WHAT IS BUDDHISM?

-major world religion

originated in India.
-approximately 515.7
million Buddhists
around the world as
of 2015.
-propagated by Buddha
-centered on ending
suffering through
renouncing material
desires and
enlightenment.
Who is Buddha?
• Siddharta Gautama is
also known as Buddha.
• Born between 6th and 4th
centuries BCE in Lumbini,
a town in Southern Nepal
near the border of India.
• He was born a Hindu, and
Hinduism greatly
influenced his teachings
and the Buddhist
Doctrine.
Who is Buddha?
• Siddhartha Gautama was
raised a prince
• He lives the comforts of a
luxurious and sheltered lifestyle.
• Upon venturing the outside
world, he encountered four
sights which changed the way
he saw the world:
– Old age
– Sickness
– Death
– Monk in meditation
Basic Doctrines in Buddhism
• The SAMSARA
– Pursuing moral deeds and reaching
enlightenment in order to put an end to
suffering.
• The Three Jewels
1. The Buddha – refers to perfection
gained from enlightenment, as
exemplified by the life and actions of
Gautama Buddha.
2. Dharma – refers to the teachings of the
Buddha, which consist of the Four
Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path,
and the Five Precepts.
3. Sangha – the monastic community
which guides believers toward achieving
enlightenment and perfection.
 Basic Doctrines in Buddhism
• FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1. Dukkha – anxiety,
dissatisfaction, and
suffering.
2. Samudaya – source of
suffering.
3. Nirodha – end of
suffering.
4. Magga – path leading
to the end of
suffering.
Basic Doctrines in Buddhism
• The NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
1. Right understanding – perceive life in true
state
2. Right thought – prevent from thinking
immorality
3. Right concentration – steer away from
distraction
4. Right mindfulness – recognise the various
existence
5. Right speech – honest and abstaining from
gossip
6. Right action – do what is good or moral
7. Right livelihood – earn income w/o harming
others
8. Right effort – prevent from the emergence
of evil thoughts.
Basic Doctrines in Buddhism

1. Refrain from killing

2. Refrain from stealing
3. Refrain from engaging
in sexual practices
4. Refrain from lying and
false speech
5. Refrain from buying
and selling alcoholic
substances
Basic Doctrines in Buddhism
• Impermanence (Anicca)
– means Fleetingness
– Reality is shifting from moment
to moment, and nothing
remains constant even the
principle and belief of a
person.
– Person always changes his
mind as the world also
constantly changing.
– All compound things are
impermanent.
Basic Doctrines in Buddhism
• Subtle impermanence
– Small and monetary
changes that things and
human beings undergo

• Gross impermanence
– Encompass changes that
can be easily noticed due
to their magnitude.
Basic Doctrines in Buddhism
• Law of Dependent
Origination
– The universe functions through
a cause-effect mechanism.
– All phenomena are
interconnected.
– Every single phenomenon can
be attributed to a certain set of
conditions.
– Example: a tree is coming from
the seed and vise versa.
– Thus, phenomenon cannot
exist by itself; there will always
be another phenomenon that
brings about its occurrence.
 Law of Dependent Origination
• Twelve factors which lead to
suffering
1. ignorance
2. volitional actions or
predispositions
3. consciousness
4. phenomena involving the mind
and the body
5. the six faculties
6. contact
7. sensation or feeling
8. desire or craving
9. clinging to an object or entity
10. the state of becoming, or
creating life
11. birth
12. old age and death
NON-THEISM
• Buddhism is
considered non-
theistic
• Its followers do not
believe in a god or a
set of deities.
• The Buddha is not
considered a god but
regarded as teacher
serving the Buddhist
practitioner’s guide
towards
enlightenment.
MONASTIC LIVING
• Buddhist life centers on the
sangha, originated from the
Pali or Sanskrit word for
“community.”
• SANGHA – refers to the
community of the buddhists
in general, but it is used
specifically for the monastic
community composed of
monks and nuns.
• Monastic life is the best
means to achieve
enlightenment as the sangha
provides the most suitable
environment for meditation.
 Holy Symbols
• Buddha is represented through:
1. Foot prints
2. Wheel with eight spokes or Dharmachakra.
 Major Buddhist Traditions
• After the death of Buddha
around the 4th century BCE,
Buddhism eventually split
into two major branches:
1. Theravada Buddhism
2. Mahayana Buddhism

Reason: because of the

differences in guidelines
regarding the sangha or
religious community.
 Theravada Buddhism
• Traces its roots from the
sects who separated from
the council
• Mostly practiced in
Southeast Asian countries
• Their beliefs can be traced
to the original teachings of
Buddha, “The Enlightened
One”.
• The more conservative
division of Buddhism.
• The sacred text is Tipitaka
which literally means “triple
basket”.
Mahayana Buddhism
• Originated from majority and
more widely practiced
Buddhist Tradition.
• Followers mostly found in East
Asian countries.
• Founded on the belief that
everyone can become a
Buddha.
• It is adaptable to different
cultures and environments.
• Integrated with elements of
indigenous religions and
philosophies in other countries.
• The Sacred Texts are Tipitaka
and Sutra
Sutra
• Composed of 2184 texts,
the Sutra delve into the
important beliefs and
practices of Buddhism.
• Some of the most well-
known and frequently
used Sutras are the
following:
1. Lotus Sutra
2. Heart Sutra
3. Land of Bliss Sutra
4. Filial Piety Sutra
• Lotus Sutra
– How to achieve
enlightenment.
– Overcoming barriers
• Heart Sutra
– Discuss the concepts of
enlightenment and
nothingness
• Land of Bliss Sutra
– Give instructions on how an
individual can enter the Pure
Land.
• Filial Piety Sutra
– Integrates the Confucian
belief in the importance of filial
piety, or loving one’s parent.
The Nature of Buddha
• Buddha existed in three
forms or bodies, also
referred to as the trikaya:
1. The body of transformation
– identity of Buddha as
Siddhartha Gautama.
2. The body of bliss – form of
Buddha who imparted the
teachings of the Buddhist
faith.
3. The body of essence – the
true Buddha and its
ultimate, eternal form.
 Emptiness
• In Theravada Buddhism,
emptiness is part of
enlightenment which means
empty of suffering.
• In Mayahana, emptiness is a
basic characteristic of all
entities in the universe.
• According to philosopher
Nagarjuna, emptiness
means all beings and
entities in the universe do
not have their own
existence.
 Bodhisattvas
• Individuals who are on
their way to attaining
Buddhahood.
• Another body of the
Bliss of the Buddha.
• To aid other individuals
in attaining
enlightenment, before
they themselves reach
nirvana and become
Buddha.
 The Bodhisattva Precepts
• Set of rules that Mahayana
Buddhists
1. refrain from killing
2. refrain from stealing
3. refrain from engaging in
sexual practices
4. refrain from lying and
false speech
5. refrain from buying and
selling alcoholic
substances
 The Bodhisattva Precepts
• Set of rules that Mahayana Buddhists

6. refrain from telling others about one’s

mistakes
7. refrain from exaggerating one’s
accomplishments and ridiculing
others
8. refrain from envying others
9. refrain from being angry and refusing
to forgive
10. refrain from insulting the Buddha
and his teachings, as well as the
Buddhist community.
• Perfection is one of the
key solutions to ending
suffering.
• Perfection is referred to as
paramita in Buddhism.
• There are six perfections
which can help an
individual become:

1. Generosity – not limited

to willingness to give
material possessions, but
also extends to protecting
others from danger and
sharing spiritual
knowledge to them;
2. Morality – which entails
refraining from killing and
lying, and performing acts
of compassion and love.
3. patience – w/c requires
individuals to avoid
negativity in their
thoughts and actions
despite experiencing
adversities.
4. Effort – w/c involves
focus on achieving a
certain goal and working
to improve oneself.
4. Effort – w/c involves
focus on achieving a
certain goal and working
to improve oneself.
5. Meditation – w/c is the
way through w/c an
individual can gain
wisdom to better
understand life and all
phenomena in the
universe
6. wisdom – w/c involves
the understanding that
nothing is permanent,
and every phenomenon
in the universe is
conditioned by another.
 The Eight Realizations
1. The first realization emphasizes
that impermanence abounds in
all beings and phenomena.
Everything is an illusion, and
nothing has its own identity. Evil
things come from one’s
thoughts, and these evil things
are manifested in the body.
2. The second realization states
that desire and greed are the
root of suffering. Freedom from
suffering can only be
experienced by resisting one’s
craving.
3. The third realization points out
that dissatisfaction can lead to
evil deeds, and that individuals
must instead pursue
contentment and wisdom.
 The Eight Realizations
4. The fourth realization looks
into laziness as a hindrance
to achieving success and
fulfillment in one’s life. It
then becomes the duty of
the individual to overcome
laziness and triumph over
evil, which may take form of
sensate distractions and
fantasies.
5. The fifth realization states
that ignorance leads to the
persistence of the samsara,
or the cycle of birth and
rebirth. With this, the
individual is encouraged to
seek knowledge and gain
wisdom in order to eliminate
ignorance.
The Eight Realizations
6. The sixth realization
emphasizes that poverty can
drive people to be angry
towards one another. In order
to overcome this problem, it is
important to be generous
towards everyone, regardless
of who or what they are.
7. The seventh realization points
out that difficulties in one’s life
are a product of wordliness –
wealth, beauty, gluttony, and
laziness. It is the goal of the
individual to avoid wordliness
and the pursuit of these
desires.
8. The eighth revelation states that
it is the duty of all individuals
not only to deliver themselves
from suffering, but also to help
one another do the same.