The basic ways Buddhist teaching are straightforward and to the point. Change in the Buddhist belief is very possible oppose to any other religion such as Christianity. Buddhism addresses itself to all people regardless of race, nationality, or gender. The practice of Buddhism sees life as a process of constant change. In John Snellings book, The Buddhist Handbook, he said “Buddhist believe that a person can change for the better.
It is something we can put our energy into to help explain the meaning to our lives. If that isn 't considered religion, I don 't know what is. Putting less focus on rules, and more on our daily lives, Shambhala creates an environment to practice Buddhism while reflecting on society as a whole. It mixes the past with the present, allowing change to happen in the world, the goal of meditation. This has showed me how although I may not know everything there is to know about Buddhist beliefs, I can still practice it and apply it to my daily life.
The more I attempted to shut out the outside world, the more my mind focused on the little things around me. I gained immediate appreciation of the Buddhist monk's ability to shirk the outside world and focus on his inner self. When I had meditated before in my dojo, it was as a group and in silence. This greatly helped the exercise and I can see why this is the modus operandi at most temples. The second place I attempted to meditate was in the basement of Reid Hall.
It teaches how to see things objectively, how focus on our work, how people should treat each other, how to interact with the external world. Although there is still much to learn about Buddhism, I am happy to have read this book. This is inspiring and arouses my interest in further studying about Buddhism.
After reaching his enlightenment, Buddha began teaching others how to reach enlightenment for themselves. One thing Buddha did not believe was necessary in order to reach enlightenment is the belief and worship of gods. Therefore, unlike most religion... ... middle of paper ... ...in, I highly respect Buddhism and may incorporate some of the beliefs I was taught into my everyday life. I arrived at the temple only in order to complete a school assignment, but I left the temple knowing I will be returning. The incredibly welcoming monks in the temple mentioned that meditation takes time and practice to master, encouraging me to return and practice meditation in their religious hall as they give me lessons on how to improve my focus while meditating.
The monk Tapakhorn was very encouraging about people visiting the temple to practice meditation and chanting since he believes it is a form of worship that has many benefits. By the end of the visit, we did a couple of meditation practices even though I was not able to concentrate much like the Buddhist monks. The first meditation we exercised was the sitting meditation followed by the lying down meditation. The experience was quite fantastic and enjoyable, since it entails how people fall asleep. By the end of my visit, I had learnt a lot about Buddhism.
The novel Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh shows how the world can be made a better place though the application of Buddhism and meditation in our daily lives. Thich Nhat Hanh describes practices and suggestions that the common person can apply in their daily lives immediately in order to create peace in their life and in the world. Thich Nhat Hanh begins by stating that we are often aware of suffering, however that is not enough. We need to be aware and peace and happiness in order to create peace. He also mentions that today, humans have a very difficult time being alive in the present moment.
It was because I do not really know much about Buddhism, even although I am a Chinese, and I am very interested in Japanese culture. Also, I knew that Japan culture had been influencing not only in my hometown, but every corner in the world. Hence, I accepted my host mother suggestion to visit this Japanese Buddhist Temple in the following Friday, because I thought it would be a great opportunity to understand this influential culture and religion, which we did not discuss in this class. Although I am not a Buddhist, I basically know what a Buddhist would do before the visiting of the Buddhist Temple. It is because in Macau, my hometown, most of the older generation believes in Buddhism, like my grandmother.
This type of mindfulness meditation is known as shamatha in Buddhism. It basically forces you to focus on the present because you have to continue to follow the inhale and exhale of your breath. You can be mindful of the way you eat, taking a shower, driving to work or enjoying quiet time with your spouse. Every moment in every day is an opportunity to practice mindfulness. In Buddhism, the Buddha realized that focusing on just his breath allowed him to accurately perceive reality and attain enlightenment.
Someone practicing Mahayana has several rituals that they do together as a group to stay connected and help grow the bonds between one another. These rituals include meditation, visualizations and pilgrimage and are a very important aspect of any religion to have and practice to become one with each other. Pilgrimage occurs in the northern part of India this is a tradition that Mahayana has had in Buddhism religion. Meditation is a way of coming closer with your beliefs and freeing your mind to release any tension. Mediation is really an effective tradition that helps in order to further someone 's status and clear