birth of buddha and 4 sights

Question 1

what is the buddhas name?

Answer 1

Siddhartha Gautama

Question 2

what does shakyamuni mean?

Answer 2

the teacher of the shakya clan

Question 3

what are the Ten acts?

Answer 3

the main events from the life of the buddha put together from various buddhist texts

Question 4

how is the buddhas conception described?

Answer 4

there were 32 miraculous signs at the moment of conception including earthquakes, rivers stopping and a tremendous light
queen Maya described having a dream of a white elephant

Question 5

how is the buddhas birth described?

Answer 5

As queen Maya rested in the shade of tree, the tree bent over to offer her shelter
the baby merged with no blood or birth waters, there baby could walk and took steps in all 4 directions symbolising teaching around the world

Question 6

what was the prediction made by the sage Asita?

Answer 6

that the buddha would be a great king or great teacher

Question 7

what were the 4 sights the buddha saw when leaving the palace?

Answer 7

1) an old man
2) a sick man
3) a funeral carrying a dead man
4) a holy man

Question 8

what did these 4 sights make the buddha realise?

Answer 8

1) dukkha, everyone suffers
2) we do not have a permanent, unchanging self, we age and change (anatta)
3) that nothing lasts forever, everything dies or ends (anicca)
4) there is an alternative to materialism

Question 9

how long did the buddha spend as an ascetic? what did he do? (the renunciation)

Answer 9

6 years, he fasted, held his breath for long periods of time, stayed out in the sun, he would stand on one leg for days. he eventually grew weak from lack of food, from this he discovered the ‘middle way’

Question 10

what is the significance of the renunciation?

Answer 10

Theravada buddhists believe that to reach enlightenment you must renounce all possessions like the buddha.
The middle way is a key buddhist teaching, that should be followed

Question 11

how do Theravada buddhists interpret the story of the buddhas birth and life?

Answer 11

Theravadas believe the buddha was a human being who used his gifts to reach enlightenment

Question 12

how do Mahayana buddhists interpret the story of the buddhas birth and life?

Answer 12

Mahayanas align the historical buddha with other buddhas and bodhisattvas who exemplify compassion

Question 13

how can the stories of the buddha be taken literally?

Answer 13

• if he didn’t exist and reach enlightenment the there is no reason to trust magga (path to enlightenment)
• there’s no reason to believe the things he saw when he was enlightened e.g karma, rebirth ect
• there is no reason to suppose that the tipitaka is really the teachings of the buddha

Question 14

how can the stories of the buddha be taken symbolically?

Answer 14

• the symbolic meanings of all these stories would still be true for buddhists e.g there is more to life than materialistic understanding
• the 4 sights show the 3 lakshanas- dukkha, impermanence and no self
• the poisoned arrow story shows it doesn’t matter what is true, only if it works