Buddhism Midterm 2

  1. Mahakashyapa
    • Led the First Council- a retreat after the death of teh Buddha
    • He asked Ananda to recite the teachings of the Buddha and Upali to recite the Vinaya code of monastic discipline
    • Regarded by Chinese Chan as the second Indian patriarch, the first was the Buddha
  2. Ananda
    • The cousin of Siddhartha Gautama who was one of his most revered disciples
    • At the First Council, he recited the teachings and words of the Buddha which eventually became the Sutra-pitaka
    • He also helped convince the Buddha to allow nuns in the Sangha (women practitioners)
  3. Ashoka
    • He ruled most of modern day India
    • He convened the 3rd Council in 250 BCE
    • Its goal was to establish a Buddhist orthodox or the true message of Buddhism
    • He brought India together under his rule
    • Governed in accordance with the dharma
  4. Three Councils
    • First Council: within a year after the Buddha's death, a group of elder's gathered to confirm the teachings of the Buddha, called by Mahakasyapa
    • Second Council: called 100 years after Buddha's deathbecause of disagreement over rules in the Vinaya
    • Third Council: 250 BCE, called by King Ashoka. The goal was to establish a Buddhist orthodox. Have a unified message of Buddhism
  5. Therevada Buddhism
    • Means "Elder's Teachings"
    • It is popular in S/SE Asia
    • Follows the Pali Canon (Tripitaka) from 1st Cent BCE
  6. Devadatta
    • Cousin of teh Buddha who argued that it was better for monks to engage in life of austerities and asceiticism with in the dharma rather than following the Middle Path
    • He was not convinced the Middle Path was the way to Enlightenment
    • He eventually abandoned the communitey and brought some followers with him who wanted a more forceful leader
  7. Punya
    • "merit"
    • Punyakarma means "auspicious karma" usually refering to past good karma built up by those on the path to enlightenment
  8. 10 Precepts
    • They are the 10 vows taken by a novice monk to refrain from these actions:
    • 1. Killing
    • 2. Stealing
    • 3. Sexual Misconduct
    • 4. Lying
    • 5. Intoxicating Drinks
    • 6. Eating at the Wrong Time
    • 7. Attending events with dancing, singing, music or shows
    • 8. Wearing garlands, perfumes, ointments, ornaments or cosmetics
    • 9. Using high or broad beds
    • 10. Accepting gold or silver
  9. 4 Causes for Immediate Expulsion from the Sangha
    • Killing
    • Stealing
    • Sexual Intercourse
    • Falsely Claiming Spiritual Attainment
  10. Brahmanical Religion
    • Follow the Vedic tradition (outlined by the Vedas)
    • The Buddha was raised in the time of this religion along with sramana religion (renouncers)
    • There were 4 classes: priests, warriors/royalty, commoners, servants
    • Practicioners would perform rituals and sacrifices to the gods for well-being
    • There were 4 stages of life: student, householder, forest-dweller, wandering renouncer
  11. Rebirth
    • Part of Samsara (cyclical existence)
    • According to Buddhism, by achieving nirvana you can escape the cycle of rebirth
    • Your rebirth is determined by your karma from past lives
    • Everyone has been reborn multiple times, ex: the Buddha had 547 lives before becoming enlightened
  12. Karma
    • Defined by the Buddha as intentional, ethical ACTION
    • Means "action" or "deed" in Sanskrit
    • In Buddhism, your actions bring good and bad karma which affects your rebirth, like what realm you will be born in.
  13. Dharma
    • In Brahmanical tradition, dharma literally meant "righteousness" or "duty"
    • Each class had its own dharma
    • In Buddhism, dharma refers to the teachings of the Buddha
    • It includes all his sermons and doctrinal pronouncements
    • Symbolized by the wheel of life and two deer
  14. Samsara
    • Means "wandering on"
    • The cycle of death and rebirth
    • According to Buddhism, by reaching nirvana, you can escape samsara
    • Samsara is associated with suffering (duhka)
    • It is represented in the Wheel of Life
  15. Sramana
    • Means "striver" in Sanskrit
    • A sramana is a renouncer
    • They sought to escape samsara by stopping the process of karma by not acting
    • The Buddha saw the sramana and materialistic lifestyles to be too extreme, which led him to create the Middle Path
  16. Buddha
    • Means "the Awakened One"
    • This name was given to Siddhartha Gautama after he achieved enlightenment
    • According to Buddhist beliefs, there is a Buddha for each age, Gautama is just the Buddha of our age The Buddha is one of the three Refuges
  17. Shakyamuni/Siddhartha Gautama
    • Both are names for the Buddha
    • Shakyamuni means "the sage from Sakyas)
    • History has proved that this is a real person who became known as the Buddha after attaining enlightenment
  18. Boddhisattva
    • "Being-awakened"
    • a person who is on the path of attaining enlightenment, they are usually pretty far along
    • It generally means a future Buddha
  19. Jataka
    • Literally means "Birth Story"
    • It is a collection of 550 tales of the Buddha's past lives as a Bodhisattva
    • Begins with the tale of Sumati- the Brahmin boy who vows to Buddha of the age to attain enlightenment one day
    • Part of the Sutta Pitaka in the Pali Canon
  20. Mara
    • Derived from the Sanskrit verb meaning "to die"
    • The name of the demon who tempted the Buddha with his three daughters- Discontent, Delight and Desire
    • It is depicted as a real individual in stories and is meant to personify temptation
  21. 4 Signs
    • When Siddhartha is a member of the royal class, he is kept in the palace by his father the King who wants his son to unify the kingdoms and be a great ruler, not a sage. He does this so he will only see happines
    • One day Siddhartha Gautama escaped the palace and he saw the 4 signs:
    • Old Man, Sick Man, Corpse, Ascetic
    • This convinced him that the world was imperfect and he knew he could not find happiness in samsara--> led him to seek enlightenment
  22. Sujata
    • The first laywoman
    • She offered food to the Buddha right before he attained enlightenment
    • After eating the milk-rice, the Buddha realized how much more clear This led him to decided that the sramana path was too extreme
  23. Rahula
    • The Buddha's son, his name means "to fetter"
    • His mother Yasodhara presented him to the Buddha after hearing he (her husband) had obtained enlightenment
    • Rahula became the first novice monk at age 7
  24. Nirvana
    • Literally means to "blow out" or "extinguish"
    • It is the goal of Buddhist religious practice, an escape from samsara and suffering
    • It can be reached by following the 8-fold path
    • It is real but it is beyond our understanding and description, we have to experience it
    • There are two types (Parinirvana-Nirvana w/out remainder and Nirvana with Remainder_
  25. Parinirvana
    • The final "blowing out"
    • A state of permanent Nirvana, ends samsara
    • It is Nirvana w/out Remainder
    • The Buddha achieved this at his death
  26. Bodgaya
    • The birthplace of Buddhism
    • It is the place where the Buddha obtained enlightenment
    • He is said to have reached enlightenment at a bodhi tree (tree of liberation)
    • His meditation and insight led to:
    • 1st Watch: his past lives
    • 2nd Watch: sees others' past lives
    • 3rd Watch: destroyed all desires an ignorance
    • 4th Watch: calls the Earth to witness that his is awakened
  27. Deer Park/Sarnuth
    • Where the Buddha preached his first sermon to the five ascetics
    • The 5 ascetics originally mocked the Buddha's Middle Path, but once realizing that he had reached Enlightenment, they followed him- became the first monks
  28. Lumbini
    • Where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha
    • He lived here for the first part of his life until he saw the 4 signs and left to seek Enlightenment
  29. Yashodhara
    • The wife of Siddhartha before he ronounced his wordly life to become a sramana
    • When she learned that the Buddha was her husband, she brought her son, Rahula, to him
    • He became the first Novice Monk
  30. Mahaprajapati
    • The sister of Queen Maya, the mother of Siddhartha Gautama
    • After Queen Maya died, she raised Siddhartha
    • She became the first Buddhist nun
    • She led a group of women who followed the Buddha's teachings
  31. Mt. Meru
    • The center of the Buddhist Cosmos
    • It is the center of the three realms:
    • The Desire Realm
    • The Form Realm
    • The Formless Realm
    • Where the Upper gods live
    • Depicted on the Wheel of Life
  32. Three Realms of the World
    • Part of the Buddhist Cosmos, centered around Mt. Meru
    • The Desire Realm (kama-dhatu)
    • The Form Realm- (rupa-dhatu)
    • The Formless Realm (arupa-dhatu)
    • Each has sub realms
  33. Dharmachakra
    • The Wheel of Life, symbolizes samsara, life cycle and the flow of life
    • It contains the 12 Links of Conditionality, the 6 realms you can be born into, and the 3 poisons
    • Yama- the Lord of Death holds the wheel of life, he weighs your karma at the time of your death
  34. 12 Links to Conditionality (Dependent Origination)
    • Depicted on the Outside of the Wheel of Life
    • Represents the idea that nothing in this world comes to be of its own volition, it follows the 12 links
    • Divided into features of: past life, present life and future life
    • 1. Ignorance
    • 2. Karma formations
    • 3. Consciousness
    • 4. Name and Form
    • 5. 6 Sense Organs
    • 6. Contact
    • 7. Sensation
    • 8. Craving
    • 9. Clinging/Grasping
    • 10. Becoming
    • 11. Birth
    • 12. Death/old age
  35. Triratna
    • 3 Jewels:
    • The Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
    • These are the 3 Refuges that practitioners take a vow to find refuge in the master, his teachings and teh community (his followers)
  36. Refuge/Three Refuges
    • The 3 Jewels
    • This is the first step to becoming a monk--> you state refuge
    • You can enter Refuge as either a layperson or a monastic
    • The 3 Refuges are the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
  37. Yama
    • The lord of Death
    • He is depicted as holding the wheel of life
    • He represents karma
    • Weights the good and bad deeds of a person at the time of their death
    • He is not actually a good- just a representation of the concept of karma
  38. 10 Non-Virtuous Actions
    • The are unwholesome actions
    • Also represented in the 10 precepts taken by monks
    • Divided into body, speech and mind
    • 1. Killing
    • 2. Stealing
    • 3. Sexual Misconduct
    • 4. Lying
    • 5. Divisive Speech
    • 6. Hurtful Speech
    • 7. Gossip
    • 8. Covetousness
    • 9. Ill-will
    • 10. Wrong Views
  39. 3 Characteristics of Samsara/ Cyclic Existence
    • Impermanence- nothing lasts forever or is permanently existing
    • No-Self- we do not have a self, we are just a combination of the 5 aggregates
    • Dissatisfactoriness- "duhka"the world is inherently dissatisfactory, happiness is impermanent
  40. Dependent Arising
    • All things arise and pass away due to certain conditions. When necessary conditions are present to support a thing's existence, it comes to be (as a combination of the 5 aggregates)
    • This was very important to the dharma of the Buddha, comprehension of dependent arising is necessary to the awakened Buddhist experience of life
  41. 5 Aggregates
    • We do not have a self (atman), but we are instead are constituted by the 5 aggregates:
    • Form
    • Sensaton
    • Perception
    • Mental Formation
    • Consciousness
  42. Anatman
    • The Buddhist idea of no-self
    • We do not have souls that transfer from life to life, we are only ever constituted by the 5 aggregates and come about due to dependent arising
    • Contradicts the Hindu idea of a pure, eternal self (atman)
  43. 4 Noble Truths (Arya-Satyas)
    • The basic teachings of the Buddha:
    • 1. Life is Dissatisfactory, suffering
    • 2. The origination/cause of suffering (craving, desire)
    • 3. The cessastion of suffering (nirvana)
    • 4. The way leading to cessation of suffering (8 fold path)
  44. 8 Fold Path
    • Path that leads to Nirvana or cessation of suffering. Part of the 4th Noble Truth
    • It is the way to bring samsara to an end, but is not meant to be checked of one by one
    • 1. Right Understanding
    • 2. Right Thought
    • 3. Right Speech
    • 4. Right Action
    • 5. Right Livelihood
    • 6. Right Effort
    • 7. Right Mindfulness
    • 8. Right Concentration
  45. Dana
    • "giving" or "charity"
    • For the layperson, it means giving food, clothing, etc to the monastic members of the sangha. For a monastic, it means giving advice, teachings, etc to the laity.
  46. Shamata
    • Calm Meditation
    • It is meant to cultivate concentration
    • It is the basic practices of metiation which needs harmony between physical presence and posture
    • Only with a calm mind can you contemplate the issues (through Insight meditation)
  47. Vipassana
    • Insight Meditation
    • Cultivates Wisdom, but you must have a basis of calm meditation before you can start contemplating issues
    • You must master 5 obstacles to meditation: sensual desires, aversion, sloth/torpor, restlessness, doubt
  48. Satipatthanasutta
    • Discourses on the Establishment of Mindfulness
    • A sutta of the Pali Canon
    • It outlines the essentials of Buddhist meditation
    • It states that there are 4 Foundations of Mindfulness: Mindfulness of the body, feelings, mental states, and intelectual topics
  49. Tripitaka
    • "3 Baskets"
    • It is universally accepted by Buddhists as the teachings of the Buddha
    • The Sutra-pitka and Vinaya-Pitaka are said to have been recited at the First Council (following the death of the Buddha)
    • The Abhidharma-pitaka is a doctrinal and textual analysis of the teachings
  50. Sutra-pitaka
    • Part of the 3 Baskets
    • It relates the original teachings of the Buddha
    • There are 4 collections of the Buddha's Teachings
    • Broken up into 5 Agamas (Nikayas)
    • Recited by Ananda at First Council
  51. Vinaya-pitaka
    • Part of the Tripitaka (3 Baskets)
    • It is the code of discipline for monastics
    • Upali recited the Vinaya code of monastic discipline at the First Council after the Buddha's death
  52. Pratimoksa
    • A code of monastic offenses which is recited twice montly at a ceremony and is the primary tool for the enforcement of monastic discipline
    • It contains 227 rules for men and 311 for nuns
    • During its recitation, a monastic is required to confess to their misdeeds
  53. Duhkha
    • "suffering"
    • It is the first of the 4 Noble Truths
    • All life is characterized by suffering, and the only way to end suffering is to reach Nirvana
    • Its cause is craving and desire
  54. Abhidharma-pitaka
    • Part of the 3 Baskets
    • It is the doctrinal and textual analysis of the teachings (dharma)
    • Means "higher teachings"
    • Was asked to be recited by Ananda at the First Council
  55. Buddhavacara
    • Means "Buddha's Word"
    • Refering to the teachings of the Buddha in Buddhist Scriptures
  56. Bhavana
    • Means "bringing into being"
    • Mental exercises aimed at developing and cultivating wholesome mental states conducive to the realization of the Buddhist Path
  57. Yoga
    • Means "effort" "work" "yoke"
    • Spiritual work and techniques through contemplation practices and physical exercises
    • Focuses on posture and breathing which are vital to calm meditation in Buddhist Practice
  58. Pali Canon
    • The Tripitaka of the Therevada school of Buddhism the "elder's Teachings"
    • Popular in South/SE Asia
    • It contains 50 volumes and was written around 1st Centurty BCE
Author
mking_nu
ID
81702
Card Set
Buddhism Midterm 2
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Updated