...and took seven steps, wherever his feet touched the earth lotuses sprang up. Raising his hand, he said: "Worlds above, worlds below, there's no one in the world like me." In India 2,500 years ago Buddhism began, it is the dominant world religion in the East. There are over 360 million followers of Buddhism worldwide and over a million American Buddhists today. Buddhism has taken many forms. While some emphasize rituals and the worship of deities, others reject rituals and gods in favor of meditation. All forms of Buddhism share the teachings of the Buddha and the goal of ending suffering and the cycle of rebirth....
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...Buddhism Buddhism is a way of life that exceeds beyond religion. The word Buddhism is derived from “budhi,” meaning “to awaken.” (A Basic Buddhism Guide) Siddhartha Gotama, Buddha, realized that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness; therefore, he explored different religions and philosophies in search of the key to human happiness. Siddhartha Gotama continued his exploration for six years until he was enlightened. Once enlightened, the Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism. Buddhism encompasses Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The first noble truth is life is suffering. Life includes pain, illness, death, and many other irrefutable facts that cannot be denied. Buddhism focuses...
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...Buddhism, with about 365 million followers makes up 6% of the world's population and is the fourth largest religion in the world (exceeded by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism). Buddhism was founded in Northern India in the sixth century by the first Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama when he attained enlightenment. Buddhism is made up three main forms. They are Theravada Buddhism found mainly in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos, Mahayana Buddhism which is largely found in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia and Vajrayana Buddhism. Gautama Buddha, Siddharta, the prince who found Enlightenment after years of fasting, meditation and having followed the best spiritual teachers of India, When he was twentynine years old, he left the comforts of his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him. After six years of arduous yogic training, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and instead sat in meditation beneath a bodhi tree. When Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, are honoring the man who started the whole tradition and taking refuge in the Buddha. Dharma (or Dhamma in Pali) stands for the teachings of Buddhism, or for the practice of the Buddhist Path. And for all of the different branches of Buddhism this is obviously going to include a wide variety of texts and teachings. There are four principle beliefs in Buddhism but, the main two really known are The Four Nobel Truths and The Eightfold Path. The “Four Noble Truths” of Buddhism are: Life means suffering...
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...Name – Urmit Shah PRN - 14060321094 The Four Noble Truths The Four Noble Truths are: 1. Noble Truth Of Stress (Dukkha) 2. Noble Truth Of The Origination Of Stress (Craving) (Tanha) 3. Noble Truth Of The Cessation Of The Stress (Nirvana) 4. Noble Truth Of The Way Of Practice (Noble Eightfold Path) Noble Truth Of Stress (Dukkha) Suffering is the translation of ‘Dukkha’. Buddhism explains three types of Dukkha : 1. Pain (Physical /mental) - It is the sort of feeling that you experience when you fall and hurt yourself. Or the normal headaches that you experience. 2. Dukkha Of Change – This sort of dukkha exists because according to the Buddhist tradition the system is in flux (Constantly changing- Anitya). Even Happiness and laughter are considered to be Dukkha as they are not permanent. 3. Dukkha Of Conditions- The world which we live in is conditioned and we are brought up/moulded according to the conditions. According to Buddhism Samsara is conditioned and that is why there is impermanence. Noble Truth Of The Origination Of Stress (Craving) (Tanha) Origin of Dukkha is ‘Craving’(Tanha). Craving can be of three types: 1. Craving for sensual pleasure 2. Craving for existence – It is the craving for eternal life. 3. Craving for non-existence – It is the craving for the end of the life (death/end of all the consciousness) Craving is different from ‘Want’. Craving according to the Buddhism is faulty but ‘want’ is not. ‘Want’ arises out of a rational...
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...Buddhism Deriving from India as early as the 6th century BC Buddhism is one of the worlds oldest religions. Buddhism has been and still is one of the world’s most popular religions with about 350 million followers ranking just below Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. There is no surprise in the amount of followers that Buddhism has considering it has been around for so long and wouldn’t be able to stay a religion so long without loyal adherents. Buddhism is based off of the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, a royal prince born in Nepal. Siddhartha Gautama is also known as the Buddha or in other words “the awakened one”. The Buddha was believed to be enlightened teacher who believed it was best to live in the moment. As said by the Buddha “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” Buddhists who would follow his teachings did so to escape their suffering. To escape their suffering they would have to achieve the state of nirvana. To achieve nirvana the Buddhists must first understand The Four Noble Truths and then practice the Eightfold Path. Buddhism believes in three main ideas when it comes to life and the rest of the world: Samsara, Karma, and Rebirth. Samsara is when a person continually goes through birth, life and death while cycling through the six realms of existence while doing so. Samsara causes suffering and unhappiness, which is the purpose of it because...
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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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...Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world in terms of adherents, geographical distribution, and socio-cultural influence. While for a long time it has been an “Eastern” religion, it has been gaining an increasing popularity and influence also on the Western world. It is a religion that is unique in the world in its own right, although it has much in common with Hinduism in which the two can be called “Eastern” religions, who believe in karma, the cause and effect; maya, the illusory nature of the world; and samsara, the cycle of reincarnation among other things. Buddhists believe that the ultimate goal in life is to achieve “enlightenment” as they perceive their existence. Buddhism came from Hinduism and spread throughout the Eastern countries until reaching global popularity. The most important person and the founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha after his awakening. He was the son of the head of the Shakya Warrior class. It is said that the Brahmins examined to the newborn, and predicted his destiny as a universal monarch or Buddha. According to “The Buddha’s Early Life” online reading, Siddhartha started looking enlightenment at age 29, when first saw an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. With the help of his friend Channa, Siddhartha suddenly discovered that suffering is the destiny of all mankind. Then he found a peaceful and serene mendicant monk, and thereafter decided to adopt their way of life, so abandoned his family, wealth and power to start...
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...Buddhism Presentation: Zen Buddhism Chiffon Anderson REL/133 Deborah Wilkinson February 23, 2015 Buddhism Presentation: Zen Buddhism The religion of Buddhism started in the country of India around the fifth century BCE. Buddhism is known as a noneistic religion or as dharma which is the right way of living. Buddhism has a number of traditions, practices and beliefs all largely attributed t Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha “the awakened one.” The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to attain nirvana by practicing the middle way or the Noble Eightfold Path. Zen Buddhism became popular in China, Korea, and Japan and it puts stress on deep meditation. Zen Buddhism puts stress also on scriptures than other forms of Buddhism and focuses on direct spiritual break through to truth. HISTORY OF BUDDHISM Buddhism started in the country of India around the fifth century BCE. The religion of Buddhism encompasses a variety of beliefs, traditions, and practices all taught by their religious leader Buddha. Buddhism believes in samsara, karma, and rebirth. Samsara which is the continual repetitive sequences of birth and death. Karma within Buddhism is a life force that drives samsara; this is the sequences of suffering and rebirth for each person. Karma is also the action of the body, speech, and mind that comes from mental intent and brings forth the penalty or result. Reincarnation or rebirth is the process where the individual being goes through a series of lifetimes as one of many...
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...Buddhism Buddhism is one of the oldest and most practiced religions in Asia. There are two different types practiced today Theravada and Mahayana; Theravada is practiced in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka, and Mahayana is practiced in China, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Tibet and Mongolia. Even though Theravada and Mahayana fall under the same religion, they are different styles because they were developed at different times. Theravada is considered to be the original, orthodox Buddhism, while Mahayana was developed later. It all started with Prince Siddhartha Gautama, he was born 563 B.C.E. in present day Nepal and died at 80 in India. He was sheltered much all of his life until one day he disobeyed his father and left the royal grounds. That day he witnessed all the suffering of ordinary lives and realized that he had been hidden from the true world, even if bad things were beyond the walls. Later he decided to run away to try and solve all his questions about suffering and death. Later on he became enlightened under the Bodhi tree after six years of extreme ascetic practices. If he/she follows key aspects of Buddhism, one can reach nirvana like Siddhartha once did. Buddhism has many teachings to offer for anyone who follows the religion, but the Four Noble Truths are one of the most important. The Four Noble Truths state, “1. All life is suffering (dukkha). 2. The immediate cause of suffering is desire. The ultimate cause of suffering is ignorance concerning...
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...is Buddhism. Buddhism is a religious faith that is different from all the other religions. The people who live by this faith have the opportunity to worship other Gods; in this case worshipping different deities depending on what type of situation they were in, and what they needed at that specific moment. One of the biggest historical figures that has helped mold this religion into what it is today is the prophet Muhammad. He wasn’t necessarily the person they worship to; however, he did have an unbelievable contribution toward this faith. I ultimately, and honestly, believe Buddhists’ and Buddhism itself is one of the most complicated religions in today’s society. Buddhism came around about 2,500 years ago. The very first founder of this religion was a man named Buddha Shakyamuni. He was born around 624 BC, in northern India, which it is now referred to as Nepal ("History of Buddhism", 2007). He was given the name Siddhartha by his parents because they believed would have a good future and positive things were going to happen to their son. Early on Siddhartha lived life well; as he was the son of wealthy people. Therefore most of everything came easy to him because of his good fortunes, however to everyone else is seems great but to this meant he was sheltered most of his life. In other words, he was given anything and everything he had ever wanted, and didn’t have a problem in the world. For some reason his wealthy father never informed him about the four noble truths...
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...Buddhism Worksheet Write a 1- to 2-paragraph response for each of the following. 1. Explain the basic Buddhist teachings including the three marks of reality, the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path. The three marks of reality are change, no permanent identity, and suffering. Buddha recommended that people look at life as it really is; life is full of impermanence, or constant change. Buddha also urged people to abandon egotism and a fixation on material objects. He denied the existence of the permanent identity of anything. The third characteristic of reality is suffering; meaning that life can never be fully satisfying because of inescapable change. It encompasses the whole range, from horrible suffering to everyday frustration. The Four Noble Truths are a linked chain of truths about life. They are as follows: 1. Suffering exists. 2. It has a cause. 3. It has an end. 4. There is a way to attain release from suffering; specifically, by following the Noble Eightfold Path, (Michael Molloy, 2010). The First Noble Truth: To Live is to Suffer The Second Noble Truth: Suffering Comes from Desire The Third Noble Truth: To End Suffering, End Desire The Fourth Noble Truth: Release from Suffering is Possible and Can Be Attained by Following the Noble Eightfold Path. The eight steps of the path form a program that the Buddha taught that will lead those who follow it toward liberation from the impermanence and suffering of reality, (Michael...
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...Siddhartha’s Journey to Enlightenment When Siddhartha Gautama was about five days old, his father, King Suddhodana, was told by a holy man that his son would either be would be either a great military conqueror or a great spiritual teacher. Upon hearing that, the King decided to raise his son in a life of luxury and shield him from religion and the knowledge of human suffering. He did this because he wanted his son to be a ruler, not a spiritual leader. After twenty-nine years of knowing very little about what went on outside of his kingdom, he decided to step outside his kingdom and see what the outside world was like. He saw suffering all around him and was sickened by it. After awhile the Price saw a wandering ascetic. The Prince’s chariot driver explained that the ascetic was person who had renounced the world and wanted freedom from fear of death and suffering. After returning to his kingdom, he was unhappy. The life he once was content with made him unhappy and he couldn’t go on living ignorantly after being exposed to human suffering. One night, he left the palace so set out on his journey to find enlightenment. Siddhartha began his journey by seeking the teachings of philosophers. The philosopher’s taught him how to mediate and information about different religions, like Hinduism. The Prince also tried to find release from human suffering by physical self-discipline. Siddhartha would hold his breath for periods of time. He would only eat one grain of rice and one drop...
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...Research Paper Topic: Buddhism Michael Kolbe July 21, 2010 Research Paper Religions of the World MW 6:00-9:15 Abstract/Thesis: The Religion Buddhism comes from the story of Gautama Siddhartha. Siddhartha was prophesized to be a world ruler or a spiritual leader, and despite his parents attempts to facilitate the former he chose the latter. It was originally founded in India, but spread to other parts of Asia, Including China and Japan. In China and Japan the differences in culture force Buddhism to be changed slightly in some cases and a little more in others. Bothe China and Japan have started schools/sects that differ from the original Buddhism. In this paper I will explain the teachings and Origin of Buddhism and briefly describe some of the schools/sects that have sprouted up in China and Japan. After describing these schools/sects I will compare them and their principals to those of the original Buddhist teachings from India. This paper will describe how Buddhism spread across Asia and became known as a religion rather than just teachings. Buddhism is a Religion, founded in India, which came from the teachings of Gautama Siddhartha or “the Buddha”. Although no missionary movements were developed, Buddhism was still spread around Asia. The spread occurred because of Shakyamuni Buddha, who was a teacher. He traveled around to different kingdoms sharing his teachings to those that would listen. (The Spread of Buddhism in Asia 1) Even though he instructed...
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...Buddhism “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world” - Buddha Buddhism began in India about 2,500 years ago. It is practiced worldwide by approximately 350-500 million followers. It is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who is commonly referred to as the Buddha. It is classified as a religion that is practiced as a way of life. The Buddhist path encourages its followers to lead a moral life, to be mindful and aware of thought and actions, and to develop wisdom and understanding. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is to become “awakened” or to reach “enlightenment”; a place referred to as Nirvana (White, 1993). Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized. Theravada is the “School of Elders” and Mahayana is the “Great Vehicle”. The foundation of Buddhist practice is The Three Jewels: The Buddha, The Dharma (the teachings), and The Sangha (the community). Accepting the Three Jewels is committing oneself to the path of enlightenment (Hardy, n.d.). The basic beliefs of Buddhism are The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path. The First Noble Truth teaches that in life one will experience suffering and explains how suffering can be avoided to achieve happiness. The Second Noble Truth explains that suffering is created by human cravings and aversion that causes an individual to be born and reborn resulting in continued suffering. The Third Noble Truth teaches that suffering can be defeated and...
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...between the state of enlightenment and a practitioner of Buddhism. Every selfless action that an individual does, chips away at that brick wall. On the other hand, every act that is even remotely selfish, adds another whole brick onto the wall. With the goal being to break down the wall, every practitioner aspires to extinguish every portion of their inner self. Peter Harvey, a renowned author on the topic of Buddhism, discussed how the intentions behind an individual’s actions determine...
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