Buddhism
What type of religion is Buddhism?
Non-theistic
The Origins of Buddhism
Buddha Shakyamuni (or Siddhartha Gautama)
was the original founder of Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama was originally a hindu
prince. Before developing buddhism, he was
obsessed with human suffering.
Buddhist scriptures describe four encounters
which served to awaken in him an awareness
of four sufferings common to all people--birth,
aging, sickness and death--and a desire to seek
their solution.
Buddhist Teachings
The Dharma is the main text for Buddhism.
The Dharma is said to have presented itself to Buddha.
Upanishads- sacred texts that sought to probe the inner meaning of the
Vedas. (Vedas were a collections of prayers and rituals.)
The Eightfold Path to Enlightenment
Continuities Over Time
Buddhism continues to focus on teaching the Four
Noble Truths
Achieving nirvana (total peace with body and
mind) is still the main goal of Buddhism
They believe and teach anatman (denial of a
permanent soul)
Karma, belief that your actions have equal
consequences, is still a belief that is regularly
practiced
Changes Over Time
Less than 1% of India practices Buddhism. In the
past India had periods where Buddhism
dominated the other religions.
It is practiced in places east of India
Ideas on how to teach are shared between
different regions of Buddhism
Theravada - emphasizes understanding of body
and mind
Mahayana - schools focus on existence and nonexistence (the middle path)
Modern Buddhism
Modern Buddhism focuses more on “Why we should we
believe in the Buddhist ways more than the traditional
values?”
Various groups within the Buddhist religion participate
in both traditional, and modernized practices.
*Modern Buddhism is based off universal
principles involving ethics and justice.
*Truly connecting yourself to the ultimate reality.
Today’s Buddhists have mixed the traditional beliefs
with modern society, and various religions.
The distortion of Buddhism
There are three major schools of Buddhism:
Theravada - unified and conservative
Mahayana-fragmented but a very loose confederation
Vajrayana- a subpoint but is treated as a separate school because of their
doctrine and practices.
Buddha was not as chubby as many depictions make it appear–he was mainly
portrayed this way because it was symbolic of happiness in the east.
Spread of Buddhism
A wave of conversion began, and Buddhism spread not only through India, but
also internationally. Ceylon, Burma, Nepal, Tibet, central Asia, China, and Japan
are just some of the regions where the Middle Path was widely accepted.
From place to place Buddhism became more western.
Modern Day Buddhism
The religion now has 500 million followers.
It is mostly practiced in Asia.
Would Buddha be pleased with Buddhism today?
Since Buddha is no longer with us we can not get in opinion on present day
Buddhism but we think he would be very pleased because of how it has grew and
effected peoples lives.
Bibliography
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Strayer, Robert W., and Jay P. Harmon. Ways of the World: A Global History with Sources for AP. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.
"The Noble Eightfold Path." Examiner.com. N.p., 23 Aug. 2010. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.
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