Lecture 4 Flashcards
what does buddha mean
“the awakened one” or ‘to awaken’
when did the buddha live
623-543 BCE or 566-486 BCE or 484-404 BCE (diff branches have different calculations)
for sure lived to be 80 tears old
what are the sources for buddha’s life
The Pāli Canon The Mahāvastu (the great story) The Lalitavistara (Graceful Description) The Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha The Nidānakathā (Introductory Tale)
explain The Pāli Canon.
Certain sūtras provide biographical details, such as the Discourse of the Great Decease (Mahāparinirvāa Sūtra) which recounts the last few months of the Buddha’s life and confirms he was eighty years old when he died.
explain • The Mahāvastu (Great Story),
first century C.E. (anonymous)
explain • The Lalitavistara (Graceful Description),
first century C.E. (anonymous)
explain • The Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha,
an epic poem in twenty-eight chapters composed in the second century C.E. by Aśvaghoṣa
explain • The Nidānakathā (Introductory Tale),
second or third century C.E. This text forms the introduction to the Jātaka, a collection of popular stories about the Buddha’s previous lives.
who was buddha’s father
Suddhudana, a king and very powerful/wealthy
who was the buddha’s mother
queen maya (aka mahamaya) died a week after he was born
who was prajapati
aunt/stepmother… took role of his mother after her death
what was buddha’s given name
Siddhartha Gautama
what does Siddhartha mean
siddha; accomplish, artha; goals
what else was siddartha known as
sakyamuni (sage of the sakyas)
where did most of siddartha’s activities take place
N.E india (a little present day nepal)
what was maya’s dream
had a dream the night she conceived
white elephant entered her side (elephants used in battle and only wealthy had them but this isnt a charging elephant… it was associated with purity!)
how was the pregnancy for Maya
easy, very easy
at end of pregnancy she went back to parents to give birth there, on the way she went into about and stopped the transport, walked into the trees, tree branch come down and she grabs onto it, stands and the baby comes out of her side, painlessly
different gods came to witness the birth
what did siddartha Gautama do right after birth
takes 7 steps, every place he steps a lotus grows, makes an announcement; this is the last birth and he is born for the welfare of all human beings
seems to go back to being a normal baby after that
how did maya die
7 days after birth,
said that she was so happy she passed away but maybe the birth from her side took a toll on her….
explain the prophecy of the sage
the fathers is so happy bout having a son, invites people to come visit the baby
an old sage who has been living in solitary comes into town to see the baby, cries when sees the baby… father panics but sage reassures him that he will fulfill the king’s goals for him or will fulfill the welfare of the world! Just crying bc he is at the end of his life and wont be able to see all that suddartha can become
does the king life the sage’s prophesy? what steps does he take to steer siddartha int he direction he wants
wants to prevent siddartha from becoming a religious figure so tries to control everything in his son’s world! if son was never confronted with suffering then will never know the ills of the world and wont want to help
king surrounds son with women, abundance, everything he could ever want for
did siddartha get married
yes
how does siddartha come across suffering
decided he needs to leave the palace to see what is outside, wants to see nature beyond the walls, king says okay but takes measures to ensure he wont see anything bad
but unseen forces conspire! siddartha come across 4 sights
what are the 4 sights siddartha sees on his trip outside the palace
old age
sickness
death
renunciation and practice
what happens when siddartha sees the 4 sights
he is confused and shocked, asks friend what is happening and friend explains that everything goes through this!
explain how siddartha renounces and leaves the palace
announces his intentions, king tries to send him the best musicians and people around to get him happy again but nothing relieves him of his sadness
when everyone falls asleep, they are depicted in a very ugly manner and it horrifies him even more
wife of siddartha had just given birth to they first child (a son)
siddartha leave the night of the birth
why is it not seen as bad that siddartha leaves his son the night he is born
having a son is said to be the best thing that could occur, bu siddartha willingly giving him up, this isa great act of selflessness
describes what happens when siddartha leave the palace
renunciation– leave on a horse and gets his friend, rides as far away as possible
removes his beautiful jewelry and robes and cuts his hair
a diety flies by and catches the hair just before it falls to the floor
siddartha goes off to find his path
explain what siddartha did to try and find his right path
spends lots of time trying out spiritual and religion practices but he is always the best (meditator, etc in the room), he would learn so quickly and raise past the level of his teacher. teachers wanted him to stay and teach with them but he wanted answers nt to just be at their level… he wasn’t satisfied
he then went through ascetic practices
explain ascetic practices
most extreme, siddartha meets a group of ascetics where they do the extreme such as a grain of rice a day and they do this for years as a form of extreme renunciation
