Siddartha Gautama
• 5th Century BC• Wealthy Hindu Family• The Four Sights
• A very old man• A sick person• A dead body• A beggar
• Sought Enlightenment• Given the title of Buddha
• Means “the enlightened one”
Quest for Enlightenment
• Renunciation• Comfort vs. Ascetism
• Middle Path• Prayer and Meditation• No extreme self-deprivation
• Found enlightenment• Beneath a tree in Bodh Gaya,
India• Gathered disciples• Dhamma- teachings
Four Noble Truths
• Life involves suffering• Suffering originates in our desires• Suffering will cease if all desires cease• There is a way to cease all desire
• The Eightfold Path• Results in Nirvana
The Eightfold Path
Right View• Looking at things
appropriately• Beginning• End• Realization of the Four
Noble Truths
Right Intention• Commitment to Self-
Improvement• Renunciation• Good will• Harmlessness
The Eightfold Path
Right Speech• Words can break or save
lives; make enemies or friends; start war or create peace
• Tell the Truth• Speak friendly, warmly
and gently• Talk only when necessary
Right Action• Unwholesome actions
lead to unsound states of mind
• Don’t take life, or cause intentional harm
• Be Honest• Abstain from sexual
misconduct
The Eightfold Path
Right Livelihood• Earn living in a manner
that is legal and peaceful• Prohibited:
• Weapons• Meat (raising or
butchering)• Drugs and Alcohol• Slave trading• Prostitution• Any thing that would
violate right speech or action
Right Effort• Seen as prerequisite for
other principles• Without effort nothing can
be achieved• Prevent negative thoughts
and actions yet to occur• Correct negative thoughts
and actions that have occurred
• Start positive thoughts and actions yet ot occur
• Maintain positive thoughts and actions occurring now
The Eightfold Path
Right Mindfulness• Controlled and perfected
cognition• Mental ability to see
things as they are with clear consciousness
• Awareness• Body• Feelings• State of Mind• Phenomena
Right Concentration• Concentration on
wholesome thoughts and actions
• One-pointedness of mind• Meditation
Schools of Buddhism
Theravada• Way of the Elders• Pali “Cannon”
• Emphasis on monastic life• Lay people encouraged to
support monks
• Primarily in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
Mahayana• Great Vehicle• Emphasis on common
person• Enlightenment• Compassion• Bodhisattvas
• Enlightened beings dedicated to liberating others from suffering
• Primarily in Nepal, Tibet, China and East Asia
Schools of Buddhism- Vajrayana
• “Diamond Vehicle” – Tibetan Buddhism• Form of Mahayana Buddhism • Emphasis on meditative practices, compassionate living, and
advanced mystical practices• One can become a Buddha in this lifetime• Teachers known as “lamas”• Dalai Lama
• Spiritual and Civil Leader of Tibet• 14th incarnation• Exiled to Himalayas
Geography
• Persecuted by Hindu Kings• Pushed out of India
• Now more prevalent outside of India• Spread to West
• Zen • Tibetan
Current State
• Although detachment encouraged some leaders have promoted proactivity
• Engaged Buddhism• Thich Nhat Hanh• Meditation followed by action on insights received
• Social, Political, and Economic Justice• Environmental Activism