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Key Concepts
◦ Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the
attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life.
◦ Buddhism is a way of finding peace within oneself. It is a religion that helps us to find
the happiness and contentment we seek.
◦ Buddhists develop inner peace, kindness and wisdom through their daily practice; and
then share their experience with others bringing real benefit to this world. They try not to
harm others and to live peacefully and gently, working towards the ultimate goal of
pure and lasting happiness for all living beings.
◦ It has 376 million followers
◦ There is no belief in a personal god. Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or
permanent and that change is always possible.
◦ Buddhism is 2,500 years old
◦ The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, but
there are many more
◦ Theravada - 'the doctrine of the elders‘
◦ Mahayana - talks a great deal about the bodhisattva (the 'enlightenment being') as
being the ideal way for a Buddhist to live.
◦ The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of
morality, meditation and wisdom.
◦ Buddhism arose in northeastern India
◦ NIRVANA (transcendent freedom)
◦ ATMAN (“self” or “soul”)
◦ YOGA (“union”)
◦ KARMA (“causality”) – refers to action driven by intention (cetanā) which leads to
future consequences.
◦ Eight Path Folds – an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading
to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth.[2][3]
◦ TILAKHANA, or the three signs of existence. - Buddhists believe that life is both endless
and subject to impermanence, suffering and uncertainty.
◦ SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA – Buddha
The Buddha
◦ Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was born into a royal family in
present-day Nepal over 2500 years ago. He lived a life of
privilege and luxury until one day he left the royal enclosure and
encountered for the first time, an old man, a sick man, and a
corpse. Disturbed by this he became a monk before adopting
the harsh poverty of Indian asceticism. Neither path satisfied him
and he decided to pursue the ‘Middle Way’ - a life without luxury
but also without poverty.
◦ Buddhists believe that one day, seated beneath the
Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening), Siddhartha became
deeply absorbed in meditation and reflected on his
experience of life until he became enlightened.
◦ By finding the path to enlightenment, Siddhartha was
led from the pain of suffering and rebirth towards the
path of enlightenment and became known as the
Buddha or 'awakened one'.
BASIC DOCTRINES IN
BUDDHISM
The Three Jewels
◦- these are the core concepts of Buddhism.
◦1. THE BUDDHA – the perfection gained from
enlightenment, as exemplified by the life and
actions of Gautama Buddha.
◦2. DHARMA – refers to the teaching of Buddha,
which consists of the 4 Noble Truths, Eightfold
path and the FIVE Precepts
The Three Jewels
◦- these are the core concepts of Buddhism.
◦3. SANGHA – the monastic community which
guides believers toward achieving
enlightenment and perfection.
The Four Noble Truths
◦ The Truth of Suffering
◦ The Buddha declared that this world if full of suffering; that actual existence including
birth, decrepitude, sickness and death is suffering and sorrow. This is called the Truth of
Suffering.