The Ordinary Life
TRUE or FALSE: Siddhartha Gautama was born in what is now the country of Nepal.
What is TRUE?
These are the four things Siddhartha encountered outside his sheltered home that shook him to his core and sparked his spiritual journey — sometimes called the "Four Heavenly Messengers."
What are an old person, a sick person, a dead person, and a wandering monk?
Under this tree, Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment.
What is the Bodhi tree?
TRUE or FALSE: The Buddha named a specific successor to lead the Sangha after his death.
What is FALSE? (He said, essentially, "you've got the Dhamma — figure it out.")
MULTIPLE CHOICE — Siddhartha's father was: (A) A powerful king, (B) A feudal landowner and community elder, (C) A Brahmin priest, or (D) A wandering monk
(B) — a feudal landowner and community elder?
Under the Brahmanic class system, society was divided into 4 major groups. The TOP class — the priests and scholars who had the most religious authority — was called this.
What is the Brahmins?
After his awakening, the Buddha didn't just sit under the tree forever — he got up and walked 145 miles to deliver his very first sermon. That first sermon was on this topic, which became the cornerstone of Buddhist teaching.
What is the Four Noble Truths?
This ancient Indian king, who ruled between 268 and 232 BCE, converted to Buddhism and became its greatest hype man — spreading the Dharma across Asia and uniting much of the subcontinent under his reign.
Who is King Ashoka?
Siddhartha grew up in a time of massive political, economic, and religious change. The religion that dominated India and basically told everyone "know your place" was this.
What is Brahmanism?
MULTIPLE CHOICE — How old was Siddhartha when he dramatically shaved his head, put on the ochre robe, and left his family behind to pursue the spiritual life? (A) 18, (B) 25, (C) 29, or (D) 35
What is (C) — 29 years old?
The Buddha died at this age.
80 (or "just old")
Buddhism eventually split into three main branches. Match them up — Theravada went to Southeast Asia, Vajrayana became central to Tibet, and this third school spread to China, Japan, Vietnam, and Korea.
What is Mahayana Buddhism?
The Buddha was nicknamed addiccamitta his whole life. This nickname means this.
What is "Friend of the Sun"?
When Sid encountered suffering in the world and felt a deep, urgent need to do something about it — that burning sense of "I HAVE to act on this" — the Pali word for that spiritual urgency is this.
What is samvega?
At 16,000 pages, this collection of Buddhist scriptures — whose name literally means 'Three Baskets' — is thirteen times larger than the Christian Bible.
What is the Pali Canon (or Tipitaka)?
Wild Heart's lineage springs from these two Southeast Asian countries.
What is Thailand and Burma (Myanmar)?