Buddhism

1. Buddhism Both a philosophy and a religion

2. Buddha-the founder • Was sheltered as a child • Wandered the world • Spent 49 days meditating and finally found an antidote to pain and suffering • He then developed a philosophy on how exactly to escape suffering. • He spread his ideas throughout India

3. Buddhism • No God or immortal soul to worship • Rebirth • Reject caste system • Meditation is used to solve your problems • Basic Ideas: • Peace • Love • Kindness • Wisdom

4. Buddhism • Main Idea of Buddhism is that when you let go of desire and yourself you reach nirvana. • Nirvana is complete peace and bliss • Until you reach Nirvana you are reborn over and over again into the pain of life This is the Bodhi Tree where Buddha spent 49 days under before he reached enlightenment.

5. Original Buddhism ∙The original Buddhism was called Theravada Buddhism ∙Buddha was seen as a human being of great enlightenment. ∙How it was practiced: ∙Basically people meditated and tried to live following the eightfold path to try and reach Nirvana.

6. Four Noble Truths • Life means suffering • Desire is the cause of suffering • You can escape suffering in nirvana • Following the eightfold path leads to nirvana Buddha preached that by following the Eightfold Path one can escape suffering. The Eightfold path is a set of instructions on how to behave properly in order to reach nirvana.

7. The Eightfold Path • Right View-see things as they really are • Right Intentions-be honorable • Right Speech-choose your words carefully • Right Actions-do good, not bad • Right Livelihood-prosper legally and peacefully • Right Effort-put forth good effort • Right Concentration-concentrate when need be • Right Mindfulness-think good thoughts

8. Other Scriptures • Tripitaka • How the monks and nuns should behave • The Mahayanas • Writings about the schools of Buddhism • Milindapanha • Philosophy of Buddhism • Four Noble Truths • Buddha’s idea that suffering was caused by personal desire and passion

9. Turning Points • There are more than one turning points for Buddhism. • While reading the chapter on Buddhism I found four turning points.

10. The First Turning Point. • The first turning point that was found was a series of general councils. • The first council, convened shortly after Buddha’s era. It was the continuing process of collecting his things. • The second, congregated about a century later. They began to dispute the essential meaning of Buddhism. • The third, united at Pataliputra, Asoka’s capital. They revealed the more of the differences that would soon lead to a split over the question of whether the Buddha was a human or a god. • The fourth, gathered in the first century C.E. in Kashmir. They arranged the key doctrines of Buddhism as they had developed from the earliest times.

11. The Second and Third Turning Points • The second was the fall of the Gupta empire (c. 320-550 C.E.) in India. • The third was when Muslim traders gained control of the silk routes through central Asia.

12. The Fourth Turning Point • When the Chinese forces lost the battle of the Tales River to the Muslim’s in 751 Buddhism had a major decline in central Asia. • Tibet still supported Buddhism. From Tibet it was carried to eastern India in a newly emerging form called vajrayanaBuddhism (the vehicle of the thunderbolt).

13. Crucial Events • There were two crucial events that changed how Buddhism was practiced by the Followers. • The first was Buddhism entering Japan. • The second was eight major sects developed in China under the Tang Dynasty.

14. Buddhism entering Japan • This was a crucial event that changed how Buddhism was practiced by the followers because when it entered Japan the Japanese people taught new forms of Buddhism. • One form was taught by Tiantai (Tendai). He taught that anyone could obtain an open-mind through righteous religious devotion.

15. Buddhism under the Tang • This was a crucial event because when it entered, eight major schools developed, they had their own interpretation of the original message of the Buddha. • Some of the interpretations were the importance of rules and regulations, rituals, scholarship, disciplinary exercises, and devotion.

16. Significant Decisions • There were two significant decisions made by followers/leaders that may have changed the original intent and practices by the founder. They were found in the stage of Mahayana Buddhism and in Japan. • At first the original intent was that the Buddha did not want to show off but be wise.

17. The Stage of Mahayana Buddhism • Mahayana Buddhism taught that religious merit could be transferred from one person to another person as long as it was gained through the process of doing good deeds. • The concept of many heavens with many forms of the Buddha was developed by a group of people called the Mahayists.

18. Japan • Tiantai (Tendai) taught that anyone could obtain an open-mind through righteous religious devotion. • Saicho encouraged the monks to fuse Confucian and Buddhist value systems. • Kukai introduced Shingon (true word) buddhism. • Amida (Amitabha) was known as the Buddha of the infinite light.

19. Buddhist Practices • Meditation-Mental concentration and mindfulness • Mantras-Sacred sounds • Mudras-Symbolic hand gestures • Prayer Wheels-Reciting mantras with the turn of a wheel.

20. Types of Meditation • Tranquility meditation (Samatha) • Insight meditation (Vipassana) • Loving-Kindness meditation (MettaBhavana)

21. Tranquility Meditation • Basic purpose is to still the mind and train it to concentrate. • Goals of it were:1. Detachment from the external world. 2. Maximizing concentration with reasoning and investigation. 3. The passing away of joy, but with some sense of peacefulness. 4. The passing away of peace bringing the state of controlling yourself.

22. Insight Meditation • Purpose is to realize how important the truth is. • The practice of it centers around mindfulness (think about and observe something). Example: Instead of watching a television program comprehend it. • To practice mindfulness you could use walking meditation (practiced in monasteries), sitting meditation (focuses on breathing instead of walking), and everyday activities (apply skills in everyday things like eating, washing dishes, etc.).

23. Loving-Kindness Meditation • Purpose is to help them develop virtue. • There are three stages. They are: 1.Specific pervasion. 2. Directional pervasion. 3. Non-specific pervasion. • To complete stage one they would focus on sending love to the following: Oneself, an admired person, a beloved person, a neutral person, and a hostile person. • Stage two can be done by projecting feelings of love in all geographical directions (north, east, south, west). • Stage three is completed by doing the other two.

24. Mantras • Used for protection from evil and misfortune. • Believed to embody supernatural powers that release god powers to frighten evil spirits.

25. Mudras • Used in ritual meditation, to generate forces that invoke a particular Buddha. • Five main mudras are fearlessness, earth witness, wheel turning, meditation, and gift-giving.

26. Prayer Wheels • Mostly used by people in Tibet and Nepal. • Spinning the wheel is just as effective as reciting sacred texts aloud.

27. The Spread of Buddhism • Today, Buddhism has spread to almost all countries of the world. • The population of Buddhism is estimated to be around 350 million. • http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/practices.htm