Buddhism , Islam,
Christianity and Hinduism... Different religions, values,
rites, but are they really so different after all? During the next four terms I
would like to present briefly those 4 religions
to you and write about their key aspects. This term I would like to start with... Buddhism.
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http://mattersindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/buddhist_temple.jpg |
What is Buddhism?
Many people think that Buddhism is a religion, where Buddha is a god. First of all - Buddha is not a god, but more like a prophet. Secondly – Buddhism is not a regular religion like Christianity or Islam, it’s more like a philosophy of life or a way of self-improvement. There are no prayers, dogmas or holidays and, what is probably most important, there is no god. |
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So who was actually Buddha?
The key figure of Buddhism religion was born around 560 B.C. (or 566 according
to different sources) as Siddhartha Gautama. He was a son of a ruler of a small
country in northern India and he grew up living in the lap of luxury unaware of
the world outside his palace. That was enough to spoil every child, but young
Siddhartha was said to be very polite, gentle, diligent and well-mannered. His
world turned upside down, when he sneaked out of his palace and came across
poverty, death and pain of an average person.
He decided
to leave his palace, become a walking monk and find true, pure happiness and
wisdom. Siddhartha wandered from one teacher to another, having more and more
harsh ascetic way of life for six years. When he brought his body to complete
physical and emotional exhaustion, he realized that there is no point in
treating himself that way, that there must be another path. With a strong will
to find true happiness, he meditated for many months in a place we now know as Bodhgaya.
After overcoming his deepest fears, temptations and weaknesses he became Buddha
– the Enlighten One/ Awakened One.
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The Four Noble Truths and Three Marks of Existence
Two months
after his Enlightenment, Buddha started to teach others. In his First Sermon he
revealed the basic truth about life – that the life is a constant suffer. This
doesn’t mean that we don’t feel happiness in our lives, the problem is that
happiness is temporary and will be destroyed by some events. We are afraid of
death, that we won’t fulfil our desires.
There is longing, hatred, helplessness and the way to overcome those lies
in Enlightenment. Buddha summarized all that in The Four Noble Truths (translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi; word “Dukkha” is a translated from Pali as
"suffering", "anxiety", "stress", or "dissatisfaction"):
2. The truth of the origin of Dukkha;
3. The truth of the cessation of Dukkha;
4. The truth of the path, the way to liberation from Dukkha
Then he
spoke about the Three Marks of Existence.
As the first two – impermanence
(pali. “Anicca”) , suffering (pali. “Dukkha”) - are quite obvious, I would like to
concentrate on the last one – not-self
(pali. “Anatta”). According to Buddha’s teachings , we wrongly think about
ourselves as “I”. That our body, our thoughts, our opinions – this all creates
us, but why? Our life and body was given by parents, they also played a
significant role in our upbringing along with culture, place and society we
live in. The “I” we think about is a result of outside factors, not the real
nature of us. Enlightenment helps us realize that there is no actual separate
I, different for each and every one of us, but that we all are connected.
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Karma and reincarnation
Karma is
wrongly connected with fate, but actually is a complete opposite of it.
According to Buddhism’s teachings our current life is the result of the good
and bad act from our former life. The way we behaved, our feelings, thoughts,
achievements are the main factors, which will decide who we will become after
our death (reincarnation). It’s not judged by any “higher power”, but the life itself – we
create our own future present and past. But living in paradise and hell is not
constant – it’s only a stop in a endless journey. You can change your faith at
any point of your current or future life.
I would like to end this presentation with very basic, but inspirational Buddhist quote:
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
Some questions which can help you comment:
1. What are your thoughts about other religions? How much do you know about this topic?2. Would you consider becoming a Buddhist?
3. Did this presentation give you any new information? Did I inspire you to learn more about it (in my opinion it’s worth it!)
4. What was your score in that quiz: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=buddhism-quiz
5. Would you like to read another presentation like this (about religions mentioned at the beginning of the post)?
I have heard that buddhism is more a lifestyle than a religion, but so far nothing in my life has led me to it. Besides, no religion is close to my heart (even though I was brought up in the spirit of catholicism). I do not need any doctrines or canons to know the basic truth about life, to understand myself or to find the solutions for my problems.
ReplyDeleteMy knowledge of buddhism is very basic, so thanks to your presentation I have learned a few interesting facts. For example, I had no idea that the Buddha was not a god, but he was a man (by the way: the story of his life reminds me the story of the St. Francis of Assisi). Also a novelty for me are the Four Noble Truths and Three Marks of Existence. But your presentation did not inspire me enough, to look for additional information (or maybe a few days off turned me into a lazy man :-) ). That is why my test result was not impressing: I got only 47%.
As to your question whether I would like to read another presentation of this type: frankly speaking I prefer the ones, that are based on experiences of the authors, and I have a chance to know their opinions. Still, I fully admit that your presentation was written in an accessible and interesting way, and, as I mentioned above, I have learned a few curiosities about buddhism.
Only the beginning of Gautama's story was like St. Francis, later on young Buddha was teaching a lot and Francis was helping in other ways (nursing, giving away stuff). The only "problem" I have with that saint is that he was kissing lepers. Maybe it's only me, but you have to be insane, not saint to do so.
DeleteI respect your opinion about the subject of the presentation. If I have more such opinions, maybe I would change the topic for the next one. But still I'm glad that I was able to expand your knowledge.
Jakub, how many percent do you have with this quiz?:)
Delete80% - I've questions about extra precept wrong and buddhist holy day :)
DeletePity I’m graduating this term, because I’d love to read all your presentations... But I’m happy you started with buddhism as I know very little about this religion, almost nothing...
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of self-improvement philosophy, no prayers, dogmas or almighty god...
The rest is quite difficult for me to understand and not only because of language, but also due to a very short description of the main believes and the concept itself.
But parts of it that are clear to me make a lot of sense. Well, maybe except reincarnation – I believe it’s a fear of death that makes us think there’s something more after we die. It’s common for most of the religions I’ve ever heard of... Sometimes I think it’s the most important believe, that actually makes people believe in “something”. Anything that gives hope there’s more the the current “constant suffer”.
You can read those presentations in the future, there is free access to this site, so by mine (our) guest. ;)
DeleteReincarnation gives us opportunity to improve ourselves. You’re only judged by behaviour in your current life so if you improve yourself you can be “something better” in your future life. While I was preparing this presentation I’ve read about 5 realms you can end up after your death, but now I’ve found a site telling about ten of those: “Traditionally, Buddhism teaches the existence of the ten realms of being. At the top is Buddha and the scale descends as follows: Bodhisattva (an enlightened being destined to be a Buddha, but purposely remaining on earth to teach others), Pratyeka Buddha (a Buddha for himself), Sravka (direct disciple of Buddha), heavenly beings (superhuman [angels?]), human beings, Asura (fighting spirits), beasts, Preta (hungry ghosts), and depraved men (hellish beings).” If you want to read more, here is this site: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/reincarnation.htm
Nice topic.
ReplyDeleteI had 53%... Not so good but more than 0 :)
I also like idea of self-improvement. This is new to me at all. I had never had any contact with Buddhism and no one told me anything about that religion – if we may call it like that. I think this is quite interesting, this is rather not for me but it looks less aggressive than other religions, ie. if you look at Islam that is interpreted wrongly by most orthodox believers. I do not judge religion but people who try to do something bad to others or force them to do something in the name of religion. Well I just wanted to share that thought with you all.
I think that your presentation is nice, but there is a bit small information about other things connected to Buddhism. You should put some explanations regarding some ideas presented in your work.
Surely I will take your advice while writing future presentations. I was trying to find a happy medium between keeping presentation short and simple and giving all the interesting information, but I see that society wants more facts :)
DeleteAnd to be honest I had the same impression, while I was reading about Buddhism – their only goal is to become happy and good people. I think that all the religions should be about this. Not rites, offerings and sacrifices, converting people to our vision, but to improve ourselves and find true happiness in lives.
I think so too Jakub. To add something... Most of religions are like you sad - only people distort thous good things in religion just to achieve their own goals.
DeleteChristendom was the same as Islam some time ago - 14th century. It is said that they have now our "Dark Ages".
Do you watch Bill Maher?
Deletehttp://youtu.be/mUP7NY6US5A?t=9m14s
I'm not a religious person but I like to know other people beliefs so I have some knowledge reagrding religions listed in article.
ReplyDeleteLike Pior mentioned above, I also heard about Buddhism more as a lifestyle than religion. I had some knowledge regarding Buddhism before reading this article but also some elements are completely new for me. Thank you for this nice introduction :)
I have a sentiment for people who are Buddhists. I think they are very nice and happy people. They have own beliefs and traditions but they respect very much other cultures and relgions. I can't tell the same about e.g. Islam or Christianity. I would consider being a Buddhist more than being a part of any religion. Even if - as Piotr - I was brought up in the spirit of catholicism.
I think religion is very difficult and personal subject.
I was attending catholic school, so I had an opportunity to learn more about Christianity and other religions as well – Mormons, New Age, Scientology, but to be honest I found Buddhism the least religious of all the religions. First idea of shaolin monks training kung-fu was gradually substituted with ordinary people, who only want to be happy – pure and simple.
DeleteSome celebrities, who believe in Buddha’s teachings - http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=List_of_Celebrity_Buddhists
I am not a believer, though I was baptized in Catholic religion. I don’t mind religions unless they cause harm, wars and suffering. I find Buddhism interesting, mostly because of the fact you have mentioned – it is a philosophy of life, not a religion. Finding enlightenment might be possible through meditation etc., even if it is a mental process or ‘trick’.
ReplyDeleteThis religion definitely won't cause any harm. Or maybe I find it difficult to come up with possibility that it could do so.
DeleteThanks for the interesting topic. According to your question, im very encouraged to better understand Buddhism. The philosophy of Buddhism has the positive note. Concetrating on yourself to improve current life, reminds me the popular quote "If you want to change the world start with yourself".
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I remembered the interesting document about reincarnation. I think It's incredible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s8fX_R4DJA
I would, indeed, consider myself becoming a Buddhist, as it is the most "reasonable" one of all mainstream religions. Being rather a moral philosophy, Buddhism makes one focus on his deeds, and not enforcing obligations towards other people or "gods". It is not invasive, nor you have to express that you are a follower of the "religion".
ReplyDeleteI can't say for sure that it is "most reasonable", because religion has a different function in different societies. While I was reading about Buddhism, many times I thought to myself – “Well, that makes sense”, but to be honest I do not need any higher power in my life. I believe that we should be good not because we are supposed to be afraid of hell, or however it’s called, but to be fair and good with our own conscience. If my way of life fits any religion – that’s great, but I think that killing a person or adultery is bad, not because someone said so, but because I feel that it would hurt other people. If religion is helping to improve ourselves, it’s great, but if it’s only about rites, routine, upbringing, without actual faith – what’s the point?
DeleteFirst of all I really like the topic, even though it got only I'm not proud of myself as I only got 45% in the test.
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of being here and now - In my opinion this is really important.
Moreover I think that Buddhism is philosophy of honesty with yourself and others.
Iza, are you sure you did well this test? :)
DeleteIn The Five Precepts (sort of Buddhist code of ethics) it is said:
Delete"I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech", so you are quite right. But tha same goes with one of Ten Commandments - "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Jakub, I understand that this is one of the Commandments was directed to my person? :)
DeleteMy knowledge of this religion is very small.
ReplyDeleteDue to that fact, my result in this quiz is 47%.
Thanks to your presentation I have learned few details which i didn't know before.
Buddhism is very interesting religion and way of life.
I don't know any Buddhist but I think that those people are happy.
I respect all religions because this is a personal choice and to a large extent depends on the culture in which one lives.
I am a catholic and I remain at this choice.
I'm not trying to convert anyone, just to be clear :) But I'm glad that I was able to expand your knowledge.
DeleteI'm glad that you have brought that topic up and explained how Buddhism really "works". I have heard some of the things you mentioned but never got clear idea of the distinction between this religion and others. I would enjoy reading something more, but in such a compressed form like this, in future. Prehaps about Hinduism?
ReplyDeleteSo Hinduism will be next,as you wish :) I will give more info next time, but try to put it in a nutshell just I did it this time to satisfy both you and Sławek.
DeleteVery nice article, thx :-) For your first questions I would like to say to anyone reading this, that religion is nothing material, it is also not a knowledge, it is not a life style it is something you can't touch - definitely it is not a book. It develops our souls and makes us doing things or not. I would say I am happy that this topic really showed up at this time, because as we all know we are a few days after the most valuable holidays for Christians which was of course Easter - the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The best example for explaining a little bit what religion is could be my example. On the Easter I decided on my own to watch again the movie Passion of the Christ alone. I watched the movie really carefully and it really touched me. Last time I watched this movie (few years ago), I didn't really feel it the same way as few days ago. This is the best example that we should PRACTICE religions our whole life, because sometimes someone tells us some facts about the religion then we take it as a matter of fact without understanding it. After the movie Passion of Christ I really understand now the core of the Christianity, it really started make sense for me and it was so bright and logic. I can't really explain it in details, but I'm trying to say that the same sentence heard every year on the same day would make a totally different sense to us, every single time we will hear it and it's the same with religion. It's not like "ok I already know what's what, I will now stop practicing", this is because we think of a Religion as some material thing that our minds can embrace after reading a Bible or any other books of other Religions. I would really like to try or see a Buddhism not only on the pictures as I said before, but I guess I will never become a buddhist, because I don't feel that way.
ReplyDeleteI found it great that we such a positive comments about Buddhism and I share all of them. For as much as some religions helping people become better and make the world we live in better, some other (maybe not religion itself, but how some people understand it) causing major "problems": people suffering, dying, killing...etc.
ReplyDeleteBuddhism as being said is not really a religion, but rather a philosophy, it does not provide you with a frame and rules , it provides you with ideas and some best practices while the rest is up to you.
Another thing I like about it - Buddhism focuses on yourself ! (great for egoists)
I think, in general, we're trying just too much to educate others, while maybe our main focus should be first and for most on ourselves. By becoming better ourselves we inspire (at least there is a chance) others to follow our way or , what even better, their way into the right direction.
All-in-all, I believe we all Buddhists in one way or another, if we are trying to become better ourselves! call it this word or any other - no matter , but do try to become better!
I don't know much about other religions apart from Islam, which I'm afraid of. I think Buddhism is one of the most peaceful religions in the world. I have something in common with Buddhists because I do Yoga once a week if that counts.
ReplyDeleteI would consider becoming Buddhist as they seem to be very wise and calm, from which I could benefit a lot.
You surely inspired me to learn more about Buddhism.
I’d love to read as many presentation as possible about different religions, so I could confront it with my ‘knowledge’ (what I think I know) about them.