Buddhism Review

The christian faith is not about purging all of the desire from our lives... it is about ______________________________.

Desiring that which is most desirable.

By discovering "the middle path", Siddhartha achieves ___________.

Enlightenment

Three "poisons" of the ignorant human mind in which evil is rooted

Greed, anger, delusion

Location of enlightenment

bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya

Options after enlightenment

bodhisattva, nirvana

2 things King Ashoka does to help Buddhism

built thousands of stone pillars, sent out buddhist missionaries

Metaphors for nirvana

candle blowing out, drop in ocean

Christian/ Buddhist Similarities

divergent sects, both have tried and rejected asceticism,spiritual leader is an example to be followed, the will of human beings in inherently fallen/ evil

Pure Land

focused on being reincarnated in the "Pure land"; Cooperates well with Daoism and other native religions; China

atheism

no religious beliefs

No Desires vs. new desires

not no desires, but new desires; this process involves divine transformation, not extinguishment

Buddha's Suspicious Miracles

painless, virgin birth, stopping a wild elephant, splitting 500 pieces of fire wood with his voice, several water miracles

the "Middle Path"

path of balance and moderation

Theravada

Sect of Buddhism that believe it is up to the individual to find Nirvana "small raft"; located in Southeast Asia

Buddhist Pantheism

"All Buddha and all sentient beings are only 'one mind.' There is nothing else... Right before you, that's it!"

bodhisattvas

"Buddha-to-be"; has attained enlightenment but chooses to remain in the world to bring enlightenment to the world

The Buddha's last words

"Decay is inherent in all things; work out your salvation with diligence!"

schism

"division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief."

Nirvana

"extinguished; blown out"

All humans are meant to be pursuing the same ________________.

"full release"

anatman

"no self"; a permanent self does not exist; we are an ever-changing self

Zen

Sect of Buddhism that focuses on meditation and nothingness, sometimes including beatings to focus the mind ; located in Japan

impermanence

we are all passing away and changing with the universe

Who are we?

we are an ever changing self, all passing away and changing with the universe

4 noble truths

1 life is suffering 2 the cause of suffering is desire 3 the cure for suffering is to remove desire 4 to remove desire, follow the eightfold path

Buddhism/Hinduism Relations

Buddhism accepts the Hinduism concepts of: samsara, karma, and escape from samsara. Buddhism rejects the Hinduism concepts of: the illusion of reality, the power of gods, multiple paths, intuition as sovereign

Rational vs. Illusory World

Buddhism sees the world as it truly is, without ignoring the real pain and suffering. Hinduism ignores the pain and suffering of the world by calling it fake and avoidable

Buddhism and Intuition

Buddhist do not think human intuition is right because humans are fallen and flawed, so how can our judgement possibly be correct?

Who said, "we are far too easily pleased"?

C. S. Lewis

"Comparative Mythology

Jesus, Krishna, Buddha

3 people discussed with comparative mythology

Krishna, Buddha, Jesus

Wat Buddharatanaram

Monastery and learning center in Keller

What is gained by meditation?

Nothing is gained, but depression and stress is lost

Mahayana

Others - especially the Buddha and bodhisattvas - must help the individual find Nirvana "large raft"; china, Korea, Japan

Christian view: Suffering's end

Refer to Revelations 21:4, there is no suffering (we won't end suffering, but one day it will end)

Three Hindu theological concepts accepted by Buddhism

Reincarnation, karma, & escape from reincarnation

Dissenting verse

Romans 5:3-5 "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame."

Where are we?

we are in a rational -not illusory - world filled with pain which we produce ourselves by bad karma

How do we know?

We can come to know things through the enlightenment granted first to the Buddha and now to us through meditation.

What's the problem?

We listen to our desires/ cravings

What's the solution?

We must "extinguish" all desire, all cravings, by acknowledging the four noble truths and following the eightfold path, especially meditation."

The Buddha's later life

after enlightenment, remained in the same place contemplating the truths he had learned before leaving to preach them

we bare these marks of existence only as long ____________________________.

as we desire to be in existence.

buddhism is considered an ________ worldview.

atheistic

orthodoxy

authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice

asceticism

avoiding all forms of comfort and worldly pleasures

Enlightenment

awareness which frees a person from the cycle of rebirth

"Well-Balanced" individuals

between the extremes of sensual indulgence and self- mortification

"The Eightfold Path"

right: view, intentions, speech, action, livelihood, effort, concentration, & mindfulness

the "Four Sights" witnessed by Siddhartha Gautama that changed his life

sickness,old age, death, an ascetic monk

dukkha

suffering

Buddhism is one of the only religions that suggests that __________________.

suffering can be removed all together

Meditation

the buddhists primary tool for removing desire

Reliability of Buddhist History

the miracles of the Buddha weren't recorded until years after they were performed. also the earliest collection of writing contradicted each other

Soka Gakkai

this sect of buddhism focuses on chanting and focusing "nam-myoho-renge-kyo"