Buddhism Flashcards
(47 cards)
Buddhism: dates
500-400 BCE
Buddhism teaches….
the middle way
- between indulgence and aceticism
originally, Buddhism was focused on…
human effort
- there was no need for or help from the gods
Buddhism was a reaction to….
Hinduism; was absorbed back into Hinduism in India and is now centered in East and SE Asia (no longer prominent in India)
Founder of Buddhism: name and date
Siddharta Guatama (becomes the Buddha)
- 560-480 BCE: lived 80 years
founder of Buddhism: challenge of historical verification
evidence doesn’t come until a few centuries later his death
- this is not important to many Buddhists
Buddha: pre-birth
- existed for multiple lifetimes before 560 BCE
- Jataka tales: stories of prior lives before his final lifetime as Buddha
- story of him sacrificing himself to a tiger and cub to be eaten
Buddha: birth
- reflected the caste he’d be born into and did not choose Brahmin class, but the one beneath it (u can find liberation outside of brahmin class)
- born as a prince: mother dreamed of a white elephant that touched her side (spiritual conception) and was pregnant for 10 months before giving birth under a tree AND the child came from her side
- some Hindu dieities were present
- mother died, he said “born for salvation of world, this is my last rebirth)
Buddha: youth
- wise, athletic, etc
- other killed elephants while he could throw the dead elephant over the walls and bring it back to life
Buddha: marriage
- got married at 16 years old to his cousin and it was good
- even with all the good, there grew dissatisfaction
- son = fetters (binding)
Buddha: 4 encounters and renunciation
- old man
- sick man
- dead man
- holy man = wandering beggar
Buddha’s quest
- self denial and asceticism in hopes of liberation
- only led to more focus on himself
- he went by a river and when he comes out he is given food by a woman and he eats it and relies the path of extreme asceticism is not working
Buddha: enlightenment
- rejection of asceticism, seeking a middle way
- sits under a tree facing east and meditates and is enlightened
- Demonds tempt him but he reaches down to the earth
- he is not coming up with something new, he wakes up to something that already is
Buddha’s main teaching
we do not need help, the solution is within us
Buddha’s death and paranirvana
- he ate bad food and knew it was bad but didn’t want to hurt their feelings
- died facing west and passes to paranirvana, extinguishing and not coming back to the world of suffering
Buddhism: the 4 noble truths
- all of life is suffering (Dukkha)
- suffering is caused by desire (Tanha)
- removing desire removes suffering
- remove desire by following the 8-fold path
3 basic divisions of the 8-fold path
morality, meditation, and insight
what are the 8-fold paths
- right speech
- right action
- right livelihood
- right effort
- right mindfulness
- right concentration
- right views
- right intention
how to achieve right action
follow the 10 precepts (first 5 for all Buddhists, all 10 for monks and nuns)
do not: kill, steal, sexual immorality, lie, take intoxicants, eat between noon and sunrise, dance, wear cosmetics/jewelry, have high seats/beds, accept silver or gold
dharma
“teaching” and truth
- Buddha did not make up these teachings, he realized that it is the way things are
karma
law of consequences
samsara
cycle of life, death, and rebirth
we want release from this
goal is nirvana
- desire is extinguished
-paranirvana: nirvana from which one doesn’t exist
anatman
no soul or no self
- you are a bundle of 5 different things, no permanence
