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Chapter Four
Buddhism
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Life of Buddha
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Siddhartha Gautama—c. 563-483 B.C.E.
Legend of birth—white elephant
Born a prince of Shakya tribe
Death of mother a week after childbirth
Prophecy of Hindu priests—two possible
directions of life
Great ruler following in the footsteps of his father
 Great spiritual leader if he ever sees suffering
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©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Life of Buddha
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Father’s reaction to prophecy
Shelter him from seeing suffering
 Train him to be a ruler
 Marriage and fatherhood
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Siddhartha’s disobedience
Left the royal grounds
 Visited a nearby town
 Saw suffering of others and was changed by it
 Saw the Four Passing Sights
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©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Four Passing Sights
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An old man, crooked and toothless
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A sick man
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The suffering associated with illness
A corpse being taken for cremation
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The suffering associated with old age and poverty
The suffering of grief
A sannyasin (Hindu wandering holy man)
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A man with no possessions who seemed at peace.
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Search for Answers
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Left family and gave up possessions
Sought a guru to help him find spiritual
answers
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Sought truth through asceticism
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Became convinced that gurus did not have the
answers
Almost starved to death and realized it did not help
him find the answers
Sought truth through meditation and practiced
moderation
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Enlightenment
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As he meditated under a tree, Siddhartha
reached a state of profound understanding,
called his Awakening or Enlightenment or
Bodhi.
Continued meditating for a time
Became a traveling teacher, sharing his insight
Found disciples and established a Sangha (an
order of monks and nuns)
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Dying Words of Buddha
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As Siddhartha died after a long life, he called
his disciples together and said,
 “You must be your own lamps, be your own
refuges. Take refuge in nothing outside
yourselves. Hold firm to the truth as a lamp
and a refuge, and do not look for refuge to
anything besides yourselves.”
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Influence of Hinduism
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Rejection of some Vedic or Hindu practices or
concepts
Ritualism
 Reliance on priests
 Caste system
 Concepts involving any permanent spiritual reality
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Brahman
 Atman
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©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Influence of Hinduism
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Adoption of some Hindu concepts
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Ahimsa—doing no harm to any living creature
Reincarnation—Though each person does not have a
soul, the elements of personality that make that person
recombine after death to be reborn
Karma—moral law that determines the direction of
rebirth
Samsara—the everyday world of change, pain and
suffering
Nirvana—This Buddhist concept of liberation from
Samsara is very similar to the Hindu concept of
Moksha
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Basic Teachings
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The Three Jewels
The Buddha—an ideal human being to be
emulated, not usually thought of as being dead, but
as existing in a timeless dimension beyond the
world
 The Dharma—all the Buddhist teachings about
how to view the world and how to live properly
 The Sangha—the community of monks and nuns
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©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Basic Teachings
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The Three Marks of Reality
Change—Change is inevitable and constant.
Everything lacks the permanence we would like to
see in it.
 No permanent identity—since everything changes,
there is no soul or individual identities that persist,
no atman.
 Suffering—Dukkha means life is full of
dissatisfaction, suffering and sorrow.
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©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Basic Teachings
The Four Noble Truths
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To live is to suffer. The constant inevitable
change of reality causes anxiety, loss, anguish
Suffering comes from desire. Suffering is
caused by the fact that even if we get what we
desire, we start desiring something else, so our
desires are never satisfied.
To end suffering, end desire. People must learn
to control desires and accept their circumstances
in order to stop suffering
Release from suffering is possible and can be
attained by following the Noble Eightfold Path
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Basic Teachings
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The three main goals of following the Noble
Eightfold Path
1.
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3.
To face life objectively
To live kindly
To cultivate inner peace
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Basic Teachings
The Noble Eightfold Path
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4.
Right understanding—“I recognize the impermanence of
life, the mechanism of desire, and the cause of suffering
Right intention—“My thoughts and motives are pure,
not tainted by my emotions and selfish desires.”
Right speech—“I speak honestly and kindly, in positive
ways, avoiding lies, exaggeration and harsh words.”
Right action— “My actions do not hurt any other being
that can feel hurt, including animals; I avoid stealing and
sexual conduct that would bring hurt.”
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Basic Teachings
The Noble Eightfold Path
5.
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8.
Right work—“My job does no harm to myself or
others.”
Right effort—“With moderation, I consistently strive to
improve.”
Right meditation—“I use the disciplines of meditation
(dyhana) and focused awareness to contemplate the
nature of reality more deeply.”
Right contemplation—“I cultivate states of blissful,
inner peace (samadhi).”
©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Buddhist Festivals
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Since Buddhism is prevalent in several
cultures, the cultures have an impact on what
festivals are held and when they are celebrated.
The most important festivals focus on the
following:
The birth of Siddhartha Gautama
 The enlightenment of Buddha
 The death of Buddha
 The new year
 Sometimes a commemoration of the dead
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©2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.