History Midterm

Viewing Guide for The Buddha, PBS

Key Terms Part 1: The Buddha’s mother and the circumstances surrounding his birth,

Ganges river, “seeker,” the ancient Vedic religion, Hindu priests, renuniciants, Siddhartha’s previous lives, Siddhartha’s spiritual teachers, yoga, deprivation/asceticism, social functions of religion, the buddha’s enlightenment, the Four Noble Truths

Part 2: Nirvana, the teachings, the middle way, the Four Noble Truths, “suffering,” the Noble Eightfold path, the sangha, women in the sangha, emotions, candle and water metaphors, early Buddhist monastic life, “burning” metaphor, miracle stories, the story of the Buddha’s death, Buddhism in India after the Buddha’s death, the spread of Buddhism through Asia, “the lotus,” film producer David Grubin.

Questions to bear in mind:

How does the director of this film choose to tell this story? What works for you about this director’s choices, and what doesn’t work? (You might want to comment on things like, pacing, color, animation, interviews, narration, visual scenes/background, language, humor)

Which character or interviewee is your favorite? What is one of your favorite images or scenes? What is your favorite line? What is your favorite story and why? What do you think of the style of the movie overall? What specific things do you like? What surprised you most in this movie?

How does this documentary illustrate the concepts of the relationship between universal and particularistic religions? Are there any components of the film that challenge the ideas laidout by Johnson and Johnson? Give a couple of specific examples.

What are some of the ways that the movie supports or reinforces some of the specific material about Buddhism that is introduced in Johnson and Johnson? Give a couple of specific examples. What are some of the ways that the movie challenges or contradicts some of the material about Buddhism presented in Johnson and Johnson?