Buddhism 11/11/2011 12:32:00 PM

Emerged in Hindu context 2500 years ago

O at was going on in Hinduism was not completely unrelated
O Reaction to Hinduism
Upper class women ad a lot oI power
Benaras very important pilgrimage site
In general gods and goddesses were not important doing practices in tis area
A lot oI people part oI te community were called Samana
O Against a lot oI Vedic traditions
O Religious seekers wo gravitated towards religious sites and practice variety oI
tecniques in order to try and gain enligtenment
O Setting wen Budda was born
O Questioning autority oI Vedas, autority oI priests
O Trying to seek spiritual knowledge
O Lots oI movement
O Many oI samana were non teists
O Movement at same time as more clear caste system and class system
Buddists views similar to Hindus
O Bot believe in idea oI samsara
O Believe in many diIIerent pats to get to enligtenment (moksa)
O Bot describe samsara as suIIering, cycle not easy
O Bot practice Iorms oI meditation, yoga, used to try to transcend ultimate reality
O Eventually everyone will get tere
DiIIerences between Buddism and Hinduism:
O Against caste system: no need Ior Bramin priest because you don`t practice worsip
in te same way. No need to do rituals
O Critical oI kinds oI rituals Hindus ave done
O Bramin reIers to someone wo is well learned in te teacings oI te Budda, not
assumed at birt
O Darma not dependent on caste
4 Darma is te teacings oI te Budda
4 Noting to do wit caste
O Does not ave concept oI individual selI or soul
O Hinduism tends to emulate extreme ascetism
Siddatta Gotama/Siddarta Gautama
O Sakyamuni te 'Budda
O Many diIIerent brances oI Buddism
O Siddarta means someone wo`s reaced teir goal
O Budda reIers to someone wo as gained enligtenment on teir own
O Lived between 490-410 BCE
O Born in Iootills oI Himalayas
O Considered a ksatriya
4 Important because e was ig caste
4 Had access to te Vedas
O Married at 16
O Had a son
O Age 29, leIt ome
O Age 35, gained enligtenment
O Died at age oI 80
O Budda`s birt described as miraculous
4 Born to moter named Maya, maya means illusion
O Maya leIt te palace to go to parents ouse
O ent into labor en-route
O Stories describe gods coming down and rejoicing
O InIant stood up, took seven steps and says tis was is last rebirt
O Moter dies 7 days later
O Raised by moter`s sister
O Luxury oI te Budda
4 How well oI e was
4 Fater wanted to make sure e lived comIortable
4 ouldn`t ave to encounter any diIIiculties
4 Texts describe im living a liIe oI a prince
4 Because oI all tis luxury, Siddarta was very dissatisIied
4 Convinced carioteer to take im outside palace walls
4 Saw Four Signs
O Four Signs:
4 Old man
4 Sick man
4 Dead man
4 Religious leader
4 Forms oI suIIering
4 ConIronted wit idea tat liIe is impermanent
4 Budda wanted to Iind an end to te suIIering
O LeIt during te middle oI te nigt
O ent on quest to deal wit tings tat e came to experience and Iigure out a way to
transcend tem.
O Sougt out Bramin teacer/guru
Several diIIerent teacers:
O Meditative plain oI notingness
4 Mastered tis quickly
4 Realized tat tis didn`t really alleviate suIIering
4 Didn`t lead to dispassion, Iading oI desires, or peace
4 Acieved temporary relieI/peace during meditation
O Non perception
4 Focus on someting and ten it begins to Iade
4 Didn`t acieve awakening
y rejection oI meditative tecniques?
O Temporary
O No permanent awakening
O One dimensional
O Only dealt wit one kind oI experience, leIt untouced intellectual and moral
development
O Helped im ease some oI suIIering, but never led to some kind oI transIormative
experience
O Becomes very important to Budda
O Morally transIormed
Decided Ior Iinal liberation, one needed to experience emotional cange
O Budda was willing to accept tat tere were many diIIerent pats to nirvana
O Final goal ad to include cange oI quality oI tougt and Ieeling
O Moral cange in a person
O Led to practice oI meditation called vipassana
Austerities:
O y deprive oneselI oI tings?
O Cleansing
O Variety oI tecniques tat were along tese lines
4 Breating tecniques, but got eadaces
4 Fasted, but got sick
4 Tose tecniques didn`t work
Decided to go along pat oI moderation
Goes back to meditation
O One nigt, sat under a large tree called bodi tree
O Attained enligtenment ere
O Complete state oI awakening
O Recalled all oI is previous lives wen tis appened
O Jakata- tales tat described previous lives oI te Budda
O Acieved clairvoyant power tat allowed im to see all beings in cycle oI samsara
O Understood eIIects oI karma on people`s lives
O Able to successIully eliminate all oI is own cravings, and is own ignorance once
and Ior all
ent back to Banaras
O Taugt gurus wat e learned
O First sermon in Banaras set in motion te weel oI darma
O Taugt Four Noble Truts
O Gurus became is own disciples; became monks
O About 5 years later, budda`s step moter asks to join as well
O Tese disciples also gained enligtenment Irom listening to teacings oI te Budda
O Arats gained enligtenment, but troug teacings oI someone else
4 Traveled on and spread te teacings oI te Budda
4 Spread pretty quickly aIter tis point.
Viara
O Monastery were Buddist nuns and monks congregate
Controversy around ow Budda dies
O Some say e ate contaminated pork
O Teacings were spread to disciples around community
11/16
Bot Hinduism and Buddism sare ideas oI karma
O Intentional action is important to karma in Buddism
O Buddists view te general decline oI te universe as witin a process oI samsara as
well
4 Constant cycle oI destruction and creation
4 at ends up destroying te universe is te moral decline oI its inabitants
O Budda not just concerned wit liberation, but also wit teacing people to be moral
agents
4 Care Ior welIare oI oters
itin samsara, tere are a series oI places one can be reborn
O 6 Realms oI Rebirt
O Hell:
4 A place one is born into because oI bad karma accumulated
4 Temporary place
4 AIter born tere and live out liIe in existence, you can leave once bad karma
as been used up
O Animal:
4 Undesirable
4 No control
4 Hunted
4 Driven by instinct
4 No cance to decide ow to act
O Gosts:
4 Miserable spirits tat linger around umans tat aven`t been able to let go
4 Bound to te eart by teir own desires and cravings
O Titans/demons:
4 Driven by desires
O Humans:
4 Most desired rebirt
4 Middle balance between indulgence and suIIering
4 Neiter too pleasurable nor too diIIicult
4 One is most likely to seek to gain nirvana
O Gods:
4 Gods existence tends to be pleasurable
4 Happy, content
4 Are still caugt up in samsara
4 Most oI realms oI gods are still caugt up in cycle oI rebirt
4 Gotten tere because oI karma and good deeds, but tis will also be used up at
some point
4 Not motivated to cange teir circumstances
Karma determines situation born into, but we always ave Iree coice, to redeIine ourselves and
recreate wo we are.
Four Noble Truts
Taugt tese to is gurus
Has become one oI te most important aspects oI Buddism
'SuIIering (dukka) is inevitable
O Not everyting in liIe involves suIIering all te time, but nobody can escape suIIering
sooner or later
O Easy to see as pessimistic view
O enever we enjoy someting, eventually were going to suIIer
O Causes oI suIIering: pain, loss, poverty, disease, old age, psycological grieI
O Any kind oI pleasure at any moment is transitory
O Noting is permanent
O OIten Iear te end beIore it even appens
'Cause oI dukka
O Desire, or craving
O Our suIIering is not because oI any wrat oI god, but as to do wit our own wills or
experiences
O Our own desires, cravings
O e are constantly craving, never satisIied wit were we are
O Tree types oI craving:
4 Sense pleasure
4 Desire Ior existence
4 Desire Ior nonexistence (selI annilation, destruction oI anyting wrong in our
lives, impulse to destroy)
O SelIis craving can lead to striIe in te world
Malicious actions can cause rebirt
Fear oI karma is about cause and eIIect
O Noting to do wit reward or punisment Irom anywere else
O at causes good karma or bad karma ave to do wit coices, intentions you ave,
greed, atred, delusion (caracterize bad karma),
O Good karma is caracterized by actions oI non-attacment, benevolence, and
understanding
O Bot oI tese kinds oI karma keep you coming back, attaced to existence
4 Because Buddists ave particular understanding oI existence
Existence and Deat:
O Existence comes Irom a combination oI pysical and mental energies
4 Pysical body
4 Sensations and Ieelings
4 Cognition
4 Caracter traits and dispositions
4 Consciousness
4 All tese Iactors are constantly canging
O Deat comes Irom te non Iunctioning oI te pysical body
O Does everyting stop at deat?
4 Buddists would say no.
4 Craving to exist continues aIter body dies
4 Craving so strong tat it moves te wole world
4 Strongest Iorce in te world
it Buddism, tere is no soul
O Anatta so selI essence
O No permanent selI
O Every moment a body dies and is born anew
O Noting is totally Iixed
O e crave Ior tings to be permanent
O Not permanent because tere is no soul in us tat exists
4 e are collection oI energies tat are constantly canging
'To eliminate dukka, must eliminate desire
O Tat illusion stops wit nirvana
'Te way to te cessation oI suIIering is te EigtIold Pat
O SelI improvement tat Buddists aim to take
O Take te EigtIold Pat all togeter to Iully develop moral being
4 Rigt understanding
Properly grasping Iour noble truts
4 Rigt tougt
Freeing mind oI sensuous desires, ill will, cruelty, Iocus on
detacment and compassion and love
4 Rigt speec
Morality
No lies, no slander, no gossip
No ars or malicious words
4 Rigt action
Morality
Five presets Buddists are supposed to Iollow:
No sexual misconduct
No lying
No killing
No stealing
No excessive intoxication
4 Rigt liveliood
Morality
Doing tings tat don`t arm oters
4 Rigt eIIort
Meditation
ork to prevent evil tougts, anyting negative to enter your mind
Strive to produce good tougts wile meditating
4 Rigt mindIulness
Being constantly aware oI your body, activities, all sensations in body
as youre meditating mental states
Being very present
4 Rigt concentration
Meditation
Being able to concentrate
11/11/2011 12:32:00 PM

11/11/2011 12:32:00 PM