Buddhism (68-71)

Question 1

Who was Siddhartha Gautama?

Answer 1

• Founder of Buddhism, noble family
• Prophecy about him said: stay at home = world ruler, leave home = universal spiritual leader
• His isolated him in his palace so he would become a great king/world ruler

Question 2

What four things did Siddhartha see when he ventured outside the palace four times?

Answer 2

1) an old man
2) a sick man
3) a corpse
4) a wandering holy man (seemed at peace with himself)

Question 3

What did Siddhartha realize from venturing outside four times and what did he so afterwards?

Answer 3

• Every living thing experiences old age, sickness and death and that only a religious life offers a refuge from suffering
• Decided to spend his life searching for religious truth and an end to life’s suffering

Question 4

How did Siddhartha try to reach an enlightened state (wisdom)? When did he become known as the Buddha)

Answer 4

• Debated with other religious seekers
• Fasted (6 grains of rice a a day)
• Meditated under a large fig tree- after 49 days, he understood the cause of suffering (known as the Buddha from then on)

Question 5

What are the Four Noble Truths?

Answer 5

1) Life is filled with suffering and sorrow
2) The cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world
3) The way to end all suffering is to end all desires
4) The way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path (Middle Way between desires and self-denial)

Question 6

What is nirvana?

Answer 6

The Buddha’s word for release from selfishness and pain

Question 7

What is the Eightfold path?

Answer 7

• A guide to behavior, mastered one step at a time

- Following it meant reaching nirvana

Question 8

What three ideas did the Buddha accept?

Answer 8

• Reincarnation
• Repetitive view of history: world is created and destroyed over and over again
• Enlightenment

Question 9

What are the “Three Jewels” of Buddhism?

Answer 9

1) The religious community (sangha)
2) The Buddha
3) The dharma (Buddhist doctrine or teachings)

Question 10

Who were most of the Buddha’s early followers?

Answer 10

• Laborers and craftspeople (rejection of caste system)
• Northeast India (Aryans had less influence)
• Reluctantly admitted women (distracting)

Question 11

What vows did monks and nuns take?

Answer 11

• Live a life of poverty
• To be nonviolent
• To not get married

Question 12

How was Buddhism spread?

Answer 12

• Missionaries

- Trade (spread throughout East Asia)

Question 13

What is one thoery about why Buddhism slowly disapeared in India>\?

Answer 13

Hinduism absorbed Buddhism

Question 14

Why is Buddhism important in India?

Answer 14

People visit spots associated with the Buddha’s life:
his birthplace
the fig tree
site of first sermon
the stupas (sacred mounds said to contain his relics)