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Lesson 1: The Life of the Buddha

Objectives:

to become familiar with the stories of the Buddha's life and to use these stories as a foundation for understanding Buddhist ideas
to develop critical reading skills

Procedure:

Begin by familiarizing your students with a basic outline of the Buddha's life. A clear and concise outline can be found online here.

To go deeper into the way this basic story has been interpreted, I have complied various documents related to the life of the Buddha and reading questions to guide students through them. The texts provide a window into the Buddhist worldview in a way that a simple outline of the historical events of the Buddha's life does not. For example, the 'historical' outline generally does not discuss how the Future Buddha predicted and chose the moment of his reincarnation as Siddhartha Gotama. The readings and questions are organized according to the chronological order of the Buddha's life.

The Birth of the Buddha, text. Reading Questions. Printable version.

The Four Passing Sights, text. Reading Questions. Printable version.

The Attainment of Buddahood, text. Reading Questions. Printable version.

The First Sermon at Deer Park, text. Reading Questions. Printable version.

Daily Habits of the Buddha, text. Reading Questions. Printable version.

The Buddha's Death, text. Reading Questions. Printable version.