1. What do Buddhists Believe?
Learning Objectives:
What do Buddhist believe
What is the Noble eightfold path and the 5 precepts
Key words
Meditation: Calming the mind
Nirvana: Enlightenment has been achieved
Five Precepts: 5 moral intentions Buddhists try to
live their lives
Starter:
What makes you happy: discuss
Home work:
Online class room assessment : Faith leaders
12 December, 2017

2. What are the symbols of Buddhism?
The wheel of life symbolises the cycle of life, death and rebirth. The eight spokes, eight ways of life
The lotus flower symbolises purity and divine birth
Images of Buddha There are 32 symbols in Buddhism

3. Buddhism… The “middle way of wisdom and compassion”
A 2500 year old began in India and spread throughout the Far East
A religion followed by more than 300 million people

4. The “Three Jewels” of Buddhism
1.Buddha – the teacher
2.Dharma – the teachings
3.Sangha – the community

5. Who was the Buddha? Born Siddhartha Gautama –India, 563 B.C.E.
Raised to be a king
At 29 rejected the life of luxury
Followed a strict lifestyle for six years
Sat in meditation (Nirvana) –
Taught how to achieve peace of mind

6. What did the Buddha teach?
The Four Noble Truths:
To live is to suffer
The cause of suffering is self-centered desire
The solution is to eliminate desire achieving Nirvana
The way to Nirvana is through the “Eight-Fold Path”

8. Buddhist Metaphysics
Dukkha: life in this world is filled with suffering
Anicca: everything in this world is not permanent
Anatta: the soul is not permanent
Suffering is a state of mind –suffering can be extinguished (Nirvana)

9. Where did Buddhism begin?
How long ago did Buddhism begin?
Where do most Buddhists live nowadays?
Whose teachings do Buddhists follow?
What does the word Buddha mean?
What does Enlightenment mean?
Do Buddhists believe in a God?
What do Buddhists believe will happen when someone dies?
How can Buddhists break out of the cycle of death and rebirth?
What is breaking out of this cycle called?
How do Buddhists try to reach Nirvana?
What is meditation?
What is the sign used for Buddhism?
What is special about the lotus flower