RLGA01H3 Lecture Notes - Bodhisattva Vow, Gautama Buddha, Theravada
Document Summary
Buddha passed into nirvana about 2500 yrs ago: aged 35. Buddha spent the remaining 45 yrs of his life teaching that this world is in a cycle of living and dying: dharma teaching. Buddha ordered his followers to carry the dharma to other places: sangha community. Buddhism has 3 main traditions; all originated in india: theraveda (aka hinayana) Principle school in east asia: vajrayana. Prevalent in the himalayan region: all these trads also have followers in europe and na. Animal sacrifice, as was practiced by the brahmins, was not accepted by ascetic masters, such as jain ascetic mahavira and shakyamuni. Buddhism had some new elements: the soul was impermanent, social egalitarianism: but the notion of karma, reincarnation, ideals of ascetic withdrawal from the world, gods, demons, and spirits, were all common beliefs of not only. Buddhists, but to all the traditions of the ganges region. Our current universe is in the declining phase of its life cycle when shakyamuni, the.