Slowly becoming popular in western countries for a number of reasons and already popular in Eastern countries, Buddhism is on a rise to enlighten the world. Buddhism gives many the answers to the practices or the way of life that leads to true happiness. As a Buddhist you get to teach yourself a deep understanding of the human mind through meditation and therapies. With the many different types of special holidays and ancient traditions, Buddhism has served through the ages while managing to become among the more popular religions in the world. It all started 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, had enlightened himself at the age of 35. Siddhartha was born into a royal family in Lumbini, now located in Nepal. When …show more content…
They’re so many people who follow the belief and who are Buddhist themselves. China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar are just the top 5 countries that have Buddhist preaching Buddhism and teaching all they know (Gyatso 3). Buddhism is a religion to about 360 million people around the world (Religion Facts 1). They all pay respect to images of the Buddha, not to worship him, nor to ask favors, just to show respect and to thank him for the positivity of life. A statue of Buddha with his hands rested on its lap and a smile that reminds us to strive and to always aim for peace and to love ourselves. Furthermore, Buddhist have a holy book known as the Tipitaka. The Tipitaka is a very spiritual bible and is fully handled in respect (Robinson 1). Continuing on, Buddhism today is on a fast path in not only teaching their belief but also to teach the way of life on being healthy and collected. Many have a pull in learning to meditate, to overcome anxiety, stress, and to get closer with their spirituality. The interest in learning Buddhism is on the rise, Kadampa Buddhism offers many resources to learn about Buddhism and practicing meditation. Kadampa Buddhism was presented to the West in 1976, by Gesh Kelsang. Kelsang opened 1100 Buddhist center and study groups in 40 countries (Gyatso 4). Even though Buddhism originated from Northern India, it wasn’t limited to just one area, and spread its …show more content…
A festival day begins with a visit to the communities’ temple, where they offer food or other items to the monks and listens to a Dharma talk (Religion Facts 4). The afternoon consists of distributing food to the poor, to earn merit, and to walk around the temple three times in honor of the Three Jewels, chanting and meditation (Religion Facts 4). The dates of holidays/festivals are based on the lunar calendar and often differ by country and tradition. A few examples are the Buddhist New Year, Vesak (Buddha Day), Sangha Day, Dhamma Day, Observance Day, and Kathina Ceremony (Religion Facts 4). One of the most important festival is Vesak, which is Buddha’s birthday. On the first full moon in May, Buddhist all over the world celebrate the birth, enlightenment and the death of the Buddha all in one day. Another eventful festival is the Buddhist New Year, the Buddhist New Year is celebrated at different times during the year. In Theravadin countries such as Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, etc, the New Year is celebrated on the first full moon day in April (Religion Facts 4). Comparing that to the Mahayana countries, New Year starts on the first full moon day in January. All festivals/holidays have the same purpose and meaning, but all differ depending on which region and whichever traditional factor comes into play for
Buddhism was founded by one man, Siddhartha Guatama. He was born into royalty around 563 B.C.E. in a Kingdom near the border of India and Nepal. He was raised in wealth and luxury, and at the age of 16, he married a wealth woman and they had a child together. Around the age of 29, he began to realize that all humans were in a cycle of suffering, dying, and then being reincarnated only to suffer and die over and over again. It was then that he decided to leave his wife and child to find a way out of this repeating cycle of life and death. First he studied with teachers, but found he was coming to no conclusions, so he turned to more extreme things such as self-mortification, but he was still left unsatisfied.
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
What is Buddhism? What do we understand by Buddhism? It can be comprehended differently and can mean a variety of things to many people. For one it can be only an explanation of the life of the Buddha. To another, Buddhism means the massive doctrine recorded in the Buddhist literature, which is voluminous and comprise of several thousand pages recording the words of the Buddha. Moreover it is described as a very lofty, abstruse, complex and learned philosophy of life. However based on whatever the Buddha taught, there has grown a very rich culture, a culture which has extended to all parts of Asia for over 2500 years, and to which people from various walks of life with various backgrounds from all these countries have made a lasting contribution. Another definition of Buddhism is the kind of ritual that has grown around the doctrine of the Buddha, as a result of his teachings and the way of life preached by him. But to me Buddhism is the perfect combination of all these definitions. Buddhism has influenced my life by making me adopt the Eightfold Path known as the “Middle Path”, increased the practice of spirituality, comprehend law of impermanence and thus lead a righteous life. It’s mainly thought that Buddhism is a teaching for monks only, as it is sometimes wrongly conceived.
The ascension of Buddhism in American culture is a simple twist of popularity and understanding stemming off of its initial breakthrough in 1893 during the World’s Parliament of Religions, conducted in Chicago (Smith 1). America has traditionally been considered a Monotheistic nation, but has been mostly acceptant of all views. As America is built off of religious freedoms, Buddhism was able to nestle a home among communities in the United States.
Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the world with an estimated 500 million located in all corners of the globe. Although Buddhism is practiced all around the world, the majority of Buddhists are centered in the Eastern, Southern and Central parts of Asia. It was founded in India in approximately 525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, known to his followers as Buddha. Buddhism is divided into two main schools: the Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and the Mahayana in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan.
Buddhism is a really big religion. I think that Buddhism is more of philosophy or ‘way of living life’. But it’s called a religion which contains about 300 million people around the world. The word Buddhism comes from ‘buddhi’ which means ‘to awaken’. Buddhism’s origins trace back to 2000-2500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, aka also known as the Buddha. It traces back to him because Siddharatha humself was awakened at age 35, and came out to know the reality of life. Buddhism goes beyond religion, it goes to become philosophy. Because philosophy means ‘love of wisdom’ and the Buddhist path can be summed up as: 1) lead a moral life 2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions as you go through in life 3) to develop wisdom and understanding of life. I think that Buddhism explains a purpose of life to the core. It teaches us the correct way to live life, with adopted wide variety of beliefs, practices, rituals, and customs. It explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world; it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness. But the essential teaching of Buddha was reading the underline differences between these said statements.
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.
Buddhism 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.
Buddhism was created in early Indian civilization. Development of the religion began with the death of their founder. The Buddhist community established their standard cannon and their common goal which was, to bring enlightenment to the world. (Robinson and Johnson, 3) Buddhism spread rapidly and as with all other major religions when it begins to spread it breaks up into sects. Buddhism divided into two sects Hinayana and Mahayana. The Hinayanas settled in greater India and followed the earlier traditions. The Mahayanas traveled throughout India and Asia. The most dense areas of Buddhist populations are within central and east Asia.
Siddhartha Gotama was born into a rich royal family, located in Nepal in 563 BC. Siddhartha’s birth was prophesied by his mother whom had Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side (a sign of great importance in that culture) it was prophesied that he would be a great emperor or great religious leader.He was provided with all the luxuries of life and was shielded from all harm and those whom needed help. However he encounted an old man disturbed by this he consulted a guard who told him that everyone grows old, later he encounted a diseased man, then a corpse and then finally a ascetic. These are known as the four great sightings. He realized at the age of 29 that, not all lived a life like him and didn’t all have immeasurable riches, and he found that these luxuries didn’t necessarily provide happiness. So he left the palace and his family and decided to trial the different teachings, religions and philosophies of the period. After six long years of meditation and study he attained Enlightenment. Siddhartha is said to have discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way—a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. He accepted a little milk and rice pudding from a village gir...
Buddhism is a very important way of life for those in Southeast Asia. There may be some variation of power between women and men but this does not rise above the power and beliefs of those that are followers of Buddha. This is not only a religion; it is viewed as a way of life.
Buddhism prevailed as a religion indigenous to west India and comprises of varieties of traditions, beliefs and practices based on the teachings of Buddha. There are many reasons why Buddhism became so popular and entered into many civilizations. Buddhism began to be popular throughout Asia alongside India. Buddhism has blossomed in the contemporary world, especially in the West. It is an issue to wonder what Buddhism offers that other religions cannot and has become so significant worldwide. Buddhism has become an idea that is widespread and the teachings of Buddha have made a real difference in many civilizations like India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea and surprisingly Buddhism has come to make a significant difference in American culture.
As you can see Buddhism has had prominent and everlasting effect on religion in history, from the very beginning with Siddhartha Gautama meditating under a tree, to the present of the religion being practiced in countries worldwide, it will always be one the most influential and vital religions of the world.
Buddhism stands as one of the world’s oldest and most significant religion throughout the continent of Asia as well as the Western hemisphere. Approximately 350 million individuals, claim Buddhism as their religion, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Buddhism continues to be significantly practiced in over 11 Asian countries. A few of those countries include Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Bhutan, where nearly all or the majority of their population follow the religion [BuddhaNet].
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.