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SKIT: BUDDHISM & The Buddha-PART I
NARRATOR1: In 563BC, a child was born to a raja and his wife in the city of Lumbini, in what is now Nepal. His father
was Raja Suddhodana, and his mother Queen Maha Maya. This is what happened:
QUEEN MAHA MAYA: On the night my son was conceived, I dreamed a white elephant entered my side. I’m sure this
was a sign that he would be a special person. Now he has been born.
SEER: I will reveal to you a prophesy about your son. He will either be a great conqueror and rule a great empire, or he
will be a poor, wandering holy man. He will be one extreme or the other, but I don’t know which.
RAJA SUDDHODANA: We must do everything we can to make sure he becomes a great emperor instead of a
wandering holy man! We will raise him here in the palace. We will give him a life of luxury. We will make sure that
everything he sees is happy and lovely. We won’t let him experience anything that might make him turn to too much
religion.
NARRATOR2: And so Siddhartha was raised in the palace, never seeing the outside world. He grew up, married a
lovely princess and had a son. Then . . .
SIDDHARTHA: I must see the outside world. I must!
NARRATOR3: So Siddhartha found a way to finally get out of the palace, and when he did, he saw things he had never
seen before. This is what happened:
SIDDHARTHA: What? Who are you? What is wrong with you?
OLD MAN: I am a feeble, weak old man, but there is nothing unusual about me. Everyone eventually grows old.
SIDDHARTHA: I didn’t know that! . . . . . Look! What is this? Who are you?
SICK MAN: I am a very sick man. I am suffering greatly. However, there is really nothing unusual about me. Many
people become sick.
SIDDHARTHA: I didn’t know that! How sad! . . . Look! What is this?
DEAD MAN: ------------- (no answer)
SIDDHARTHA: What’s wrong? Oh no, this man isn’t alive! This is terrible! What will I do? How can I go back to my
comfortable life knowing that there is so much suffering in the world? . . . . Look! Who are you?
WANDERING HOLY MAN: I am a wandering holy man, my son. I am trying to understand the truths of the universe.
SIDDHARTHA: Then I, too, will become a wandering holy man! I will seek the answer to the question of why there so
much suffering in the world, and how we can overcome it!
NARRATOR1: So Siddhartha went back to the palace, kissed his wife and son good-bye, and slipped away. He took off
his fine clothing and put on an old robe of faded orange cloth. He cut off all his hair, and gave away his rings and
ornaments. With nothing but a simple begging bowl, he set off in search of answers to his questions. He went to the
most famous holy men, and asked them what to do. He tried various ways to reach the truth.
HOLY MAN1: You should try yoga exercises.
HOLY MAN2: You should try torturing yourself by sleeping on thorns.
HOLY MAN3: You should try fasting. Fasting will help you discover truth.
NARRATOR2: Siddhartha tried all these ways to reach the truth. He starved himself until . . . .
SIDDHARTHA: My body is so weak and thin that if I touch my stomach, I can feel my backbone, but I am still no
closer to the truth than I was before! If I go on like this, I will die. I think I will eat a little bit.
HOLY MEN: Siddhartha has taken to the life of luxury. We have no more use for him!
SIDDHARTHA: I will continue my quest for truth by myself.
NARRATOR3: So Siddhartha continued his quest.
SIDDHARTHA: Look! I see a huge Bo tree. I think I will make myself a cushion of grass and sit under this Bo tree.
Instead of looking outside myself, I will look inside myself. I will sit here until I find my answers.
NARRATOR1: So Siddhartha lowered his eyelids, and began to look within. He was aware of his thoughts, feelings,
memories, sensations, desires and fears. As he watched them, he began to see how these powerful forces created the
idea of the person Siddhartha ---the person he identified as “I”.
NARRATOR2: When Siddhartha looked more closely, he began to wonder more about this “I”. He could perceive only
shifting patterns, but no fixed and unchanging soul or self. In fact, there was nothing . . .
NARRATOR3: But not an empty nothing; instead he became aware of a powerful reality, that the self is really a part
of a large universal essence. This reality, this universal essence is not subject to change, and cannot be rocked by
emotions. It has never been born, and it cannot die. Tell us, Siddhartha, what happened to you next.
SIDDHARTHA: As dawn broke on the night of the full moon in May, I opened my eyes, looked up, and saw the morning
star rising. I reached enlightenment---the state of nirvana, a completely relaxed state of being in which there is no
longer any desire for anything. I discovered the truth I was searching for: The way to avoid suffering is to avoid
desire.
NARRATOR1: Siddhartha Gautama, became “The Buddha”, which means “Enlightened one”.
NARRATOR2: He went out to tell others about his discovery. He went to the city of Isipatana (modern Sarnath). He
delivered a sermon to a small crowd in the deer park there. He said:
SIDDHARTHA: These are the truths of life: All life is full of suffering. The reason for this suffering is the desire
for worldly things. , so to avoid suffering, we must overcome the desire for worldly things. . . . .
NARRATOR1: The people to whom the Buddha preached eventually became a community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
NARRATOR2: The Buddha was a remarkable person, but not a God, and eventually, at age 80, he died. His death took
place in a small town in northern India called Kushinagara, probably as the result of some kind of food poisoning.
NARRATOR3: His last words were:
SIDDHARTHA: “All worldly things are impermanent. Strive on mindfully. “
NARRATOR1: So the Buddha passed on into “pari-nirvana”. He had reached his first nirvana when he became
enlightened, and this experience was a kind of death to self; His pari-nirvana was the death of the body as well.
1.
Outline the main events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama.
BUDDHISM – PART II
NARRATOR: The Buddha’s followers spread his teachings to all parts of Asia. The teachings of the Buddha were
collected in the books called the “Tripitaka”, which means “Three Baskets of Wisdom”.
YOUNG BUDDHIST DISCIPLE: Oh wise teachers, please tell me, what is the most important teaching of Buddhism?
BUDDHIST SAGE1: The most important ethical teaching of Buddhism is ahimsa, or non-violence. Buddhism teaches
that you should avoid causing harm to any animate being. This includes people and animals.
YOUNG BUDDHIST DISCIPLE: Oh wise teachers, please tell me, what did the Buddha say was the goal of life?
BUDDHIST SAGE2: The Buddha taught us the goal of life is to achieve nirvana, which is release from the cycle of
reincarnation. Nirvana is much like the Hindu concept of moksha.
YOUNG BUDDHIST DISCIPLE: Oh wise teachers, please tell me, how do I achieve nirvana?
BUDDHIST SAGE3: The Buddha taught us that to achieve nirvana, we must understand the 4 Noble Truths and follow
the 8 Fold Path.
YBD: Oh wise teachers, please tell me, what are the 4 Noble Truths?
BUDDHIST SAGE 4: The 4 Noble Truths are:
1) all life is full of suffering;
2) the cause of suffering is the desire for pleasure and worldly things
3) the way to overcome suffering is to overcome the desire for pleasure and worldly things;
4) the way to overcome the desire for pleasure and worldly things is to follow the 8 Fold Path.
YBD: Oh wise teachers, please tell me, what is the 8 Fold Path?
BUDDHIST SAGE5: The 8 Fold Path is to achieve:
1) right views
2) right intentions
3) right speech
4) right action
5) right livelihood
6) right effort
7) right mindfulness
8) right concentration or meditation
YBD: Oh wise teachers, you are very wise! How is Buddhism different from Hinduism?
Did the Buddha keep any of the teachings of Hinduism, the older religion?
BUDDHIST SAGE 1: Yes! The Buddha kept the concepts of reincarnation and karma. We believe that after death the
soul is reborn is reborn again and again until it reaches nirvana. We believe that there is a force called karma, which is
determined by a person’s good and bad deeds. A person’s karma determines whether he will move up or down in his
next life. The Buddha also kept the idea of ahimsa, or non-violence. In fact, Buddhism emphasizes ahimsa even more
than Hinduism.
YBD: And what did the Buddha change about Hinduism?
BUDDHIST SAGE 2: Buddha emphasized ethics, that is, good conduct, more than ceremonies. The Buddha did not
believe in the ceremonies performed by the Hindu Brahmins.
BUDDHIST SAGE 3: The Buddha rejected the Hindu Caste system. The Buddha believed that people should not be
divided into social classes.
BUDDHIST SAGE 4: The Buddha also rejected the individual Hindu gods, such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and the rest.
However, the Buddha did believe that the universe was one, single essence. The Buddha’s view of the universe as a
single essence was sort of like the Hindu belief in Brahman, the divine essence. However, Buddha did not regard the
universal essence as a God.
YBD: What happened as the teachings of the Buddha spread?
BUDDHIST SAGE 5: As the teachings of the Buddha spread, Buddhism split into 2 main branches.
THERAVADA BUDDHIST MONK: The older branch of Buddhism is called Theravada. Our branch of Buddhism kept
the strict, pure teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. We followers of Theravada Buddhism consider Siddhartha as our
greatest teacher and spiritual leader, but not as our savior. We do not worship Buddha like a saint or a God. We
believe that to reach nirvana, a person must strictly follow the 8 fold path for himself. This is very difficult and it
takes intense devotion and concentration. Our branch of Buddhism is still followed in Southeast Asia.
MAHAYANA BUDDHIST PRIEST: A slightly newer branch of Buddhism formed a little later, called Mahayana
Buddhism, which is the form I follow. We believe that once a person has reached enlightenment, he can decide
whether to enter nirvana and become one with the universe, or to return to earth to help other people. Those who
choose to return to earth to help others are called Bodhisattvas. We believe that if people pray to the Buddha and
Bodhisattvas, these holy beings can help ordinary people achieve enlightenment. We use elaborate rituals of prayer to
the Buddha and Bodhisattvas whom we regard almost like Gods. Our branch of Buddhism is followed today in Vietnam,
China, Korea and Japan.
YBD: Oh wise sages, I am still puzzled by one thing. What happened to Buddhism in India, where it started? There
aren’t many Buddhists today in India. Why is that?
BUDDHIST SAGE1: For a while in India, Buddhism thrived as a separate religion from Hinduism, and many Hindus
converted to it. But after a while, the Hindus began to honor Buddha as an incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu.
Eventually, in India, Buddhism simply merged back into Hinduism, which incorporated Buddha and some of his
teachings. Although Buddhism ceased to be a separate religion from Hinduism in India, in other parts of Asia,
Buddhism spread and thrived as a separate, distinct religion.
YBD: Did any other religions besides Buddhism grow out of Hinduism?
JAINIST1: Yes, the religion of Jainism grew out of Hinduism at about the same time as Buddhism. Jainists believe
that there have been 24 great teachers. The last teacher, the founder of Jainism, was a man named Mahavira.
YBD: What do Jainists believe?
JAINIST 2: Like Hindus and Buddhists, we Jainists believe in reincarnation and karma. We also believe in Ahimsa, or
non-violence. In fact, we practice Ahimsa even more strictly than Hindus and Buddhists!! Some of us even go so far as
to cover our faces with a cloth to avoid breathing in gnats, and carry a broom to sweep insects out of their paths, so
as not to accidently step on them! For more information about Jainism, go to http://www.umich.edu/~umjains/
1.
What is the most important ethical teaching of Buddhism?
2. According to Buddhism, what is the goal of life?
3. What are the 4 Noble Truths?
4. What is the 8 Fold Path?
5. What Hindu ideas did the Buddhists keep?
6. What Hindu ideas did Buddhists reject?
7. What are the 2 main branches of Buddhism? Where is each predominantly practiced?
8. What are the main ideas of Theravada Buddhism?
9. What are the main ideas of Mahayana Buddhism?
10. What is Jainism?