REL 3340- Final Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 51 pages long!)
FSU
REL 3340
Final EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
REL3340
The Buddhist Tradition
Lecture 1/11 The Basic Buddhist Worldview
The Three Jeels
Buddhism emerged 5th cent BCE / part of a pan-Indian ascetic (spiritual path/self-discipline/
renunciation) movement
Three Jewels
1) Buddha- eas aakeed oe
• The historial Buddha /faily ae Gautaa “age of the “akya Cla
2) Dharma- teahigs of the Buddha & the truth of those teahigs also la, dotrie,
Buddhism in general, or underlying principle of reality)
3) Sangha- ouity / traditionally refers to the order of Buddhist monks & nuns
Buddhist Cosmology
Buddhists inherited Vedic (Hindu) cosmology- repeating cosmic cycles, no true beginning or end
• Multiple universes pass in and out of existence over 4 cosmic phases (Nothingness,
Creation, Abiding, and Dissolution), each lasting around 20 cosmic aeons (ie billions
& billions of years)
• At the end of the 4th phase, all the universes contract and the cosmic cycle begins all
over again
• Durations & decline of the Buddhist Dharma- calculated from the year of the
Buddha’s fial passig
• Cycle of 10 successive periods, each lasting 500 years/final period – natural
catastrophes moral corruption, social unrest, etc.
• Dharma eventually disappears, followed by the appearance of a new Buddha
(Maitreya ((smiling fat Buddha)))
• Buddhis has a strog illearia opoet i its oeptio of tie & history /
apoalyptiis
The Origin of the Cosmos
Aggaa “utta Koledge of Origis
• In the beginning = primordial waves
• Beings of pure light & consciousness (not human, god or demon)
• Solid earth produced; pleasant odor and flavor
• One of the primordial beings tastes the earth (~karmic predispositions)
• A thirst arises for the seet tastig earth
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Bodies develop with orifices & sexual organs to excrete the waste
• Sexual activity, became attached to one another and multiplied (more karmic
predispositions)
• Dualistic distinctions emerged, physical and
psychological / notions of beauty & ugliness,
pride, envy, jealousy (afflictive emotions)
• Out of this came a world with social
stratifications, hierarchies, kingdoms, etc.
• More than 30 realms of existence,
organized hierarchically into 3 broad
categories
o Realm of Formlessness- Beings here have
no physical bodies, only consciousness / this
realm correlates to the highest levels of
editatie asorptio “aadhi
o Realm of Form- realm of higher gods, who
possess only consciousness & two senses
(seeing and hearing) / correlates to the 4
leels of adaed editatio Dhyaa,
chan, zen)
o Realm of Desire- this is our real, ith 6
domains of existence into which ignorant,
ordinary sentient beings are reborn
The Six Realms of Rebirth
• Cycle of suffering in the round of birth, death, and rebirth = samsara
• Generated and fueled by karma = good & bad actions (body, speech & mind) / pleasant
and unpleasant effects are experienced in this & subsequent
o Humans
o Gods (deva) & demigods (asura)
o Animals
o Hugry Ghosts preta
o Hell-eigs ot deos
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Buddhism emerged 5th cent bce / part of a pan-indian ascetic (spiritual path/self-discipline/ renunciation) movement. Three jewels: buddha- (cid:373)ea(cid:374)s (cid:862)a(cid:449)ake(cid:374)ed o(cid:374)e(cid:863, the histori(cid:272)al buddha /fa(cid:373)ily (cid:374)a(cid:373)e gauta(cid:373)a (cid:862) age of the akya cla(cid:374)(cid:863, dharma- (cid:862)tea(cid:272)hi(cid:374)gs(cid:863) of the buddha & the (cid:862)truth(cid:863) of those tea(cid:272)hi(cid:374)gs (cid:894)also (cid:862)la(cid:449),(cid:863) (cid:862)do(cid:272)tri(cid:374)e,(cid:863) Buddhism in general, or underlying principle of reality: sangha- (cid:862)(cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:373)u(cid:374)ity(cid:863) / traditionally refers to the order of buddhist monks & nuns. Buddhists inherited vedic (hindu) cosmology- repeating cosmic cycles, no true beginning or end: multiple universes pass in and out of existence over 4 cosmic phases (nothingness, Creation, abiding, and dissolution), each lasting around 20 cosmic aeons (ie billions. & billions of years: at the end of the 4th phase, all the universes contract and the cosmic cycle begins all over again, durations & decline of the buddhist dharma- calculated from the year of the. Lecture 1/18 the buddha (sakyamuni, siddhartha gautama) (c. 480-400 bce) Vi(cid:374)a(cid:455)a (cid:862)(cid:894)mo(cid:374)asti(cid:272)(cid:895) dis(cid:272)ipli(cid:374)e(cid:863) rules of the monastery; exciting!!
