REL 101 Class notes, Week 3, Lecture 1

Buddhism I: The Early Teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha: Nikaya Buddhism

500 BCE: Historical Buddha Sakyamuni

Four Noble Truths

1. Suffering
2. Cause: Attachment
3. End
4. Path: Eight-fold Noble Truth

Three Marks of Existence

1. Suffering
2. Impermanence
3. No-self (anatman)

Three Jewels

Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

Three Baskets

Sutra, Sastra, Vinaya (Sila)

Karma, Samsara, Anatman, Nirvana

Karma in Hinduism: More class (caste) and role based; karma in early Buddhism: more based on individual cultivation (virtue)
Anatman versus Atman (non-self versus eternal self/soul)

Interdependent Co-origination (pratitya-samudpada)

Contemporary Issues and Practical Relevance

Thinking through moral and religious cause and effect: process versus person; society and individual