Session 3 – Buddhism Much of the information is taken from the “Compact Guide to World Religions” In this session we will turn our focus to the religion.

Session 3 – Buddhism

Much of the information is taken from the “Compact Guide to World Religions”

In this session we will turn our focus to the religion of Buddhism, which sprang out of

the teachings of Hinduism

There is by no means time to cover all that there is, so don’t let your study end here!

Statistics on Buddhism

Buddhist comprise around 7% of the worlds population, which turns out to be about

375-400 millions followers

Theravada Buddhism (differences will be discussed later, exists mostly in Myanmar,

Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand

Mahayana Buddhism is primarily located in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan,

Taiwan, and Vietnam

Vajrayana, or Tantric Buddhism exist mostly in Bhutan, Mongolia, and Tibet

Again, we will discuss the differences between these forms of Buddhism

(comparable to Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons, etc.) more in a moment

Estimates of the number of Buddhists in the United States vary between 0.5% and

0.9%, with 0.7% (2.5-3.0 million) reported by the CIA and others

Buddha means “The enlightened one”

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) lived 563-483 B.C.

This places his life time around the time the people

of Judah were exiled in Babylon

Buddha's life can be divided into three periods: enjoyment, enquiry,

and enlightenment

Enjoyment (563-534)

Siddhartha was born into the warrior caste of the Shakya tribe in northeastern India at

the time (now part of Nepal)

According to tradition, Siddhartha’s father wanted to shelter him and keep him in the palace so he would never see any form of

suffering (old age, sickness, death, poverty)

One day though he journeyed away from the palace where he was supposed to be,

and he encountered all four of those types of suffering among the people

This greatly troubled and had a profound effect on him. It caused him to become

somewhat disillusioned with the wealth of his family and life he grew up with

He became deeply concerned about the issue of suffering at this point

The Period of Enquiry (534-528)

Because of this encounter with suffering, he left his family (including his wife and child)

and his life of luxury

He committed himself to figure out the source of suffering, and how to eliminate it

Feeling convicted by the ascetic lifestyle he had seen many living, he began to practice

extreme asceticism himself

After about six years of this life, his body became so weak (from lack of food) that he almost drowned while bathing in a river, he had to grab an overhanging branch to pull

himself out of the water

He then realized that extreme asceticism does not produce the enlightenment he was seeking, and didn’t lead him to the

source of suffering and how to eliminate it

Period of Enlightenment (528-483)

After eating and regaining his strength, Buddha

traveled to a city named Bodh Gaya where he sat

under a fig tree by the edge of a river and vowed that he would not rise again until he had attained enlightenment

He then began a deep state of meditation

During this time of meditation, we have the Buddha being tempted by Mara, who is the

demon (evil figure) in Buddhism

He resisted the temptation though, and after a period (some say one day, some say forty days) and attained enlightenment and

became known as the Buddha

Bodh Gaya is now the site of the holiest shrine in the Buddhist religion

Buddha called his path to enlightenment the Middle Way

He has lived a wealthy life, and he had lived a life of extreme asceticism, and he

found that both of them caused him suffering, so he came up with a middle way

Soon after, Buddha would travel to another city and preach his first sermon, the

contents of which are know known as the four noble truths

Buddha teachings (Dharma) proclaimed the “Four noble truths”

1 - Life is suffering

2- Suffering is caused by desire

3 - The cessation of desire eliminates suffering

4 – The stopping of desire comes by following “The Middle Way” between the extremes of sensuousness and asceticism

The eightfold path

-Right view (Understanding the four -noble truths)

-Right resolve (Decision to observe and - follow them)

-Right speech (Practical actions to avoid the desires in this life that produce suffering)

-Right action (Practical actions to avoid the desires in this life that produce suffering)

- Right livelihood (Practical actions to avoid the desires in this life that produce suffering)

- Right effort (Emptying of your mind, directing your attention towards final liberation)

-Right concentration (Involved a higher - state of mind and body control)

- Right Ecstasy (This is obtained when all the sense experiences cease and universal

knowledge is obtained. This is release or final liberation; there is no more reincarnation now

Wisdom (Panna)1.Right Understanding

2.Right Thought

Ethical Conduct (Sila) 3. Right Speech4. Right Action

5. Right Livelihood

Mental Discipline (Samadhi) 6. Right Effort

7. Right Awareness 8. Right Meditation

They don’t have to all be done in order, they are instead attitudes and actions that

should develop with each other

The first two points serve as the foundation, you have to understand the situation if your

going to do these steps

There are ethical guidelines in Buddhism for right action, and that will help someone in

living right (right livelihood)

At the basis of ethical conduct are the sila, or moral precepts, which include the

commands to refrain from:

1.The taking of a life (not just human)

2.Stealing

3.Immoral sexual behavior (monks are celibate)

4.Lying

5.The taking of intoxicants

While the sila address one’s actions, the Samadhi (mental disciple) address one’s

attitude and state of awareness

Samadhi is defined as a deep state of consciousness “in which all sense of

personal identity ceases”

Buddha’s immediate goal was to eliminate the cause of suffering, but his ultimate goal was to liberate from the cycle of death and

reincarnation (samsara)

Buddha says the following in reference to nirvana

“There is a sphere which is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, which is not the sphere of the infinity of space, nor the sphere of the

infinity of consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, the sphere of perception, or non-perception, which is neither this world, neither

sun nor moon. I deny that it is coming or going, enduring, death, or birth. It is only

the end of suffering.”

When you enter the state of Nirvana, a person is not annihilated, because in order

to be annihilated you had to exist in the first place, which the Buddha says you didn’t

Differences on Reincarnation

When looking at the samsara cycle (reincarnation) Hindus would believe that

the individuals essence continues from lifetime to lifetime, Buddhist disagree

Buddhism does not teach that such a continuous essence exists

Each person consists (in Buddhism) of five aggregates which include, the physical body, emotions, perception, volition,

and consciousness

Upon death these things dismantle, and much like a car being taken apart for pieces,

it’s no longer a cohesive unit

Initially (first two centuries) Buddhism will not spread much beyond the borders of India, until King Ashoka

took power

He ruled from 274-232 B.C. and was a warrior king who, during one very bloody

battle became disgusted from the violence and then renounced all such fighting

He then converted to Buddhism

Once he converted to Buddhism he used his resources and influence to spread it

He commissioned Buddhist missionaries to go to other

parts of India (and surrounding countries like

Syria, Egypt, Cyrene, Greece, Sri Lanka,

Myanmar, Thailand)

The goal: Free oneself from the laws of “Karma” and achieve the state of “Nirvana”

This is often described as the blowing out of a candle, becoming one with the state of Nirvana (At this point Buddha said you

will be at peace)

Buddhists are not all on the same page, and not all Buddhist fit into a nice Buddhism box

of belief systems. Different groups exist.

The major split within Buddhism

– Hinayana Buddhism: “Little vehicle” – Mahayana Buddhism: “Great Vehicle”

Theravada Buddhist believe that enlightenment was limited to only a certain

group of people (like the monks)

Mahayana Buddhists believe that enlightenment was available to all people

Because they didn’t like the term Hinayana (and felt it was negative) they started referring to themselves as Theravada

Buddhist, which means “the teaching of the elders” (much more positive)

Another difference between the two is the concept of Bodhisattva and Arahat

The Bodhisattva (which is a Mahayana idea) is someone who achieves enlightenment,

but doesn’t go to Nirvana immediately

Instead they choose to stay here out of the love for others and teach and guide them to

reach this point of enlightenment

The Arahat ( A Theravada idea) is someone who is more concerned about themselves

and achieving enlightenment for themselves

There are many other differences that divide these two sects of Buddhism

Theravada Buddhists see Buddha as being only a man and not a god

Mahayana Buddhist view Buddha as a historical manifestation of a universal

absolute or the Buddha essence

Another difference would be Theravada Buddhist believing there was only one

Buddha, and Mahayana Buddhist that say there have been many manifestations of

the Buddha essence (plus another coming)

Another difference would be weather or not you have to achieve enlightenment on your own, or if you can have help from the Bodhisattvas (Mahayana’s say that you can

have assistance from them)

From India, Theravada Buddhism will spread towards the southeastern parts of Asia, and Mahayana Buddhism will spread

to northeast Asia

Besides the two main branches of Buddhism, there is a third group known as Vajrayana

It is derived from a form of Hinduism called tantra,

which emphasized occultic techniques for the development of spiritual power

Vajrayana means “The diamond vehicle”

The people of Tiber, where Vajrayana Buddhism is the predominant religion, have

given the world what is probably today’s most known living symbol of Buddhism

The Dalai LamaHe is Tibet’s political and

spiritual leader, and considered by them to be the 14th reincarnation of

Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion

There is one more difference between Buddhist that you may encounter

Folk Buddhism vs. Official Buddhism

Folk Buddhist are animistic and believe in sprits that influence and

control people’s lives

Folk Buddhist tend to know very little about official Buddhism

Buddhist Scriptures

What is to be considered scripture is another reason we have multiple sects of Buddhism,

there were disagreements on that topic

The Theravada Buddhists consider the canon to be closed with the Pali Tripitaka (Pali

refers to the language it was written in, and Tipitaka means three baskets of teachings, which include the Buddha’s sermons, rules

for monks, and philosophical teachings)

The length of the Tripitaka is around seventy times that of the Bible

The Mahayana Buddhist on the other hand saw the canon as remaining open. So

they include in their scriptures writings from Indian, Chinese, Japanese,

and Tibetan Sources

Some of the more popular writings would include the

Lotus Sutra, and the Perfection of Wisdom (which includes the Diamond Sutra

and the Heart Sutra)

The scared scriptures of the

Vajrayana Buddhist are the

Kanjur (which have 108

volumes to them) and the Tanjur (which

have 225 volumes)

Needless to say, none of them are lacking in

written material to read

Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu from birth, and never intended to start a religion,

only to reform Hinduism

Buddha in the processes created one of the most worshipped idols in the world

Temple of the tooth

The Shwe Dagon or Golden Pagoda contains over 3500 idols of Buddha

“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like

to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” -

Romans 1:22-23

Hindrances to Evangelism

1. Different perspectives on God, emotions, attachments, etc.

2. The idea of many paths to God

3. Jesus not being unique to them

Many of the same hindrances you’ll have with a Hindu will apply to Buddhists

Tips for witnessing

1. Affirm you common ground

2. Pick up on the issue of desire

3. Keep God’s personhood in mind

4. Be clear about sin and forgiveness

5. Use bridges to the good news (use examples from their beliefs)

Memory VerseRomans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not

worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”