Download Buddhist Beliefs

High School Lesson Plans
Buddhist Beliefs
Teacher’s Guide
by Robert Van der Waag, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
©The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
Updated: August 2011
http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu
Lesson Plan Group
Grade Level
Lesson Plan Type
Time Allotment
Student Objective
Learning
Objective(s)
Buddhist Beliefs
9-12
Unit
3 Days
Introduce students to core beliefs of
Buddhism
Identify and explore core religious beliefs
in Buddhism
Examine denominational differences in
Buddhism
Directions
Demonstrate understanding of these core
beliefs and denominational differences by
using various media, completing
worksheets, and discussing post-activity
questions
Discuss the Pre-Activity Questions in
class. Use the On-line Resources to aid
with the class discussion. Then read the
summary Buddhist Beliefs and do the
activities. Finally, discuss the PostActivity Questions.
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Pre-Activity Questions:
1. Identify Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha).
2. Identify nirvana.
3. Identify dharma.
4. Identify the Four Noble Truths.
5. Identify the Eightfold Path.
6. Identify dukka.
7. Identify tanha.
8. Identify samsāra.
9. Identify karma.
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On-line Resources:
The following Internet sites provide easily accessible information about Buddhism. You can use
the following Web sites to do the research activities.
British Broadcasting on Religion,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
Buddhist Association of the United
States,
http://www.baus.org/baus/index.html
Buddhist Education and Information
Network,
http://buddhanet.net
Google Earth
http://earth.google.com
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of
Tibet,
http://www.dalailama.com
PBS,
www.pbs.org
The Berkley Center for Religion,
Peace, and World Affairs
http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu
The Pluralism Project at Harvard
Divinity School
http://pluralism.org
The World Fellowship of Buddhist
Youth,
http://www.wfby.org
Theravada Buddhism,
http://theravada-buddhism.com
Mahayana Buddhism,
http://mahayana-buddhism.com
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Buddhist Beliefs
What do Buddhists believe?
Buddhism focuses on a series of teachings
(dharma) developed by Siddhartha Gautama
– the Buddha – in the 6th century BCE. The
goal of these teachings is to help the believer
achieve enlightenment and the cessation of
suffering. Buddhism’s central tenets – the
Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold
Path – put one on the path to enlightenment
(nirvana). Underlying these tenets is the
philosophy of the Middle Way, a path of
moderation between excess and austerity in
which one provides the body with everything necessary for its healthy functioning
but nothing further, thus allowing the believer to prevent both suffering from lack of
nourishment as well as distraction by sensual pleasures in order to focus on attaining
enlightenment.
The Four Noble Truths are the foundation of
all Buddhist beliefs, and they provide believers with a plan for dealing with and
overcoming the challenges of life. The First
Noble Truth is that life is suffering (dukkha),
which is considered the fundamental quality
of unenlightened existence. The notion of
suffering is not intended to convey a negative worldview but is rather a pragmatic
perspective that deals with the world as it is
and attempts to rectify it. The concept of
pleasure is not denied, but acknowledged as
fleeting. Pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is ultimately an unquenchable
thirst. The same logic belies an understanding of happiness. In the end, only aging,
sickness, and death are certain and unavoidable.
The Second Noble Truth seeks to determine
the cause of suffering. In Buddhism, desire
(tanha) lies at the root of suffering. Budd-
hists view desire as cravings for pleasure,
material goods, and immortality, all of
which are wants that can never be fully satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only
lead to suffering. These cravings distract
people from seeing the world as it actually
is. Without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism explains,
one’s mind is left undeveloped, unable to
grasp the true nature of things. Vices, such
as greed, envy, hatred, and anger, derive
from this ignorance.
The Third Noble Truth – the truth of the end
of suffering – has dual meanings, suggesting
either the end of suffering in this life or in
the spiritual life through the attainment of
nirvana. When one has achieved nirvana,
which is a transcendent state free from suffering and the worldly cycle of birth and rebirth, enlightenment has been reached.
The Buddha taught through the Fourth
Noble Truth the path to end suffering and
attain enlightenment – the Noble Eightfold
Path. The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path
include Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness,
and Right Concentration. Buddhist’s today
typically divide the path into three themes –
good moral conduct (Understanding,
Thought, Speech), meditation and mental
development (Action, Livelihood, Effort),
and wisdom or insight (Mindfulness and
Concentration). (For more in the Noble
Eightfold Path, see the lesson on “Buddhist
Practices.”)
A central part of Buddhist cosmology is the
belief in samsāra, the Sanskrit word that denotes the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth to
which sentient beings are subject. For a
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Buddhist, the ultimate goal is not to attain an
afterlife in a heavenly realm, but to achieve
complete liberation from samsāra altogether. In this sense, it is similar to the concept
of moksha in Hinduism. Once a person attains enlightenment, they no longer remain
part of the wheel of rebirth and they attain
nirvana. Nirvana is not envisioned as a
place, such as in the Abrahamic faiths of
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Instead,
Buddhists conceive of nirvana as a state of
eternal, enlightened consciousness beyond
death and life, free from suffering.
The force that keeps people enmeshed in
samsāra is karma – the idea that all intentional actions will bear fruit either in this life
or a future life. Good actions – judged
largely by the person’s motivation – will
result in good consequences for the person,
while bad actions will create bad consequences. Rebirth, whether as a human or as
a lesser being, is the karmic consequence of
one’s past actions. However, through right
living as laid out in the Noble Eightfold
Path, one generates liberating karma, which
eventually leads to enlightenment. Once
one has reached nirvana, one ceases to generate karma, thus removing oneself from the
cycle of rebirth.
Buddhists agree that the highest realm of
rebirth is to be a human being. It is the
highest realm because it offers the opportunity to achieve enlightenment. Buddhists
believe that given the sheer number of living
things, to be born a human being is a precious chance at spiritual perfection, a rare
opportunity that a person should not forsake.
Broadly speaking, Buddhism affirms that the
potential for awakening and perfection is
present in every human being and that rea-
lizing this potential is a matter of personal
effort.
Denominational differences
The two major branches of Buddhism today
– Mahayana (Sanskrit for “the Great Way”)
and Theravada (“the Teaching of the Elders”) – possess differing beliefs regarding
humanity’s potential for enlightenment, the
role of enlightened beings, the nature of the
Buddha himself (saint or savior), and the
way to escape the cycle of death and rebirth.
Mahayana Buddhism is comprised of a diverse group of schools with a core of certain
shared beliefs. Mahayana Buddhists hold
that an individual who achieves enlightenment has not yet reached the pinnacle of his
spiritual quest; those who reach this state of
perfect awakening are called to become a
bodhisattva – an awakened being who
guides others on the path to awakening until
all of humanity has attained nirvana. Indeed, Mahayana teaches that all beings are
destined to eventually gain enlightenment.
An outgrowth of the Mahayana emphasis on
the guidance of bodhisattvas is the belief –
manifested in diverse ways between different schools – in the supernatural powers of
supremely enlightened beings known as
Buddhas. Mahayanists often believe that
Buddhas can assist one in the quest to spiritual perfection long after the physical death
of that particular Buddha. This belief developed into Devotional Buddhism, in which a
person devotes oneself to a Buddha and remains mindful of him and his teachings in
order to be granted salvation by the Buddha’s grace. As such, some Mahayanists
view Buddhas essentially as deities. Devo-
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tional Buddhism minimizes the mental rigors of meditation in favor of the more accessible practice of personal devotion to a
Buddha. Because of the denomination’s historical willingness to incorporate preexisting
belief systems as it spread across East Asia,
some Mahayana schools believe in a variety
of supernatural beings and deities that play
various, often minor roles in their cosmologies.
Theravada Buddhism has kept its system of
beliefs considerably more contained. In
Theravada, attaining enlightenment is a per-
sonal quest that cannot effectively be furthered by others, Buddhas or otherwise. Because of this belief, those who do achieve
nirvana have no responsibility to help others
along the path to enlightenment; their journey is complete. Another consequence of
the view of enlightenment as a personal matter is the absence of devotional worship in
Theravada Buddhism. Every individual is
responsible for his or her own salvation,
which requires great personal effort. Thus,
enlightenment is not guaranteed or preordained for anyone.
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“The Sermon at Benares”
by Siddhartha Gautama
Now, this, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth
concerning suffering: Birth is attended with
pain, decay is painful, disease is painful,
death is painful. Union with the unpleasant
is painful, painful is separation from the
pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied,
that too is painful. In brief, bodily conditions, which spring from attachment, are
painful. This, then, O bhikkhus, is the noble
truth concerning suffering.
Now this, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth
concerning the origin of suffering: Verily, it
is that craving which causes the renewal of
existence, accompanied by sensual delight,
seeking satisfaction now here, now there, the
craving for the gratification of the passions,
the craving for a future life, and the craving
for happiness in this life. This, then, O
bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the
origin of suffering.
Now this, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth
concerning the destruction of suffering: Verily, it is the destruction, in which no passion
remains, of this very thirst; it is the laying
aside of, the being free from, the dwelling
no longer upon this thirst. This, then, O
bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the
destruction of suffering.
Now, this, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth
concerning the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow. Verily, it is this noble
eightfold path; that is to say: Right views;
right aspirations; right speech; right behavior; right livelihood; right effort; right
thoughts; and right contemplation. This,
then, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of sorrow.
By the practice of loving-kindness, I have
attained liberation of heart, and thus I am
assured that I shall never return in renewed
births. I have even now attained Nirvana.
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Assignment: Buddhist Beliefs
Class:
Instructor:
Student’s Name:
Date:
Buddhist Beliefs
Directions: In the boxes, write some of the attributes associated with each of these truths.
The Noble Truth
Response
The First Noble Truth:
Life is Suffering
The Second Noble
Truth: Suffering is due
to attachment
The Third Noble Truth:
Attachment can be
overcome
The Fourth Noble
Truth: There is a path
for accomplishing this
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Conduct
Right View
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path –
it simply means to see and to understand things as
they really are and to realize the Four Noble Truths
Right Intention
Right intention can be described best as commitment
to ethical and mental self-improvement
Right Speech
Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct
in the eightfold path. The importance of speech in the
context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can
break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start
war or create peace.
Concentration
Right Action
Right action means to act kindly and
compassionately, to be honest, to respect the
belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships
harmless to others.
Right Livelihood
Right livelihood means that one should earn one’s
living in a righteous way and that wealth should be
gained legally and peacefully.
Right Effort
Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing
can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts
the mind from its task, and confusion will be the
consequence.
Study
Right Mindfulness
Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the
process of conceptualization in a way that we actively
observe and control the way our thoughts go.
Right Concentration
Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold
path means wholesome concentration, i.e.
concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions.
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Assignment: Buddhist Beliefs
Class:
Instructor:
Student’s Name:
Buddhist Beliefs (Continued)
Question
Response
Why did the Buddha
believe that to begin
the Eightfold Path a
person had to have a
proper view of The
Middle Way and the
Four Noble Truths?
What does the Buddha
mean by the idea of
“right intention”? In
other words, is it a
specific set of actions
or a way of life?
If moral behavior is not
commanded by a god
or by an outside
authority, how are
human beings
supposed to behave
ethically?
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Date:
Assignment: Buddhist Beliefs
Class:
Instructor:
Student’s Name:
Date:
Post-Activity Questions
Analyze and discuss
whether the First
Noble Truth is a
pessimistic assessment
of the human condition.
Compare and contrast
the Eightfold Path to
practices in other
traditions such as
Hinduism, Christianity,
and Islam.
Compare and contrast
the Buddhist view of
the “afterlife” to
Hinduism, Christianity,
and Islam.
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Assignment: Buddhist Beliefs
Class:
Instructor:
Student’s Name:
Date:
Post-Activity Questions (Continued)
Examine and discuss
whether you believe it
is possible to attain
Nirvana.
Analyze and discuss
the concept of paradox
in Buddhism.
Discuss the most
important idea that you
learned from this
lesson.
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