1. Chapter Six
Buddhism

2. The Life of Gautama
The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha, a man from the Gautama clan
He probably lived during the sixth century B.C.E. and was a contemporary of Mahavira
According to legend, before Siddhartha’s birth a soothsayer predicted that he would become the Buddha (Enlightened One)
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3. The Life of Gautama
Gautama grew up surrounded by beauty and health, because his father had been told that he would become a religious leader if he saw suffering or an ascetic monk
He was married and had a son
Around his thirtieth birthday, Gautama started to become aware of the ugliness of the world
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4. The Life of Gautama
Gautama became aware that life always involves suffering and pain
His left his family and began to live life as a beggar to search for the answers to life’s mysteries
Gautama tried being a student of philosophy and then asceticism
He lived a harsh life in an effort to seek enlightenment, but was unsuccessful
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5. The Life of Gautama
The turning point in Gautama’s life came when he fainted from deprivation and fell into a stream
When the cold water revived him, he realized that his asceticism was not achieving enlightenment
He ate a meal and went to sit under a fig tree to mediate
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6. The Life of Gautama
Five of Gautama’s friends saw him eating and spurned him as a traitor
At last, after a long period of mediation, Gautama achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha
He then found his five friends and preached to them. They became the first Sangha (Buddhist monastic order)
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7. The Life of Gautama
Buddha was about thirty-five when he achieved enlightenment, and he spent the rest of his life preaching what he had learned
Early Buddhism taught that men as well as women could achieve enlightenment
Buddhist monks wear coarse yellow robes and carry only a bowl for begging for food
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8. The Life of Gautama
Lay Buddhists are expected to observe five basic rules of moral conduct:
Abstain from killing
Stealing
Lying
Engaging in improper sexual conduct
Partaking in intoxicants
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9. The Teachings of the Buddha
The soul does not exist
People live in a state of anatman (the absence of enduring souls)
The “soul” is actually a combination of five physical things: the body, feelings, understanding, will, and consciousness
That combination is bound to an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth
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10. The Teachings of the Buddha
The Four Noble Truths:
Pain
The cause of pain
The cessation of pain
The way that leads to the cessation of pain
The Eightfold Path includes “right”:
View, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration
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11. The Teachings of the Buddha
The person who follows the Eightfold Path will break the bonds of life and be released from the cycle
Nirvana is that release from the cycle of life
The goal of basic Buddhist practice is to extinguish the connection to life
Doing so makes on an arhat (or saint)
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12. The Development of Buddhism
Like many religions, before Buddha had been dead for very long his followers began to debate the meaning of his teachings
Those debates created schisms in the faith
When the emperor of India converted, around 297 B.C.E., Buddhism received its greatest impetus
That conversion also began missionary work
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13. Theravada Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism is the more conservative form of the religion
It believes itself to be closer to the original teachings of the Buddha
People must achieve enlightenment for themselves without help from gods or anyone else
Thus, the monk is an ideal figure for Theravada Buddhists
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14. Theravada Buddhism
If one cannot become a monk, then they can be a layperson who supports the monks and hopes to be able to be a monk in the next life
The goals of religion are reached through mediation and the efforts and achievements of the individual
Offering food to monks is a common way for laypeople to “make merit”
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15. The Principles of Mahayana
Mahayana Buddhism
The Principles of Mahayana
The Mahayana Buddhists believe that Buddha had additional secret teachings that he bestowed on his followers
They also believe that Gautama was more than a man. He was a compassionate, eternal, and divine being.
There are many other Buddha’s aside from Gautama
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16. The Principles of Mahayana
Mahayana Buddhism
The Principles of Mahayana
Bodhisattvas (future Buddhas)
A class of beings who could provide help for humans struggling with the problems of life
The bodhisattvas took vows to become bodhisattvas and achieve merit
The bodhisattvas postponed Nirvana after death until all living beings can attain it
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17. The Spread of Mahayana Buddhism
The teachings were carried into China from India
Then, Buddhism spread into the east Asian nations
Buddhism suffered from absorption into Hinduism in India, while it spread successfully in the rest of Asia
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18. Mahayana Buddhism Mahayanist Sects The Pure Land Sect
The Intuitive Sects
The Rationalist Sect
The Sociopolitical Sect
How are these sects different? What common features do they share?
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19. Mahayana Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes the use of magical words and formulas as a means of achieving goals
The most important feature is the concern for magic as a means of coping with problems of life
It is sometimes called Tantric Buddhism because of its emphasis on tantras
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20. Buddhist Festivals and Holy Days
The major Buddhist holidays are:
New Year
Celebrated in April with a carnival atmosphere
Buddha’s Birthday
April 8 – Celebrated with flower festivals and processions
The Festival of Souls
At the end of summer, purgatory opens and the souls of the dead wander the earth
Families leave them food and offerings
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21. Buddhist Festivals and Holy Days
Holidays (continued)
The Robe Offering
In November, Theravada Buddhists celebrate the sending forth of the first Buddhist missionaries in the days of Asoka
The laity present the monks with new yellow robes, and there is a public feast
The season ends with the making of a great robe, which is made in a single day and night, and commemorates the robe that Buddha’s mother made for him
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22. Buddhism Today
Buddhism has experienced a revival in the twentieth century, because:
Christian missionaries entered Buddhist countries and became exposed to the religion
The rise of Asian nationalism made many Asians take pride in being Buddhist
Buddha’s message of peace and tolerance seems to fit the modern age
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