1 Buddhist Traditions Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D. REL 117 Introduction to World Religions Berea College Spring 2005

2 WHO IS A BUDDHIST? Buddhist = from Sanskrit Buddha, “one who has awakened” to true nature of reality When asked what he taught, the Buddha said: “I teach suffering and the end of suffering.” When asked if he was divine or human, the Buddha said: “I am awake.” When asked to summarize his teaching, the Buddha said: “To avoid evil; to do good; to cleanse one’s mind.”

3 ANCIENT ROOTS OF BUDDHISM Gautama Siddhartha (“Success”): 1. Born in 6 th or 5 th century BCE (“Axial Age”) in northeastern India to Hindu family of kşatriya background 2. As young man, abandons family and home in order to become a renunciant, but rejects severe asceticism after several years 3. Develops “middle way” (moderated asceticism) and achieves nirvāna (complete awareness of true nature of reality) 4. Hailed as Şakyamuni (“Sage of the Shakya Clan”) and Buddha (“Awakened One”) and begins to teach disciples from both genders and all classes; dies at age 80

4 THE BUDDHA’S PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT Early life of luxury renders him incapable of critical perception of reality 4 encounters lead to 4 life- changing realizations: 1. Seeing an elderly person (everything decays) 2. Seeing an invalid (everything suffers) 3. Seeing a corpse (everything perishes) 4. Seeing a renunciant (detachment is possible) Subsequently, he adopts practice of severe asceticism – but this too renders him incapable of thinking clearly about the nature of things After abandoning both seductive luxury and grinding poverty, he attains clarity of mind in solitary meditation Meditation culminates in 3 crucial insights: 1. Anitya (impermanence) 2. Duhkha (dissastisfaction) 3. Anātman (no permanent self)

5 ANĀTMAN AND THE “FIVE AGGREGATES” Buddhists say that the self is not a holistic, permanent entity ( ātman ) Instead, it is a composite, impermanent entity (an ātman ), composed of five skandhas (“aggregates”): 1. Physical body (outward, sensory form of self) 2. Emotions (raw responses to sensory data) 3. Ideas (processed responses to sensory data) 4. Biases (orientations produced by sensory data) 5. Consciousness (awareness of self and senses)

6 THE “FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS” Early Buddhists express the Buddha’s central insights into reality as the “Four Noble Truths”: Life is suffering (duhkha) Self-centered attachment is the root of suffering Suffering can be ended There is a path by which to end suffering Each “Noble Truth” represents an imperative to respond to reality as it truly is: Understand suffering Let go of its origins Realize its cessation (nirvāna – “blowing out”) Cultivate the path toward its cessation

7 THE THERAVĀDA TRADITION By 200 BCE, all early Indian Buddhist sects disappear except for one: Theravāda (“Way of the Elders”) Theravāda claims to be custodian of authentic teaching of Şakyamuni, especially in terms of anātman doctrine and monastic discipline Theravāda sees monks alone as capable of attaining enlightenment, but encourages laypersons to accrue punya (karmic merit) through good actions in order to obtain better rebirths and eventual monkhood Theravāda becomes established throughout South and Southeast Asia Later marginalized by revived Hinduism and introduction of Islam, Theravāda survives today mostly in Southeast Asia and in Sri Lanka

8 THE MAHĀYĀNA TRADITION By 100 BCE, a rival to Theravāda arises: Mahāyāna (“The Great Way”) Mahāyāna claims to possess more complete teaching of Şakyamuni, especially regarding “Buddha-nature” (intrinsic capacity of all beings for enlightenment) and şunyata (“emptiness” or mutual dependence and non-ultimate nature of all elements of existence) Mahāyāna becomes majority form of Buddhism in Central and East Asia Most popular Mahāyāna sects: 1. Meditation (Zen) – focused on sudden enlightenment through mindfulness training, riddles, arts, and labor 2. Pure Land – focused on gradual enlightenment through faith in Amida Buddha, who vows to help all reborn in his Pure Land to attain nirvāna

9 TRADITIONAL BUDDHIST GOALS FOR LIVING A Buddhist takes the “Three Refuges”: 1. The Buddha (the Teacher) 2. The Dharma (the Teaching) 3. The Sangha (the Taught Community) “Five Precepts” to be upheld by all Buddhists, whether lay or monastic: 1. Do not kill 2. Do not steal 3. Do not misuse sex 4. Do not lie 5. Do not use intoxicants The “Noble Eight-fold Path” directs one’s way of life Prajñā (wisdom): 1. Right views 2. Right thoughts Śila (morality): 1. Right speech 2. Right action 3. Right livelihood Samādhi (concentration): 1. Right effort 2. Right mindfulness 3. Right concentration

10