Transcript Who was the Buddha - Academy of Wisdom and Enlightenment

智覺學苑
Lecture #2.2
Who was the Buddha?
2Feb2013
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Definition of Buddha
The word “Buddha” simply
means “One who is
awakened”, in the sense of
having “Waken up to
perceive the total Reality”
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Siddhartha Gautama The Prince
• Around the year of 623 B.C., in the district of Nepal in
North East India, a prince of the Sakya family was born.
His name was Siddhartha Gautama.
• Brought up in wealth and luxury, he received
comprehensive education befitting a prince. He
married and had a son.
• One day, he saw a farmer ploughing the field. The
overturned soil uncovered a worm which was quickly
eaten by a bird. He was bewildered by the irony that
the life of the bird relies on the death and suffering of
the worm and the cause-effect of the farmer’s
seemingly unrelated activity.
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The Initial Drive 原動力
• Contemplating on life and death, he was
deeply concerned with the sufferings and
sorrow of old age, sickness and death, and
he realized he would face the same reality.
• Motivated to seek salvation for humanity,
he unleashed himself from ruling a small
kingdom and the associated fleeting
material pleasures of a royalty.
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The Progress 努力苦修
• He practiced strenuously all forms of rigorous
ascetic practices and meditation for six years.
• The painful austerities he practiced proved
absolutely futile and he found that whenever
he stopped meditation; all his tranquility
would simply vanish.
• His severe practices reduced his body to
almost a skeleton and resulted in the lassitude
of his spirit.
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The Paramita Road Map
• Paramit = the other shore; ta =
arrived 到彼岸
• the historical incident was that
Gautama after receiving milk
from the Shepherd girl, jumped
into the river to wash his body.
He left behind the severe
asceticism, physical austerities
and futile meditation practices
on the one shore and swam to
the other shore to start his heart
journey to enlightenment.
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Prajna Paramita 般若波羅蜜多
• The Sanskrit word paramita means to cross over to
the other shore; from the shore of Avidya (無明) to
the shore of enlightenment, the attainment of
perfect wisdom
• Paramitas is the road map to enlightenment
• Prajna is the interconnected dynamic forces and
activities among all things within the cosmic web.
• Prajna Paramita is the propelling force to navigate
this journey of the heart (e.g. Prajna Paramita Heart
Sutra).
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The awakening
• On the other shore, Gautama sat under a tree, gazed
at the cosmic night sky and remembered the farmer,
the worm, and the bird. It dawned on him that
everything that arises could only arise out of
conditions that cause it to arise or to be created.
The creation of the universe is no exception. The
arising of all phenomena depends on pre-existing
conditions. He formulated the doctrine of
dependent origination "Pratitya-Samutapada"(緣起).
• He also found out that the ignorance of the Reality (
無明 Avidya) is the root of all sufferings.
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Wholesome Enlightenment
• He eradicated all defilements, purified himself totally
and realized things as they truly were and attained
enlightenment by his own striving at the age of 35.
• People called him the “awaken one” (Gautama
Buddha or Sakyamuni). He served humanity as a
living example of perfect enlightenment. He taught
precepts and ideology and eradicated all selfbenefits.
• He passed away in his 80th year as an ordinary
human being who had lived out a perfect life of
virtue.
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Advancing the Truth
• He exhorted his disciples to regard his
dharma as their teachers.
• He never arrogated to himself any sort of
divinity or deity.
• He exhorted his disciples to depend on
themselves for their deliverance through
purification of defilements.
• Enlightenment is not only for oneself but
for all beings.
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The Dharma is the Teacher
• Again and again he reminded his followers it was
superficial and futile to seek redemption through
benignant saviours and to crave for illusionary
happiness in after-life through the propitiation of
imaginary gods or by irresponsive prayers and
meaningless sacrifices.
• His iron will, profound wisdom, universal love,
boundless compassion, selfless service, historic
renunciation, exemplary methods employed to
promulgate the teachings — all these have
influenced 6% of the population of the world
today to hail him as their teacher.
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Prajna Paramita 般若波羅蜜多
• The Sanskrit word paramita means to cross over to
the other shore; from the shore of Avidya (無明) to
the shore of enlightenment, the attainment of
perfect wisdom
• Paramitas is the road map to enlightenment
• Prajna is the interconnected dynamic forces and
activities among all things within the cosmic web.
• Prajna Paramita is the propelling force to navigate
this journey of the heart (e.g. Prajna Paramita Heart
Sutra).
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The awakening
• On the other shore, Gautama sat under a tree, gazed
at the cosmic night sky and remembered the farmer,
the worm, and the bird. It dawned on him that
everything that arises could only arise out of
conditions that cause it to arise or to be created.
The creation of the universe is no exception. The
arising of all phenomena depends on pre-existing
conditions. He formulated the doctrine of
dependent origination "Pratitya-Samutapada"(緣起).
• He also found out that the ignorance of the Reality (
無明 Avidya) is the root of all sufferings.
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Lecture #2.2 Who was the Buddha?
THE END
Thank You
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Transfer of merit
By this effort, may all
sentient beings be free of
suffering.
May their minds be filled
with the nectar of virtue.
In this way may all causes
resulting in suffering be
extinguished, And only the
light of compassion shine
throughout all realms.
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