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Buddhism As Meditation Of Buddhism

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as meditation. In short, in adapting to a changing world, Buddhism has transformed in many ways to fit the needs and desires of the cultures it has come into contact with.
Moreover, aside from the shift to a less ritualistic approach, many Buddhist forms have also moved towards a stress on equality over hierarchy. To begin with, in traditional Buddhism, a believer’s length of practice or education determines the weight of their opinions. This especially applies regarding scripture. However, putting this into perspective, in the words of McMahan, “it would have occurred to virtually no one, simply to pick up such a book and try to understand it for himself (even less herself). That is to comment on how interpreting Buddhist scriptures …show more content…

In the past, “traditional Theravada Buddhist, lay members almost never practiced meditation, instead focusing on the performance of karmic deeds and rituals in order to secure a favorable rebirth” (Welles). Currently, however, with movements such as mindfulness and secularized Buddhism, meditation not only is important to them, but the core of their practices. That is to say, in spreading to the west, certain practices in Buddhism have been kept, while many others have been completely discarded. But while the practices may have changed, correspondingly, it can also be said that in democratizing meditation the reach of Buddhism in the West has significantly …show more content…

It teaches the reality of past lives, as well as future ones, with the possibility of attaining the state of nirvana, meaning a cessation of one’s existence or liberation”(Welles). In brief, the goal of traditional Buddhists is to emulate the success of the Buddha and similarly escape the cycle of rebirth and attain Nirvana. Furthermore, On the whole, modernized interpretations of Buddhism have forsaken such traditional elements as the cycle of rebirth and the notion of karma for a more pragmatic approach. Furthermore, with respect to the goals of Buddhism for traditional followers they focus on freedom from the suffering of the world, whereas modernized interpretations preach freedom from one’s mind and the bettering of oneself in the current

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