Buddha and the Middle Path

 

1.      The Idea of a Buddha

a.       Buddha is not a name but a type of person

                                                  i.      An enlightened individual, many of whom appear successively, at certain intervals

                                                ii.      “Historical” Buddha - (6^th/5^th Cent BCE) – Shakyamuni

2.      Life of the Buddha

a.       The Buddha Shakyamuni Gautama Siddhartha (563-483 B.C.E.):Shakyamuni = sage of the shakyas, Gautama = family lineage, Siddhartha = "success." NE India

b.      Important Historical Points in the life of the Buddha:

                                                  i.      Birth: 563 BCE, Lumbini Grove

                                                ii.      Enlightenment: 528 BCE Bodh Gaya

                                              iii.      First Sermon: Deer park near Sarnath (near Banaras)

                                              iv.      Death: 483 BCE Kusinagara (from rancid food)

c.       Sequence: birth, prophesy, youth and marriage, the awakening (chariot rides), disillusionment and withdrawal, sanyasa, enlightenment