This is a religion project I did last year on Buddhism.

1. Origins
● 2,500 years ago
● Northeast India around 450 BCE
● One of the dominant religions of Asia
● Siddhartha Gautama- Comes from a very wealthy family, once he found out about life in
poverty he wanted that to change.
Sacred Texts
● Sutras/Suttas are said to be actual words from Buddha
● Tripitaka (three baskets) Buddhist teachings (50 vol.)
Divisions
● Theravada- The “doctrine of the elders” in the school of Buddhism that draws its
scriptural inspiration from the Tripitaka, or Pali Canon, which scholars generally agree
contains the earliest surviving record of the Buddha’s teachings.
● Mahayana- On the other hand, believe that everyone is capable of achieving
enlightenment.
○ Zen, Nichiren, Tendai and Pure Land
● Vajrayana
Beliefs/Teachings
● Enlightenment (Nirvana)
● Gods, Ancestors, Afterlife
● Dharma
○ Goal of Nirvana
● Arhat- an enlightened person who achieved the goal of Nirvana
● Karma- We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. (We create our
own Heaven, Hell, and they are architects of our own fate).
● Differentiates between the concepts of rebirth and reincarnation. In Rebirth, a person
does not return to earth as the same entity ever again. Reincarnation the individual may
recur repeatedly.
● Dukkha- the truth of suffering
● Samudaya- the truth of the cause of suffering
● Nirodha- the truth of the end of suffering
● Magga- the truth of the path that frees us from suffering
● If they follow the four truths then they will reach Nirvana
● The 5 Precepts are the basis of Buddhist morality.
Practices
● Meditation/ spiritual exercises
● Shared respect for the teachings of Buddha
● Goal of ending suffering and cycle of birth
● Festival Day begins by visiting a local temple and listen to Darha talk.
● Whenever there is a full moon or a new moon there is a celebrations.
● Sila- principles of human behavior that promotes an orderly and peaceful community
● Samadhi- meditative absorption, attained by the practice of Dhyana
● Prajna- the buddhist word for “wisdom”

2. Miscellaneous
● Practiced with Taoism and Confucianism
● Over 360 million followers