A Very Brief Summary of Buddhism

569 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Buddhism history and beliefs

When you think of Buddha, Buddhism, you often think of a big obese bald man with a big smile on his face. Buddha has many faces throughout different religions. The face that you visualize is that of the Laughing Budai which is the Chinese interpretation of Buddha. It is a common misconception of Americans to associate that face to the face of Buddhism, but the father of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism has been able to morph with religions in Asia, as you can see with the Chinese; this helped keep the religion a live throughout centuries. After watching the video, “Buddhism; The Great Wheel of Being,” I learned the roots of Buddhism.
The video describes Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, as a man living in the lap a luxury, never wanting anything. One day Buddha stepped out of his royal palace and visualized all the suffering in the world. After viewing such suffering, death and disease, Buddha felt sorrow and guilt for the way he was living. He knew that this was not going to be the way to his salvation. Buddha then struck out for his redemption. Buddha went the extreme opposite of extreme luxury, too that of nothing. He took part in penance or self mortification, a voluntary self punishment for his salvation. Buddha found that this too was not the path to his salvation. Buddha, himself practiced Hinduism. Buddha morphed the religion of Hinduism, he took some beliefs of Hinduism, and left out the living in either extreme indulgence or self mortification as a way to salvation, and developed a middle path to salvation. This is how Buddhism came to be a religion.
It is hard to believe that Buddha could be so wise after his time of living in complete luxury. I guess that is why the name Buddha means the “awakened one” (Estella Films. 1995). Buddha thought of a way to heal the world and the individual. In today’s society not many people practice Buddhism, which if we did we probably would not have the wars we have today. Buddhism is the practice of peacefulness.
As the awakened one, Buddha developed the doctrine of the four noble truths to lead to salvation. It could be considered a four step program. The first truth is the truth of suffering. This could be a man dying from a disease. The second truth is the origin of suffering. In this case it would be the disease causing the man’s death, or the anxiety related to the fact of dying.

Show More
Related

  • Buddhism And Comparative Religions Similarities

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism is a nontheistic religion, meaning that practitioners of the Buddhist religion do not recognize or worship a God. Instead, practicing Buddhists follow the teachings of a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who is more commonly known as Buddha. The term “Buddha” can be translated to mean “the awakened one”. Buddha’s followers recognize his as the enlightened teacher who would be able to help them let go of human wants, desires and ignorance to the goal of reaching a state of nirvana. The two different major branches of Buddhism are ...

    Read More

  • Buddhism: Annotated Bibliography

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the comparison with other class of Chinese faith , the study of Chinese Buddhism benefits. First, the International range of Buddhism allows for fruitful comparison with developments in other neighboring finish such as India and japan and the contemporary identicalness of Buddhism as a missionary. Buddhism is a way of breakthrough repose within oneself. It is a organized religion that helps us to find the happiness and contentment we seek. Buddhist develop inner peace, kindness and wisdom through their daily practice; and then share their experience with others delivery real number benefit to this humankind .They try not to injury others and to live

    Read More

  • Shacarita Analysis

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Siddhartha Gautama attempted to help people break out of the cycle of suffering in this world and as a result established the religion of Buddhism. Throughout his life, or at least the life described in Asvaghosa’s Buddhacarita, he was constantly struggling with the world in order to obtain enlightenment. After achieving enlightenment, he was able to spread his teachings which eventually became the religion we have today. However, Buddhist principles are not shown simply through the words of Gautama, or the Buddha, but they are defining characteristics of the Buddhacarita. The entire story the Buddha must combat the recurring suffering of human life due to desire and the eventual separation of desire that allows for one to break free of

    Read More

  • The Four Noble Truths Summary

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    A man of noble birth, living in the time before the Common Era, preached a way to extinguish the fire of self-centered delusion. This state of Nirvana can be achieved by understanding The Four Noble Truths, suffering in life, he explains can be avoided by following an Eightfold Path. Sounds simple? This must have been an awaking for people of his time seeking a more personal religion, away from the rigidities of a priest-dominated Hinduism of India. The man, the Buddha, spent the rest of his life teaching the religion he discovered and its doctrine based upon his Dharma (cosmic law and order). The first written evidence of the existence of Buddhism is found over 400 years ago after the life of the Buddha. (Kozak) Historians pose the

    Read More

  • Asoka and the Buddhist Faith

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, which began in India. The origin of Buddhism is traced back to the experience of single man, Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. Born around 563 B.C.E., legend follows that Siddhartha was the son of a prince in a kingdom near the border of what is now India and Nepal. As such, he was sheltered from the world and lived a life of luxury and comfort. (Molloy 124) However, at age 29 Siddhartha left the royal grounds and witnessed the suffering of ordinary life for the first time. What he saw deeply affected him and caused him to question everything in his materialistic life. Siddhartha made the decision to give up his possessions and embark on a search for enlightenment, an event known as the Great Going Forth. (Molloy 125)

    Read More

  • Buddhism and Islam

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 .

    Read More

  • Buddhism And Theravada Buddhism

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    Buddhist follow, along with karma, follow an idea called the eightfold path. These 8 steps are: right understanding, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. These steps are another process Buddhist take to get to their revelations to enlightenment. It is the last of the very first of Buddha’s teachings, The Four Noble Truths. These truths are the basic guidelines of what Buddha wants to teach. They work in tandem with each other to explain the suffering of life, what causes it, and what one must do to eliminate

    Read More

  • Buddha and Confucius

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    The founder of Buddhism was a man called Siddhartha Gautama, born to a wealthy family and destined for greatness; Siddhartha, however, left his family and the palace in search for religious truth and an end to suffering. Siddhartha tried many ways of reaching an enlightened stage; wandering the forest, joining the beggars, fasting, debating with religious leaders, but when none of these methods brought him a greater understanding of the world, Siddhartha sat himself down under a fig tree, and meditated. After forty-nine days of meditation Siddhartha was said to have achieved an understanding of the cause of suffering, he then became known as the Buddha, enlightened one.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Analysis of Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen The book Buddhism Plain and Simple, by Steve Hagen, caught my attention and became more interesting to me than I thought. I have always heard of the religion Buddhism, but I never knew what it was all about. I never thought that Buddhism was as huge as it is. I knew that it existed in other countries, but I never knew what exact countries. Many of the views in this book surprised me and the book taught me a lot about morals and better ways to live your life.

    Read More

  • Buddhism : Buddhism And Buddhism

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.

    Read More

  • Buddhist Religion Experience: Personal Narrative

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    A man and a woman led us to a small room. The man wore jeans and a regular t-shirt and the women wore a colorful dress reaching her knees. The man later told us that he typically didn’t wear jeans, instead he is generally in a more relaxed and comfortable attire. In the small room, there were four quilts laid out on the floor with cushions to sit on. All of the small quilts faced one wall, which contained three statues and a couple of pictures. On the left side of the wall was a statue of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. As stated in an article in World-Faiths, Buddhism was established upon Siddhartha’s teachings. He was an Indian prince who began his spiritual journey when he was 29 years old. After six years, he rea...

    Read More

  • Buddhism

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Four Noble Truths Of Buddhism

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism capture ethos of the spirituality and its teachings. By just these four lessons, Buddha preaches the principles of tranquility within meditation of mere concentration. From these truths he developed a guidance referred to as the Eightfold Path, a series of principles that lead to awakening when practiced and understood. He preaches that inevitable suffering comes from desire, however he concludes with a solution to a life lived in nirvana. The first two of the Four Noble Truths are Dukha and Avidya, focusing on the primitive presence of suffering within day to day life. The other two are Nirodha and Magga, contributions to having faith that solvents for all suffering do exist and how it is accomplished. The combination of each understanding is a simple recipe to ultimate salvation, hence the contribution to development of self awareness and happiness within cultures across the map.

    Read More

  • Siddhartha Life Essay

    1926 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Buddhism Reflection Paper

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    Much of what we know of Buddha was passed down for generations though word of mouth and teachings, which were probably not written until long after his death (Fisher). Buddha like many other religious figures was born without human intercourse and was born into a very wealthy family and lived a life of luxury. He went on to marry and have a son, Buddha’s life changed however when he saw “the four sights” a sick man, an old man, a dead man, and finally a man seeking lasting happiness. The later inspired Buddha to leave his luxurious life behind and seek total liberation also known as nirvana. After traveling for many years and depriving himself from all wants and many needs including food for long periods of time, Buddha had what is known as the awakening. While meditating under a tree he saw all of his past lives and how good and bad deeds can effective future lives (Fisher). The awakening also showed how to end suffering and Buddha was radiant with light afterward (Fisher). From that point on he traveled around Asia teaching everyone he met what he now knew. Many that he taugh...

    Read More

More about A Very Brief Summary of Buddhism

Open Document