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.