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All my sources are towards the right in the middle of the slide.

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A Buddhists most important form of worship is meditation. Within the Eightfold Path, buddha presented the foundation for meditation. Right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. A Buddhists goal is to reach enlightenment, the Buddha taught that to reach nirvana one must meditate. During meditation one may speak or chant the sacred formula know as the Three Jewels. "Meditation is coming to an understanding of what life means. An insight into reality and truth." (Buddhamind)

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"Buddhists have a number of special places which have become centres of pilgrimage. Many of these places are closely associated with the life of the Buddha in some way, such as at Bodh-Gaya where Buddha sat under the Bo Tree and became enlightened. When Buddha died and was cremated some of his remains (called relics) were sent to various Buddhist centres where shrines are built to house them. One of the most famous is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth at Kandy in Sri Lanka." (Buddhamind)

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Marriages in Buddhist countries are arranged by the parents of a couple. Parents choose because it can join families and they are thought to be best because they have more life experience. Parents will ask astrologers to predict which day is best for the wedding to be held on. The ceremony takes place in the home instead of a temple or monastery. Monks do no perform ceremonies but are often invited. Rings and vows are exchanged to honour and respect each other. The thumbs or wrists of their right hands are bound together to signify that the husband and wife are joined. "At a later stage the bride and groom will visit the monastery to receive the monks' blessing and hear a sermon of the Buddha's teaching about married life. At the end of the ceremony, everyone shares a meal. The celebrations may go on for several days." (Buddhamind)

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http://www.buddhamind.info/leftside/under/buddha/practices.htm

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http://www.buddhamind.info/leftside/under/buddha/festivals.htm

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http://www.buddhamind.info/leftside/under/buddha/rites.htm

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Buddhists may be buried or cremated. Where the person is laid to rest the monks will recite the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. Relatives will then perform symbolic rituals such as giving a white cloth which covers the coffin to the monks, and mourners pour water into a cup until it overflows, this symbolizes the transfer of merit to the deceased. The monks will then recite verses from Buddhist scripture and give a sermon on life and death. (Buddhamind)

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"The History, Philosophy and Practice of Buddhism." Buddhism - The Three Jewels and Five Precepts. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2017.

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The Buddha - First Precious Jewel
Taking refuge in the Buddha aligns oneself to reach the potential of becoming a Buddha. "To seek the capacity to be awakened to what the buddha experienced. This precious jewel reminds us to find our own buddha nature."

The Dharma - Second Precious Jewel
The path which follows the teachings of the Buddha, this path leads to enlightenment. "The Dharma teaches us compassion for ourselves and others through an understanding of The Four Noble Truths and leads to release from fear and ignorance."

The Sangha - Third Precious Jewel
The Buddha believed interaction with others along the path is essential for practice. "The Sangha comprises those who come together in any size group to study, discuss, practice meditation with a desire to help and be helped by that group."

(The History, Philosophy and Practice of Buddhism

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“Bhavacakra (Wheel of Life).” ReligionFacts.com. 16 Feb. 2017. Web. Accessed 24 Jun. 2017. <www.religionfacts.com/wheel-of-life>

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“Buddha eyes.” ReligionFacts.com. 28 Jan. 2017. Web. Accessed 24 Jun. 2017. <www.religionfacts.com/buddha-eyes>

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“Swastika.” ReligionFacts.com. 21 Nov. 2016. Web. Accessed 23 Jun. 2017. <www.religionfacts.com/swastika>

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Derived from the word svasti which means good fortune, luck and well-being. Not to be confused with the Western associations we have which are negative. Within Buddhism, "it signifies auspiciousness and good fortune" it is also said to "contain the whole mind of the Buddha". In China and Japan, the Buddhist swastika is a sign of "plurality, eternity, abundance, prosperity and long life." (ReligionFacts)

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Also known as "Wisdom Eyes" these eyes signify the omniscience of a Buddha. Extremely popular in Nepal, the eyes have become a symbol of the country itself. The design between the eyes that looks like a backwards question mark is the Nepali numerical character 1, which symbolizes unity of all things. It also symbolizes the one way to reach enlightenment through the teachings of Buddha. Above the number 1, between the eyebrows, is to symbolize the third all-seeing eye of the Buddha. (ReligionFacts)

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"1. (Ahimsa) - Abstain from killing or harming living beings.
2. Abstain from stealing
3. Abstain from improper exual conduct.
4. Abstain from false speech such as telling lies, setting people against each other, and gossiping.
5. Abstain from taking alcohol and harmful drugs." (Haas)

There are 5 additional precepts that monks and nuns must follow.

"6. abstain from eating after noon
7. abstain from looking at dancing, singing, or drama
8. abstain from the use of perfumes and things that tend to beautify and adorn
9. abstain from using comfortable beds
10. abstain from accepting gold or silver" (Haas)

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"The final step involves focusing the mind on one font or object at a time." (Haas)

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"Full attention must be given to proper thoughts, words, and deeds, as explained in the five precepts" (Haas)

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"Individuals must do their best at all times and have good will towards others." (Haas)

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"Earn a living through occupations that do not cause harm to living things." (Haas)

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"Accomplished by observing the five precepts." (Haas)

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Important to avoid gossip, harsh language, criticized unjustly and lies. (Haas)

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"We are what we think, so nurture good thoughts because they produce good, strong character." (Haas

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Essential to know and understand the Four Noble Truths. (Haas)

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There is no end of life in Buddhism only rebirth into the endless cycle of samsara. The only way an individual can exit this cycle is becoming enlightened by reaching a state of nirvana. "Nirvana is the state of final liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth." Once a person reaches nirvana they are free from suffering. This state is difficult to describe because the Buddha often avoided revealing details. Buddha replied to questions about nirvana with "incomprehensible, indescribable, inconceivable, unutterable." (ReligionFacts)

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“Buddhism on the Afterlife.” ReligionFacts.com. 16 Nov. 2016. Web. Accessed 23 Jun. 2017. <www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/afterlife>

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Individual worship can be done either in a temple or in a shrine at home. Many Buddhists meditate rather than pray because there is no "One God" to pray to. The most important act of worship in Buddhism is taking refuge on the Three Jewels. If there is collective worship it is always held at a monastery, shrine or temple. Before entering you must remove footwear, then you sit on mats facing an image of Buddha. Worship is silent because meditation is the form of worship.

"As part of worship Buddhists put their hands in 'anjali', i.e. they:

place the palms of their hands together before their forehead then stretch them up towards the Buddha's image.

prostrate three times in honour of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

give offerings of flowers and lighted candles.

The literal meaning of 'anjali' is respect." (Buddhamind)

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Wesak or Vaisakha Puja - "Wesak is the most important festival in the Buddhist calendar. Theravada Buddhists celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha on this day. Mahayana Buddhists have separate days to celebrate each to them. Houses are decorated with lanterns and garlands and in many countries captive birds are released to symbolise Buddha's compassion. The particular emphasis of the day is on these three phases of Buddha's life."

Obon - "This Mahayana festival is celebrated by Japanese Buddhists. It is a time of remembering family ancestors. They are welcomed back home with feasting and dancing. Fires are also lit to light their arrival and departure. A similar Chinese Buddhist festival in September is called 'Lost Souls' or 'All Souls Day'."

Omisoka - "Omisoka is a Japanese festival during which preparations for the new year are made by cleansing home shrines and altars. The bells of Buddhist temples are struck 108 times to warn against the 108 evils to be overcome."

Magha Puja - "This festival at the full moon of March is celebration to remember the occasion when 500 monks independently travelled to be with the Buddha to hear his teaching.
Hana Matsuri - This flower festival marks the Japanese celebration of the birth of the Buddha, which Mahayanas fix in 565 BCE. Tradition has it that the Buddha was born in a garden, so floral shrines are made and an image of the infant Buddha is set in each shrine and bathed." (Buddhamind)

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When one is becoming a Bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) there is a long initiation process involving the Sangha, abbot (head of monastery), and the novice (person seeking to become a monk). Before the novice is initiated they must shave off all hair on the head and answer questions for the elder monks. If all the questions are answered to the satisfaction of the monks and none of the monks object, the novice is admitted into the Sangha and religious training begins. (Buddhamind)

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The ultimate goal in Buddhism is to reach nirvana. To reach this state of being you must follow The Noble Eightfold Path. This path is represented as the wheel of the Dharma with the state of nirvana being the centre and the handles for the user to guide.

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“Buddhism on the Afterlife.” ReligionFacts.com. 16 Nov. 2016. Web. Accessed 23 Jun. 2017. <www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/afterlife>

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"Religions - Buddhism: Theravada Buddhism." BBC. BBC, 02 Oct. 2002. Web. 23 June 2017.

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"Symbolizes the Buddhist perspective on life and contains within it numerous symbols of Buddhist themes and teachings. The creature who turns the wheel of life and holds it in his clutches is Yama." "Yama symbolizes the inevitability of death, samsara and the impermanence of all things." Outside of the wheel, pictures in the top right is the Buddha pointing the way to liberation.

"The inner circle of the wheel contains symbols of the three root delusions: hatred (snake), ignorance (rooster), and greed (pig).
The ring around the center represents karma, with the figures on the left ascending to higher realms of existence because of virtuous actions, and the figures on the right descending to lower realms of existence because of evil or ignorant actions.
The middle ring of the wheel (the areas between the spokes) symbolizes the six realms of existence. The top half, from left to right, portrays the three higher realms of existence: humans, gods, and demi-gods. The lower half shows the three lower realms of existence: animals, hell-beings, and hungry ghosts." (ReligionFacts)

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Buddhists believe in reincarnation or transmigration. Buddha taught the meaning of reincarnation to his followers differently than any other definition at that time. What Buddha taught can be explained by "He compared it to lighting successive candles using the flame of the preceding candle. Although each flame is casually connected to the one that came before it, is it not the same flame." (ReligionFacts)

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Relationship Between Humanity and the Divine

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Relationship Between Humanity and the Divine

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Buddhism does not have any divine beings in the realm of humanity. The closest thing divine is a Bodhisattva which is a human who has reached enlightenment but chooses to be born back into samsara to help others along The Noble Eightfold Path. (Haas)
But a Bodhisattva is not divine, only a human who has reached nirvana

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"Buddhism vs Hinduism." Diffen.com. Diffen LLC, n.d. Web. 20 Jun 2017.

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The Buddhist religion differs from many other religions. One example of this fact can be found in Christianity with the notion of an omnipotent, omnipresent God. The Buddha, who is recognized as the founder of buddhism, often avoided the subject of God. The Buddha believed his followers may lose focus of the ultimate goal of nirvana if there was "theological speculation". Buddhism also taught that there are gods that exist at different types of being but with limited power, meaning not enough power to create the universe and everything in it.(BBC)

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“He rejected speculation about such matters as God, the nature of the universe, and the afterlife, urging his followers to focus instead on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves from suffering.” (ReligionFacts)

“In contrast to Hindu understandings of God and deities, the Buddha taught that questions about the existence of God were for individuals to discern and address themselves.” (Hengel)

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"Anatta, or no self" is the understanding that we cannot identify ourselves as ourselves. We cannot identify as ourselves because of the first truth, impermanence. This life and body is not yours because the body in itself is not permanent. The body will die and return to the earth. (Haas)

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"Dukkha, or dissatisfaction" is the belief that every living animal and human being are subject to the experience of suffering. These experiences can include physical and mental conditions such as illness or the death of relative. (Haas)

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Haas, Mrs. "Buddhism - Some Important Concepts." (n.d.): n. pag. Print.

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Dhammika, Shravasti. Good Question, Good Answer. Singapore: Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society, 2012. Print.

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"Annica, or impermanence" is the belief that the universe is in a constant state of change and nothing will stay the same for long. Impermanence is an absolute and affects (effects?) everything. (Haas)

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“Buddhist Beliefs.” ReligionFacts.com. 26 Jan. 2017. Web. Accessed 20 Jun. 2017. <www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/beliefs>

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Hengel, John Van Den. "Chapter 8/The Story of Buddhism." World Religions: A Canadian Catholic Perspective. Toronto: Novalis, 2011. 258-83. Print.