Download Buddhism…

Buddhism…
The “middle way of wisdom and
compassion”
AGE of RELGION:
2500 years old
Began around 500 B.C.
500
BC
2000 1000
BC BC
1
AD
2010
AD
1000
AD
Where was Buddhism founded?
Began in India,
spread
throughout Asia
MONOtheistic or POLYtheistic?
Like Hinduism, this is confusing.
NON-theistic ( no worship of gods)
They do believe in spirits, but they
don’t worship them
Buddha is not a god, only a teacher
Basic Beliefs
Like Hindus, Buddhists believe in…
Reincarnation - soul is reborn into
another body after death
Karma – good and bad actions done
during one’s life (affect you life after
death)
Birth
samsara
Death
Life
Nirvana
What did the Buddha teach?
The Four Noble Truths: to give up
greed/selfishness
1.
2.
3.
To live is to suffer
The cause of suffering is selfishness
The solution is to eliminate selfishness thus achieving
Nirvana
4.
The way to Nirvana is through the “Eight-Fold Path”
NIRVANA (Beliefs)
1.
Nirvana is a peaceful state of mind
Achieving Nirvana means escape
from the cycle of rebirth
3. Reached by following the Middle Way through
the 8 fold path
2.
Beliefs
Eight fold path - 8 rules to follow to
achieve Nirvana
Wisdom:
•Right understanding
•Right motivation
Moral discipline:
•Right speech
•Right action
•Right livelihood
Mental discipline:
•Right effort
•Right mindfulness
•Right meditation
What are some Buddhist texts?
Tripitaka– earliest collection of
Buddhist teachings
Vinaya (“discipline”) – rules for monastic life
Sutta (“discourse”) – sermons of the Buddha
Abhidhamma (metaphysical “teachings”)
Holy Places
Bodh Gaya, INDIA
Birthplace of
Buddhism
This where Buddha
reached Nirvana and
became enlightened
FOUNDER:
Buddha “The Enlightened One”
Also know as Siddhartha Gautama
Who was the Buddha?
Born Siddhartha Gautama – of noble
caste in India, 563 B.C.E.
Raised in great luxury to be a king
Empathy for the suffering of others; at
age 29 rejected the life of luxury to seek
enlightenment and the solution to
suffering
The Spread of Buddhism
Within two centuries
after the Buddha
died, Buddhism began
to spread north and
east into Asia
By 13th century
Buddhism had
disappeared from India
Countries where Buddhism is a
major religion…
India, China,
Japan, Thailand,
Cambodia,
many other
Asian countries