INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS 1. Who was the founder of Buddhism? 2. Who was Buddha? 3. What were the main teachings of the Buddha? 4. How these teachings related todays world?

Buddha Buddha is a title meaning ‘Awakened One’ which Siddhattha Gotama called himself and was called by others after he attained enlightenment.

Contemporary Issues

CRIME

1.CRIME the Buddha seems to have been the first person in history to try to give a theory of the origins of crime. In the famous Aggañña Sutta he says that it was only after the development of the concept of private property that crime arose.

2. CASTE The Buddha criticised the caste system on several grounds. The claim that it was ordained by God is no more than a myth

ALCOHOL

3. ALCOHOL Four main types of alcoholic drinks are mentioned in the Tipiṭaka. Surā was brewed from rice or flour. The Buddha says: ‘There are these six dangers of drinking alcohol: loss of wealth, increase of quarrels, ill-health, a bad reputation, making a fool of oneself and impaired intelligence.

4. HUMAN RIGHTS It is also mentioned in the Jātaka where it is stated that people are justified in overthrowing unjust or cruel kings. The second of these ideas is explicitly mentioned in the Vāseṭṭha Sutta where the Buddha argues against the caste system and says that ‘the differences between humans are insignificant’. The third idea is not explicitly stated by the Buddha but is implicit in his teachings of the preciousness of life, that all beings are worthy of love and the idea that all have within them the ability to attain enlightenment.

5. EVIL According to Buddhism, evil certainly exists in the form of cruelty, murder, avarice and theft, but it is caused by the greed, hatred and ignorance that reside in the human heart, not by an external agent.

GENDER

6. GENDER The Buddha said that women are as capable of becoming enlightened as men ‘Whether it be a woman or whether it be a man, whoever travels in the Chariot of Dhamma will draw close to Nirvāṇa.’ This means that while both genders are conditioned to a very high degree by their bodies, they do have the ability to transcend the psychological and social aspects of gender. Thus, as far as the potential to attain enlightenment is concerned, men and women are equal.

7. PARENTS AND PARENTING The parents’ role, apart from loving and caring for their offspring is, he said: ‘to restrain their children from wrong, encourage them to do good, give them an education, provide them with a suitable marriage partner and leave them an inheritance’. He also said that children should love, respect and honour their parents ‘because mothers and fathers do much for their children – they bring them up, nourish them, and introduce them to the world’

8. TEACHERS AND DISCIPLES He said: ‘A teacher should look upon his student as a son. A student should look upon his teacher as a father. United by this mutual reverence and deference and living in communion with each other, both will achieve increase, growth and progress in this Dhamma and discipline.’

HOME WORK Make a brief account of contemporary issues which are associate with Buddha. How do you enrich with these things ?

THANK YOU