BUDDHISM

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BUDDHISM
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(No Transcript)
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Location of Buddhism
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Buddhism World Status

• Buddhism 360 million
• 6 of world population
• Fifth largest world religion
• Christianity 32
• Islam 22
• Hinduism 15
• Secular/Non-religious 14

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Buddhism

• Origin
• History
• Main Tenets
• Worldview
• Differences with Christianity

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Origin of Buddhism

• Began in the 7th century BC
• Buddha is a title signifying The Enlightened
  One or The Awakened One
• Title given to Siddartha Gautama who was born in
  563 B.C. died 483 B.C.
• Biography of his life does not appear until
  several hundred years later
• His life was the last of 500 reincarnations

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Origin of Buddhism

• Siddartha Gautama was born into a wealthy family,
  some propitious signs accompanied his birth
• Father protected him and groom him to be a king.
• Father allows him to take a chariot ride but
  decrees all poor and suffering be hidden however
  the gods assume human form so he sees an old man
  near death, a man disfigured by disease, a
  funeral procession of decomposing body, and a
  monk who has renounced the world.
• Decided to forsake his status and wealth and seek
  the meaning of life at 30 years old Vedantic
  tradition.

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Origin of Buddhism

• First quest for enlightenment
• Under the mentoring of two Brahman hermits, Alara
  and Uddaka
• They were unable to tell him how to put an end to
  the cycle of rebirths
• Second quest for enlightenment
• Asceticism with five companions
• Decided that self-mortification did not lead to
  self-realization but only enfeebled body mind

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Origin of Buddhism

• Enlightenment obtained
• Devoted himself to the simple life of intense
  mental discipline
• After prolong meditation after seven years while
  sitting under a fig tree received the answer to
  his quest
• Decides to share his way of enlightenment and
  begins to preach
• Converts five followers family
• Legend has him ascend into heaven but died after
  eating spoiled pork given as an offering
• Buddhists would probably say that words cannot
  truly describe Prince Gautamas enlightenment

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History of Buddhism

• Collection of Teachings and Split
• First council of followers shortly after his
  death collected his teachings
• Called Tripitaka, lit. meaning three baskets
• Second council ( 380 B.C.)
• Some argued for a greater role for the laity
• Less strict discipline
• Split between Theravada and Mahayana ( 200 B.C.)

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History of Buddhism

• Theravada Buddhism
• Name derived from an expression meaning
  tradition of the elders
• Retained emphasis religion centered on monks
• Also called Hinayana (little raft) in distinction
  to Mahayana
• Height of Theravada was in 3rd century B.C.
• Now mainly in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
• Most other areas have Mahayana Buddhism
• Mainly a religion for monks

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History of Buddhism

• Theravada Monks (bikhus)
• Only ones who can obtain nirvana
• They the focus of religious practice
• Laitys primary religious work is to support the
  monks
• Ordination
• Shave head and put on orange robes
• Vow to follow the Ten Precepts

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History of Buddhism

• Theravada Monks Ten Precepts
• Not to take a life
• Not to steal
• Not to commit sexual immorality
• Not to lie
• Not to drink intoxicating beverages
• Not to eat in excess or after noon
• Not to attend entertainment, e.g. dancing,
  singing, drama
• Not to decorate ones self or use cosmetics
• Not to sleep in high or wide beds
• Not to touch any gold or silver

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History of Buddhism

• Theravada Monks Life
• Usually live in a monastery
• Most of day in meditation
• Object of meditation on the total impermanence of
  all existence
• Focus to avoid being distracted
• Begging for food in the morning
• When monk attains full realization he is an
  arhat or holy man.
• At death enters nirvana
• Buddha is perfect in all his incarnations and
  arhat isnt

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History of Buddhism

• Buddhas
• Twenty five Buddhas
• All came to teach the same way of enlightenment
• Idea emerged there is a Buddha in the final
  stages of preparation to come to earth.
• Called Maitreya
• A Bodhisattva i.e. Buddha-in-the-making
• He will usher in a golden age of enlightenment
  for all

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History of Buddhism

• Theravada Buddhism the Laity
• Secondary participants
• Goal is to live a good life
• Follow the first five of the ten precepts
  (special occasions will follow eight)
• Store up merit (good karma) for a better
  incarnation
• May even earns some time in heaven between
  incarnations
• Universe consists of many levels and higher
  levels are states of bliss worthy of pursuing but
  not nirvana
• Recitation of Three Refuges
• I seek refuge in the Buddha
• I seek refuge in the Dharma (duty as in following
  teachings)
• I seek refuge in the sangha (order of bikhu or
  monks)
• Care for the monks (bikhu)

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History of Buddhism

• Theravada Buddhism the Laity
• Three main obligations
• Recitation of Three Refuges
• I seek refuge in the Buddha
• I seek refuge in the Dharma (duty as in following
  teachings)
• I seek refuge in the sangha (order of bikhu or
  monks)
• Care for the monks (bikhu)
• Food, material for clothing and other necessities
• Care for the temples
• Usually erected by lay peoples contributions
• Statue of generous donor with monk robe place in
  temple
• Traditionally, contribute by buying gold leafs to
  be added to statue of Buddha

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History of Buddhism

• Theravada Buddhism the Laity
• Position of Buddha statue hands
• Left hand open and on lap
• Right hand direct to the earth
• Calling on earth to witness to his Buddhahood and
  steadfastness (other positions, e.g. teaching,
  protecting)
• Folk religion
• Laity deify Buddha and worship him
• Knowledgeable Buddhist do not claim they worship
  him
• Storing Merit
• Can become a bikhu for a period of time
• Rite of passage in puberty rites

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History of Buddhism

• Mahayana Buddhism
• Means big raft because it accommodates large
  number of people, monks and laity
• Innovations
• Sunyata (void) is interpreted as absolute
  compassion, Benevolent compassion is the
  ultimate motivating force of Mahayana Buddhism
• Multiplication of divine beings
• Lotus Sutra and other scriptures
• Other schools

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History of Buddhism

• Mahayana Buddhisms Innovations
• Multiplication of divine beings
• Multiple Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
• Manushi Buddhas achieved enlightenment on earth
• Died and in Nirvana so not accessible
• Dhyani Buddhas attained enlightenment in heaven
• Have not died and are accessible
• I.e., Amithaba of the Pure Land School
• Bodhisattvas many Buddhas-in-the-making
• In Mahayana mythology these are divine beings in
  heaven who forgo entry into nirvana until the
  last soul is redeemed from hell which is the
  lower levels of incarnation.
• Available in heaven with much merit stored up to
  assist people in need

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History of Buddhism

• Mahayana Buddhisms Innovations
• Lotus Sutra and other scriptures
• Proliferation of Mahayana writings
• Lotus Sutra has the highest stature
• Core teachings attributed to Gautama (Called
  Sakyamuni sage of the sakya clan to
  differentiate him from other Buddhas)
• Sakyamuni was a manifestation of the true
  celestial Buddha
• All human beings have potential to reach
  Buddhahood
• References to specific Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
  by name
• Asserts that Hinayana is only for selfish
  uncaring people

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History of Buddhism

• Mahayana Buddhisms Innovations
• Other schools
• Tendai (rationalist)
• Pure Land (compassionate)
• Zen (intuitive
• Nichiren (chanting)
• Vajrayana (lamaist of Tibet)
• Shingon (combination of Tendai and Vajrayana)
• Ryobu (combination of Shinto and Shingon
• See Winfried Corduans chart, p. 230

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Tendai (rationalist school)
• Provide compromise between variations
• Organized by Chinese monk, Chih-I
• 6th century A.D.
• Teachings
• Superiority of Lotus Sutra inspired scripture
• Unity of reality all reality is equally a part
  of Buddhas nature
• Reality is sunyatta and maya at the same time
• Universal salvation all people will attain
  Buddhahood
• Because all are a part of the same Buddha nature
• Meditation to receive true insight into true
  reality

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Pure Land Schools (multiple)
• Buddha Amida (Japanese name for Dhyani Buddha)
• Mythology has Amida while going through his
  incarnations overwhelmed with human suffering
  that he vows to provide a way of salvation for
  all people.
• Became a Buddha and was able to provide salvation
• Created a paradise in western regions of heaven
  (pure land, Buddha field, or western paradise)

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Pure Land Schools (multiple)
• Anyone who trusts in Buddha Amida can enter at
  death
• In paradise anyone can reach nirvana (equivalent)
• Some schools say must recite nembutsu (I bow down
  to the Buddha Amida) to enter paradise
• Jodo-shin-shu (Japan) recite nembutsu only to
  express gratitude
• No demands on followers other than to show Amida
  their thankfulness
• Worship performed by clergy, services have
  chanting, meditation, and adoration

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Zen Origins
• Arose in 6th century A.D. in response to Tendais
  rationalist speculation
• Claims its origin come from Gautama (as do they
  all)
• Essence of it is enlightenment without words or
  explination
• Story of Buddha standing before his pupils
  waiting for him to teach, one pupil, Mahakasyapa
  understood and smiled and just looked at him.
• Traditional founder is Bodhidharma, Indian monk
  that emigrated to China a thousand years after
  Mahakasyapa
• Cut off eyelids and meditated at wall for three
  years and hit on head and then gained
  enlightenment

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Zen Schools
• Two major schools in Japan, Master Soto Master
  Rinzai
• Soto saw enlightenment gain gradually
• Rinzai saw a lengthy preparation time then gained
  abruptly
• All Zen schools
• Clear ones mind of conceptual clutter that
  impedes insight
• D. T. Suzuki summary of Zen
• Special transmission outside of scriptures
• No dependence on words or letters
• Direct pointing to the soul of man
• Seeing ones nature attainment of Buddhahood

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Zen Scriptures and experience
• Platform Sutra not considered authoritative nor
  source of belief
• Zen knowledge only transmitted from master to
  pupil and he can only direct him to see what he
  can see
• Enlightenment referred to as satori
• Satori is when a person has direct, unmediated
  insight into the self, the world and truth
  (Corduan, 233).

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Zen Enlightenment
• Dualistic thinking hinders enlightenment
  meaning making distinction and classifying things
  according to rational categories.
• Categories what is real, what is really real,
  and what is not really real
• Zen accepts reality as it is given (or perceived)
• Four ways to satori
• Zazen meditation cross-legged, straight back,
  focus on thought provided by master

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Four ways to satori
• Zazen meditation cross-legged, straight back,
  focus on thought provided by master
• Mondos stories of past great Zen masters and
  how they received enlightenment so pupil can
  learn how he may gain enlightenment
• Koans conundrumsriddles without answers (they
  supposedly carry the answer in them after one
  stops thinking analytically)
• What is the sound of one hand clapping?
• Does a dog have Buddha nature?
• How crooked is straight?
• Cultural activities such as art, martial arts,
  haiku poetry

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Nichiren Shoshu (Soka Gakkai)
• Founded by Japanese monk Nichiren from Tendai
  school
• 13th century
• Determined all other traditions wrong
• Return to Sakyamuni and true Buddhist teaching
• Nichiren was persecuted and about to be executed
  but a natural disaster free him, good omen so
  gather disciples
• Split into many sub-schools

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Soka Gakkai
• Nichiren Shoshu means the true Nichiren
• Revived in 1930s in Japan as Soka Gakkai
  society for the creation of values
• Most popular after Pure Land Buddhism

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Soka Gakkai Teachings
• Enlightenment available to everyone regardless of
  previous incarnations and current status and can
  be achieved in just a few years
• Ten states of life must be traveled from lowest
  to highest
• Persons state at death determines his karma and
  thus his next incarnation
• Those who attain Buddhahood finish incarnations

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Soka Gakkai Ten States of Life
• Hell, anger, animality, hunger, tranquility,
  rapture, learning, realization, Bodhisattva, and
  Buddhahood
• Progress from worst of human experience to
  physical, mental and then pure consciousness of
  enlightenment
• Key to enlightenment
• Chanting (diamoku) I bow down to the beautiful
  teaching of the Lotus Sutra
• Gohonzon piece of paper with diamoku worship
  when copy brought out at the temple (original in
  Japan)
• Improve physical life by putting in harmony with
  universe
• Lay movement, no priests, interested in social
  justice

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History of Buddhism

• Other Schools of Mahayana Buddhism
• Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism)
• Means diamond vehicle
• Considered the third division of Buddhism
• Also known as Lamaism
• Sublime philosophy and meditation
• Folk more concerned with magical practices to
  control evil spirits

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History of Buddhism
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History of Buddhism
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Tenets of Buddhism

• Relationship to Hinduism
• Gods have no place in teachings and are
  themselves in need of enlightenment
• Accepted samsara, karma, and ultimate (though the
  later is different)
• Some Hindu schools hold the atheistic view of
  Brahman
• Eliminated the caste system and the Vedas as
  authoritative
• This is what was against orthodox Hinduism

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Tenets of Buddhism

• Four Truths
• Truth of suffering all forms of existence are
  subject to physical and mental suffering
• The cause of suffering is desire desire for
  possession and selfish enjoyment of every kind,
  particularly the desire for separate, individual,
  existence.
• Suffering ceases when selfish desires are
  denounced and ceases
• The eightfold path leads to enlightenment

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Tenets of Buddhism

• Eightfold Path path of perfect detachment also
  known as the middle way because it avoids both
  self-indulgence and self-mortification
• This path leads to the cessation of suffering
• This path allows a person to escape from the
  cycle of rebirth
• To accomplish this task was a fulltime commitment
  so formed an order of monks

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Tenets of Buddhism

• The Eightfold Path
• Right Views
• Right Desires
• Right Speech
• Right Conduct
• Right Mode of Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Awareness
• Right Meditation

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The Eightfold Path

• The Right Views
• This involves acceptance of the four truths and a
  resolute rejection of unworthy attitudes and
  acts, such as covetousness, lying and gossip.

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The Eightfold Path

• Right Desires
• The thoughts are to be free from lust, from
  ill-will, and from cruelty. Free from desire
  from selfish possessions. Desire for achieving
  highest ends.

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The Eightfold Path

• Right Speech
• Ones speech should be plain and truthful,
  abhorring lying, tale-bearing, and harsh or vain
  talk. Words must be gentle, soothing to the ear,
  penetrating to the heart, useful, rightly timed,
  and according to the facts.

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The Eightfold Path

• Right Conduct
• To follow this path one must practice charity and
  abstention from killing any living thing, from
  stealing, and from unlawful sexual intercourse.
• While morality forms the basis of the higher
  life, wisdom completes it.

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The Eightfold Path

• Right Mode of Livelihood
• This path requires harming no one and being free
  from luxury. Each must take up work which will
  give scope to his abilities and make him useful
  to his fellow men.

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The Eightfold Path

• Right Effort
• Press forward in four directions 1) avoid
  increasing evil 2) overcome evil 3) develop
  meritorious conditions (detachment, investigation
  of law, concentration, rapture) 4) bring
  meritorious conditions which already exist to
  maturity and perfection.

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The Eightfold Path

• Right Awareness
• Four fundamentals of awareness
• Contemplation of the transitory nature and
  loathsomeness of the body
• Contemplation of the feelings of oneself and
  others
• Contemplation of the mind
• Contemplation of phenomena

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The Eightfold Path

• Right Meditation
• Concentration on a single object with all
  hindrances overcome
• Purpose is to be purified from all distractions
  and evils and filled with rapture, happiness and
  equanimity.
• Ultimate goal is to pass beyond sensation of
  either pleasure or pain into a state transcending
  consciousness, ultimately attaining full
  Enlightenment (state of perfection)

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Tenets of Buddhism

• Main purpose of Buddhism
• Escape from suffering
• Escape from cycle of rebirth
• Reach Nirvana cease to exist or realize ones
  self-extinctedness Nirvana (lit. blown out
  unconditional state of liberation, release from
  the cycle of rebirth-redeath determined by karma
• No ultimate reality (Brahman) behind illusion but
  nothingness (sunyata the void).
• No Atman (No soul in people)
• Karma in Buddhism the actions of body or mind
  which produce a fixed consequence for the present
  life or the future life.

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Buddhist Shrine

• A1 Body of Buddha
• A2 Sacred Text
• A3 Stupa mind of Buddha
• B1 Drinking water
• B2 Feet washing water
• B3 Rice Flowers
• B4 Rice Incense
• B5 Butter lamp or Candle
• B6 Scented water to annoint
• B7 Rice and Food
• B8 Conch Shell - Ting-shag

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Theravada Buddhist Worldview
Suffering/Desiring
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Mahayana Buddhism Worldview
Individual
The Buddha
Compassion
Heaven/Hell
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Important Terms

• Karma Cause and effect (what you sow is what
  you reap) good deeds do not cancel out evil
  deeds
• Impermanence everything changes and goes
  through cycle of birth, growth, decay, and death.
  No such thing as death. The world of phenomena,
  the very universe itself, has a purely relative
  existence, and this lack of absolute reality,
  applies to the individuals self. There is
  nothing eternal or immortal inside a mans body.

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Important Terms

• Nirvana is an ethical state, a condition which
  eliminates any future rebirth, the extinction of
  desire, the final release from suffering.
• Anatman ultimate non-self
• Sunyata the void

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Important Terms

• Gautama refused to answer about the existence
  after death. There is, disciples, a condition,
  where there is neither earth nor water, neither
  air nor light, neither limitless space, nor
  limitless time, neither any kind of being,
  neither ideation nor non-ideation, neither this
  world nor that world. There is neither arising
  nor passing-away, nor dying, neither cause nor
  effect, neither change nor standing-still.
  (Sacred Books of the Buddhists, Vol. II, 54)

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Christianity Buddhism

• Both seek enlightenment
• Both empathize with suffering
• Individuals are of value
• Committed relationships
• Emphasis on living live and loving
• Moderation
• Value of life