Download Buddhism Beginnings of Buddhism: The Story of Siddhartha

Buddhism
Beginnings of Buddhism: The Story of Siddhartha Gautama
Siddhartha Gautama (Founder of Buddhism)
– Born in northern India.
– A wealthy prince (rich people could afford to be fat)
– Member of the Kshatriya (or warrior/ruler class)
Siddhartha’s father asked him to stay within palace walls because
he did not want his son to see all the suffering and evil in the
world.
Siddhartha went outside the palace walls and saw lots of suffering
and pain.
– Siddhartha began to ask questions about the meaning of life
and wanted to know why people suffered.
Siddhartha Gautama’s : Journey and Enlightenment
He left his home and began to travel around India, talking to wise
men in order to find the meaning of life.
He spent 6 years wandering throughout India.
– He started fasting, or went without food.
– He spent time in meditation, the focusing of the mind on
spiritual ideas.
Unsatisfied with Hinduism’s response
His meditation led him to the answers he sought which is known
as ENLIGHTENMENT, a sudden understanding/knowledge.
- Buddha means the “Enlightened One”
Major Belief of Buddhism
He discovered that human suffering comes from human’s inability
to control DESIRE specifically in three ways:
1. wanting what we like but do not have, (ENVY)
2. wanting to keep what we like and already have, and
(GREED)
3. not wanting what we dislike but have. (UNAPPRECIATIVE)
Four Noble Truths
Suffering and unhappiness are a part of life.
Suffering comes from our desires for pleasure and material goods.
People cause their own misery because they want things they
cannot have.
People can overcome their desires by following the “Middle Way”
= BALANCE
– Middle Way between human desires and denying oneself
any pleasure. NOT too MUCH Not too Little= JUST RIGHT.
– FOOLHEARTED (jump into anything without thinking)-------------------------COURAGE--------------------COWARDLY (not taking
any risks at all; never defending yourself)
Once you find the “Middle Way” you reach nirvana, a state of
perfect peace.
– This will free a person’s soul from suffering and from the
need for further reincarnation.
Buddha Challenges Hindu Beliefs
The Buddha challenged the authority of the Hindu priests, the
Brahmins. He taught that each person was responsible for their
own salvation.
The Buddha was opposed to the caste system.
– Dharma said you could not complain about your position no
matter how much suffering you endured.
Spread of Buddhism
In India
After his death, 500 of the Buddha’s followers spread his
teachings throughout India after the Buddha died.
Buddhist teachings were popular and easy to understand.
Beyond India
The Indian king Asoka helped to spread Buddhism both within
India and outside of India.
Asoka was very tolerant of people’s rights to follow the religion of
their choosing, so he did not force Buddhism on others.
He built Buddhist temples and schools throughout India.
Asoka sent missionaries to other kingdoms in Asia.
Buddhism spread via the Silk Road (TRADE; Exchange of ideas)
into China  then Korea and  Japan.
Under the Pala kings Buddhism flourishes in NE India and spread
to Tibet, and Southeast Asia through TRADE.
Two Chinese people were influential in the spread of Buddhism in
China and other Asian Countries.
– Faxian and Xuanzang
– They went to India to study Buddhism and brought back
with them more than 600 sutras, Buddhist religious texts.
Buddhism Splits
As Buddhism spread, not all Buddhists could agree on their beliefs
and practices.
Buddhism split into two major branches: Theravada and
Mahayana.
Both branches have millions of followers today, but Mahayana is
by far the larger branch.
Buddhism Today
Buddhism is mostly practiced in Asia but is no longer a major
presence in India.