Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings
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Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings 1 1 The birth of the Buddha and his life of luxury Buddhism was founded 2500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama. He was born approx. 500BCE in southern Nepal to King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. When he became enlightened he became known as the Buddha, which is a title meaning ‘awakened on’ or ‘enlightened one’. There are many stories surrounding Siddhartha’s life – including legendary and miraculous events. The following is a traditional commonly told about Siddhartha’s birth: Legend Queen Maya suggests that: Shortly after his dreamed that a birth a prophecy •Siddhartha could white elephant She gave birth immediately walk was made that came from to Siddhartha and talk Siddhartha heaven to tell when she had •Walked seven steps would either and lotus flowers her she would stopped to rest appeared under his become a great give birth to a feet. king or a holy holy child. •Declared he man. wouldn’t be reborn Siddhartha’s life of luxury: His mother died a week after his birth. His father wanted to protect him from any hardship, therefore Siddhartha only knew luxury – with the hope that he would be a great king like his father. Siddhartha had many mansions, female dancers for 2 2 entertainment and protected by sunshades. The four sights As Siddhartha got older, he got more curious about life outside the palace. One day he convinced his attendant Channa to take him to the nearby city. Here encountered four sights. (These stories can be found in Jakata 75) Siddhartha saw a frail old man and realised that everyone will age Siddhartha wanted answers to the problems of old age, illness and death. He saw a holy man walking through the streets with a peaceful OLD expression. This inspired Siddhartha to believe that a AGE spiritual answer to suffering was possible. A HOLY ILLNESS MAN Siddhartha saw someone lying in the road in agony Siddhartha saw a dead man being DEATH and realised that illness is a carried through the streets in a reality of life funeral procession and realised that everyone will die. 3 The Buddha’s ascetic life • Siddhartha knew he wouldn’t find his answers living in luxury. • He abandoned this luxury life, wife and newborn son to pursue spiritual enlightenment, leaving the palace. Life as an ascetic Turning away from asceticism • Ascetics live a simple and strict lifestyle • Siddhartha became weak and wasn’t with few pleasures or possessions. meditating effectively. • Believe in self-discipline an self-denial can • He was learning discipline, but not finding lead to spiritual wisdom. the answer to suffering. • Siddhartha took inspiration from the • He rejected asceticism as ineffective and ascetic he met and spent six years trying to accepted food and drink which restored his overcome suffering. health and strength. • He practised: 1. Living in hostile and dangerous forests – hot in the day, freezing at night 2. Sleeping on a bed of thorns 3. Eating so little that he looked like a skeleton. • He also learned how to meditate during these six years under the guidance of others. 4 The Buddha’s enlightenment Traditional stories tell how Siddhartha was determined to meditate until he found enlightenment. The demon Mara used various tactics to try and distract Siddhartha from his meditation, including: • Sending his beautiful daughters to seduce Siddhartha • Sending armies to throw arrows and other weapons at Siddhartha • Offering Siddhartha control of his kingdom • Questioning Siddhartha’s right to sit at the seat of enlightenment. In response, Siddhartha stayed focused on his meditation: • He was not swayed by the charms of Mara’s daughters but continued meditating. • The arrows and other weapons turned to lotus flowers before reaching him • He touched and called on the earth to witness his right to sit at the seat of enlightenment. The earth shook to acknowledge his right. According to legend, Siddhartha’s enlightenment took place during three (or ‘watches’) of the night: First Watch: Second Watch: Third Watch: •Siddhartha gained •He understood the •He understood that knowledge of all his repetitive cycle of birth, beings suffer because of previous lives. death and rebirth desire and attachment •He understood how •He understood that beings are reborn suffering can be according to their overcome through the kamma or actions path to enlightenment •He understood that nothing has unchanging essence (anatta) After he became enlightened, Siddhartha became known as the Buddha. He taught his spiritual wisdom to the other five ascetics who became his first disciples. He asked his followers to choose a middle way between the two extremes 5of luxury and asceticism. The Dhamma What is Dhamma? Dhamma generally refers to the Buddha’s teachings, but it also has the following meanings. The ‘truth’ about the The path of training the A universal ‘law’ that nature of existence, as Buddha recommended governs how reality understood by the for anyone who wants works, i.e. the way that Buddha when he to get closer to things are. became enlightened. enlightenment. In his book Old Path White Clouds, the monk Thich Nhat Hanh tells how the Buddha thought of his teachings as something to be practised but not to be “To the Buddha worshipped or held on to. He used the for refuge I go analogy of a raft to explain – the raft is to To the Dhamma be used to get across the water, but not for refuge I go get attached to it that you cannot let it To the Sangha for go. refuge I go. The Buddha described his insights into reality as the ‘truth’, but still encouraged his followers to test and question his teachings themselves. 6 The concept of dependent arising “All events and incidents in life so intimately linked with the fate of others that a single person on his or her own cannot even begin to act.” Tenzin Gyatso (the Dalai Lama) • Dependent arising is the idea the everything depends on supporting conditions: nothing is independent. • Dependent arising also means that everything is in a constant process of change, because everything is dependent on conditions which are themselves continually changing. Example 3: Example 1: Example 2: • Kamma is an example of • A tree depends on dependent arising – soil, rain and • A wave depends someone's happiness and suffering depends sunshine to survive. on how strong the on their actions • These conditions wind is, which is • The type of world a change as the always changing. person is born into in weather changes. their next life depends on their kamma. Example 4: • The Tibetan Wheel of Life is an image that illustrates dependent arising as applied to the birth, death and rebirth of beings. • This process continues for many lifetimes until broken by following the Buddhist path and breaking the habit of craving – leading to nibbana. 7 Dukkha The three marks of existence Anatta Anicca Dukkha Anicca Anatta • Suffering is an • Anicca affects the world in three • The Buddha taught that there is no inevitable part of life. ways : fixed part of a person that does not • • Living things – A tree sprouts from change. 7 states of suffering – a seed, grows and eventually dies. • We do not have a fixed self/soul 4 physical and 3 • Non-living things – An iron nail if • Illustrated by story of Nagasena and mental left out in the rain will rust and not the Chariot – A king asked Nagasena • Physical – Birth, Old be useful. what his name was, which he replied age, Sickness, Death • People’s minds – thoughts and it didn’t matter. Confusing the king – • feelings change throughout their he then related to a chariot. A chariot Mental – Separation lives. is made up of many parts, chariot from someone/thing • Buddhism teaches that when refers to all these parts together. you love, Contact people don’t accept change they There is no chariot independent of with someone/thing will suffer. these parts. Likewise a person exists you dislike, not being • Story of Kisa Gotami – Her child because of their parts they are made dies and is told to find mustard up from. There is no separate self able to achieve your seeds from a household that has that is independent to these parts. desires. never experienced death. She • Buddhists divide the ‘self’ into five failed to do this, therefore parts – The five aggregates or realising that death is inescapable. Skandhas. Her suffering became more 1. Form – Our bodies bearable. 2. Sensation – Our feelings • An awareness of impermanence 3. Perception – How interpret things reduces suffering. 4. Mental formations – Our thoughts 5. Consciousness – Our general awareness of things. 8 The Four Noble Truths • The Four Noble Truths were discovered by the Buddha while he was meditating under the Peepul tree. 4. There is a 1. There is 2. Suffering has 3. Suffering can means to bring Suffering - a cause - come to an end suffering to an Dukkha Samudaya – Nirodha end - Magga For example: A doctor Undergoing He tells you establishes He finds the the there is a that you cause of the treatment cure for the have an illness (the makes you illness (the illness (the second feel better third noble first noble noble truth) (the fourth truth) truth noble truth) • Buddhists aim to come to understand the Four Noble Truths through Study, Reflection, Meditation and other practices - such as following the Eightfold Path. 9 The first noble truth – The existence of suffering Suffering and Happiness • Some people think that to focus on suffering is pessimistic. • Buddhists would say the Buddha’s teachings are not pessimistic but realistic, as suffering affects everyone at some point in their lives. • Buddhism also teaches that suffering does have an end, which can be reached by following the Buddhist path.