Middle Way Research Paper

A common theme of world religions is achievement: achieving enlightenment, achieving Brahman, or achieving Nirvana. The ideas of unity with Brahman and Nirvana seem highly individualized and specific to both Krishna and the Buddha within their respective texts when, in actuality, these two concepts are fairly similar. Krishna’s unity with Brahman is equal to the Buddha’s state of Nirvana due to the fact that they both represent a cessation of suffering, which can be achieved through three basic tenets: a mortal life based in the Middle Path, disengagement from worldly desires and anxieties, and a homogeneity with all beings in the world once one realizes these perfect states of enlightenment. The “Middle Path” as a specific phrase comes first from the Buddha’s teachings in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.

Gautama shared his concern for the peoples suffering (Doc #1). “The Four Noble Truths” made sense of the meaningless suffering the people endured during the times of political instability in China. It defined the reasons for their continuous sufferings and answered on how to rid of it. Documents 1 and 2 both assure the shelter and the safety of Buddhism’s teachings. One can achieve Nirvana by following “The Four Noble Truths” and ending desire and individual consciousness.

Last of all, if you follow Buddhism you can't be rich or poor you have to be in the middle according to the 4 noble of truth.According to the 4 noble truth it states that “This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering it is the noble eightfold path : that is right view,right intention, right speech ,right action,right livelihood, right effort, right mindful”.This shows that you have to follow these commands to be in the middle path and to stop suffering.These things can be hard to do maybe if you didn't do something right but you thought you did it

Siddhartha’s parents were the King and Queen. They provided the   Prince with everything they possibly could to make him happy: a wonderful palace with a beautiful garden and delicious food and great family and friends. But the Prince eventually realized that this palace was not all that life was, that there was a world outside. He then saw the suffering that was outside the palace gate, and he was not whole. This example shows that even if you have everything the world could offer you (riches, family, friends) it’s not enough.

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism are: LIFE is suffering, DESIRE causes suffering, ENDING desire, ends suffering, and FOLLOWING the Eightfold path ends desire. Life is suffering is a true belief, if we have a good sense of this concept then we can handle most of life’s ups and downs more effectively. Second, the desire for thing can yield a life of suffering due to excess. Webster’s dictionary says, excess is a state or an instance of surpassing usual, proper, or specified limits. Next, we have Ending desire ends suffering, means being content or excepting certain notations pertaining to life will bring more joy and less suffering.

Nirvana, the ultimate and elusive goal of all Buddhists. Nirvana is the highest level of enlightenment one can reach. In this state of enlightenment one does not feel suffering and is content with themselves and their life. There are three different traditions a Buddhist can follow in order to pursue Nirvana. These traditions are Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.

In week three readings, stated that Siddhartha, the wish fulfiller lived in luxury. Siddhartha had everything at his feet. The Gods wanted Siddhartha to have four sight so they arrange for it. The four sight included a sick man, a bent old man, a dead person, and a monk seeking eternal pleasure. By Siddhartha having the four sight he felt that by this happening to him it was a wake up call and because of him questioning his existence and wealth of luxury while eithers or suffering. Siddhartha was hurt when his father Buddha had to leave him and his mother behind to go search for knowledge. In the reading one will find that there are many cultures that man have to leave their wife and children behind as they search

The Noble Truths are that of the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. In other words, there exists suffering; there is a cause for the suffering; there is an end of suffering; and there is a way to end the suffering. Suffering in Buddhism is not to paint the world with a negative view, rather, to show a perspective that deals with the problems of the world as they are, and what steps must be taken to fix those problems. Dante showed that even though our actions can have consequences we also have the ability to atone for those

The Buddha went in between to extremes to find the middle way. The middle way consists of the four noble truths and the eightfold path. The four noble truths are the most commonly shared belief between Buddhists. They are ways to eliminate desire, which will eliminate suffering. Number one says, “ life consists of suffering.” Number two says, “everything is impermanent and ever-changing, we suffer because we desire those things that are impermanent.” Number three says, “ the way to liberate oneself from suffering is to eliminate desire.” And number four says, “ desire can be eliminated by following the eightfold path.” The eightfold path is a group of statements, they are not sequential things, they are just attitudes and actions. The eightfold path consists of right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right live hood, right effort, right awareness and right meditation. By following these attitudes and actions, you can achieve a life without suffering#.

The first Noble Truth “Life means suffering” is shown throughout Siddhartha’s journey to reach enlightenment. Siddhartha experiences suffering both physically and mentally. Siddhartha suffers physically when he decides to join the Samanas and must neglect his body in order to eliminate himself. He also experiences suffering when his son does not obey him, and he decides to leave the river and go to the city. For this first Noble Truth, I believe that life is suffering and change, and they are the only constants in life. Both happiness and sadness exist in the world, but you can’t have one and not the other and that’s the reality of human life because it isn’t perfect. Therefore, after reading of Siddhartha’s physical and mental struggles, I felt that I could really relate to them as a college freshman. There are so many temptations surrounding me including drinking and partying, but by partaking in these activities, I won’t feel happy permanently. I may feel happy temporarily and then I will likely suffer after when I have studying or I don’t feel well.

(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).

He also encouraged others in his life to follow his way of living. However, according to the Buddhist text, called Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion, the Buddha decided to pursue the middle way since the two extremes were not beneficial to him. Therefore, it was interesting to read that drastic measures of starving and becoming sickly helped him to meditate and move towards the path of enlightenment.

The best decision, according to Buddha, was to avoid either extraneous end of the spectrum and take the middle path in life in order to achieve access to Nirvana. In regards to this middle path Buddha stated that,

Unusually, Morrie lived a frugal life. In America, people desire material things, the more the better, including commercialism, property, and money (Albom 124). Nevertheless, Morrie pointed out that one cannot substitute material things for love, gentleness, tenderness, or comradeship (Albom 125). Therefore, Morrie kept old material things, such as furniture, a television set, an automobile, and his little house. In Morrie’s whole life, he was not greedy at all; instead, he lived a very simple life with little desires. Buddha emphasized, “To stop suffering, stop greediness. Greediness is a source of suffering.” Abiding by the frugal ideology of Buddhism, Morrie was not suffering from anything. Instead, his house was filled with love, teaching, communication, relationship, and happiness (Albom 126).

The First Noble Truth of Buddhism is also referred to as the truth about suffering or dukkha, which posits that suffering, comes in various forms such as pain, desire and or deaths. However, the three types of sufferings coincide with the ones the Buddha witnesses on his journey outside his palace: they were sickness, old age, and death (Hardy, 2005; Young, 2013). Buddha argued that human beings are exposed to cravings and desires and even if they are able to satisfy these particular desires that satisfaction is merely temporary. In that case, pleasure is ephemeral and whenever it lasts it results into monotony (Velasquez, 2011; Besser-Jones & Slote, 2015).