Unit 3 day 1 Flashcards
(15 cards)
Non-theism
It rejects the view that there is a creator.
Mount Meru
The central world-mountain. Around it are 7 continents in the 4 directions. The earth is flat. Beneath the flat earth there are 16 hells. Above the flat earth there are 6 heavenly realms.
Wheel of becoming
There are 6 realms. 1. Heaven, which is beauty, pleasure and ecstasy. 2. Rage and conflict, which is violence, envy and jealously. 3. Animals, which is self-preservation, survival and instincts. 4. Hell, which is terror, agony and depression. 5. Frustrated cravings, which is neediness, addiction and compulsions. 6. Human, which is purpose, possibility, and aspiration.
Pratityasamutpada
Means all stepping together. Idea that nothing exists, exists independently.
Double meaning of Siddhartha’s name
Means accomplished aim and straight teaching.
Queen Maya’s mysterious conception
It is said she was impregnated during a dream in which she danced with a white elephant. It happened when she was serving a 40 day religious vow or vrata of celibacy.
Buddha’s emergence from the right side of Queen Maya, 8 lotus steps and proclamation
He is said to have emerged painlessly from the right side of her body and to have taken 8 lotus steps, foreshadowing the 8 fold noble path he would teach after attaining enlightenment. Also, the right side is the pure side. He said he was there to end all suffering.
Asita and the double destiny and King Shuddhodana’s response
Asita= A famous Hindu sage. Asita held the child and read the marks on his body to predict his destiny. He predicted he would either be a great king or political leader or he would be a great sage or spiritual teacher. The king was adamant his son would be a political leader and did everything in his power to insure that this would be the case.
The 4 signs
- Sick man 2. Old man 3. Dead man 4. Sage
Siddhartha’s 5 yoga teachers
In the forest he encountered 5 masters of Hindu yoga who took him on as a disciple and taught him everything they knew about yoga. In a short time he became so advanced in yoga that his teachers recognized him as their master.
Emaciated Siddhartha
He was taught to be an ascetic which means he minimized his intake of any sensual experience including food and water. He had 1 teaspoon of mud a day. He got very thin and was on the verge of death. It was said if the touched his stomach he would touch his spine.
The musician’s teaching on the river boat and the ideal of the middle way
He had been meditating on the side of a river. He heard a musician telling his student “ Neither can you leave it to loose nor can you pull it too tight. If it is too loose it won’t play, if it is too tight it will snap.” This message helped Siddhartha find the middle way. He realized he had been on both extremes, from being overly protected to starving himself.
Bodhi tree
He wandered to a great pipal tree and sat under it in meditation for 49 days and nights, moving ever closer to his full awakening.
Battle with Mara
Mara is the lord of death. He appeared near the end of Siddhartha’s sitting. He tried to sway him away from his goal by tempting his with the pleasures of life. However, Siddhartha stayed steady and entered into the 49th night on which his enlightenment would occur.
3 watches of the night
- Sunset to 12am. the smallest circle. All his actions across all life times lead to that moment. 2. 12am to 3am. The medium circle. The universal law is relevant to all beings. 3. 3am to sunrise. The largest circle. Truth of no self. Truth of interconnectedness.
