Download Introduction to BUDDHISM

Introduction to BUDDHISM
What is your world view?
• Most of us have a tendency to judge the
actions of historical individuals and people
through the lens of our own contemporary
values.
• To attempt to understand the ideas,
philosophies, and beliefs of another culture,
we need to grasp that culture’s world view.
• We need to be able to put ourselves in
someone else’s shoes.
Beginnings of Buddhism
• To understand Buddhism
and its origins, we need to
learn about the outlook of
the Ganges and Indus
Valley inhabitants and
society in the 5th and 6th
centuries B.C.E.
• We need to know
something of the Buddha’s
life and his early followers’
world view.
Who was Buddha? Where did he come
from?
Was Buddha a man or a god?
•
• In early forms of Buddhism, Buddha is
most definitely a man. As the religion
changes and adapts, the Buddha is
deified, or made into a more god-like
figure.
• Buddhism originated in what is today
modern India, where it grew into an
organized religion practiced by
monks, nuns, and lay people.
• Its beliefs were written down forming
a large canon, or outline of religious
beliefs. Buddhist images were also
devised to be worshiped in sacred
spaces. From India, Buddhism spread
throughout Asia.
Who was Buddha? Where did he come
from?
• Try to imagine what life was like
in early India, particularly in
towns and villages of the
Ganges Valley in the foothills of
the Himalayan mountains in
what is now the country of
Nepal.
• This is the area in which the
Buddha (Siddhartha) was likely
born, in about 560 B.C.E. Every
year the river flooded the valley
destroying crops. Monsoons
came every year too, creating
famine. There were also severe
droughts and disease such as
dysentery and cholera.
Evolution of Buddhism
• The Brahmanas (the Hindu
priests) chanted the Vedic hymns
and offered fire sacrifices to
Brahma. However, they did not
improve conditions for the
common man.
• From the earliest times, Hindu
society was stratified. Castes
were firmly established in the
economy with the Brahmanas the
creators and perpetuators of a
social order highly favorable to
themselves.
The Middle Way
• One of the Buddha's greatest spiritual
accomplishments was the doctrine of
The Middle Way. He discovered the
doctrine of the Middle Way only after
he renounced the extreme practices of
the forest dwellers.
• The Buddha lived among the forest
dwellers as an ascetic for some time.
This experience convinced him that
one should shun extremes. One
should avoid the pursuit of worldly
desires on the one hand and severe,
ascetic discipline on the other.
• Buddha did not think of himself as the
creator of a new religion. Rather, he
felt the need to purify the religion of
his day.
Concepts of Buddhism
•
• Samsara (a Sanskrit word) literally means a "round" or a
"cycle." In the ancient Indian worldview this means the
endless cycle of rebirth and death—there is no beginning
and no end. This endless cycle is governed by karma
(causality).
• How do people (beings) move about in this world? The
answer is karma. Karma means action or deed. Every
action has a result. Karma is a built-in universe scale for
good and evil—good leads to good result and visa versa.
• Karma transgresses from one life to another. It
determines how a being will be reborn (higher or lower).
Upward mobility is possible.
Concepts of Buddism
• How does one achieve salvation?
• All is cyclical. All is painful. Even
Gods suffer. The goal is Nirvana.
Nirvana is extinction. Where is
Nirvana? Nowhere. Nirvana is
outside the vertical concept of the
universe.