Transcript The Story of Buddhism

By the end of this lesson, you should be able
to identify and understand the Buddhist
Religion and be able to explain the key
concepts and major beliefs and how they
affect believers in India and the world.
The Story of Buddhism
In this chapter you will learn about Buddhism and
its teachings. You will learn about Buddhism’s
founder, Prince Siddhartha, his journey to
enlightenment, and the foundations and teachings
he established that Buddhists still follow today.
Siddhartha’s Birth
Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born about 560 B.C.E. in India
near the Himalayan Mountains. Before he was born, his mother,
Queen Mahamaya, had a dream. In the dream, the queen was
carried over the Himalayas and placed on a silver couch. A white
elephant with 6 tusks nudged the right side of her body.
The king and queen asked Brahmins
about the dream. They told the king and
queen that they were to have a special
child who would make an impact on the
world. The prince would either be a great
ruler to his people, or he would see the
suffering of the world and be a Buddha.
The queen gave birth to Siddhartha,
and a warm rain of flowers showered upon
them. The prince could walk, and Lotus
flowers grew in his footsteps. The prince also spoke and told his
mother that he was born to free mankind from its suffering.
The Prince’s Royal Life
Queen Mahamaya died seven
days after Siddhartha's birth. His
father, King Suddhodana, raised
him, along with Maya’s sister.
Remembering what the
Brahmins said, the king tried to
shelter his son. He wanted
Siddhartha to become a powerful
king. So, the king never let the
prince leave the palace walls.
The prince married in his late
teens to his cousin, Yasodhara. The
couple lived in happiness for
twelve years, and enjoyed the
luxuries of royal life. At age 29,
Siddhartha had a son.
The Prince Sees Suffering
The Prince was given the freedom
to travel outside the palace after the
birth of his son. On his journeys, he
saw three forms of human suffering.
On his first journey, Siddhartha
saw an elderly man. The prince didn’t
understand and asked Channa about
this. His driver told him that
everyone’s body is constantly aging.
On his second journey, the prince
saw a man in pain crying for help. He
asked why the man did that. The
driver explained that sickness to him.
On his final journey, the prince saw
a funeral procession. He asked his
driver about it. His driver explained
that death comes to all people.
Siddhartha Leaves
After seeing the three forms of
suffering, Prince Siddhartha decided
to give up his throne and journeyed
to seek the truth.
At the age of 29, the prince left his
family and escaped the palace walls.
He left his wife and newborn son.
The journey set his fate as Buddha.
Deeply troubled, Siddhartha
pondered what he had seen. He met
a man who had inner peace. He was
known as an ascetic, or a person
who gives up worldly pleasures. The
ascetic told the prince that being
free from suffering meant that he
must give up worldly pleasures and
desires and help others attain peace.
Siddhartha
Becomes
Ascetic
Siddhartha joined
the ascetics. He
had his driver take
him to the forest
where he cut his
hair and returned
his royal goods and
sent them back to
the palace with his
driver. He kept a
bowl for alms, or
gifts of food.
Siddhartha met other ascetics and sought truth. They
wanted to reach enlightenment, or awakening, through
meditation and denying themselves the basic needs. He drank
one drop of water and ate one grain per day. He deprived
himself of sleep, sat in the hot sun and even held his breath.
Siddhartha Leaves the Ascetics
After 6 years,
Siddhartha found
himself very thin
from lack of food.
Stories say that
he could see the
ribs of his back
and touch his
stomach and feel
his backbone. He
was still very
unhappy.
Siddhartha, nearly dead from starvation, took rice from some
village women. He knew that deprivation was not the right
path to enlightenment. His followers left him, thinking that he
abandoned the spiritual journey. He then decided to follow the
middle way, the path between the two worldly extremes.
Siddhartha is Tempted
The middle way of thinking forced
Siddhartha to travel the road to
enlightenment alone. He was not
enlightened, but he was on the right path.
Siddhartha bathed
in the Nairanjana
River on his 35th
birthday. He decided
to find enlightenment
or at least die trying.
While he meditated, the evil god Mara
tempted him with his three daughters,
Discontent, Delight and Desire. When he
avoided them, Mara came and tried to
tempt Siddhartha. After refusing Mara,
he fell into a deep state of consciousness.
Siddhartha Reaches
Enlightenment
After meditating 49 days under the
Bodhi tree and refusing Mara’s
Temptation, Siddhartha became
Buddha, or the Awakened or
Enlightened One. He reached nirvana,
an ideal state of peace and happiness.
He reached the truths that he sought,
and saw the past lives that he lived
through Zen, or meditation. He
understood what the cycle of rebirth
meant and how to end the cycle of all
suffering. Buddha now knew he had to
teach others how to reach nirvana and
how to attain happiness in the world.
The Four Noble Truths
After teaching other ascetics, Buddha
then returned to his home to teach the
royal family he had left six years
previous. Buddha then taught others how
to reach enlightenment.
Buddha’s teachings became known as
the Four Noble Truths. They are based on
the idea of the middle way. These ideas
became the basis for the Buddhist belief
system. They are:
1. All life is suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by cravings.
3. The way to end suffering is to give up all cravings.
4. The way to give up all cravings is to live life according to
the Eightfold Path.
The Eightfold Path
The Eightfold Path is finding the “middle way” in all things.
 Right understanding.
(Understand the Four Noble
Truths.)
 Right purpose. (Live a non-selfish
and non-violent life.)
 Right speech. (Do not lie or
gossip.)
 Right action. (Do not kill or steal.)
 Right way to earn a living. (Don’t
do a job that harms others.)
 Right effort. (Promote good
actions.)
 Right mindfulness. (Be aware,
not attached, to your feelings.)
 Right concentration. (Focus your
mind with meditation.)
Buddhism Video
Buddhism
Siddhartha
Eightfold
Path
4 Noble
Truths
3 Forms of
Suffering
Ascetics
Buddhism
Enlighten
ment
Nirvana
Reincarnation
Middle
Way