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Buddhism & the Axial Age
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Buddhism originated in India at the end of the 6th century
BCE.
This period is sometimes known as the Axial Age.
Around this same time, major philosophical figures lived
in several parts of the world;
It was the age of Confucius and Laozi in China;
This was the age of the great Greek philosophers,
including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle;
In India, this was the period when the Buddha developed
his ideas.
‘Sakyamuni, the Founder
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse
/Sakyamuni
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The founder of Buddhism is known by
several names.
He was a prince in one of the many royal
families living in what is now northern India
and southern Nepal;
His given name was Si’ddhartha, and he was
also called ‘Gautama;
He is sometimes known as ‘Sakyamuni
释迦牟尼, which means “the light of the
Sakya family.”
‘Gautama Buddha
c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE
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"Buddha" meaning
"awakened one" or "the
enlightened one."
Various collections of
teachings attributed to
Gautama were passed down
by oral tradition, and first
committed to writing about
400 years later.
Gautama, the Sanskrit form
of the family name of
Siddhartha, the historical
Buddha
Initial Awakening
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse
/Siddhartha
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Siddhartha was raised in relative luxury but turned to a
life of spiritual questing;
Many stories recount his initial awakening;
In one, he overhears the wailing of a funeral procession
and learns about death and suffering in this way;
In another, as a young prince, he is given a beautiful
princess bride; but when he sees her drooling in her
sleep, he realizes there is imperfection in the world;
He left his family home and went into the world to seek
answers to his spiritual questions;
Siddhartha, an epithet of Buddha meaning “he
who has attained his goal.”
The Bodhi (Wisdom) Tree
supreme knowledge or
enlightenment
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The Bodhi Tree, also known as
Bo (from the Sinhalese Bo),
was a large and very old Sacred
Fig tree (Ficus religiosa)
located in Bodh Gaya (about
100 km (62 mi) from Patna in
the Indian state of Bihar), under
which Siddhartha Gautama, the
spiritual teacher and founder of
Buddhism later known as
Gautama Buddha, achieved
enlightenment, or Bodhi.
In religious iconography, the
Bodhi tree is recognizable by
its heart-shaped leaves, which
are usually prominently
displayed.
the Four Noble Truths (Ebrey 66)
Midway between
self-deprivation and gratification
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The teachings of the Buddhism are fairly simple and
straightforward.
The key to his enlightenment is the realization of the
nature of suffering.
Suffering is part of the normal life of people;
Suffering arises from our attachment to things;
If we wish to be free of suffering, we must liberate
ourselves from our attachments;
There is a way to do this through meditation and
renunciation;
These are the Four Noble Truths;
The eightfold path to liberation
(Ebrey 66)
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The Dharma wheel,
often used to
represent the Noble
Eightfold Path
also known as the
Middle Path or
Middle Way.
The threefold division of the path
(Ebrey 66)
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Wisdom
Ethical conduct
Concentration
1. Right understanding
2. Right intention
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration
the impermanence of all things
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Buddhism denies the permanence of phenomena;
All things arise and pass away; everything has a beginning
and an end;
The appearance of permanence in things is an illusion;
sometimes called maya, the illusion of the reality of sensory
experience and of the experienced qualities and attributes of
oneself;
This does not mean, as is sometimes said, that nothing is
real, merely that no reality is permanent;
Because all things pass away, attachment to them can yield
only suffering;
Therefore, the way to free oneself from suffering is to realize
and accept the impermanence of all things, including oneself;
Thera’vada vs. Maha’yana
Two Major Schools of Buddhism
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Theravada or
Hinayana 小乘教
“Lesser Vehicle” was
concerned with
individual liberation;
It emphasizes
meditation and
withdrawal from the
world;
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Mahayana 大乘教,
meaning “Greater
Vehicle,” is not only
concerned with
individual liberation,
but also concerned
with the spiritual
liberation of all
beings.
The Attraction of Buddhism
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In innermost essence,
everything is Nirvana or
empty.
The ultimate reality is
consciousness; that
everything is produced by
the mind.
Karma: cause and effect;
action, seen as bringing
upon oneself inevitable
results, good or bad, either
in this life or in a
reincarnation
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Buddhism addresses
human suffering with an
unmatched directness.
Many were comforted by
the belief that one could
earn merit, and that
there is an invisible
moral order governing
the universe, and
moreover, under this
system one is rewarded
in this life or the next for
good deeds…
Bodhisattva 菩萨
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The Bodhi’sattva, an enlightened
spiritual being who chooses to remain in
the phenomenal world to aid others, was
the ideal of the Mahayana path.
Introduced to China
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Around the beginning of the Common Era, Buddhism first
appeared in China;
Buddhist monks travelled along overland routes from
northeast India to Central Asia. The trade route of the
Silk Road provided the main adventures for these
travelers;
Sometimes in the 1st century CE, the first monastery was
set up in China, near the Later Han capital at Luoyang.
Buddhist monks became teachers at the imperial court,
though without the same high status as Confucian
scholars.
The White Horse Temple
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the first Buddhist temple
in China, established in
68 AD under the
patronage of Emperor
Ming in the Eastern Han
(25 AD - 220 AD) capital
Luoyang. The temple,
although small in size in
comparison to many
other temples in China,
is considered by most
believers as "the cradle
of Chinese Buddhism"