Both a philosophy and a religion. Was sheltered as a child Wandered the world Spent 49 days meditating and finally found an antidote to pain and suffering.

Both a philosophy and a religion

Buddhism

Buddha-the founder Was sheltered as a childWandered the worldSpent 49 days meditating and finally found an

antidote to pain and sufferingHe then developed a philosophy on how

exactly to escape suffering.He spread his ideas throughout India

No God or immortal soul to worshipRebirthReject caste systemMeditation is used to solve your problemsBasic Ideas:

PeaceLoveKindnessWisdom

Buddhism

Main Idea of Buddhism is that when you let go of desire and yourself you reach nirvana.

Nirvana is complete peace and blissUntil you reach Nirvana you are reborn over

and over again into the pain of life

Buddhism

This is the Bodhi Tree where Buddha spent49 days under before he reached enlightenment.

∙The original Buddhism was called Theravada Buddhism ∙Buddha was seen as a human being of great enlightenment.

∙How it was practiced:∙Basically people meditated and tried to live following the eightfold path to try and reach Nirvana.

Original Buddhism

Life means sufferingDesire is the cause of sufferingYou can escape suffering in nirvanaFollowing the eightfold path leads to nirvana

Four Noble Truths

Buddha preached that by following the Eightfold Path one can escape suffering. The Eightfold path is a set of instructions on how to behave properly in order to reach nirvana.

Right View-see things as they really areRight Intentions-be honorableRight Speech-choose your words carefullyRight Actions-do good, not badRight Livelihood-prosper legally and

peacefullyRight Effort-put forth good effortRight Concentration-concentrate when need

beRight Mindfulness-think good thoughts

The Eightfold Path

TripitakaHow the monks and nuns should behave

The MahayanasWritings about the schools of Buddhism

MilindapanhaPhilosophy of Buddhism

Four Noble TruthsBuddha’s idea that suffering was caused by

personal desire and passion

Other Scriptures

Turning Points There are more than one turning points for

Buddhism.While reading the chapter on Buddhism I

found four turning points.

The First Turning Point.The first turning point that was found was a series of

general councils. The first council, convened shortly after Buddha’s era. It

was the continuing process of collecting his things.The second, congregated about a century later. They

began to dispute the essential meaning of Buddhism.The third, united at Pataliputra, Asoka’s capital. They

revealed the more of the differences that would soon lead to a split over the question of whether the Buddha was a human or a god.

The fourth, gathered in the first century C.E. in Kashmir. They arranged the key doctrines of Buddhism as they had developed from the earliest times.

The Second and Third Turning PointsThe second was the fall of the Gupta empire

(c. 320-550 C.E.) in India.The third was when Muslim traders gained

control of the silk routes through central Asia.

The Fourth Turning PointWhen the Chinese forces lost the battle of the

Tales River to the Muslim’s in 751 Buddhism had a major decline in central Asia.

Tibet still supported Buddhism. From Tibet it was carried to eastern India in a newly emerging form called vajrayana Buddhism (the vehicle of the thunderbolt).

Crucial EventsThere were two crucial events that changed

how Buddhism was practiced by the Followers.

The first was Buddhism entering Japan.The second was eight major sects developed

in China under the Tang Dynasty.

Buddhism entering Japan This was a crucial event that changed how

Buddhism was practiced by the followers because when it entered Japan the Japanese people taught new forms of Buddhism.

One form was taught by Tiantai (Tendai). He taught that anyone could obtain an open-mind through righteous religious devotion.

Buddhism under the TangThis was a crucial event because when it

entered, eight major schools developed, they had their own interpretation of the original message of the Buddha.

Some of the interpretations were the importance of rules and regulations, rituals, scholarship, disciplinary exercises, and devotion.

Significant DecisionsThere were two significant decisions made by

followers/leaders that may have changed the original intent and practices by the founder. They were found in the stage of Mahayana Buddhism and in Japan.

At first the original intent was that the Buddha did not want to show off but be wise.

The Stage of Mahayana BuddhismMahayana Buddhism taught that religious

merit could be transferred from one person to another person as long as it was gained through the process of doing good deeds.

The concept of many heavens with many forms of the Buddha was developed by a group of people called the Mahayists.

JapanTiantai (Tendai) taught that anyone could

obtain an open-mind through righteous religious devotion.

Saicho encouraged the monks to fuse Confucian and Buddhist value systems.

Kukai introduced Shingon (true word) buddhism.

Amida (Amitabha) was known as the Buddha of the infinite light.

Meditation-Mental concentration and mindfulness

Mantras-Sacred soundsMudras-Symbolic hand gesturesPrayer Wheels-Reciting mantras with the

turn of a wheel.

Buddhist Practices

Tranquility meditation (Samatha)Insight meditation (Vipassana)Loving-Kindness meditation (Metta

Bhavana)

Types of Meditation

Basic purpose is to still the mind and train it to concentrate.

Goals of it were:1. Detachment from the external world. 2. Maximizing concentration with reasoning and investigation. 3. The passing away of joy, but with some sense of peacefulness. 4. The passing away of peace bringing the state of controlling yourself.

Tranquility Meditation

Purpose is to realize how important the truth is.The practice of it centers around mindfulness

(think about and observe something). Example: Instead of watching a television program comprehend it.

To practice mindfulness you could use walking meditation (practiced in monasteries), sitting meditation (focuses on breathing instead of walking), and everyday activities (apply skills in everyday things like eating, washing dishes, etc.).

Insight Meditation

Purpose is to help them develop virtue.There are three stages. They are: 1.Specific

pervasion. 2. Directional pervasion. 3. Non-specific pervasion.

To complete stage one they would focus on sending love to the following: Oneself, an admired person, a beloved person, a neutral person, and a hostile person.

Stage two can be done by projecting feelings of love in all geographical directions (north, east, south, west).

Stage three is completed by doing the other two.

Loving-Kindness Meditation

Used for protection from evil and misfortune.Believed to embody supernatural powers that

release god powers to frighten evil spirits.

Mantras

Used in ritual meditation, to generate forces that invoke a particular Buddha.

Five main mudras are fearlessness, earth witness, wheel turning, meditation, and gift-giving.

Mudras

Mostly used by people in Tibet and Nepal.Spinning the wheel is just as effective as

reciting sacred texts aloud.

Prayer Wheels

Today, Buddhism has spread to almost all countries of the world.

The population of Buddhism is estimated to be around 350 million.

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/practices.htm

The Spread of Buddhism