Buddhism One Man’s Journey to Enlightenment

Who, What, Why? F Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism F He was raised Hindu and was the son of a local ruler (extremely wealthy) F Lived a sheltered life; unaware of other people’s sorrow –He never knew that other people were unlike him

An “Eye-Opening” Experience F Siddhartha eventually left his palace and saw what the real world was like. –He saw old age, sickness, and death…for the first time! F He now asked a very important question: Why is there suffering? –He then goes out in search of the answer.

Seeking Answers F Siddartha followed the traditional Hindu path to find the answers he was looking for. –He fasted and meditated for long periods of time…until he got his answers. F He became Enlightened: he now knew the cause of suffering and he knew the cure. –He became the Buddha “The Enlightened One”“The Enlightened One”

His Explanations F Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path F Four Noble Truths: 1. Suffering is Universal 2. Cause of suffering is desire - When you get what you desire, you then want something else want something else 3. Only way to end suffering is to crush desire - Nirvana = condition of wanting nothing - Buddhist’s ultimate goal 4. Follow the Eightfold Path

Eightfold Path F Right views F Right speech F Right intentions F Right action F Right effort F Right mindfulness F Right concentration F Right living

Relation to Hinduism F Buddha saw himself as a Hindu F However, he did not like all Hindu beliefs 1. Multiple Gods 2. Importance/Power of priests 3. Caste System

Spread of Buddhism F After the Buddha’s death, his followers passed on his teachings by word of mouth F Later, his ideas were written down in the “Three Baskets of Wisdom” F Buddhism spread quickly through South Asia and then on to East Asia

Two Main Sects F Main “sects” of Buddhism develop –Subgroups of a religion F Theravada Buddhists –Saw Buddha as a great teacher, not a god –Stressed monastic life as the way to reach nirvana –Popular in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand F Mahayana Buddhists –Followers worship the Buddha as a god –Became popular in China, Korea, and Japan.

The Spread of Buddhism

Buddha Statue in China

Different Representations of the Buddha

Buddhist Monks