Transcript Buddhism
Buddhism A Reform Movement In the beginning . . . 600 BC • Hindu priests had too much power because of caste/class difference • Reform movements began within India: °The Upanishads °Jainism °Buddhism • Like the Protestant reformation, Buddhism was a reform movement within the Hindu religion that turned into a separate religion Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha -- Enlightened One ) •Rejected the caste system •Path to salvation was to limit/control your desires •No God or higher spiritual being •Raised as a prince -- “I was spoiled, very spoiled.” “The Great Awakening” • No satisfcation in his life of luxury • 4 Journeys: °Suffering weak old man °Suffering invalid in intense pain °Suffering mourners in a funeral procession °Content monk travelling with only a begging bowl • Leaves home and life of luxury in search of knowledge “The Great Awakening” • Five “disciples” and two Brahmins (teachers) join him in the search °Yoga °Fasting • Both are traditional Hindu practices, and both produced nothing satisfactory for Gautama °Solo meditation is the key to the search • Gautama discovers true knowledge, attains Nirvana, becomes the Buddha “All Is Suffering” The 4 Noble Truths: • • • • Knowledge of Suffering Origin of Suffering Destruction of Suffering The Way to Destruction of Suffering Knowledge of Suffering • All individual existence is miserable and painful • “Birth is suffering, illness is suffering, worry, misery, pain, distress and despair are suffering; not attaining what one desires is suffering” Origin of Suffering • Suffering has its source in desire and ignorance • “It is that desire which results in rebirth, that desire bound up with longing and greed, which indulges itself now here, now there; the desire of the senses, the desire to be, the desire to destroy oneself.” Destruction of Suffering • This is the central aim of a Buddhist, to eliminate suffering The Way to Destruction of Suffering • The Noble Eightfold Path . . . The Noble Eightfold Path • • • • Right Knowledge Right Attitude Right Speech Right Action • • • • Right Occupation Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Composure Buddha the Teacher • “I am merely a man who awoke from the darkness of error to live free of selfishness, greed, and ignorance.” • Not a holy man, just a man following his dharma (to teach) • Taught people to focus on the process of the birth and death cycle Body / Soul • No eternal soul like Hinduism – Rebirth redirects your soul based on your previous karma • You have this life to live, and it’s up to you to make the most of it Selfishness • Selfishness (focus on I/Me) is the ultimate cause of suffering - Limited Perspective If you focus only on yourself, your perspective is very limited – you only see things through your lens - Unhappiness If you are selfish you’re never satisfied – you always want more, which perpetuates unhappiness The Middle Way • No Hindu/Jain extremism necessary! • Morality • Discipline • Insight Nirvana • Not the place your soul goes after you are freed from the birth and death cycle (Hindu) • A state of mind or being that can be reached even before physical death through meditation (enlightenment)