Eightfold Path
What are the first and third parts of the 8xP?
Right view/understanding, right speech.
First and Second Noble truth? Remember the medical model: diagnosis, cause, prognosis, and prescription.
Suffering (dukkha), and thirst/craving (tanha).
The Buddha's attendant. Memorized and recited the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali canon
Ananda
Main takeaways from the Upanishads
- brahman is absolute reality
- atman is the true inner self
- brahman and atman are one
- karma and rebirth
- yogic techniques and asceticism
- mystical shift
3 main divisions of the Pali canon
Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, and Abhidharma Pitaka
Seventh and fifth?
Right mindfulness, right livelihood.
Liberation and the N8XP.
Who were the Buddha's first two meditation teachers and why did he leave them
ALSO explain the ascetics he joined
Arda Kalama: "attainment of nothing at all" ignores the problems (3/4 visions)
Udraka Ramaputra: "attainmeent of neither perception nor nonperception" which again didn't solve the problems
he then joined a group of 5 ascetics, and he left because he realized extreme asceticism was getting him nowhere. so he ate yogurt from the lady who left offerings to the spirit of the tree and the 5 ascetics abandoned him. he then went to go sit under the bodhi tree
what are the samana movements
- rejection of vedas, strivers of individual liberation
- Jainism
- Ajivaka
- Chavarka/Lokayata
- Skeptics
Vinaya Pitaka: who is associated with it and what is it about
Second and fourth?
right intention, right action
Where did the 4NT teaching come from?
The first sermon.
What are the 8 jhanas?
4 regular jhanas: detachment from senses, one pointedness, dispassionate, pure awareness and equanimity (these are the four jhanas that the buddha underwent under the bodhi tree)
4 higher jhanas: uhh idk i dont think this will be on exam
Jainism: main deviations from vedas and why the buddha rejected it
- jiva: discrete souls, naturally blissful
- liberate jiva from rebirth via karmic purification
- karma is a physical, sticky substance that sticks to the jiva. must be burnt off
- extreme asceticism and ahimsa
- rejection of caste system
Buddha rejected because karma was too mechanical. and the extreme asceticism was too extreme.
Sutta Pitaka: whats it about and who is associated
Ananda, Buddhas attendant, memorized and recited it at the first buddhist council. it is the buddhas sermons, teachings, stories, discourse, etc.
sixth and eighth?
right effort, right concentration
What is the middle way?
Neither asceticism or overindulgence.
How did the wheel of the Dharma get set into motion?
Kondanna, one of the five ascetics the buddha had practiced with, was the first Arahat. he, among the other 4 ascetics, were the first to hear the buddhas sermon. Kondanna's ascension to Arahatship marked the setting into motion of the Dharma wheel.
Ajivaka: main deviations from vedas and why the buddha rejected it
- destiny controls all
- rebirth but no karma, they naturally progress and highest is an ascetic
- goal is to starve to death
- Buddha rejected because it denies free will and responsibility
Abhidharma Pitaka
established at the 3rd Buddhist council, serves as a unifying text meant to guide. means "about the dharma" NOT the words of the buddha NOR a reinterpretation
Where does this teaching come from/when was it taught? To whom? Who taught it?
First sermon, 5 ascetics, Buddha
What is dependent origination/arising?
All things, mental and physical, exist because of certain conditions and cease to exist when those conditions are absent
Skeptics: main deviations from vedas and why the buddha rejected it
- knowledge is impossible
avoid commitments to theories and thereby enjoy peace of mind
Buddha rejected because he thought karma and rebirth were knowable through meditation. but did agree that its best not to be too theoretical.
Charvaka/Lokayata: main deviations from vedas and why the buddha rejected it
- knowledge can only come from senses, empiricism
- goal is to just enjoy life then
- Buddha rejected because it is too annihilistic, its extreme materialism ignores moral consequences of actions and denies the possibility of liberation
what were the reasons for each of the councils?
1: establish canon after Buddha's death
2: address lax requirements for monastic discipline
3: settle doctrinal disputes to unify the Sangha under Emperor Asoka