Buddhism (The Buddha)

The Buddha sought to show us how to overcome suffering by attaining Nibbana. Buddhism is the ordinal largest faith in the world today. Its history that now span more or less two and a half centuries began from the birth of its founder, Prince Siddhartha Gautama. Most scholars agree that Siddharta who became know as Buddha was an actual historical persona. He began the religion and philosophy of Buddhism when he reached En open-eyedenment in 535 BCE while meditating under a Bodhi tree chase his abandonment of the life of luxury (The Buddha).Beliefs and Ethics Central to Buddhism is the understanding of the genius of valets and the causes of hu humans suffering or dukkha. The Buddhisticicics hold the viewpoint that human suffering lays in ignorance, concluding that it is a condition brought about by conflict and stress inherent in human existence and the inter fulfil with the world (Buddhist Ethics 2005). There ar s invariablyal(a) schools of Buddhism such that it has no on e bible or sacred texts but instead, a capacious collection of authoritative texts from different traditions.Theravada Buddhism has the Tipitaka or Pali sighton Mahayana Buddhism has the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka, and the Tibetan branch has the Kangyur and Tengyur, among others (Strong, 2008). In sum, the following constitute part of the rudimentary beliefs in Buddhism A. The Four Noble justices 1. Life is suffering or dukkha 2. The foundation of suffering is attachment or craving 3. Attachments can be overcome, and this point of suffering is margin called nirvana 4. The way to accomplish the cessation of suffering is the eightfold Path (Boerre).B. The Eightfold Path consists of eight elements that can be separate into the terce categories, as follows Wisdom or prajna respectable view and decline aspiration or intention Morals rights speech right action and right livelihood Meditation or samadhi right effort right mindfulness, and right concentration (Strong, 200 8). C. Karma all of human actions bear consequences within a cycle of human craving and suffering, such that our lives are always instruct by our past actions (Buddhist Teachings). D.Buddhist ethics or precepts termed as sila made up of the four conditions of chastity, calmness, quiet and extinguishment. According to the Karmic Law, keeping sila is meritorious and serves as expert cause to influence about happy or peaceful do (Buddhism 2008). E. Rebirth consciousness continues beyond death, finding expression in other(prenominal) life or reincarnation in the future (Buddhist Teachings). F. Enlightenment with the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, one is liberated from karma towards Enlightenment, the state of existence that transcends suffering (Buddhist Teachings).Customs and Festivals Because there are many schools of Buddhism that have emerged throughout the centuries, the rituals and practices of Buddhists metamorphose according to tradition in different parts of the globe. Significant Buddhist customs include the following A. Veneration of the Buddha refers to the honoring of, and meditation, on the qualities of the Buddha. B. transit the main purposes of the pilgrimage to the many Buddhist centers is the fostering of spiritual elucidate or the fulfillment of a vow.C. Ordination the rite of passage of anyone lack to be a Buddhist monk involves the renouncing of secular life and judge life in the monastic sangha as a novice (Venerating). Buddhist festivals are important holy days celebrated in various traditions, which include Dharma Day, which marks the beginning of the teachings of Buddha Losar, the or so important Tibetan vacation that marks the New Year (lunar) Parinirvana, a Mahayan Buddhist holiday scaling Buddhas death Wesak festival, the most important festival in the Buddhist calendar, celebrates the birthday of Buddha on the full moon of the month of May. Sangha Day that celebrates the spiritual society ( dedicate d days). The divisions of Buddhism have sometimes been called sects or schools, but in this book I have used the word gillyflower, as it seems to fit better with Buddhist experience. A Buddhist is one who has interpreted refuge, and he or she has taken refuge in a specific tradition whose teachers stretch back, or are claimed to stretch back, in an unbroken line or lineage to Shakyamuni Buddha.There is one over-arching principle in the effective spread of Buddhism skillful means. As Buddhism asks the individual(a), so it asks a culture What is it, do you think, that will bring you the most happiness? When it has heard the response, Buddhism says, under its breath, But that will only bring you samsaric happiness, and continues, out loud, That is good, the Dharma can help you. Then, starting from that samsaric desire, it seeks a way of assisting the individual or culture to break out into extra-samsaric joy.Most countries into which Buddhism spread were what we might call low cultur es, that is, they had rich local traditions but little sense of nationhood or broad cultural identity, and did not have a national religion or philosophy. Buddhism was able to supply this lack. It provided a Great Tradition perspective, back up local customs to coalesce into national polities and incorporating them in a supra-national worldview. The wrong was the downgrading of the local customs.Indigenous deities were said either to have converted to Buddhism, becoming Dharma Protectors (dharma-pala), or foolishly to have rejected it, thus being demoted to demons. The only surface area in which this did not happen smoothly was China. It had already developed, in Confucianism and Taoism, innovative national systems, and so was not the pushover that, for example, Tibet was. Buddhism had to be more sink as it approached the Chinese, and it has often smelled, to good upstanding Confucians, of conflictingers and their ne removedious plots.Even so, the cultural amalgamate was such that Buddhism came to be counted as the third religion of China, and the eirenic phrase The three religions are a harmonious unity was coined. No other foreign system, other than Communism, has been able to penetrate Chinese culture so completely. Buddhism says that it can be said that since the human problem is essentially one of ignorance, and since this is a phenomenon that exists in varying degrees of intensity, it is always worth examining any claims to truth.This is especially the reason when the compulsive Truth attested by Buddhism is beyond perfect verbalization, for some other ghostly or philosophical tradition, despite apparent conflict of ideas, may actually be trying with different terms to express the identical ultimate perception which is enshrined in Buddhism itself. Rival truth claims are, then, not of necessity hostile and the Buddhist should feel it possible to engage in kindle discussion with advocates of other ideologies. Further, it is always possible that other religions may be able to suggest useful techniques for the attainment or apprehension of Absolute Truth.Yet the Buddhist knows that the propositions which attempt to approximate Truth must be submitted to the light of the ultimate Buddhist experience, and if they cannot be seen to lead toward this, they are in authenticated and decisive conflict with Buddhism. Each religion, then, is open to dialogue, but each presents a touchstone by which authority is to be tested the experience which suggests the U+016nyatA concept for Buddhism, and for Christianity the experience of God as he expresses himself in Christ.Interestingly enough, this accent mark on a decisive experience or intuition of Truth means that ardent adherents of both recognize the significance of Kierkegaards maxim about subjectivity being truth and know that there are important respects in which a man committed to another religious experience may yet understand mine far better than a purely objective observ er can ever hope to do. To study and record the observable data of a religious tradition is utterly useless for the purpose of understanding what the religious man considers important about it.Thus the dialogue between Christians and Buddhists may well be more productive of sympathetic understanding (even with strongly affirmed disagreement) than that between either Christians or Buddhists with disinterested social scientists. Resources Strong, John. Experience of Buddhism. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from Shippensburg University place http//webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/buddhawise. html. Buddhism. (2008, April 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2038, April 10, 2008, from http//en.wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title= Buddhism&oldid=169957239. Buddhist Ethics and sociable Criticism. (Updated 21 June 2005). Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from Image India Site http//india_resource. tripod. com/buddhism. htm. Buddhist Teachings. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site http//www. bb c. co. uk/religion/religions/buddhism/beliefs/buddhateachings. shtml. Holy Days. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site http//www. bbc. co. uk/religion/religions/buddhism/holydays/.Religious text. (2008, October 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1444, April 9, 2008, from http//en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title= Religious_text&oldid=166613250. The Buddha. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site http//www. bbc. co. uk/ religion/religions/buddhism/history/history. shtml. Venerating the Buddha, Pilgrimage and Ordination. Retrieved 07 Apr. 2008 from bbc. co. uk Site http//www. bbc. co. uk/religion/religions/buddhism/ customs/customs. shtml.