Powerpoint used in class

1. THE LIFE OF
SIDDHARTHA
GAUTAMA

2. SIDDHARTHA
Gautama
• 566-486 BCE (6th –5th
Centuries BCE)
• BORN KSHATRIYA &
HEIR TO MINOR
KINGDOM IN NEPAL
• FAMILY WAS HINDU

3. THE OMENS
• HIS MOTHER DREAMED A WHITE
ELEPHANT ENTERED HER WOMB
• BORN FULLY CONSCIOUS & WALKED
IMMEDIATELY
• AT 7 HE MEDITATED FOR THE 1ST TIME

4. HIS AWAKENING
• SIDDHARTHA
DISOBEYED HIS
FATHER & LEFT THE
PALACE
• HE SAW:
*OLD AGE
* ILLNESS
* DEATH

5. • A “Hedonistic” Life
• SIDDHARTHA
RENOUNCED HIS
WIFE, CHILD AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
• SET OUT TO SEEK THE
WAY TO
ENLIGHTENMENT

7. Buddha “Mudras”

10. TEMPTATION
• SIDDHARTHA ANNOUNCED
HIS INTENTION TO
ACHIEVE ENLIGHTENMENT
• MARA, THE DEMON-KING,
CAME TO TEMPT HIM:
– COMFORT
– DESIRE
– FEAR
• SIDDHARTA RESISTS
TEMPTATION
• REACHES NIRVANA &
ENLIGHTENMENT

13. ACHIEVING
ENLIGHTENMENT
• BELIEVE IN THE 4 NOBLE
TRUTHS
• FOLLOW THE
EIGHTFOLD PATH
• ADHERE TO THE
“MIDDLE WAY”
• Ultimate objective:
achieve enlightenment
(NIRVANA) and/or
liberation from
Samsara (continual
rebirth)

16. BUDDHIST BELIEFS
DIFFERENT FROM HINDUISM
• THERE ARE NO GODS
• SOCIAL EQUALITY

17. AFTER DEATH…
• CYCLE OF REBIRTH KNOWN AS SAMSARA…
– ONE CAN BE REBORN IN 1 OF 6 REALMS
KNOWN AS THANGKAS: THE HELLS, WORLD
OF HUNGRY GHOSTS, ANIMAL WORLD,
HUMAN WORLD, WORLD OF JEALOUS GODS
AND HEAVENS

18. What is “ego”?

19. “Selflessness”

20. Everything is
“Impermanent”
Nothing Lasts Forever
• Non-Attachment –
Don’t be attached to
good deeds or the idea
of doing good, this is a
form of craving
(desire).

22. • http://essenes.net/asokap.jpg

24. What is “ego”?

25. Everything is
“Impermanent”
Nothing Lasts Forever
• Non-Attachment –
Don’t be attached to
good deeds or the idea
of doing good, this is a
form of craving
(desire).

26. Buddha & the Four Disciples
• Famous Event
– His 1st
Sermon
• Taught 4 Noble
Truths to
Ascetics at
Deer Park in
Sarnath

27. Dharma Wheel
The Wheel of Buddhist Law
• Symbolizes cycle of birth &
rebirth
• In Buddhism “Dharma” means:
(a) the teachings of the Buddha
and (b) the natural law
• Karma – doctrine of cause & effect
• “Rebirth” or Reincarnation
• Impermanence – things are in constant change
and don’t last forever.
• Nirvana – absolute highest goal. One has reached
absolute extinction of desire and suffering

28. Buddhist Symbols & Meanings
• Pink Lotus – the supreme Lotus
reserved for “the Buddha”
• Symbol of Purity and Divine Birth
• White Lotus – symbolizes the
state of mental purity and spiritual
perfection the Buddha attained
beneath the Bodhi/Bo Tree.
• Prayer Wheel
• Used in Tibetan
Buddhism Only

29. Buddha Markings
• Perfectly
proportioned
• 32 Major
Charactreristics
• Eye of Wisdom
• Top knot on head =
symbol of greatest
enlightenment
• ONCE SIDDHARTA REACHED ENLIGHTENMENT BECAME
KNOWN AS – BUDDHA OR ‘ENLIGHTENED ONE’