My Religion: The Path Of A Mahayana Buddhist

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Recommended: Buddhism as a philosophy

Nathan Grakowsky
Professor Dunagan
Phil 1311 – 007
18 February 2014
I am a Buddhist
I am a Mahayana Buddhist living in Japan. We call it “the Great Vehicle” meaning we are derived from the original Theravada Buddhists, but we are philosophical and compassionate. We are compassionate and helpful towards one another for the reason of the path of Bodhisattva, for our enlightenment for one day reaching Nirvana. What in my religion is most important to me is to be a Bodhisattva. Once we reach Nirvana, instead of ending the cycle of rebirth, we answer the prayers of those who need our help; we are compassionate even in death. The family of a deceased one must also pray for an extensive time to help the process of rebirth.
We accept the Pal Canon as our sacred scripture, but we have many additions such as the Sanskrit, and the Sutras. We may not believe we have to be monastic like our Theravada elders, so we are considered the “liberal” Buddhists. The Buddha has unselfishly delayed Nirvana in perfection to help those seek enlightenment in their life and throughout it. How my religion affects my daily life is the constant helping of those one day to reach the Pure Land, a land where you see no suffering, but you must forget all suffering of the natural world. Our scriptures and Buddha tell you what you must do and seek the inspiration as you forget of your daily despairs.
Buddha is the icon of all Buddhists, meaning he is not a God, or an incarnation of God. Buddha is just a man, a mortal being who could face suffering like we can. The Buddha is therefore, not to be worshipped, only followed as he shows his guidance, and a teacher as he shows us the path of enlightenment. We have no God, but just bliss, illusion, and absolute real...

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...n countries condemn acts of homosexuality, but western cultures like America, American Buddhists accept homosexuality. Divorce is not common in Buddhism, but is not denied either. As conventional as the religion itself, so are the roles of the spouse as the women are the caretakers and the men work to support the family.
Well, we live in a modern society, so I’ve been asked what kinds of occupations are we not allowed to work. It is quite easy as we have to make reasonable and conscious decisions to avoid leaving the path of the eightfold. Buddhists are not allowed to gamble or pornography because it damages our karma when we influence and show the world that we are not supposed to be. We cannot profession in fishing, hunting, or anything in that nature as such is not allowed in our dietary supplement. We cannot be arms dealers because we do not believe in violence.

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