REL 020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Middle Way, Jataka Tales, Asceticism
12 Sep 2016
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Quiz on friday: there will be a study list (vocabulary). Should be mostly fill in the blank or short answers and some multiple choice. The response to suffering is a spiritual one. This is the pivotal moment when he switches from the kingly track to become a future buddha. He realizes everything he has ever known is simply an illusion build by his father. Not only are they (old age, sickness, death) painful to see or experience but they are also inevitable. A sramana: the one who he meets seems at peace with the world even though he is: -dressed like a beggar. He only has a bowl for begging. (alms) The sramana is essentially the reason that the buddha doesn"t simply go back to his perfect world because he is able to see someone that has clearly seen suffering and yet has still made peace with it.
