Theravada Buddhism: The Noble Eightfold Path

Ancient religions have shaped and formed many of the ways we perform and think in our everyday life. Every religion has a different set of rules and practices that still exist today. One of the great things about religion is that we can all see the differences and alikes we have. Buddhism is a religion to almost five hundred million people in the world. Buddhism was founded between the sixth and fourth BCE. The religion spread all through Asia. Buddhism essentially is all about reaching nirvana or Buddhahood. There are different branches within Buddhism; However, all hold the same basic principles in life. All Buddhists follow the lessons attributed to Buddha. Some lessons include: Dharma and Sangha, meditation, loving kindness, and compassion.
Theravada Buddhism was started in Nepal and spread all through southeastern Asia. The main goal of a Theravada Buddhist is to reach Nirvana. Nirvana is thought to end the cycle of rebirth. Nirvana is achieved by following the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path is a very explicit set of rules and ways of living. The eight practices consist of: Right view, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and Samadhi. The Noble Eightfold Path can also be divided into three divisions. Moral Virtue, Meditation, and Insight or Wisdom make up the three parts. One big concept in Buddhism, is the idea of
Around the year 200 A.D. the Mayan religion was founded in Mesoamerica. Followers believe that god Itzamna created the religion. The Mayan religion is polytheistic. Over 165 different deities are worshipped. The Mayan religion involved several aspects of nature, astronomy and rituals. Most Gods represented a form in nature. These gods were extremely human-like. They were born, grew up, and eventually died. They performed daily human activities such as fighting and farming. Because of the number of gods, a hierarchy was established. At the top of this hierarchy was the sun god and god of creation, Itzamna. There were gods that could only be contacted through certain people; For example, Bolon Tzacab, the god of royalty, is only able to contacted through wealthy people in society. The snake deity Kukulkan is another highly regarded god. He is often visualized in Mayan arts. Yum Kaax, the maize god, and Chac, the lightning and rain god are also two highly worshipped gods. To keep all 165 gods happy, the Mayan people performed sacrifices in order to receive