Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. It is a religion that was founded in India in the sixth century BCE and was brought to China by the first century CE. When Buddhism was brought to China and it gradually won over converts, expanded throughout China, and influenced Chinese culture as we know it. In spite of Buddhism’s dissemination throughout China there were still Chinese people who didn’t convert to Buddhism due to their strong Confucian beliefs. The Chinese had two vastly different points of views about Buddhism.…
The basic belief of Buddhism is that if you serve Buddha, and obey Buddhist “laws”, you will be enlightened (doc 2). As a result of a Chinese scholar saying this, many more people would want to convert to Buddhism because scholars are considered superior and wiser so this guy must know what he’s talking about. Buddhism is a feel good kind of religion. Many things are full of sorrow but the way you stop sorrow is by not wanting things (doc 1). The Buddha created this religion, Buddhism. He wanted to share with his followers how to be happy in life, that Buddhism is a positive thing. Documents 1 and 2 both explain some basic teaching of Buddhism and how it’s…
Buddhism is a philosophy and is not based on a holy book or god, but rather a “path of life” or dharma to follow; to be the best you can be. It is based on living a good life and giving back to the…
Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, is the story of a young man searching for enlightenment. Through his journey, Siddhartha follows several Buddhist and Hindu paths to achieve his ultimate goal of enlightenment. Siddhartha follows the path of the Brahmin, the Samana, the materialistic gambler, and eventually the Buddhist middle path. Being the son of a Brahmin, Siddhartha leads a privileged life, but this isn’t enough for him. Siddhartha had an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and after a time, he leaves his father to find his own path to Nirvana. Although Siddhartha was raised in a strict Hindu society, his path to Nirvana was a combination of Buddhism, and Hinduism.…
Buddhism was founded by Siddartha Gautama unlike Hinduism which was not founded by any particular prophet. For many people Buddhism goes beyond religion. It is more of a philosophy or ‘way of…
Buddhism is a religion that encompasses a variety of traditions, practicing teachings largely based on those of Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha, meaning ‘the awakened one’. The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of India between 6th and 4th centuries BCE. His journey to enlightenment has inspired 300 million people to follow his way of life, thus some Buddhists believe that it is a prerequisite to learn about the Buddha’s life to be a dedicated Buddhist.…
Buddhism is a religious group as depicted from the world’s history that began in the 6th century BCE, in today’s Northern India. Buddhism was founded by a wealthy man of Indian dysentery called Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha Gautama’s main concern was to teach people how to realize great spiritual development. These teachings focus on areas like tradition/customs, beliefs, ethics, meditation and philosophy and making people more enlightened; Buddha means ‘to awaken’. To the religious group boast of a huge following of about 300million across the world including 0.7 percent of U.S.A’s religious composition based on U.S’s Census Bureau Document (Seager, 2012).…
Buddhism can be defined as a religion, originated in India by Buddha, focusing on compassion. The main teaching of Buddhism is that desire causes life’s suffering. To end this suffering one must go through enlightenment. Support for these teachings are the Four Noble Truths. The first truth is that suffering is inevitable. Secondly, suffering is caused by desire and ignorance. Thirdly, is the belief that we can end suffering by eliminating our cravings and desires achieving Nirvana. Finally, the fourth truth is that one must develop understanding, positive intentions, skillful speech, action, livelihood, good effort, mindfulness, and skillful meditation for Buddhist success.…
If we look at the movies that are being released and the music on the radio we can hear some of the contributions of the Buddhist religion. Plots that involve reincarnation, some of the clothing, the instruments used in some songs here lately, all lead back to Buddhist ideals and the stereotyped ideals of the general population.…
Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha, was born in the sixth century B.C. He lived an extravagant life in a kingdom as a young prince. Siddhartha was ordered by his father to stay in his house and never leave. He eventually disobeyed and ventured out in the world and saw many things he had never seen before nor could understand. According to World Religions Online the article entitled “Life of the Buddha” states, “As the prince rode through the city he saw three things that he had never seen before. One was an old man, one was a man suffering from illness, and the third was a corpse surrounded by mourners.” These sights made him realize that suffering was inevitable and he soon became determined to find a way to cease all suffering. He followed…
There are over 7 billion people on this world and over four-fifths of these people identify with a religion in one way or another (Livingston). Upon the hundreds of religions on Earth it is difficult to even begin to comprehend all their most basic beliefs, their scriptures, or even to whom they worship. The least any person can do is to learn about one of them and understand their belief system. During an assignment for school I was required to immerse my-self in a totally different religious belief system in order to acquire a greater knowledge of what it is like for humans to have religion and to have a deeper understanding of the belief system of another religion. I personally have always wanted to understand Buddhism and what it was like to be Buddhist. For my research I chose to go to the Wat Buddharangsi of Miami where I chose to take a meditation class which was open to the public and was the only ceremony outside from being a monk that I was allowed to witness and participate in. Before I took the meditation class I spoke with one of the monks that reside at this temple who allowed me full disclosure to any questions I was curious about. I learned so much during my visit that I found a greater respect for religion and its many groups of people who reside in each and every one of them.…
Buddhism is a major religion throughout the whole world, with 360 million followers, and has definitely changed over time. Buddhism is still based on non-violence, helping the poor, no lying or gossiping, no eating at improper times, and no stealing. Many people call themselves Buddhist, but in the form of the lifestyle and not the religion. Those people might practice the way of a true Buddhist, but not call themselves Buddhist. To reach Nirvana is the main goal in Buddhism, and also any person who meditates. Buddhism is more of a way of enlightenment and self-exploration, and less of a religion. Buddha, or Siddhartha Gautama, would be considered the God of Buddhism, but Buddhist do not call him their God. This makes it less of a religion, and more of a lifestyle.…
The historical and cultural aspects are present, especially in a traditional Jewish upbringing. For this reason, spirituality plays a large role in the convert from Judaism to Buddhism. Many Jews feel as if there is a lack of spirituality in practicing the religion. JUBU Connections, he discusses how “Buddhism seems to hold an ‘instant spirituality, just add water’ image, while Judaism is viewed as barricaded from spiritual experience by laws and rituals” (CITE 64). Many Jews identify with the religion’s cultural aspects, and the lack of spirituality empowers them to begin their search. When looking at Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, the spiritual facets appear more accessible than solely a cultural background. In his book The New Buddhism: the western transformation of an ancient tradition, James William Coleman reflects upon a survey he conducted on American Jewish Buddhists. According to Coleman’s results, the majority of participants indicate their reasons for practicing Buddhism rests in a desire for spiritual growth and to rid themselves of individual problems. While some seek enlightenment, others are just dissatisfied with their spiritual journey…
Buddha was the male god for Buddhism. He was known as Prince Siddhartha. Unlike the female Goddess, Buddha was known as the “awakened one” (Violatti, 2013). He Born in India in the fifth century as a Prince. His life was known as a legend and that his mother conceived him from a dream she had about an elephant by her side. He was married and had a son. Then he set out to find the answers for all who suffered with regard to aging, sickness and death. The myth here is unlike the myth of Greek mythology in that Buddha was searching for answers to all of life’s suffering. Through meditation, he was able to overcome all of the temptations to stay wholesome. During…
With the multiple pathways that are available to Hindu’s it is the most complex. One element I found to be most surprising was the caste system. It is ingrained in every aspect of Hindu life. Born into a lower caste, and believe that you are where you belong based on your actions in a past life is unimaginable for me. Only with acceptance at your current position in life, and performing your caste obligations well could you hope to be reborn in a better life. Another element is the ability to chose your own pathway based on you commitment level or interests seems very lenient. It is hard to reconcile these two elements. Buddhism, perceived as the peaceful religion by many held some surprises for me. The first surprise was that has a history with asceticism. To think that a seemingly peaceful and happy religion has roots in self denial to the extreme measure that Gautama went to is shocking. Anatman, which means there is no enduring soul within each of us was a revelation to me as well. Like Hinduism the goal of release from the life cycle was educational. I will ponder the concept of Anatman even after this…