2.1 - The Life of the Buddha - concepts

Question 1

event signalling the conception and importance of the Buddha before his birth

Answer 1

Queen Mahamaya dreamed of a white elephant descending from heaven and entering her womb - an event sometimes said to have been marked by an earthquake

Question 2

symbolic elements of Queen Mahamaya’s dream

Answer 2

white elephant: purity, supreme wisdom and power
consciousness of the Buddha arriving from a heaven realm

Question 3

mythical elements of birth stories of the Buddha

Answer 3

• baby emerged from Queen Maya’s side with no blood or birth water while she was standing
• warm and cold jet of water appeared from the sky to bathe them both
• buddha stood immediately and took steps in each 4 compass directions
• in some stories deities attended and gave homage

Question 4

symbolism of mythical birth story events

Answer 4

• steps in 4 direction symbolise spread of dhamma across globe
• perfection of the buddha

Question 5

meaning of ‘Siddhartha’

Answer 5

fulfilment of wishes

Question 6

Asita’s visit and the consequence

Answer 6

reputable sage - visited palace after Buddha’s birth and predicted he would be either a great king or great spiritual leader, causing his father to shield him from all suffering and potential triggers of spiritual yearning in hopes he would become a leader

Question 7

summary of the rose-apple tree story

Answer 7

as a child the buddha attended a festival and was left unsupervised - he watched from under a rose-apple tree and naturally fell into meditation and entered the first jhana so time stood still for him and the shadow of the tree had not moved when he was collected

Question 8

what the luxury of the buddha’s youth and his time as an ascetic may represent

Answer 8

the two extremes to be avoided via living the middle way - extreme indulgence vs asceticism

Question 9

demonstrations of the buddha’s compassion and sensitivity when young

Answer 9

• taken to the countryside to see its beauty but saw the reality of exhausted peasants and oxen
• rescued a swan shot down for food by his cousin Devadatta, nursed it back to health and released it

Question 10

general difference between Theravada and Mahayana attitudes to the stories of the Buddha’s life

Answer 10

Theravada: look to them more literally, may adhere to the physical details - drawn to what they reveal about the historical Buddha
Mahayana: may be more flexible in interpretation and response - more likely to accept as symbolic not literal

Question 11

Eastern assumptions Buddhism is based in that do not align with Western assumptions

Answer 11

• time is cyclical, so emphasis placed on institutions such as tradition which outlive the individual rather than the individual
• to wipe out evil is inconceivable as good and evil are co-dependent opposites

Question 12

assumption we can make based on the Buddha being the one to tell his own life story

Answer 12

only shared the aspects that are useful to end suffering

Question 13

palace life as a representation of childhood

Answer 13

age of innocence, protection from suffering so as not to be overwhelmed, but to remain in that state means unable to stand on own two feet

Question 14

palace life as a representation of our comfort zones even in adult life

Answer 14

provides sense of identity and protection, but risks being interrupted causing great suffering

Question 15

the four sights seen by Gautama on excursions from the palace with charioteer Channa

Answer 15

• worn-out old man
• diseased pained man
• body being taken to cremation ground
• religious ascetic

Question 16

Anguttara Nikaya scripture: impact of seeing the first sight of the old man on Gautama

Answer 16

initially shocked humiliated and disgusted, forgetting he too is subject to ageing, but upon consideration realised these things could not befit him as he too is subject to ageing, and so the vanity of youth left him

Question 17

Anguttara Nikaya scripture: the realisations each of the four sights brought the Buddha

Answer 17

• lost the vanity of youth considering ageing
• lost the vanity of health considering sickness
• lost the vanity of life considering the inevitability of death
• decision to renounce the transient pleasure of his life and seek a solution to sickness, old age, death

Question 18

impact of interpretation that the four sights were not the first time Gautama knew about such things, but the first time he directly saw / experienced them

Answer 18

more relatable to us - deals with the unconscious feeling that these things happen to others, not us, and how things seem more ‘real’ the closer to us they are eg we hear daily of terrible things happening in the world but aren’t touched by it but are distraught if it happens to someone close to us

Question 19

when the Buddha renounced palace life according to most texts

Answer 19

age 29 following the birth of his son

Question 20

what the Buddha initially seeking his two teachers demonstrates to Buddhists

Answer 20

starting on the path may require a support framework

Question 21

significance of the Buddha leaving his two initial teachers

Answer 21

demonstrates he remained true to his initial vow to find an end to suffering, without being distracted by personal achievements or the glamour of profound states of consciousness

Question 22

what the anger of the ascetics when Gautama ceased practising revealed

Answer 22

despite thinking they were ‘rising above’ attachment, they were not

Question 23

the problem with the attitude of asceticism

Answer 23

attitude that some things are inherently ‘bad’ whereas the world itself is quite neutral - it is the intent behind our actions that makes a thing good or bad

Question 24

the threefold knowledge

Answer 24

developed by the buddha (according to scripture while meditating under bodhi tree)
- memory of previous lives
- seeing rebirth of others according to kamma
- destruction of the asavas (defilements)

Question 25

the asavas (mental defilements)

Answer 25

mental states that perpetuate samsara - sensual pleasure - craving for existence - ignorance

Question 26

canonical account of how the Buddha came to the decision to teach

Answer 26

thought the dhamma was too subtle, profound, beyond the sphere of reason for others to understand, but panicked that an awakened one would not share his rare and precious wisdom the god Brahma Sahampati appeared and asked him to teach 'for there are being with little dust in their eyes who, not hearing the dhamma are decaying'

Question 27

what the Jataka tales reveal about the timeframe of the buddha, and what this means for buddhists

Answer 27

reveals great length of time taken to achieve Buddhahood, allowing the aim of enlightenment to be placed far in the future as an ultimate goal which can be presently detached from so practice is independent of reliance on it, and focused on present moment

Question 28

what Gautama's resistance of Mara's temptations revealed

Answer 28

he had properly destroyed belief in a 'self'

Question 29

how Mara tried to tempt Gautama to give up on his spiritual goal

Answer 29

- appealing to his sense of duty, saying his family needed him and that if he left he would be heir to his father's whole kingdom - appealed to his sense of desire using his daughters - appealed to his sense of fear using his terrifying demon sons

Question 30

geographical location and time period of the buddha

Answer 30

Northern India, Ganges Plain, somewhere between 6th-4th century BCE

Question 31

economy of India at time of the Buddha

Answer 31

based on agriculture and typically enough food to support population growth, with industry such as iron wood and leather generating wealth to support non-productive professions such as entertainers and philosophers

Question 32

climate and natural landscape of India at the time of the Buddha

Answer 32

largely still forested, presence of Indian wildlife - three seasons: hot and dry, monsoon, warmer milder winter

Question 33

composition of tribes in India at the time of the Buddha

Answer 33

indigenous tribes, others such as Tibetan and Burmese, and Aryan tribes as a result of earlier European invasion

Question 34

changing societal arrangement in India at the time of the Buddha

Answer 34

transitioning from tribal village life—governed by assemblies of elders (sanghas)—toward more complex urban societies dominated by monarchies. also saw beginnings of caste system, where people stayed for life in the social class into which they were born