授業関係のお知らせ

This week, we continued to follow the life of the Buddha, as depicted in a Burmese illustrated manuscript.

Some of the highlights include:

• Siddhartha's discovery of the state of meditation in an early childhood
• Four sights of a sick person, an old man, a dead body, and an ascetic which compelled Siddhartha to become a wandering ascetic
• Siddhartha's attainment of the enlightenment through meditation

The story may be divided into four parts:

• life as a young prince indicates a secular life
• life as a wandering ascetic indicates the importance of the middle path
• Life as the Buddha indicates the importance of wisdom to attain enlightenment and compassion for others
• His death indicates the complete renouncement of this-worldly conditions (and the importance of the transmission of the Buddha's teachings after his death)

The life of the Buddha has been taken as a model in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism. In the following weeks, we look into the parallel tradition in Mahayana Buddhism.