An excerpt from the first of eight lessons is below. It includes the first part of the lesson, the first part of the reflection by one of our Buddhist ministers, Dayamay, and the ‘check your understanding’ and ‘reflection’ questions. Each lesson is between three & four pages of A4. The eight lessons are:
- The Origins of Buddhism – the story of Shakyamuni Buddha
- Taking Refuge – things that support us in our spiritual practice
- The Story of Amida Buddha – taking inspiration from this ancient tale
- Bombu nature and ‘just as you are’ – the power of infinite compassion meeting fallible human nature
- The Nembutsu, Shinran and Honen – what we can learn from these two Buddhist masters
- Basic Buddhist Teachings – the Four Noble Truths and the six paramitas
- Precepts and Vows – how to live a good life
- Faith and Practice – integrating our learning and thinking about what next
For information about how to take the course either via email or in a group, go here.
The Origins of Buddhism
The principles of Buddhism were first set out around two and a half thousand years ago by a man who came to be known as ‘the Buddha’. He described himself discovering these teachings as one might discover an over-grown path through a forest.
Modern Buddhists still follow the principles described by the Buddha. They try to embody the spirit in which he lived his life, and many of them relate to him as a living presence that can still be accessed in the present.
The Buddha’s name was Siddhartha Gautama. He was born in the 5th or 6th century BCE, into the Shakya clan, in the north-east of what we now call India. It was a time of urbanisation – of small clans settling and of towns becoming large cities. Siddhartha’s father was the ruler of the Shakya clan, and in English language versions of this story he is often called a king.
Buddha is a word that means ‘awakened one’, and refers to anyone who has become fully and completely enlightened. Although Buddhism speaks of many buddhas, the founder is sometimes simply called ‘the Buddha’, and sometimes – to distinguish him from other buddhas – Shakyamuni Buddha, which means sage of the Shakya people.
There are various conflicting historical sources which speak about the Buddha’s birth and early life. While historical investigation is important, we can also see that the stories about the Buddha’s life, regardless of how historically accurate they are, have been passed down through the generations because they contain profound spiritual truths. As Buddhists it is these truths which are most important to us.
The Buddha described himself as a spoilt child. After a cosseted childhood and early adulthood, he convinced his charioteer to take him out into the ‘real world’. Here he encountered four sights: a sick person, an old person, a dying person and a wandering ascetic.
The first three sights surprised and disturbed Siddhartha. What was wrong with the sick person, what was wrong with the old person? What about this dead body? His charioteer said that we all get sick, we all age and we all die.
The Buddha was overcome. How could the world be like this? And then he saw the ascetic – a man who had dedicated himself to the spiritual life, a man who looked at ease in the midst of this world of suffering.
There was hope, Siddhartha realised. If this ascetic could find peace, then so could he. There must be an end to suffering out there… (to be continued)
The Other (Power) Angle – a personal reflection by Dayamay
Despite being immersed deeply in the doctrines of my home tradition of Pure Land Buddhism, I still feel very connected to the highly symbolic and extremely personally relevant message of the historical Buddha’s journey.
The story of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment might feel somewhat secondary, or even detached from the main message of Pure Land principles and teachings, which very much aim to help us align with a sense of otherness, and devotion to powers of love and wisdom that essentially operate way above our intellectual limits, and outside of our physical sense range.
In a sense, what Shakyamuni woke up to was Other Power, in its most real, most worldly form. The story of Shakyamuni’s actual enlightenment reaches its crescendo at the point where the sun rises on the horizon in front of him, just as his own mind reaches the point of breakthrough. You might even say that this immeasurably powerful, yet everyday event, symbolised the birth of his awakened consciousness.
But there is something about the power of our parent star that cannot fail to remind us of our relative insignificance in the scheme of things. The sheer size and presence of it. Its indispensable creative influence, mystical, mind-boggling…central, yet somehow elusive. I consider these awesome qualities to have played an important part in the resulting effect on our founder’s outlook… (to be continued)
The Origins of Buddhism: Check your understanding
(self-test questions to see how much of the material you’ve taken in.)
When and where was Shakyamuni Buddha born, and what was his original name?
What does the word ‘Buddha’ mean? What does the word ‘Shakyamuni’ mean?
Which four sights did Siddhartha encounter when he asked his charioteer to take him outside the grounds of his palace?
What was Sujata’s offering to the Buddha?
How long did the Buddha teach for after his enlightenment?
What was the Buddha’s teaching for Vakkali?
What is a stupa?
The Origins of Buddhism: Reflection questions
(questions to encourage you to apply the lesson to your every day lives, and so you have something to share in the hour-long discussion sessions.)
What is your own reaction to the realities of old age, sickness and death?
Where have you found important teachings in your own life? How do you remind yourself of them?
What is your understanding of ‘other power’ in your own life?
To take this course via email on your own, or to see when we’re next running group sessions, visit this page.
