Summary Of What The Buddha Taught By Dr. Rahula

As a college student that has lived and grown up in western New York, I do not have too much experience with the other religions of the world. I have grown up a Christian Protestant my whole life, and I am a firm believer in my religion. Soon after reading the chapter on Buddhism in Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions, I came to understand and respect the Buddhist religion. I came to learn who the Buddha as a man really was, and the steps he took in becoming a religious icon. I know understand that Buddhism is not all meditation and relaxing. There is a strict code of the four noble truths and the prescription of getting through them called the eightfold path. Much like Christianity Buddhism also has many different views

Buddhism has been around for over two thousand years, and continues to do so in many countries around the world. This religion originates in Asia and has a very unique adversity, much of its structure arose from the end of World War II, predominantly Asian nations needed to restructure society (RoAT 167). The word ‘Buddha’ means one who has awakened and will no longer be reborn. Thereafter, one who will enter nirvana, the state of being free from suffering.

The Kannon Bosatsu, or Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, is a carved wood statue of a Bodhisattva figure standing about two and one half to three meters tall. This statue shows a high level of detail on the Bodhisattva 's body, and is carved so smoothly that it could be mistaken for a stone carving. The show of skilled craftsmanship can be seen around the shoulders with the interaction of the cloth with the jewelry the Bodhisattva. The statue is placed on an ornate pedestal to cause the figurine to appear taller, giving it a feeling of authority, which contrasts with its calm, expressionless face. While the figure appears to be standing in a meditative state like the Buddha, the jewelry present all over the body of this figure distinguishes this figure as a Bodhisattva instead of a Buddha. In his book, The Story of Buddhism a Concise guide to Its History and Teachings, Donald S. Lopez Jr. establishes the importance of imagery in Buddhism. One major point he makes concerning the worship of Buddhist figures, is that the disciples of Buddhism not only believe that the figures are a mere representation of Buddha, but that the figures actually become and are animated by Buddha, an argument which seems to hold merit as truth.

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.”)

There are many different definitions and views of Buddhism and many of these views and definitions vary from each other. A quick internet search reveals all the different definitions of Buddhism and some of them may not even be correct or have a scholarly perspective. A five minute Google search reveals one definition which we will take a look at:

Religion has been used for centuries as a way for people to find answers to some of life’s biggest questions. The ideas of desires, suffering, and death are difficult concepts to wrap your head around without the sense of a greater purpose guiding their existence. The world’s fourth largest religion, Buddhism serves as the grounding for millions to find reason in the world around them. Buddhism highlights the perils of human desire and attempts to give a way out of the cyclical suffering that we experience. It is based on the story of Siddhartha, the once privileged prince.

Tashi Buddha is an American Buddhist who lives in Clayton, NC. She is a worker for Corning and a student of Wayne Community college. Tanya Arya is a wife, a mother and a human resources for Pergo who lives in Henderson, NC. She is a devotee of the goddess sharada.

Buddhism is an incredibly enticing religion. It is peaceful, open-minded, easy to understand, with limited rules and structure, and adapts to the individual. While the teachings are beneficial, and the message positive, they will never provide

Buddhism is actually more of a philosophy or way of life than a religion. Approximately 350 million people around the world are Buddhists. It began about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gautama at age 35, known as the Buddha, was “awakened or enlightened”. Buddhism basically means you must lead a moral life, be aware of your thoughts and actions and try to develop wisdom and understanding. It explains a purpose to life, tries to explain injustice and inequality and provides a way of life that leads to happiness. Buddhism began in India, and the earliest Buddhist art is found there. It is the fourth largest religion in the world. During the Muslim conquest Buddhism was excluded from India after almost a thousand years of peaceful coexistence with India 's other religions. The Buddha taught that awakening comes through one 's own experiences, not through beliefs and doctrine. He experienced a realization of the nature of life, death and existence. The focus of Buddhism is on practice rather than belief. Buddhist art and literature overflow with sacred beings, creatures and symbols. The huge number of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, devas, dakinis and demons overwhelm and confuse many of us. Buddhism offers an approach involving techniques and practices that enable its followers to experience a deeper level of reality for them. Buddhism is making a comeback in India. There were two schools of Gupta Buddhist sculpture; the Mathura school, from the earlier Kushan period, and the

Buddhism is a present day religion that has dated back to around 553 B.C. Prince Siddhartha Gautama had a troublesome time believing in the teachings of his religion, because according to the system of beliefs he was taught, people should be at peace with the world, but there was such a significant amount of sorrow. The prince later created a religion in which, its members’ main goal in life is to reach nirvana, or the state that represents the time in your life when you end all your desire, ignorance, and sorrow. Once reaching nirvana, all human desires become irrelevant, making nirvana one of the most peaceful and surreal states that the body can be in.

Looking at Buddhism, the religion is very beautiful in nature. The concept of loving others and being kind to everyone on the Earth is a very simplistic ideology to follow. To many buddhists,

In K. Sri Dhammananda’s writing titled What Buddhists Believe he states “Religion is the expression of the striving man: it is his greatest power, leading him onwards to self-realization.” (http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/133.htm) Religion teaches a person that true happiness does not come from physical properties on Earth, but in a spiritual state of peace. In Buddhism, this spiritual state of peace is when one becomes enlightened, and can break the cycles of rebirth to reach Nirvana

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.

What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. –Buddha

Buddha’s ideas are able to help many problems in the United States such as the homeless. Buddha said the way to end suffering is to find out what started it. People who are homeless crave for things that they do not have and get disappointed if they don’t receive pleasure. People who are homeless can solve their problems by meditating, developing the mind and thinking carefully. Being able to solve these problems will lead a person to true happiness, like Buddha.