You South Africa – 22 August 2019

Tibetan

Buddhist

prayer wheels

in Swayambhunath.

Spinning these wheelsis

believed to be the same

chantinga numberofpra

andtohelpbuildgoodka

 Ordinary Buddhistsgi

alms (food and necessiti

to monks as a form ofre

and connection to Buddhism.

Buddhists gather

tocelebrate the Bud-

dha’s birthday at the

ogyesa temple in

Seoul, South Korea,

where it’s a public

oliday. Each lantern

asa temple-goer’s

wishattached to it.

anytemples provide

eemeals and tea to

l visitors on this day.

SRight intention: resist evil (by placing service

to others above the self).

SRight speech: don’t say anything that could

hurt others (lies, harsh words, gossip).

SRight action: do the right things (behave

peacefully, help others, don’t hurt living things).

SRight livelihood: do useful work that does

not harm others.

SRight effort: try to free your mind from evil

(with positive thoughts).

SRight mindfulness: be in control of your

feelings, thoughts and deeds.

SRight concentration: develop the mental fo-

custoreachmindfulness.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Once you rid yourself of the three

poisons,you’ll reach nirvana, accord-

ing to Buddhist teaching. This doesn’t mean you

disappear from the physical world into a heav-

enly realm but that you’ve reached a state of

mind in which you feel spiritual joy without

negative emotions. You have deep compas-

sion for all living things.

After death a person who’s reached nirvana

breaksfreefromthecycleofreincarnation.

THE TEACHINGS SPREAD

After the Buddha’s death his followers

begantoorganiseareligiousmove-

mentbasedonhisteachings.Inthethirdcen-

turyBCtheIndianEmperorAshokatheGreat

madeBuddhismthestatereligion. Hebuilt

monasteriesandsentmissionariestospread

thefaith.TherewereBuddhistsinChinain

about 50 BCandinJapaninthesixthcentury

AD.Inthe19thcentury,Chineseimmigrants

spreadBuddhismtoNorthAmericaandSA,and

JapaneseimmigrantstookittoSouthAmerica.

PRACTICE

In Buddhist practice (puja), followers

chant together to show their love for

the Buddha. To thank him for his teachings they

also bring small offerings of flowers, candles,

incense and clean water to a temple, which can

take many forms such as a pagoda or stupa.

Buddhistscanalsopractiseathome.Theyset

asidea roomfora statue of the Buddha where

theymeditateorread from the Tripitaka, a col-

lectionofsacredBuddhisttexts.

BRANCHES OF BUDDHISM

There are two main branches of Bud-

dhism: Theravada and Mahayana.

Theravada (“the teachings of the elders”) is

found mostly in Southeast Asia and is said to

be closer to the original form of Buddhism. In

this tradition only monks can achieve nirvana.

They also see the Buddha as unique.

Mahayana (“the great vehicle”) spread north

through Tibet and China and has absorbed

many local traditions. There have been other

Buddhas before and after Gautama and anyone

can achieve enlightenment, according to this

tradition.S

Prayer flags fly

from the top of the

stupa at Swayam-

bhunath in Nepal.

Buddhists believe

the prayers written

on the flags will be

blown by the wind

tosharegoodwill

witheveryone.

Tenzin Gyatso is

the 14th Dalai Lama,

the head monk of

Tibetan Buddhism.

t d J S w h

ha

w

M

fr

al

b d h h I h h d d f

Giving alms

(dāna) to monks

is believed to

purify the mind

of the giver.

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T

HEAwakeningGayaMahabodhiIndiaisTempleTempleone”)ofin(“theBodhGreatfour

wheretheholiestotherBuddhathreesiteswasinbeingBuddhismbornLumbiniSarnaththe

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FINDINGWevisittheMahabodhiTempleENLIGHTENMENTinIndia,builtonthespotwheretheBuddhaissaidtohavereachedenlightenme

COMPILEDBYCOLINHENDRICKS INFOGRAPHIC: MICHAEL DE LUCCHI PA RTHOLYOFSITES 54

InYOU 2007 NOWaKNOWformerhead

signed after being accusedBof cutting off a branch of monkhikkhuatBodhipalathetemplere

the holy Bodhi tree to sell to a rich Buddhist.

SHOES OFFTempebetween thefloor of the temple can be-atures in Bodh Gaya vary 25 and 45°C. As a result

comeforTouroldvissocks to wear inside. Water issts can bring along a pair of quite hot. But it’s forbiddentors to wear shoes inside.

offered at the temple but it’s betterbottled water and take it with youtobuy

CENTRAL TOWERThe temple has a central tower

(55med by four sikhara surround-) of

smaller towers. An entrance takes you into a small hall

leading to two shrines with statuesBuddhaofthe

ARCHITECTUREThe temple is one of the region’s oldest brick structures that’s still standingThestructureooks like

atopouttafoundalatipthindomedBuddhistnInsteadsteppedstructurearchitecturetpyramidhasastupaoftenwithon

Averageman

24 3m

1 7mGREATBUDDHASTATUE

ThemadeBuddha 24 statue3mtallofoutsideredofStartedgranitethethemeditatingintempand (^1982) sandeitis
stonecomphelpedbetebuocksldAboutitand 120 took 000 sevenstonemasonsyearsto
The four smaller towers look the same
as the central tower.
ENTRANCE
The original temple was built in the third century BC by Indian Emperor Ashoka the Great. The
current building dates from the fifth to sixth century and a lot of it
was restored in the 19th century.
The temple is surrounded by a stone wall that’s 11m high.^
OU
PRIMARY
SCHOOL
Turn to
page 78
to learn about
the Mahabodhi
Temple.
FIND
OUT
MORE
COPY: CUM LAUDE MEDIA. SOURCES: JOHANNES DE VILLIERS, THE DHARMA CENTRE; ANCIENTHISTORY.MRDONN.ORG; URI.ORG;
BUDDHISMFORKIDS.NET; KIDS.KIDDLE.CO; WIKIPEDIA.ORG; BIOGRAPHYONLINE.NET; WWW.GOV.ZA; CLIFFSNOTES.COM; BIOGRAPHY.COM;
LEARNRELIGIONS.COM; ANCIENT.EU; BBC.CO.UK; SCIENCE.HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM; HISTORY.COM; SMARTHISTORY.ORG; TNP.ORG; LATIMES.COM
GOTO
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