Chapter 1:
The Buddha
Buddha- English
佛(fo)- Chinese
बुद्ध(Bodha)- Hindi
仏(Hotoke)- Japanese
부처(bucheo)- Korean
พระพุทธเจ้า(Phraphuthṭhcêā)- Thai
Đức Phật- Vietnamese
Symbols: Turning wheel- eight spokes for eightfold path. It also continues to turn to remind of continual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Lotus Flower: a water lily that starts its life in mud (dissatisfactory in life) and reaches the surface of water to bloom. It is not dirty from the mud it lives in. The Buddha believed that the lotus is like human, rising out of negative life and blooming to goodness.
Life of the Buddha
Buddhism was founded a prince by the name of Siddhartha Gotama, born in Lumbini, Nepal. His birth date is unkown. A propheter said that Siddhartha would either become a military conqueror or a religious leader. Siddhartha's father wanted him to be a military conqueror, so he never let Siddhartha go outside the castle for sight of terrors and religious belief. One day, Siddhartha came out of the castle on a carrige ride out of curiosity. He saw old age, sickness, and death. He was shocked by the sights he never knew of. However, in the carriage ride, he saw a holy man, or monk. When he returned to palace life, he wasn't satisfied. He left his royal life, shaved his hair off, exchanged out of his fancy clothing, and went out to seek enlightenment. Many of the religious people he met disagreed with Siddhartha's ideas. Along with five disciples, Siddhartha searched for the answer of all his questions. Many of the monks he met tried extreme ways--like fasting almost to starvation, or holding their breaths. But none of these ever worked. So instead, Siddhartha thought of a different philosophy: a Middle way between extreme torture, and extreme luxury. But his way of thinking caused his disciples to abandon him. Siddhartha sat at a tree, called the Bodhi tree, which is now famous. His mind thought he was at battle with Mara, a demon who represented destruction. After mass battle with Mara, Siddhartha found enlightenment and became a Buddha. (The word 'Buddha' meant 'Awakened One'.) He began to teach, and his family soon followed him. However, he didn't teach about his enlightenment; he taught how to reach it for others to acheive it themselves. Hundreds of people started to preach to the Buddha, and now he is known as one of the most brilliant people in the world. He died at the age of 80 and his bdoy was cremated and placed in stupas (burial mounds). Buddhists believed he reached Parinirvana, or the complete nirvana. Buddhism spread to many different Asian countries including Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, and Thailand.
The Three Jewels
The Three Jewels is to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharmma, and the Sangha. The Three Jewels sum up Buddhist belief. Dharma is the teachings and natural laws that the Buddha taught and a Sangha is a community of nuns and monks. Dharmma is believed by Buddhists to be the most important thing of Buddhism. They also don't believe Siddhartha made these rules; Dharmma was already there. In fact, Dharmma means natural laws.
The Three Signs of Being
The Three Signs of Being are duhkha, anicca, and anatta. Most people would translate Duhkha as suffering, but it also includes much more, like boredom. Duhkha includes all that is unsatisfactory. Buddhists believe life is Duhkha. Anicca means impermanence, or nothing is permanent. Nothing lasts forever. The Buddha stated that since nothing lasts, the only way to rest is Nirvana. Anatta is the belief that you can't call anything a soul. He taught that the body was made of five things: body, feelings, thoughts, awareness, and ideas. They also believe that a soul does not continue during rebirth.
The Four Noble Truths
Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, which means there isn't a god to praise. Many believe that the Buddha was a god, but he was not. He was an awakened prince who reached enlightenment and taught it to others. The first sermon the Buddha taught was the Four Noble Truths. The Truths were: truth fo suffering, truth of cause of suffering, truth of the end of suffering, and truth of the path that frees us from suffering. The First Truth is the belief that life is suffering. However, after death, the body is reborn again. This is called the samsara, or reincarnation. The Second Truth teaches suffering is caused by cravings and thirst. We would always want something outside our bodies but when we get it, we aren't satisfied. We attach to thoughts and physical things and when things don't work out, anger comes up. Karma and Rebirth are two rules the Buddha put out. Karma is believed by the Buddha that good intentions by the body will have positive consequences while bad intentions result in negative consequences. Rebirth is when a person is reborn after the death of a previous life. Buddhist aim to escape rebirth. To stop rebirth, you must reach nirvana (ending of suffering) and you will be sent to heaven. But you have a choice to remain in paradise or return to earth to become a bodhisattva. The Third Truth is that enlightenment ends suffering. We could stop cravings through enlightenment. Nirvana is the state an Enlightened being is in. Finally, the Eightfold Path is the path that leads us away from eternal suffering.
The Eightfold Path
The Buddha had a practice which is known as the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is divided into three groups: Wisdom, Ethical Conduct, and Mental Discipline. Right View and Right Intention are part in Wisdom; Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood belong in Ethical Conduct; and Right Effort and Right Mindfulness belongs to Mental Discipline. Right View supports wisdom, which is the sense of understandings things of how they truly are. Right View is seeing things as their normal nature without an opinion or label. The next is Right Intention. Right Intention includes renunciation, positive will, and harmlessness. Renunciation is giving away our attachment to our own possessions. It doesn't mean to give up everything, just objects that we feel strongly about. Giving away a possession but still attached doesn't necessarily mean you have practiced renunciation. Positive will is the intention of cultivating kindness without discrimination or selfishness towards others. Harmlessness is having no intention of violence towards others. Compassion isn eeded for harmlessness. Right Speech is the act of correct and positive speech with yourself and others. Four parts are included in Right Speech: To not tell lies or deceive others; not to falsely slander others; not to speak in impoliteness or cussing; and not to gossip or small talk. Right Action is when we take positive actions towards ourselves and others. Right Action also is about keep the five precepts. Right Action is: not killing, not stealing, no inappropriate sexual behavior, no inappropriate language, and not to abuse intoxication. Right Livelihood is to earn a living without harming others. The Buddha stated that there are five types of business that lay followers should not engage in, which is business with weapons, humans, meat, intoxicants, and poison. If the business you are working in is asking you to be dishonest, like cheating clients, the livelihood you are in is improper. Right Effort (Diligence) is when you try to prevent negativie qualities and encourage positive qualities. There are four aspects of Right Effort: to prevent negative qualitites, to discourage negative qualities that are already persent, to cultivate positive qualities, and to encourage positive qualities that are already there. But don't forget not to practice too hard, for the Buddha taught to go the Middle Way, not to practice extremely. Right Mindfulness is when a person is in the current situation in full mind, not lost in daydreams, worry, etc. Meditation is used to practice mindfulness. Finally, Right Concentration is focusing on mental object and following the four Absorptions. The four Absorptions are: to let go of desires and passions; intellecutal activity is replaced by calmness; rapture from the first absorption fades and is replaced by great clarity; and all fades except for equanimity.
The Precepts
Lay Buddhists believe that there are five precepts to follow: not to kill, not to steal, not to use sexual misconduct, not to abuse intoxicaction, and not to use foul language. There are also five extra precepts Buddhist monks and nuns must follow. They are: not to eat after midday, not to attend music or dancing, not to use perfume or jewelry, not to sleep on a soft bed, and not to accept gifts of money.
