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Buddhism  notes  

From  October  16-­‐October  23  

Siddhartha  Gautama  (563-­‐483  BCE)  

•  Story  of  the  Buddha  begins  with  the  Prince,   Siddhartha.  A  long  Jme  ago,  he  made  the   decision  to  become  a  Buddha.  In  his  last  life  he   became  the  Buddha  we  call  “Shakyamuni.”    

•  5  asceJcs  (severe  self  discipline)  become  his  first   teachers;  Siddhartha  realizes  this  is  not  the  path.  

•  Under  the  bodhi  tree,  Siddhartha  is  challenged  by   Mara,  a  demon,  but  he  is  successful.    

•  He  meditates  long  into  the  night.    

Under  the  Bodhi  tree  

•  In  the  first  watch  of  the  night  he  saw  every   one  of  his  past  lives  

•  In  the  second  watch  of  the  night  he  has  a   vision  of  how  karma  works  

•  In  the  third  watch  of  the  night  he  is   enlightened  and  becomes  the  Buddha.  

•  Siddhartha  saw  a  state  of  being  beyond  death,   destroyed  the  karma  from  his  past  lives  and   woke  up  as  the  BUDDHA.  

The  Buddhist  World   •  Samsara  =  “wandering”  the  cycle  of  birth  and   rebirth.  Some  people  succeed  and  others  fail   based  on  what  they  accomplished  or  what   acJons  they  took  in  past  lives.    

•  Karma  =  “acJon,  deed”  The  idea  that  good   deeds  produce  happiness  in  the  future  and   bad  deeds  produce  suffering  in  the  future.  No   one  is  innocent.    

•  6  forms  of  senJent  beings:  (a)  God  (b)   Demigod  (c)  Human  (d)  animal  (e)  ghost  (f)   hell-­‐being  

4  Truths  (Noble  Truths):  the  first:  

All  life  is  suffering.   A.  Suffering  of  Pain:  every  form  of  senJent  being   is  in  pain.  [Hell  beings=  constant  hell;  ghosts=   can’t  eat/drink;  animals=  constant  fear  that  you   will  be  eaten  and  constantly  seeking  food;   demigods=  constant  jealousy  and  at  war  with   gods,  always  lose;  gods=  one  moment  before   death  they  learn  what  their  next  life  will  be,  and   you  always  go  down  from  a  god.  Very  painful.]  

Suffering  of  Pain  (cont.)   •  Human  suffering:   1.  Birth   2.  Aging   3.  Sickness   4.  Death   5.  Not  gefng  what  you  want   6.  Gefng  what  you  don’t  want   7.  Losing  your  friends   8.  Gaining  enemies  

First  Noble  Truth  (cont.)  

A.  Suffering  of  Pain   B.  Suffering  of  Change:  3  kinds  of  feelings:  pain,  

pleasure,  neutral.  Pleasure  eventually  turns  to  pain.   There  is  a  burden  on  your  back  (samsara),  and  so   shiiing  the  weight  might  feel  nice,  but  it  is  sJll  there,   pressing  down  on  you.  

C.  Suffering  of  CondiJoning:  From  moment  to  moment   we  suffer  and  there  is  nothing  to  do  about  it.  We   might  die  at  any  second.  This  pain  is  not  very  hard  for   regular  people,  but  for  someone  on  the  path,  it  is  the   most  painful  form  of  suffering.    

2nd  Noble  Truth:   Suffering  has  an  origin  or  root.    

A.   Karma:  like  a  law  of  gravity,  it  explains  all  suffering.     10  Non-­‐Virtues  that  accrue  bad  karma:   1.  Killing  2.  stealing  3.  sexual  misconduct  4.  lying  [1-­‐4  are  acts]   5.  divisive  speech  6.  harsh  speech  7.  senseless  speech  [5-­‐7   speech]  8.  covetousness  (wanJng  something  that  is  not  yours)   9.  harmful  intent  10.  wrong  view  (the  belief  that  there  is  no   such  thing  as  karma)  [8-­‐10  are  thoughts)]   B.    Klesha:  “afflicJon”  Three  Poisons:  desire,  hatred,   ignorance.  Ignorance  is  the  fundamental  misconcepJon  of  the   nature  of  reality—the  biggest  form  of  ignorance  is  the  belief   in  the  SELF.  NO  SELF  IN  BUDDHISM.  The  illusion  that  we  have   a  personal  idenJty  unique  from  everyone  else,  permanent=   ignorance.  The  belief  in  the  self  is  the  root  of  all  human   suffering.    

3rd  Noble  Truth:  

Suffering  can  cease  or  end   •  If  you  destroy  the  cause,  you  destroy  the   effect.  If  you  destroy  the  belief  in  self,  then   desire  and  hatred  become  impossible.   CessaJon  of  ignorance.  CessaJon  of  desire.    

•  When  the  Buddha  came  to  this  realizaJon,  the   insight  was  so  profound  that  it  destroyed  the   karmic  seeds  (acJons)  of  his  past  lives  and   destroyed  all  future  causes  of  rebirth.  

4th  Noble  Truth:  

There  is  a  path  out  of  suffering.   •  The  Path:  The  Three  Teachings:   1.  ethics:  control  your  body,  control  speech   2.  MeditaJon:  control  the  mind   3.  Wisdom:  insight  into  the  fact  that  there  is  no  

self.     •  Nirvana:  “to  blow  out”  ;  “to  snuff  out,”  to  end  the   cycle  of  birth  and  rebirth  by  destroying  your   karma.  This  is  the  goal  of  Buddhism.    

Three  Jewels  (or  Submissions)  

1.  The  Buddha  =  The   Awakened  One  

2.  The  Dharma  =  The   Teaching-­‐  the  Path  to   enlightenment  

3.  The  Sangha  =  The   Community  –  those  who   help  a  Buddhist  achieve   enlightenment,  monks,   nuns  and  laypeople.    

Arhat  (Lohan)   •  “Worthy  one”;  worthy  of  respect.  Not  a  Buddha.  The  Arhat  

depends  upon  the  words  of  the  Buddha  in  order  to  become   enlightened  [The  Buddha  did  it  on  his  own].    

•  4  stages:   1.  Stream  Enterer:  enter  the  (metaphorical)  stream  to  

nirvana.  1st  direct  vision  that  there  is  no  self.  All  seeds  that   might  cause  this  person  to  be  reborn  in  one  of  the  3  lower   realms  are  destroyed.  Will  become  an  arhat  in  7  lifeJmes   or  less.  

2.  Once  Returner:  deeper  level  of  insight.  Will  only  be  reborn   as  human  one  more  Jme.  

3.  Never  Returner:  Will  never  be  reborn  in  the  human  realm,   but  a  special  god  realm  and  achieve  nirvana  there.  

4.  Arhat:  worthy  one,  will  definitely  enter  nirvana  at  the  end   of  this  lifeJme.    

Stupas  =  “heaps”  

•  When  Buddha  died,  he  entered  nirvana  and   was  snuffed  out.  This  was  hard  for  his   followers.  Burned  his  body  and  divided  up  the   ashes.  

•  8  piles  of  ashes  +  1  leiover  dust  +  bucket  the   ashes  were  in  =  10  

•  Encased  in  huge  temples  dedicated  to  the   Buddha,  Ten  Stupas  in  all.    

Bodhisasva  

•  Seeks  to  become  a  Buddha   •  Makes  a  vow  to  liberate  beings  from  suffering   while  knowing  there  are  no  beings  in  the   universe  to  be  liberated  from  suffering.    

•  Must  make  this  vow  in  front  of  a  past  Buddha.     •  The  path  is  very  long  and  arduous.     •  Jataka  stories=  stories  about  Shakyamuni   Buddha  as  a  bodhisasva.  Story  about   Sumedha  and  the  Buddha  Dipankara.    

Three  Paths/Vehicles  in  Buddhism  

1.  Shravaka:  disciple  path.  One  who  listens.   Follows  the  path  laid  out  by  the  Buddha  based   on  his  teachings.  Become  a  monk  or  nun.  è   goal  is  to  become  an  arhat  

2.  Pratyekabuddha:  Private/solitary  path.  Become   a  hermit  monk,  study  the  words  of  the  Buddha   alone,  no  students.  è  goal  is  to  become  an   arhat  

3.  Bodhisasva  path:  goal  is  to  become  a  Buddha  

Good  Karma   •  Vows:  physical  change  in  your  body,  like  a  form  of  maser  or  subtle  material.   •  Lay  people  can  take  5  vows:   1.  Not  to  kill   2.  Not  to  steal   3.  Not  to  lie   4.  Not  to  rape   5.  Not  to  use  intoxicants   •  For  every  moment  that  a  person  does  not  kill,  steal,  etc,  they  accrue  good  karma.     •  Very  bad  karma  if  you  break  a  vow,  there  is  a  ritual  to  return  the  vow  to  your  

teacher  if  you  know  you  might  break  the  vow  (military  for  example).     •  Monks/nuns  take  5  more  vows:     6.            Not  to  eat  before  noon   7.            Not  to  adorn  the  body   8.            Not  to  asend  musical  performances   9.            Not  to  touch  gold  or  silver   10.  Not  to  sleep  on  a  high  bed.     •  Charity   •  Save  animals/  feed  animals   •  Go  on  a  pilgrimage   •  meditate  

The  Lotus  Sutra  

•  Sutra  =  “a  thread  that  weaves  through  cloth,”  meaning   a  discourse  or  speech  given  by  the  Buddha.  

•  400  years  aier  the  Buddha  died,  many  sutras  crop  up,   including  the  Lotus  Sutra,  wrisen  c.  100  BC-­‐100  CE.  

•  Shakyamuni  =  our  Buddha;  Maitreya  =  the  future   Buddha.  

•  IntroducJon  includes  thousands  of  bodhisasvas,   thousands  of  Buddhas,  thousands  of  followers.  

•  Huge  change  from  the  Buddhism  we  have  studied  up   unJl  now.  Who  are  all  of  these  bodhisasvas  and   Buddhas?  

Upaya  =  Skillful  means   •  Focus  of  the  Lotus  Sutra  is  that  there  is  only  ONE   vehicle,  the  Bodhisasva  vehicle.    

•  Parable  of  the  burning  house;  parable  of  the   desert  trip.    

•  The  Buddha  revealed  informaJon  to  people   based  on  how  ready  they  were  to  follow  it.   Buddha  conjured  an  illusion  (nirvana)  in  order  to   get  people  on  the  path.  If  they  knew  how  far  the   desJnaJon  was,  they  would  not  follow  it.  Now   that  people  are  ready,  the  final  revelaJon  is  that   everyone  must  become  a  BUDDHA.  No  arhats!  

Buddhisms:  

•  Theravada  Buddhism  (South  and  Southeastern   Asia)  “teachings  of  the  elders”  the  oldest   form.  Goal  is  Nirvana.    

•  Mahayana  Buddhism  (East  Asia)  “Great   Vehicle”  Buddhism.  Goal  is  Buddhahood.    

                         (a)  Pure  Land            (b)  Chan  /  Zen  

•  Tantric  or  Vajrayana  (Tibet,  Mongolia)-­‐   “diamond  way”  

Challenges  Buddhism  faced  when  it   reached  China:  

•  Monks  and  nuns  seen  as  disrespecwul  to   ancestors  in  a  Confucian  society.    

•  Monks  and  nuns  seen  as  economically   unproducJve.  

•  Han  dynasty  (206  BCE-­‐220  CE)  saw  Buddhism  as  a   threat  coming  from  India  (xenophobia)    

•  LinguisJc  gap  (translaJng  terms  very  difficult)   •  Threat  to  government  because  became  so   popular  so  quickly  and  influenced  Daoism  so   directly.