The Life of the Buddha

The Buddha

In this course, Professor Alice Collett explores the life and teachings of the Buddha, and the Four Noble Truths. In the first lecture, we look at the life of the Buddha and some key aspects of his teachings. In the second lecture, we investigate the truth that ‘all life is suffering’. In the third lecture, we examine the cause of suffering, before turning to the possibility of the cessation of suffering in the fourth lecture. In the fifth and final lecture, we discuss the last truth that there is a path away from suffering

The Life of the Buddha

In this lecture, we examine the life of the Buddha and some key aspects of his teachings, focusing on: (i) the Buddha’s life story, including his miraculous birth, symbolic episodes such as the four sights (old age, sickness, death, and religious renunciation), and his renunciation of palace life to pursue religious truth; (ii) his period of ascetic practice, including his realisation that extreme austerity was not the correct path, leading to his development of the Middle Way and the beginning of his meditation under the Bodhi tree; (iii) his awakening, achieved after overcoming challenges from Mara, representing both external temptations and internal obstacles, culminating in the attainment of Nirvana; (iv) his decision to teach after awakening, spending the next forty years spreading his insights on religious liberation, culminating in his final passing into Parinirvana, often depicted in art as the reclining Buddha.