Buddhism

BACKGROUND HISTORY A. It developed in the 500s BC In Northern India near the Himalayas. (Today Nepal)

B. Siddhartha Gautama Born a Hindu prince in Northern India, today Nepal. He left home at the age of 29 to search for the “Meaning of Life” and “Religious Truth”.

C. What Happened To Him? While on his search, he meditated under a tree for 49 days. During which he reached “Enlightenment” & would become known as Buddha or “Enlightened One”

Key Concepts A. Believes in Reincarnation & Karma B. Doesn’t follow the Caste System C. Doesn’t worship a God or Gods, Buddha is viewed as a “Teacher”

D. Nirvana The concept of the soul reaching a perfect state of being and becoming Enlightened. It is the release of all Selfishness and Pain. It ends the cycle of Reincarnation. This is just like the Hindu idea of “moksha”.

E. BUDDHIST VIEW OF NIRVANA IT MAY TAKE MANY LIFETIMES TO REACH NIRVANA, BUT IT CAN BE DONE IN JUST A SINGLE LIFETIME!

BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS- 1- LIFE IS SUFFERING 2- SUFFERING IS CAUSED BY DESIRE 3- END SUFFERING BY ENDING DESIRES 4- THE WAY TO ATTAIN ENLIGHTENMENT IS TO FOLLOW THE “EIGHTFOLD PATH”

B. The Eightfold Path Was Buddha’s guide to behavior in order to reach Nirvana. For most it would take many lifetimes to follow, but could be done in a single lifetime. Includes codes for Wisdom, Ethical Conduct and Mental Development.

C. Important Tool Buddhists use MEDITATION to follow Buddha’s teachings.

Buddhism’s Influence In India it fades out but it did spread to other areas in Asia like China & Tibet, Japan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and others.

B. Cultural Diffusion “The spreading of ideas from one place to another.” Example: Buddhist Missionaries take Buddhism from India to Japan

C. World Ranking There are around 376 million Buddhists in the world today. Buddhism ranks #5 in the world today.

BUDDHA’S LOOK