Being a Buddhist

A crucial concept required for this discussion is the concept of “emptiness”. Emptiness is the notion that nothing has an underlying essence or inherent existence. Therefore, even though things may appear to

As followers of the Buddha, we should establish Humanistic Buddhism in society with the aim to propagating and glorifying it.”

It goes without saying that I learned so much in Religious Studies 101. I was introduced to multiple world religions that were foreign to me prior to taking the class. I never felt the need to explore any other religion besides Christianity because I was content with my faith. However, after learning about different religions and interacting with people that are not Christian, and grew up with different beliefs and values, I now find myself questioning reconsidering my beliefs. By being exposed to the rituals and ideas of cultures and religions across the globe, I find myself wondering what it would be like to follow some of these principles or to try some of these practices for myself. I find myself trying to follow the moral guidelines and principles of the traditions I learn about all the time. It has helped me ask even more questions and broadened my horizons. It 's helping me shape my beliefs and find out who I want to become. I was especially fascinated with Buddhism and have grown a huge admiration for it. In my learning portfolio I will examine what I learned about Buddhism and what about it is so appealing to me. I will also briefly summarize that I learned that Buddhism – just like any other religions, is not flawless and cannot provide a perfect view of life that would be influential enough for me to devote my faith to it. However, there are certain

As a college student that has lived and grown up in western New York, I do not have too much experience with the other religions of the world. I have grown up a Christian Protestant my whole life, and I am a firm believer in my religion. Soon after reading the chapter on Buddhism in Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions, I came to understand and respect the Buddhist religion. I came to learn who the Buddha as a man really was, and the steps he took in becoming a religious icon. I know understand that Buddhism is not all meditation and relaxing. There is a strict code of the four noble truths and the prescription of getting through them called the eightfold path. Much like Christianity Buddhism also has many different views

Buddhism has been around for over two thousand years, and continues to do so in many countries around the world. This religion originates in Asia and has a very unique adversity, much of its structure arose from the end of World War II, predominantly Asian nations needed to restructure society (RoAT 167). The word ‘Buddha’ means one who has awakened and will no longer be reborn. Thereafter, one who will enter nirvana, the state of being free from suffering.

Buddhism originated in the early Fifth century BCE, from the teachings of Siddhartha Buddha (Fisher, 2005). Plagued by the desire to help end human suffering, Buddha reached a state of pure enlightenment showing him the way to end earthly suffering. Through meditation, people can control the desires of their human nature. By gaining control of our desires we can end our suffering. He taught his wisdom to all that wanted to learn. After his death, three main forms of Buddhism emerged; there was the Theravada’s, the Mahayana’s, and the Zen Buddhists (Fisher, 2005). For the sake of this report, the local Buddhist

Buddhism is a religion that focuses more on the individual and the actions of that individual, which was prevalent to me when I made my way into Portland and set foot in a Buddhist temple. The man I met within the walls of this temple was far from my stereotypical thoughts of Buddhist monks. The man I met looked like your plain old, average Joe, American man. Before I delve into the depths of my visit to this inspiring place, I need to sum up the Buddhist religion and why I chose to study this particular group of people.

“Buddhism, it can’t be a religion.” one might say. Before getting to understand Buddhism I saw people just meditating calmly sitting in peace, all I thought in my head was, what a boring life they have. I wasn’t open-minded of why they were doing these things. This last year though, I have been told to try meditating to calm my nervous and mind down, since I was having so many problems with stress. After meditating a few times a week I saw results of my anxiety. After the third section of meditation, I looked forward to it, since I always felt at ease after wish a following of wonderful sleep. With experiencing what I did I grew an interest in wanting to understand what Buddhism was. I had known idea what they worshipped but from the point of view of wanting to learn I saw them more know was at peace with themselves. Before I started an interview to find out about Buddhism I looked up and read some things about it. First thing that shocked me over all was that there is no God or gods. I question for a second in my head if I was reading it correctly, but I was. It is a very psychological religion, very mind based.

Buddhism; Though it isn't the most popular religion in the world, it is definitely one where the practices of the Buddhist ahereants are well known as well as their beliefs. About six percent of the world today follows Buddhist traditions. This is nearly 376 million people. However, even though nearly every student at some point during their academic life will encounter a class that teaches about the Buddhist lifestyle, the best way to truly undertand it is by visiting the Buddhist Temple. Upon visting this temple we were given the chance to speak to a monk and learn about the life of Buddha, the life of the monks, and the beliefs behind the Buddhist way of life.

Monastics and lay followers are both essential in ensuring that the Buddhist community, the Sangha, is run smoothly. A lay follower may be looked at as someone who isn’t completely devoted to Buddhism because they aren’t living the monastic lifestyle, obeying all the strict rules set forth in the Sekhiya Dhamma, such as “with downcast eye will I take a seat amidst the houses” and “not with too large balls will I make (up my food)…” but the Sangha would not thrive without the vital help of lay followers who provide the actual food and resources that monks need to even obey these rules as well as function and practice Buddhism. Even though lay followers are not nuns or monks, they are still Buddhists and strive to live by and understand teachings and avoid doing major things that are frowned upon in the Buddhist world. Being a monastic is taking on a serious role that takes an immense amount of commitment and dedication and not all people who practice Buddhism can do that, which is okay because lay followers are necessary in the Sangha. Along with supplying resources for the Buddhist community, they also spread teachings and knowledge to others.

Today, I persuaded some of the Buddhist guards at the Yemen Pass to let me pass to start my journey. I escaped through Liangzhou and Qinghai. The emperors didn’t let any travels to the west to prevent the attacks of Turks. I had to go to India from Chang’an whether he approved or not. I rather die facing the west than return to live in the east. My horse and I started our journey on and were saved when we found the pond of fresh water.

Though Buddhism has only fairly recently had a resurgence in the Eastern world and even more recently been brought to the Western world, the religion has already gained millions of followers. The BBC documentary, “The Life of Buddha” not only displays the personal history of the Buddha himself, but also his continuing impact on the world. The Buddha was truly an extraordinary figure and though many have tried to vanquish his following, the religion that he created has truly stood the test of time.

Buddhism is a religion unlike any other in what they believe in and the teachings they follow. Before reading Damien Keown’s Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, I did not know much about Buddhism at all. The only things I knew is that people worship a Buddha, and that Tiger Wood’s is a Buddhist. Damien Keown helped me to understand the Buddhism belief’s and teaching’s, as well as help me get a better understanding of what Buddhism really is. I realized that Buddhism is almost more of a way of life than a religion. Although, it is hard to fully classify Buddhism as a religion, way of life, philosophy, or code of ethics.

In the United States there are over four million buddhists, one thousand temples, study groups, or Buddhists associations (Monroe 108). This number has come from just one man searching to find happiness and eventually enlightenment. Buddha’s story is how buddhism became a religion all over the world. It teaches a peaceful manner, reveals the key to happiness for the mind, and eliminates the desire in life. Not just the history of buddhism is important, but how it has spread through the world and what it looks like today.

Buddhism is a life changing experience that can help people change their life for the better as it creates a happier and healthier environment. By the end of this summer I will have been a Buddhist for over four years now and I can honestly say that it has made an enormous impact on my life. I have become a less stressed and more relaxed person from applying the Dharma basic principles to my everyday routine. Dharma has helped create my own enlightenment path to eliminating my anger and transgression. After I made the change from Lutheran to Buddhism it has help me through a great deal of problems that I never could stop dwelling over and even just little everyday problems. When I had first heard about Buddhism it was on TV from then on I was intrigued. Coming from a family that never paid much attention to religion, never having been to church and only praying at thanksgiving I never had much interest in religion until I started researching about Buddhism. From then on I started to practice the teachings of Buddha and began to somewhat master the lessons, although I haven’t had much time to practice and there are said to be lessons that take Buddhist almost a lifetime to accomplish.