BUDDHISM: THE MIDDLE WAY • To avoid the fulfillment of prophecy, he was raised by his father in luxury,

provided everything he needed to protect him from asking unpleasant

OBJECTIVES: question about life.
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to: • He got married to a lovely princess and had a son in his father commands,
the poor and the suffering were put away from the sight of Siddhartha.
a. Discuss the nature, origin and history of Buddhism • He experienced what Buddhist now call the four passing sights. The
b. Discover the true meaning of Enlightenment and how it affected the following are:
founder in his encounter with the realities of suffering, aging and death and,  A distressed old man
c. Evaluate the Buddhist ideas of the middle way, the four noble truth and  A man afflicted by illness
the Eightfold path.  A dead man being carried in funeral
 A monk calmly walking alone in a yellow robe.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY
•Buddhism is highly diverse religion of about 400 million people. "THE GREAT RENUNCIATION"
•Buddhist are followers •After he realize that material comfort will not protect him from the harsh
•Buddhism began in India, 6th century BCE. It is a tradition spread on from realities, Siddhartha decided to search for the origin of suffering and the end
south Asia to southeast and east Asia, in countries like Cambodia and of it.
Thailand. • He began to open his mind about the Hindu brahmins. He mastered a
•In India that was dominated by Hinduism, Buddhism introduced itself and meditative approach for six years as prescribed by the Upanishads.
believed that material comfort, nor the denial of such does not protect a •He also tried to deny himself for five years was joined by the five other
person from suffering to death. ascetics, to the point wherein Siddhartha only ate single grain of rice each
• Siddhartha Gautama (founder) believed that each Person needs to find day, causing him to faint.
balanced, mark by a moderately discipline lifestyle in order to find the
Middle Way. THE EXPERIENCE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

• Siddhartha sat down under the Bodhi Tree in a place name Bodhgaya in
SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA northeast if India.
•He was the prince who was born around 563 BCE. •Mara, the god of desire and death, appeared to him.
• He belonged to the warrior caste in what is present day Nepal. • Siddhartha Gautama suddenly "awakened" This experienced gave him the
• During his early years, he found himself to be the subject of prophecy answers the problem of suffering, aging and death.
which said that he was going to be a great political leader or homeless • He was now the Buddha, The enlightened one, his state was marked by a
monk. lack of craving Nirvana.
•with the five ascetics as his first students he proclaimed the first dharma.
 •Theravada branch, are agnostic about a god or gods, they have no claimed
knowledge of the existence of such.
THE DEATH OF SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA • Theravada branch posits that gods do not play any kind of role in
•For 45 more years, buddha preached in the middle way and died at the age liberation of the human person.
of eighty near Varanasi
• according to the Buddhist tradition, he entered the state beyond the cycle "RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE"
of rebirth or samsara called paranirvana. •The Buddha preached of the middle way, the path that lies between his life
• His last word for his followers were "work out your own liberation with two extremes of denial and indulgence.
diligence. •according to buddha, middle way that lend him to the attainment of the
truth enlightenment.
SPREAD OF BUDDHISM
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism
•In 270 BCE, Ashoka the Maryam empire become the monarch of north
India and stayed in power for about 35 years. THE FIRST NOBLE TRUTH
• using his authority Ashoka commanded that his subjects follow the
buddha's teachings. 1. Dukkha: Suffering
•Buddhist expansion began when ambassadors were sent to Sri Lanka, these - The Buddha identified suffering (dukkha) as the fundamental problem
missionaries extended throughout Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, inherent to human existence.
Malaysia, and Vietnam. - To exist is to suffer. To be born is to suffer, to be ill is to suffer, to hate is
•Sri Lanka remain one of the centers if preservation of early Buddhist to suffer.
history. - According to the Buddha, to live is to suffer.
•In tradition, the effort of king Ashoka came to be known as Theravada Theravada Buddhists look into the Inevitable fact that any relationship will
which literally means "THE WAY OF THE ELDERS" come to an end. From the Theravada Buddhist perspective, all aspect of life
and human experience has the innate seed of suffering that is only waiting
• Theravada Buddhism follows the purest form if true messages of the to germinate.
buddha. THE SECOND NOBLE TRUTH
•After the death if Ashoka, this gave birth to the second majors Buddhist
branch as Mahayana which means "LARGE VEHICLE" 2. TANHA, DESIRE
• Vajrayana is recognized as sub- branch of Mahayana, also known today
as Tibetan Buddhism or Zen Buddhism. With suffering as the most Fundamental problem in human existence, the
Buddha explored on the cause of this suffering.
"NON-GOD"
According to him, the main cause of suffering is the desire for sensual extinguishing”. The idea is that human existence is lit with desires, both
pleasure. in simpler words, the Buddha taught that the cause of suffering is physical and spiritual, and nirvana is achieved when the flames of those
the desire, or TANHA, that leads to attachment. Though other religions desires are extinguished.
teach of the same thing in dealing with suffering, such as;
-Nirvana is not a post-death state, but a phenomenon experienced by
HINDUISM – which teaches its followers to direct desires away from the someone who has freed himself from any form of desire and of suffering,
physical and into the spiritual. or, in other words, has been enlightened, same as the Buddha.
- A common image of Nirvana is the lotus flower, symbolizing purity in the
THERAVADA BUDHISM – teaches that even spiritual desires lead to midst of muddy waters.
attachments and, eventually, suffering, as the Buddha himself witnessed and A person who follows the teaching of the Buddha and has consequently
experienced. achieved enlightenment is called an ARHANT. An has overcome all forms
of desires and attachment, has liberated himself from samsara and,
THERAVADA BUDDHISM- teaches that to desire for existence to end therefore, after earthly death, will not be reborn. That person is said now to
will only lead to existence never coming to an end. be in a state of NIRVANA. Nirvana is a state of calm, peace, joy, bliss, and
The key, according to Theravada Buddhist idea spreads throughout all perfection.
aspects of existence, the most essential step to leading an authentic life is to THE FOURTH NOBLE TRITH
let go of all desires, no matter how beneficial they may seem. 4. The Eightfold Path

The last Noble truths teaches about the means to attain liberation from
THIRD NOBLE TRUTH attachments, from desires, from suffering and from the cycle rebirth.
- The Eightfold Path is a practical guide for living, offering a moderate way
3. NIRVANA, THE END OF DESIRE AND SUFFERING to reach liberation from desires, suffering, and rebirth.
- It emphasizes right belief, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right
-The buddha’s third idea that an existence that is marked by suffering does livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation.
not have to end in suffering. If the Buddha himself found a way to escape
from suffering, so can those who follow his teachings, specifically on how The Eightfold path as Middle Way
one finds a way to the end of desire and suffering or NIRVANA. The eightfold Path functions a s manual or guideline for living, but each
individual human person must travel by himself, no outward support is
-The objective of Theravada Buddhism is to be liberated from Samsara, the allowed nor necessary.
cycle of rebirth.
The Eightfold Path as a Guideline, Not a Strict Rule
-What follows this end of desire and suffering is what the Theravada
Buddhist call NIRVANA, which literally means “blowing out,
- The Eightfold Path functions as a manual or guideline for living, but it is - Right Mindfulness: Paying attention to the present moment with
not a set of rules to be followed rigidly. awareness.
- It emphasizes individual responsibility and encourages personal reflection - Right Concentration: Cultivating mental focus and concentration.
and application of the principles in different situations. The Eightfold Path: The Eightfold Path is a practical guide for living a life
free from suffering and achieving liberation.
Right Belief: Understanding the Four Noble Truths

- Right belief involves having a proper perspective of the nature of reality, It encompasses eight principles categorized under three categories:
including the Four Noble Truths: suffering, the cause of suffering, the end
of suffering, and the path to liberation. WISDOM, VIRTUE, CONCENTRATION
- It also includes accepting the three marks of existence: impermanence,
non-self, and suffering. 1. Wisdom
- Right Belief: Understanding the cause and effect of suffering and having
Right Aspiration: Liberating the Mind from Desire the commitment to follow the path.
- Right Aspiration: Having a genuine desire to eliminate suffering and
- Right aspiration involves liberating one's mind from the desires of the achieve enlightenment.
senses and cultivating compassion.
- It encourages adopting thoughts of nonviolence and compassion, replacing 2. Virtue
cruelty and apathy with kindness and generosity. - Right Speech: Speaking truthfully, kindly, and constructively.
- The Eightfold Path: The Eightfold Path is a practical guide for living a life - Right Action: Acting ethically and with compassion.
free from suffering and achieving liberation. - Right Livelihood: Earning a living in a way that does not harm others.

It encompasses eight principles: 3. Concentration

- Right Understanding: Having a clear understanding of the Four Noble - Right Effort: Striving to cultivate good qualities and eliminate negative
Truths. ones.
- Right Thought: Cultivating positive and compassionate thoughts. - Right Mindfulness: Paying attention to the
- Right Speech: Speaking truthfully, kindly, and constructively. present moment with awareness.
- Right Action: Acting ethically and with compassion. - Right Concentration: Cultivating mental focus and concentration.
- Right Livelihood: Earning a living in a way that does not harm others.
- Right Effort: Striving to cultivate good qualities and eliminate negative
ones.