Exam I Flashcards
Orientalism
Orient = East
The study of how the East is viewed, stereotyped, and dominated by the west
Cosmology
Cosmos: representation of reality
The description of the universe in Buddhism, including the arrangement of worlds and the cycle of rebirth
Who is siddhartha?
He is a rich young man who was sheltered and left in search of enlightenment.
He is seeking those also seeking enlightenment, difference between knowledge and understanding, the nature of truth, and unity of all things
Who is siddartha Gautama?
The Buddha
Why do people call Buddha shakyamuni?
He was born to the rulers of Shakya clan
4 noble truths
Problem of suffering ( dukkha )
Cause of suffering (Trishna)
End of suffering (finding Nirvana)
Middle way, way to overcome trishna is (magga) middle
Dukkha is
Suffering or pain
3 jewels (truths) are
Buddha, dharma (karma) , sangha (buddhist community of monks, nuns, and lay who follow buddhist teachings)
Where they find refuge
“I go to sangha for refuge”
Samatha (sam-a-ta)
dhyana - mental bliss (not nirvana)
Calming and quieting of the mind to stable it
Vipassana
Insight, a mind able to see itself, to view the projections of reality
The idea of mental nirvana is unexistant, this is the closest
Rising from the 3 poisons
Anatman
No soul, no self
3 poisons
Negative mental habits:
Illusion/ ignorance
Hatred
Greed
Why are they poison?
Can’t remove and explains the origin of mental patterns
Smilie of the lamp flame
As an oil lamp burns in dependence on oil and wick, without them it goes unnourished, in the same way, when sensing a feeling limited to the body, he discerns that “I am sensing a feeling limited to the body”
Romanticism and phobia
Orientalism is romanticized for its philosophical properties and negatively stereotyped for its ritualistic properties
Meditating, mindfulness, buddha vs. Worshiping, customs
Karmic merit and karmic transfer
Karmic merit can be transferred upon dead people to increase positive karma through the 3 jewels
Karma
Mental/moral intention
Continues to next life
Karmic cosmology: Different stages of rebirth:
Lifestream cycle:
Asura
Human
Hungry ghosts
Animals
Hell being
Dimensions of religion
Doctrine
Ritual
Experience
Ethics
Myths
Materials
Social
Sacred
5 skandhas (precepts)
No killing
No lying
No stealing
No intoxicants
No sexual misconduct
8 fold path
1 view
2 thought
3 speech
4 action
5 livelihood
(5 behaviors)
6 effort
7 mindfulness
8 meditation
(psychology, awareness, consciousness mind)
What happens when you die?
Middle way: the middle ground between attachment and aversion, being and nonbeing, form and emptiness and between free will and determinism
5 skandhas (precepts)
Dao
“The way” beyond the world, experience nirvana
If you want the dao you can’t seek for it or it will not come
Doctrines often come from
Myths, add reality to these stories, use ethics, can inspire
Religion is
Belief, practices, ethics, myths, social
how to make a sacred idea a real authority
Philosophy
Explains reality in a rational way
How do you build karmic merit?
Worshipping 3 jewels
When intentions and actions are good, you gain merit
Animals drive on
Instinct
Four sights
An old man
a sick person
a corpse
A monk meditating
3 marks
impermanence
Dissatisfaction
An-atman (no self/ soul)
Why isn’t nihilism or eternalism correct in Buddhist beliefs?
No soul, and no consequences
Dhyāna/ jhāna
Both words that refer to a deep meditation or reflection
Dhyāna refers to contemplation, reflection
jhāna refers to a state of absorption
Samsara is
Birth, life, death, rebirth
Nirvana
Complete liberation, extinguishing the fevers of greed, hate, delusion (3 poisons), refreshing cool peaceful, ultimate freedom and awakening
Free from any clinging that would confine their consciousness to any point in space time
