The Fundamentals of Buddhist Customs - Research Paper Example

Buddhism One of the most followed and a native religion of the Indian subcontinent is Buddhism, which incorporates numerous cultures, customs, beliefs which are solely created on the teachings of Siddarth Gautama. Siddharth Gautama is more popular amongst the masses by the name of Buddha. The aforementioned spiritual leader, Buddha, was an inhabitant of the Indian subcontinent and worked throughout his life to bring an end to misery amongst the people, eradicate illiteracy, selfishness and practice self-control. Gautama Buddha also introduced the concept of Nirvana, which stated that after doing all the good deeds possible, a person would achieve the highest level of eternal happiness. Buddhism can be categorized into Theravada and Mahayana and is spread over the countries including Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Japan and other eastern nations in the Asian continent. The branch of Vajrayana is mainly practiced in Tibet and Mongolia, making Buddhism the most practiced religion in the region of Asia. “Estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Lower estimates are between 350–500 million” (Lopez). The fundamentals of Buddhist customs, cultures and practices are ritually based on the Three Gems, the Buddha, the teachings and the society. “Taking refuge in the triple gem has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist path and in general distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist” (Padmasambhava, Kontrul and Kunsang). There are other different practices in the religion of Buddhism too. These particularly include moral principles, support of society and the community, putting aside the luxurious manner of life and adapting to the type of the life that Gautama Buddha lived. It also promotes the personal development through the development of the mind and meditating whenever required. Furthermore, there is preferment of achieving a higher level of wisdom and intelligence by gaining of the worldly and the divine knowledge, especially, the teachings of Gautama Buddha, conducting a thorough study of the manuscripts and devoting one’s self to the cause of the welfare of others. With these Gautama Buddha had aspired for an ideal society, for he believed that practicing his beliefs would not only lead to a peaceful and a harmonious society, but also ensure that there are no violations of human rights. If the history of the religion of Buddhism is brought under philosophical analysis, it would become evident that Buddhism had its roots embedded in the religious status quo of India, at that time, which is believed to be a few years before the birth of Christ. During this period, the Indian regions as well as other countries of Asia were mired by the social differences. There also existed tumult on the end of the religion, since India was divided into the caste system, which was a major result of social divide in the country. “It was challenged by numerous new ascetic religious and philosophical groups and teachings that broke with the Brahmanic tradition and rejected the authority of the Vedasand the Brahmans” (Warder).  Looking at the inspiration from where the religion of Buddhism commenced, it is obvious that Gautama Buddha too gave up his life in order to achieve the aforementioned eternal peace and happiness, which he termed as Nirvana. After seeing the cruelty and injustice in the society, “Gautama was determined to complete his spiritual quest. At the age of 35, he famously sat inmeditation under a sacred fig tree — known as the Bodhi tree — in the town of Bodh Gaya, India, and vowed not to rise before achieving enlightenment. After many days, he finally destroyed the fetters of his mind, thereby liberating himself from the cycle of suffering and rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened being. Soon thereafter, he attracted a band of followers and instituted a monastic order. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his life teaching the path of awakening he had discovered, traveling throughout the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent” (Skilton). At the age of eighty, Gautama Buddha died but he had left a prominent enough mark on the Earth that would last for a very long time. “Soon after his Enlightenment the Buddha had a vision in which he saw the human race as a bed of lotus flowers. Some of the lotuses were still enamored in the mud, others were just emerging from it, and others again were on the point of blooming. In other words, all people had the ability to unfold their potential and some needed just a little help to do so. So the Buddha decided to teach, and all of the teachings of Buddhism may be seen as attempts to fulfill this vision — to help people grow towards Enlightenment” (The Buddhist Centre). The religion of Buddhism views life with a different eye. It is believed that life is a continuous development which practices changes every now and then, of which it takes advantage, as a matter of fact. The changes, in the aforementioned are seen and are meant to change the mind and the thought process of an individual, positively and affirmatively. Keeping this in mind, the religion of Buddhism is brought under practice in such a manner that there is more psychological and mental development by making full use of activities like meditation, which gives one the understanding of themselves and those around them. “Buddhists do not seek to evangelize or coerce other people to adopt their religion, but they do seek to make its teachings available to whoever is interested, and people are free to take” (The Buddhist Centre). “There are many special or holy days held throughout the year by the Buddhist community. Many of these days celebrate the birthdays of Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition or other significant dates in the Buddhist calendar. The most significant celebration happens every May on the night of the full moon, when Buddhist all over the world celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. It has become to be known as Buddha Day” (The Buddha Net). The Buddhist texts are divided with respect to the further divisions of the Buddhism religion. One of the earliest of the Buddhist manuscripts is the Tripitaka, which can also be considered as one of the oldest manuscripts in this world and was first orally noted down. “While Mahayana Buddhism reveres the Tripitaka as a holy text, they add to it a total of 2184 sacred writings. Most of these writings go under the name of Sutra. The Sutras were put into writing between the second century BC and the second century BC, during the time the split between Theravada and Mahayana developed. Since there are so many new works, different divisions of Mahayana develop in different directions depending on which Sutras they use and emphasize. Just a few, however, are key too much of Mahayana development and thought” (UWA). Buddhism happens to be in prominence in the region of Asia only as mentioned earlier, but there are Buddhists living all around the world and they practice their religion with freedom and liberty. (Factbook) Works Cited Factbook, CIA World. "CIA World Factbook." n.d. Lopez. Story of Buddhism. n.d. Padmasambhava, Jamgon Kontrul and Eric Pema Kunsang. Light of Wisdom. Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2004. Skilton. Concise. n.d. The Buddha Net. n.d. 13 September 2012 . The Buddhist Centre. n.d. 13 September 2012 . UWA. Buddhism Texts and Tales. n.d. 13 September 2012 . Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. 2000. Read More