Buddhism: Happiness and The Four Noble Truths
explanatory Essay
1456 words
Gautama was to be king. He was to live a life of luxury with his wife and son. His father groomed him to never have to live his kingdom. However, one day Gautama left his home and walked into the world of suffering his father was shielding him from. He saw the wrinkles of a man of old age. He saw someone sick with disease. He saw the body of a dead person (Haught 46). The reality of human misery deeply disturbed Gautama which caused him to start to rethink his life. He said goodbye to his wife and child and left them to solve the question of human suffering; his newly declared purpose in life.
In order to truly disperse himself in finding the end to his suffering, Gautama let go of a life of things and ambitions; anything felt to be permanent. Gautama’s renunciation of an unsatisfying existence is a great model for anyone following the Buddha’s path. Gautama himself tried to find a teacher to help him find peace, however; this proved ineffective (Haught 47). Therefore, followers of Buddhism must find the way to peace themselves. No one can help them in this quest. One has to experience life on their own; following the rules of others will do nothing to bring about one’s own consciousness.
For six years, Gautama joined a group of monks. He fasted more often and longer than any other monk, but still found no satisfaction living this lifestyle (Haught 47). He needed to find something else to bring about peace within because living among the monks was a form of punishment which failed to bring happiness to Gautama. Therefore, one day Gautama left the monks and ate a normal meal. This self-punishing was keeping him from solving the problem of human suffering. Gautama, now alone, sat under a fig tree, called the Bodhi tree, and vowe...
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...ing people from suffering.
Buddhism is similar to other religions in that finding salvation is an important goal. Buddhism came about in response to the problem of human suffering. It is a difficult challenge to accept but once the Four Noble Truths are accepted, it is easier to follow on the path of enlightenment. Everyone must work on their own salvation in order to release themselves from the cycle of rebirth. Buddhism almost disappeared in India; however it spread throughout Asia and continued to thrive for years. Buddhism appeals to those who have become disheartened by the hostility found in other religions therefore this appeals to many who want to relieve their suffering.
Works Cited
"Buddhism: An Introduction." Public Broadcasting Service. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Haught, John F. What is Religion: An Introduction. Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1990. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how gautama left his home and walked into the world of suffering his father shielded him from. the reality of human misery disturbed him and caused him to rethink his life.
- Opines that gautama's renunciation of an unsatisfying existence is a great model for anyone following the buddha’s path.
- Narrates how gautama joined a group of monks for six years, fasting more often, but still finding no satisfaction living this lifestyle.
- Explains that enlightenment is not something that can be explained; each person must experience it in order to understand it.
- Explains the four noble truths and the eightfold path of buddhism. buddhism wants people to focus on how to find release from suffering and sorrow.
- Explains that dukkha is the universal feeling of life being unsatisfactory. buddhism wants everyone to realize that the suffering never ends and that it should be accepted.
- Explains that the cause of suffering is desire or clinging, which comes from our desire of the permanence in our lives.
- Explains that nirvana is the goal of life and can only be attained on one’s own without the help of others and without god.
- Explains that the fourth noble truth is the way to reach nirvana, which can be obtained by following the way of wisdom, morality, and meditation.
- Explains that right view is being able to understand the difference between reality and what a person thinks reality is. right intention is the renunciation of wants and desires.
- Explains that compassion is important to anyone practicing buddhism. it produces good karma and makes people happier than if they would feel angry, envious thoughts.
- Explains that everyone could be a potential bodhisattva because mahayana buddhism teaches that feeling compassion of others may help on the path of enlightenment; that salvation may not be achieved entirely on one’s own.
- Compares buddhism's goal of enlightenment and attaining nirvana with christianity, which is to live for god and live by his rules.
- Explains that some buddhist traditions, such as mahayana buddhism, see the buddha as a sort of deity and worship of him is promoted. the buddha never acknowledged god yet never denied the existence of god.
- Explains that buddhism is similar to other religions in that finding salvation is an important goal. it came about in response to the problem of human suffering.
Related
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- Siddhartha the Life of a Prophetanalytical essayBuddhism was brought to light about 500 BC by Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism has not been described as a religion as such but rather as philosophy. The story of Siddhartha Gautama and how he brought Buddhism to limelight is quite moving. In this essay the thoughts of Siddhartha Gautama are explained and how the society reacted to his arguments. Generally this essay will briefly describe the achievements of Siddhartha Gautama in his quest to attain enlightenment and how that impacted the society of his time and to some extent the current society.
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- Explains that buddhism was brought to light about 500 bc by siddhartha gautama and how the society reacted to his arguments.
- Explains that buddha was born in 563 b.c.e. his father, who was a king, was informed that siddhartha would end up being monk, but if he could be prevented, could make him powerful.
- Describes the three truths that have been described as central to the philosophy of buddhism: suffering, selfish desires, and a state above all suffering.
- Explains the eightfold path, which advocates for attainment of self control. it is a strike of balance between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence and excessive automortification.
- Analyzes how siddhartha's experience of being enlightened was described as such: his mind was cleansed, he engaged in meditation that had less bodily harm and succeeded in becoming buddha.
- Explains that the teachings of buddha had a great effect on the society. the philosophy teaches mankind how to live happily.
1390 wordsRead More - Four Noble Truths In Buddhismexplanatory essayBuddhism is a religion and way of life for hundreds of millions of people. It uses the teachings of the Buddha, or great teacher to guide them on their way to obtain the ultimate goal of Nirvana. The Buddha was not concerned with worshiping a deity or speculating about things that will never know. Instead Buddhism is built on truths we can ascertain through our own insights into the world. The solution for humans is knowledge, of the Four Nobel Truths and the Eightfold path. Through meditation people can overcome suffering by removing wrong perceptions about life.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that buddhism is a religion and way of life for hundreds of millions of people. it uses the teachings of the buddha to guide them on their way to attain nirvana.
- Explains that buddhist reality has three marks of human existence, which are impermanence, suffering, and lack of solid self. suffering is the human condition and should be alleviated.
- Explains that in buddhism, a person is made up of five parts, which are known as the five aggregates or components.
- Narrates how siddhartha's father sheltered him from the suffering of the human condition until he grew restless and ventured out of his palace and through the local village.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that siddhartha gautama attempted to help people break out of the cycle of suffering in this world and established the religion of buddhism.
- Analyzes how the buddhacarita helps explain the first of the four noble truths in a couple different ways.
- Analyzes how desire is one of the main sources of suffering in buddhism because it can create an attachment to certain things in life, and this sets one up for more suffering.
- Analyzes how the buddhacarita depicts the one desire, the desire to achieve nirvana, as the only desire that one should have once he learns of the suffering of this world.
- Opines that the buddhacarita is not only a story about buddha's teachings about how to achieve enlightenment, but it also shows people how he upheld those values.
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- Explains that buddhism teaches that the solutions to all of our problems reside in the self rather than from outside sources. there is no one "right" way to attain spiritual enlightenment.
- Explains that the buddhist right path to spiritual enlightenment was set by the four noble truths.
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- Explains that buddhism shares many of its core ideals with hinduism out of the many religions in the world today.
- Opines that buddhism is one of the most compelling and interesting religions to date.
- Explains that mahayana buddhism is vastly similar to christianity and hinduism. the three religions believe in a trinity.
- Explains that mahayana buddhism includes lay people, women, and the married, unlike theravada buddhism. the great prayer of buddhist compassion is may all creatures be well and happy.
- Explains that mahayana buddhism leaves the dharma to the interpretation of the person.
- Explains that it is difficult to distinguish between primary sacred texts of religious traditions from those that are also sacred but secondary.
- Explains that mahayana buddhism is more open to change and contemporary culture as its reference entitles "greater vehicle".
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1470 wordsRead More - Buddhism and Judaism are both rich with moral and ethical instructions that direct their followers on how to live and act. These teachings not only guide mankind in proper behavior, but also offer obedient believers a manner in which to end strife and suffering by achieving Nirvana which brings the end to the circle of rebirth in Buddhism, and in Judaism reaching the ultimate goal of deliverance and eternal salvation. This paper will explore the similarities and differences between Buddhist and Jewish moral teachings and compare both the Ten Commandments which were presented to Moses, and the Noble Eightfold Path that was taught by Buddha.
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- Explains that the first four of the ten commandments are mainly concerned with obedience and loyalty to god the creator, and honoring god and the seventh day.
- Explains that they go to sangha, the community of all beings, as their refuge.
- Explains that the chant is first said in the pali language and then repeated in english. it is necessary to get control of one's thoughts and feelings before proper attention can be applied toward any proper practice of faith or belief.
- Explains that the fifth, sixth, eighth, and tenth commandments deal with social requirements in dealing with others.
- Explains that bohdi, bhikkhu, "the noble eightfold path: the way to the end of suffering."
- Explains that buddhism and judaism are rich with moral and ethical instructions that guide their followers on how to live and act.
- Explains that both buddhism and judaism are similar and different in their moral and ethical teachings.
1938 wordsRead More - Religious Tradition of Nirvana in Hinduism and Buddismexplanatory essaySiddartha Gautama was a prince who renounced his royal heritage, sat under a tree, meditated and recognized that the world’s problems begin with a fundamental ignorance (avidya) that lead to their own suffering; beings lack an enduring self or soul. The Indian god Brahma begged him to teach others of what he has learned for the sake of their paths to liberation. Buddha couldn't fully interpret his new understanding of the universe, but he could spread the essential message of his enlightenment and try to guide people toward achieving the same understanding. He traveled from place to place teaching the four noble truths: (1) Life is suffering. (2) This suffering is caused by ignorance of the true nature of the universe. (3) You can only end this suffering by overcoming ...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that religious nirvana is a mystery to most people in the western world. both hinduism and buddhism focus on liberation from the endless cycle of rebirth and death and the suffering that comes with that cycle.
- Describes siddartha gautama as a prince who renounced his royal heritage and recognized that the world's problems begin with fundamental ignorance that leads to their own suffering. buddha traveled from place to place teaching the four noble truths.
- Explains the noble eightfold path ideals are vague and open to interpretation. buddhist sects view them differently, but generally follow the path by approaching the world with patience and joy, compassion, and contemplating the universe through meditation.
- Explains that the buddha traveled all over india and attracted many disciples. 500 of his closest disciples formed a council and created the canon of buddha's words.
- Explains that buddhism's liberation from samsara is known as "nirvana" which literally means "blowing out" or "extinction."
- Explains that when one achieves nirvana, they've surpassed bad karma and stopped accumulating it all together. once they have fully escaped the karmic cycle, one attains parinivanna in the afterlife.
- Explains that buddhists who achieve nirvana on their own become buddha, awakened ones, which is different from the specific "the buddha" who was incarnated as siddhartha.
- Explains that although nirvana is possible for anyone, in most buddhist sects only monks attempt to attain it. lay buddhists strive instead for a higher existence in their next life.
- Explains that hinduism is a difficult tradition to define because its dominant feature is "diversity" and its adherents are not required to accept any doctrine or set of doctrines, or to perform any particular practices.
- Explains that hinduism is encircled more by geography than by belief or practice. there are no ceremonial rites of passages or an authoritative figure who admits an individual into the religion.
- Explains the eight limbs of yoga: yama, asanas, dharana, and ashtanga.
- Explains that in hinduism, liberation is the reuniting with the universal god or universal soul, better known as the brahman.
- Argues that the most important difference between hinduism and buddhism is that buddhism teaches that anybody could achieve enlightenment and escape from samsara if he followed the right path.
1324 wordsRead More - Buddhism in Modern Worldexplanatory essayThe most basic teachings of Buddha are known as "Four Noble Truths" which include: The normal condition of this world is misery or suffering. Suffering stirs from desire or attachment to this world that is in its essence impermanent. The end of suffering can be attained by ending attachment to this world. Ending attachment can be done by following the eightfold path of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that buddhism teaches that the way to end suffering is by overcoming desires. there are around four-hundred eighty-eight million buddhists.
- Explains that buddhism began with a man named shakyamuni, also known as the buddha, who was born between 563 bce to 483 bcce in nepal.
- Describes shakyamuni's life-transforming experience of encounters with human suffering, disease, and death. he renounced his royal heritage and set out on a quest for truth and enlightenment.
- Explains that the buddha's teachings are found in pali literature and belong to the school of the theravadins, or orthodox school of buddhism.
- Explains buddha's "four noble truths" and the eightfold path of right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
- Explains that buddhism was beneficial to many countries' society. it taught that all people, whether nobles or untouchables, should help and love each other as brothers.
- Explains that buddhism acted as the conveyor belt of new ideals and culture to many countries in asia. chinese and korean culture in modern japan were brought by foreign buddhist monks that traveled to japan to spread buddhism teaching.
- Explains that extreme buddhism is a hazard in many countries. in 1942, there were bloodshed between buddhist and rohingya muslims in burma.
- Concludes that buddhism will continue to spread throughout the world to relieve people from the complicated world.
650 wordsRead More - The Origin Of Buddhismexplanatory essayOver three thousand years ago a colony in Siberia was formed. The colony dispersed and a percentage of people moved south, another percent to Western Europe, and the rest to North Eastern India. This was to form more Buddhist colonies and to spread the religion (Yee 1). Within the country of Siberia there was a King named Suddhodana and his beautiful wife Queen Mayadevi (Yee 2). A few years after they became King and Queen they gave birth to a son named Siddhartha, also known as Buddha (Yee 2). One evening while Siddhartha is all alone and thinking he decides to escape from the Palace and go for a walk. On his walk he was enlightened and discovered the truth of life. The three things that he witnessed were a sick man, a dead man, an old man, and a poor person (Scheck 8). These were essential for building the basis of Buddhism and helped to teach other believers how to live an honest and perfect life. When Siddhartha got married, he was then entitled to the throne of Siberia. He was conflicted with this choice and decided to leave his wife and son to become a monk. He felt this life was complete because it was full of serenity and unity (Yee 11). Once Siddhartha became a monk and went through all of his rituals in order obtain monkhood he changed h...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that buddhism's beliefs, morals, and traditions are fascinating and there is a lot of truth and lessons to be learned. the first thing to look at while studying buddhism is its origin.
- Describes how siberia's colony dispersed over three thousand years ago to form more buddhist colonies and spread buddhism.
- Explains that buddhism has been largely accepted and adhered to all around the world because of its diverse world.
- Explains that buddhism is growing rapidly all over the world and the percentage of people who believe in it is at a steady incline.
- Explains that buddhism is based on two doctrines and three parts of the canon, which they believe are sacred. the first doctrine created by buddha is the tipitaka which are three baskets.
- Explains that the buddhist culture is strongly involved with their cultural customs and holidays, and it shows great honour to buddha.
- Explains that buddhists worship their gods through meditation, mantras, mudras and the use of prayer wheels.
- Explains that buddhism and christianity are similar in many ways, but both religions are uniquely their own.
- Opines that a christian should look at the buddhist faith with an open mind.
- Explains that evaluating the culture and religion closer gave them the ability to question some of their beliefs and back it up with their own beliefs, making their faith stronger.
1611 wordsRead More - The Ascension of Buddhism in Americaexplanatory essayThe 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).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the ascension of buddhism in american culture is a simple twist of popularity and understanding stemming from its initial breakthrough in 1893 during the world’s parliament of religions, conducted in chicago.
- Describes how siddharta gautama, the founder of buddhism, was raised in the lap of luxury. he was presented with the four sights that were being kept from him, including death, sickness, old age, and a monk seeking lasting happiness.
- Explains that the buddha's teachings spread throughout asia and dominated throughout the 20th century. asian immigrants and non-asian americans found the strangeness of buddhism intellectually stimulating.
- Explains that white americans began to take note of this foreign religion when an influx of buddhist immigrants arrived to the shores of america in the 1840s.
- Explains that the language barrier in buddhist texts was unlike most european doctrines of the day. in 1844, dial published an english interpretation of buddhism's most sacred writtings, favored by intellectual americans interested in eastern religions.
- Explains that the world's parliament of religions was one of the first public displays of buddhism in america that had a receptive audience. the event helped push the buddhist beliefs passed the immigrant population and propelled it to mainstream america.
- Explains that buddhism continued to expand after this event. in atlantic monthly, an author noted that out of all the eastern religions, buddhism was the best known and most popular.
- Explains that buddhism continued its expansion into the 20th century and saw continual bursts of influence throughout the following decades. the world's parliament of religions chose to hold their ceremony in chicago 100 years later.
631 wordsRead More - Buddhismexplanatory essayWe have all seen and heard about Buddha and the yin and yang, do to the exploitation of an ancient religion, however aside from this popular fad is a complex and ancient religion deriving from a place called Kapilavastu located in southern Nepal. It began with a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who in fact was the son of a chieftain of the Sakya Clan. Basically he was a prince, enjoying all the luxuries accompanying it. He was born in at about 560 BC, it is debatable as to the exact history of his life, because of the many different forms of Buddhism, however there are substantial bits and peace’s that are agreed on among the different Buddhists. (Mead 23)
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the goal of reading this account on buddhism is to understand a fascinating belief system that has been around since before christ ever set foot on this earth.
- Explains that buddhism originated in kapilavastu, nepal, where siddhartha gautama was the son of a chieftain of the sakya clan.
- Describes how gautama renounced all his worldly possessions and became a wandering monk. he practiced extreme austerity and painful rituals to attain truth.
- Explains that gautama sat under a fig tree in gaya, which is now christened the bodhi-tree, and meditated until he became enlightened.
- Explains that buddha's decision to share his teachings symbolized his unselfish concern for others, which led to a community of beggar monks called sangha.
- Explains how buddhism continued to grow despite the great buddha's death. as the sangha grew larger, monks had different opinions and ways of interpreting the religion and buddha’s word.
- Explains that the moralistic order met periodically to discuss and reach agreements on the matters of doctrine and practice. theravada buddhism and mahayana buddhism emerged out of the disagreements.
- Explains that theravada buddhism is the purest or most traditional branch of buddhism because of its effort in conserving the original nature of the buddhist teachings.
- Explains that the tharavadains' beliefs differ from those of the mahayanas, such as the teaching that buddha was an ethical teacher, and the belief that only a saint may obtain ultimate deliverance.
- Explains that buddhists have the idea that the soul does not exist. they believe that in having no soul nothing is permanent.
- Argues that a christian onlooker should try to evangelize and help the people in the buddhist religion.
- Explains that mahayana buddhists had a more relaxed modern view of the buddhist faith. they are divided into madhyamika school and yogacara school.
- Explains the beliefs and values of the buddhists, which are different from the tradition christian based realigns.
- Explains that buddhism is not atheistic because they believe a race of gods inhabit the cosmos and attain nirvana for salvation.
3679 wordsRead More