Buddhism

The religion of Buddhism is based off the teachings of a chief’s son. His name was Siddhartha Gautama universally known as Buddha and nick named the “Awakened one.” Siddhartha led an extravagant life, benefitting from the privileges of his social caste. Siddhartha came upon an ill man lying lifeless which

 convinced him to think that suffering lay upon all existence. After a temporal feeling of hierarchy, Siddhartha renounced his title and became a monk. In order to comprehend the truth around him, he deprived himself of worldly possessions. After being awakened by understanding how to be free from sufferings, Buddha spent the rest of his live traveling India and teaching others how he came to understand.

The fourth largest religion in this world is Buddhism, with about 365 million followers. It was founded in Northern India and later on became established in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma. There are 3 divisions of Buddhism Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana. Buddhism even has its own language called Pali. Followers practice their religion in meditation halls or in temples. Buddhists have three symbols of their religion; these symbols are The Buddha, The Dharma and the Sangha. They are trained by moral discipline, wisdom and concentration and are brought up by learning that everything is temporary. The two main holidays are Buddha’s birthday and his enlightenment. It is a very interesting religion to learn about.

The central theme of the religion of Buddhism teaches followers that in their temporal lives, there are vessels of life, body, emotions, thoughts, tendencies and knowledge. They think that there is no sense of soul in this world. They live there religion by trying to break up the cycles of birth and death. Until Buddhist attain enlightenment, they are not familiar with their soul or self. The think they are an impermanent vessel in this world and that the world is an image of not knowing one’s true nature. Some more aspects that Buddhist must follow are the five main principles. These principles prohibit killing, harsh language, stealing, the use of toxic substances and finally sexual immorality. When a follower can achieve these 5 principles, they are on their way to reaching the state of Nirvana, which is a huge aspect in the lives of many Buddhists.

In the quintessence of Buddha’s teachings he comprised 4 noble truths. Though these truths are partially left unexplained many Buddhist go by these truths in their daily lives. The noble truths are: “the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.” (http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm). The noble truths are here to act as a plan to deal with the sufferings humanity faces. These truths provide morality to the Buddhist followers.

Another belief by Buddhist followers is Karma. To them karma is the good or bad actions one take throughout his or her lifetime. Positive actions such as optimism, absence of bad action and generosity bring out happiness in the long run. Contrary to good karma there is also bad karma. Those who practice bad karma such as killing, stealing and anything inhumane will experience negativity in the future. Karma is determined by 5 features. These features include; repetitive, frequent action; intentional, determined action; as well as actions being performed without regret; actions that are against extraordinary persons; and finally action toward those who have helped one in the past. In the world of Buddhist, however you treat something or someone, you will experience the same in return.

In the Buddhist cycle of rebirth, karma plays a major role. In order for a living being to be reborn, there are 6 different planes one can fall under. Three of them are fortunate realms and the other 3 are unfortunate realms. Those that acquire positive karma fall into the fortunate realms. They are the Demigod realms, the realm of gods and finally the realm of men. The highest realm of rebirth is the realm of men this reasoning is due to the offerings of an opportunity to reach enlightenment, also known as Nirvana.

You might wonder what Nirvana is. Well, it is a state of being free from individual existence and suffering. In fact, only one is said to have reached the state of Nirvana and that is Siddhartha. People who practice Buddhism practice it because their goal is to reach the state of Nirvana. Their reasoning is not only because it’s a state free from suffering, but also it breaks the chain of the cycle of rebirth from reincarnation. Another positive aspect of Nirvana is that you are free from all worldly concerns, such as hate, greed and ignorance. No one can quite explain in words how Nirvana feels; it is purely an experience no one would want to miss out on.

The religion of Buddhism has their own scriptures. It is called the Tipitaka, also meaning three baskets. This book is divided into three sections, which correlate with the three baskets; they are the Sutta Pitaka, the Abhidhamma Pitaka and the Vinaya Pitaka. The Tipitake was orally past down from Buddhist disciples. In the Vinaya Pitaka the rules of the British monks and nuns are written. The Sutta Pitaka has the actual written experiences that were documented by Buddha. Finally the Abhidhamma has teachings from the Theravada positions, which are now considered very advance for students learning about Buddhism. According to sources the Tipitaka was written down in 50 BC in Sanskrit. It was a huge impact on the growth of Buddhism.

Another branch of Buddhism is called the Theravada branch. The word Theravada means the “Doctrine of the elders”. This branch used Tipitaka as the spiritual guide, abiding by the innovative teachings of Buddha. Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma acquired Theravada as their main religion. In the world there are over 100 million Theravada Buddhist. In this branch, they teach to refrain from every kind of evil, collect all that is beneficial and cleanse the mind and spirit. They achieve those goals by practicing meditation which makes them develop and ethical mindset and a deep eagerness of awareness. People who believe they are imperfect beings who have a temporal state on our secular planet follow the Theravada branch of Buddhism. When one person decide they understand the nature of existence and find nothing else valuable in this world, they enter the state of Nirvana, and are self satisfied for life.

In the “Greater Vehicle” branch of Buddhism, also called the Mahayana branch, they have liberal beliefs. They think that Buddha is the manifestation of divine being instead of concerning him as a divine being. Their thoughts are that Buddha acquires three entities; God like form, essence and body. The collections of those entities are what make him Buddha. Although they do pursue the Tipitaka, they believe that Buddha’s experiences are what ought to be lived by. Mahayana Buddhist proposes that there goal is to lead others into the state of Nirvana. Mahayana Buddhists also believe that each public figure has the capacity to increase Buddha hood in to his or her life.

No matter what branch of Buddhism you follow, in order to illustrate the moral principals Buddhists must follow the eight fold path. This path goes about the teachings of morality, meditation, wisdom and more basic teachings of the knowledge of a Buddhist. The eight fold path are “1.Right knowledge 2.Right thinking 3.Right speech 4.Right conduct 5.Right effort 6.Right Mindfulness 7 Right livelihood 8.Right concentration” (http://library.thinkquest.org/28505/buddhism/eight.htm). When followers accomplish the eight fold paths, it helps them realize the all earthly sufferings are caused by greed and selfishness. When the eight fold path is followed, the individuals suffering may end.

Many Buddhist practice meditation. There are two types of meditations; one called Samantha meditation and the second one being Vipassanā meditation. When practicing Samantha meditation one’s mind becomes calm, luminous, tranquil and purified of defilement. When practicing meditation, there goal is to be released from all suffering. Vipassanā meditation acts like Samantha meditation but used nature to become relaxed and at a stable mindset. Most Buddhist prefer Samantha mediation though, and it is also the most common form of meditating.

Today, the various forms of Buddhism continue to remain widespread in the region of East Asia. Buddhist who has continued practicing the Mahayana branch have greatly suffered from the agnostic dogma of Communism. Japan is the country that has the most diverse branches of Buddhism. Slowly but surely Buddhism has been spreading to another region. This started in the twentieth century and still has continually grown. The population of Buddhism has grown to nearly 500 million followers and is now practiced in at least 13 different countries. It is said that more people are taking on to Buddhism because they are becoming interested in a peaceful religion due to the stress in many human beings lives, especially in this economy. Many other religions are being by past and Buddhism is making music to peoples ears, particularly when people hear how relaxation and positivity is promoted into the minds of followers. All in all, Buddhism is the healthiest religion followed, and that is a great aspect in the lives of followers.

Bibliography:

1. Author Unknown. “Buddhism, Based on the Teachings of Siddhartha”. Religious Tolerance. May 8 2008. http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm February 15 2009.

2. C. George Boeree “Life of Siddhartha Gautama”. An Introduction of Buddhism. March 16 2000. http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro.html February 16 2009.

3. O’Brian Barbara. “Complete Nirvana”. Buddhism. June 13 2006. http://buddhism.about.com/ February 16 2009.