Download Lesson Two The Religion of Buddhism

Lesson Two
The Religion of Buddhism
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The Religion of Buddhism
I. A Background of Buddhism: The 3 Jewels
1) The Buddha: Siddhartha Gautama
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
Born a Hindu in 560 BC at Lumbini near the border of India (now
Nepal)

Traditions says a prophet said he would become the greatest ruler
in human history. The seer said if he saw 4 things – sickness, old
age, death, and a monk who had renounced the world – the boy
would give up his earthly rule and discover a way of salvation for
all mankind.
 Gautama’s father built a palace for his son, giving orders that
neither the sick, old, a dead body, or monk would be allowed
near the palace. He grew up protected from the world.
 One day as he rode through the park that surrounded his
palace, he saw a man who was covered with terrible sores, a
man tottered with age, a corpse being carried to its grave, and
a begging monk who appeared to be peaceful and happy. That
night, as Gautama reported later, he began to think about the
look of peace on the face of the monk. He began to wonder if
there was more to life than the luxuries of his palace. He then
took a last look at his sleeping wife and son and at 29 he left
the palace forever determined to solve the riddle of life.
 Then he tried to find salvation through self-denial by starving
himself.
 He experienced nirvana and found salvation after sitting under
a tree for 40 days and 40 nights.
 From then on, he was known as Buddha, or ’the enlightened
one.’ 1
Ridenour, Fritz. So What’s the Difference? A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths, and Religions and How They Compare to
Christianity. Regal: Ventura, California, 2001, pp. 98-107.
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The Religion of Buddhism
2)The Dharma

The Dharma are Buddha’s teachings about the path that leads to
liberation and enlightenment.
“Since the Buddha has purified all obscurations and reached the
state of total liberation and enlightenment, he is a true refuge;
he actually can protect us from suffering. He saw the perfect
path which leads to liberation, and that perfect path is the
Dharma.
The Dharma explains the path to perfect happiness and gives us
the tools we need to develop inner peace and happiness.”
– Khenpo Samdup2
“Don’t focus on the individual, focus on the Dharma. Don’t
focus on the words, focus on the meaning.” -- Buddha

The Dharma of Scripture contains volumes of Buddha’s teachings
(sutras) and their commentaries. There are over 100 volumes of sutras
and over 200 volumes of their commentaries.
“It’s important to understand that everything the Buddha
said, the Dharma, is completely perfect….Someone who has
reached the state of enlightenment and is therefore completely
omniscient can only show the completely perfect path. There is
no possibility of misinterpretation if everything is understood and
seen perfectly.”
– Khenpo Samdup3
2
Samdup, Khenpo. Learning Buddhism: Source of Temporary and Permanent Happiness. Chaman
Enterprises: New Delhi, 2013, pp. 1, 7.
3
Samdup, p. 9.
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The Religion of Buddhism
3) The Sangha
 The
Sangha are those who are on the path to liberation and
enlightenment.
 To
be part of the Sangha means to help one another and share the
weight of heavy burdens.
 There
are two types of members: ordinary & exalted. The ordinary
are those who are seeking to follow the path. The exalted are those
who have attained certain stages of authentic, unmistaken
realization.
“The Buddha is observed as the Doctor, the Dharma is the
medicine, and the Sangha are the nurses who help us.” 4
– Traci Black
II. The Teachings of Buddhism
1) The 4 Noble Truths
 There is a reality that suffering is universal.
 There is a cause for suffering.
 People remain in this endless cycle because they are too
attached to their health, wealth, status, and physical comfort.
They are ignorant of the nature of reality, and they fall victim to
‘tanha’ (attachment, desire).
 There is a cure for suffering.
 The cure is to overcome ignorance and eliminate craving. If a
person could remove craving from his life, suffering would end.
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A Conversation with Traci Black, President of Losel Shedrup Ling Tibetan Buddhist Center of
Knoxville, August 13, 2014.
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The Religion of Buddhism
 There
is a path that can lead you to the cure of suffering.
 The path of practice is a collection of methods that develop the
noble qualities and virtuous qualities such as love and
compassion.
 There is an 8-Fold Path which a Buddhist can rid himself of tanha:
 Right Viewpoint
 Right Aspiration
 Right Speech
 Right Behavior
 Right Occupation
 Right Effort
 Right Mindfulness
 Right Meditation
 As you reach enlightenment, you reach nirvana, a release from
the endless cycle of death and rebirth.5
2) The Belief of Karma
 Karma is defined as an action, a cause and effect. We make actions
based on our intentions.6
 There are 10 non-virtuous actions that create non-virtuous karma.
 Actions of the Body: taking the life of another, stealing, sexual
misconduct.
 Actions of Speech: lying, harsh speech, idle chatter, divisive
speech
 Actions of Mind: covetousness, harmful intent, not believing in
karma
5
Ridenour, pp. 98-107.
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The Religion of Buddhism
“Unlike other religions, the Buddha Dharma does not
explain the existence of the world as having been created
by an all-mighty Creator. Instead, the Buddha Dharma
explains how all the phenomena arise through the
functioning of karma, cause and effect. All of the
experiences that we sentient beings have are the results of
causes that we ourselves have created. Everything is a result
of the functioning of karma, or karmic interdependence.”
– Knenpo Samdup7
III. The Major Differences Between Buddhism & Christianity
1) A Different View of Jesus
 Christians
claim that Jesus is the way to Heaven and our fulfillment.
Buddhists claim to have found the way.
 Christians
believe Jesus is God. Buddhists would hold Jesus as a good
teacher but not as important as Buddha.
2) A Different View of Salvation & The After Life
 Buddhists
believe the only way to rid oneself of selfish desire was
through self-effort. Christians believe Christ gives us the strength we
need to fight these desires (John 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:17).
“I have shown you the way and the method to attain liberation.
Now, whether or not you attain liberation is up to you.” – Buddha
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20
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Samdup, p. 42.
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The Religion of Buddhism

Buddhists believe when we die we experience a loss of consciousness
for a brief time and go through an in-between phase (Bardo). We then
take on another life (reincarnation). Christians believe when we die our
souls immediately pass into heaven or hell. When Jesus returns, we
will receive new bodies.
3) A Different View of God

Buddhists claims that God’s existence is irrelevant. Christians believe in
a personal God Who is the maker of Heaven and earth.
“As Buddhists, we don’t believe that an all-mighty Creator is
responsible for our situation, we believe that our situation is our
own creation and comes from our own actions of virtue and
non-virture. What we experience now is the fruition of our past
actions. Instead of feeling that somebody else is responsible for
our happiness and suffering, we know that those experiences are
the fruition of our karma and that our own virtuous and
non-virtuous actions of body, speech and mind make our
happiness or suffering.” – Knenpo Samdup8
4) A Different View of Holy Writings
 Buddhists
believe that you can add to the teachings of Buddhism, and
anyone who has reached nirvana can write new teachings. Christians
believe the Holy Bible has ultimate authority and nothing can be added
to its teachings.
8
Samdup, pp. 42-43.
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The Religion of Buddhism
Group Discussion Questions
1. What did you learn about Buddhism?
2. How would you share your faith with a Buddhist?
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