buddhism miss isler trimester 1 world religions. origins india 500’s bce challenging brahmin...
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Buddhism
Miss IslerTrimester 1
World Religions
Origins
• India• 500’s BCE• Challenging Brahmin priests- Hindu
religion• Siddhartha Gautama- BuddhaSiddhartha Gautama- Buddha• Search for Wisdom
The Story
• Gautahma born 563BCE• Lived in Palaces near Himalayan
Mountains, trained to be Royalty• Never saw pain because in wealthy
family• Finally saw suffering, and
astonished• Knew life a cycle of pain and only
way to escape is through wisdom
Story continued…
• Around age 29, Gautama left his wife and child and joined wandering, homeless band to seek wisdom
• 6 years, ate 1 grain of rice a day• Sought wisdom through harsh
discipline and suffering• Gained only pain, not wisdom
Wisdom- 4 noble truths4 noble truths
• Mediated regularly• Buddha= “the enlightened one”• 4 noble truths:4 noble truths:
– Everything in life is suffering and sorrow– Cause of all pain is people’s self-centred
cravings and desires- no point in seeking pleasure because only lasts for short time
– Way to end pain is to end all desires- reaching Nirvana Nirvana (absolute happiness)
– People can overcome their desires and find enlightenment by following the Eightfold Path
Eightfold PathEightfold Path
• A staircase, mastering one step at a time– Right knowledge– Right purpose– Right speech– Right action– Right living– Right effort– Right mindfulness– Right meditation
• All leading to NirvanaNirvana
Love
• Should treat all living things (insects, humans, flowers, etc.) with Love and Kindness- because they believe in reincarnationreincarnation
• Taught in the vernacular vernacular • Everyone equal (men, women, lowborn,
highbown)
Rise of Buddhism
• First accepted by Mauryan Ruler, Ashoka, around 200 BCE– Warrior king– After hearing his words cause his troops to
massacre 100,000 captives, he turned to Buddhist ruling
– Produced EdictsEdicts (public announcements) of Buddhist teachings around his empire
– Spread his word into current day Sri Lanka and Syria- cause of why Buddhism one of the largest religions today
Today
• Followed in China, India, Ceylon (formerly Sri Lanka), Tibet, and other far eastern countries due to the Silk RoadSilk Road
• Map• In Tibet, the religious
and political leader is the Dalai Lama-Dalai Lama- a monk who is considered a man who refused nirvana to look after humans
Texts and Messiah’s
• Text– Buddhism was spread through oral historyoral history– Own regions have their own scriptures, but no , but no
universal scriptureuniversal scripture– Theravada (in India, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Thailand, etc.) use the TipitakaTipitaka (Three Baskets)- 1 book for nuns and monks, 2 book for Buddhist teachings, 3 for interpretation of teachings.
• Messiah– No messiah– No praying towards God– meditation– See Buddha as the leader, but do not pray to
him
Festivals/Celebrations
• Only one major festival- Buddha’s birthday
• Called WesakWesak- full moon during May
Why Buddhism?
• People look to eastern religions because they are looking for direct spiritual experiences.
• Christianity, Judaism, and Islam rely too heavily on rules and regulations
• Buddhism and Hinduism are more about meditation, contemplation, the spirit
Buddha
• “I am is a vain thought. I am not is a vain thought. I shall be is a vain thought. I shall not be is a vain thought. Vain thoughts are a sickness. But after overcoming all vain thoughts one is called a silent thinker.”