Buddhism

1. Sangha

1.1. Mahapajapati was both the Buddha’s aunt and his stepmother and eager for there to be a female order of the Sangha. It is said that she approached the Buddha and asked three times if women could join the Sangha and was denied three times, the Buddha explained that the life he led was far too harsh for women and that they should not have to leave the comfort of their home. Pajapati was not discouraged and cut her hair and put on a yellow robe with the determination to join the order. Thus, the order of the nuns was formed.

1.2. However, the move to admit women was not immediate and the view that women can never be spiritually developed as men remains in certain sections of Buddhism (Theravada countries). In the fifth year after his enlightenment

2. Types

2.1. Theravada Buddhism Generally accepts that only male monks will reach enlightenment. In some passages of scripture Buddha encourages nuns, while in others he suggests that Buddhism will suffer by accepting women into the Sangha.

2.2. Mahayana Buddhism Many Mahayana schools suggest that nirvana can be easily and sometimes suddenly achieved. Enlightenment is available to everyone: monk, nun, layperson, farmer and king. Most Mahayana groups agree that women can achieve enlightenment as easily as men. Some groups even suggest that enlightenment can be achieved suddenly, whether or not one is in a monastery.

2.3. Vajrayana Buddhism Is also a version of Mahayana Buddhism that is more spiritualised and mystical. It is infused with elements of Hinduism, animism, occultism and magic and is influenced by the indigenous Bon religion of Tibet.

3. 4 noble truths

3.1. Suffering, oigrin of suffering, there is a way out of suffering, follow the 8 noble path.

4. Karma and Samsara

4.1. The law of karma is a law of moral causation, the consequence of actions. Samsara is the doctrine of rebirth, it works as a metaphorical system for the endlessness that accompanies an enlightened life. Nirvana is the only way to break from the cycle.

5. Principal events in Buddha's life

5.1. At his birth, a wise and holy man appeared at the palace and predicted that the boy would be either a greater king or a great religious leader. His father the kept the prince locked in the palace until he produced an heir to the throne. Once he left he journey to enlightenment began. Siddartha has seen four things; an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a holy man. Only the holy man seemed truly happy. He proposed a middle way between a life of lavishness; a system everyone could use. He sat beneath a bodhi tree and vowed not to move until he investigated existence to his ultimate satisfaction. The prince became ‘the awakened one’ of ‘the enlightened one’ - the meaning of the term ‘Buddha’. He came to the realisation of the reality of life, expressed in the four noble truths - all life is suffering, the cause of suffering is attachment, there is a way out of suffering (no desire), the way out is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.

6. Buddha is the model of Buddhist life

6.1. The Buddha became what is known as the bodhisattva, one who has attained enlightenment and postponed the achievement of nirvana to assist others on the path and to sow the importance of the middle path; this is a model of selflessness.

7. Puja

7.1. Puja is seen as a way to engage the heart and all energies to purify oneself from negativity and develop positive energy. This space is usually in a room with an altar and includes cushions, mala beads, the use of incense, bells, and often a picture of a statue of the Buddha or a significant Buddhist teacher.

8. 3 Jewels

8.1. Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

9. Marks of existence

9.1. Anicca is the knowledge that there is no thing that does not undergo change. Dukkha refers to the suffering that arises from a false notion of the self, a common condition, best described as anguish. Anatta is the teaching that there is no permanent self.

10. Scared texts

10.1. Tripitaka, the Lotus of the Good Law and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

11. Ethical teachings

11.1. 5 precepts, the Vinaya.