Buddhism

Introduction Origins: Buddhism was founded 2500 years ago in India Founder: Siddhartha Gautama- a man born around 563 BCE into a family of the Kshatriya Caste Siddhartha’s father was a King of the city of Shakya

Images of Siddhartha Gautama

The Early Life of the Buddha According to Buddhist literature, Siddartha’s birth was miraculous. Siddhartha’s mother, Queen Maya, conceived her son when Siddhartha descended from Heaven and entered his mother’s womb in the form of a baby white elephant – a symbol of purity.

Continued… Queen Maya died a week after giving birth, and Siddhartha was raised by his aunt. It is written that when Siddhartha was born, he immediately took seven steps and said, “This is my last birth.”

The Four Sights An old man – his body broken by life A sick man lying by the roadside A corpse being prepared for cremation An ascetic Hindu monk, that is, a monk who practices severe self denial

Siddhartha became a wandering seeker of spiritual knowledge. 1) His first teacher taught him to meditate and attain a state of deep trance – this did not produce the permanent solution he wanted. 2)He tried controlled breathing – this gave him headaches. 3)He tried reduced food intake – only eating one grain of rice a day – this made him realize extremes of any kind were not productive.

The Middle Way Siddhartha came to he conclusion that “The Middle Way” (a path between both extremes) was the best lifestyle to live because it was a lifestyle of moderation.

Enlightenment Read pages 164 and 165 in your textbook. Explain in your own words how Siddhartha reached “enlightenment”. Define the terms ‘nirvana’ and ‘dharma’. Answer question number two on page 168.