Buddhism 3 Gems 10 24 2014 The Buddha Fully enlightened teacher The Dharma Teaching The Sangha Community Go for refuge in one of the gems Originated in India Cultural tension between Brahmins and individuals 2500 years ago Rejects authority of vedas and brahman caste Buddhism comes from ascetic tradition Strong ascetic tradition that remains today o Meditation o Self restraint o Poverty not in all cases o Free themselves from Samsara Veneration of Gods had nothing to do with their religious practices Gods aren t that important Siddartha Gautama 500 lifetimes Focus on how he came from Royal family Lived in extreme wealth and privilege Born of a virgin Mother birthed him from the side 30 years old when he leaves palace Sees o A sick man o Suffering old man o A dead man o A monk in meditation o Everyone suffers o Great departure o Becomes very thin Buddha is not a god but a person who reaches their full potential and attains enlightenment Only one Buddha per lifetime Cycle of Buddhas Mara God of deception Tempt the Buddha away from enlightenment Siddhartha meditates differently More awareness of the world Sharpen mind That night he becomes aware remembers his past and sees how karma really works and end suffering Clarity Nirvana Theravada Cool down the fiery passions and delusions The oldest The way of the elders The original form of Buddhism Monastic tradition separate from the laity o Keep monks from distraction by focusing on meditation o Only monks are capable of enlightenment No acceptation of scripture Exclude works of the Mahayana Sacred scripture all oral Famine monks needed sacred text to preserve sacred things incase no one survived Always start with Thus I have heard o Not directly from Buddha o Teachings came from the Buddha but cast through others o Attempt to maintain authority of the Buddha Not changing takes on aspects of local culture Highest attainment is Arhat o To stop making karma o Karma will eventually run out liberated and not reborn Mahayana The competitor of Theravada The Greater Vehicle o the better option o Theravada is the lesser vehicle Lay people are able to attain enlightenment More lay involvement Ultimate goal is to be a bodhisattva o Someone who takes a vow not to attain enlightenment until everyone else does o Enlightenment is almost selfish Heavenly realm that s positive merits Amida o Pure land o Has infinite merit Vajrayana People should relate to each other The diamond cut way Tibetan Buddhism Environment a a pureland The mandala Since 1950 s HHDL Individual effort Popular in the west Zen Zazen Sitting meditation Adopt posture Sit in silent meditation in 15 20 minutes Martial arts Koan Paradoxical thought exercise Focus zen disciple to go outside of normal reasoning Merit transfer pure land Help reach enlightenment PL o Amida has infinite supply of merit to share o Go into main altar and chant at the statue of Buddha gold Theravada Buddha Puja statue Mahayana Bodhisattvas Veneration of Bodhisattvas Zen Zazen and Koan is part of Mahayana school Venerate relics in stupes o A way of representing middle eastern and eastern cultures o Colonial power o Representations focus on how ME and E cultures are deviant from the norm of protestant Christianity Western interest in Buddhism Social trends Orientalism Theosophy Occultism YMBA Buddhist mission to west Dharmapala Beat Writers Alan Watts o Popularized Eastern philosophy for western audience o Published The Way of the Zen 1957 o Proposed Buddhism should be considered form of psychotherapy instead of a religion Zen Buddhism Emphasis on attainment of enlightenment Focus on Zazen and direct instruction from Zen teacher Watts Zen experience of reality the universe Beat Generations interest in Zen spurred rise in popularity Time magazine labeled 10 24 2014 10 24 2014
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