how to give dawah

1. DA’WAH TO
BUDDHISTS

2. HINDUISM = BUDDHISM
 Hinduism is a precursor for Buddhism
 Buddhism began as a sect of Hinduism as Christianity
began as a sect to Judaism
 Hindus consider Buddha as the 9th incarnation of their
trinity gods, Vishnu
 Many a Hindu philosopher, therefore, consider
Buddha as yet another reformer of Hinduism,
incarnation of Vishnu, was born as a Hindu, died as a
Hindu, and lived the life of a Hindu.
 Like Jainism and Sikhism, Buddhism may also be
considered an adaptation of Hinduism

3. HINDUISM V/S BUDDHISM
 Some basic concepts of Hindu philosophy such as Samsara,
Karma, Yoga, Nirvana and so on exist in Buddhism as well
 It has evolved a distinct culture separate from the ways of
Hindu for a large cross-section of people in Sri Lanka,
Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China,
Korea, Japan and even India
 Buddhism has also some important aspects radically
different from the Vedic and Epic Hindu philosophy in the
form of almost a negation of gods, deities, caste system,
sacrifice and so on
 Buddhism unlike Hinduism and Jainism is a missionary
religion. Buddhists send missionaries out.

4. BUDDHA
 The word 'Buddha' is a title and not a name. His name was
Siddhartha Gautama.
 Buddha means ‘the enlightened one’, 'one who is awake' in
the sense of having 'woken up to reality’
 He sat under a Bodhi there for 40 days until he got
enlightenment .
 The Buddha was not a God and he made no claim to
divinity. He was a human being who Buddhists see as a
guide who can lead one to Enlightenment
 He suggested the middle point between the renunciation of
the world and total embrace of the world which made more
sense to him

5. BUDDHA AND GOD
 Buddhism for the first 400 years was oral
 Buddha could not specifically either affirm or deny the
existence of God or even a life after death
 There is no god and no self in Buddhism. These things are
illusions.
 On one hand there is no soul and on the other they believe
in samsara

6. FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS & EIGHTFOLD PATH
 All life is suffering.
 The cause of suffering is desire.
 The way to get rid of suffering is to get rid of desire.
 The way to achieve nirvana is by following the eightfold
path
 "Noble eightfold Path": Right views; Right intention; Right
effort; Right speech; Right action; Right livelihood; Right
mindfulness; and Right concentration.

7. NIRVANA
 Buddhist tradition distinguishes between nirvana in
this lifetime and nirvana after death.
 In "nirvana-in-this-lifetime" physical life continues,
but with a state of mind that is free from negative
mental states, peaceful, happy, and non-reactive.
 With "nirvana-after-death", paranirvana, the last
remains of physical life vanish, and no further rebirth
takes place.

8. TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM
• Buddha advises us to abstain from harming living beings
• Buddhist avoids taking what is not given
• Stealing of any kind is strongly discouraged
• Buddhist avoids sexual misconduct. Indulging in
pornography, prostitution and unfaithfulness to one's
partner are examples of this
• Buddha advocates avoiding false speech. Lying and deceit of
any kind are discouraged by the Buddha.
• Instead, the Buddha espouses openness and honesty in all
our dealings
• Buddha discourages indulgence in alcoholic drinks and
recreational drugs. Instead, the Buddha encouraged us to
be mindful of what we think, say and do

9. QUESTION TIME