As a practicing Catholic, the religion of Buddhism is something that seemed interesting to me. Many Buddhist values, such as reincarnation and the cycle of Samsara are concepts that I'm unfamiliar with. Concepts such as me is what drove me to become interested and observe Buddhism. Despite the differences of religion between the two, attending a Buddhist service enlightened me and introduced me to a faith that I can genuinely consider as peaceful. As a result of my curiosity, I visited a Buddhist temple in Des Plaines, IL, so that I can observe all the intricacies of the practice during the service. The specific temple I went to is named ‘Phat Bao Temple’, a temple that practices the Mahayana sect of Buddhism, one of the three sects of Buddhism. The Phat Bao Temple is Vietnamese temple engaged in the Mahayana branch, which is typical of Vietnamese temples due to Mahayana having a strong presence in Vietnam. …show more content…
The religion focuses on the moral and philosophical teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as the “Awakened One”, or more commonly, as the Buddha. While the Buddha is seen as the role model in the religion, but it is important to note that Buddhists do not worship the Buddha as a God, but rather, they believe that he was a human who was woken up and able to see the world for what is truly is, hence the title of the “Awakened One”. Due to the Buddha’s awakening, he is looked to as a source of guidance through his teachings, in hopes that others can one day replicate his feat and become awakened as
One particular woman was quick to respond by saying it has brought so much peace into her life. She had been raised Catholic, but said she struggled with the everyday practices and the guilt of knowing she could never overcome her sins. She found it hard to pray every day to the saints for help and never felt like she was a better person. A friend of hers introduced her to Buddhism and she found with Buddhism she was able to help herself with meditation (personal communication, August 2, 2011).
Throughout my life I have been exposed to Christianity. My parents are Christians, and that is all I have known my whole life. When I enrolled in this class I knew that I would be challenged to go to another religion service and I looked forward to it. It was a different, but interesting experience for me. I chose to go to the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Louisville, Ky Inc. I will talk about the assumptions I had regarding the tradition before I discuss my experience at the temple. I came in knowing more than I would have because we had already discussed the Buddhist religion in class. The perception I had going in was very different than what I experienced. I thought that it was going to
Buddhism is a major widespread religion with a complex system of beliefs. The founder of Buddhism is Siddartha Gautama, widely known as the Buddha, meaning “the enlightened one”. Gautama educated that the goal of Buddhism is to achieve nirvana, or release from suffering. He received this understanding from meditation for 49 days. During this period of meditation, Gautama discovered the Four Noble Truths, which contain the principle of Buddha’s teachings. They 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 that leads to the end of suffering. The guidelines to attain nirvana is called the Eightfold Path. Gautama gave sermons based on his discoveries and eventually built a Buddhist society. At first, only the religious order was referred to as the sangha, but, with time, the sangha meant the entire Buddhist community.
Buddhism is a religion that focuses more on the individual and the actions of that individual, which was prevalent to me when I made my way into Portland and set foot in a Buddhist temple. The man I met within the walls of this temple was far from my stereotypical thoughts of Buddhist monks. The man I met looked like your plain old, average Joe, American man. Before I delve into the depths of my visit to this inspiring place, I need to sum up the Buddhist religion and why I chose to study this particular group of people.
Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The founder of Buddhism is said to be Siddhartha Gautama, the son of an Indian warrior-king. Gautama led an extravagant life through early adulthood, reveling in the privileges of his social class. Gautama became bored with the indulgences of royal life so he wandered into the world searching for understanding. After encountering an old man, ill man, a corpse, and an ascetic, he was convinced that suffering lay at the end of all existence. He then became a monk, depriving himself of worldly possessions in the hope of comprehending the truth of the world around him. The culmination of his search came while meditating beneath a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation. Gautama became known as the Buddha, meaning the “Enlightened One.” He spent the remainder of his life
Siddhartha Gautama was the original teacher of Buddhism. At thirty five he went through a process of enlightenment that would become the foundations of his teachings or what he referred to as Dharma or truth. Buddhism is more than a religion, it can be considered a philosophy, a way to live ones' life. This is apparent because Buddha never considered or claimed to be a God. He was more a philosopher than a religious leader. His teachings center on the four noble truths and the eightfold path. The four noble truths comprise the truth of suffering, the truth of why we suffer, the truth of how to be free from
When I first pulled up to the Won Buddhist Temple, it was sort of what I had expected. Being that the original Buddha was a human, I did not expect an elaborate building, such as the Hindu temple. I did not have a clear picture in my mind about what the temple would look like, but I did picture a smaller and simpler-looking building. One of the most pleasantly surprising aspects I noticed at the beginning of the visit was how those at the temple were of all different ages, races, and genders. Seeing this made me more excited for the service because it showed that the teachings were something that appealed to a wide range of people.
Until about a fifty years ago, most people in the United States did not have much exposure to the Buddhist religion. Our only impression of it might have been statues of a grinning, bald Buddha with a large belly at the entrance of most Chinese restaurants. Those statues seemed a little scary and some thought they should nod or rub the belly as they passed as a gesture of good luck. The religion has come a long way in the last twenty years. Hollywood celebrities such as Richard Gere and Tiger Woods and Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Dalai Lama, may have heightened the appeal and gave some prominence of this religion to the people of the West. The Buddhist religion and its move into America is a fascinating 2000 year journey. To
As a scholar taking the class ‘Introduction to World Religions”, I had the opportunity to take part in a culture that is not normally found in the western world. I entered the Mon Buddhist Monastery in Akron, Ohio on October 2nd, 2016 only to be amazed at their way of life. Going into the temple, I knew of the basic religious practices and traditions that the monks and Buddhists had participated in daily. When I was coming up to the monastery, it did not look like anything other than an old brick building, but once we were inside it looked like a recreational area. Somewhere where they would meditate, hold daily activities, and teach the younger Buddhist about their way of life. On the far back wall, there was a stunning shrine dedicated to the Buddha where one would pray. Many figurines were displayed as well as flowers and offerings along it.
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.
The philosophy of Buddhism has proven to be very attractive to modern Westerners for multiple reasons. The faith has been found to assist people to follow a simple and peaceful lifestyle due to the fact that they are not forced specifically worship a particular deity. Furthermore, Buddhism’s attractiveness also comes from its promotion of peace and the fact that it encourages ideals such as Samsara, through which one can continually be reborn until they reach nirvana
Buddhism’s founder was a man named Siddhartha Gautama, meaning “one who realized his goal.” Buddhists believe that when Siddhartha’s mother, Maha, was conceived she had a dream involving a white elephant carrying a lotus flower. She interpreted the dream to mean that her son would grow up to become a great spiritual leader. Just a week after Siddhartha was born, his mother died. Upon her death, he lived with his wealthy aunt and his father on a large estate. As Siddhartha grew up, his father kept him away from all suffering and anguish of the world. Unlike many of his peers, he was well educated and free from the world’s sorrows.
The first symbol of Buddhism is the Buddha. The Buddha, moreover, known as the "Enlightened One" or the “Awakened One.” Buddha conveys the philosophy of self-perfection - its essentials are contained in the most important and simple teachings, Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path are essential to understanding the religion of Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths affirm that life is full of suffering; it is caused by craving. Suffering will stop only when craving ends, and it can be achieved by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Generally, the Path consists of right understanding, right purpose, right speech, right action, right way to earn a living, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Before earning the name Buddha, he was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in India. He walked away from his royal life to search for spiritual peace. When he walked away to his journeys, his life changed—he learned many great truths. He could’ve selfishly escaped into enlightenment, but instead, he shared and taught others the paths that he had found. That began to make him more likely to a Buddha. Buddhism taught people to reach the enlightenment, learn how to be happy, and acquire knowledge of deep truth, which also what Buddha had.
Every Religion believes in either a God(s), a leader, or supernatural forces. Unlike Christians who believe in Jesus Christ, is the divine savior of God, who died upon the cross to save others from their sins, Buddhists believe in an enlightened man referred to as Buddha. Buddha is believed to have lived between circa 563 to 483 BCE and believed to have taught in northeastern India. Buddha’s teachings are based upon his life, and provide guidance and support to his followers.
In my ignorance I had previously made the assumption that this religion and Buddhism were essentially the same. Through my research I have righted my misconceptions and discovered a deep respect for Hinduism, our oldest oldest religion. I learned that the reason I noticed parallels between Hinduism and Buddhism is because Buddhism stems from Hinduism. I also found it meraculous that this religoin does not really have one true founder, as everyother religion I know has a very distinct founder. I also loved how Hinduism preaches individual health and mental well being because I believe that is problem our society must account for as there are more cases of depression than ever before. Finally I enjoyed learning about the immense respect for animals that this religion has, this is important to me as I am an animal rights advocate as well as a vegetarian. Although my beliefs differ from that of someone of Hindu faith I can understand their mutual respect for animals and the plentiful