Buddhism Summary

The pro of practicing Mahayana Buddhism is that the Dharma is left to the interpretation of the person. How the person defines or relates to what they read is solely on them. Unlike Christianity where the pastor explains the text according to his interpretation. It is difficult to distinguish between primary sacred texts of religious traditions from those that are also sacred but secondary. For instance, in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, there are a number of texts that are treated as sacred that it is not possible to single out those which deserve the title scripture.

It is something people are usually born into based off of their parents religion. In Buddhism specifically, Buddha teaches with a great passion for everyone to succeed in life and attain Nirvana. There is such passion with being a Buddhist, they do not do specific things for anyone else but themselves. Their deeds are what will guide them to their life goal. They worship Buddha’s teachings because it is morally right.

While there are many similarities in both religions, they each contrast each other in many ways as well. 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.

Because of this I really appreciate the Buddhist way of thinking. Buddhist teach that you are to look inside yourself to find the inspiration and good to reach the ultimate goal, known as enlightenment. Through this it is no one's responsibility but your own if you aren't happy or successful. It isn't that God has or hasn't blessed you, it's that the answer lies within yourself and you just haven't found it yet. The last way that religion is self serving and foolish is in another way that we make oursleves happier and more content.

Instead, I'm going to share with you some of the basic things that I know, and however you choose to use the information, if at all, is totally up to you. In fact, one of the strongest beliefs of a Buddhist, is that their "way of life" is NEVER forced on anyone. To shove it down someones throught would contradict almost everything the Buddha had to say. To start, I wanna clear up some simple, misinterpretations that some of you may or may not have made, probobly due to the lack of information. First of all, Buddhists do not worship the Buddha, and the Buddha was not a God.

To reach enlightenment in Buddhism, one must overcome attachment to the pleasure of peace. Gampopa defines the pleasure of peace as “the desire to achieve nirvana only for oneself without the altruistic mind for sentient beings, and because of it, one does not benefit others” which is also termed as the lesser vehicle (Gampopa, 126). The remedy for this is the practices of loving-kindness and compassion. When one develops this loving-kindness and compassion, then one will have a mind that wants all sentient beings to meet with happiness as well as be free from suffering and its cause. When one achieves this, then one is attached to all sentient beings and no longer wants to attain liberation only for oneself.

This may seem a bit cynical and may suggest to many individuals that Buddhism is a dismal, fatalistic religion yet it just implies we must accept the good with the bad. Buddha’s first noble truth is a statement that can obviously not be denied. In The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, the author provides insight into the truth of suffering. “To succeed in the practice, we must stop trying to prove that everything i... ... middle of paper ... ...aintain ourselves clearly on all planes of existence. 8.

Buddha: Truth is available to all people not just gods. For truth is in all things in the      universe. We only have to learn not to react with emotion to see it. If you can master      not reacting through meditation you will see the true nature of the universe that lies      behind the illusion of emotion. In this truth you will see the cause and effect relationship of all things and in that an order which will bring you understanding and comfort.

I prefer to say The Key to Happiness. In this essay, I plan to show the many advantages of Buddhism and how these views differ from Christianity. Throughout history people have wondered about the universe in which we live in and have looked for a purpose of our existence. Many Western philosophers believe that an individual is a separate entity from every other individual and nature. In the Buddhist belief however, there is no separation between you and any other person or animal.

Buddhism is a philosophy, and that is not a negative connotation. With such positive thoughts on how to live life, Buddhism fits the description of a philosophy. The entire argument about Buddhism being a philosophy is solely based on the fact that Buddhism is less dogmatic than other religions. Buddhism does not ask it’s followers for unquestionable blind faith. Instead, it places a heavy emphasis on self discipline and individual striving.