An outline on Buddhism's main features. (c) 2016

1. BUDDHISM
XI- ARISTOTLE
Aquino, Mirella Kaye
Dulay, Hannah Marie
Madayag, Patricia Ann
Mangapac, Soujee Ann
Nevada, Angelo
OPINIANO, Keala
Submitted to:
Sir Ivan Carlo Manongsong

2. Buddhism
Buddhism, a major world religion, founded in northeastern India and
based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is known as the
Buddha, or Enlightened One.
• A path of practice and spiritual development leading to insight into the true nature of reality.
• Began in India 2,500 years ago and remains the dominant world religion in the East.
• Addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender.
THE BUDDHA
• The “Enlightened One”
• a title, which means ‘one who is awake’ — in the sense of having ‘woken up to reality’
• born as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 2,500 years ago
- Siddhartha Gautama was born into a royal family. At 29, he realised that wealth and
luxury did not guarantee happiness, so he explored the different teachings religions and philosophies
of the day, to find the key to human happiness. After six years of study and meditation he finally
found ‘the middle path’ and was enlightened. After enlightenment, the Buddha spent the rest of his
life teaching the principles of Buddhism — called the Dharma, or Truth — until his death at the age
of 80.
TWO MAJOR BRANCHES OF BUDDHISM
1. Theravada, the Way of the Elders
• the “Doctrine of the Elders” or the “Teachings of the Elders”
• emphasizes attaining self-liberation through one’s own efforts
• the follower is expected to “abstain from all kinds of evil, to accumulate all that is good and to
purify their mind”
• strive to become arhats, or perfected saints who have attained enlightenment and nirvana.
This is considered to only be possible for monks and nuns, who devote their entire lives to the task.
The best outcome the laity can hope for is to be reborn in the monastic life
2. Mahayana, the Great Vehicle
• Followers of Mahayana refer to Theravada using the derogatory term Hinayana, the Lesser
Vehicle.
• Hope to become not arhats but boddhisatvas, saints who have become enlightened but who
unselfishly delay nirvana to help others attain it as well, as the Buddha did.
• Further teach that enlightenment can be attained in a single lifetime, and this can be accom-
plished even by a layperson.
THREE MARKS OF EXISTENCE
• Suffering (Dukkha)- Suffering is a natural part of living. While we try to do everything in
our power to avoid suffering, the reality is that we can’t avoid it. Instead we should learn to pause and
pay close attention to the fact that suffering is a common bond among all humans. By understanding
that others suffer just like you suffer, you can start to develop compassion for yourself and others. Pay
close attention to yourself and how you react to various forms of suffering, then pay attention to how
others respond and act when they are experiencing suffering.
• Impermanent (Annica)- everything that is conditioned changes. Everything is conditioned
(except nirvana itself), because it is dependent on other things for its continued existence in a given
form, and conditions keep changing. Hence everything is constantly changing form, and is made up
of smaller parts which are constantly changing in relation to each other.
• No self (Annata)- EVERYTHING is interconnected. Nothing that exists,
including you, exists in and of itself, without dependencies, and as a single, permanent
thing. Everything about us is in constant change from the trillions of cells that make up
our body, to the multitude of processes that create thoughts, emotions, reactions, opin-
ions, and beliefs. We are not static objects, we are works in progress, with mind-bog-
gling complex processes that all depend on each other. Change is the only constant.
THREE JEWELS or THREE TREASURES
•Buddha (the yellow jewel) -refers both to the historical Buddha and to the ideal of Buddhahood
•Dharma (the blue jewel)- the teachings of the Buddha
•Sangha (the red jewel)- refers to the people with whom we share our spiritual lives
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1. All existence is dukkha. The word dukkha has been variously translated as ‘suffering’, ‘an-
guish’, ‘pain’. The Buddha’s insight was that our lives are a struggle, and we do not find ultimate
happiness or satisfaction in anything we experience. This is the problem of existence.
2. The cause of dukkha is craving. The natural human tendency is to blame our difficulties
on things outside ourselves. But the Buddha says that their actual root is to be found in the mind
itself. In particular our tendency to grasp at things (or alternatively to push them away) places us
fundamentally at odds with the way life really is.
3. The cessation of dukkha comes with the cessation of craving. As we are the ultimate
cause of our difficulties, we are also the solution. We cannot change the things that happen to us,
but we can change our responses.
4. There is a path that leads from dukkha. Although the Buddha throws responsibility back
on to the individual, he also taught methods through which we can change ourselves, for example
the Noble Eightfold Path.
PRANCASILA (Five Moral Precepts)
1. Abstention from harming living things
2. Abstention from taking what is not given
3. Abstention from sexual misconduct
4. Abstention from lying or gossip
5. Abstention from taking intoxicating substances like drugs and alcohol
SIX PERFECTIONS
1. Dana paramita: generosity
2. Sila paramita: morality
3. Ksanti paramita: patience
4. Virya paramita: effort
5. Dhyana paramita: concentration
6. Prajna paramita: insight

3. EIGHTFOLD PATH
• Prajña or Wisdom
1. Right view is the true understanding of the four noble truths.
2. Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness.
• Shila or Morality
3. Right speech involves abstaining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.
4. Right action involves abstaining from hurtful behaviours, such as killing, stealing, and careless
sex.
5. Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid dishonesty and hurting
others, including animals.
• Samadhi or Meditation
6. Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to the content of one’s mind: Bad qualities
should be abandoned and prevented from arising again; Good qualities should be enacted and
nurtured.
7. Right mindfulness is the focusing of one’s attention on one’s body, feelings, thoughts, and con-
sciousness in such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and ignorance.
8. Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively realize a true understanding
of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.
Theravada Dominance
- India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambo-
dia, Myanmar, Laos
Mahayana Dominance
- China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal,
Mongolia, Korea, and Vietnam

4. MORE OF BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS
The Buddha was an oral teacher; he left no written body of thought. His beliefs were
codified by later followers.
1)The Four Noble Truths
a) Life is suffering. It is a statement that, in its very nature, human existence is essential-
ly painful from the moment of birth to the moment of death. Even death brings no relief, for
the Buddha accepted the Hindu idea of life as cyclical, with death leading to further rebirth.
b) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attach-
ment, and grasping that result from such ignorance.
c) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment.
d) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.
2) Anatman – the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying substance that
can be called the soul.
3) Karma – consists of a person’s acts and their ethical consequences.
a) Human actions lead to rebirth, wherein good deeds are inevitably rewarded and
evil deeds punished. Thus, neither undeserved pleasure nor unwarranted suffering exists in
the world, but rather a universal justice.
b)The karmic process operates through a kind of natural moral law rather than
through a system of divine judgment.
c)One’s karma determines such matters as one’s species, beauty, intelligence, longev-
ity, wealth, and social status. According to the Buddha, karma of varying types can lead to
rebirth as a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, a denizen of hell, or even one of the Hindu
gods.
4) Nirvana – to attain nirvana, an enlightened state in which the fires of greed, hatred, and
ignorance have been quenched.
EARLY DEVELOPMENT
MAJOR COUNCILS - The first council was held at Rajagrha (present-day Rajgir) immedi-
ately after the Buddha’s death. Presided over by a monk named Mahakasyapa, its purpose was
to recite and agree on the Buddha’s actual teachings and on proper monastic discipline.
FORMATION OF BUDDHIST LITERATURE – The Dhammapada is a collection of
423 Buddhist aphorisms or teachings intended to provide ethical guidance. The poetic and
sometimes profound sayings of the Dhammapada, which can be translated as “Way of Truth,”
are attributed to Buddha, who founded Buddhism in India in the 6th century bc. These writ-
ings, part of the sacred Sutra Pitaka, illustrate the Buddhist dhamma, or moral system. The
following excerpt deals with the human mind and the consequences of immoral actions.
CONFLICT AND NEW GROUPINGS - As Buddhism developed in its early years,
conflicting interpretations of the master’s teachings appeared, resulting in the traditional 18
schools of Buddhist thought. As a group, these schools eventually came to be considered too
conservative and literal minded in their attachment to the master’s message. Among them,
Theravada was charged with being too individualistic and insufficiently concerned with the
needs of the laity. Such dissatisfaction led a liberal wing of the sangha to begin to break away
from the rest of the monks at the second council in 383 bc.
MAHAYANA - The origins of Mahayana are particularly obscure. Even the names of its founders
are unknown, and scholars disagree about whether it originated in southern or in northwestern
India. Its formative years were between the 2nd century bc and the 1st century AD.
FROM INDIA OUTWARD
Buddhism spread rapidly throughout the land of its birth. Missionaries dispatched by King Ashoka
introduced the religion to southern India and to the northwest part of the subcontinent. According to
inscriptions from the Ashokan period, missionaries were sent to countries along the Mediterranean,
although without success.
1.ASIAN EXPANSION – About the beginning of the Christian era, Buddhism was carried to
Central Asia. From there it entered China along the trade routes by the early 1st century ad. Al-
though opposed by the Confucian orthodoxy and subject to periods of persecution in 446, 574 to
577, and 845, Buddhism was able to take root, influencing Chinese culture and, in turn, adapting
itself to Chinese ways. The major influence of Chinese Buddhism ended with the great persecu-
tion of 845, although the meditative Zen, or Ch’an (from Sanskrit dhyana, “meditation”), sect and
the devotional Pure Land sect continued to be important.
2.NEW SECTS – Several important new sects of Buddhism developed in China and flourished
there and in Japan, as well as elsewhere in East Asia. Among these, Ch’an or Zen and Pure Land or
Amidism, were most important.
a)Zen - advocated the practice of meditation as the way to a sudden, intuitive realization
of one’s inner Buddha nature. Founded by the Indian monk Bodhidharma, who arrived in China
in 520, Zen emphasizes practice and personal enlightenment rather than doctrine or the study of
scripture.
b)Pure Land – Instead of meditation, Pure Land stresses faith and devotion to the Bud-
dha Amitabha, or Buddha of Infinite Light, as a means to rebirth in an eternal paradise known as
the Pure Land. Rebirth in this Western Paradise is thought to depend on the power and grace of
Amitabha, rather than to be a reward for human piety. Devotees show their devotion to Amitabha
with countless repetitions of the phrase “Homage to the Buddha Amitabha.” Nonetheless, a single
sincere recitation of these words may be sufficient to guarantee entry into the Pure Land.
INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES
A.) MONASTIC LIFE – Monastic life was governed by the rules of the Vinaya Sutra, one of
the three canonical collections of scripture. Fortnightly, a formal assembly of monks, the upo-
satha, was held in each community.
B.) LAY WORSHIP – Lay worship in Buddhism is primarily individual rather than congre-
gational. Since earliest times a common expression of faith for laity and members of the sangha
alike has been taking the Three Refuges, that is, reciting the formula
a.“I take refuge in the Buddha.”
b.“I take refuge in the dharma.”
c.“I take refuge in the sangha.”

5. BUDDHIST TEMPLE
DEPICTIONS OF ENLIGHTENMENT- NIRVANA
YOUNG BUDDHISM FOLLOWERS
Wheel of LifeThe Wheel of Life, also known as the Wheel of Law, depicts the cyclical nature of life
according to Buddhism. In this wall painting, the artist shows the animal which represents death
holding the wheel. The three cardinal sins, depicted in symbolic form, make up the center of the
wheel. The cock symbolizes passion, the pig stupidity, and the snake hatred. Surrounding the sins
are those who fall prey to bad karma on the right, and those with good karma on the left. The six
spheres of existence make up the next circle. The Wheel, like the Buddha’s search for truth, cul-
minates in the outermost circle, which depicts the 12 links in the chain of causation.Hutchison
Library
MaitreyaIn Buddhism, Mai-
treya is the future Buddha
who will one day be reborn
in order to renew Buddhist
teaching and lead many to the
transcendent state of nirvana.
This statue of Maitreya, from
Cambodia, is in the National
Museum in Phnom Penh.Pri-
vate Collection/SuperStock

6. Statue of Buddha, Ko Samui, ThailandThis statue of Buddha seated in the lotus posi-
tion is located on the island of Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. It is 12 m (39 ft) tall.
The majority of the Thai people practice Theravada Buddhism.Josef Beck/FPG Inter-
national, LLC
Great Stupa, Sri LankaA row of carved elephants supports the base of the
Ruwanweli Seya stupa at the ancient city of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. This
Buddhist monument with its bubble-shaped dome rises 55 m (180 ft) high and
dates largely from the 2nd century.Sheldan Collins/Corbis
Buddhist MonksBuddhist
monks live simple ascetic lives
of religious contemplation in
monasteries. Buddhist monks
follow different rules according
to their sect, but most remain
cut off from worldly affairs.
Monks often perform import-
ant rituals, such as funerals,
for lay Buddhists.Hutchison
Library
Buddhist Prayer WheelsRows of colorful prayer wheels
line the outer walls of a Buddhist temple in Gangtok,
India. Each wheel bears the text of a mantra, or sacred
prayer. Buddhists believe that the simple act of spinning
a prayer wheel releases the benevolent forces of the man-
tra. Gangtok, the capital of the Indian state of Sikkim, has
a large Buddhist population.F. Good/Art Directors and
TRIP Photo Library

7. Kamakura DaibutsuBuddhism was introduced to Japan in ad 539, when a Korean ruler
sought an alliance with the ruler of Yamato in Japan. To please the Japanese, the Korean
ruler sent a statue of the Buddha and some Buddhist scriptures, which he described as
the greatest treasures he could send. The Daibutsu (Great Buddha) figure at Kamakura,
Japan, was cast in bronze in 1252. The figure depicts Amitabha (also known as Amida
Buddha) in perfect repose and passionless calm.SuperStock
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