newbie question

federica

This discussion was created from comments split from: Does anybody know some of the most basic differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism?.

Not_Two

I would like to ask Theravada practitioners regarding 3 things:

1.What did the historical Buddha become Enlightened about under that Bodhi tree?

2.How long does it take for an ordinary person like you and me to reach that Enlightenment?

3.What survives death?

If these questions have been answered,kindly show me the link/links to the answers.
I think the answers can throw some light on the fundamental differences between the two schools,and why Theravadins do not accept certain sutras.
I have heard from some people that the Buddha's Enlightenment was"emptiness due to dependant origination".If this is so,what are the answers to the following two questions above?

genkaku

In a book whose title I cannot remember, Gautama (the Buddha) was once said to have been asked approximately, "What is the essence of all of the teachings?:

And, according to the book, Gautama was silent for a long moment and then, "summoning all of his powers," he replied, "It's not intellectual."

Imagine that: summoning ALL of his powers.

Buddhism is a matter of experience and not so much thought and emotion. Experience comes from practice, just like riding a bike or playing the piano.

Or perhaps, for the moment, this is off-topic.

Buddhadragon

Hi, @Not_Two!

It seems to me that your questions tackle some basic tenets of Buddhism which demand for very complex answers.

These links are useful places for complete newbies (and not so newbies) to find the answers you're looking for:

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/basic-guide.htm
http://www.thebuddhacenter.org/buddhism/basics-of-buddhism/
http://viewonbuddhism.org/

Rhodian

@Not_Two said:
I would like to ask Theravada practitioners regarding 3 things:

1.What did the historical Buddha become Enlightened about under that Bodhi tree?

2.How long does it take for an ordinary person like you and me to reach that Enlightenment?

3.What survives death?

If these questions have been answered,kindly show me the link/links to the answers.
I think the answers can throw some light on the fundamental differences between the two schools,and why Theravadins do not accept certain sutras.
I have heard from some people that the Buddha's Enlightenment was"emptiness due to dependant origination".If this is so,what are the answers to the following two questions above?

Here Bhante G speaks about people different people and how different people need different teaching methods. And how the Buddha got different teaching methods.

http://bhavana.us/mp3/TeachingDifferentTypes09-01-07.mp3