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Buddhism In The 21st Century

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Buddhism In The 21st Century
Over time civilizations grow and change, as do the civilizations people and the values that they hold dear. Because of this religion tends to changes just as fast as the civilizations themselves. Although religions like Buddhism have been around for about 2500 years, Today Buddhism is stronger than ever. In recent years Buddhism has increased in popularity especially in western culture. I believe the Appeal of Buddhism in the 21st Century can be found in the clear path it provides, the disapproval of blind faith, and the responsibility Buddhism encourages us to take responsibility for our actions.
Unlike other popular religions Buddhism lays out a clear path for practitioners to fallow. When Siddhartha Gautama first leaves his palace he is
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Although unlike many religions Buddhism does not give its fallowers a set of rules to fallow, rather Buddhism gives a list of concepts that each individuals should attempt to live by. These guide lines are called the Eightfold path; it consists of eight concepts right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. I believe that theses concepts allow fallowers of Buddhism to live without the ridged structure that many religions provide, while still living by the basic principles that Buddhism provides. It gives vague concepts that are open to the individual interpretation, this allows each fallower to identify what each step means for themselves. This allows each individual to identify the best why they can achieve this goal. I believe that Eight Fold Path I the main draw to Buddhism, the Eight Fold Path lays out a clear way to achieve enlightenment by giving a list of guidelines that are simple and straight to the point. These guidelines are not religious in the since that they do not mention a god or deity, they focused on the actions that individuals can attempt to achieve in the here and now. The guidelines the Eight Fold Path presents are more like guides to be a good person, because of this it can be easily be adapted into other religions or spiritual practices it has become a common practice in the 21st

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