Story

1. The absolutely key and central stories in the faith.

2. Why are these stories sacred?

3. How are they sacred?

4. In what ways are these stories of importance to the religion?

5. Levels of meaning and interpretation in stories of faith.

6. The manner in which story relates to both individuals and communities.

The most important stories in Buddhism concern the historical BuddhaAn Enlightened being who discovers and teachers the Dhamma; the historical person, Siddhartha Gotama who discovered and taught the Dhmrma in the 5th Century BCE, Siddattha Gotama(Pali) family name of the historical Buddha and can generally be found in the Suttas. They concern his birth, his going forth into homelessness, his effort to reach Enlightenment, his attainment of Nibbana(Pali) the Buddhist word for enlightenment, his first sermonA discourse delivered to the congregation and based upon a portion of sacred text , and his parinibbanaA Buddhist word for the final passing of the Buddha or any arahat.

Birth: Gotama was born in LumbiniPlace of the Buddha's birth, in Nepal near the Indian border, a pilgrimage site in modern day Nepal. On the night Siddattha was conceived, Queen Maya The power that allows Brahman to appear or manifest as everything and everyone(his mother) dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side. Ten months later she gave birth, standing up, under a sal tree. Eight BrahminsThe priestly caste of Hinduism then read the baby's future and stated that he had the Thirty-Two Marks of a great man, which meant he would either become a great king or a Buddha.

Going forth: Gotama's father wanted him to be a great king so kept him away from unpleasant experiences and ensured he lived in absolute luxury. However, at the age of 29, when out with his chariot driver, Gotama was shocked to see an old man, a diseased man, a corpse and finally an ascetic. He decided that he needed to overcome disease, death and sufferingThe universal condition of humankind, partly caused by the impermanence of all things so decided to leave his royal life and become a medicant.

Effort: Gotama became a wandering ascetic begging for alms food on the street. He then studied under a number of hermits and meditation teachers, surpassing their achievements and moving on. He then joined five ascetics led by Kondanna, who aimed for enlightenment through extreme asceticism and self-mortification. Restricting his daily intake to a leaf or a nut a day, Gotama collapsed in a river and nearly drowned. He then remembered a meditative state he had naturally fallen into as a child (jhanaA meditative state achieved through the practice of calm meditation) and realised that this might be the best starting place

Enlightenment: having accepted milk and rice pudding from a girl called Sujata, Gotama sat down under a pipal tree known as the Bodhi TreeA Pipal tree under which the Buddha achieved Enlightenment and vowed not to arise until he had discovered the truth. After 49 days of meditating he discovered the Four Noble TruthsThe most fundamental teaching of the Buddha; the nature of Suffering; Sufferingâ€™s origin; Sufferings cessation; the way leading to the cessation of suffering , the Middle WayA description of the Buddhist concept of achieving enlightenment between the contrasting paths of indulgence and asceticism and became Enlightened.

First Sermon: the Buddha then journeyed to a deer park in SarnathThe site of the Buddha's first sermon and delivered his first sermon expounding the Dhamma to his five ascetic companions. They then joined the Buddha and became the first members of the Sangha.

Parinibbana: the Buddha continued to teach for the remaining 45 years of his life and his Sangha continued to grow. Having eaten a meal offered by a blacksmith named Cunda, the Buddha became ill. He asked his monks whether they had any questions or doubts that needed clearing up. They replied that they did not. Then the Buddha entered Parinibbana. His last words were: "All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence".

These stories are sacred because the concern the Buddha. They are told in the Buddhists texts - in the Suttas of the Pali CanonThe standard collection of scriptures of Theravadin Buddhism preserved in the Pali language for example. As such they are preserved unchanged. The stories concerning the Buddha are very important to Buddhism and its followers since they show the struggle that the Buddha went through to achieve Enlightenment. They show that the Buddha started out human and unenlightened like us, but through diligent effort he managed to attain Nibbana. Thus the stories offer a paradigm of religious effort. They offer a model that adherents try and live up to today.

Websites

http://buddhism.about.com/library/blbudlifebirth1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha

http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/visuals/buddha/life.html

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/kusinaga.htm

http://www.cleo.net.uk/resources/displayframe.php?src=355/consultants_re... Jataka story

http://www.serve.com/cmtan/LifeBuddha/buddha.htm

http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/resources/Buddha.html

Bibliography

Cush, D. 1994. Buddhism (Student’s Approach to World Religions). London: Hodder.

Gethin, R. 1998.The Foundations of Buddhism (OPUS). Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks.

Gombrich, R.F.& Bechert, H., 1991. The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture (The Great Civilizations). London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.