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Feb 27 08
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Buddhism Emerging in the sixth century bce Founder: Siddhartha Gautama Context of his life Lived from 563 to 480 bce Probably a member of the Kshatriya caste [second highest in ritual status of the four varnas, or social classes, of Hindu India, traditionally the military or ruling class.] Protected from the realities of suffering and evil by his father Gautama’s Transformation Discovered tragedy Discovered old age and death Discovered illness Discovered injustice Discovered cruelty Discovered mental illness Discovered prejudice Gautama's Questions Why does life include such things? What do they mean? Gautama Begins His Quest Gautama explores— The disciplines of philosophy of the highly educated Brahmins. Spiritual disciplines of the highly disciplined, self-denying ascetics. Gautama is disappointed. Gautama Becomes "Enlightened" Through a life-or death meditation He came to understand the source of suffering and its relationship to universal/timeless life. Buddha goes through four trances Joy and pleasure from reasoning Joy and pleasure from concentration without reasoning Calmness and self control towards joy or aversion Aversion: a feeling of strong dislike or a lack of willingness to do something Beyond pleasure or pain with purity of mind and peacefulness with self control
Buddha Wisdom From the Way of Purification Birth goes with death. Fortune goes with misfortune. Bad things follow good things. Men [and women] should realize this. Foolish people dread misfortune and strive after good fortune, but those who seek Enlightenment must transcend both of them and be free of worldly attachments. More Buddha Wisdom Thousands of people may live in a community but it is not one of real fellowship until they know each other and have sympathy for one another. To adhere to a thing because of its form is the source of delusion. If the form is not grasped and adhered to, this false imagination and absurd delusion will not occur. Enlightenment is seeing this truth and being free from such a foolish delusion. Beliefs in Buddhism Persons living today have former lives. Rebirths are dependent on karma. The Buddhist idea of karma: Life contains suffering because humans selfishly desire physical, spiritual, and intellectual attainments and satisfactions. This suffering can be overcome through elimination of desire; then rebirth, according to one’s actions in this life, can be transcended. It is the accumulated karma attached to one’s consciousness that requires the round of rebirths. Nirvana These truths free one from the round of rebirths and bring one to Nirvana. Nirvana: a state of being beyond all selfish desire, intellectual comprehension, or usual human emotions. "The stopping of becoming is Nirvana. Nirvana: permanent, stable, imperishable, immovable, ageless, deathless, unborn, and unbecome; it is power, bliss, and happiness; the secure refuge, the shelter, and the place of unassailable safety; it is the real Truth and the supreme Reality; it is the Good, the supreme goal,…the eternal, hidden and incomprehensible Peace. Teachings on Attaining Nirvana The Four Nobel Truths Life inevitably involves dukkha (suffering). The cause of suffering is tanha (ego-oriented desire or selfish craving). Suffering can be overcome by defeating selfish desires. Selfish desires are overcome through following the Teachings on Achieving Nirvana The Eightfold Path: Right view Awareness of the need to overcome selfish desire Right thought Determination to solve this problem Right speech Choosing not to lie or use evil language The Eight Nobel Truths (cont’d) Right action A refusal to kill, steal or behave immorally Right mode of livelihood Noninvolvement in the professions that harm living things Right endeavor Suppression (not repression) of wrong states of mind and creation of right states of mind. The Eight Nobel Truths (cont’d) Right Mindfulness Self-knowledge and self-mastery Right Concentration The experience of being freed from the false sense of selfhood and the isolation of selfish motivation Enlightenment Enlightenment— Is more than a matter of ethics. Is insight into the very essence of life and freedom to live on the basis of that insight. Ends the rounds of reincarnations The Buddha His nature In his own eyes, he was not "divine"; he was "the enlightened one"—I am awake! After a number of years, others believed the Buddha’s teachings and patterns of living revealed insight into human life and the nature of reality. In some areas of Buddhism, the Buddha was elevated to divine status. The Advancement of Buddhism After the Buddha died: Followers joined in council and began to recite and memorize his teachings. Result: Dogma and tradition, something the Buddha had criticized in Hinduism Followers split into two groups: Theravada—the school of the elders; adheres to a strict teaching of the Buddha; a way of the full-time religious person, the monk. The Advancement of Buddhism Theravada (cont’d) Laypeople express their religion by being supportive of the monks. In return for material support, the monks perform ritual and festival functions, although meditation is stressed more than these. The Advancement of Buddhism Mahayana Buddhism Stresses the infinite compassion of the Buddha Buddha assumes the role of savior, as he and others assist persons toward enlightenment. Less strict than Theravada The Advancement of Buddhism Mahayana (cont’d) The concept of the bodisattva Persons or beings who are "awakening" Persons far along the path to full enlightenment Both male and female Bearers of divine grace to help the ordinary believer Compassion is their chief characteristic The Advancement of Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism—7th century ce Religious Leader: The Dalai Lama The earthly manifestation of infinite compassion and wisdom A bodhisattva in his 14th manifestation in human incarnation Beliefs In the interrelationship of all of life The energies of the body may be used in the spiritual quest for enlightenment. Tibetan Buddhism Beliefs (cont’d) Practice of rituals perfect body energies and transform negative karmic patterns of life into positive perfections. Use of mandalas Using sacred designs to focus the mind Use of mudras Hand rituals signifying feelings Use of mantras Chanting or reciting spiritual formulas or words Zen A blending of Buddhism from India with Taoism from China. It is predominately practiced in China and Japan. A school of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith A school of Mahayana Buddhism that places great importance on moment-by-moment awareness and 'seeing deeply into the nature of things' by direct experience. Zen Zen mind Developed through practice Makes you notice yourself—"What am I?" Makes you go beyond the words and to wonder what your own mind and being are To make you wonder and to answer that wondering with the deepest expression of your own nature. Zen Beliefs A Zen Buddhist is attaining enlightenment (bodhi) through meditation as Siddhartha Gautama did. All human beings have the Buddha-nature, or the potential to attain enlightenment, within them, but the Buddha-nature been clouded by ignorance. To overcome this ignorance, Zen rejects the study of scriptures, religious rites, devotional practices, and good works in favor of meditation leading to a sudden breakthrough of insight and awareness of ultimate reality. Zen Goal of Zen To see things as they are and eventually realize in a flash the original nature of things. To make real in one’s life that perfect freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings |
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