Download Lecture: 4. Buddhism

4. Buddhism
I. Origins
A. Siddhartha Gautama (c. 560-480 B. C. E. )
1. Early life
- son of a minor ruler who sheltered
his son from the sufferings of the world
to avoid the fulfillment of a
prophesy
Ashoka Column Lumbini, Nepal
- by age 13 Gautama began to receive
glimpses of human suffering:
the Four Signs:
> an old man
> a diseased man
> a rotting corpse
> an ascetic
the
- unhappy, he became determined to find
meaning of human suffering and left his
family, comfortable life, and inheritance
behind to do so
- Gautama first studied with a guru,; he then joined a group of five wandering monks
and practiced severe asceticism, but still found no answer
- after rejecting his studies and severe asceticism and having eaten and enjoyed a full
meal, he sat under a fig tree, began to meditate and achieved enlightenment
- he came to realize that it is people’s desires that bring suffering and causes karma
that results in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth
- Buddha gave his first sermon to his former companions at Deer Park
B Buddha’s Teachings (dharma – law)
1. The Middle Way
2. Anatman (No Self)
- the soul does not exist
- human personality is
comprised of five skandas:
physical body, feelings,
understanding, will and
consciousness
- like very compound human
personality is unstable and
will come apart
- karmic energies will bring
together a new set of five
skandas > reincarnation
3. The Four Noble Truths
> suffering is inevitable as it is part
of the human condition
> suffering is caused by self-centered
desires and cravings
> suffering can be overcome by
eliminating our self-centered desires
and cravings
> the way to achieve this is to follow the
Eightfold Path
4. The Eightfold Path
- right views, right intention > attitude
- right speech, right action, right livelihood
> actions
- right effort, right mindfulness, right
concentration > meditation
4. Nirvana
- once self-centeredness and desire are extinguished, one can live on the
level of universal compassion and joy (nirvanic consciousness)
- freedom from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth
- arhant > one who has attained nirvana
Buddha’s Parinirvana
C. Practice
1. Lay followers
- expected to observe five
basic rules (precepts): no
killing, lying, stealing,
improper sexual activity and
intoxicants
- support the monks and
nuns with food, clothing and
life’s necessities
2. Monks
- were to lead a modest and celibate
life and be the epitome of virtue
avoiding dishonest, harmful and
frivolous activity
- they shave their heads, wear course
saffron robes and possess only a
beggar’s bowl
3. Nuns
- toward the end of his life Buddha
agreed to allow women into the
monastic order
- an important alternative to marriage
“I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dharma; I take refuge in the
Sangha” (The Three Jewels)
Buddha
Tongdo-sa, South Korea
Houses relics of teeth and bone
Dharma
Haein-Sa, South Korea (built 1488)
- houses the Tripitaka Koreana
(over 81,000 wood blocks, 6,791 volumes)
Sangha
Bulguk-Sa, South Korea
D. Innovations
- Unlike Hinduism
> no one was excluded from the monastic order
> Nirvana was achieved only through individual effort
> undermined the caste system and role of the Brahmins
- Unlike Jainism
> women as well as men could achieve Nirvana
> vegetarianism was not required
II. Development of Buddhism
A. Division
1. a council met a year after Buddha’s death to settle differences in interpreting
his teachings, but failed as did a second council held in 390 B. C. E. and a
third called by Asoka in 247 B. C. E.
2. division remained permanent:
- Hinayana (Theravada)
- Mahayana
B. Spread of Buddhism
1. Asoka (r. 268-232 B. C. E.)
- sent out missionaries to
non-Indian people
2. The Silk Road
Sokkuram on Toham-san
C. Theraveda Buddhism (the lesser vehicle, the
tradition of elders)
1. Tripitaka (Three Baskets) written in Pali
- contain works on monastic conduct,
Buddha’s discourses, doctrinal
principles
2. People achieve enlightenment through
their own efforts and meditation only
3. Monks
- seek lives of meditation and self-denial
and live in the Sangha
- when they achieve enlightenment
they become arhants (saints)
- when they die they achieve Nirvana
- one can become a monk for a short
period of time
4. Lay followers
- try to live by the five precepts
- focus on earning merit through
supporting the monks, building
temples, helping the community,
etc.
- goal to achieve good things in
this life and a better position in
the next life
5. Buddha
- his relics (arahats) are revered
- Jataka Tales > tales of Buddha’s
previous lives to illustrate the moral
values needed to become a Buddha
and are a common theme in art
6. Wat – Buddhist complex of buildings
Angkor Wat, 12th century, Cambodia
Can Tho, Vietnam - Munirangsyaram Pagoda
6. Meditation
- Sammatta > involves intense
concentration to achieve spiritual
states that open the path of
enlightenment
- Vipassana > insight meditation
that strives for sudden, intuitive
realization of Buddhist truths
Big Goose Pagoda, Xi’an, China
Stupa at the Silver Pagoda, Royal Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
D. Mahayana Buddhism (The Greater Vehicle)
1. Tripitaka and the Sutras (Sankrit)
2. Basic Assumptions
- In addition to the teachings openly taught by
Buddha, there are principles he shared with
only a few of his followers
- Buddha is a godlike being who came to earth as
a man due to his compassion and desire to
help humankind
- that there are also other compassionate Buddhas
worthy of respect and veneration in the
cosmos (allowing the incorporation of local
gods into Buddhist practice)
- Bodhisattvas
> enlightened individuals who
delayed achieving Nirvana
to help others attain
enlightenment
> some live in heaven, others on
earth; all respond to prayers
for help
> worshiped as saviors
Avalokiteshvara
- Dharmakaya > there is a universal
reality everywhere (Void, Nirvana,
Buddha-Nature) that everyone is
capable of realizing and any effective
means can be used to do so
3. Pure Land Sect (Ching-t’u Judo)
- believe in many Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas including the Dhyani
Buddhas that preside over heaven
like lands where virtue can be
cultivated and evil does not exist
- focus is on Amitabha who presides
over the Western paradise called the
Pure Land
- the goal is to achieve after death
eternity in the Pure Land by leading a
virtuous life and reciting Amitabha’s
name
- monks may marry, have children and
live in the world
- worship may take place in a church
where sermons are heard and prayers
are offered to Amitabha
4. Intuitive Sects (Ch’an, Zen, Cho)
- founded in the 5th century by the monk,
Bodhidharma
- focus on meditation as a means to
intuitively (as opposed to rationally)
receive truth
- study of texts, monastic discipline,
temples and images are important, but
only direct insight can bring
enlightenment
- Koans > case studies or riddles used
in meditation to confuse reason
so that truth (a flash of insight)
can be found
- Zen principles of beauty, simplicity
and profound thought have
influenced many aspects of
Japanese culture
Shao Lin Temple in Henan Province, China –Home of the Fighting monks
This Chan Buddhist Monastery founded in 495 C. E. uses Martial
Arts (King Fu) as a means to discipline the body and mind.
5. Rationalist Sect (T’ien-t’ai, Tendai)
- in order to ascertain the truth of Buddhist
teachings one must study the Buddhist
scriptures as well as meditate
6. Sociopolitical Sect (Nichiren > Sun Lotus)
- Nichiren was a 13th century Japanese
Tendai monk who rejected all the
Buddhist scriptures except the Lotus
Sutra which states the existence of a
universal truth (Buddha nature) that
is found in all life making attainment
of enlightenment possible for all people
- chanting, studying and teaching the Lotus
Sutra is the basis of the practice
- claimed the source of Japan’s internal and external problems were due to the
following of false sects
- strongly patriotic and intolerant taught that once Japan was purified it could then
reach out to the rest of the world
Soka Gakkai International
Focus on the Lotus Sutra
7. Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana, Bon,
Tantric)
- a form of folk Buddhism that
blended Buddhism and traditional
Tibetan religion
- similar to Mahayana Buddhism but
also relies on magic and manuals
(tantras) that contain the incantations
and spells that are used to help deal
with the unknown and achieve
enlightenment
- use of the phrase, “om manu padme
hum” (“Om, the jewel in the lotus,
hum”) to invoke the Bodhisattva,
Avalokiteshvara, the patron of Tibet
revered for his great compassion
Mahakala is the fierce manifestation of Avalokiteshvara
- Lamas (Superior Ones > Monks)
> from the 9th century the kings gave the lamas
land and right to collect funds from its
inhabitant and the monasteries became very
wealthy and powerful
> by 14th century Tibet was ruled by the lamas
> Red Hat School
- Bardo Thodol (Book of the Dead)
> Yellow Hat School
- Dalai Lama
Prayer Wheel
- Dalai Lama
> 1950 China invaded Tibet and established a
puppet government
> 1959 failed revolt led by the Dalai Lama
who escaped with his followers to India
> spokesman for peace and human rights and
Nobel Prize winner
> Buddhism and the monasteries had been
repressed by the Chinese, but repression is
loosening
- March 2008 demonstrations against Chinese
rule over Tibet
E. Buddhist Syncretic Religions
1.  Cao Dai
> a reformed sect of Buddhism founded in Vietnam
in 1926 based on the revelations received by Nho
Van Chien
> a universal faith that contains elements of
Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity that
stresses prayer, simplicity and social justice
2. Hoa Hao
> a reformed Theravada Buddhist sect founded in Viet Nam in 1939 by the
Buddha and Prophet Huynh Phu So
> contains elements of Buddhism, Confucianism and Animism
> advocates a pure and simple religious practice
III. Buddhism Today: Revival
A. Reasons for the Revival
1. Translation of Buddhist Texts by Christian missionaries in 19th and 20th
centuries
2. Rise of Asian nationalism after World War II decline of colonialism
3. Its message of peace and tolerance compelling in the modern nuclear age
B. Missionary Impulse in Today’s World
1. Socially engaged Buddhism
- focus on non-violence, compassion
2. In the East
- China > renewed interest after 1949
repression and the Cultural Revolution
- Korea and Japan > Buddhism remains
strong
Sokkul-Am Buddhist Grotto,
South Korea
3. In the West
- Post Viet Nam War > immigrants from Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia and
Thailand and
Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara – Los Angeles
- Westerners Adopting Buddhism
> Beginning of Western Zen
attributed to Japanese Soyen Shaku
who had attended the1893 World’s
Parliament of Religions and returned
in 1905 to the U. S. in 1905
> Adaptation – focus on meditation,
social and ecological responsibility