Karen Armstrong makes it very clear throughout her essay “Homo religiosus,” that religious transcendence cannot be achieved through the simple act of thought, rather one must take action in order to understand religion. Since it is in our nature to be focused on ourselves and understanding religion relies on focusing on the grand scheme of life, religion requires hard work and dedication. The effort that we must put into understanding religion begins with developing answers to questions that we may have, standing by those answers, practicing that which we have created and working toward understanding the universe as a power at work that does not center around one person like the Upanishads, Buddhists, and yogins. Naturally, people search …show more content…
(Armstrong 15) As humans, we feel that we must protect our ego, but in order to understand religion, we must look beyond that and focus on the greater scheme of things. Since this goes against our inborn nature, religion requires a great amount of work and dedication. Buddhists, for example, believe in a state called “Nirvana”, which is a “…still center that gave meaning to life, an oasis of calm, and a source of strength that you discovered in the depths of your own being” (Armstrong 16). This state of Nirvana is not attained overnight, rather it is the result of living according to the
Buddha’s doctrine of anatta, meaning “no self”. Buddhists attained true happiness, or Nirvana, through “[behaving] day by day, hour by hour, as though the self did not exist” (Armstrong 17). They believed that thoughts of themselves led to pride, selfishness, and envy and they found that the best way to reach Nirvana was through compassion and empathy which requires one to uncrown themselves as the center of the universe. As exemplified through the Upanishadic sages, the Buddhists, and the Yogins, each religion takes an immense amount of hard work and dedication in order to be
More than forty-five thousand years ago, there have existed two types of bipedal humans, the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, but only one has survived. The survivors were the humans who we are comprised out of and still breathing and living today the Homo sapiens. Some scientist say that the lack of imagination was the key factor to the Neanderthals demise, while the Homo sapiens with a broader imagination lived on. In Karen Armstrong’s essay “Homo religiosus” she describes her time in the caverns of Lascaux, while she explains the painting on the walls as part of the ancient civilization’s rituals. The painting tells us a story of their daily lives and the myths in which they believe in, that keeps them in a peace of mind. As there were many
As children, we are often told stories, some of which may have practical value in the sense of providing young minds with lessons and morals for the future, whereas some stories create a notion of creativity and imagination in the child. In Karen Armstrong’s piece, “Homo Religiosus”, a discussion of something similar to the topic of storytelling could translate to the realm of religion. Armstrong defines religion as a, “matter of doing rather than thinking” (17) which she describes using an example in which adolescent boys in ancient religions, who were not given the time to “find themselves” but rather forced into hunting animals which ultimately prepares these boys to be able to die for their people, were made into men by the process of doing.
Before reading "The American Encounter with Buddhism, 1844-1912: Victorian Culture and the Limits of Dissent" by Thomas A. Tweed I had no experience with Buddhism except for what I have seen in the movies and in the media. Seeing Buddhism through these different sources, it does not portray an accurate illustration of what the religion is truly regarding. Having little to no knowledge about the background of the religion makes reading this book both interesting and a little difficult to read at the same time. In Buddhism, two groupings define the religion. The first group is known as "The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism," the categories underneath are life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable, and lastly, the path to the cessation of suffering. The second group is "The Eightfold Path," which consists of, the right view, the right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and lastly, the right concentration. Once read and understood the different points, it made this literature easier to comprehend and made for smoother reading.
While Nirvana is the ultimate spiritual attainment, most ordinary Buddhists show their commitment to the Buddha through several religious practices. The basic motives behind Buddhist practices mirror with those behind the Catholic tradition (Seay (2001,p.58). Both traditions aim to create togetherness within their community by developing a sense of communion with all present through a group activity. Some of these activities include group prayer/meditation and group singing/chanting. Another motive behind some Buddhist and Catholic practices is the principle of suffering, a significant element of religious tradition. This principle was formed on the basis of the suffering endured by Saddartha Gutama and Jesus Christ and is put into practice through traditions like achieving Nirvana and Le...
Similar to Hinduism, the cycle of rebirth is undesirable and life is marked by suffering in Buddhism (p.177). Suffering is referred to as dukkha and Buddhism seeks to end suffering through nirvana.While techniques vary, Buddhists share common core beliefs. Suffering is the problem and nirvana is seen as the
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
Religion cannot be lived in textbooks, it is about the personal consciousness of those that believe and “their own account of their religion and its relevance in contemporary life” (Fisher, 1996). It is performed, experienced by the individuals living within society and communities. For some it is a sense of hope, to connect with a supreme power, to end the cycle of birth and death, find inner peace and/or a way of life. Traditional understanding of religion through textbooks, television, and internet does provide one with understanding about the religion doctrine and what they believe in. The majority of people will know what religion is when seeing it, for example, a Buddhist Monk sitting cross-legged in meditation. However, it is important to study religion off campus in order to grasp an explanation and a clear understanding of how beliefs change personal lives, how individuals tackle certain situations due to belief for example, Buddhist Monk sitting cross-legged in meditation, but w...
I will now examine what it means to be religious with a critical enquiry into Buddhism, Hinduism and
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.
Throughout the history of humankind, man has always searched to find answers to the many existential questions. Numerous different religions and denominations have developed around the world over time. Though, most wonder about the origin and purpose of our existence. Buddhism was founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama about 2,600 years ago in India. After he had experienced that everyone was subject to “birth, sickness, death, and old age”, he tried to find a way to break from the cycle of rebirth (Bloom). Siddhartha Gautama experimented with a number of methods to find the cause of suffering which led him to what he called the Middle Way – a path between “licentiousness and extreme mortification” (Bloom). Once he achieved enlightenment, he turned into ‘the Buddha – the enlightened or awakened one’. Christianity is one of the largest and most prevailing religions of the world and largely based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians trust that Jesus was sent by God to save humanity. Therefore, the faith of the followers of the Christian belief is primarily based on the preaching of Jesus and later the spreading of those by his disciples. Although Buddhism and Christianity show several parallels, their three key differences are that Buddhists do not believe in one divine being, and have different views about both the purpose of life and the concept of afterlife.
Buddha believed that by following the Eightfold Path, one could fulfill and find legitimacy in the Four Noble Truths, and reach Nirvana; the release from selfishness and pain. Like the Hindu, Buddha believed in reincarnation, a major factor in achieving Nirvana, as...
Karen Armstrong’s A History of God is an extremely thorough and comprehensive piece of work which explores the complexities of how human beings have perceived God historically and presently. Karen Armstrong, a British journalist, is well-known for her published works, which include Through the Narrow Gate and The Spiral Staircase, typically concerning comparative religion. As a former nun, Armstrong is able to reflect not only about her experiences, but also her spiritual awakening in which she discovers and relates the intricate fundamentals of the three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The purpose of this review is to provide an elaborate analysis of how effectively Karen Armstrong was able to demonstrate her
Nirvana is a word that is commonly used in Buddhism with varied meanings depending on the use. It means the state of blowing out from certain detractors in life. To “blow out” has great meaning and refers wholly to the extinguishing or dispelling of oneself from certain characters that are considered to be iniquitous. It is characterized by peace of mind and it saves man from the sufferings, the cycles of rebirth, and death. Nirvana could only be achieved by individuals who observed the laid down rules and detached themselves from sin. Moksha is a common belief in the Hindu religion and it describes a state where one’s soul connects with god’s soul. In the Hindu religion, achieving moksha removes one from the cycle of life and death, which is the state of reincarnation as one moves from one life to the next. In essence, moksha is a state of unification of one’s soul with that of the creator, therefore achieving oneness of atman and Brahman. This essay discusses the various similarities and differences that exist between Buddhist Nirvana and Hindu Moksha.
Though both Hinduism’s moksha and Buddhism’s nirvana are more or less synonymous, they both hold distinctive differences in the path that leads followers to the end goal of enlightenment from samsara. In Hinduism, “letting go” or releasing from samsara by way of the realization that “atman is Brahman” is what moksha is defined as. Contrastingly, Buddhism involves extinguishing feelings that cause suffering and thus, achieving
Buddhism is one of the major world religions with many followers around the world. It is unique in its nature as it is frequently referred to as a ‘spiritual tradition’ (Miller, 2010). Buddhism focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life (Johnston, 2003). Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent and that change is always possible. This belief in the impermanence of all things underpins the Buddhist interpretation of the world and reality (Maguire, 2001).