Hum 130 World Religions Report

In this paper it will discuss the influence of the Buddha and how Buddhism came to America and the impact it had upon its arrival. How the American culture westernized Buddhism in their own way and how it looks today. It will also cover the difference of ethnic Buddhism and convert Buddhism in America. More specifically the objective of this paper is to explain descriptively and analytically and go over the historical time line of

There are many religious beliefs that have confused people throughout the years. For example, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christians are the most commonly religions that confuse people. A religious belief is basically a belief in God or gods. Hinduism is a religion where people do witch craft in what they believe that will help and protect them.

Buddhism is seen as a way of life rather than a form of religion that needs to be closely followed and constantly practiced. The idea of “enlightenment” carries through one’s entire lifetime in an attempt to reach nirvana, which is an end to all suffering. A person’s lifetime is spent being faithful and relying on karma to eventually achieve nirvana and enlightenment, in which people embark on the path of awakening. The awakening is a very crucial aspect of the Buddhist religion, as it was Buddha’s own personal awakening and understanding of how the world works, in which he passed it on to be believed and understood by others. It’s closely related to other religions in the way that rebirth and reincarnation are the beliefs surrounding the idea of the afterlife, however Buddhism in particular is an anatta tradition, or ‘not-self,’ which often sets it apart from other religions.This complex ideal entails that one’s external self, consciousness, feelings

Buddhism is an extremely unique religion that has many different philosophies and practices that you can not find in any other world religions. Buddhism explains the purpose of life. It is also a way to find peace within oneself. It helps find the happiness and contentment that people in our world today desperately seek. These variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices are largely based on teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha, commonly known as the Buddha, “the enlightened one”. Followers of Buddhism generally tend to stay away from conflict and live peacefully, working towards the ultimate goal of pure and lasting happiness. The religion is growing around the world and most recently in the west. It is a religion that can easily attract people from their fast pace world by giving them solutions and practices to relieve their stress and worries. Buddhism has answers to many of the problems in modern materialistic society. It is an ancient religion that millions of people around the world still follow today. (“A Five Minute Introduction.”)

To introduce this subject consideration will first be given to the history of Buddhism and how this impacted on

Lopez, Donald S. "Buddhism." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. .

The concept of the 'self' is critical to a great many religious traditions. Understanding one's own individual position within the context of the universe helps to drive one's relationship to the divine, to the pedestrian and to one's fellow man. This is the orientation that helps define atman in the Hindu tradition. Here, this layered 'self' is a critical dimension of one's spiritual enlightenment. Finding and recognizing one's 'permanent self' from within is an essential part of this path. A concept tantamount to the soul, the atman is, in Hindu tradition, said to be the vestige of humanity that remains even when the body is expired. This makes it an essential premise also of transferring the self during the cycle of reincarnation.

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

Budhha is within all of us, no matter one’s nationality, sexual preference, or background. Without fully practicing, even just a clear understanding of the teachings can do wonders in our everyday life. Buddhism originated in remote northeastern India, where it has kept a message of peaceful spiritual awakening. Buddhism now has more than 300 million followers and its teachings have inspired many more. Following the exile of the Dali Lama, there became a boom of interest in the Western world. Many say the source of Buddhism is from the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the man commonly known as Buddha. Siddhartha taught his followers to look within for spiritual growth and self liberation, he offered a simple, though rigorous, path to enlightenment. Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed nonage. To

The Islamic religion is one of the three major monotheistic religions of the world. These three are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. According to both Fisher and Bassiouni, these religions all can be traced to the prophet Abraham, and all of them originated in the Middle East (Fisher, 2005; Bassiouni, 1999).

Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, I have always had a particular interest in Buddhism. I have embraced the similarities that I have found within myself and the Buddhism religion. A few years ago, I was in a dark state of mind after my father had passed away. During my healing process, I felt that I was awakened in which I found my determination to search for my enlightenment. I spent a few weeks searching for what I thought was my path to end my suffering. I needed to make changes in my life. I was not happy with my job, my choices of education, or the person I had become. The Four Noble Truths, karma, and meditation are the three things that hold my particular interest in this ancient cultured religion.

I had no previous knowledge about this religion other than it existed. The most important concept I feel that I learned from Buddhism is part of the three marks of reality. These are made up of, change, no permanent identity and suffering. In no permanent identity each person and each thing is changing and made up of parts that are also constantly changing. It means that people have no permanent soul or no self. (Molloy133). In suffering it is the fact of life that when life is lived conventionally it can never be fully satisfying because of change. (Molloy pg 134) The mark of reality I found the most interesting is change. The concept of change in Buddhism has us look at life as it really is. Things change gradually and we notice the changes over time. We don’t expect change but nothing ever remains the same. (Molloy132) When I learned this I looked over my life and have to admit, that much has changed over time. No matter how we try and keep things the same it is impossible. Children grow up, our body ages, our relationships change. Even things in the world things are constantly changing, landscapes change naturally from things like the tide or erosion, and seasons come and go. In Buddhism the belief is that we are responsible for accepting this and not trying to change the outside world but we need to change ourselves and the way we experience the world. (Molloy 134)

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.

Buddhism was different from other religions because it taught that liberation can be obtained from suffering. This was based on our own lives and efforts. Stated in the book, “Living Religions”, “The Buddha taught that by understanding how we create suffering for ourselves we can become free” (Fisher 137). This was based on one's own involvement and effort to want happiness. This religion has been spread throughout Asia and India because of these teachings, this religion became more popular throughout the countries. For some people this religion was a way of life. After these teachings were spread throughout the countries, it had developed and picked up other traditions. Buddhism is known as a non theistic religion, which the traditions are built from other religions. Shakyamuni Buddha was the founder of Buddhism, he was not a God. Buddha was an historical figure, the stories that have been told have been passed on over time and not documented. His teachings were not written down and documented until many years later after his death. The only way these were remembered and can be trusted is because they were chanted by monks.

Upon entering the property of Homestead’s Wat Buddharangsi, a Thai Buddhist temple, I was immediately overcome with a sense of tranquility and amiability. The elaborate structure is adorned with decorative Thai architecture and various Buddhist idols and relics. Secluded from the fast-paced, cacophonous atmosphere that typically characterizes South Florida, the sanctuary serves as a refuge for those of the Buddhist faith, as well as those simply seeking solace on the temple’s soothing grounds. Among the few people meandering about the temple was a Buddhist practitioner and teacher, who we then spent the remainder of our time speaking with and gaining insight on both his individual experiences with Buddhism as well as the operations of the