Buddhism

World Religion
SSP 121 (Religions, Religious Experiences

and Spirituality with Peace Education
ALLPPT.com _ Free PowerPoint Templates, Diagrams and Charts
Classification of Religion
Religious What/Who Is Divine Example
Classification
Polytheism Multiple gods Ancient Greeks and Ro-

mans
Monotheism Single god Judaism, Islam
Atheism No god Atheism
Animism Nonhuman beings (animals, Indigenous nature worship

plants, natural world) (Shinto)
BUDDHISM
Buddhism is one of the world’s largest religions and originated
2,500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe that the human life is
one of suffering, and that meditation, spiritual and physical labor,
and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment, or
nirvana.
Founder
 Siddhartha Gautama (Gautama Buddha) was the founder of
Buddhism and was born in present day Nepal. Siddhartha was
born in a royal Hindu family and would have had several roles
as a Prince in his community. He eventually moved to India to
have a more meaningful role in people’s personal lives.
• Founder: Siddhartha Gautama
• Earliest sources for the life of Buddha date
from the 2nd century AD
• Siddhartha was born a prince around 563
BC in Ancient India
– Grew up surrounded by luxury, married a
beautiful woman and had a happy life
– At age 29 he took a ride beyond the palace
gates and saw a sick man, an old man, a poor
man, and a dead body
• Disturbed, he left his family to find the “realm of
life where there is no suffering nor death
Gautama becomes Buddha
• Siddhartha Gautama wandered for years and meet

with Hindu Scholars, whose ideas didn’t answer his
questions
• He fasted and meditated under a tree pondering
the mystery of life
• Legend tells that during the night evil spirits
tempted Gautama to give up meditating, but he
didn’t
• After he rose, he believed he understood the cause
and cure for suffering and sorrow
• He then became Buddha or “Enlightened One”
Historical Context of founding
 After forty-nine days of meditation
Gautama Buddha was awakened, oth-
erwise known as reaching enlighten-
ment. After reaching enlightenment,
under a tree in India, he promised to
spread the knowledge he just learned
about how to end suffering.
Major Beliefs:
– Life is suffering
– Follow the 4 Noble Truths and
Eightfold Path
– This Path leads to better Karma
and a life purity
 A pure and enlightened soul can
ultimately achieve Nirvana
Key Teachings Buddhism
• Four Noble Truths:
– 1. All life is full of suffering, pain, and sorrow
– 2. The cause of suffering is nonvirtue, thinking

such as hatred and desire
– 3. The only cure for suffering is to overcome

these negative deeds and thoughts
– 4. The way to overcome these negative deeds

and thoughts is to follow the Eightfold Path
The Eight-fold Path
• The Eight-fold Path
Means:
• Right views,
• right intentions,
• right speech,
• right conduct,
• right livelihood,
• right effort,
• right mindfulness,
• right contemplation
The Eightfold Path
• A person has to live a moral life, avoiding
evil
• By meditating, you can reach Nirvana
• Final Goal: Nirvana, union with the

universe and release from the cycle of
reincarnation
• Buddhism stresses honesty, charity, and
kindness to all living creatures: Rejects the
Caste System!
According to Buddhism, after death one is either reborn into another
body (reincarnated) or enters nirvana. Only Buddhas (those who have
attained enlightenment) will achieve nirvana. The Buddha said of
death:
Nirvana
Nirvana is the state of final liberation from the cycle of death and re-
birth.
It is also therefore the end of suffering. The literal meaning of the word
is "to extinguish," in the way that a fire goes out when it runs out of
fuel.
What is it like? Is it like heaven, or is it non-existence? The answer is

not clear, Buddha only says it is "incomprehensible, indescribable,
inconceivable, unutterable."
The Major Buddhist Traditions
• Theravada: 300BC or earlier (“The Way of the
Elders”) - Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia. Only monks can
reach Nirvana
• Mahayana: 200CE (“The Greater Vehicle”) -
China, Korea, & Japan (& Tibet & Mongolia) Believe in
angel-like beings, different gods and saints, Nirvana is
open to all.
• Vajrayana 800CE (“The Way of the Diamond
Thunderbolt”) - Tibet & Mongolia, sect containing the
position of Lama(Guru) many polytheistic gods
All of these allow for the worship of
traditional pre-buddhist gods
Symbols
The eight-spoked wheel symbolizes the Buddha’s

turning of the Wheel of Truth or Law. There
are eight spokes to reference the Noble Eight-
fold Path of Buddhism, which is the path Bud-
dhists believe can end suffering in their lives.
This path involves becoming more wise, right-
eous, and thoughtful in life.
Place of worship
 Buddhists worship and meditate in a temple

known as a Vihara. A Vihara is a huge square
temple with roofs that slope down and out-
ward from the building.
Major Beliefs
 Death leads to rebirth into a new life (Reincarnation)
 All events in life is a consequence of actions

done in the past life (Karma)
 Cycle of Rebirth is escaped only by

achieving Nirvana
 Nirvana: unborn, unoriginated, uncreated,

unformed – achieved
Siddha-Shila by liberated
– where ultimatesouls
purity of
reside
life
Three Jewels:
When a person accepts the Buddhist philosophy and
wants to make it part of their life, the traditional way
is to say "I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in
the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha."
2/8/18

Buddhism

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Buddhism

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Buddhism

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

World Religion

SSP 121 (Religions, Religious Experiences

Polytheism Multiple gods Ancient Greeks and Ro-

Monotheism Single god Judaism, Islam

Atheism No god Atheism

Animism Nonhuman beings (animals, Indigenous nature worship

• Siddhartha Gautama wandered for years and meet

– 2. The cause of suffering is nonvirtue, thinking

– 3. The only cure for suffering is to overcome

– 4. The way to overcome these negative deeds

• By meditating, you can reach Nirvana

• Final Goal: Nirvana, union with the

What is it like? Is it like heaven, or is it non-existence? The answer is

The eight-spoked wheel symbolizes the Buddha’s

 Buddhists worship and meditate in a temple

 Death leads to rebirth into a new life (Reincarnation)

 All events in life is a consequence of actions

 Cycle of Rebirth is escaped only by

 Nirvana: unborn, unoriginated, uncreated,

You might also like