Buddhism

By: Ella Hans, Lily Schutzenhofer, Yiyao Wang, and Dua Ansari

Origins of the Buddha

● Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism,

was born in 563 B.C.E

● Siddhartha was a warrior son of a king and queen

● He was sheltered from the outside world as a child

● At the age of 29, he took four chariot rides where

he saw four examples of human suffering: old age,

illness, death (a corpse), and birth

● After seeing how the suffering contrasted with his

life, he tried severe renunciation in the forest

Origins of the Buddha (2)

● He traveled in the forest for six years until the

point of starvation

● This did not help so he came back to his to try

something else

● Determined to enlighten himself, he sat under

a Bodhi tree and began to meditate

● He was in meditation for 49 days and was

being tempted by Mara (spirit of the world)

the entire time

● On the 49th day he reached enlightenment

and became Buddha

● The first sermon he gave was an explanation

Origins of Buddhism

● Buddhism arose in Northern India somewhere between the late 6th century and

early 4th century

● Many believe Buddhism was founded because of the discontent with Brahmic

sacrificing and rituals.

● People began to start to look for more of a personal and spiritual connection to

their religion.

● Buddhism, like many of the sects that developed in northeastern India at the time,

was constituted by the presence of a teacher, by the teachings this leader made

known, and by a community of adherents that was often made up of renunciant

members and lay supporters.

Beliefs & Practices

of Buddhism:

Karma● Contrary to what is accepted in contemporary society, the Buddhist interpretation

of karma does not refer to the determination of your fate

● Karma is the good or bad decisions or actions one takes in their lifetime

● Good karma:

○ Can happen in the absence of bad actions or in the presence of good actions

○ Good actions such as generosity, righteousness, and meditation lead to

happiness and good karma

● Bad karma:

○ Bad actions, such as lying, stealing or killing, cause unhappiness in the long

run.

Nirvana

● Nirvana by definition is ‘freedom

from the endless cycle of personal

reincarnations, with their

consequent suffering, as a result of

the extinction of individual

passion, hatred,and delusion’

(dictionary.com)

● Nirvana occurs when you reach

the highest point of enlightenment

and closest connection to Heaven

The Four Noble Truths of suffering

1. The Noble Truth of Sorrow. Birth, age,

disease, and death all lead to Sorrow.

2. The Noble Truth of the Arising of Sorrow.

Sorrow arises from thirst, which leads to

rebirth, which leads to rebirth from that

life, and then passion and delight

3. The Noble Truth of Stopping of Sorrow. It is

the complete stopping of the thirst, no

passion, and being released from these

desires

4. The Noble Truth of the Way which Leads

to the Stopping of Sorrow. It is the Noble

Eightfold Path which consists of following

all of the sections of the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path is a path Buddhists follow to lead them to

Awakening and allow them to go through the painful cycle of rebirth. It

teaches about constraining oneself, discipline, and mindfulness

Right View and Right Intention

The right view means, a person believes in Buddha and his teaching. A Buddhist

must believe that they can realize an Awakening the same way the Buddha

originally did. Most Buddhists focus on the 3 Jewels during this time which are

Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

The right intention is focused on making sure people practice Buddhism for the

right reasons, they are not being forced to practice or have bad motives for being a

Buddhist.

Right Speech and Right Action

Right speech is an ethically based practice

that tells Buddhists not to gossip, or engage in empty

talk. They always try to speak positively and

meaningful words, less about quantity and more

about the quality of what you have to say.

Right action is also ethically based, it states

that Buddhists should not engage in any harmful

actions such as murder, stealing, or any violent actions.

Buddhists should seek people of peace and make peace

with all living things.

Right Effort and Right Livelihood

Right effort is necessary because the actualization of Awakening is a difficult

task. A buddhist must strive vigilantly with a positive attitude and tireless resolve to

achieve the Awakening, and anything else needed for a Buddhist lifestyle.

Right livelihood means that one’s job should be consistent with the buddhist

path, this is closely related to right action. Buddhists should not cause any conscious

being to suffer violence, they may not hold jobs as , butchers, fishermen, or hunters. Or

serve in a harmful military role.

Right Concentration and Right mindfulness

Right concentration relates to the

Buddha’s practices, focuses on discipline of the mind.

You must concentrate on present reality and not

dwell on the past or anticipate the future, this is also

referred to as mindfulness. Being fully present in

every moment, and striving diligently to develop

concentration skills.

Right mindfulness occurs at the same

time as Awakening will, it focuses on how to be in

the same mindset the Buddha was in. Until there is

an Awakening one cannot practice right mindfulness.

Customs of Buddhism:

Customs at Home and at the Temple

● At home Buddhists will often set aside a room or a part of a room as a shrine.

There will be a statue of Buddha, candles, and an incense burner.

● Buddhist temples come in many forms, but common known ones are the pagodas

Japan and China.

● Temples are built on:

○ Water

○ Air

○ Fire

○ Earth, symbolized by the square base

○ Wisdom, symbolized by the pinnacle at the point

Mandala ● One of the richest visual objects in Tibetan

Buddhism is the mandala.

● It is a symbol of the universe

● The mandala represents the imaginary place you

go during meditation

● According to Buddhist scripture, mandalas

constructed from sand transmit positive energies to

the environment and to the people who view

them.

Meditation ● Meditation is a mental and physical course of action that a

person uses to separate themselves from their thoughts and

feelings in order to become fully aware of your

surroundings and mental state.

● Classical meditation methods use the meditator's own

breathing. They just sit and concentrate on their breathing

and do not do anything to alter the way they breathe.

● Another way is counting to ten breathing in, then counting

to ten breathing

Sects of buddhism

Sect

s of

Buddhis

m

● Buddhism divided into two sects:

○ Theravada

○ Mahayana

● After the death of Buddha, a general council met to

discuss and gather the principles, doctrines, and texts of

Buddha

● The fourth council then codified the key doctrines of

Buddhism and these principles of Theravada Buddhism

● A newer school of Mahayana Buddhism had started

to form for about two centuries and was now starting

to rival Theravada

● They claimed to take more Buddhists to Nirvana

Buddhism v.s Hinduism

The Differences and Similarities ofBuddhism to HinduismBuddhism:

● Had a founder (Siddhartha Gautama)

● Original Script (The Mahayanas)

● Monks

Hinduism:

● Origins from

Aryan invaders

● Brahmin priests

● Caste system

Similarities:

● Sacred calendars

● Sacred languages

(Sanskrit and

Pali)

● Belief in Karma

and rebirth

Current Day Buddhism

Modern Buddhism

● As a religion today, Buddhism is known for its diversity and acceptance

● Buddhism has had trouble with involvement in government and political conflict

through the years

● Some countries, such as China, tried to wipe out Buddhism during the 20th

century

● In other countries, it is now a cultural staple

○ They have temples and museums dedicated to the beliefs and practices of Buddhism

○ They have Buddhist university where they teach of Buddhism traditions

● In countries such as Burma (Myanmar), Monks are protesting the

Primary Source #1: Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Law,

the Eightfold Path, and the Four Noble Truths

This piece was written by Gautama Buddha, who was a first an Indian prince, but

then he witnessed the sufferings of life and decided to become a buddhist. He wrote

this piece after his enlightenment, and he thought he needed to educate people about

buddhism so they can get the benefits of the “truths” and end their sufferings as

humans. In Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Law, he talked about how some people

are having too much desires in life and those desires should be prohibited, and how

some people just plainly suffer. And the “buddha”, which means “he who has arrived at

the truth

Sources

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- Irons, Edward A. (2008). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York, New York: Infobase Publishing.

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http://www.patheos.com/library/buddhism/historical-development/modern-age

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October 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism/Buddhism-in-the-contemporary-

world#toc68770

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https://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/