"There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it." - Buddha
REMINDERS:Â We'll give you back your Hinduism Multiple Choice Exams so you can take a look at those. Overall, they went pretty well. Your Hinduism Short Essay Exams are due at the start of class on Monday, October 6th. You do three of those.
DAY #1 - INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM
You were asked to read through page 112 for today. If that didn't happen, try to get caught up ASAP.
The Life of the Buddha:
Defining terms: Siddhartha Gautama, "The Four Passing Sights," ascetic, "Great Awakening," bodhi tree, "Sermon in the Deer Park"
Lord Buddha does a nice job elaborating on the life of Buddha and reteling some of the most famous stories from his life.
If you are looking for more academic resources, you might check out what is offered in the Indian History Sourcebook. Scroll down a bit to find more links.
What is Buddhism?
Defining terms: Middle Path
Why does Buddhism break off from Hinduism in the 6th century BCE?
The Four Noble Truths:
Defining terms: dukkha, tanha
Here is an extensive, on-line summary of the Four Noble Truths.
* All life is dukkha.
* The cause of dukkha is tanha.
* Ending tanha will end dukkha.
* The way to ending tanha is through following the Eightfold Path
The Eightfold Path:
This is decent explanation of the Eightfold Path on the Web.
* Right Views
* Right Intent
* Right Speech
* Right Conduct
* Right Livelihood
* Right Effort
* Right Mindfulness
* Right Concentration
DO THIS: Pick two of the steps along the Eightfold Path. Using either the link above or the text's section beginning on page 103, prepare to explain your "steps" to the rest of the class. Use as many specifics and examples as possible.
Questions to consider:
Is it possible to follow the Eightfold Path in modern society?
Would it be desirable to more closely follow the Eightfold Path?
In what ways do you follow the steps of the Eightfold Path?
DO THIS (if you want): Stories often referred to as the Jataka Tales are used to teach morals and lessons to young Buddhists. In some ways, they are very similar to Aesop's Fables. Consult this collection of the Jataka Tales. If you are ambitious, select one of them, read it, learn it, and be prepared to retell the story for the class. (You can decide how far you want to go in terms of characterization, voices, etc.)
HOMEWORK for Buddhism - Day #2
According to the reading schedule, you should be through page 127 in Huston Smith's The World's Religions by the time we come together on Monday. Since the reading is kind of front-loaded in this chapter, we'll save the article packet until Monday.
Your Hinduism Short Essay Exams are due at the start of class on Monday, October 6th. You do three of the questions.
