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Buddhist Universe Summary

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The literature by Lopez explaining the origins and foundations of the Buddhist Universe claims that the Buddhist world as a whole does not belong to one person or one entity. The literature challenges the thought that there is only one caste, group, world, or universe in which Buddhism thrives. Buddhism is actually seen as a world belonging to a collective universe and that the audience of the teachings of Buddha were not solely humans. The purpose behind Lopez explaining the Buddhist Universe is to provide insight to the origin of the Universe since discussing this subject matter was very discouraged. This subject is trivial because even though the Buddhist Universe has no beginning or final end time, individuals are able to put an end to their …show more content…

Since the human realm is the ideal state for the practice of Buddhist path, it is important to note that the Buddhist universe itself includes the celestial and infernal realms and that the process of rebirth applies to individuals in any realm of desire. Being reborn as a human comes as a result of being an ethical person, so if this is the ideal state for practice then Lopez provides a contradiction to this idea by saying that being reborn as a god in the Formless Realm puts an individual in the highest of Buddhist heavens. An individual achieves the status of an “ethical” person by simply taking a vow that he/she will not kill, steal, perform sexual misconduct, lie, or partake in intoxicants. However, taking the vow accrues greater karma than by actually fulfilling the vow. If these things are true, then the transgressions that result in permanent expulsion from the order should not hold any merit or persuade an individual to want to be ethical if just saying that an individual will take the vow is enough merit that will lend to good karma that leads to happiness in the present life and the

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