IUF 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Physical Body, Gautama Buddha, Higher Consciousness

• School: University of Florida
• Department: Geological Sciences
• Course: IUF 1000
• Professor: Stephanie Capaldo

Document Summary

Encounter suffering (something you don"t understand) & your world does not provide answers, leave home to seek truth. Siddhartha is no longer holistically defined by his past. For siddhartha, there is a cyclical pattern of the father and son, where the son must leave to find himself. He learns quickly that by renouncing pleasures, he could find enlightenment. Attachment to the search for the truth prevented siddhartha from finding enlightenment. Desire is the cause of suffering; if desires and attachments are the source of happiness, then suffering will continue. This calls back to the idea that nothing is permanent. When desires and fixations come to control us, we will suffer. The goal of buddhism is to let go of attachments. The buddha learns all that he can from asceticism meditation, fasting, holding breath. Physical body is the barrier to spiritual liberation.