Download Buddhism - Archmere Academy

Buddhism
Leaders & Text
 Who do believers worship?
 Do not worship a god
 Who are their leaders?
 Monks & Nuns
 What was the name of their
sacred text?
 Jatakas
Founder
 Siddhartha Gautama (563 - 483 BCE)
 AKA = Buddha
 Meaning?
 The Enlightened One
Birth (563 BCE)
 Noble family
 Time of common questioning of Hinduism
 Lots of omens
 gold-tinged skin, a bump on his head, webbed fingers/toes, a
long tongue & hair b/w his eyebrows
 If he stayed home, he would become a ruler, if he left home,
he would become a religious man
Siddhartha
 What would your average father want?
 Great ruler
 How do you keep your son at home?
 Sheltered him from the outside world
 Royal treatment  incentive to never leave home
 Spoil him
Siddhartha Gautama

@ 29 left the palace 4 times
and saw…
1.
An old man
2.
A sick man
3.
A corpse
4.
Wandering holy man
Seemed @ peace

Conclusion:

Life is suffering
Rel. life offers peace



Went in search of Rel. truth
Siddhartha
 Spent 6 yrs in forests seeking
enlightenment
 Debated w/ Rel. leaders
 Meditation
 Ascetic
 Extreme self-denial
 Yet no truth!
 49 days of meditation → Bodhi tree
 Musician’s Quote?

'If you make the string too tight, it will break. If you
make the string too loose, it will not play”
 Eureka! ~~ Enlightenment ~~
Buddhism – Basic Beliefs
 Path to Nirvana?
 Through moderation in all things
 Not extremes
 self-indulgence or self-denial
 Middle Way
Buddhism - Basic Beliefs
 Four Noble Truths
 Eight Fold Path
 Reincarnation & Karma
 Nirvana
Four Noble Truths
1.
Life is suffering
2.
Cause?
•
3.
End suffering?
•
4.
Desire for pleasures of this world
End desires
Overcome desires & attain enlightenment
•
Follow Eightfold Path

aka Middle Way
Eightfold Path
 Guide to behavior
 Goal  Nirvana
 Release from
selfishness & pain
Buddhism & Society
 How do Buddhist feel about the caste system?
 Reject it!
 Anyone can reach nirvana
 What is the effect on society?
 Created religious communities (sangha)
 Missionaries
 Social order