Buddhism & the Axial AgeUse Index for quick access

Buddhism originated in India at the end of the 6th century BCE.

This period is sometimes known as the Axial Age. Around this same time, major philosophical figures lived

in several parts of the world; It was the age of Confucius and Laozi in China; This was the age of the great Greek philosophers,

including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; In India, this was the period when Buddha developed his

ideas. Consult Karl Jaspers (the Warring States Overview)

ꞌSakyaꞌmuni, the Founderhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sakyamuni

释迦牟尼 The founder of Buddhism is known by

several names. He was a prince in one of the many royal

families living in what is now northern India and southern Nepal;

His given name was Si’ddhartha, and he was also called ‘Gautama;

He is sometimes known as ‘Sakyamuni 释迦牟尼 , which means “the light of the

Sakya family.”

Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha c. for circa (“around” in Latin) 563 BCE to 483 BCE

"Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one."

Various collections of teachings attributed to Gautama were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

Gautama, the Sanskrit form of the family name of Siddhartha, the historical Buddha

Initial Awakeninghttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Si

ddhartha

Siddhartha was raised in relative luxury but turned to a life of spiritual questing;

Many stories recount his initial awakening; In one, he overhears the wailing of a funeral procession

and learns about death and suffering in this way; In another, as a young prince, he is given a beautiful

princess bride; but when he sees her drooling in her sleep, he realizes there is imperfection in the world;

He left his family home and went into the world to seek answers to his spiritual questions;

Siddhartha, an epithet of Buddha meaning “he who has attained his goal.”

The Bodhi (Wisdom) Treesupreme knowledge or

enlightenment The Bodhi Tree, also known as

Bo (from the Sinhalese Bo), was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya (about 100 km (62 mi) from Patna in the Indian state of Bihar), under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi.

In religious iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed.

“the Four Noble Truths” (East Asia 56/66)

Midway between self-deprivation and gratification

The teachings of the Buddhism are fairly simple and straightforward.

The key to his enlightenment is the realization of the nature of suffering.

1. Suffering is part of the normal life of people; 2. Suffering arises from our attachment to things; 3. If we wish to be free of suffering, we must liberate

ourselves from our attachments; 4. There is a way to do this through meditation and

renunciation; These are the Four Noble Truths 四谛 ;

The eightfold path to liberation(Ebrey 56)

The Dharma wheel, often used to represent the Noble Eightfold Path

also known as the Middle Path or Middle Way.

The threefold division of the path(East Asia 56)

Wisdom (1-2) Ethical conduct (3-5) Concentration (6-8)

1. Right understanding

2. Right intention

3. Right speech

4. Right action

5. Right livelihood

6. Right effort

7. Right mindfulness

8. Right concentration

the impermanence of all things Buddhism denies the permanence of phenomena; All things arise and pass away; everything has a

beginning and an end; The appearance of permanence in things is an

illusion; This does not mean, as is sometimes said, that

nothing is real, merely that no reality is permanent; Because all things pass away, attachment to them

can yield only suffering; Therefore, the way to free oneself from suffering is

to realize and accept the impermanence of all things, including oneself;

Three Basic Concepts1. Saṃsāra 轮回

samsara is defined as the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from ordinary beings' grasping and fixating on a self and experiences. Specifically, samsara refers to the process of cycling through one rebirth after another within the six realms of existence,[a] where each realm can be understood as physical realm or a psychological state characterized by a particular type of suffering. Samsara arises out of avidya (ignorance) and is characterized by dukkha (suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction).

Three Basic Concepts2. Karma 因果报应

action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation 再生 , 来世投胎

Three Basic Concepts3. Rebirth

Buddhism rejects the concepts of a permanent self or an unchanging, eternal soul.

According to Buddhism there ultimately is no such thing as a self independent from the rest of the universe (the doctrine of anatta 无我 ).

Thera’vada vs. Maha’yanaTwo Major Schools of Buddhism

Theravada or Hinayana 小乘教“ Lesser Vehicle” was concerned with individual liberation;

It emphasizes meditation and withdrawal from the world;

Mahayana 大乘教 , meaning “Greater Vehicle,” is not only concerned with individual liberation, but also concerned with the spiritual liberation of all beings.

The Attraction of Buddhism In innermost essence,

everything is Nirvana or empty.

The ultimate reality is consciousness; that everything is produced by the mind.

Karma: cause and effect; action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation

Buddhism addresses human suffering with an unmatched directness. Many were comforted by the belief that one could earn merit, and that there is an invisible moral order governing the universe, and moreover, under this system one is rewarded in this life or the next for good deeds…

Bodhisattva 菩萨

The Bodhi’sattva, an enlightened spiritual being who chooses to remain in the phenomenal world to aid others, was the ideal of the Mahayana path.

Introduced to China Around the beginning of the Common Era, Buddhism first

appeared in China; Buddhist monks travelled along overland routes from

northeast India to Central Asia. The trade route of the Silk Road provided the main adventures for these travelers;

Sometimes in the 1st century CE, the first monastery was set up in China, near the Later Han capital at Luoyang. Buddhist monks became teachers at the imperial court, though without the same high status as Confucian scholars.

The White Horse Temple白马寺

the first Buddhist temple in China, established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming 汉明帝 in the Eastern Han 东汉

(25 AD - 220 AD) capital Luoyang 洛阳 . The temple, although small in size in comparison to many other temples in China, is considered by most believers as "the cradle of Chinese Buddhism"