Download Buddhism

Buddhism
• Third universalizing religion
• 400 million adherents
• Mainly located in China and SE Asia
Foundations
• Four Noble Truths:
– All living things must endure suffering
– Suffering, which is caused by desire to live,
leads to reincarnation
– Goal of all existence is to escape from suffering
and the endless cycle of reincarnation into
Nirvana
– Nirvana is attained through an Eight-fold path,
which included rightness of belief, resolve,
speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and
meditation
Eightfold Path
• Right Views: knowledge of the 4 Noble Truths
• Right Aspirations: discard desire and avoid hurting
others
• Right Speech: telling the truth
• Right Conduct: not stealing or cheating
• Right Livelihood: earning a living in a way that does
not harm or cause bloodshed to others
• Right Effort: thinking positively
• Right Mindfulness: being aware of the effects of
thoughts and actions
• Right Meditation: allowing a peaceful state of mind
Branches
• Main branches:
– Mahayana : 56% mainly in China, Japan
and Korea
– Theravada : 38% mainly in Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
– Tantrayana: 6% mainly found in Tibet
and Mongolia
• Split over interpretation of Buddha’s
statements
• Religious functions performed by
monks, not in general public
• Even though it’s a universalizing religion
differs from western “formal” religions
• Can be both Buddhist and believer of
other Eastern religions
• Most Buddhists in Japan and China
also believe in ethnic religions
Origins
• Founder: Siddhartha Gautama
• Born: 563 B.C. in Lumbini, Nepal
• Son of a lord, led privileged life
• Life changed after series of four trips
– Encountered an old man, a diseased man, a corpse,
and finally a monk
– Felt he could no longer enjoy life
– Monk taught him how to withdrawal from the world
• At age 29 he left his home and lived in the forest
for 6 years meditating
– Called the Great Renunciation
• Emerged as the Buddha or “enlightened one”
• Spent 45 years preaching his views across India
• Trained monks, established orders and preached
to the public
Literature
• Buddha’s teachings transmitted orally from
one monk to another and eventually written
down on palm leaf manuscripts
• Dhammapada, called Pali Cannon
• Popular in Theravada and Mahayana
• Gathered into the “three baskets”
Meditation
• Calms emotions, strengthens nerves, and
even lowers blood pressure
• Most important act in Buddhism
• How Buddha reached enlightenment
• Samadhi means total self-collectedness
– Necessity for moksha
• Can be done standing, sitting, walking
• Goal is always enlightenmenti
Theravada
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Older of two largest branches
“way of elders”
Original approach
Full-time occupation
To be a good Buddhist, you must be a monk
Focus on Buddha’s life of self-help and solitary
introspection
• Cite his wisdom
Mahayana
• Split from Theravada 2000 years ago
• “bigger ferry”
• Claim can help more people because it is
less demanding and all-encompassing
• Emphasize Buddha’s life of teaching and
helping others
• Cite his compassion
Tibetan Buddhism
• Dalai Lama dies, spirit enters body of a child
• Death described as the science of dying
– Rituals in Tibetan Book of the Dead
Diffusion of Buddhism
• Did not diffuse rapidly from its point of
origin in northeastern India
• Asoka, emperor if Magadha Empire, spread
Buddhism throughout his empire (273- 232
B.C.)
• Formed the nucleus of several powerful
kingdoms in South Asia
• Council organized by Asoka sent out
missionaries to spread Buddhism
• 1st century A.D. merchants along trading routes
introduced Buddhism into China
• Chinese receptive to missionaries and text
translated into Chinese
• Further diffused into Korea in the 4th century
A.D. and Japan in the 6th century A.D.
Holy Places
• Shrines
– Eight places are holy to Buddhists because
they were locations of events in Buddha’s life
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Lumini: birth of Buddha
Bodh Gaya: attained enlightenment
Rajagrha: tamed wild elephant
Kusinagara: attained enlightenment
Sarnath: sermon at Deer Park (1st)
Sravasti: created multiple images of himself
Vaisali: announced impending death
Samkasya: ascended heaven and returned to
earth
Birthplace of Buddha
Enlightenment and Nirvana
Buddhist Holidays
• Holidays include:
– Buddha’s birth
– Buddha’s enlightenment
– Buddha’s death
– Not all observed on the same days
– Theravadist Buddhist celebrate all three on the
same day
Buddhist Pagodas
• Elaborate and delicate in
appearance
• Tall, many-sided towers
arranged in tiers
• Contain relics that
Buddhists believe to be a
portion of Buddha’s body or
clothing
• Not designed for
congregational worship
• Prayer takes place in
monastery or home
Conflict
• Vietnam War
– Destroyed Buddhist shrines
– Not sympathetic to Buddhists
– Buddhists burned themselves to protest
policies of South Vietnamese government
• Current Communist governments in
Southeast Asia have discouraged
religious activities and permitted
monuments to decay
– Example: Angkor Wat