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Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Horace Greeley Hs Chappaqua, NY
Religions of South Asia
Buddhism in the Subcontinent
Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE)
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Born in NE India (Nepal).
Born a prince – lived life of
luxury.
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His father had premonition that
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he would leave
Showered Siddartha with everything
he could want in palace walls
At 29 – Siddartha leaves palace to
go on a walk, encounters suffering
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Lived a strict, ascetic life for 6 yrs, gives up
everything!!!!!!
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Is guilted by suffering, cannot forget it
Leaves palace to find cure for suffering
Ends up poor, hungry and suffering himself
Rejecting this extreme, sat in meditation, and
found nirvana. (Under tree)
Became “The Enlightened One,” at 35, found
“Middle Way”
The essence of Buddhism
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There is a “middle way” or “middle
path.”
Too much or too little of anything is
bad.
We must achieve the middle path,
but HOW?????????
End the cause of suffering????
What is the fundamental
cause of all suffering?
Desire!
 Therefore, extinguish the self,
don’t obsess about oneself.
Four Noble Truths
1. There is suffering in the
world. To live is to
suffer. (Dukkha)
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The Buddha found this out when
he was young and experienced
suffering and death in others.
Suffering includes illness, envy of
others, hatefulness, being
imperfect, losing loved one, etc.
Four Noble Truths
2. The cause of suffering
is self-centered desire
and attachments.
(Tanha)
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Grasping for pleasure
Grasping for acceptance
Grasping for anything we don’t
have, jealousy
Four Noble Truths
3. The solution is to
eliminate desire and
attachments.
(Nirvana = “extinction”)
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How can we eliminate our
desires?
Is it humanly possible?
Four Noble Truths
4. To reach nirvana, one
must follow the Eightfold
Path.
Eightfold Path
Nirvana
 The union with the ultimate
spiritual reality.
 Escape from the cycle of
rebirth.
Until one reaches enlightenment, continue
cycle of rebirth
Based on Karma (Hindu word)
Buddha – 19c Thailand
Buddha’s
head :
2c
Pakistan
Buddhist Altar
Theravada Buddhism
 The oldest school of Buddhism.
 The “Way of the Elders” or the
“Small Vehicle.”
 Found in southern Asia.
 The monastic life is the best way
to achieve nirvana.
 Focus on wisdom and meditation.
 Goal is to become a “Buddha,” or
“Enlightened One.”
 Over 100,000,000 followers today.
Theravada Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism
The
Dalai
Lama
Buddhism in America (1999)
Distribution of Buddhism
Centers in the US, 2001
th
10
Annual western buddhist
monastic conference
California, 2004
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