Transcript File
Later Life of the Buddha And his teachings The Buddha • Prior to being the Buddha Siddhartha was an Ascetic – Asceticism (Greek) "exercise" or "training" describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. • Prolonged periods of fasting and meditation made his body weak To be a holy person within the ascetic beliefs you had to be a beggar. Could not ask for food or drink. Had to be given to you. Slept on the ground outside. Subjected to self inflicted mutilation and pain. Fundamental Moment Emaciated, his mind drifted. Remembered something from his childhood. Ants being killed Feeling of compassion for all living things. Perfection of the world. Interconnection. Sat beneath a rose apple tree. Shadow of the tree did not shift. Sat cross legged in a yoga pose. First time feeling pure joy. 45:23 – 54:35 https://www.youtube .com/watch?v=uJWP FYygGPc&index=15&li st=WL “At this moment, all beings and I awaken together.” -Buddha To continue this feeling of joy Buddha needed to eat Fed rice pudding from a villager who felt he needed to eat. Now what? • Now the Enlightened One, what was he going to do next? The Teaching... Meets a Ascetic. Tells the Ascetic that he has reached Enlightenment “That may be so.” First attempt to teach was a failure. Round two • After the first attempt he travels north. • Fellow Ascetics would refer to him as weak and Luxurious • Five of his old Ascetic friends swore to each other that they would not hear his message. • Spoke to the Five Ascetics • Became first Disciples • Introduced the Wheel of the Dharma. • Spoke from personal experience • Introduced “The Middle Way” • Traveled with them spreading Buddhism in India. • Not overly popular. • Most often rejected. • Used the analogy of the strings of an instrument. • Buddha lived in both extremes of living. • explained that there was a middle way. • Addresses the issue of human suffering • Introduced the Four Noble Truths • Introduced the eightfold path • Shortly after this new concept word spread • Soon there were one hundred Disciples • Developed a Buddhist community called the Sangha Sangha: is a word in Pali and Sanskrit meaning "association", "assembly," "company" or "community" and most commonly refers in Buddhism to the monastic community of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns. • Buddha didn’t want people to have as difficult a time as he did to discover the nature of the universe • Built the community to help people and the people help each other. • Many women joined the Sangha • Women at the time were considered to be second class citizens. • Gave women the chance equal to men to escape caste life • Life for lower caste women was very harsh. • The Sangha was an escape During that time • War raged through Northern India • Many Warlords and kings sought his counsel • Buddha only insisted that the killing stopped • His father’s kingdom was massacred. – “Violence always leads to more Violence” – Buddha • • • • Traveled India until age 80 Accepted food that was spoiled Buddha became sick He was dying and his disciples were devastated. Buddha Dies • Kusinara was his final resting place. • Asked to be laid on his side in a small quiet room. • Ensured to his disciples that death is a natural process. • Emphasized human feeling and not to fight it. Now what? • Now that the Buddha was dying, what were the Disciples to do? “Let the Darmah, and the discipline that I have taught you be your teacher. All individual things pass away. Strive on. Untiringly.” - Buddha. Key Terms • Nirvana- refers to the imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished. • Moksha - connotes freedom from the cycle of reincarnation • Buddha – “Awakened One” was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. • Meditation - A practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or for the mind to simply acknowledge its content without becoming identified with that content, or as an end in itself. • Dharma- the teachings of the Buddha. The idea of the “truth” concerning the laws of the universe • Enlightenment- understanding the truth of life by attaining freedom from ignorance • Five Precepts – the rules Buddhists follow. (abstain from harming another living being, stealing, improper sexual activity, false speech, and taking alcohol or drugs • Karma – the law of cause and effect. • Wheel of Life – a complete visual representation of the endless cycle of rebirth • Siddhartha Gautama - A sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. Taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism.