BuddhismAn introductory exploration

Blue: Loving kindness, peace and universal compassion

Yellow: The Middle Path - avoiding extremes, emptiness

Red: The blessings of practice - achievement, wisdom, virtue, fortune and dignity

White: The purity of Dharma - leading to liberation, outside of time or space

Orange: The Buddha's teachings - wisdom

Simple Facts of Buddhism

• Flag of Buddhism • World population: ~350 million

believers worldwide• Theraveda Buddhist Scriptures: Pali Canon

(Tipitaka)• Geographical divisions of Buddhism share

original teachings of Buddha, but have developed into three distinctions within Buddhism:– Theraveda Buddhism

• oldest surviving– Mahayana Buddhism

• dominant Buddhist school, ~150 million• East Asian Buddhism• Tibetian Buddhism

Outline of Buddhism

• Pali Canon (Tipitaka): – Vinaya Pitaka: dealing with rules for monks and

nuns – Sutta Pitaka: discourses, mostly ascribed to the

Buddha, but some to disciples – Abhidhamma Pitaka: variously described as

philosophy, psychology, metaphysics.

• Pali Canon is the scripture collection of the Theraveda Buddhist tradition.

• Pali is the language– Pitaka means basket

• tipitaka means three basket

Outline of Buddhism

• Bodhi – to attain enlightenment or awakening, release from suffering by following the teachings of Buddha.

• The Middle Way - The primary guiding principle of Buddhism. Discovered by the Buddha prior to his enlightenment (bodhi).

Outline of Buddhism

• Refuge in the Three Jewels– three things that Buddhists give themselves to,

and in return look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.

• Buddha – example of Buddha– Or more loosely, the wisdom that understands Dharma, and

in this regard the Buddha represents the perfect wisdom that sees reality in its true form

• Dharma – teachings/laws as expounded by Buddha

• Sangha – community of those who will help others attain bodhi (enlightenment).

Outline of Buddhism

Four Noble Truths – There is suffering (dakkha)

– There is a cause of suffering — (tanha –

selfish craving/desire)

– There is the cessation of suffering (hope, belief)

– There is a way leading to the cessation of suffering — the Noble Eightfold Path

Outline of Buddhism

• Noble Eightfold Path – path to an end of suffering

– Divided into three parts

• Śīla – morality, which concerns wholesome physical actions

• Samadhi – developing mastery over one’s mind, meditation and concentration of the mind

• Prajñā - concerns spiritual insight into the true nature of all things, which is wisdom that purifies the mind

Life of Gautama

• Born: ~ 563 BC in Lumbini, northern India• Born to a king• Born with special markings (32 signs of a Great

Man)– Mother (Queen Maya) dreamt of a white elephant

entering her side and she became pregnant – The White Elephant was the Buddha-to-be, resided

as an ‘enlightened existence’ in one of the six deva-heavens

– Soothsayer: Gautama will be either a great king or a great holy man

Father – wanted Gautama to become a great king– Protected Gautama from the ugliness,

suffering of the world by keeping him in the castle

– Enticed and tempted Gautama with pleasurable things of the world

– As Gautama got older he begged to go out of the castle to see the world

– Father swept the outside world of all ugliness in order to protect his son from seeing suffering

Four Sights• Age 29, Gautama goes on four trips out of the castle

and sees four sights that change his worldview

– Old man – suffering– Sick man – disease– Dead man – death– Ascetic man – quest for Truth, release from suffering

• Deeply depressed Gautama escapes the castle in the night to seek deeper meaning of life.

• THE GREAT GOING FORTH– His spiritual quest begins, exchanges rich clothes for

simple clothes and becomes a mendicant ascetic.

Wandering Ascetic

• Asceticism believed to be a powerful practice to overcome weakness of body.

• Asceticism seeks moksha by overcoming the weakness of the body.

• Pleasure is bad– Extreme fasting– Holding one’s breath– Exposure to bodily pain

• Gautama nearly starves himself to death without getting any closer to enlightenment

Middle Way• Gautama realized, after nearly dying, that

asceticism is actually counter productive.

– Self-hating practices that brought little spiritual benefit

– One becomes stuck on self while the goal is to transcend one’s self.

• Middle Way is a way of proceeding that exercises moderation between self-indulgence and self-mortification

Fig Tree

• Revived from near-death by young girl, dedicates himself to meditation.

– Mindfulness of breathing to purify oneself of defilements and as a way to nirvana

• Lotus position under fig tree, vows not to leave until he found “complete and perfect fulfillment” (Brodd, 72).

Battle with Mara• Mara

– psychological darkness within each of us to make our own worst fears real

– Literal belief that Mara was a demon

• 3 Lusty Daughters of Mara– Delight– Desire– Discontent

• Was neither attracted nor disgusted by these three things• They remained powerless over Gautama

• Defeated Mara, Gautama enters deeply into an inward spiritual journey

Three Watches under the Fig Tree

• First Watch – “Gautama perceived his own previous lifetimes…[his] continuous journey of suffering” (Brodd, 73) .

• Second Watch – “acquired the divine eye, the ability to perceive the deaths/rebirths of all living things” (Brodd, 73) .

• Third Watch – Discovers Four Noble Truths– With this Gautama attained enlightenment –

reached spiritual perfection and had thus won his salvation

– Became the Awakened or Enlightened One

Deferred Nirvana

• Nirvana– State of non-physical eternal bliss that is

ultimate salvation

• Buddha resists the temptation to pass into Nirvana– His compassion compels him to stay to teach

others the lessons of his spiritual journey