Buddhist teachings Flashcards
When and where was Siddhartha Guatama born?
2,500 years ago in lumbini Gardens, nepal
What was the first of the four sights?
old man
What was the second of the four sights?
sick man
What was the third of the four sights?
dead man
What was the last of the four sights?
holy man
How did he feel when he saw the old man?
shocks him - he has never seen this before
How did he feel when he saw the sick man?
disturbed him - realises illness is a reality of life
How did he feel when he saw the dead man?
realises even kings will die
How did he feel when he saw the holy man?
confuses and inspires him to learn more about suffering
Where is the story of the four sights recorded?
Jatakas 075
Why did Siddhartha leave the palace?
because he knew if he stayed at the palace he would find no answers, so he left in search of an answer
When did Siddhartha eave the palace?
It is said that on the night of own son Rahula birth he left
What is an ascetic lifestyle?
a life of barely the essentials
Why did he want to live an ascetic life?
to learn how to overcome the problem of suffering
Who inspired Siddhartha to live his ascetic life?
the holy man he saw - he was impressed by the sense of peace that he felt coming from him
How long did he live his ascetic life?
6 years
What did he do during his ascetic life?
- rejected anything that would give him pleasure
- practiced extreme self-discipline
- met and studied with various holy men
- practiced meditation with 2 ascetics
What did Siddhartha do with his appetite?
he ignored it. he fasted for long periods of time, becoming increasingly hungry and weak. Stories say his body became so thin he looked like a living skeleton and suffered from terrible pain and hunger
Why did he decide to give up his ascetic life?
he got offered a bowl of milk and rice from a young girl and accepted it because he was too weak to even meditate. His strength returned and he decided to quit because he was no closer to the truth of why people suffer and how to get rid of it.
What did his ascetic life teach him?
- discipline
- willpower
What did it not teach him?
a cure for suffering
What is the middle way?
a life of moderation - not too much or too little
How did he discover the middle way?
he worked out from living a luxury and an ascetic life, that neither gave him real answers. This lead him to develop a ‘middle way’ between two extremes that he had experienced.
What were maras four distractions?
- he sent his daughters to seduce Siddhartha
- he sent his armies to attack him
- he offered Siddhartha control of his kingdom
- Mara himself tired to attack Siddhartha
On the night Siddhartha got enlightened, he experienced 3 realisations which all happened over 3 different periods of the night. What were the three watches of the night?
- he gained knowledge of all his previous lives
- he understood the repeating cycle of life, death and rebirth, he understood how people were born depending in their karma and the importance of anatto (there is no fixed self)
What was Siddhartha known as after he got enlightened?
Buddha
What are the three refuges?
the Dhama, the Buddha and the Sangha
Why is the Dhama important?
It means the truth and is full of all Buddhas teachings
Why might some people say its is the most important?
It is all written by Buddha so in theory it should all be correct. He was enlightened and helped others to be so his teachings must work.
Why might some people say it is not the most important?
It could unintentionally be misinterpreted. It also doesn’t cover modern problems so you may interpret it wrong.
Why is the Buddha important?
It makes people think “what would Buddha do?”. He used his own experiences to help others and provides an example to follow.
Why might some people say it is important?
no Buddha = no Buddhism
he is just a man-if he could do it, anyone could
Why might some people say it is not the most important ?
he is dead so you can no longer ask him about his teachings. Is it just a best guess?
Why is the Sangha important?
It means community - all the Buddhists in the world ‘ ask a Buddhist’
Why might some people say it is the most important?
It is real people giving real advice - offers real emotional support(tangible)
Why might some people say it is not the most important?
People may give wrong advice - good intentions but misinterpreted.
they may be having a bad day so give bad advice.
What is the concept of dependant arising?
It is the idea that all things arise(come to exist) because of particular conditions and then continue to depend on things. (eg. a tree depends on soil, rain and sunshine to survive). Nothing can exist independently - nothing is eternal, everything is constantly changing.
What is the Tibetan wheel of life?
It illustrates the process of dependant arising in relation to human life, death and rebirth.
What is nirvana/nibbana?
A state of freedom, peace and happiness.
What are the three marks of existence?
- suffering (dukkah)
- impermanences (annica)
- Having no permanent, fixed self or soul (anatta)
What is Dukkha?
- suffering is more than pain and being unsatisfactory
- to stop suffering you follow buddhist teachings
- when achieving enlightenment it’s believed there is no more suffering. There are physical and mental states of suffering. Nothing in life is perfect
What is Anicca?
- accepting that all things will change-we suffer less
- nothing stays the same and nothing lasts forever
- Buddhists believe that accepting all things change will lead to less suffering
What is Anatta?
- our actions depend on our mood so therefore we can have no fixed self and are constantly changing
- a person can only exist if all parts are ordered
- means no fixed self or soul
- previous life can’t be remembered
- we are just a collection of changing characteristics
