Buddhism

Founder: Siddhartha Gautama Searched for wisdom and freedom from suffering Achieved enlightenment through 49 days of meditation. After enlightenment, he was known as Buddah

Four Noble Truths – pg 69

What’s the point? You must follow the guidelines of the Eightfold Path/Middle Way in order to reach nirvana Nirvana is perfect peace of mind and freedom from worldly concerns aka Enlightenment This will end the cycle of reincarnation

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Monks and Nuns Vow to remain unmarried, poor, and non- violent Try to spread the teachings of Buddah Did not stick in India Buddhists rejected the caste system Hindus simply absorbed some Buddhist ideas but never converted Spread to other parts of Asia Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, China, Korea and Japan

Fun Facts The Buddha says there is no creator and that questions on the origin of the world are worthless Buddha teaches that the key to happiness is to free yourself from all worldly goods and desires Buddhists believe that all living things have potential for spiritual growth. They do not kill animals at all. Buddhists cannot kill for meat but if the animal is already dead, they may eat it.

Important Terms Mahayana Elephant Festival The Buddha used the example of a wild elephant which, when it is caught, is harnessed to a tame one to train. In the same way, he said, a person new to Buddhism should have a special friendship of an older Buddhist. To mark this saying, Thais hold an elephant festival on the third Saturday in November. Stupa

Think Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper: Compare and contrast Buddhism to Hinduism? What will you go home and Google about Buddhism? (You must pick something) Are Buddhist monotheistic, polytheistic, or nontheistic? Why?