Buddhism in the West Essay

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

The main focus of Buddhism is that the faith centers on correct understanding of human nature and ultimate reality, The Buddha was also called the Enlightened One, he taught that the way to eliminate suffering begins with understanding the true nature of the world. He rejected speculation about such matters as God, the nature of the universe, and the afyterlife, urging his folloers to focus instead on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves from suffering. “We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by God.” The disbelief in God does not make Buddhism an atheistic religion. The Buddha rejected the concept of the atman, or soul. In

Whenever I thought of Buddhist I saw bald men or women with orange robes, white socks, and brown sandals. Obviously, not the older woman with gray hair that was now facing me and the other twenty congregants in the meditation room. She was obviously the leader.

Like every single religion since the beginning of time, there is a list of rules. Christianity has the 10 Commandments, Islam has the Five Pillars of Islam, and Buddhism has the Religious Reformations of Buddha. Unlike most religions, Buddhism strays from the focus on an all mighty deity or deities. Buddhism preaches five different logics that deviate from the norm when it comes to religious ideals: first, Strive after enlightenment with due diligence. This means you must put a lot of effort into the job of enlightenment if you wish to achieve it. Second, there will be no metaphysical theorizing. This is the one that seems to throw a wrench into the ideals of every religion before it, there is no God and if you even think that there is a God, you are disgracing the Buddhist way of life. Buddhism is a way of life, it is not a religion with a holy God. Third, there is no tradition, no ritual. The teachings themselves are supposed to lead you, but if you do not know yourself, there is no way that you can know Buddhism and

Throughout the world, different nations have different beliefs or religion. Some religions evolve from others, and others are combination of other religions. Religion is a way of life, a lifestyle; it should dictate how you live your life. For instance, in India, Buddhism evolved from Hinduism, a religion were people believe in 300, 000 gods. Even though, Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities such as believes in god, soul, and rituals, which in some ways connected to each other, both religions believe of what happens after life.

The first two steps in the Eightfold Path, which leads to the cessation of suffering, are right understanding and right resolution; a person must first discover and experience the correctness of the Four Noble Truths, and then resolve to follow the correct path. The next three steps form a kind of unit: right speech, right behavior, and right livelihood. These reflect the external aspects of a person's life, which must not be neglected. The interior disciplines constitute the final three steps: right efforts, right mindfulness, and right contemplation. By this means, the follower of Buddha can arrive at Nirvana. (Robinson)

The 4 Noble truths are the most basic teachings in Buddhism. The first of the 4 noble truths is that ordinary life brings about suffering. The second Noble truth tells us that the origin of suffering is attachment. In order to end suffering we have to stop craving. The third Noble truth is that suffering will end when your sense of craving is able to be overcome so you are able to achieve Nirvana. The forth Noble truth tells us about Eightfold Path and that if we follow it, we can end our suffering and achieve Nirvana. The Eighth Fold Pass features eight ideas that will help you achieve Nirvana if done correctly. The steps are “Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.” These beliefs are the rules that all Buddhists follow to some extent.

The Unites States is home to the most diverse spectrum of religions in the world. There are representations of nearly every religion in the world. There are three basic ways religions arrive in the US: import, export, and baggage. Buddhism and Hinduism are two Asian religions that have made it across the Pacific Ocean and now exist along side many others in America. ISKCON, a form of Hinduism, and Zen, a form of Buddhism, are two such groups.

The Middle Way includes the Eightfold path; this is primarily what makes up the Buddha’s way of life. The eightfold path is made up of two extremes “that conjoined with the passions, low, vulgar, common, ignoble, and useless, and that conjoined with self-torture, painful, ignoble, and useless” (Gregory 184), meaning that for those who are all of these things and experiencing pain and self-torture are placed under the category of extreme. Due to these extremes, the Middle way provides insight and a new way to achieve nirvana. According to the textbook, the Middle Way accomplishes “right

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).

The Four Noble Truths contains the importance of the Buddha's teachings. The Noble Truths are, all life is full of suffering, pain, and sorrow, the cause of suffering is the desire for things that are really illusions, riches, or powers. The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire. The way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold path. The eightfold path was described as the right views, right aspirations,right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation.

After obtaining enlightenment, Buddha formed the basic beliefs for his followers. The four noble truths are the early doctrines of Buddhism, Dukhka, Trishna, Nirvana, and Eightfold Path.”(Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition pg 3)” Enlightenment can only be reached through these steps. When one acknowledges suffering to be a part of life, they learn to deal with pain. If one is, suffering then there is always a reason behind it, namely craving or attachment to material objects. There is a cessation or pause of suffering, and that leads to the eightfold path if one has the right view, intentions, speech, actions, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. During the remaining forty-five years, Buddha spent his life traveling teaching others how to gain enlightenment.

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.

Paul carus goes a little further than this definition. He said: “Buddhism is generally characterized as a religion without a belief in God and the human soul, without the hope of a future existence, pessimistic and desolate, looking upon life as an ocean of suffering, quietistic in ethics, and finding comfort only in the expectation of a final extinction in nothingness.”

(a) The Eightfold Path and its eight “steps” are the foundation of a program that the Buddha believed will lead people towards liberation from the impermanence and suffering of reality. It is also known as the middle way because it is a path of moderation between self-indulgence and asceticism as previously stated in question (1). (page 134).