Buddhism

Wat Arun, Thailand

Siddhartha Gautama
• Hindu prince in 500s BC
was disillusioned with the
realities of life
• Searching for meaning and
achieved enlightenment,
became the Enlightened
One - Buddha
• Buddha said he was not a
god, and that whether or
not there is a god is not
important
• Buddhism focuses on life
on earth, not the afterlife.
 Buddhism focuses on
1. Living a good life so you can go to
heaven.
2. If you are bad you go to hell.
3. Life on earth, not the afterlife.
4. If you are faithful you will be rewarded
on earth.
 Buddha said ..
1. That it is not important if there is a God
2. That God does not exist.
3. That there is only one God.
4. That God is the one true way.
Buddha is a title, not
the name of a
person. It literally
means "to wake"
and become
enlightened. There
have been Buddhas
before Siddhartha
Gautama, and there
will be Buddhas
after. It is a term
that denotes a
person who has
attained supreme
truth and wisdom.
 Buddha means

1. To see the truth.

2. To awake.
3. To be saved from fire.
4. To live in truth.
• Gautama was of the warrior caste,
but he said even a low born person
could gain enough wisdom in one
lifetime to escape the cycle of
death and rebirth.
• Buddhism appealed to Hindus
because they had been told that
they earned their terrible living
conditions.
• The message is simple and does not
involve a god. A pure soul is a
happy soul. Hatred only ceases by
love.
 A pure soul
1. Is a forgiving soul
2. Is a happy soul
3. Is not a reality
4. Is not possible
 Balance
• Most go to the
extremes.
• 1. Excess in life -
wealth, gluttony,
etc.
• 2. Denial of
comfort - poverty,
starvation, etc
• BUDDHISTS SEEK
MODERATION
 Buddhist seek…

1. Enlightenment
2. Salvation
3. Forgiveness
4. Moderation
Four Noble Truths
1. Life is universal in
suffering and misery -
ego-centered.
2. Suffering results from
desires, fulfilled or
unfulfilled.
3. By overcoming desire,
one can escape suffering
and achieve NIRVANA or
total peace of the soul
4. The way to overcome
desire is to follow the
middle way and avoid
extremes.
 Four Noble Truths does not consist of…
• Life is universal in suffering and
misery
• Life is worth living if you are in a
gang
• By overcoming desire, one can
escape suffering and achieve
NIRVANA
• The way to overcome desire is to
follow the middle way and avoid
extremes.
 Eightfold Path
• Achieve the Four Noble
Truths by the Eightfold
Path.
• Like a staircase, seek
enlightenment by mastering
one step at a time.
• Steps: Right knowledge,
purpose, speech, action,
living, effort, mindfulness,
and meditation.
• Anyone can reach Nirvana
by following this path.
Which one is not one of the
Eightfold Path
1. Purpose
2. Speech
3. Effort
4. Holiness
• Buddha has achieved Nirvana -
Peace of the Soul.
• Nirvana is total self-understanding.
It’s pursuit is called living a Skillful
Life.
• In Nirvana, all weakness - lust,
greed, hate, and ignorance are
reduced to zero.
 Nirvana is
1. Belief in one God
2. Peace of soul
3. Peace on earth
4. No worries
 Elements from Hinduism
• Karma - people are responsible for
their actions, and all acts committed
by a person will impact their lives.
Karma is the system by which this
occurs. With Karma, past actions
affect one's present and future
incarnation.
• Reincarnation
• Meditation
 Kharma is…
1. People are responsible for their
actions.
2. All acts committed by a person will
impact their lives.
3. Past actions affect one's present
and future incarnation.
4. All of the above
• Many sacred
texts- Three
Baskets of
Wisdom,
Dhammapada
• Temples, pagodas,
wats for worship.
The name for the Buddhist place
of meditation is not…

1. Wats
2. Church
3. Temple
4. Pagoda
Two divisions:
1. Theravada or Hinayana,
original Buddhists that saw
him as a teacher - moral codes
India, Sri Lanka, SE Asia

2. Mahayana - See
Buddha as a god
China, Korea, Tibet,
and Japan
• The Dalai Lama is
the leader of
Tibetan Buddhism.
• He has been in
exile in India since
China invaded
Tibet.
• He says, “My
religion is very
simple, my religion
is kindness.”
The leader of Buddhism is
1. Dalai Lama
2. Muhammad
3. Jesus Christ
4. Abraham
The religion of the future will be
Buddhism. It should transcend a personal
God and avoid dogmas and theology.
Covering both the natural and the
spiritual, it should be based on a
religious sense arising from the
experience of all things, natural and
spiritual as a meaningful unity. If there
is any religion that would cope with
modern scientific needs, it would be
Buddhism.
- Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein said, “The religion of
the future will be:”

1. Christianity
2. Muslim
3. Buddhism
4. Judaism