1. Early Buddhism I Asian Religions Berger

2. The Origins of Buddhism  5 th cent. BCE urbanizing North India  Buddha’s native kingdom of Kosala  Form of Government: “quasi-”republican monarchy  Warrior caste predominant—merit-based ideology  Kingdom over-run by Mathura in Buddha’s lifetime  Councils of next century created Theravada  Became official religion of Maurya Empire under reforms of King Asoka (255 BCE)

3. The Legends of Buddha’s Life I  Siddhartha Gautama Sakyamuni (460-380 BCE)  Miraculous birth and signs of savior status  King Suddhodana’s attempts to protect his son’s rule  The “four sights” leading to Siddhartha’s conversion  Old age  Sickness  Death  Asceticism  Abandonment of worldly life and rigorous asceticism

4. The Legends of Buddha’s Life II Buddha’s Awakening under bodhi tree  Knowledge of his own past lives  Knowledge of karmic histories of all beings  The Four Noble Truths  Establishment of sangha and 40 years of teaching  Death as a result of food poisoning

5. The Basic Teachings I  Rejection of two “extremist” ways of life and a search for the “Middle Path” (p. 195)  Devotion to indulgence of sense-pleasures  Devotion to self-mortification  The Four Noble Truths (p. 195-96)  Duhkka: “pain” of life resulting from impermanence  Tannha: “thirst” or insatiable desire  Desires that lead to non-acquisition of desired object  Desires that lead to initial gain then loss of desired object  Desires that lead to gain then boredom with desired object

6. The Basic Teachings II  The Four Noble Truths continued (195-96)  Nibbana: cessation of desire leading to peace of mind  Magga: the path leading to cessation of desire  Right View: genuine understanding of suffering and its cause  Right Thought: selflessness, detachment and love  Right Speech: no lying, harmful speech or coercion  Right Action: non-violence, non-deception, chastity  Right Livelihood: renunciation of harmful occupations  Right Effort: firm resolve to continue on the path  Right Mindfulness: constant introspection in actions  Right Concentration: correct meditational techniques

7. Limitation and Boundlessness  The problem of “burning” desire (pp. 197-98)  The boundless experience of awakening (198)  The traps of unanswerable questions (200-202)  Questions regarding ultimate origins and destiny  Questions regarding identity  Questions regarding the existence of soul (atman)  Analogy of the Poisoned Arrow

8. The Elements of Personhood  The Five Aggregates Introduced (p209)m  Material form: the body and its constituents  Feeling: bare awareness of sensory data  Perception : conceptual knowledge of world  Mental formation: dispositions, habits  Consciousness: desire-driven attachment to life  Aggregates Undergoing Constant Change

9. The Stages of Enlightenment  Fruits of different stages of awakening (211)  Highest Knowledge: Enlightenment  Non-Returning: dissolving of desire and hatred  Non-Entering: weakening of desire and hatred  Stream-Enterer: initiate who takes refuge in the “three jewels” (p. 218)

10. Readings for Next Class  Sourcebook, 220-238