Download Lesson 2

Who was the Buddha
The Buddha’s Early Life
Little Buddha (6_12) Movie
CLIP - Gates to the Kingdom
(1993) HD.wmv
Summary of his life….
Little Buddha (7_12) Movie
CLIP - Show Me Death
(1993) HD.wmv
o
He was born a prince (Siddartha Guatama)
o
He was kept in his palace to protect him.
o
He escaped one day and saw sick and dying people.
o He decided to leave to the place to search for
answers.
o
He sat under a tree and achieved enlightenment.
There is more that we need to know to fully understand
how Siddartha Gautama became enlightened (Buddha).
It was not an easy process to become enlightened and
took many years. Siddartha found a teacher (guru) who
would help him to find the answers. Siddartha was
particularly concerned to find the answers to the following
questions:
1.
Why do people grow old
2. Why do people get sick
3. Why do people die
He tried a few different teachers. He then joined a group of
ascetics. Ascetics are people who deprive themselves of things
such as food and shelter and who also use pain as a way of
gaining enlightenment. However, the result of all this was
unsuccessful and he felt no closer to answering his questions.
This is Siddartha walking away from the ascetics
It was after
being an Ascetic
that Siddartha
realised that
starving and pain
are not the way
to truth and
happiness. This
was the basis for
the ‘Middle Way’
idea of the
eightfold path
How to understand Enlightenment
The Buddha wanted to understand how life worked and
The answer to the three questions below.
Ever been in school and tried to work something out
For ages – and not get anywhere?
But suddenly, out of nowhere you just know it! That
nice feeling you get? That understanding?
That’s Enlightenment!!
1.
Why do people grow old
2. Why do people get sick
3. Why do people die
It was at this point that he decided that he would meditate
and contemplate these important questions. He found a tree
and sat under it for many, many days on end.
Temptations
of Mara
The night before the
Buddha attained
enlightenment, Mara, an
evil devil type of
creature tried to tempt
him. Mara did this by
sending his three
daughters, Tanha
(desire), Raga (lust), and
Arati (aversion), to
seduce him and break
his concentration.
Buddha was too strong
and managed to maintain
his concentration.
Is Mara Real?
The Buddha never spoke about God, devils or demons.
Therefore it is not generally part of the Buddhist religion to
believe in such things.
However, some Buddhists think of the temptations of Mara as
literal event. They see Mara as a devil-like creature who tries
to tempt us away from enlightenment.
Others think of the story as symbolic, with Mara representing
that part of our human nature (condition) which is weak and
gives in to temptation.
Either way, Buddhists believe that the Buddha had to resist
Mara, in order to become the Buddha.
Activity One
• Read Buddhism by Denise Cush
pages 11 – 26
• Produce a Mind Map highlighting the
most important aspects of the Buddha’s
life.
Question One
• ‘I travelled through
the round of
countless births’
• What is this quote
from the
Dhammapada
referring to?
1 mark KU
Question Two
• Summarise the
main events in the
Buddha’s life from
the start of his
ministry (teaching)
to has death.
4 marks KU
Question 3
“The story of the temptations of Mara and the
Buddha’s enlightenment are obviously false. They
didn’t happen so the story is unimportant for
Buddhists.”
Do you agree with the above statement? 4 Marks A/E
Peer Assessment
• When you are done, swap your answers
with your neighbour.
• Read carefully. Is there anything which
could be added to make their answers
even better?
• Your teacher will go over the answers too!
Homework
Please complete Homework One for
Monday.
This is a summary of the work we have
done today.
Have a nice weekend!!!!