1. Buddhism
an inward path

2. Origins Gautama Siddhartha
A man who achieved enlightenment at the age of 35
Not a prophet, god, or a spokesman for a god
A prince who abandoned the life of luxury around 2500 BC and established a community of thousands of monks near the Ganges River in north-eastern India
He based his beliefs on insights achieved through meditation
A radical egalitarian who welcomed even the “untouchables” into his community and rejected the caste-based beliefs of the Brahmanic tradition

3. Meaning of “Buddha”
The correct term is “the Buddha” meaning the awakened one.
The Buddha is upheld as a teacher and a role model (indicating that any person can achieve nirvana)
Other people before and after the Buddha are believed to have achieved nirvana
The Buddha advocated the “middle way” between comfort and austerity, rejecting the comfort of his princely life but also the extreme austerity practiced by other monks of his time

5. Tantrayana or Vajrayana
Theravada
The oldest surviving Buddhist school
Predominant in Southeast Asia
Emphasis on personal experience, study & meditation
Mahayana
Prominent today in India, China, Tibet, Japan
Belief in bodhisattvas, persons who delay nirvana in order to help others on the path
Emphasis on compassion and mutual assistance
Tantrayana or Vajrayana
Prominent in Tibet and Mongolia
Ritualistic and mystical elements
Use of mantras, yoga, mandalas, bells, even sex to accelerate enlightenment
Its teachings are well-guarded

6. The Four Noble Truths
Suffering is universal (at least for humans, and even among those who do not recognize their own suffering)
Suffering has a cause and its cause is ultimately internal to oneself
Suffering can be transcended
The transcendence of suffering depends upon releasing attachments and recognizing one’s inherent Buddha-nature, which is possible in this life with a particular “path,” which is a way or life or dharma

7. a path toward enlightenment
The Eightfold Way
a path toward enlightenment

8. Basic Insight: all aspects of life are interrelated

9. How do we know if a teaching conforms to Buddhist thought?
Three Dharma Keys
Impermanence
All that is passes away and ceases to be
Interdependency
This is because that is
This is not because that is not
Nonself (applying this insight to one’s sense of being a distinct person with a birth and death)
Dukkha/nirvana
Unsatisfactoriness is inherent to life, as one releases attachments one simultaneously discovers complete contentment and the lack of need to keep existing (and no longer is reincarnated, according to some traditions)

10. Differences
Christians believe that if a person is good he/she will go to heaven after death
Buddhists release their attachment to the illusion of separate personhood so death becomes an acceptable aspect of life
Christians believe the causes of their suffering can be removed by appealing to a supreme being who is creative and loving
Buddhists believe the experience of suffering can be transcended by releasing attachments to things that must necessarily change or pass away

11. Buddhist view of nature
The Diamond Sutra lists four signs that we can get caught in
Self, person, living being, and life span
Releasing attachment to the first three signs implies recognition that:
to protect oneself one needs to protect everything that is not oneself
the human species’ well-being cannot be separated from the well-being of other species
we even need to take care of rivers and other non-living entities

12. Practices of Lay Buddhism
Do not kill
Do not steal
Remain faithful to your spouse
Do not lie
Do not drink or use other intoxicants

13. Practices of Monastic Buddhism
Walking and sitting meditation
Abandonment of virtually all possessions
Communal life in the sangha
Pursuit of nirvana

14. Buddhist Landscape Features
Temples
Stupas (Chortens)
Monasteries

15. Buddhist Temples
Yangon, Thailand
Angkor Thom, Kampuchea

16. Bodnath Stupa Kathmandu, Nepal

17. Stupas in Crestone, CO and China
A stupa symbolizes many different aspects of Buddhism
more information

18. Potala, Lhasa

19. Potala was the palace of the Dalai Lamas and political center of Tibet from the 1600s until 1949 when the Dalai Lama fled to India

20. Taktshang monastery, Bhutan