BUDDHISM

Interesting Buddhist Facts

Schools of Buddhism

• Theravada (35%) (directly from Buddha) from Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos
• Mahayana (60%) in China, Nepal, Tibet, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Asia
• Sometimes Zen/Ch'an

Buddhist Scripture

• THE SUTRAS
• Other non-canonical books (unofficial scripture) include the Tibetian Book of the Dead, the Pali Canon and the Mahayana Sutras

Buddhism is not so much a religion as a "worldview" or "philosophy of life"

Buddhism is Essentially an Agnostic/ Atheistic Movement. There is no Supreme Being or Deity or "Personhood"

Jatakas

• Select tales of Buddha's 550 past lives
• Recorded @1000 years later
• Former Guru who gave himself to a tiger, so she wouldn't eat her cubs
• Former Ship Captain where he killed a would-be murderer on his ship
• Many lives as an animal (monkey, deer, elephant, etc.)

Prayer Wheels

• The cylinder contains a sacred text written or printed on paper or animal skin.
• These prayers oblige any existing spirits or deities to act
• Turning them is the same as saying the prayer, and illiterate Buddhists use them to pray, since they can't read the prayers

Buddhist Temple Artifacts

• Flowers are offered as reminders of the impermanence of life
• Lit candles represent the darkness of ignorance and light of the 4 Laws
• Incense represents the blessed smell of compassion to others
• Buddhists bow in temples 3 times for Buddha, Noble Truths, and Community/Monks

Stupas (Shrines) contain remains of cremated Buddhists, especially monks

Sky Burial

Releasing the Soul by Destruction of the Body

Sometime from 600s-400s BC
Buddha Born

300 Million Adherents

5% of Buddhists are Monks

Budai isn't actually Buddha

The Buddha, after enlightenment, remained a meat-eater and this is mentioned often in Buddhist writings

Vegetarianism as Moral Issue

• Eating meat was done by Buddha, even after Enlightenment, and it wasn't forbidden in Buddhist Scripture (or Christian scripture)
• Vegetables require tilling soil and spraying crop, resulting in the death of creatures

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• The Vegan uses numerous other products that lead to animals being killed (soap, leather, serum, silk, etc.).
• Both require the death of animals, so why abstain from one source (meat) while using the others for lesser reasons than food/survival?

Who Was Buddha?

Siddhartha Guatama was born here in Lumbini, Nepal

A prince, his mother Queen Mahamaya dreamed he would become a king or holy man (Sadhu). But Siddhartha's father sought to preserve his royal lineage and overprotected the young man from the world, until he left the royal compound and saw how people lived

Gautama's "4 Sights"

• Old Man: aging, lost virility
• Sick Man: disease and pain
• Corpse: death, decay, grief
• Holy Man: hope

Gautama deserted his young family as they slept, to pursue answers

The following 6 years he ate little, didn't bathe, and wore no clothing

At age 35, meditating here at the Diamond Throne(which at the time was under a tree), he was enlightened to 'truth' and became awakened

Bodh Gaya

Buddha lived the following 45 years as a Bodhisattva to teach others his way

BUDHI/Buddha

Buddhist Worldview

Major Elements

• The Three Jewels/Refuges
• Four Noble Truths
• Eight-Fold Path
• Five Virtues
• Ten Perfections

Three Jewels/Refuges

3 Refuges from Eternal Samsara

• The Buddha's Example
• The Dhamma (Four Truths)
• The Sangha (Buddhist monastic community)

Four Noble Truths

Buddhism teaches that people are unhappy in life and can never be satisfied because they desire what they don't have and can never be

Four Noble Truths (Dhamma)

• All Life is Suffering (Dukkha)
• Our Suffering is Caused by Our Attachments and Desires (Samudaya)
• Accepting our human condition and letting go of the desire for life to be different will lead to the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)
• One does this through the 8 fold path (Magga)

Noble Eight Fold Path

The 8 Principles Fall in 3 Areas

• Mental Discipline (#1-2)
• Wisdom (#2-5)
• Ethical Living (#6-8)
• Together these help people overcome bad karma to work their way to Nirvana

8 Fold Path

• Right Undertanding
• Right Intention
• Right Speech
• Right Action
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Concentration

Together these 8 help people overcome bad karma to work their way out of endless lives of suffering

Five Virtues

Five Virtues for All Buddhists

• Don't harm living beings
• Don't take from/violate others
• No sexual misconduct
• No false speech
• No intoxicating drinks/drugs

Virtues for Buddhist Monks

• The previous five for all Buddhists, plus:
• No dancing/music/arts
• No extra meals
• No adornment/fragrance
• No high seats
• No gold/silver

Ten Perfections

Monks have a total of 227 rules to be followed. These are summarized by the 10 Perfections to Buddhahood

Ten Perfections to Buddhahood

• Generosity
• Virtue
• Renunciation
• Wisdom
• Energy
• Patience
• Truthfulness
• Resolution
• Loving-Kindness
• Even-Temperedness

For What Goal?

TO ESCAPE SAMSARA
"A Wandering Through" Endless Suffering
Referring to Reincarnation

Nirvana

Nirvana isn't "heaven." Nor Physical. Nor Bliss. Nor Embodied. Nor with Family. Nor with God. Nor Reward. The Deathless State. Non-Being.

Sharing Faith with Buddhists

Buddhist Evangelism

• Buddhist focus on ethical living renders inconsistent Christians ineffective in witnessing
• Christians should speak to the issue of God and Suffering by studying "Theodicy" (Problem of Evil and Suffering)
• Speak about meditation and prayer to God, something they think of differently

Buddhist Evangelism

• Speak to the idea of a personal God, as Buddhists are made by our God and have the need for exactly Him-- though they may not be aware of it. Everyone is made for a relationship with the one true God
• Point to ethical texts (Proverbs, Sermon on the Mount, Ecclesiastes) for Dialogue

Buddhist Evangelism

• Center on the idea that life should have meaning and the cyclical view of Buddhism doesn't offer that.
• Challenge them on the futility and hopelessness of endless rebirths, while showing the hope of eternal life in this lifetime
• Point to the beauty and wonder of grace and mercy against "karma"
• Very few adherents of Buddhism practice it faithfully. Issue a loving challenge about this.

Q&A

Buddha Legends

Walking and Talking the Moment of His Birth by His Mother

Every place the baby Buddha placed his foot, a lotus bloomed

The Twin Miracle
(fire and water) produced from his body

Taming of a Raging Drunken Elephant by Buddha's Love

Converted Hinduism's Chief Deity, Brahman, to Buddhism

Commanded Floodwaters So He Could Pass Across on Dry Ground

Additional Information

REALITY versus MAYA
The primary difference between Buddha's teachings and traditional Hinduism's teachings concerns the teaching about Atman. The Hindus believe in the soul as being a discreet unit that incarnates over and over. Buddha taught that even the soul was an illusion

The Dalai Lama is the exiled Buddhist spiritual-political leader of Tibet displaced by China who has become a symbol for many Buddhists

Tathagata is the name the Buddha gave to himself (one who has gone/come)

Buddhist Glossary

• Boddhisattva: a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings.
• Meitreya: Future Buddha Savior

Small Group Discussion

• What are ways the Biblical idea of God is different than Buddhism?
• The Bible documents Jesus' life beginning 25+ years after his Resurrection. The Sutras do so several hundreds of years later. What difference does it make?

Small Group Discussion

• The 8 fold path may take Buddhists hundreds or many thousands of lifetimes of reincarnation, were it true. Compare the concept of resurrection.
• How is 'hope' different between Christianity and Buddhism?
• What starting points for Buddhist evangelism make the most sense to you?

Sources

• http://cardoza.link/BuddhismBeliefs
• http://cardoza.link/BuddhistFacts
• http://cardoza.link/BasicBuddhismVideo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CM-QiBnazg
• http://cardoza.link/BodhGayaCreditDennisJarvis

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• http://cardoza.link/BodhiTreeBodhGayaMargieSavage
• http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd21.htm
• http://cardoza.link/AdamCohnIndianWoman
• http://cardoza.link/WonderlaneOnFlickr

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• Ruegg, D.S. "Ahimsa and Vegetarianism in the History of Buddhism" in Buddhist Studies in Honour of Walpola Rahula. S. Balasooriya, (et.al) London, 1980.