Chapter 5 Section 3-Ancient India

Chapter 5 Section 3-Ancient India

Origins of Buddhism

Siddhartha's Search for Wisdom

• In the 500s BC a young man also became dissatisfied with the teachings of Hinduism.

• In time he found answers and many began to follow him to create a new religion.

Siddhartha Gautama

Born around 563 BC in northern India near the Himalayas. He was a prince who grew up in luxury. He never had to struggle with the problems many people had during this time. He felt that something was missing in his life. He began to see how others were suffering and he wondered why there was so much pain in the world. He began to question the meaning of life. At age 30 he left his home and family and looked for answers.

The Buddha Finds Enlightenment

• Siddhartha freed his mind from daily concerns. He fasted, did not wash himself, and meditated.

• He spent 6 years wandering through India.

• He came to a town called Gaya, on the Ganges River and sat down under a tree and meditated.

• He meditated for 7 weeks and found the answers he had been looking for.

Siddhartha's realizations! Human suffering comes from 3 things:

• wanting what we like but do not have

• wanting to keep what we like and already have

• not wanting what we dislike but have

Open Ended

What is the tree called that Buddha sat under to find enlightenment?

7 More Weeks!

He spent 7 MORE weeks meditating under the tree and was about 35 when he found enlightenment under that tree. Then people called him the Buddha which meant "Enlightened One."

He spent the rest of his life traveling across India teaching people his ideas.

Teachings of Buddhism

• The Buddha was raised Hindu and his teachings reflected Hindu ideas such as the Four Noble Truths.

• Four Noble Truths: Suffering and unhappiness are a part of life; Suffering comes from our desires for pleasure and material goods; People can overcome desire and ignorance and reach nirvana; People can overcome ignorance and desire by following an eight-fold path to wisdom.

Multiple Choice

What is nirvana?

• a song sung by Buddha

• a state of perfect peace

• a band in the 90s

• a town in India

The Eightfold Path

• Right Thought and Right Intent

• Right Speech and Right Action

• Right Livelihood and Right Effort

• Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration

Ideas the Buddha Rejected

• Animal sacrifice

• Brahmins and their rituals

• The caste system

Multiple Choice

Which idea of Hinduism did Buddha NOT reject?

• Fasting

• Meditation

• Reincarnation

Buddhism Spreads

The Buddha's followers spread his ideas through India. His ideas were popular and easy to understand. The spread of Buddhism increased after Asoka became Buddhist in the 200s BC. He was a powerful king in India and he built Buddhist temples and schools. He also worked to spread Buddhism outside India. He sent missionaries to spread the beliefs. Eventually Buddhism spread through the Silk Road into China, then Korea and Japan. Eventually there was a split into two major branches of Buddhism-Theravada and Mahayana.