Taking a Look at Buddhism

It goes without saying that I learned so much in Religious Studies 101. I was introduced to multiple world religions that were foreign to me prior to taking the class. I never felt the need to explore any other religion besides Christianity because I was content with my faith. However, after learning about different religions and interacting with people that are not Christian, and grew up with different beliefs and values, I now find myself questioning reconsidering my beliefs. By being exposed to the rituals and ideas of cultures and religions across the globe, I find myself wondering what it would be like to follow some of these principles or to try some of these practices for myself. I find myself trying to follow the moral guidelines and principles of the traditions I learn about all the time. It has helped me ask even more questions and broadened my horizons. It 's helping me shape my beliefs and find out who I want to become. I was especially fascinated with Buddhism and have grown a huge admiration for it. In my learning portfolio I will examine what I learned about Buddhism and what about it is so appealing to me. I will also briefly summarize that I learned that Buddhism – just like any other religions, is not flawless and cannot provide a perfect view of life that would be influential enough for me to devote my faith to it. However, there are certain

“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think”, The Buddha. Buddhism is a message of deep enlightenment for the spiritual mind set of breaking the chain of reincarnation to achieve nirvana. Buddhism was founded by a man named Siddhartha Gautama who lived five hundred years ago. He spawned a spiritual enlightenment for the mind which we call Buddhism and eventually it came to the United States. Buddha, spreading his teachings of the four noble truths throughout Asia and many parts of the world that would someday enlighten the minds of the American culture and help lead people to a higher state of enlightenment. Over many hundreds of years Buddhism has transformed into many sects throughout history and is becoming one of the many fastest growing religion in America. (Pew, 31-33).

Buddhism is a religous and philosophy belief propagated by the Buddha, a teacher from India who lived between the 4th and 6th century before the common era. The teachings of the Buddha whose real name was Siddharwa spread through Asia and to the West after his death as it was practised by the followers.

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.

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.”)

The word Buddhism is derived from the word “budhi”, to awaken, so it makes sense that the creation of the religion begins with its founder’s awakening. It is said that Buddhism started in the 6th century due to the actions of its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, the wealthy warrior son of a king and queen in Lumbini (now Nepal). When Siddhartha was young, a soothsayer predicted that he would become a renouncer and his father showered him in luxuries, hoping to change this prediction. However, as a young man, Siddhartha went on a series of chariot rides in which he witnessed a variety of suffering people and came to the realization that material pleasures, such as his own, only serve to mask human suffering. After entering a period of severe and damaging renunciation and realizing that it only added suffering, Siddhartha meditated under a tree and woke up the

The foundation of this religion is based on the perception that every life is suffering since each individual is subject to the strains of birth, sickness, ruin, and death. The main cause of this suffering is attributed to a person's bodily desires and the desire for individual fulfillment. On the contrary, happiness can only be accomplished if the personal desires are overcome through the eight step path. In relation to the question on origin, Buddhism believes that the world functions through natural law and power instead of divine command. This is primarily because the Buddhist worldview is essentially monistic i.e. it denies the existence of Lord and personal creator. With regards to meaning or purpose, the Buddhist worldview states that humans are worthless and have a temporal existence only. In

Buddhism dates back to Nepal, India in the 5th century BCE. The early followers of Buddhism were a community of monks called the sangha. The literal meaning of Buddhism is “those who follow the teachings of Buddha.” The teachings of the Buddha are often referred to as the “dharma”, which also means cosmic law and order.

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.

Buddhism stands as a philosophy and a religion founding itself on the theory of a possible eternal soul. Until awakening is achieved, this eternal soul is locked in the vicious cycle of rebirth (Samsara). According to the Four Noble Truths preached by the Buddha, life is a perpetual suffering caused by desire and attachment, and freedom from suffering is only possible by practicing the Eightfold Path. The World is suffering in a succession of temptations and negative experiences from birth to death. Therefore Buddhism advises on searching to go beyond suffering, and only aspire to rest, nothingness, and liberation, into a final state called Nirvana. Happiness or Nirvana can eventually be achieved in a hereafter, another life, if man abandons any desire or perspective of action within his present life, in order to go past suffering.

Buddhism is a philosophy, a moral code, and, for some a religious faith which originated in 530 BC in India. Buddhism evolved as a modification of Hinduism when Hinduism started to become very complicated due to too many sacrifices in the name of God. Today, an estimated 300 million people follow one of the many varieties of Buddhism.

Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the world that started in India. Later spreading to China,Burma,Japan , Tibet and other parts of southeast Asia. Buddhism is a religion that

Buddhism is a religion that is all about finding enlightenment and nirvana. People want to find nirvana, a state of mind in which one is released from fear and desire, so they no longer have to go through reincarnations (Monroe 110). Buddhism is a peaceful religion that doesn't believe in violence. They believe that all live are sacred and deserve to enjoy life whether it be a human or an animal. Buddhists live by a moral code of conduct with a proper control of emotions and thinking. There is a list of the Five Precepts for Right Living. The first one is do not kill, second do not steal, third do not lie, fourth do not consume alcohol, and fifth do not indulge in sexual excesses outside of marriage (Monroe 111). All buddhist search for enlightenment, however deny the existence of an afterlife. They do not believe there is a heaven nor a hell to punish their sins or reward their good deeds (Monroe 108). This means there is no salvation in an afterlife but

Buddhism is religion that is based off of peace and spirituality taught by the teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gotama. Many who follow its teachings believe Buddhism to be more of a way of life or lifestyle choice rather a religion. Buddha is not a god, but one man that taught his followers a path of enlightenment from his experiences and values. Buddha’s main teachings were the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths were teachings about suffering, pain, disease, happiness, loneliness, and aging. It explained why we as humans can overcome certain obstacles in our lives by looking at the more spiritual side of things such as “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own

One of the reason I took this class is to learn more about religions and their origins but I was specifically interested in Buddhism so I was excited that it was a religion that the class was going to cover. I had little prior knowledge of Buddhism but I didn’t know the origin, important figures and important teachings but I learned that what I thought was inaccurate. This class deepened my interest of Buddhism more because I learned what it really is about and their teaching while also correcting the ideas I had of Buddhism that were wrong.