RELS 108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Four Noble Truths, Bardo, Gelug
Document Summary
The founder the buddha: born around 563 bce (in modern day nepal) to king shuddhodana and queen. The founder the four sights: siddhartha becomes curious about the outside world, his father keeps him in the palace, he leaves the palace four times, each time seeing different things, old age, sickness, death, ascetic. Freeing oneself from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. Enlightenment- is the state of wisdom and understanding of emptiness which leads to. An arhat/arhant is one who has reached enlightenment. Miraculous birth story: born able to speak and walk, takes seven steps forward and proclaims his final rebirth. Jataka stories: previous past lives of the buddha, for example in one he is a rabbit that sacrifices himself for a starving holy man. Angulimala: the story of a murderer garland of thumbs , slays 999 people until he meets the buddha and converts, eventually becomes arhat.
