RELS 131 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Nontheistic Religions, Upaya, Mahayana

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELS 131
• Professor: La Grone, Danielle

Document Summary

Dharma is the teaching of the buddha. Strives to find a middle path to end suffering between luxury and struggle. Four truths became the foundation of buddhist teachings: life is suffering, suffering is caused by desire/craving. Remove desire and suffering has no cause: suffering ends when craving ends, one can end desires and suffering by following eightfold path. Need to alter perception of the world to eliminate cravings. There is no eternal soul: is seen as a form of craving (contradicts hinduism) Everything changes, we cannot try and stop change. Buddha taught that a self was a collection of elements that come together. Elements are the five skandhas: physical body, senses, perceptions, responses, consciousness, **only exist temporarily in combination (you) Buddhism added a new perspective to rebirth/moshka. Although a self isn"t permanent or eternal, that does not mean that certain. Cycle of rebirth is fueled between the relationship of desire/suffering.