...Interactions of Buddhism in the Modern World Buddhism has faced many challenges in today's modern world. During the modernization of the world we live in today, Buddhism has faced competition from the introduction of monotheism and added pressure from Christianity due to its dominate global religious structure. In many ways Buddhism has followed the path Christianity took as it emerged from the dark ages. For example, there are ancient Christian iconography sitting alongside modern based structures of both architecture and practices. The progress of Christianity has been so slow that it almost seemed very natural in the modern Western perspective. Today Buddhism seems quite foreign just as Christianity did at one time. Buddhism is facing qualifications necessary for cultural authenticity in a way that over comes its Eastern appearance. Western Buddhist teachers are moving into leadership roles and it seems as if progress is being made. A major difference in Buddhism between the West and East is that the East contemporary society has very ancient imagery, architecture, and practices that go back centuries. Buddhism as it sets in the West has a clean slate as it reflects on Western cultural values as well as the Western concepts of artful display and the way spiritual belief is shown (Shi, 2012). Modern day Buddhism has evolved as any religion has, different countries, traditions, and values alter the ancient beliefs and create modern day practices. As an example in...
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...Contemporary Issues in Buddhism Team D REL/133 May 21, 2013 Prof. Joseph Pirelli Buddhism is considered one of the oldest forms of religion dating back over 2,500 years; which originated in Thailand and has spread throughout Asia and begun to spread in Northern America, with over 125 million practicing Buddhists today. Siddhartha Gautama the founder of Buddhism became Buddha, his teachings and philosophy of selflessness and love towards others, modest and meek lifestyle, karma and reincarnation, education, and total submission and control of the mind and body are the basics of this religion. Buddhism has similar characteristics with other major religions that include practices, rituals, scriptures, and believes such as the belief in a deity or higher greater power. It has a doctrine accepting teachings of salvation and a code of conduct. The Buddhism religion maintains an essential qualities or religious practices that are passed down from generation by sources such as authorities and or their followers are accept as sacred. The Buddhist teachings consist of the Noble Eight Fold Path: 1.) Right View- full understanding of life. 2) Right of Intention- selflessness and good will towards all. 3.) Right Speech- always watching words 4.) Right Actions- always in control of ones actions and the results or impact of them. 5.) Right Livelihood-live upstanding example nothing illegal or unethical. 6.) Right Effort- always displays effort...
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...Buddhism current issues and class handout Current Issues and Class Handout Religion can be defined as “a system of thought, feeling, and action that is shared by a group and that gives the members an object of devotion; a code of behavior by which individuals may judge the personal and social consequences of their actions; and a frame of reference by which individuals may relate to their group and their universe” (Religion, 2013). The world is made up of many different religions that share common practices and beliefs with one another and this paper will examine common characteristics that Buddhism shares with other religions as well as discuss how Buddhism has responded to challenges in the modern and what has changed about the roles of women in Buddhism over time. Buddhism Buddhism is an ancient religion that originated in India from the experiences noted by Siddhartha Gautama, a “mortal prince born miraculously to Maya who was kept from all the evil and misery of the world throughout his youth” ("Siddhartha Gautama," 1996). Siddhartha was forbidden to leave the royal grounds; however one day he disobeyed those order given by his father and visited a nearby town where he witnessed what is known as the four passing sights. The four passing sights were “an old man, crooked and toothless, a sick man, wasted by disease, and a corpse being taken for cremation. Then he saw a sannyasin (a wandering holy man, a renunciate), who had no possession but seemed to be at peace”...
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...Contemporary Issues in Eastern Religions Contemporary Issues in Eastern Religions Common Characteristics between Buddhism and Hinduism Buddhism is closely related to Hinduism, they both share some important beliefs. They both believe in reincarnation and the cycle of samsara - birth, life, death, and rebirth - and in the influence of karma on the circumstances into which you will be born in the next life. They both believe that the ultimate end is to escape from the cycle of rebirth. However, they are quite different in some very fundamental ways. For Hindus, there is an eternal soul that does not change, in essentials, from life to life. The material bodies it inhabits are like clothes. Buddhists believe that there is no core soul - that your experiences, actions, and intentions (your karma) constantly act upon you and you are constantly changing in response, so that the cycle of samsara is a long process of becoming. They also have different beliefs regarding the escape from the cycle of reincarnation. For Buddhists, achieving enlightenment, seeing the true nature of phenomenon and of oneself, eliminating all craving and desire releases you from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. For Hindus, realizing the oneness of existence, achieving mental peace or perfect unselfishness, perfect detachment from the world, or perfect knowledge of oneself, or the realization of unity with god releases you from the cycle of rebirth. As it relates to salvation...
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...Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of a man called Siddhartha Gauthama. He lived for about 25 centuries. Siddhartha Gauthama came to be called Buddha. In his life Buddha traveled and taught, he did not teach people what he had realized when he became enlightened. He taught people how to be come enlightened themselves. He taught them that awakening comes through your own direct experience, not through their beliefs. Buddhism spread throughout Asia to become one of the dominant religions in the continent. It is over 350 million people who practice Buddhism, which would make Buddhism the fourth largest of the world’s religions. Buddhism is different from other religions and some people question if it is really a religion. For most religions the focus is on God. For Buddhism, they are taught that believing in gods was not useful for people who were seeking enlightenment. In most religions, they are defined by their beliefs. Buddha said that we should not accept doctrines just because we read them in scripture or are taught them by priests. Buddha taught people how to realize truth for ourselves. The focus is on practice rather than belief. The foundation of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths, which are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, the truth of the path that frees us from suffering. The fourth of Buddha’s Noble Truths is The Noble Eightfold Path, it consists of eight factors, which are right view, right...
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...Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Thich Nhat Hanh: “Buddhism is already engaged. If it is not, it is not Buddhism.” Walpola Rahula: “Buddhism is based on service to others”…political and social engagement is the “heritage of the bhikkhu” and the essence of Buddhism. Robert Thurman: “The primary Buddhist position on social action is one of total activism, an unswerving commitment to complete self-transformation and complete world-transformation.” Stated in simplest terms, engaged Buddhism means the application of Buddhist teachings to contemporary social problems. Engaged Buddhism is a modern reformist movement. A practitioner is socially engaged “in a nonviolent way, motivated by concern for the welfare of others, and as an expression of one’s own practice of the Buddhist Way” (King Being 5). In this description Sallie B. King invokes the spirit of the Bodhisattva vow: May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. According to Ken Jones engaged Buddhism is “an explication of social, economic, and political processes and their ecological implications, derived from a Buddhist diagnosis of the existential human condition” (Kraft New). Jones emphasizes the social theory underlying engaged Buddhism. According to engaged Buddhists the “three poisons” of greed, anger and ignorance apply both to the individual and to “large-scale social and economic forces” (Kraft New); their remediation is therefore the collective concern of society. As the subject...
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...I. Modern Buddhism is a resilient religion that differs much from modern Seventh-Day Adventists; but, there are some similarities between the two religions. II. History of Buddhism A. Buddhism originated in northern India in the 5th century B.C.E 1. . Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism and is a ‘Dharmic’ religion. a. The (Buddhism) tradition traces its origin to Siddhartha Gautama (or Gotama), who is typically referred to as the Buddha (literally the "Awakened" or "Enlightened One"). i. Siddhartha observed the suffering in the world and set out to find an antidote. ii. Through meditation and analysis, he attained an enlightened state of being that marked the end of attachments (and therefore suffering), and ultimately, upon his death, release from the cycle of rebirth (samsara). b. The Buddhist canon consists of a vast corpus of texts that cover philosophical, devotional, and monastic matters. 2. There are currently three major branches of the tradition — the Theravada ("Doctrine of the Elders"), the Mahayana ("Great Vehicle), and the Vajrayana ("Diamond Vehicle," often simply called "Tibetan Buddhism") B. Concept of deity(s) and Practices 1. Instead of deities, Devas or celestial beings are accepted as those suffering in the samsara. 2. Buddhists practice Threefold Training: Morality, Concentration...
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...Introduction Hinduism is a major world religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent and consists of several schools of varied rituals, philosophies and beliefs. The name, Hinduism, is actually coined by British journalists and writers in the early 19th century to refer to the tradition of texts and practices. It is believed that Hinduism is now the worlds oldest and widely practiced religions known today having dated back to around the 3rd or 2nd millennium bce. When the term “Hinduism” was first published to describe the religion, it has since been met with mixed reactions with some rejecting it in favor of indigenous formulations. Some have taking to the term “Vedic Religion” as a way to refer to the ancient texts known as the “Vedas”. The majority of those who practice the religion do accept the term “Hinduism”. Hinduism and Buddhism Despite the labeling and acceptance thereof, Hinduism has managed to stay as a thriving religion with various influences in many cultures. Its believed that Hinduism and Buddhism share a common bond. The Buddha was born to a Hindu family and some still argue that because of this, Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism and that the Buddha was a part of the Hindu pantheon, a view which is not accepted by many Buddhists. Long ago, Hindu tradition accepted the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu. There were many that didn’t believe that Buddha’s teachings and enlightenment were of any relation to the Hindu beliefs though. Despite the fundamental...
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...worshiping the spirits of nature as a reality of the world (Molly, 2010). Shintoism is one of the oldest religions in Japan and to keep its teaching alive Japan gave it its name when Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century. Although, this did not stop people from coming to Japan to compare their religions, how this religion interacts with the modern world, and how Shintoism would influence other religions in the modern world (Molly, 2010). When comparing Shintoism to other religions such as, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism many people may automatically say there are not comparisons between the religions. When researching comparisons between these religions, people can say they all believe in a higher power, but that is not where the similarities end. Shinto and Buddhism care two religions that taught and learned from each other by adopting beliefs from each other. The both believed in having a place of worship called shrines and temples. They also believed in more than one higher deity who were a loving and benign (Find the best, 2014). When China entered Japan, the Chinese introduced Buddhism, and the Shinto believed Buddhism was another deity to be worshiped. They also believed in salvation and for them this meant being delivered from evil spirits and accomplishing this they will be purified with water and prayer. The Shinto adopted art, writing, and philosophy to their beliefs that are the same Buddhism (Osborn, 2013). When comparing Shintoism and Confucianism...
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...Socially Engaged Buddhism Buddhism is a religion that is said to arise in India around the 6th or 7th century BCE, but has spread all around the world as the times went on. Buddhism focuses mainly on the teachings of Siddhartha Guatma, who is the current Buddha. Buddhism is ultimately about teaching a man to lead a good life that will eventually lead a person to enlightenment. With a standard of living being around for so long, the ways must change with the times. That’s where Socially Engaged Buddhism comes in. For Buddhists, Socially Engaged Buddhism is a Buddhism movement that provides an answer for social issues in the world. Socially Engaged Buddhism is a very important aspect to Buddhism and without it Buddhism would not be able to evolve and adapt with the world in issues such as war, poverty and human rights. Buddhism has a single figure as the founder, Siddhartha. Siddhartha went on a “great departure” after seeing pain and suffering that other people were experiencing around him, which had no idea this was a problem before. After his journey he experiences Nirvana and teaches everything he has experienced in his life. On the other hand, Socially Engaged Buddhism does not come from a single founder. That doesn’t mean there still aren’t important figures attached to the movement. Thich Nhat Hanh is a teacher who even to this day still offers his knowledge. He is also active in the peace movement and promotes non-violence. He tries to emphasize people to “look at reality...
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...organization which collects a group of people who interested in Buddhism. BBAC locates in Bethel RD and founded by Mr. Guo who graduated from OSU and got a PhD in agricultural economics. This organization has a lot of communications with other religious group. For today’s presentation, I want to research how the images on website send a message to BBAC’s identity. Picture 2: Here is the preach area in BBAC. Although you may think it is very small and shabby, it reflects cleanness and nature of Buddhism. There are some specific aspects of Buddhism in this picture. You can notice that there is a picture of Buddha hanging on the wall, Buddhists should pray in front of the picture in order to show devotedness. Picture 3: In this picture, many plants set around this monk. I want to emphasis that in Buddhism’s concepts, close to nature is very important. In fact, in ancient time, killing poultry and eating meat as well as getting married are strictly prohibited in Buddhism, which means all Buddhists are vegetarians and single. Although this rule is not that strict nowadays, a group of devoted Buddhists still follow this rule. Picture 4: The logo of BBAC is a Lotus. In fact, lotus has a special meaning in Buddhism, or even in the East World. Lotus represents cleanness and tenacious. Buddhism usually use lotus to praise follower’s prominent morality. In addition, BBAC can also use lotus describe itself, because Buddhism in Columbus is just at the initial stage which means it may...
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...Relation between Koan and Zen Meditation Because koan is the Way which leads a person to mindfulness, koan is essential to Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism has had such great influence on the life and culture of Japan. Zen Buddhism is a “just sitting” style of Japanese Buddhism that has been influenced by Chinese Zen. The person who discovered or revised this technique was Tendai monk Eisai. “Eisai went to Mountain Tiantai in China and practiced by eliminating all traditional aspects of Chinese Zen Buddhism except for shikantaza (just sitting) and the meditation of koans (puzzles aimed at overcoming dualistic thoughts) and returned to Japan with Zen” (Koller 278). As Eisai returned, he forcefully headed to Kamakura to establish new temple. At Kamakura, Samurais recognized the importance of Zen in mental detachment and practices of daily life, they allowed Eisai to flourish the temple and after his death, Samurais built Rinzai school of Zen which exercised great influence in Japanese culture, thoughts, and philosophy. The origin of Japanese tea culture is also from Rinzai. Similar to original Buddhism, Zen Buddhism is not a theory or a conception of the world but it is practical experience. A person who meditates is already a Buddhist. One cannot truly understand or comprehend Zen Buddhism until experiencing it. “While intellectual understanding and thinking only grasp the subjects of representation of things, experiencing not only grasps subjects but also does not have distinction...
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...REL 212 Comparison of Two Religions Karen Fulton November 4, 2013 Prof. William Denning REL 212 REL 212 Comparison of Two Religions Karen Fulton November 4, 2013 Prof. William Denning REL 212 Jainism and Buddhism Jainism is one of the oldest of the oldest religions known today. Its origins lie in the county of India. The origin can be traced back to the Indus River Valley civilization of 3000 B.C. Jains believe that there were twenty-four great teachers called Tirthankaras-people who attained all knowledge and preached it to the people. Approximately 2600 years ago Lord Mahavir or Vardhaman (599 to 527 BC), the last of the Tirthankar expounded the Jain philosophy. In essence Jainism addresses the true nature of reality. Jains believe in reincarnation, their souls, which are believed to be a unique substance in the universe, take different living forms in the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Jains believe in the philosophy of karma, reincarnation of worldly soul, hell and heaven as a punishment or reward for one’s deeds, and liberation of the self-form life’s misery of birth and death in a way similar to the Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Jains belief has Hinduism historical roots, but many differences between the two Indian religions. Another belief is the universe and everything in it is eternal and nothing that exist now was ever created nor will it be destroyed , and there are three realms , the heavens, the earth, and hell. They also say humans can attain...
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...This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how Christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory. The Christian religion, like all other religions has its strengths and weaknesses in our modern society. Perhaps the strengths out weight the weaknesses as this is one of the largest religions in the world. Hundreds of people follow the Catholic/Christian religion yet still a greater number follow yet other religions. Perhaps this is because they see the weaknesses or perhaps it is simply because their parents have taught them that it is a sin to follow this religion. The Christian religions do however present much more of an appealing atmosphere...
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... How did Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam spread across the world, and why are they practiced so far from their origins? Question 2. How did these three major world religions change and adapt to diverse cultural circumstances? Question 3. Why did Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam emerge when and where they did? Question 4. How did Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam interact with, provide justification for, and conflict with various states and empires in Afro-Eurasia? The Big Picture How is this topic related to Increasing Integration? As Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam spread across the borders and frontiers of Afro-Eurasia, they integrated diverse peoples by means of a common religion. How is this topic related to Proliferating Difference? The spread of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam introduced new beliefs and practices to a wide variety of peoples. These beliefs and practices were often quite different from indigenous religions. In addition, indigenous beliefs and practices often changed the new religions as they adapted to local conditions. These changes frequently resulted in the development of different sects within the new religions. Unit Purpose ß Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam spread across borders and frontiers as a result of missionaries, pilgrims, and trade. Each of these three major world religions changed over time, and all served as elements of change in the societies where they were introduced. ß 1 ß Conversion to the three major world religions...
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