Thursday, February 28, 2013

Buddhism questions

1. The name of the man who later became the Buddha was named Siddhartha Gautama.

2. The four passing sights that the Buddha experienced were an old man, a diseased man, a dead man, and an ascetic. These 4 passing sights played a role in Buddhism because they somewhat established Buddhism.
3. The Middle Way doctrine came from a guy tuning his guitar and he said if he does it too tight the strings will break and if he does it to loose it wont work so he said he needs to keep it in the Middle and that way everything will work.

4. Gautama gained enlightenment when he saw the four passing sights and realized that there is a world outside of his nice royal palace and he left the prince hood to live like others.

5. The Sangha is the common people that followed the Buddha and his teachings. It consisted of men and women from many different walks of life.

6. The 3 different jewels of Buddhism are Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

7. The similar features with Buddhist cosmology and Hinduism is that Both believe in samsara, the wheel of rebirth, this make Buddhism and Hinduism both believe in a cyclical system.

8. The Buddha's reaction was disagreement, he didnt agree with the thought of just men participating in rituals.


9. The 3 Marks of Existence are Anatta, Anicca, Dukkha

10. Anatta is the doctrine that the same self is reborn. This relates to Hinduism's belief of Atman because both involve inner self

11. In Buddhist doctrine energy is transfered during rebirth. Karma affects the status one is reborn to.

12. Do not take life, do not take what is not given, do not engage in sensuous misconduct, do not use false speech, do not drink intoxicants. For monks and nuns: Do not eat after noon, do not watch dancing or shows, do not use garlands, do not use a high or soft bed, do not accept gold or silver.

13. Dukkha translates to suffering I think of it as a downfall or a person having to deal with things they dont normally are associated with.
14. Tanha is the second of the 4 noble truths.
15. The Eightfold Path is
right views
right intentions
right speech
right conduct
right livelihood
right efforts
right mindfulness
right meditation
16. The Buddha is different from from all others who have been enlightened because he became enlightened while still alive.
17. Arhat is translated as "worthy one" and it is a title used to describe the living enlightened. Arhats are compassionate.
18. Nirvana literally means enlightenment and this tells people that once they have reached nirvana they have completed everything and know all.
19. The three divisoons of Buddhism are Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana
20. The main focus of Theravada Buddhism is the teachings of the Buddha and his words.
21. Mahayana is translated to the Great Vehicle and this shows that this doctrine focuses on Buddhism as a whole.
22. Vajrayana fights fire with fire by giving the teachings back and going against what others say.
23. The Dalai Lama is the head of the hierarchy of Buddhism. Each Dalai Lama is chosen by people who search for his reincarnation.
24. Theravada- Sri Lanka, Mahayana- India, Vajrayana- China

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Introduction to Buddhism


Sidhartha Gautama was Buddha's original name. He was born into a rich family over two thousand years ago. As he was growing up he was very advantaged. Sidhartha realized that life included various struggles  The main struggles he recognized were old age, sickness, and death. He spent a long time trying to figure out why these harsh things happened. He had a huge question on the meaning of life. He left his family, his palace and all of his material things behind, while he tried to find the meaning of life. He became a wandering ascetic. The word Buddha means one who is awake. Buddha was never considered a God or someone to be worshiped. He was simply considered a enlightened human being. 
Three Jewels
The Three Jewels is also known as the Three Treasures. There is a yellow jewel, a blue jewel, and a red jewel. The yellow jewel is the Buddha. The blue Jewel is the Dharma, and the red Jewel is the Sangha. In order to be a Buddhist these jewels have to be the center principles of your life. 
Threefold way
The Threefold Way is another path to Buddhism. It includes ethics, meditation, and wisdom. Ethics is supposed to clear your conscience and meditation is supposed to clear the way for wisdom to develop. 
4 Noble Truths
The 4 noble truths are believed to be given by the Buddha. The first noble truth is the dukka. The second noble truth is the origin of the dukka. The third noble truth is the cessation of the dukka. The fourth noble truth is the path that leads to the cessation of the dukka. 
Noble Eightfold path. 
The noble Eightfold path is a further understanding of the threefold way. The first is the Right Understanding or Perfect Vision. The second is the Right Resolve or Perfect Emotion. The third is the Right Speech or Perfect Speech. The fourth is the Right Action or Perfect Action. The fifth is the Right Livelihood or Perfect Livelihood. The sixth is the Right Effort or Perfect Effort. The seventh is the Right Mindfulness or Perfect Awareness. The sixth is the ​Right Meditation or Perfect Samadhi.