Download Gotama Buddha, Founder of Buddhism

KS3 Religious Studies
Gotama Buddha – Founder of Buddhism
KS3 Religious Studies
Gotama Buddha, Founder of Buddhism
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Learning objectives
Who was Gotama Buddha and how did he become
the founder of Buddhism?
What does ‘Buddha’ mean?
In which countries is Buddhism widely practised?
What are the main beliefs of Buddhism?
Why are there statues of the Buddha?
How important is the Buddha to Buddhists today?
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Who was Gotama Buddha?
Gotama Buddha was the founder of Buddhism.
He lived around 2500 years ago in India.
He gained the title of Buddha, meaning ‘the awakened one’,
when he became enlightened at the age of 35.
For the next 45 years he taught the Noble Eightfold Path
to enlightenment and the end of all suffering.
The wheel is the
main symbol of
Buddhism. It
symbolizes the
Noble Eightfold
Path to
enlightenment.
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Who was the Buddha?
The Buddha was born in 563 BCE and
grew up in Kapilavastu (then in India,
but now in Nepal). Before he became
the Buddha he was known as Prince
Siddhartha Gotama.
Kapilavastu
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Gotama leaves home
Prince Gotama left the palace and went into the city of
Kapilavastu. He saw four sights that changed his life:
An old person
An ill person
A corpse
A holy man
He realized that we all get
old, we all get ill, we all die,
and that it’s possible to find
religious solutions to these
problems, and to be happy
without being rich.
Gotama realized that life involves suffering. He
gave up his life as a prince and set off to find
out why people suffer. He was 29 years old.
Why do you think Gotama left home?
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His enlightenment
Gotama went to live in the forest, in the company of five
wandering holy men. He ate only the minimum to stay alive,
but, after six years, he realised he was no closer to knowing
the meaning of life. He then decided to live a life between
the extremes of luxury and self-denial.
Buddhists believe that Gotama
became fully enlightened while
meditating under a Bo tree at
Bodh Gaya. He experienced
perfect peace and awareness of
the cause and end of all suffering.
He became the Buddha, the
Enlightened One.
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His first sermon
The Buddha decided to teach others the path to
enlightenment and gave his first sermon in the deer park at
Sarnath. His teachings are called the Dhamma.
The Buddha’s
teachings include:
The Four Noble Truths
The Five Precepts
The Noble Eightfold Path
How did the Buddha achieve enlightenment?
What effect did this have on him?
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The Buddha’s life map
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