BUDDHISM Origin: northern India 360 million followers Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (aka the Buddha)

Buddhism, continued Buddha: literally means “one who has awakened”; the enlightened one. Purpose: to find the middle way, rejecting the extremes in an effort to achieve nirvana.

Buddhism Believe In. Believe in … Reincarnation (cycle of birth, death, and rebirth) Nirvana (achieving peace of one’s mind and body, union with the universe, release from the cycle of rebirth)

Buddhism Do Not Believe In. Prayer, Eternal life in a heaven or hell God/God’s The need for a personal savior Formal rituals

Four Noble Truths Believe the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS All life is suffering Suffering is caused by desire To eliminate suffering, eliminate desire To eliminate desire follow the eightfold path

Buddhism Eightfold Path. Follow the Eightfold Path to achieve the middle way: Right understanding Right thinking Right speech Conduct Livelihood Effort Mindfulness Concentration

Buddhism, cont. Teach that DESIRE causes suffering. NIRVANA can be achieved if desire can be overcome and one can lead a life without pain and suffering.

KARMA: What comes around, goes around. CAUSE OF NEXT LIFE = KARMA

1) RIGHT UNDERSTANDING Understanding reality through the Four Noble Truths Seeing through illusions

2) RIGHT THOUGHT/MOTIVES Uncover ‘unwholesome’ emotional roots that guide our thinking Discover and weed out Only then do we become free from self-centredness

3) RIGHT SPEECH VS. - Vain talk, gossip, harsh words, lying Communication must further truth and harmony Including ‘self-talk’: “May you be well and happy today…”

4) RIGHT ACTION FIVE RULES OF MORAL CONDUCT: DO NOT DESTROY LIFE DO NOT STEAL AVOID SEXUAL MISCONDUCT DO NOT LIE DO NOT USE INTOXICANTS ABOVE ALL: ALL ACTIONS SHOULD BE BASED ON CLEAR UNDERSTANDING

5) RIGHT LIVELIHOOD How one makes their living One’s work should not harm others

6) RIGHT EFFORT Refers to the constant effort that must be put into achieving these goals IT TAKES EFFORT!

LIKE AN ELEPHANT FROM THE MUD.” 7) RIGHT MINDFULNESS The way to liberation is through the mind “CHECK YOUR MIND BE ON GUARD PULL YOURSELF OUT LIKE AN ELEPHANT FROM THE MUD.”

8) RIGHT MEDITATION Applying mental discipline to quiet the mind THE MIND IS SUBTLE, INVISIBLE, AND TREACHEROUS USE SKILFUL MEANS TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND ITS NATURE