Buddhism Packet Questions

1. Siddhartha Gautama
2. a) A decrepit old man
b) Diseased man
c) Corpse
-emphasize the reality of suffering and impermanence of life's pleasures
-Gautama does not feel safe or content with pleasure
d) Religious ascetic
-there is hope in this man who practices solitude and self-denial and Gautama thinks this might be an end of suffering and begins to follow this path.
3. The extremes of life do not lead to salvation. The Buddha lived in excess because it did not lead to salvation, he starved himself but rejected this. The middle way teaches that a healthy spiritual life depends on a healthy physical life.
4. Siddhartha sat beneath a fig tree and began to meditate. He faces Mara, the god of death, who presented desires to try and sway Siddhartha. Siddhartha was not swayed and touched the earth as a witness of his resolve and Mara went away. Siddhartha began meditating deeply and experienced the three watches. During the first watch he perceived his previous lifetimes, on the second he got the "divine eye", and the third watch he discovered the Four Noble Truths. From this he attained enlightenment.
5. The Sangha is a Buddhist monastic community. Men and women make up Sangha and live as monks and nuns in these communities.
6. The three jewels of Buddhism are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
7. Buddhism and Hinduism understand time in a cycle pattern and the eternal nature of the universe and of creation and destruction. This would be communal with the doctrine of samsara or "wheel of rebirth" and the idea that humans can escape this.
8. The Buddha disagreed with sacrifice and ritual done towards a god, the structure of Hinduism (the caste system), and the inequality among caste.
9. The three marks of existence are anatta (no-self), anicca (impermanence), and dukkha (suffering). Anatta and anicca work together to emphasize the constant changing of things that create no-self and impermanence of everything. Dukkha or suffering is the result of anatta and anicca, things always changing or fleeting and being just out of reach.
10. Anatta is the doctrine highlighting that there is no essence within reality or any being which directly contrasts the doctrine of Atman or the inner self and essence.
11. According to samsara, from one body to the next, energy is transferred and reborn and this energy is determined by karma. Karma is the cause and effect idea and effects the energy that is transferred based on good or bad actions.
12. Five Precepts (all Buddhists): 1. Do not take life 2. Do not take what is not given 3. Do not engage in sensuous misconduct 4. Do not use false speech 5. Do not drink intoxicants
Five Precepts (monks and nuns): 1. Do not eat after noon 2. Do not watch dancing or shows 3. Do not use garlands, perfumes, or ornaments 4. Do not use a high or soft bed 5. Do not accept gold or silver
13. Dukkha is translated into: "suffering", "frustration", "dislocation", or "discomfort". Dukkha means like a tweak or something that causes a larger part to suffer.
14. Tanha is the second noble truth meaning selfish desire and this selfish desire is causes dukkha or suffering.
15. Eightfold Path: 1. Right views-Learn Buddhist teachings 2. Right intentions- abandon bad attitudes, nurture good attitudes 3. Right speech- avoid gossip 4. Right conduct- live morally 5. Right livelihood- do not harm living beings 6. Right effort- maintain mental alertness 7. Right mindfulness- mental focus, meditation 8. Right meditation- perfect tranquility
16. The Buddha is different from others because he does not need a model of teachings to lead to his enlightenment.
17. An arhat is one who has become enlightened. An arhat has perfect wisdom and is free from tanha and dukkha. They are still engaged in the world but are detached from self and the world.
18. Nirvana literally means "blowing out". This helps the understanding with an analogy of blowing a candle out. Blowing a candle out is parallel to the extinguishing of self and desire that occurs in nirvana.
19. The three rafts of Buddhism are Theravada (lesser vehicle), Mahayana (great vehicle), and Vajrayana (vehicle of the diamond).
20. The main focus of Theravada Buddhism is the teachings of the Buddha and practicing them and especially through meditation and thus emphasizes monastic life.
21. Mahayana literally means "the Great Vehicle". This implies that they are superior to the Theravada Buddhists since they are named "the Lesser Vehicle".
22. Vajrayana Buddhism fights fire with fire by harnessing desires and energy to use it against itself and achieve enlightenment.
23. The Dalai Lama is the leader of Vajrayana Buddhism and a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara. Each Lama is chosen through supernatural means and things such as choosing former Lama's objects.
24. Theravada Buddhism is primarily located in Cambodia, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Mahayana Buddhism is mainly in China, Japan, and Korea. Vajrayana Buddhism is located in Tibet. Thus they are located mainly in the Asian region.

Christianity and Buddhism Distinctions Essay

     As world religions, Buddhism and Christianity will share similar dimensions or aspects that become distinctive in the view of reality and the world. Christians and Buddhists respond to common dilemmas and the human condition. Some of these dilemmas are obtaining happiness, ridding loneliness, and having something to follow. These are responded to similarly by Christians and Buddhists but become distinct in practice and reasoning. Buddhism follows the practice of non-self and awareness and Christianity follows the practice of Christ, the life of a man who died and resurrected for humans. 

Both Buddhists and Christians have methods of responding to the desire or dilemma of attaining or sustaining happiness in life. However, in order to receive or come upon happiness the Christian and the Buddha follow different methods. Fr. Giussani responds to the dilemma of happiness by saying gladness is affirmed in Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection. Jesus offers to show people truth and truly cared about humans as he was one himself. Fr. Giussani conforms this to his world view by seeing how profound Christ's influence is; he sees communities forming and he himself forming one in the name of Christ and his goal. Experiencing Christ in this way helps him understand happiness and achieve it. A buddhist, Thich Nhat Hanh however says that happiness gain be obtained through the practice of non-self and ability to love. He emphasizes the importance of cultivating non-self and learning to love oneself and then others in order to achieve equality and harmony with others. He views the world as an effort to erase individualism or the notion of distinct objects and achieve the idea of realizing everyone makes up a larger whole. In the Christian and Buddhist distinctions of happiness comes another common idea yet distinct practice, which is community and companionship.

Again, Buddhists and Christians are on common ground when emphasizing the importance of community and sharing but distinct on the reasons. Fr. Giussani noticed how quickly will appeal to and follow the teachings of Christ. When he noticed this he continued to lead a community because he too wanted to follow Christ because he saw how unifying Christ can be. Community is important to Christians because it helps them understand Christ together and practice and take his teachings in their personal lives and lives of others. Buddhists value community too in a similar way as Thich Nhat Hanh says, "The sangha is very important-- the insight and the practice of the teacher can be seen in the sangha. It has a much stronger effect when you share in the practice and the teaching as a sangha." The distinction, then, is how profoundly buddhists use community to emphasize the importance of non-self and being one organism. Thich Nhat Hanh values community building of highest important for the 21st century in order to get rid of the notion of individualism and to be able to live peacefully. 

A final similarity is the emphasis of a teacher, Christ for Christians and Buddha for Buddhists; Christ and Buddha are examples of the ultimate, whether it is relationship or dimension. Additionally, both religions view these teachers as people that can be emulated and can be the basis of how to live and understand life. The distinction is the divinity. Christians view Jesus Christ has both fully human and fully divine therefore it is capable for humans to be like Christ but Christ also has a divine authority and credibility. Fr. Giussani emphasizes the Christ is the Mystery, the divine that religion commonly tries to seek and therefore Christ becomes important because he is humans access to Mystery. Thich Nhat Hanh however says, "I don't need the Buddha to be a god. He is a teacher, and that is good enough for me!" He also uses this as the reason that "countless buddhas become possible." Buddhists let go of needing a divinity and emphasize a teacher who can be epitomized and reflected by anyone as buddhists all seek to be non-self and practice togetherness with others. 

Christianity and Buddhism resemble each other through reaching happiness, building community and following a teacher. However, there are distinctions that allow Buddhists to view the world as a goal of letting go of notions of one and many and sameness and otherness, and practicing non-self. Christians emphasize the experience of Christ's life, death and resurrection and Christ is the Mystery that we can depend on because he was fully human and fully divine. 

Introduction to Buddhism

BUDDHISM:

Siddartha Gautama: Siddartha was born in the 6th century B.C.E. He was a rich prince in Northern India who practiced Hinduism. His father tried to shelter him from all the suffering in the world therefore Siddartha never ventured outside the palace. However, he did one day and saw old age, sickness, poverty, and death. After this he renounced his wealth and became an aesthetic. As he was meditating under a tree one day he came to realize the 

Four Noble Truths:

1. Life is filled with suffering

2. Suffering is caused by desire

3. Suffering can be ended if we cease desiring
4. Desires can be ended by following the 

Eightfold Path:

1. Right Understanding or Perfect Vision

2. Right Resolve or Perfect Emotion

3. Right Speech or Perfect Speech

4. Right Action or Perfect Action

5. Right Livelihood or Perfect Livelihood

6. Right Effort or Perfect Effort

7. Right Mindfulness or Perfect Awareness

​8. Right Meditation or Perfect Samadhi

--the eightfold path makes more specific the 

Threefold Way: ethics, meditation, and wisdom

-ethics provides a basis for meditation, and meditation is the ground on which wisdom can develop

--The ideals at the heart of Buddhism are collectively known as the 

Three Jewels:

1. Buddha: yellow jewel

2. Dharma: blue jewel

3. Sangha: red jewel