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Buddhism
in Summary
The
Buddha’s Teaching
The
Four Noble Truths
-
Life
is suffering
-
Suffering
is caused by selfish desire (ego)
-
Desire
and suffering can be eliminated
-
The
way to do this is through the "Eight-fold Path"
The
Eight-fold Path
-
Right
knowledge
-
Right
aspiration
-
Right
speech
-
Right
behavior
-
Right
livelihood
-
Right
effort
-
Right
mindfulness
-
Right
absorption
Divisions
of Buddhism
(in contrast)
|
Theravada
"Way of the Elders"
|
Mahayana
"Great Vehicle"
|
|
South Asia (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand) |
East
Asia (China, Japan, Korea)
|
|
focus on Wisdom |
focus
on compassion |
|
individual responsible for own
enlightenment |
salvation
is found in community
|
|
no "divine grace" intercedes
on our behalf |
grace
is recognized: buddhas and bodhisattvas help us along the way |
|
wisdom leads automatically to
compassion |
compassion
must be cultivated
|
|
monastic orders (Sangha) |
lay
oriented, priests serve lay people |
|
ideal: to reach Nirvana for and by
oneself
|
ideal:
Bodhisattva (one who forgoes own entry into Nirvana for sake of helping
others toward enlightenment) |
|
view Buddha as a sage |
view
Buddha as a world savior |
|
no cosmological speculation |
extensive
cosmology |
|
prayer only as meditation/invocation
to deepen faith and lovingkindness
|
prayer
as supplication, petition, calling on the name of the Buddha for
spiritual strength |
|
conservative, use only original Pali
texts and teachings |
liberal
interpretation of Buddha’s teaching |
|
more socio/political focus
|
more
cosmological, focus on psycho/spiritual |
|
unified |
many
schools |
Chinese
& Japanese sects
(Mahayana)
Tendai
- focus on learning and social harmony
Pureland
- relies on compassionate Buddha to carry devotes to Heaven (the "Pureland"
of the "Western Paradise. In Japan: "Jodo Shin Shu" two subsects:
Zen
- experiential, using silence rather than words. Two subsects:
Shingon
- focus on ritual and symbol
Nichiren
(Japan only) - Uses Lotus Sutra (teaching that all beings can and will become
Buddhas); fundamentalist, proselytizing, several subsects
Tibetan
Buddhism
-
sound
(chanting of mantras)
-
sight
(images and mandalas)
-
movement
(mudras - hand gestures)
-
Tantric
practices (ritual, including sacramental use of sex)
-
Dalai
Lama as incarnation of compassion and mercy, a bodhisattva
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