Buddhism is one of the most popular religions in the world, it originates in Nepal, where the “enlightened one” Saddartha Gotama was born. The word Buddhism originates from the word “Buddhi” meaning to awaken. Buddhism is a nontheistic religion, meaning that they do not have any gods in their faith. Buddha is seen as one of the enlightened ones, rather than a God. One interesting fact about Buddhism, Saddartha Gotama acknowledges Jesus Christ as a very good man and a prophet, however does not acknowledge him as the Messiah.
Saddartha Gotama was born into a very wealthy family, and he always wanted to find more purpose in life than money and materialistic things. He began his faith journey at a young age, and by age 35 he became Enlightened. On his journey he found the idea of Samsara, or the continual and repetitive cycle of life and death that occurs before complete enlightenment. Samsara is characterized by suffering, anxiety, and depression. Karma is the force that drives Samsara, when most people think that Karma is the main point of Buddhism. When these people are right, however they are wrong at the same time, Karma is the driving force behind Samsara, Karma determines if you have done your mission and deserve to become an enlightened one.
Buddhism is slowly becoming one of the most popular religions in the world, and is estimated to have about 300-400 million followers at the beginning of 2014. The numbers of followers have declined in the countries where Buddhism originated, due to the arising of “New Age Religions” in that part of the world.
My favorite part about Buddhism is that it is real life stuff, even if it isn’t necessarily my specific faith, is that it never hurts to meditate on things when you can. The B...
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...onclusion, this presentation has helped me with my life, and helped me to find my inner peace. It actually really helped me with that. Most of Buddha’s teachings are applicable to any average Joe, which is a category I would probably fall under, and just one simple project changed my outlook on life. I mean I couldn’t imagine what extensive study on Buddhism would do, but I’m assuming it wouldn’t exactly be the worst thing for most people in today’s current society. The Buddha realistically has food for thought for anyone wishing to better themselves mentally, physically, or spiritually.
Works Cited
http://www.mormonteachings.com/ http://www.catholic.com/tracts/distinctive-beliefs-of-the-mormon-church http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=429652 http://carm.org/mormonism http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Cults/mormon.htm
http://www.mormonteachings.com/
Living Buddha, Living Christ has taught me the true meaning of Buddhism, and it demonstrates what the path to true enlightenment is. The following concepts have stood out to me, and they are ones that I relate to on a more personal level. Buddhism has perceptions that are not always seen by everyone, but they are concepts that are important for our own happiness.
Religion has always been a prominent part of our culture, yet is constantly changing. The stereotypes within these religions are slowly disintegrating, forcing people to become more accepting and open minded. Buddhism, specifically Shambhala, has changed what it means to be religious, focusing less on memorizing and worshipping, and more on finding the meaning to their life and who they are. The Shambhala tradition uses its rituals in order to answer questions about various other aspects of life. These rituals are derived from Buddhists myths, and form the foundation of the religion as a whole. The direct connection between ritual and myth allows Shambhala to be a transformative religion, in which it is redefining itself and our society.
The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddharta Gautama. He was born as a prince of a small kingdom located near today’s Nepal, around 500 B.C.E. (Gurinder 1). According to the legends, Siddharta was raised in the lap of luxury. He was given the finest clothes, riches, and a mansion for every season (Fisher 136). Despite having anything his imagination could conjure, he was unconvinced of their value (136). As the story continues, he was presented with the four sights that were being kept from him (136). These sights included death, sickness, old age, and a monk seeking lasting happiness rather than material possessions (136). After these sights, Sidhharta began his long path to enlightenment. After six years of searching, he had reached his goal of an ultimate consciousness called Nirvana, or enlightenment that is above ordinary human states of mind (Gurinder, Numrich, Williams 1-2). After his discovery of the ultimate consciousness, he was given the title of Buhhda, which means “Enlighten One” (2).
After many years of seeking answers to his questions, particularly about suffering and death, Siddhartha came to a revelation and decided to adopt a path of moderation known as the Middle path, which found ground somewhere in between self-indulgence and asceticism. According to legend, Siddhartha sat under what is known as the Bodhi Tree and meditated intensely until at last he achieved Enlightenment when he reached a state of profound understanding. From that point on he was known as the Buddha. (Molloy 127)...
Buddhism is a really big religion. I think that Buddhism is more of philosophy or ‘way of living life’. But it’s called a religion which contains about 300 million people around the world. The word Buddhism comes from ‘buddhi’ which means ‘to awaken’. Buddhism’s origins trace back to 2000-2500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, aka also known as the Buddha. It traces back to him because Siddharatha humself was awakened at age 35, and came out to know the reality of life. Buddhism goes beyond religion, it goes to become philosophy. Because philosophy means ‘love of wisdom’ and the Buddhist path can be summed up as: 1) lead a moral life 2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions as you go through in life 3) to develop wisdom and understanding of life. I think that Buddhism explains a purpose of life to the core. It teaches us the correct way to live life, with adopted wide variety of beliefs, practices, rituals, and customs. It explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world; it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness. But the essential teaching of Buddha was reading the underline differences between these said statements.
Buddhism is a philosophy of life, it was started by Siddhartha Gotma , who is more commonly known as Buddha. Buddha isn’t god to them however he is well respected for passing down knowledge of how to find true happiness. The Buddhists major aim in life is to find enlightenment (true happiness).Buddhist monks live by a strict moral code, in which they are given food, they live a life structured around the teachings of Buddha.
Buddhism prevailed as a religion indigenous to west India and comprises of varieties of traditions, beliefs and practices based on the teachings of Buddha. There are many reasons why Buddhism became so popular and entered into many civilizations. Buddhism began to be popular throughout Asia alongside India. Buddhism has blossomed in the contemporary world, especially in the West. It is an issue to wonder what Buddhism offers that other religions cannot and has become so significant worldwide. Buddhism has become an idea that is widespread and the teachings of Buddha have made a real difference in many civilizations like India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and surprisingly Buddhism has come to make a significant difference in American culture.
Everyone has a story. Whether they’re funny, sad, memorable, or teach a lesson we all have a history which makes us who we are today. This is also true for many religions. More specifically, Buddhist stories are usually widely known and applicable to anyone, regardless of their religion. Not only do they provide entertainment but sacred stories and myths teach follows what to strive for in life and provide historical information to aid them with their journey. (Massoudi para. 24). These parables and early accounts of Buddha teach lessons, instruct followers, and encompass the basic precepts which helps Buddhists follow the Eightfold Path toward eternal bliss, also known as nirvana.
The study of Buddhism over the past century or so has resembled the encounter of the blind men and the elephant in many ways. Students of Buddhism have tended to fasten onto a small part of the tradition and assume their conclusions held true about the whole. Often the parts they have seized on have been a little like the elephant's tusks a striking, but unrepresentative, part of the whole animal. As a result, many erroneous and sweeping generalizations about Buddhism have been made, such as that it is 'negative', 'world-denying', 'pessimistic', and so forth.
Buddhism originated from India, and was founded by Prince Siddharta Gautama, who later came to be known as Buddha, or the enlightened one. Born of a princely caste, he later renounced his comfortable life in search for nirvana. In order to do that, he joined a band of ascetic, who was a group of Hindu priests. In his teaching, the Buddha taught his followers to follow "the middle way", that is, not the way of extreme asceticism. He attained full understanding of the nature of being by meditation and after his success, decided to impart his knowledge to those who follow him .
Western society was introduced to Buddhists and thus became important aspects to their lives such as politics, economics and culture. Modern ways of thinking, democracy and socialism have influenced not only the Buddhist community, but also others across the world (“Buddhism”). Buddhism continues to reshape itself and its traditions. Different influences have changed the core elements of Buddhism and its meaning. However, with today’s high stress of modern life, people become interested in Buddhism for its meditation and inner-peace. People search for monks to teach them self-discipline and to deepen their spiritual energy (“About Buddhism”). Many temples have been built in the United States to spread Buddhist teachings and to expand the Buddhist community. With every temple comes different practices since a majority of the Buddhists come from different backgrounds which they brought from all of over
The name Buddhism comes from the word "budhi" which means "to wake up." This philosophy originated from the life of a man named Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. “At his naming ceremony, priests foretold that his life could go in one of two directions”( Molloy 125). He would either follow his father's footsteps and become a world ruler or he would become a spiritual leader, if he got exposed to the sight of suffering. As Siddhartha grew, his father kept him away from all the suffering of the outside world. He got educated and trained inside a luxurious palace, preparing to eventually become the ruler his father wanted him to be. All was going as planned until Siddhartha decide to visit a town close to his palace without...
When compared to other beliefs, Buddhism is a fairly logical and philosophical religion focused on eliminating desire and attaining inner peace in a world filled with anything but. “A happy feeling or condition in life is not permanent or everlasting. It changed sooner or later.” (Rahula, 20) Because the world is filled with pain, one must learn to disassociate oneself with individual desire. This is one of the many philosophies imparted by Buddha, an ancient teacher, who was inspired to eliminate the world’s suffering. Through his wisdom, one learns to abide by morals and surrenders any selfish desires or attachments to the world, ultimately leading to Nirvana, a state of enlightenment. Many ritual practices performed by temples aid in meditation,
Buddhism is the philosophy of being awake and conscious in life. Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, shared his wisdom with the world and believed that the path to enlightenment was a process of elimination. These eliminations can be conquered through a process called Zen. He believe it was the only way to get rid of the burdens human’s carry of, ignorance, desire and suffering. Buddhism is almost the complete opposite of our western world because our society requires us to act a certain way in order to thrive or even survive.
Buddhism is not just a religion but also a lifestyle for millions of people all over the world. Unlike any other religion Buddhism requires a ton of self-reflection and self-motivation to follow. From the life of Gautama to modern day Buddhist, it has always been steeped in rituals and following the teaching of the dharma. Knowing the truths and using that knowledge to follow the eightfold path is at the core of Buddhism. Knowing the different branches of Buddhism and there origins has given me a greater since of Buddhism around the world. Though reading the text over and over again I can say I have gained not only a greater knowledge but also an appreciation for those that choose to follow the teachings of Buddha.