Buddhism Overview
“To do no evil;
To cultivate good;
To purify one's mind:
This is the teaching of the Buddhas.”
--The Dhammapada
The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal, in approximately 566 BC . When he was 29 years old, he left the comforts of his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him. He saw an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. After six years of difficult yogic training, he discarded the way of self-mortification and instead sat in mindful meditation beneath a bodhi tree. On the full moon of May, with the rising of the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, the enlightened one. The Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern India for 45 years more, teaching the path or Dharma he had realized in that moment. Around him developed a community or Sangha of monks and, later, nuns, drawn from every tribe and caste, devoted to practicing this path. The Buddha spent the remainder of his life journeying about India, teaching others what he had come to understand and believe. In approximately 486 BC, at the age of 80, the Buddha died. His last words are said to be...
Impermanent are all created things;
Strive on with awareness.
Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The Buddhism is the world’s fourth largest religion after Hinduism. It is followed by approximately 350 million people. Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the main focus of most religions is God, or gods. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that for those seeking to realize enlightenment, believing in gods was not useful. The Buddha said that we should not accept set of guidelines just because we read them in scripture or are taught them by priests (different than Hinduism). Buddhism’s foundation was four noble truths. These four noble truths are:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
It is the process of discovering, understanding, testing and apprehending against one’s own experience that is Buddhism. There is a wheel of life that represents the Buddhist view of Universe. It is an ancient symbol that has a same meaning in Hinduism and Buddhism. The Wheel is divided into five or six realms, or states, into which a soul can be born again. It is detained by a demon. There is also a eightfold path in Buddhism that is very important. It describes how to end suffering in life.
Comparison: Buddhism and Taoism were both present in China. Both of them were based on the beliefs of two significant master sages born in Asia more than 2500 years ago. Buddhist missionaries used Taoist concepts to translate their own Buddhist concepts to make Chinese believe in Buddhism. The buddhists knew that if they were to introduce their religion just the way they believed without having consideration of Taoism, Chinese wouldn’t believe in them.
To cultivate good;
To purify one's mind:
This is the teaching of the Buddhas.”
--The Dhammapada
The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal, in approximately 566 BC . When he was 29 years old, he left the comforts of his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him. He saw an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. After six years of difficult yogic training, he discarded the way of self-mortification and instead sat in mindful meditation beneath a bodhi tree. On the full moon of May, with the rising of the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, the enlightened one. The Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern India for 45 years more, teaching the path or Dharma he had realized in that moment. Around him developed a community or Sangha of monks and, later, nuns, drawn from every tribe and caste, devoted to practicing this path. The Buddha spent the remainder of his life journeying about India, teaching others what he had come to understand and believe. In approximately 486 BC, at the age of 80, the Buddha died. His last words are said to be...
Impermanent are all created things;
Strive on with awareness.
Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The Buddhism is the world’s fourth largest religion after Hinduism. It is followed by approximately 350 million people. Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the main focus of most religions is God, or gods. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that for those seeking to realize enlightenment, believing in gods was not useful. The Buddha said that we should not accept set of guidelines just because we read them in scripture or are taught them by priests (different than Hinduism). Buddhism’s foundation was four noble truths. These four noble truths are:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
It is the process of discovering, understanding, testing and apprehending against one’s own experience that is Buddhism. There is a wheel of life that represents the Buddhist view of Universe. It is an ancient symbol that has a same meaning in Hinduism and Buddhism. The Wheel is divided into five or six realms, or states, into which a soul can be born again. It is detained by a demon. There is also a eightfold path in Buddhism that is very important. It describes how to end suffering in life.
Comparison: Buddhism and Taoism were both present in China. Both of them were based on the beliefs of two significant master sages born in Asia more than 2500 years ago. Buddhist missionaries used Taoist concepts to translate their own Buddhist concepts to make Chinese believe in Buddhism. The buddhists knew that if they were to introduce their religion just the way they believed without having consideration of Taoism, Chinese wouldn’t believe in them.