Buddhisattev A Spiritual Analysis

Buddhism see’s the Four Noble Truths as the Buddha’s way of explaining the truth of the human condition and are described as the essence of His teachings. The Four Noble Truths play an important part in understanding the Buddha’s teachings and are essential in realising the goal of His teachings, which is to show individuals how to overcome suffering and obtain Nibbana, a place of peace and happiness where an individual ceases to experience suffering (Dukkha). Buddhism can be described as a religion one must practice and experience in order to grasp a full understanding of, with the Four Noble Truths themselves coming from the personal experience of The Buddha. It is through experiencing the extremes of life that the Buddha had an awakening and ultimately came to understand the truth of the world, as elucidated in the Four Noble Truths. Buddhism see’s the Buddha’s experience and subsequent awakening as reason in itself to support the Four Noble Truths and of the possibility of attaining Nibbana for all sentient beings. Objections raised against the first Noble Truth, which states that there is suffering (Dukkha), and that everything in life is pervaded by dissatisfaction, revolve around

The Buddha's teachings can be understood on two distinct levels. One is logical and conceptual and is concerned with an intellectual comprehension of man and the external universe. The second level is empirical, experiential and psychological. It concerns the ever-present and inescapable phenomena of human experience -- love and hate, fear and sorrow, pride and passion, frustration and lation. And most important, it explains the origins of such states of mind and prescribes the means for cultivating those states which are rewarding and wholesome and of diminishing those which are unsatisfactory and unwholesome. It was to this second level that the Buddha gave greater emphasis and importance.

There have been many teachers in one’s lifetime, some more important than others. These teachers and instructors affect different people in different ways, and lessons are learned that are important to prepare for real life situations. In the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, a young Brahmin named Siddhartha is not content with his current spiritual self. Siddhartha is directed to spiritual enlightenment and Nirvana because of his guidance and teaching from Kamala, Kamaswami, and Vasudeva.

The Christian philosophy of care involves the act of charity, the virtue of looking after someone or something outside of one's self. Jesus Christ essentially divided the Mosaic law into two parts, the first concerning man's duty towards God, and the second concerning man's duty towards his fellow man. In a sense, Christ intimated that we are all our brother's keeper. Eastern religions have a different philosophy of care, however. Their spiritual perspective on healing is derived from their spiritual objective which is release from the circle of life. Karma represents the Eastern philosophical equivalent of the Western maxim, "What goes around, comes around." Release from this continuous cycle is what is meant by moksha or, the attainment of nirvana (a place free of suffering, according to Buddhism). The Eastern religions and philosophies all give varying accounts of karma, samsara, moksha, and nirvana.This paper will examine Sikhism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, analyze their belief systems, and show how they compare and contrast with one another and with Christianity.

Buddhism is defined as “...a way of finding peace within oneself” (About Buddhism 2007). Buddhists work towards finding inner peace, kindness, and wisdom in all their practices in attempt to reach the ultimate goal of happiness (About Buddhism 2007). In this essay I will be discussing how Buddhism is practiced and taught through the process of, meditation, karma and its laws, the significance of the Buddha, and The Four Noble Truths, and finally what it means to be enlightened.

For eons, humanity has tried to unlock a pathway into a state of elevated existence. People have never been able to experience the afterlife without dying, and it has been wondered if there is anything on this earth that can connect us with the creator of this multiverse. Through thousands of years, and countless ancient tribal practices, there has been hidden from the majority of those who populate the Earth, a key which unlocks an experience like none other; literally transcending the confines of the human psyche as it is in our physical bodies. This door to another dimension is a substance known by scientific communities as Dimethyltryptamine, or simply, DMT.

In Siddhartha 's first phase, Siddhartha, a wealthy Brahmin found that even though “everyone loved” him, he could not “bring himself joy” and “please himself” (Hesse). This discontent was spurred by the fact that “the wise Brahmins had shared the majority and the best of their wisdom with him;” yet, he was not satisfied nor did this quench his thirst for knowledge but only fueled it (Hesse). Questions arose, about sacrifices, happiness and Atman, “did he who possessed so much wisdom live a blessed life” (Hesse)? At this moment in Siddhartha’s life, he was without peace and he wanted to find answers to these many questions. Focused and hellbent on the journey to enlightenment, Siddhartha made an audacious decision to “go to the Samanas [and] become a Samana” (Hesse). Through hours of an impasse between Siddharth and his father, his father finally agreed to let Siddhartha continue his life journey that began with becoming a Samana. Through this phase, Siddhartha learned he was unsatisfied with practices such as sacrificing, and that he had already achieved the wisdom obtainable from

When Siddhartha leaves and joins the Samanas we begin to understand the origin of where his suffering is coming from; which is all seen as the second noble truth. In his search for enlightenment Siddhartha hoped that by joining the samanas that he would be liberated from

Buddhism stands as a philosophy and a religion founding itself on the theory of a possible eternal soul. Until awakening is achieved, this eternal soul is locked in the vicious cycle of rebirth (Samsara). According to the Four Noble Truths preached by the Buddha, life is a perpetual suffering caused by desire and attachment, and freedom from suffering is only possible by practicing the Eightfold Path. The World is suffering in a succession of temptations and negative experiences from birth to death. Therefore Buddhism advises on searching to go beyond suffering, and only aspire to rest, nothingness, and liberation, into a final state called Nirvana. Happiness or Nirvana can eventually be achieved in a hereafter, another life, if man abandons any desire or perspective of action within his present life, in order to go past suffering.

Enlightenment is defined as the understanding and knowledge with the lack of hope and pain. The idea of enlightenment can be found I different situations that can be connected through the spiritual awakening of one’s self. Siddhartha and the little boy from The Ocean at the End of the Lane are worlds apart in age, creed, culture and historical era, they are similar in that they are both on a journey of spiritual awakening.

The Jataka is the most important Buddhist literature which was written in the 4th century BCE, and there are 547 stories. These stories are about the early lives of the Buddha before he was enlightened. The Buddha was born and reincarnated in rituals of humans, animals, and god. Buddhism is the religion of compassion that teach moral values and provides lessons. The objective of Buddhism is to enlighten about dharma and karma that might help individuals to escape the karmic cycle and reach nirvana. Dharma is expressed as the system of ethical behavior of life, distributing good life energy through the universe. Karma is mean as the network of cause/effect from the human action that can determine future reincarnation as a higher or lower creature.

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.

The path to spiritual freedom is sought by many people in this world. Relief from suffering is sought by many more. In these times, in all times past, and probably in times to come, the need for a spiritual guide is apparent. Kwan Yin (Guan Shih Yin in China, Kannon in Japan) is a Buddhist goddess of compassion who provides this guidance and direction for countless people.

The Little Buddha is an amazing, and uplifting movie, and full of positive meaning, yet it also is full of religious meaning. Aspects of life and death are shown throughout the movie, but the film mainly explains three key aspects of Buddhism. Buddhist teachings of reincarnation, impermanence, and enlightenment, are connected deeply to each other and is illustrated throughout the film. The first Buddhist teaching of reincarnation is evident from the beginning of the movie. The audience starts to see these teachings when a Buddhist teacher is making it evident to his student (Lama Norbu) that he is ready to reincarnate, after he passes away. Lama finds out that there are three potential reincarnations of his teacher’s soul. These reincarnates

Siddharta Gautama was twenty-nine years old when he abandoned his family to search for a means to bring to an end his and other’s suffering after studying meditation for many years. At age thirty-five, Siddharta Gautama sat down under the shade of a fig tree to meditate and he determined to meditate until he reached enlightenment. After seven weeks he received the Great Enlightenment which he referred to as the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. Henceforth he became known as the Buddha.