Buddhism is one religion that was discussed in class that blew my mind. I always thought the term Buddha meant a name of a messiah. Until I learned some ideas of Buddha, I became intrigued to learn more about it. In class I learned that the term Buddha is a philosophy. We all have a “Buddha” inside all of us. However, in order to “release” the Buddha and achieve enlightenment is to go through a process of teaching. I wanted to know more about the idea of enlightenment, how to become a Buddhist, and The Heart of Sutra. In class I learned about the four noble truths. The four noble truths are, the first being is that life is suffering. Suffering includes pain, growing old, inheriting disease, and death. Along with that, there is psychological suffering like loneliness, fear, anger and, embarrassment. Buddhism shares how suffering can be avoided and how happiness can bloom. The second noble truth is that suffering is ignited by craving and aversion. When people receive things that they want, it does not guarantee happiness. Instead of battling to get what you want, alternate the wanting. Wanting deprives people of contentment and happiness. A lifetime of wanting and craving will continue to exist. The third noble truth is that suffering can overcome and happiness can be attained. True happiness and contentment are possible. If people give up worthless craving and learn to live each day at a time and don’t dwell in the past or imagine future, people can become happy and free. The fourth noble truth is that the Noble 8-foldpath is the path, which leads to the end of suffering (Prothero, 2010). It was interesting to learn about the four noble truths. Along with the noble truth, I learned that Buddhist believe that “everything is nothing...
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... people to understand our self and how to cope with our daily problems
Works Cited
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In the world, there are five major world religions, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. In the past few classes, I have been exposed to and absorbed a tremendous amount of information on the religion of Buddhism. According to the dictionary, Buddhism is a religion of which originated in India, was founded by the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, and teaches that life is full of suffering caused by desire and that the way to end this suffering is through enlightenment that enables one to halt the endless sequence of births and deaths to which one is otherwise subject. Buddhism is a way of finding peace within oneself. It is a religion that helps it’s believers to find the happiness and contentment us humans seek. One thing I found
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Buddhism is a religion from the East that has spread to many different countries all over the world. It has spread to the West, and has had a great influence and impact, especially in America. However, the Buddhism that is practiced in the United States is not exactly the same as the one that is practiced in Asian countries. If Buddhism differs between the different traditions of the Asian countries themselves, it is obvious that it will differ greatly in America as well. However, even though there are obvious differences, it is important to maintain the core values and fundamental principles the same. This research explores how the three different types of Buddhist practitioners have adopted Buddhism in America, and it describes some differences
Tenzin, Gyatso and Jamyang Gawai Lodro. Essence of the Heart Sutra. Trans. Geshe Thupte Jinpa. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2002. i-xii, 1-179. Print.
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Sakya, Madhusudan. Current Perspectives in Buddhism: Basic Tenets and Practices. Cyber Tech Publications, 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
In the Buddha’s first sermon, he laid out the four main ideas that he had been enlightened with; he called them the Four Noble Truths:
230). There are two main “types” Buddhism that are practiced around the world. The first is Theravadin, and the second is Mahayana (Smith-Stoner, 2005, p. 228). Buddhism contains a “message of salvation” that considered the “Four Noble Truths” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011 p. 134). They are, the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. Leming and Dickinson (2011) describe how the combination of ethics and meditation are the eightfold path to enlightenment (Leming & Dickinson, 2011 p. 136). The author believes it is important for practitioners to recognize the increasing numbers of people practicing Buddhism in the United States in order to enhance their ability to care for end of life needs in this population. Smith-Stoner (2005) states that Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States and that Colorado is one of the main population centers (Smith-Stoner, 2005, p. 229). In Buddhism, it is extremely important to be able to tame emotions and the mind which is done through meditation. The author thinks it is pertinent to know the
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.
In addition, Buddhism places emphasis on the Four Noble Truths, which is the teaching of Buddha, a guide to enlightenment. These are a set of guidance that basically teaches the followers of Buddha the essence of...
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“The secret of Buddhism is to remove all ideas, all concepts, in order for the truth to have a chance to penetrate, to reveal itself.”