Buddhism Is A Religion Of Escapism

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.

Even when we are presented with answers or guides to the many questions we have about life and to how we should live, as inquisitive animals, we strive to enhance our understanding and so begin to learn that perhaps, ultimately, the answers don’t simply come from outside but also from within us. This is then perhaps the greatest implication of this paper, finding new ways in understanding what the true way of life is for human beings and what the true way of life is for ourselves. In the discussion of Zen Buddhism, William A. Young’s framework’s itself must first be explained and understood.

In chapter four of “Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction”, Damien Keown, discusses the "Four Noble Truths'" and explores focal principles of the Buddha's teachings. "The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to put an end to suffering and rebirth." (Keown, 43) to attain nirvana. This is mostly through driving a moral life, and somewhat through the wisdom picked up by studying the Four Noble Truths. In this paper, I will be stating why is suffering an inevitable part of life according to Buddhism. As well as, how can we overcome suffering. All in which will prove that Buddhism, life is suffering and it is an unavoidable part of life.

It took him six years, but one morning Siddhartha awoke from a night of fighting an inner battle and had an “Awakening”. He began sharing his message of awakening which includes a middle path between extremes and self-denial and self-indulgence and finding truth and reality through self-introspection. His followers called him “the Buddha” which means “the Enlightened One” (Bickel and Jantz). His teachings included Four Noble Truths: Life is all about suffering, the cause of suffering is our desire and greed, there is a way to overcome our desire and greed, and lastly the path to happiness and relief of suffering is an eight step process. There are three qualities to maintain this enlightened status: wisdom, mental discipline and ethical conduct. Unlike most Western religions, there are not a lot of rules and regulations in the Buddhist religion, however there are three fundamental principles upon which the religion is based. Buddha which is the finding the path of enlightenment and teaching it to others, dharma described as the true ways of things and sangha which is a community of monks, nuns and laypeople who practice and promote the dharma. The central religious practice for Buddhists is the intense dedication to meditation. Meditation is the process of understanding the nature of reality, obtaining dharma and awakening

Buddhism was brought to light about 500 BC by Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism has not been described as a religion as such but rather as philosophy. The story of Siddhartha Gautama and how he brought Buddhism to limelight is quite moving. In this essay the thoughts of Siddhartha Gautama are explained and how the society reacted to his arguments. Generally this essay will briefly describe the achievements of Siddhartha Gautama in his quest to attain enlightenment and how that impacted the society of his time and to some extent the current society.

Almost 6 percent of the world 's population or 350 million people follow Buddhism. Although among them are varying controversies over whether or not Buddhism is a religion or a followed pathway. Buddhism, founded in the late 6th -century B.C.E , and practices the ideas of varying traditions, spiritual practices, and all beliefs focused on the ideas of Gautama or the Buddha. Gautama valued the beliefs and teachings of The Universal Truths and Four Noble Truths and successfully shared them for the last 45 years of his life as a founder of a group called the Sramanas. He lived in what we now call Nepal and northern India and throughout his journey became known as “the awakened one” or “Buddha” as he found himself searching for enlightenment through having realizations on his entire existence. Buddhism really began to spread when roads were used for missionary uses and the Buddhist and merchants would cross paths resulting in the popularity and the spread of these teachings increasing drastically within Asia. However, people are still contemplating on whether or not Buddhism is a religion or a way of life. People argue that it contains aspects of a religion and others say it doesn’t and should be considered a pathway that someone can value as their way of life. Some claim that Buddhism is indeed a religion and that it holds all the elements of faith, beliefs, and self-transformation while others believe it is a way of life because it doesn’t

Religion has been used for centuries as a way for people to find answers to some of life’s biggest questions. The ideas of desires, suffering, and death are difficult concepts to wrap your head around without the sense of a greater purpose guiding their existence. The world’s fourth largest religion, Buddhism serves as the grounding for millions to find reason in the world around them. Buddhism highlights the perils of human desire and attempts to give a way out of the cyclical suffering that we experience. It is based on the story of Siddhartha, the once privileged prince.

The life of Siddhartha Gautama has captivated millions of people around the world. Millions of humans practice and try to live a life free of possessions and free of distractions from the materialistic plane of existence we call society. In essence, a popular belief about life becomes mainstream and therefore a new religion is created. I would argue that Buddhism is merely a way of approaching life from an uncharacteristic perspective. Therefore, I am suggesting that the Buddha created a philosophy and deserves a place among the great fathers of human thought such as Aristotle, Plato, and many others. Where Buddhism differentiates from the three major religions of the world, is the amazing techniques that Buddhists pursue every day to optimize their inner thinking within. The philosophies of Buddhism and new research in the scientific community surrounding techniques done by its followers, has created a growing interest in the way of life, especially in western culture. Going along, we will explore what makes this so.

The Buddha was a teacher who believed in living a simple, moral life without attachment, and the Four Noble Truths were the base of his enlightenment: Life is suffering, suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality, suffering can be ended by overcoming this ignorance, and the path to the overcoming this ignorance is the Noble Eightfold Path. Living with morality, wisdom, and concentration are the three basic goals in this path. The Buddha thought human existence was inclusive of five “bundles”: feelings, perceptions, karmic tendencies, consciousness, and the material body. Buddhists do not believe that these parts

Buddhism is a religion that began in India approximately 500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ and was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Since Buddha wrote nothing about the religion, most of the Buddhist texts emerged 150 years after his death and during a period with several divisions among people of this faith. The task of categorizing the foundation of Buddhism is remarkably difficult because of the developing and adaptability of the religion's accounts. However, similar to other religion, Buddhism has an influence on worldview, especially in countries where it has been enjoined to the social and political life.

The focus of this study is Buddhism, one of the major religious traditions, as a living religious system.

Buddhism, as a religion, started in the fifth century BC at Lumbhini in what is now Nepal. From its main centre of origin, it spread across vast areas of Asia, radiating outwards in all directions apart from the West, bringing its universal doctrine of salvation and enlightenment for men and all living creatures, its philosophy and ethics, its learning and art. At the core of the teachings was the concept that life is full of suffering and dissatisfaction (dukkha) and exists in an unending cycle of birth and death (samsara) because of man’s fixation on a self and his delusion about his own individuality. And in Buddhist view, liberation from samsara and ending the cycle of continuing suffering is possible by following the path and teachings of Buddha.

Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world. It is also very different from the other popular religions. Although it first originated in India, its founder’s unusual teachings have spread to the western world in addition to other Asian countries, including Japan, China, and Thailand. In fact, Buddhism is the “oldest and most widespread of all the world faiths” (Wilkinson 8).

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.

The journey “home” that Buddhists refer to as the privilege of enlightenment, the ultimate truth, is called the paramattha. The Paramattha is not the same journey as other faiths profess, because other faiths, like the science known as psychology, emphasize outside influence, in one way or another, in the ancient long search for understanding. Understanding life, afterlife, existence, thought, personality, behavior, and the unknown. These latter truth-seekers have overlapping roads of distinction on their charted course that is not an essential part of the