HANNAH BISCHEL AND CLARA HASSEMER

Buddhism

Founders

Siddhartha Gautama (otherwise known as Gotama) is referred to as the Buddha. The word “Buddha” literally means “The Awakened” or “Enlightened One”

Historical Context of Founding

Buddha developed his thoughts on the path to enlightenment when he observed the presence of suffering in human life. He wished to provide an exit from suffering.

Symbols

Footprints of the Buddha- symbolizes the grounding of the transcendent (unhuman)

Dharma Wheel- “turning of the wheel of the law” which occurred when Buddha preached his first sermon.

Symbols

Stupas- symbolize where you can still experience Buddha’s presence

Three Jewels- symbolizes the Buddha, the dharma (teachings of the Buddha), & the sangha (the Buddhism community)

Deer- symbolizes when Buddha preached his first sermon in a deer park

Symbols

Statues and paintings of Buddha- symbolizes sacred energy, an aspect of Buddha’s teachings, or a movement in life

Mandala- symbolizes meditation & representation of sacred realms

Deities

Buddha- (563 BC-483 BC), the fully enlightened Buddha

Hotei- (830 AD-902 AD), Chinese monk. He is usually confused as THE Buddha & was very giving.

Medicine Buddha- healing nature of Buddha’s teachings

Buddha HoteiMedicine Buddha

Deities

Maya devi- mother of BuddhaSujata- offered food to Buddha when he was

performing long fasts before enlightenment

Maya devi Sujata

Place of Origin & Major Locations Today

Place of Origin- Buddhism began as an offspring of Hinduism in India. Buddhism and Hinduism both came from the same region in the world and used the same terminology.

Major Locations today:

Number of Followers and Roles of men/women

Around 376,000,000 followers currently.Buddhism does not consider women as being

inferior to men. They believe males and females have no great difference. In the family both husbands and wives are expected to share equal responsibility and complete their duties with equal dedication.

Spreading of the Religion

How

Why

Spread by sea from India to Southeast Asia and to China and by land from India through the Silk-route. Spread through relocation diffusion.

Buddhism has become so popular because it centers around peace. Buddha was said to be insightful and helped many people to obtain peace in their own lives.

Holy Books

The Diamond Sutra-urges readers to not be blinded by what has been told to them and believe what they think is right.

Tripitaka- is the oldest piece of writing with Buddha’s teachings in it.

Places of Worship

Buddhists can worship both at home or at a temple. It is not considered essential to go to a temple to worship with others.

If 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.

At a temple or stupa: They come in many shapes and symbolize fire, air, earth, water and wisdom.

Holy sites

Lumbini- the birthplace of the Buddha. Lumbini is situated at the foothills of the Himalayas in modern Nepal.

The Bodhi Tree-after he was enlightened, the Buddha meditated under the Bodhi tree without moving for seven days.

Bodh Gaya- the place where Siddhartha attained his Enlightenment. Buddhists consider it a place which should be visited or seen by a person of faith and which would cause awareness and understanding of the nature of impermanence.

Holidays of Buddhism

Buddhist New Year- three days from the 1st full moon in April.

Vesak (Buddha day)-celebrates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Buddha in one day. Celebrated on the first full moon of May.

Bodhi Day (Enlightenment day)-honors the enlightenment of Buddha on the 8th of December. You pray, meditate, and go to teachings.

Creation Story

Siddhartha was born prince of Nepal His father only allowed healthy people to see him.One day Sidhartha left the palace and saw an ill

person and a funeral.He realized people get old, get sick, and eventually

die. Siddhartha also saw a monk on his journey. The peaceful look on the Monks face entranced Siddhartha, and stayed with him forever.

Creation Story

It is said that after his discovery, Siddhartha decided he couldn’t live richly. He ran away and gave away all of his wealth.

He became a monk for 6 years. Siddhartha thought his questions weren’t being answered, so he refused food and water.

After a peasant girl offered him nourishment, he realized that these extreme practices were leading him nowhere.

Siddhartha sat under a fig tree to think (Bodhi tree). He sat there for 7 days in deep concentration . Finally, Siddhartha understood the answer to the question of suffering and became the Buddha.

Most important laws

The Four Noble Truths: 1. All life knows suffering. Nobody gets what they want out of

life. 2. The cause of suffering is ignorance and clinging. Wanting it

is the problem. 3. There is a way to end suffering. By learning not to want it. 4. This is the way to end suffering: The Eightfold Path.

In simpler terms-

The Eight-Fold Path

Right Understanding :Learning the nature of reality and the truth about life.

Right Aspiration :Making the commitment to living in such a way that our suffering can end.

Right Effort :Just Do It. No Excuses. Right Speech: Speaking the truth in a helpful and compassionate

way. Right Conduct: Living a life consistent with our values. Right Livelihood: Earning a living in a way that doesn’t hurt

others. Right Mindfulness: Recognizing the value of the moment; living

where we are. Right Concentration: Expanding our consciousness through

meditation.

Purpose of Life According to Buddhist

We exist because of karma- a cause and an effect. Each persons cause and effect are different.

Life is meaningful and worthiness should be discovered in the world because life has great significance.

Meditation helps with balancing the mind to get in a good state with the outside world.

End of Times Story

According to Buddhism, our lives and all that occurs in our lives is a result of Karma. There are 6 levels you can achieve after death:

1. Heaven-long lasting happiness 2.Human-life-you can be reborn over again as a human. 3.Asura-A spiritual state of Demi-Gods but not the happy state experienced

by the gods in the heavens. 4. Hungry Ghost-those who committed evil deeds and are obsessed with

finding food and drink which they cannot experience and cannot be satisfied. 5. Animal-If they have killed animals or done other evil acts they cannot

experience the freedom humans have. 6.Hell-constant state of searing pain and torture.

Influence on Art, Architecture, etc..

Influences on art: people make more metal sculptures, they paint miniature paintings using bright colors

The Buddhism stupas are a base for many other churches functions around the world

Influences on Art and Architecture

Tattoos- which represent Buddhism faithBuddha statues- represent Siddhartha’s

teachings

Works Cited

http://www.patheos.com/Library/Buddhism.htmlhttp://www.accesstoinsight.org/theravada.htmlhttp://www.thedhamma.com/whos_who.htmhttp://

buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/position.htmhttp://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/siddhartha.htmlhttp://www.sasana.org/sangha_noble.shtmlhttp://

www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/worship_1.shtml

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/bodgaya.htm

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma5/viewdeath.html