Buddhism
Founder/How was religion
created?
Siddhartha Gautama, a Hindu
prince, left his family to find
Enlightenment (Complete
understanding), he found
answers: the Four Noble Truths
and Eightfold Path, and began
teaching.
What do Buddhists call God?
What do Buddhist Call God?
• Nothing really, Buddhists try to
follow the teachings of the Buddha,
but don’t worship any particular
gods, some Buddhists may worship
gods from other religions: Shinto,
Taoism or even Hinduism, but
Buddhists don’t view God as an
important part of their religion.
Sacred Texts
Sacred Texts
• The Buddha never wrote anything
down, instead his teachings were
carried on by monks until being
written down on Palm Leaves: the
Tripitaka, and kept in three baskets.
The teachings of the Buddha were
kept in one basket, rules in another,
and other information in another.
What Happens after you die?
Reincarnation, Nirvana, Meditation
• Similarly to Hindus, Buddhists believe in
reincarnation; they believe in Karma and that
the goal of life is to escape the Wheel of Life
• Unlike Hindus, Buddhists believe that, upon
completing the eightfold path, anyone can
achieve nirvana or freedom from suffering.
4 Noble Truths
• Suffering Exists (The Goal of a Person is to
eliminate Suffering)
• Suffering is caused by human desires or greed.
(Wanting things makes people unhappy)
• Suffering can be stopped by stopping human
desire
• To stop Suffering, follow the Eightfold Path
Eightfold Path
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A Buddhist’s path to enlightenment.
The Four Noble Truths (Understand, think about)
Speak kindly
Be kind and helpful
Choose a job that is not harmful to others
Concentrate on and be aware of your own
thoughts
• Meditate
Middle Way
• A path between extremes: following the
Eightfold Path
• The Buddha believed that people should
neither have too much or too little of
anything: food.
Branches of Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism
• Theravada Buddhists closely follows the rules
set down by Buddha (Fundamentalist) and
believe that individuals are responsible for
own path to nirvana.
• Many parents send boys to become monks for
a month – years.
Mahayana Buddhism
• Bodhisattvas choose to teach others the path
to enlightenment.
• Zen: a form of Mahayana Buddhism where
people meditate while sitting in the lotus
position and thinking about koans (riddles):
“What is the sound of one hand clapping?” “If
a tree falls in the forest and no one is around
to hear it, does it make a sound?”
Holy Land and Places
• Meditation can take place anywhere:
Buddhists sometimes travel to temples and
shrines to get special places for meditation.
• Buddhism is practiced all over the world,
especially in Asia: esp. Sri Lanka, Tibet,
Thailand, and Japan