Buddhism

This Presentation will take you on journey , where you will learn how Prince Gautama became Sage Gautama Buddha and what are the teachings of Buddhism.

1. Buddhism Life of Gautama Buddha and his Teachings

2. LORD GAUTAMA BUDDHA

3. Causes for the Rise of Buddhism

4. The conditions of the then society favoured the rise and growth of Buddhism . A few of these causes were : The Vedic philosophy had lost its original purity and in the sixth century B.C. It was reduced to a bundle of cumbrous rituals. The rites and ceremonies were painfully elaborate and awfully expensive. The common man developed a great dislike for these rituals . The sacrifices prescribed by the Vedas had assumed a cumbrous shape. They were very complicated and a source of wastage of time, energy and money.

5. The caste system had become rigid and brutal . There were strict restrictions on food, drinks and marriage. Interchange of caste was impossible . A person of the low caste had a miserable life. Buddhism offered them an honoured place . The Vedic religion had become very complex and degenerated into superstitions, dogmas and rituals. The Vedic mantras were unintelligible and beyond the intellect of the average person. A congeries of conflicting theories created a chaos and the common man was in a dilemma not knowing which way to turn.

6. The supremacy of the Brahmins created un­rest. They had lost the old ideals and were no longer leading pure and holy life full of knowledge. Instead, they created intellectual confusion and dominated every aspect of the life of the Aryans . All the religious treatises were written in Sanskrit which was the language of the elite and not the masses. The B uddha , on the contrary, explained to the people in simple intel­ligible spoken Pali or Prakrit, the language of the common man at that time.

7. As Conclusion……… These evils and ills led to grow discontent among the masses who aspired for a change. Several leading teachers raised their voice against these shortcomings. The Pali texts refer to sixty- two and Jain texts to 200 such movements, big and small, of which only two (Jainism and Buddhism) survived.

8. Gautama Buddha Gautama Buddha was a great sage on whose teachings the Buddhism was founded. His other names include: Siddhartha Gautama, Shakyamuni or Buddha T he word “Buddha” means “Enlightened or Awakened”. We only know about him through Buddhist sources. Gautama Buddha is regarded as the Supreme Buddha of the present age.

9. And the story of the Great S age begins……… Gautama Buddha was born in 6 th century Bce in Lumbini (present day Nepal). He belonged to the family of Sakayas , rulers of Kapilavastu . His original name was Siddhartha, his father’s name was Shuddhodhana and mother’s name was Mahamaya The day of Buddha’s birth is celebrated in Thervada countries as Vesak . His original name was Siddhartha.

10. A Dream of a Mother … Buddha’s mother Mahamaya , the night before his birth had a dream that a white elephant as white as silver entered a womb through her sdide . The Brahmins interpreted the birth of a son who would either be a universal monarch or a great sage. Mahamaya died after seven days of Buddha’s birth. So he was brought up by her sister Mahaprajapti Gotami .

11. The Life of Luxury …. Prince Siddhartha was brought up in a complete luxury and comfort. His father was worried about his son becoming a Buddha so he took every care of giving him an extravagant lifestyle. At 16 he married Princess Yashodhara . Although Shuddhodhana tried his utmost to make Siddhartha content by giving him the life of luxury, his thoughts were preoccupied with his concerns.

12. Realization of Pain and Sorrow ….. The Prince soon realized that the life is full of misery and anxiety. At 29 he saw a sight of a old man, sick man, a corpse, a yellow robed monk full of serenity and detachment in the city of Kapilavastu . It developed his deep hatred towards worldly pleasures. He felt that he should find a new path leading to Nirvana, a state of complete freedom from birth and death. H e regarded the birth of his son Rahula , as an obstacle to his realization of truth.

13. The Great R enunciation ….. At last Siddhartha decided to give up Princely life and become a wandering ascetic He woke up at mid- night and left the city along with his charioteer Channa and favourite horse Kanthaka . After crossing A noma river he gave his ornaments to his ornaments to his charioteer and ordered him to return back

14. The Life of an Ascetic Wandering, Gautama reached Rajgriha , the capital of Magadh . King Bimbisara was impressed by his appearance and offered Gautama to share his kingdom to which Gautama politely refused. Bimbisara then requested him to return to Rajgriha after enlightenment to which he agreed. He searched for teachers who could help him to search for truth. He went to Alara Kalama and Udraka Ramaputta , but both were unsuccessful. He continued his search for truth.

15. Hence the Enlightenment…… His real struggle in his search for truth began around Urvila , modern Gaya. Due to rigorous self-mortification and absolute starvation, he had become very weak. He realized that mortification could not help him achieve his goal. So he changed his way and started eating proper food. His five companions left him in disgust. One morning he had a last meal of milk and rice before his enlightenment At the evening he went to base of a pipal tree called Bodhi , sat cross-legged, and determined not to rise without attain enlightenment

16. His greatest struggle began when Mara, an evil, the lord of world of passion tried to stop him from attaining enlightenment. But he was defeated by Buddha. He spent rest of the night in deep meditation under the tree. He gained enlightenment in three parts of night:- First part- he gained Knowledge of his former existences Second part- he attained “superhuman divine eye” Third part- he directed his mind to knowledge of destruction of all pains and sorrows and realized four noble truths . Hence Gautama attained Enlightenment at the age of 35 and became a supreme Buddha in the month of Vaishakha (may) at a place known as Bodh Gaya.

17. Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya  is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the  Mahabodhi Temple  in Gaya District  in   Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where  Gautama Buddha attained Enlightenment under what became known as the  Bodhi Tree. In 2002 Mahabodhi Temple became a world heritage UNESCO site It’s one of the important place of Buddhist pilgrimage

18. Dhammachakrapravartana Buddha delivered his first sermon at deer park in Sarnath to his five ascetic friends. He set into the motion the wheel of law a Wheel Of Law or Dhammachakrapravartana .

19. The Buddhist Order ( Sangha ) At the end of the sermons first five disciples of Buddha were admitted by him as Bhikshus and became the first members of the Sangha( community or order). A wealthy young man named Yasa also entered this order. Yasa’s father, mother and wife also entered the order. Within short span of time Buddha gathered 60 disciples. He sent groups into the world to spread the message of peace compassion, peace and wisdom These 60 disciples went in various directions to spread the teaching of Buddha.

20. Buddha himself ,went to Urvila and from there he went to Rajgriha , fulfilling his promise to King Bimbisara . King and many others too became his disciples. The king also offered his park Veluvana as a monastery site to Buddha. During his visit to Kapilavastu his father, his aunt, wife and son also became his followers.

21. Buddha spent 40 years of his life wandering, preaching and meditating . During this time he came across many rivals of all sects, but defeated them in debates. After establishing a well- disciplined and well- trained religious order Buddha passed away at the age of 80 at Kushinagar .

22. Kushinagar Kushinagar is a town in Uttar Pradesh.  It is an important  Buddhist  pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe, Gautama Buddha   attained   Parinirvana after his death .  Outside India, it is an International Buddhist Pilgrimage Centre.

23. Sarnath Sarnath  is a city located in  Uttar Pradesh. The deer park in Sarnath is where  Gautama Buddha  first taught the  Dharma and where the Buddhist  Sangha came into existence. It was also the site of the Buddha's  Dharmachakrapravartana Sutta , which was his first teaching after attaining enlightenment, in which he taught the  four noble truths  and the teachings associated with it.

24. Teachings of Buddha

25. Founder of Buddhism – Buddha Shakyamuni Buddhist way of Life – Peace , Loving Kingdom and Wisdom. According to Buddha all our problems and suffering arise from confused and negative states of mind. To overcome methods of negative minds to positive minds by Love ,Compassion and Wisdom. These methods can work for anyone in any country in any age. Buddhist way of Life – Meditation is at the Heart. Through Meditation one can try to maintain the virtuous minds we have developed and use own wisdom to solve the problems of daily life. Positive Minds lead to more Positive Actions. Buddha rose from Meditation and gave his teachings , which , with course of time developed and now is recognized as Buddhism .

26. Chief Teachings of Buddha Four Noble Truths Duhkha Thrishna Nirodha Marga Eightfold Path The exposition of the Eightfold Path ( Ashtangikamarga ) forms the theme of the Dhramachakrapravartana Sutra),which is said to be the Buddha’s first discourse.

27. Karma and Rebirth The philosophy of Buddhism is intensely rationalistic , it believes in the Law of Karma and Rebirth. Nirvana Niarvana is considered as not subject to decay it is the incomparable and highest goal.

28. Emphasis on Character Belief in Non-Violence(Ahimsa) Agnostic Approach towards God. Rejection of the Caste System.

29. Every living being has the potential to become BUDDHA

30. Group Members Adhishree N - 29 A Harmeet Saini - 12 B Prajakta S.Patange - 24 A Saily Chavan - 09 B Batul Kanchwala - 88 B

31. The End Thank You