Buddhism : The Philosophy Of Buddhism

The question of the self is one that appears throughout history and has been debated in myriad ways. Many people assert their claim as the correct one, though some are content to contemplate the self for the rest of their lives rather than remain at one conclusion. Humans are their own enigma, unable to understand the complexity of themselves. It is important to have some theory of consciousness in order to understand the actions of ourselves and others, therefore it is irresponsible to consider the matter a moot point. After consideration of works describing the physical processes of the brain, it seems that there is nothing more simple or wonderful than consciousness existing within the physical brain. Moreover, the concept of self is a construct of the mind rather than something that truly exists.

A belief system is something that answers unexplained questions about life and the universe. The belief system Buddhism is a philosophy, meaning it’s faith in group of ideas instead of gods or goddesses. It was founded in India by a prince named Siddhartha Gautama who found enlightenment by meditating. A Buddhist’s goal of life is to reach nirvana and be one with the universe. One of the oldest belief systems of the world, Buddhism, has affected the lives of its followers in many ways.

Zen Buddhism isn’t exactly a “religion”, but a way of living. It creates peace within the human mind that allows one to grow, develop and look at the world more positively. Originating in China in 650 C.E., Zen Buddhism is a combination between Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Mahayana Buddhism promotes bodhisattva, which is practicing the way of life in the direction of Buddha. Taoism is a religion developed by Lao-tzu, a Taoist philosopher, and focuses on obtaining long life and good fortune. It was brought to China by an Indian monk named Bodhidharma. Eventually, Zen Buddhism began to spread to Japan in the twelfth century CE and Korea in the seventh century CE, and it eventually became very influential and popular in western society around the mid-twentieth century.

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 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

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, with more than 5 million believers in the world. Buddhism is a kind of religion and law that contains various traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices. Buddhism from India, between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, and gradually spread to Asia. Although Buddhism originated in India, China has many believers in the dissemination and contribution. Chinese Buddhism began in the Han Dynasty and became the most powerful in the Tang Dynasty. With the development of society, Buddhism in the people also come into contact with the telephone, computer, and other new technologies. However, monks with real power are still practicing their bodies in primitive ways. For an ancient religion, Buddhism has a lot of things that people know and people do not know. Buddhism can help people to better discover the power of the human body. In addition, people need to understand the history of Buddhism and the main ideas to help them learn Buddhism.

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.

The four noble truths of Buddhism are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path to the end of suffering. These four truths are the basics of Buddha's teaching, and is the most frequently shared belief amongst Buddhists. The first noble truth is suffering, meaning life is Dukkha. This noble truth interpretation is that suffering appears in many shapes. And it is believe that anything short-term is Dukkha, even pleasure. The second truth is the cause of suffering, also known as samudaya. In this truth, Buddhism claims the cause for suffering are cupidity, wants, illiteracy, loathing and devastating desires. The second truth does not mean a person should give up what they love to be happy. But the problem lies within an individual connection to their passion that puts them in trouble. The third truth is the end of suffering, also known as Nirodha. This truth believes that there is a possibility of freedom. The fourth truth is the path to the end of suffering, also known as magga. In the fourth truth, it is believed that in order to end suffering, one must follow the eightfold strategy.

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.

Buddhist theology can often seem to contradict itself, particularly when learning it from a Western perspective. One example of this is this relationship between “self” and Samsara, the cycle of reincarnation. If there is no such thing as self, than how does one’s karma remain with you through multiple lifetimes? The answer isn’t an easy one: there is no eternal “self,” because it’s in a constant state of flux. People are conditioned from birth to have a false sense of self, to believe there is an eternal and constant essence inside them that defines who they are. This is a misconception; only once this realization is made can one begin to seek enlightenment and end the cycle of samsara. As mentioned above, this seems contradictory on the surface: how can someone strive for something across lifetimes if a “they” doesn’t exist? How does karma remain across lifetimes without their being some essence that bounces from lifetime to lifetime? This is because self only exists as a dependent reality: it is entirely the result of The Five Aggregates, nothing more. People still have consciousness, and memories, and thoughts. But ultimately, there is no self.

A boy is the heir to the throne of a great tribe. His father, the current king, wants his son to be king too but is warned that he will either be an outstanding king or an extraordinary sage, so he must act before his child can be affected. The young prince is kept away from any forms of negativity that this cruel world could possibly show him. Unfortunately for his father, the boy witnesses the exact things that the king has attempted to keep him from, and he leaves all the riches behind so that his journey to enlightenment can begin. This is the story of how Buddhism began.

     At the moment of death, and the body can no longer survive, the mind is

The six harmonies, Buddhist guidelines of life relating to the name of the Liuhe Pagoda, all play a role in the religious and spiritual beliefs of the Buddhist faith. An interesting fact that many people do not know about is that the six harmonies originally came from the six points of the world. “Six Points is originated dependably from Taoism, comprising Heaven, Earth, East, North, South and West…” The idea behind the six points is to be able to harness the energy’s from the six points. People believed that if you were able to harness the energy from the six points then you would be limitless. When you are born you have energy, but by growing older, you loose all the natural energy. By being religious, people thought that they would be able

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 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.