Deanna Hall
REL 133
January 26, 2015 Isabelle Rucks
Buddhism
In this paper, there will be a summary of the history of Buddhism and the life of Buddha, the basic teachings of Buddhism, and what makes the Zen Buddhism special school of the Mahayana Buddhism, unique. The Chan school of Mahayana Buddhism was created in China in the 6th-century C.E. Allegedly it was spread from Japan in the 12th century C.E. There was an Indian Monk and scholar named Bodhidharma that has the acknowledgment of conveying the customs from India to China. The core of his philosophy is he understood one did not need to learn sacred texts, worship gods, or do any complicated spiritual ceremonies to reach insight. He sensed that an individual needed to come through their limitations of conformist thinking by using meditation and feeling their realm, as it is, in this instant. Zen supports that this was the approach the Buddha himself achieved enlightenment. There are two major sects of Zen Buddhism one is Rinzai Zen and Soto Zen, and they developed various methods to achieve this enlightenment, which includes zazen (just sitting), meditation. So who is this Buddha, and what was his life like ("The Life Of The Buddha", 2015)?
Contrary to most people in the western world Buddha was neither a God nor legend, he was a real man that lived approximately 2500 years ago in India. Buddha was born in Lumbini woods in a town called Kapilavastu. His birth name was Siddhartha Gautama. He lived approximately 80 years; the dates of his birth and death are not apparently available. Most historians put his birth around 563 BC and death around 486 BC. Gautama’s Father, Suddhodana Gautama, was the leader of the warrior class of Kapilavastu. His mother died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by his father and stepmother in a life of luxury. He desired at a very young age reflection in the form of meditation and self-growth. Although, he followed his father’s wishes and pursued to marry
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