The Course Of History Religion

There are many teachings within Buddhism that make it a unique practice and religion; however, in my opinion the core of Buddhism is that to be released from all desire, and therefore from all suffering is attainable by following the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’. Desires lead one to all the suffering in this world. Constantly seeking something – be that physical, mental, or emotional – will cause one to consistently be disappointed, leading to nothing but pain. Not attaining one’s desires, forces people to experience disappointment and sorrow. Ultimately, it leads to pain and suffering. Consequently, letting go of ones’ desires will ultimately allow a being to detach themselves from the inevitable suffering that everyone else will experience.

Everyone believes in something and most of the time not everyone believes in the same thing. Religion has been a part of history for as long as anyone can remember. There are so many different religions that people are born into or chose to be a part of. This essay will explore the history of religion beginning with Buddhism (500BCE-now), then examining Rome and Christianity (30ce-now), and ending with the Protestant Reformation (1450-1565). Each topic will be discussed by first introducing an important person involving the topic and then the topic will be discussed in more detail. After those three topics are discussed this essay will then compare and contrast the topics involving religion and history. Once the topics are compared and

Buddhism is a philosophy and a religion based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama who lived approximately 566 B.C.E. Today, Buddhism has millions of followers worldwide, known as Buddhists. (Ballou, 1976) Most practicing Buddhists believe in concepts such as karma, dharma, samsara and nirvana. In addition to these, Buddhists base their lives and actions on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold. Fortress (1999) explains that the name Buddha is a title that means “one who has been awakened” or “the Enlightened One”. On his quest for enlightenment and spirituality, Buddha escaped the life he knew as a husband and father, and turned to a life of meditation, along with ascetic practices. He lived much of his life as a monk in the monastery preaching to his followers that the way to be “awakened” or achieve inner peace and enlightenment is to” live in the now”. (Fortress, 1999) This paper will discuss Buddhism and whether it is a religion of escapism or whether Buddhist live in denial of reality.

respect back to them. Think of the golden rule: "Treat others as you wish to be treated". Since

My favorite part of World History would have to be Unit 4; World Religion. This unit is my favorite because I find it interesting to learn and get to understand the thousands of religions in the world big and small. But my least favorite would have to be Unit 1; Ancient Civilizations but only because I can not seem to find it interesting enough to keep my attention. I can learn and understand parts of the unit but not the whole unit in itself.

Ideas of Religion Through Time Religion has alway been an integral part of the human identity as it has been a way to cope with the unknowns. However over time these unknowns have shifted and transformed into different entities to which the human mind perceives. These different perspective become apparent when traveling throughout time and specifically literary eras the perception of a greater power has been recorded in all of its many different forms: from the natives who did not believe in a single god, to the early Americas where people believed in a god that would smite you, to a more modern era when god was more of a guideline than a tool with Benjamin Franklin. Throughout history “the creator” has taken on many forms to provide for the minds of the people.

to it. Not only does following the Path lead one to “Nirvana”, but during life it releases one from

The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to reach the state of Nirvana. Nirvana is a conceptual state in which one has realized his or her oneness with the universe and escapes all suffering in the world. Such a person will no longer experience the cycle of reincarnation. While the person still "exists" in a complex spiritual sense, the personal self ceases to exist. Nirvana literally means "blowing out" or "quenching," as in extinguishing a candle.

The teachings of the enlightened Buddha contain much, it teaches many to live righteously, to avoid evil. But there is one thing which these so clear, these so venerable teachings do not contain: they do not contain the mystery of what the exalted one has experienced for himself, he alone among hundreds of thousands. This is what I have thought and realized, when I have heard the teachings. This is why I am continuing my travels—not to seek other, better teachings, for I know there are none, but to depart from all teachings and all teachers and to reach my goal by myself or to die. (Hesse 31)

In, “The Life of Buddha,” Buddha’s entire life represents the path to nirvana. Attachment to life is the biggest factor that stops followers of Buddhism from reaching nirvana. As a result, Buddha gave up all the material comforts in his life because he realized old age, illness, and death were inevitable despite an individual’s current happiness. Through excessive meditation, Buddha saw the path to enlightenment. He compiled his dreams into the Four Noble Truths to help followers of Buddhism reach enlightenment as well. The last Truth includes the Eight Fold Path, which guides an individual to nirvana. In, “Chido’s Dreams of Buddhism,” Chido explains the path to liberation as a story to a visitor’s questions. He believes we suffer because we cling to materials without substance. He goes as far as to say that having faith while searching for nirvana shows attachment. He says this because faith in nirvana is hoping that we will be happy once we reach nirvana. Although Chido’s concepts are complex, the path to liberation is as simple as having one thought about the emptiness in material objects, our bodies, and faith. Once an individual has this one thought, they have the ability to stop their suffering at any

Through liberation from one’s desires and overwhelming distractions, a state of Nirvana can be reached (Store 2016). Indeed, Nirvana is the highest spiritual end, allowing for one’s true insight of nature and relief from constant cycles of rebirth (Store 2016). This ends the constantly cycle of suffering within an individual’s consciousness, and allows for the promotion of tranquillity. Moreover, through extinguishing one’s desires, they can reach inner peace without struggling in order to reach an end goal. Through this process, my personal connections become broadly

In buddhism the goal is to reach Nibbana, enlightenment. TO reach enlightenment one would, according to Buddhist belief, is to get rid of beliefs that stem from ourselves and reality. The Four Noble Truths represents the realities of nature that cannot be denied. The first truth is that life is suffering. Meaning that to live is to suffer, it is not to say that the entirety of life is to suffer, but that suffering is a part of life. The second truth is the desire for what is liable to birth, impurity, decay, and death. All examples of suffering as a part of the normal course of life. The third truth is that the elimination of the desire, as told by the second truth, eliminates suffering. Simply saying that by removing these desires one also removes the origin of suffering. The fourth noble truth is that to eliminate the desire, one must follow the Eightfold

Their goal is to end this cycle by achieving Nirvana. Nirvana is the state of existence realized by eliminating desire. Nirvana comes at two moments, awakening and enlightenment, and in the Paris Bilbana, when the person 's fire finally flickers (final death). The way to Nirvana is divided into eight categories of fields to avoid bad karma, leading to the regeneration of dangerous difficult forms.

In Buddhism, the primary purpose of life is to end suffering. Buddha taught that humans suffer because humans continually strive after the things that do not give lasting happiness. We desperately try to hold on to things; friends, health, material things that do not last. This causes sorrow. Buddha’s teachings were focused entirely on this problem and its solution. The importance of recognizing the impermanence of all things and oneself from the attachment to them this is one of the most important Buddhism lessons. These teachings are expressed most concisely in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, which together form the foundation of belief for all branches of Buddhism.

Confucianism integrates morality through customs, habits and other conventions into the virtues that are to shape daily life. The manifestation of li is reflected in the individual fulfillment of specific roles and characteristics of excellency in regard to virtue. Hayes (2013) described li as the underlying structure of the social and moral development of ren. Li, along with the interconnected virtues of yi, zhi, and ren, is a central concept of Confucius’ ethics by which all life is ritualized and