Contents of this Presentation Introduction The Life of the Buddha The Teachings The Five Precepts Not To kill, Not to steal, Not To lie, not to misbehave sexually Avoid Drugs The Four Noble Truths Karma No God

Buddhism The essential things to know….. Are the life & teachings of the BUDDHA.

It is based on the teachings or dharma of a man called Siddhartha Gautama who became known as the Buddha. He was born in the mountains of the Himalayas in Nepal. Buddhism has spread all over the world but it is mainly found in Asia. Buddhism began about 2,500 years ago.

It is essential that you know the story of the Buddha. They will always ask a few questions about his life.

People in Thailand & Japan and Tibet are Buddhist. Buddhism started in India. Yet in India there are few Buddhists.

Learning Outcomes; Know The Story of the Buddha essential learning

What is it like to be a Buddhist? A Buddhist is a person who follows the teachings of the man called the Buddha. The Buddha was a Prince who learned about the cause of Suffering. His father had protected him. One day he saw sickness, old age death & a holy man. He gave up worldly life. He became an ascetic.

The Story of the Buddha.

Queen Maya dreams of an elephant. This meant the child would have a good future.

The birth of the Buddha. He was born a Prince. So his mother and father were from a noble family.

According to legend when the Buddha was born he could walk and talk. Most religious figures have extraordinary births.

Learning outcomes Discuss In what ways the Buddhas Life was considered special even when he was so young?

What this means is that the child was special. He was set apart. His life was to be an example for others. It is not likely he could walk & talk. This is exaggeration.

In the palace the Princes father wanted to protect him from seeing any suffering.

So he was loved. He was given lots of wonderful things. He lacked nothing. His name was Siddharta Gutama.

As the prince grew up he was surrounded with beautiful things and treats and he lacked nothing. No expense was spared to see that he lived in total luxury.

Then one day the Prince went outside the palace. He wanted to go out and see the world.

The Prince goes outside the Palace and experiences suffering for the first time. He saw; Old age Sickness Death A Holy Man Sadu

These events were to have a strong effect on the Prince. He was surprised. He was upset. He was troubled. He was disturbed.

This was a life changing moment.He was filled with doubts and deep misgiving about life.

This is a separate incident. The Prince had always felt compassion to living things. He was upset when his friend shot a swan.

REACTION The Prince decide to act upon what he had seen. His reaction was shocking. He reacted in a surprising way.

He decided to give up his life in the palace. He would renounce the world. He would leave his wife And family and never see them again!

The Prince sees his wife and child for the last time.

From our point of view this would be seen as being harsh. What the story is saying is that it was profound. The Prince felt it necessary to do this. The complicated word for an A* would be renunciation.

The prince left the Palace for ever. His body guard accompanied him as far as the first few miles.

The Prince gives up worldly life. He cuts his hair. He fasted. He put his body through great torment. He becomes an ascetic.

He was reacting to a tradition of the Holy man or Sadu that existed in India at this time. This tradition is so strong that it still exists in India. It might be best to see the Sadu power-point now so that you can understand what a holy man did.

The prince starves himself. This is the disciplined life of an ascetic. He became so thin you could clearly count his ribs.