Buddhism & the Axial Age

1. Buddhism & the Axial Age • Buddhism originated in India at the end of the 6th century BCE. • This period is sometimes known as the Axial Age. • Around this same time, major philosophical figures lived in several parts of the world; • It was the age of Confucius and Laozi in China; • This was the age of the great Greek philosophers, including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; • In India, this was the period when the Buddha developed his ideas.

2. ‘Sakyamuni, the Founderhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sakyamuni • The founder of Buddhism is known by several names. • He was a prince in one of the many royal families living in what is now northern India and southern Nepal; • His given name was Si’ddhartha, and he was also called ‘Gautama; • He is sometimes known as ‘Sakyamuni • 释迦牟尼, which means “the light of the Sakya family.”

3. "Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." Various collections of teachings attributed to Gautama were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later. Gautama, the Sanskrit form of the family name of Siddhartha, the historical Buddha ‘Gautama Buddhac. 563 BCE to 483 BCE

4. Initial Awakeninghttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Siddhartha • Siddhartha was raised in relative luxury but turned to a life of spiritual questing; • Many stories recount his initial awakening; • In one, he overhears the wailing of a funeral procession and learns about death and suffering in this way; • In another, as a young prince, he is given a beautiful princess bride; but when he sees her drooling in her sleep, he realizes there is imperfection in the world; • He left his family home and went into the world to seek answers to his spiritual questions; • Siddhartha, an epithet of Buddha meaning “he who has attained his goal.”

5. The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo (from the Sinhalese Bo), was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya (about 100 km (62 mi) from Patna in the Indian state of Bihar), under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi. In religious iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed. The Bodhi (Wisdom) Treesupreme knowledge or enlightenment

6. the Four Noble Truths (Ebrey 66)Midway between self-deprivation and gratification • The teachings of the Buddhism are fairly simple and straightforward. • The key to his enlightenment is the realization of the nature of suffering. • Suffering is part of the normal life of people; • Suffering arises from our attachment to things; • If we wish to be free of suffering, we must liberate ourselves from our attachments; • There is a way to do this through meditation and renunciation; • These are the Four Noble Truths;

7. The eightfold path to liberation(Ebrey 66) • The Dharma wheel, often used to represent the Noble Eightfold Path • also known as the Middle Path or Middle Way.

8. The threefold division of the path(Ebrey 66) • Wisdom • Ethical conduct • Concentration

9. the impermanence of all things • Buddhism denies the permanence of phenomena; • All things arise and pass away; everything has a beginning and an end; • The appearance of permanence in things is an illusion; sometimes called maya, the illusion of the reality of sensory experience and of the experienced qualities and attributes of oneself; • This does not mean, as is sometimes said, that nothing is real, merely that no reality is permanent; • Because all things pass away, attachment to them can yield only suffering; • Therefore, the way to free oneself from suffering is to realize and accept the impermanence of all things, including oneself;

10. Theravada or Hinayana 小乘教 “Lesser Vehicle” was concerned with individual liberation; It emphasizes meditation and withdrawal from the world; Mahayana 大乘教, meaning “Greater Vehicle,” is not only concerned with individual liberation, but also concerned with the spiritual liberation of all beings. Thera’vada vs. Maha’yanaTwo Major Schools of Buddhism

11. In innermost essence, everything is Nirvana or empty. The ultimate reality is consciousness; that everything is produced by the mind. Karma: cause and effect; action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation Buddhism addresses human suffering with an unmatched directness. Many were comforted by the belief that one could earn merit, and that there is an invisible moral order governing the universe, and moreover, under this system one is rewarded in this life or the next for good deeds… The Attraction of Buddhism

12. Bodhisattva 菩萨 • The Bodhi’sattva, an enlightened spiritual being who chooses to remain in the phenomenal world to aid others, was the ideal of the Mahayana path.

13. Introduced to China • Around the beginning of the Common Era, Buddhism first appeared in China; • Buddhist monks travelled along overland routes from northeast India to Central Asia. The trade route of the Silk Road provided the main adventures for these travelers; • Sometimes in the 1st century CE, the first monastery was set up in China, near the Later Han capital at Luoyang. Buddhist monks became teachers at the imperial court, though without the same high status as Confucian scholars.

14. the first Buddhist temple in China, established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han (25 AD - 220 AD) capital Luoyang. The temple, although small in size in comparison to many other temples in China, is considered by most believers as "the cradle of Chinese Buddhism" The White Horse Temple