Essay on Buddhism

The next debate is identity. Buddhist believe that they live by the Law of Karma, which places the quality of their life on the work they do and how they treat other human beings. If a Buddhist works hard at completing good actions, he/she will live longer and have a much happier life. They view animals as an everyday living thing, just as humans are. They feel that animals should be treated fairly and that humans should not destroy them by killing them. Contrary to the biblical worldview, Buddhist do not believe that animals were made for humans. They feel that man’s control over animals makes man greedy (Budsas, n.d.). The biblical worldview states that humans have a creator, being the one true God. The bible says in Genesis 1:27, that “we are made in the image of God.” God loves humans and animals but humans are much more important to God,

Buddhism began in India 2,500 years ago and remains the dominant world religion in the East. There are over 360 million followers of Buddhism worldwide and over a million American Buddhists today. Buddhist concepts have also been influential on western culture in general, particularly in the areas of meditation and nonviolence.

Albert Einstein once said, “Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity.” I though this quote was an interesting beginning into seeing how this ancient religion changed over the course of its existence. I feel that Buddhism has changed over time but has maintained that core teaching that it had with the early Indians and with the Theravada teachings. Mahayana just happens to be the more loose teachings of the Buddha. The term used in

“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think”, The Buddha. Buddhism is a message of deep enlightenment for the spiritual mind set of breaking the chain of reincarnation to achieve nirvana. Buddhism was founded by a man named Siddhartha Gautama who lived five hundred years ago. He spawned a spiritual enlightenment for the mind which we call Buddhism and eventually it came to the United States. Buddha, spreading his teachings of the four noble truths throughout Asia and many parts of the world that would someday enlighten the minds of the American culture and help lead people to a higher state of enlightenment. Over many hundreds of years Buddhism has transformed into many sects throughout history and is becoming one of the many fastest growing religion in America. (Pew, 31-33).

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

How can we begin to understand such a diverse and ancient religion? The width of Buddhism is immense. It is a religion without any written rules. Buddhism is based on self-discovery. Buddhists are born with the quest to find their true form. They believe that they are prisoners of the physical plain until they reach nirvana. Nirvana is the ultimate goal for a Buddhist (Buddhism, 2007). It is the state that saves them from all suffering and evil. They believe that only nirvana can remove them from the never-ending circle of life.

Participants of this march walked through areas in Cambodia affected by deforestation. In addition to there pilgrimage, participants planted up to 2,000 trees as they continued their march (Piseth). Ghosananda continuously advocated to villagers along the way to respect the environment and preached about, how it is our job as beings to respect nature for all it provides in return. Not only did he encourage unity among beings but among nature. Knowing that non-violence also applies to nature since it provides invaluable gifts that must be protected. It is mans responsibility to continue searching for ways to improve natures sustainability in order to avoid disastrous consequences. This pilgrimage addressed the problem Cambodia faced with deforestation throughout regions and partook in morally righteous actions to improve future generations from its negative effects. Finally, throughout continuous efforts there managed to be reconciliation between Khmer Rouge and government forces. During this milestone, Maha Ghosananda raised above existing issues and forgave Khmer Rouge and place emphasis that ‘Buddha forgives all who wish to be forgiven’ (Mahatthanadul). Compassion is an essential part of Buddhist philosophy. In order to respond to social problems, means theres need to be this interplay between the issues at hand and Buddhist teachings. By forgiving Khmer Rouge, Ghosananda portrays

Buddhism has no creator god to explain the creation of life and the universe. Buddhism teaches that everything depends on everything else. In other words, present events are caused by past events and become the cause of future events. Buddhists believe that an old world system had been destroyed and its inhabitants are reborn in a new system. In the beginning, they are spirits floating above the earth happily with luminescence and without form, name or sex. At first, the world is without light and land, but is made of water. Eventually the earth appears and the spirits come to taste and enjoy it. Their greed causes their ethereal bodies to become solid, causing separation of the sexes and their bodies to appear beautiful or ugly. When they lose their luminescence, the sun and moon come into being. As the beings fall further into their wicked habits, which causes themselves and the earth to become even more unpleasant. Buddhists believe that everything we do is what molds our lives and the earth into what it is now (The Buddhist universe, 2009).

Buddhism is a world religion based on the teachings of Buddha, who was born Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 563 B.C.E. and lived in Nepal and India. Siddhartha was a privileged man who withdrew from the world, learned and meditated, and achieved the Enlightenment that made him Buddha. Buddhism has undergone schisms and evolutions but has some core beliefs such as Nirvana, Anatta and Dependent Arising. In addition, the Buddha's teaching centered on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to end the cycle of suffering and achieve Enlightenment and Nirvana.

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.

Albert Einstein once said, “the religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal god, avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.”# Many great minds like Albert Einstein have converted or become Buddhists. Many people from the west are turning their attention towards Buddhism because of the Buddha’s simple way to life and the lack of worship or prayer to a divine being.

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. It is the oldest and fourth largest religion in the world with around 500 million followers. Buddhism focuses on teaching people how to come to terms with and end the suffering of themselves and others by cutting out greed, hatred, and ignorance from their lives. Unlike most major world religions, Buddhism does not revolve around worshiping a god or divine creator, instead the focus of Buddhism is living one 's best life and transforming the lives of others. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to reach Enlightenment and upon death achieve Nirvana, the liberation of pain and suffering. For Buddhists, it is the individual’s responsibility to find his or her own path to enlightenment; the principles of Buddhism are seen more as guidelines than rules.

Buddhism is considered the world’s fourth largest religion, but is it really? Although a large bulk of society rules Buddhism as a religion, its basic structure and teachings proves that it does not fit in the religious category. Many people argue that it is a religion, mainly because of the unique belief in the afterlife and various realms of existence within Buddhism. However, there is no god in Buddhism, as anyone who follows the first Buddha’s teachings may become a Buddha themselves. It is the only “religion” that has no supreme spiritual being. It is instead a quest for enlightenment, for supreme wisdom and intelligence, and to reach Nirvana as a result. It is a quest of self discovery that bypasses the concept of faith. Buddhism cannot be a religion if it does not meet the criteria to be one.

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.

In the universe there 's a galaxy, and in this galaxy there 's the solar system, and in this solar system there is a planet earth, and in this planet earth lives 7 billion people. We are all the same but divided by key things; oceans and mountains, culture and society, but most important religions and beliefs. Out of the hundreds of practices and beliefs that make part of planet earth one of the most interesting form of religious practice is Buddhism.