Buddhist Beliefs Flashcards
Siddartha Guatama
- born 2500 years ago in Nepal
- a holy man prophesied that he would be a great ruler on spiritual leader
- his father (a king) protected him from any suffering
the 4 sights
sickness, old age, death, a holy man
asceticism
giving up all luxuries
middle way
he realised there must be a middle way between asceticism and luxury
3 watches of the night
- knowledge of all previous lives
- kamma
- the four noble truths
How does stories of Buddha’s life influence Buddhists today?
- the four sights are still relevant
- having luxuries doesn’t mean happiness
- use meditation to escape suffering
- even Buddha struggled to achieve enlightenment (Mara)
The first noble truth
(Dukkha) everybody suffers and there are 4 unavoidable types of suffering:
- birth
- old age
- sickness
- death
The second noble truth
the cause of suffering is desire (tanha - cravings)
temporary pleasures don’t bring us happiness and they make us give in to the 3 poisons
The third noble truth
we can end suffering by detaching from our desires
Nibbana - extinguishing all cravings
The fourth noble truth
The eightfold path helps to overcome suffering
- Ethics - right speech, action, livelihood
- Meditation- right effort, mindfulness, concentration
- Wisdom - right understanding, intention
Dhamma
the truth about the universe that Buddha discovered when he achieved enlightenment
The 3 refuges
Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha ( the whole Buddhist community)
Dependent Arising
nothing exists or happens on it own
kamma is a specific example of this
samsara
- the cycle of birth, death and re-birth
- the ultimate goal is to escape by extinguishing cravings
nibbana
- extinguishing the self by practising meditation and the eightfold path
- extinguishing the self by no longer requiring reincarnation into a physical body
three marks of existence
- Suffering (dukkha)
- Impermanence (annica)
- No fixed self (anatta)
Annica
- all living things grow, mature, die
- non living things decay over time
- our minds change
annica and dukkha are interconnected as we suffer because we don’t want things to change
anatta
5 aggregates: - form - sensation - perception - mental formation - consciousness Nagasena’s chariot Anatta and Dukkha are interconnected because constantly thinking about yourself causes suffering to others
Buddhist Scripture
- Jataka tales are stories about Buddha’s past lives
- Dhammapada are Buddha’s teachings in verse form
- Tiptaka are Buddha’s teachings
Theravada
‘school of elders’ and is one of the oldest and most traditional forms of Buddhism
Theravada view on Buddha
he’s a refuge and a guide, but he is not a God and doesn’t inter act with earth anymore
Theravada monks
they devote their lives to achieving enlightenment and agree to rules such as celibacy and owning no possesions
Arhat
the ultimate goal for a Theravada buddhist, a perfected person who has escaped samsara
Mahayana Buddhists
there are lots of groups, like Zen or Tibetan Buddhists
Buddha nature
everybody has a seed of Buddha in them but the 3 poisons stop us achieving enlightenment
the aim of Mahayana Buddhists
- become a Bodhisattva
- earthly means you’re soul returns to earth in another form
- transcendent means you become a spiritual being existing between earth and nibanna
6 perfections
how to become a Bodhisattva:
- generosity
- morality
- patience
- energy
- mediation
- wisdom
Pure Land Buddhists
- Amitabha is a transcendent Bodhisattva
- he created a pure land called Sukhavati out of compassion for all beings
- you reach this land by meditating, worshipping him and chanting his name
