech- avoiding lies, unkind speech, and frivolous talk
4. Right Action- avoiding evil acts, those against the Five Precepts
5. Right Livelihood- avoiding lifestyles and occupation that harm oneself and other beings.
6. Right Effort- doing one’s best in doing good things at the right time
7. Right Mindfulness- learning to be attentive to the present moment
8. Right Concentration- training the mind to be focused and calm
 Karma- belief in the law of cause and effect for one’s deed
 Samsara- cycle of birth and death
 Brahmins (priests)/sacrificing of animals was common during the Buddha’s time
 Ahimsa (practice of non violence)/prohibited the killings of animals
 Atman (self)- an obstacle to enlightenment because belief in any permanent or unchanging being is an illusion.
 Samyutta Nikaya- a wandering ascetic by the name of Vacchagota approached the Buddha

Buddhism believes that a human being is made up of five aggregates called Khandhas.
1. Matter
2. Sensation
3. Perception
4. Mental Formations
5. Consciousness
Mahasanghikas- group of monks adhered to a more lax set of rules and upset the others, who generally practiced a stricter monastic
rules.
Theravada- meaning “Teaching of the Elders” school established itself as an orthodox interpretation of Buddha’s teachings.
Abidhamma Pitaka-contained additional monastic rules and explanations orthodox doctrine.
Mahayana- meaning “The Greater Vehicle” school gained prominence.
Bhikkus (monks)
Bhikkhunis(nuns)
 There are existing record of monastic rules (Pratimoksa) for women (311 rules), which in fact outnumber monastic
rules for monks (227 rules).
 Vinaya- codes of discipline and practice
 City of Bodh Gaya- currently at Bihar State in India, is deemed to be the holiest site in the Buddhist world.
 King Ashoka- built the first temple in India.
Two reasons flourished in India
1. The Rise of the Turks
2. Syncretism-is the mixing of religious ideas and practices together, with one dominant religious system incorporating
certain features of another religious system.
VAISNAVA- the worship of the god Visnu, one of the chief divinities in Hinduism)
DEVA RAJA- (god king)- model of political rule
GRAND ASSIMILATION- wide acceptance of Buddhism in China
Buddhism made significant inroads into mainstream Chinese culture from the 4 th century onward.
PURE LAND AND CH’AN (ZEN ) SCHOOLS-philosophical schools that are indigenous to China. These schools flourished in the
Chinese mainland and later spread to Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
ZEN- is the Japanese version of Ch’an, a Chinese meditation tradition within the Mahayana school of thought. It also
comes from the word za-zen, which means to sit.
Koans- - snippets of saying or stories handed down from