...practice is quickly increasing in the United States population. Some estimate that up to 3 million are practicing in the US. But India, around 500 B.C.E., is where it all began and flourished (Alldritt 5). During this time, India was in a state of religious ferment which led people to experiment with meditation, deep breathing and to study with gurus (Molloy 125). Buddhism emphasizes on personal enlightenment as opposed to an eternal salvation from a higher being. The Buddha is not a god, but a human being that was acknowledged and respected for providing the knowledge on happiness within one self and concern for all living things (Robinson). In this report, I will discuss how Buddhism originated, its major forms, beliefs and teachings and the question of it being a true religion or philosophy of life. Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, or the awakened one, was born into royalty as a prince. Legend states that his mother dreamed of an elephant entering her side, creating the moment of conception of the future Buddha, and the birth of Siddhartha from her side. Siddhartha had special makings on his body, indicating that he would be an illustrious person. During a naming ceremony, priests predicted that Siddhartha would become a great king or a great...
Words: 2716 - Pages: 11
...The Quality of Transcendence: The Stupa Reliquary, Pakistan, Gandharan Region, 2nd century CE (Word count 2062) The Stupa Reliquary currently housed in the Alsdorf Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago was produced around the second-century AD in the Gandharan region, of what is now Pakistan. Relatively small in size (30.5 cm X 19.7 cm X 19.1 cm) compared to the imposing pieces surrounding it in the gallery, the Stupa Reliquary has a magnitude and importance about it that immediately draws one’s attention to it. The piece is the embodiment of regality, nobility, and holiness. It represents a form of art that seeks to depict the dimension of the transcendent. In other words, the Stupa Reliquary represents a type of view, in which earthly and material remains are oriented towards a transcendent and vertical plane of existence. That is to say that the piece, as a reliquary, functions as a housing of the remains of religious figures, yet because of the nature of religion itself, the relics contained within bear a sacred or transcendent element. This is an interesting piece, but it is difficult to understand without considering the background of the piece. This research...
Words: 2092 - Pages: 9
...The quotation that best represents Siddhartha Gautama: Buddhism to me is “The point of the teachings is to control your own mind. Restrain your mind from greed, and you will keep your body right, your mind pure and your words faithful. Always thinking of the transiency of your life, you will be able to desist from greed and anger and will be able to avoid all evils.” (Buddha, Truth and Brotherhood, 2003)I chose this quotation because Siddhartha Gautama’s idea was to live a life that was free of suffering and to live without worry. He went through trials to get to the point where he could find a way to help his followers deal with suffering. He did this by teach others how to live like him and how to control their destinies. The quotation that best represents Lao Tzu: Taoism to me is “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” I chose this quotation because it reminds me of the book when Tao said that Humans cannot force change on the world without injuring themselves. All arbitrary interventions using models of the past simply lead to further disorder. Basically to me it says that enjoy what you have now and you shouldn’t force change, just let it happen naturally because nothing stays the same. The quotation that best represents Confucius: Confucianism to me is “The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the ordinary man is conversant with gain; the...
Words: 513 - Pages: 3
...Critical Thinking Assignment APOL-104 June 25, 2012 Critical Thinking Assignment PART ONE: The Question of Origin In Buddhism, they do not teach nor do they believe that there is an all-powerful God that created the universe. They look to Buddha, the religion’s founder, for a model of how to behave. In the Buddhist view, the universe is infinite in both time and space and the universe is created and destroyed over and over again in a process we call natural evolution. The Question of Identity Buddhist considers all life to be sacred and/or spiritual in nature. They believe in reincarnation and a person’s spiritual future is based solely on one’s good or bad actions in this lifetime, also known as Karma. The Question of Meaning/Purpose In Buddhism, the primary purpose is to end suffering. The Buddha believed and therefore taught that humans suffer because they are to consumed in things that do not give long lasting happiness and are too busy trying to hold on to things such as friends, material possessions, and things that do not last, and in the end brings upon sorrow. This is where the beliefs of the Four Noble Truths come in: teaches that all life is marked by suffering, suffering is caused by desire and attachment, suffering can be stopped, and the way to end suffering is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path. The Question of Morality Respect, love, and compassion are highly valued in Buddhism as are an ethical and moral path is the basis for their model...
Words: 919 - Pages: 4
...world and of life is inconceivable since they have neither beginning nor end. Buddhism never claimed that the world, sun, moon, stars, wind, water, days and nights were created by a powerful god or by a Buddha. Buddhists believe that the world was not created once upon a time, but that the world has been created millions of times every second and will continue to do so by itself and will break away by itself. According to Buddhism, world systems always appear and disappear in the universe. The Question of Identity Buddhism see’s the question of identity within the context of enlightenment. They teach that we do not exist as separate beings but that one must see pass the human tendency to identify with a limited sense of existence. If one does this they will discover that the belief in an individual small self is a root illusion that causes suffering and removes us from the freedom and mystery of life. The Question of Meaning/Purpose Buddhist texts do not outright say there is a meaning of life, but rather talk about the capacity for humans to end suffering, which is one of the things Buddhists should strive for. Buddhist believes in enlightenment through study, meditation as a way to ending suffering. In his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, the Buddha taught the "Four Noble Truths," which form the foundation of belief for all branches of Buddhism. All of life is marked by suffering, suffering is caused by desire and attachment, suffering can be stopped...
Words: 726 - Pages: 3
...Huy Pham ACCT 6318 Buddhism and Ethical Reasoning First of all, about the definition of Buddhism, this is a religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and Pāli). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering through eliminating ignorance and craving, by way of understanding and seeing dependent origination and non-self and thus attain the highest happiness. Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada - it means School of the Elders and Mahayana – it means Great Vehicle. Ethics in Buddhism are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha, or other enlightened beings that followed him. Moral instructions are included in Buddhist scriptures or handed down through tradition. Most scholars of Buddhist ethics thus rely on the examination of Buddhist scriptures, and the use of anthropological evidence from traditional Buddhist societies, to justify claims about the nature of Buddhist ethics. According to traditional Buddhism, the foundation of Buddhist ethics for laypeople is The Five Precepts: no killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct...
Words: 415 - Pages: 2
...to be judgmental and focus on the good of Buddhism, because no-one is perfect and everyone have faults. Remember to smile it is a visual teaching. Be helpful, kind, and positive it shows’ gratitude. What barriers/hindrances would exist with presenting the Christian gospel to a person from this worldview? Some common objections and Evangelism of hindrances would be the fact of having different perspectives. Christians, for example, speak of a God who has emotions such as anger and love, but Buddhists see such emotions as indicating too much attachment to the ego (Tsering, P. 157). Most Buddhists believe that there are many paths to God. Buddhism believes Jesus is not unique and may see Jesus as being a spiritual Master on a par with Buddha (Theravada Buddhism) or as a bodhisattva (Mahayana Buddhism) (www.internationalstudents.org). In addition, Buddhism denies the existence of God, Buddhism worldview is monistic, there is no such thing to Buddhism as sin against a supreme being, according to the Buddhist belief man is worthless, having only temporary existence, and Buddhism takes on many forms that are contradicting. What personal challenges might you have with presenting the gospel? Al though, I was brought up in a church, attended Sunday school, and currently attends regularly it is sad to say I am only familiar with the basis I learned from early childhood, in addition to this class. When it comes to presenting the gospel...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...Jennifer Villalobos Professor Miles REL 2011- Analysis and Interpretation of Religion October 17, 2011 Buddhism A Whole New World History and Origin When we speak of Buddhism we visualize a monk in an orange robe but there is so much more than that. Buddhism in my opinion is a way of life and not just a religion. The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha said that there were four noble truths and that the only way to save ourselves from suffering was to follow the eightfold path. Siddhartha’s teaching was to help us reach the ultimate goal “enlightment (nirvana), freedom from the cycle of conditioned existence”. It all started with the birth of a child named Siddhartha Gautama who later on is known as the Buddha. Siddhartha was born around present day Lumbini, Nepal around 563 BCE he was born into a wealthy family and was a prince of the Sakya Clan. Siddhartha was raised by his aunt who was his father’s second wife because his mother died when he was seven days old. It is believed that when Siddhartha was a baby a holy man said that he would be either a great politician and unite India or he would be a great religious leader. Siddhartha lived a life of luxury and his father was very careful as to block all negative things from Siddhartha’s sight. His father did not want him to see old age, sickness, death, and a monk. The holy man had warned him that if Siddhartha say all these signs he would become a religious leader. When Siddhartha was 16 he...
Words: 2038 - Pages: 9
...philosophy was founded in India c.525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. There are over 300 million Buddhists worldwide. One of the great world religions, it is divided into two main schools: the Theravada or Hinayana in Sri Lanka and SE Asia, and the Mahayana in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. A third school, the Vajrayana, has a long tradition in Tibet and Japan. Buddhism has largely disappeared from its country of origin, India, except for the presence there of many refugees from the Tibet region of China and a small number of converts from the lower castes of Hinduism. Daoism and Confucianism grew largely in China and later spread to Korea and Japan. Daoism was founded by Lao Tzu. It is more than 1800 years history originating in the c.550 B.C time period. Confucianism has a worldwide influence and obtained it’s stable position under the reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty (202BC- 220AD). Some of Buddhism’s foundational paths are within The Four Noble Truths which is what the Buddha set forth during his first sermon at sarnath. This foundation leading to all his later teachings are, 1. Life inevitably involves suffering, dissatisfaction, and distress. 2. Suffering is caused by craving, rooted in ignorance. 3. Suffering will cease when craving ceases. 4. There is a way to realize this state: the Noble Eightfold path. Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path proclaimed by the Buddha upon his enlightenment are the foundation for Buddhist belief and practice. They...
Words: 1204 - Pages: 5
...social class. Their upbringings were so closely tied which may explain why the religions share similar doctrines. Most historians agree that Buddhism originated in northern India in the 5th century B.C.E. The tradition traces its origin to Siddhartha Gautama (or Gotama), who is typically referred to as the Buddha (literally the "Awakened" or "Enlightened One"). Siddhartha observed the suffering in the world and set out to find an antidote. Gautama Buddha, the originator of Buddhism, was born in 563 BC in the reigning Kshatriya family of the Lichhavi tribe in Lumbini, in the foothills of Nepal. His father was the Chief of this tribe. It was prophesized that Gautama (who was named Siddharth) would become a saint and renounce the world. Therefore, his father took all possible care to keep Gautama in a palace full of luxuries and comfort. The preaching of Lord Buddha revolves around attaining salvation from worldly sufferings, universal brotherhood, peace and non-violence. | Gautama Buddha during his reign discarded the Vedic Brahmanical system, which separated the society into many castes and further isolated the people from one another on the basis of their birth. Buddha stalwartly opposed lengthy rituals, animal sacrifices and ceremonial worship. According to his doctrine, the existence of God is irrelevant. He laid emphasis on self-effort to attain salvation. He believed that the soul was immortal and attainment of Nirvana (salvation from materialistic life) was the chief...
Words: 1127 - Pages: 5
...reaching enlightenment to break the spiral and stop suffering. These philosophies over time became religions, and later in China they eventually get brought together as one religion. Buddhism believed in nirvana reaching enlightenment which meant to relieve oneself from being reborn. Buddhist believed life was suffering so they kept themselves unattached to earthly things including family. Buddhism is living in the present and centered around practice, and the four noble truths. In The Buddha and his Teachings: the four noble truths are: " life is suffering, origin, assertion, way to lead assertion." (Bercholz and Kohn 3-222)They learn from a teacher. The teachings are called dharma's. This philosophy is individualized of letting go of earthly possessions. In The Buddha and his Teachings, "it took the Bodhisattva sixteen years to learn the dharma's and reach enlightenment." (Bercholz and Kohn 3-222) Buddhism gives you a path (the Way), but it's not a path to live everyday life. In The Buddha and his Teachings; "There are eight noble paths, which are: right understanding, right thinking, right speech, right bodily action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration." (Bercholz and Kohn 3-222) Buddhists are...
Words: 1472 - Pages: 6
...straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. Thus Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, or gender. It teaches practical methods (such as meditation) which enable people to realise and utilise its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for their lives and to develop the qualities of Wisdom and Compassion. There are around 350 million Buddhists and a growing number of them are Westerners. They follow many different forms of Buddhism, but all traditions are characterised by non-violence, lack of dogma, tolerance of differences, and, usually, by the practice of meditation. Who was the Buddha? Buddhism started with the Buddha. The word 'Buddha' is a title and not a name. It means 'one who is awake' in the sense of having 'woken up to reality'. It was first given to a man who was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal 2,500 years ago. Scholars now place the date of his birth around 480BCE (BC). He did not claim to be a God and he has never been regarded as such by Buddhists. He was a human being who became Enlightened, understanding life in the deepest way...
Words: 2827 - Pages: 12
...Buddhist Temple Complex Ramu, Cox’s Bazaar Tabassum Ahmed Department of Architecture North South University 1 Buddhist Temple Complex Ramu, Cox’s Bazaar A Design Dissertation submitted to the Department of Architecture in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Architecture (B. Arch) in the Faculty of North South University, Dhaka. The textual and visual contents of the Design Dissertation are the intellectual output of the student mentioned below unless otherwise mentioned. Information given within this Design Dissertation is true to the best knowledge of the student mentioned below. All possible efforts have been made by the author to acknowledge the secondary sources information. Right to further modification and/or publication of this Design Dissertation in any form belongs to its author. Contents within this Design Dissertation can be reproduced with due acknowledgment for academic purposes only without written consent from the author. Tabassum Ahmed 083163010 Dept. of Architecture North South University Dhaka 2012 2 Dedication To the Buddhist community of Ramu 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am thankful to Allah for giving me patience and strength to cope with the everyday hurdles in this whole journey of architecture. My deepest gratitude extends to my faculty, Dr. Shayer Ghafur for his constant guidance and support throughout this dissertation. I am thankful to Professor Haroon Ur Rashid for helping me to understand this...
Words: 15927 - Pages: 64
...BUDDHISM By Heather Alexander Dr. James Wilcox World Religion 06/06/2012 I want to first give a little background on how the Buddha came about and how Buddhism came to be. The Buddha is said to be born the son of a king. Many scholars have tried to pinpoint his birth. It is believed that he was born around 563 B.C.E. There are other sources that suggest that it may have been a century later that he was born. His given name was Siddhartha Gautama. For the next 30 years or so it is believed that the prince lived a very sheltered life. Somewhere around his 29th or 30th year he decided he wanted to see the outside world. His father was extremely against it. He wanted to protect his son from the outside world. His father finally agreed and sent out troops to remove all of the old, sick, and ugly from the route that the prince would take. According to legend he took a total of four trips out of the grounds. On each of his outings he seen one of the “four sights” that his father tried to protect him against. The “four sights” are said to be a bent old man, a dead person, a sick person, and renunciate. After coming home for the final time he decided that the life he was living wasn’t what he really wanted. Siddhartha set out on a long journey trying to find what it was that he felt was missing .He wandered around for 6 years taking whatever food was given to him. At one point he was surviving on a grain of rice and a drop of water for the day. He eventually decided...
Words: 1786 - Pages: 8
...The Relevance of: Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto on Asian behavior I)The principles of Buddhism Buddha = Awaken, enlightenment, wise man. Last reincarnation into our world: Siddhartha Gautama (SG) 563 – 483 BC obtained the perfect knowledge. All of us can reach the enlightenment. Buddhism is not articulated around the idea of a god, but it does not denied the existence of one. Human situation is supreme because we are today what we were before and what we will be tomorrow. DHARMA:It is based on the reasonning and the experience of each person, it is the key to inner peace and enlightenment. If you take actions → results. (ne pas oublier les conséquences) TOLERANCE NIRVANA: is the objective of every Buddhist and to do so there are the 4 noble truths and the 8 fold paths. There are 2 other concepts: -Samsara: Perpetual life circle don't fear (reincarnation) -Karma: all the actions in our lives (positive and negative, it depends of the good or the evil of the action.) II)Confucius wisdom The society of humanism and the wisdom of Confucius 551 – 479 BC focused on man as individual therefore the teaching concentrating on a concept. Jun Xi which literally means the son of a sovereign, must achieve a good behavior which does not imply a perfect goodness but involve the goodness of a man to another. In business: Team Spirit The relationship between members of the family and the society is crucial. Loyalty is very important to, as learning, experience...
Words: 483 - Pages: 2
