Buddhism: A religion among many
In a quote from the Dalai Lama he says, “My religion is very simply. My religion is kindness.” IN buddhism where the main goal is happiness, that quote seems to explain it all. The fact of the matter is, religion has been around since the beginning of mankind; religion gave people faith, structure, and a way of life. Without it people begin to lose their sense of direction and purpose. In today’s society there are over 4,200 religions, and they continue to aid people in their life and accommodate to their needs of self-knowledge. In comparison to Cao Dai, Eckankar and Jainism, Buddhism is a religion because of its similar beliefs, the way it's practiced, and its head figure.
Buddhism is considered a religion
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If it was a philosophy then it would just be a belief and the person would most likely keep the idea of nonviolence to themselves. However, according to an article from Opposing Views, “The Buddhist's core practice is meditation, which is intended to calm the mind and enable the practicer to experience the state of true awareness that is free from suffering.” Where the follower then recites a mantra to aid concentration in the act of meditation. Which is in direct correlation to Jainism and Cao Dai where they rely heavily in meditation to communicate with the spiritual word, and for their everyday practices. Having a practice is what makes Buddhism cross the lines to religion more than a philosophy. Which creates a religion of having more than 488 million buddhism followers across the word. As where the other religions like Cao Dai which has up to about 6 million followers, Eckankar that has 50,000 followers and Jainism which has 60 million followers; the amount of members may be different but they are still a religion where people are taking their core beliefs and structures for themselves. Why would the amount be counted for a philosophy? The answer is, that the followers are practicing it, so it makes it a religion. The amount of followers in each religion is what creates and build the religion for people to follow and practice them. In order to have a
Buddhism is a religion of the Buddhist. Buddhist are non theistic meaning they don't believe in or worship a God or Goddess. Buddhism originates from northern India between 1000 and 5000 years ago. As of today there are between 488 and 535 million Buddhist throughout the world.
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
Buddhism saw its initial, but slow rise under the Han Dynasty, which lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE; however, the religion spread rapidly towards the end of the Han amidst political chaos and hesitance in Confucian principles. During the postclassical era, Buddhism’s spread in China was caused by the prospect of Nirvana, while it also gave way to both negative and positive responses.
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
Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.
Other religions that people abide by, tend to consist of one or multiple gods. Buddhism is unlike the others. It is questioned whether or not it is a religion due to not having a “God”. Within Buddhism, the goal would to become “the one”. Some may say that this is impossible, but there are also others who believe that it is achievable. A human would need to go through a process to reach the state of nirvana. Passed down for centuries,
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.
What makes a religion a religion? This question has caused the greatest of debates, and the argument may never end. A religion can be interpreted as the belief of a God, or Gods, and the organized system of beliefs used to worship a God or Gods. Thus comes to question whether Buddhism is a religion or philosophy? Buddhism is the teaching that life is full of suffering caused by bad desire. Buddhism’s goal is to reach enlightenment through wisdom and meditation to release oneself from rebirth, suffering, and desire. Buddhism can be taught and disciplined in a fellowship setting but it can be done solo, and it runs by a "cause and effect" theory closely relating it to a philosophy or science; calling Buddhism a science is extreme, thus Buddhism is a philosophy. While exploring this subject matter, one must be able to comprehend the “philosophy versus religion” argument, closely pay attention to who The Buddha was and his teachings, question how dogmatic Buddhism is, find the relevance of Buddhism in the world today, see Buddhism’s relationship with other religions, and analyze the true cause for devotion in Buddhism.
People who embrace Buddhism become nonviolent, they are not extremists about politics and they care for everyone and everything (to an extent). I admire the Buddhist religion overall, and I have the more questions about it than any other religion. Who created it, who and what experiences inspired the enlightened way of living and that positive outlook on life? I admire that there are people in the world such as Buddhists that want to take only what is necessary and avoid harm unto others, the planet, and the ecosystem. The peaceful aura of humans that embrace Buddha can, and should be, embraced by everyone collectively.
Now Buddha does have a religious dimension that leads to the way of Buddha that is quite real and vital. However, when you’re getting involved in a religion you are converting yourself into something such as a Jew, a Christian or a Muslim and you’re prohibited from following other religions. Whereas with Buddhism you don’t change into anything you are just simply following teachings to understand the human suffering and liberation from needless suffering without worshiping a god. Buddhism is simply studying the nature of one’s own self. As stated in “Buddhism Plain and Simple”, Buddha encouraged peopled to “know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome and wrong and when you do, then give them up, when you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome and good, then accept them and follow them (page 9).”
Buddhism would not be considered as a religion regard to worshipping gods or believing in any spiritual being. One might wonder what makes Buddhism a pure tradition rather a religion? The answer is: Buddhism is a way of individual living to overcome human suffering, which Buddhist refer as dukkha and earn nirvana, meaning extinguishing suffering rather than worshipping any forms or god or spiritual ideals. Unlike many other monotheistic or polytheistic religion which believes in spirituality and holds their faith in gods or gods sent texts to earn a better living, Buddhist believes that “human beings can solve the human problem on their own, without recourse to god or divine revelation” (Prothero, 172). Contradicting common religions that depend upon the practitioner's beliefs in god or spirituality, Buddhists faith relies on their life experiences, because “Buddhist tradition is its emphasis on experience over belief”
...fter. Its emphasis on inner peace and understanding is what separates it from most other faiths. In Buddhism you don't need a god to answer your questions about life and faith. Once you have canceled out the suffering in life, that all becomes clear to the believer.
Buddhism is a strict religion with restrictions that determines how a follower of the religion must live life. Buddhism is a large part of culture and society in south- eastern Asian countries. In the western hemisphere, there are simply not enough Buddhists to have a large impact on western society.
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.