Download The Buddha and his teachings

Buddhism
The Buddha- review
 Siddhartha

Gautama
Mother died when he was only one week old
 Warrior/prince
 The


4 Passing sights
Not safe any more
Despair
 Great

going forth
Luxury was unsatisfactory
 The
Middle Way
Sangha

After the enlightenment, the
Buddha searched his five
former companions and they
reconciled with him and
became his first followers
 The Buddha attracted many
people
 The Buddha thus formed the
Sangha- community
 His son became Buddhist
Nirvana


At the age of 80, the Buddha became extremely ill after eating a spoiled food
The Buddha sensed that he was going to die and called his disciples. Told
them that everything must die including him.


He then offered a final advise: “You must be your own lamps, be your own refuges. Take
refuge in nothing outside yourselves.”
The Buddha then turned on his right side and died passing forever into
Nirvana
The Buddha
today
 Not
god but human
 Avatar of Vishnu
 Many Buddhists do
not pray to him
 Buddhists follow
his example
Arhat



An arhat is someone
who has attained
enlightenment but has
not died yet
The Buddha was an
arhat
Arhats are considered
saints




1.
2.
3.
The Buddha’s teachings play a
key role in defining the religious
life of Buddhism rather than the
Buddha himself.
It is impossible to know exactly
what the Buddha taught.

He did not write down his
teachings, nor did his early
disciples.
The only written versions were
recorded several hundred years
after his death.
The core of what is generally
regarded as basic Buddhism are
the Three Jewels
The Buddha
The Dharma
The Sangha
Buddhist teachings
•
Practice meditation
(experiential dimension)
• He is an ideal human
being whom other
human beings should
imitate
• He is not usually
thought of as being
dead but as existing in a
timeless dimension
beyond the world
JEWEL OF BUDDHISM: THE BUDDHA
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JEWEL OF BUDDHISM: The Dharma
 Buddha’s
teachings(doctrinal dimension)about how to view the
world and how to live
properly
 The Buddhist dharma
is not the same as the
Hindus dharmaethical duty
3 characteristics of
Buddhist Dharma (teachings)
1.
Buddhism
Inner wisdom, vs. faith in
God:
a. Buddhist truths do not
come from Divine
2. Doctrine based on
revelation outside the
person.
observation of “what
l (e.g. 10
is”.
commandments,
burning bush,
Transfiguration)
3. A psychologicallyWorld
Religions
b. Buddhist truths
centered religion
discovered by looking
Chapter 4
inside.
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•Karma in Buddhist world:
•The moral law of cause and effect
•It functions hand in hand with samsara
•The nature of one’s rebirth depends on the status of one’s karma
•Because Buddhism denies the transference of any self or soul,
personal identity depends entirely on karma.
•When an individual dies, his or her karma continues on its particular
trajectory bringing about rebirth.
•At conception the new person is possessed of this particular status
brought on by the karma of the previous life.
Buddha’s teachings

The teachings are practical
 He refused to talk about god and
faith
 His refusal to talk about
something else besides how to
end suffering is called his
noble silence
 He speculated about
unanswerable questions like a
man who had been wounded by
an arrow but refused to pull it out
until he knew everything about the
arrow and the person who shot it.
The wounded man would die
before he could get all the
information he wanted.
JEWEL OF BUDDHISM: The Sangha

Monastic/religious community
 The community is divided between monks, nuns,
and laity
 Show commitment to being Buddhist
 (social dimension)
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The 5 Pricepts
•Because
karma is affected by
the moral adequacy of one’s
actions, morality is of pressing
concern for Buddhism.
•The moral life requires
observance of the Five
Precepts:
1.Do not take life
2.Do not take what is not given
3.Do not engage in sensuous
misconduct
4.Do not use false speech
5.Do not drink intoxicants
•
The five precepts apply to all
Buddhists.
•The following precepts are
added for monks and nuns:
6. Do not eat after noon
(12:00)
7. Do not watch dancing or
shows
8. Do not use garlands,
perfumes, or ornaments.
9. Do not use a high or soft
bed.
10. Do not accept gold or
silver.