Download Buddhism Reading for Jigsaw Activity

2017 Revised Buddhism Reading for Jigsaw
History and Founder:
Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu prince who lived near the present day border of India and
Nepal, more than 2, 500 years ago. The young prince was raised in great luxury, but he was
not happy. He wanted to understand what caused human suffering. He did not understand
why some people were rich, and others were poor. He questioned why some people were
healthy and others sickly.
Siddhartha left his palace and lived as an ascetic. (An ascetic is a person who has few
material possessions and has given up all pleasures and comforts.) He prayed and fasted.
Siddhartha fasted so strictly that he nearly died, but he was still not satisfied. Finally,
Siddhartha sat down under a Bodhi tree and was determined to understand why he had
failed to find a satisfying way of life. Late that night, Siddhartha became enlightened.
Siddhartha told other people of his enlightenment. He became well-known for his teachings,
and his students began to call him “the Buddha” which means “the Enlightened One”, and his
followers became known as Buddhists. The Buddha was an oral teacher, and he left no
written body of thought. His beliefs were later written down by his followers.
Basic Beliefs:
The Buddha taught his followers to seek balance in their lives. The path to happiness is
neither through indulgence nor denial, but a “Middle Way.” Buddha taught that by putting
aside your ego, you can escape the cycle of death and rebirth to reach Nirvana.
Four Noble Truths:
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Life is suffering.
All suffering is caused by desire and greed.
Suffering can be ended by overcoming desire and appreciating what you have.
The path to stop suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of Right Views,
Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, RightMindfulness, and Right Meditation.
o Right Views: (Understanding) Accept the world as it is and not as you want it
to be. It is important to be certain that you understand the teachings of the
Buddha correctly.
o Right Intention: (Thoughts) Be motivated by good will, kindness, and empathy
rather than anger, resentment, or greed. Think thoughts that are pure and
good.
o Right Speech: Strive for your word to be helpful; do not lie or gossip. Speak
words that are truthful and not harmful.
o Right Conduct: (Action) Be aware of your behavior and always work to be
better. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
o Right Livelihood: Choose a career that results in joy rather than suffering. Do
not harm others as you earn a living.
o Right Effort: Avoid anger, jealousy, and other negative thoughts. Keep trying
to become a better person; stop bad habits.
o Right Mindfulness: Be aware and control your thoughts and emotions so your
thoughts and emotions do not control you. Be aware of what you are doing
and what is going on around you; always think about how you live.
o Right Meditation: Focus your mind and body so that you can find the path to
enlightenment. Meditate correctly each day to clear your mind of desires and
be able to find peace and truth.
When and why did Buddhism arrive in China?
Buddhism probably first entered China along the “Silk Roads”, the system of trade routes
that connected China to lands farther west as far as the Mediterranean Sea and Europe.
Trade on the Silk Roads goes back thousands of years. By around 100 BC, Buddhist
missionaries began traveling on the routes along with traders. Trade routes opened contact
and communication between people and places. In addition to good, people and ideas
spreads along the trade routes.
By 68 AD, a Chinese Han emperor asked some advisors to visit India to learn more about this
“western religion.” They returned to China with Buddhist monks. But the Chinese people
loved life. They thought life was worth living. So why were the ideas of Buddha, who wanted
to get away from life, so interesting to the Chinese?
When Buddhism began to become popular in China around 100AD, there were many civil
wars and much violence. Buddhism gave people a feeling that peace was possible. And it
called for an end to all violence, all selfishness, and all wars.
Buddhism spread into China. Millions of Chinese turned to Buddhism. They were good
people who hoped to avoid being born again into a life of worries and miseries. Buddhism
teaches that souls are reborn until they become perfect. Buddhism became a part of daily life
for many Chinese. It became part of their religious ceremonies, their buildings, and their art.
More than anything, it became part of their attitudes.
Buddhism spread through much of East Asia, because most governments and people looked
up to China as the “mother culture” and as the most powerful government in the region. The
other governments in Asia wanted to adopt the types of cultural practices that made China
strong. Buddhism spread to these regions and the rest of Asia especially during the Tang era,
because China was going through a golden age of power and culture. It was the Chinese
forms of Buddhism that spread to Korea and Japan; not the type of Buddhism practiced in
India.
Religious Sects:
Two main groups formed that did not follow the style of Buddhism practiced in India.
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Zen Buddhism: This was in Japan. It focused on self-discipline and meditation.
Pure Land Buddhism: This focused on attaining “Western (Indian-style) Paradise”
through the chanting of words over and over again.